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Living & Wellbeing

How to Practice Self-Care

We’re dedicated to sharing the perspectives of people affected by chronic inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). That’s why we created Arthritis.com, a place where people living with RA can find inspiration, lifestyle advice, tools and disease information. Following is an article from Arthritis.com contributor Stephanie Aleite, who is living with RA. Pfizer asked Stephanie to share her story and she was compensated for this article. For me, stress and my rheumatoid arthritis...

A Novel Approach to Hemophilia: Stopping the Body’s Natural Clotting Brakes

  Our bodies delicately balance clotting and anti-clotting mechanisms, which help to stop bleeding when there’s an injury or dissolve dangerous clots that can form in blood vessels. But for patients with hemophilia, a rare genetic disease that causes deficiencies in clotting factor VIII or IX, this delicate balance is upset. Patients experience excessive bleeding after an injury and can suffer permanent joint damage following repeated bleeding episodes. For decades, the most common treatment...

Mending Broken Walls: 5 Insights About Gut Health Helping IBD Patients

Our skin is the most visible barrier that separates our bodies from the outside world. But deep inside the body, we have another critical wall, the gut epithelial barrier, which helps to block pathogens and toxins, while selectively allowing nutrients and water to be absorbed.  “The gut is a very exciting and dynamic kind of barrier,” says Marion Kasaian, Head of Epithelial Biology based at Pfizer’s Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts research site. “It has a larger surface area than skin...

Strategies for Managing Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Symptoms

When biologics to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were first released over two decades ago, they greatly improved quality of life for many patients. But these first-generation therapies have their shortcomings. Fewer than half of patients treated with these inflammation-blocking drugs will be in remission after one year of treatment. These treatments can also suppress the immune system, making patients vulnerable to infection.But now, thanks to advancements in our understanding of the...

Living & Wellbeing

Using ‘Omics to Understand the Rise in Breast Cancers Among Young Asians

By Get Science Staff - This article originally published on Get Science Asian women, compared to their counterparts in western countries, are diagnosed with breast cancer at earlier ages and face a worse prognosis. In an effort to better understand this patient population, scientists from Pfizer and Samsung Medical Center (SMC) in Seoul, Korea, have embarked on a multi-phase project to do multi-omic profiling of the tumors of some 187 younger Korean breast cancer patients. Multi-omics refers...

Science & Innovation

Attacking Cancer Cells That Develop Resistance

By Get Science Staff - This article originally published on Get Science When cancer patients receive therapy for an extended time, they often face the specter of drug resistance as tumor cells mutate and find ways to evade the cancer-killing medicines. Exploring new ways to disarm rogue cells that have developed resistance is a major field of modern cancer research. One way to address the issue of resistance is to attack cancer through the fundamental processes that drive their core mission —...

Living & Wellbeing

Four Things to Know About Managing Your Rheumatoid Arthritis with Your Doctor

We’re dedicated to sharing the perspectives of people affected by chronic inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). That’s why we created Arthritis.com, a place where people living with RA can find inspiration, lifestyle advice, tools and disease information. Following is an article from Arthritis.com contributor and editorial board member Ara Dikranian, M.D.Managing a chronic condition like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) requires an equal partnership between doctors and patients. Here...

Living & Wellbeing

Three Things to Know About Venous Thromboembolism and Cancer

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) can be a dangerous, potentially deadly medical condition that is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide and the third most common cause of vascular death after heart attack and stroke.1 VTE encompasses two serious conditions: deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot in a deep vein, and pulmonary embolism (PE), a potentially life-threatening condition in which a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the lungs. Despite the potential dangers of this condition...

Cachexia Insights: Helping Improve Quality of Life in Chronically Ill Patients

It’s an experience familiar to almost anyone with a family member or friend who has fought a terminal illness, such as cancer or heart failure. In the final stages of life, it can seem as though their loved one is wasting away. This dramatic loss of muscle and fat is caused by cachexia, a wasting disorder that afflicts patients in the late stage of nearly every chronic illness. It’s the immediate cause of death in nearly 20 to 40 percent of cancer patients. “So many people can relate to someone...

Real People

New Podcast, ‘The Antigen,’ Takes a Deep Dive into the Story of Vaccines

When we decided to create a podcast about vaccines, Yasmeen Agosti, MD was a natural choice to host . For many years, vaccines have been an enormous part of Agosti’s life, first as a pediatrician, now as the global medical affairs lead for viral vaccines at Pfizer. In our new audio series, called “The Antigen,” she delves into in the fascinating world of immunization, exploring the science and story behind vaccines, the rise of the anti-vaccination movement and the many social, cultural and...

Meet the Team: Homegrown Therapies Get Ready to Fight NASH

One of the biggest public health problems of our time is likely soon to face off with a new wave of cutting-edge medicines. As non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a severe form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, continues to be a growing public health threat, scientists are racing to develop treatments. There is currently no FDA-approved medicine for NASH, but nearly 50 candidates, including three from Pfizer, are in clinical testing — one or more which will hopefully be the next...

Living & Wellbeing

Matter of Moments: Recognizing AFib-Stroke Risk

AFib Fast Facts: Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, is a common type of an irregular heartbeat.4 During AFib, the upper chambers of the heart beat irregularly, or too quickly, and do not pump all of the blood to the lower chambers, causing some blood to pool, and potentially form clots. If a clot breaks loose, it can travel to the brain and lead to a stroke.4 The prevalence of AFib is higher in people aged 65 and older. About 9% of people aged 65 years or older have AFib...