Human health and medicine

Binswanger's disease

Binswanger's disease, now usually called subcortical vascular dementia or cerebral small vessel disease, is a progressive white-matter dementia from small-vessel injury, first described by Otto Binswanger in 1894, typically after age 60 with hypertension.

Bintrafusp alfa

Bintrafusp alfa (M7824), a Merck KGaA/EMD Serono bifunctional anti-PD-L1/TGF-β trap fusion protein for cancer; its phase 3 NSCLC trial versus pembrolizumab failed and development was discontinued.

BIO trial

BIO trial (NCT03412162), also the Biology, Identity, and Opportunity Study: a Northwestern University randomized trial testing the 8-week Identity Project ethnic-racial identity intervention in 300 high school freshmen, measuring cortisol, sleep, cognition, and academic outcomes.

Bio-CPR trial

Bio-CPR trial (NCT07258823, ChiCTR2400094466): multicenter randomized trial by Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital testing continuous compression-synchronous mechanical ventilation versus traditional CPR ventilation in witnessed ventricular fibrillation out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; not yet recruiting, 408 planned participants.

Bio-Thera bevacizumab biosimilar (BAT1706)

BAT1706 is a bevacizumab biosimilar developed by Bio-Thera Solutions of Guangzhou, China, sold in China as Pobevcy and reviewed in the United States as bevacizumab-tnjn, or Avzivi.

Bio-Thera golimumab biosimilar (BAT2506)

BAT2506 (Gotenfia, Immgolis) is Bio-Thera's biosimilar of golimumab (Simponi), an anti-TNF-α IgG1 antibody. EMA- and FDA-approved; phase 3 psoriatic arthritis trial NCT05046431 showed equivalence, safety, and switching data.

Bio-Thera tocilizumab biosimilar (BAT1806)

BAT1806 (BIIB800, Tofidence, tocilizumab-bavi) is Bio-Thera's biosimilar of tocilizumab (Actemra/RoActemra), an anti-IL-6R IgG1 antibody shown equivalent in phase 1 and phase 3 trials and approved in China, the US, and the EU.

Bio-Thera ustekinumab biosimilar (BAT2206)

BAT2206 (Usymro, STARJEMZA) is Bio-Thera Solutions' ustekinumab biosimilar referencing Stelara, a fully human IgG1κ antibody against IL-12/23 p40, with phase I and III biosimilarity data and FDA, EMA, and Brazil approvals.

Oct 20, 2026

Bioartificial Organs

Bioartificial organs combine biomaterials with living cells to replace failing organ function, spanning liver, kidney, pancreas, heart, and lung devices; platforms include encapsulation, decellularization, bioprinting, organoids, and xenotransplantation.

Bioavailability

Bioavailability: the fraction and rate of an administered drug dose reaching systemic circulation unaltered; IV dosing is 100% by definition, oral F is calculated as AUC ratio, limited by first-pass metabolism.

Biobadaderm study

BIOBADADERM (Spanish Registry of Systemic Treatments in Psoriasis, NCT02075697) is a prospective multicenter Spanish cohort launched October 2008 by the AEDV with AEMPS and FER, monitoring adverse events of biologic versus conventional systemic psoriasis therapy; 5,905 patients and 14,134 treatment cycles by November 2023.

Biochemical pharmacology

Biochemical pharmacology studies how drugs and biologically active substances act at the biochemical and cellular level, identifying the molecular targets of their effects; the field emerged in the late 1940s.

Biochemical variant galactosemia

Biochemical variant galactosemia, also called Duarte galactosemia, is a mild form of GALT deficiency, found in newborn screening, that causes no symptoms and needs no treatment or diet restriction.

BioCog study

BioCog (Biomarker Development for Postoperative Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly) is an EU FP7 prospective cohort study at Charité Berlin and Utrecht identifying biomarkers for postoperative delirium and cognitive dysfunction in older surgical patients; distinct from a digital cognitive test of the same name.

Biocompatibility

Biocompatibility: the ability of a medical device or material to perform with an appropriate host response in a specific application. Evaluated under ISO 10993-1 and FDA guidance via risk assessment and cytotoxicity, irritation, sensitization, and other endpoint testing.

Oct 22, 2026

Biodegradable zinc alloys for absorbable stents

Biodegradable zinc alloys are zinc-based materials, typically alloyed with magnesium, copper, lithium, or silver, for absorbable stents that hold an artery open while it heals and then dissolve.

Biodosimetry

Biodosimetry estimates a person's absorbed radiation dose by measuring biological markers, most often chromosome aberrations in blood lymphocytes, using calibration curves; the dicentric assay has been the gold standard since the mid-1960s.

Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis

Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA), or impedance vector analysis, is a body composition method proposed by Antonio Piccoli in 1994 that assesses hydration and nutrition without prediction equations.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback: therapy using real-time displays of physiological signals (EMG, heart rate variability, skin conductance, EEG, temperature) to teach voluntary self-regulation; strongest evidence for migraine, tension headache, and post-prostatectomy incontinence; neurofeedback is its EEG-based subset.

Bioimpedance measurement

Bioimpedance measurement is a clinical diagnostic method that passes a small alternating current through the body to estimate body composition, fluid status, and tissue properties, used for over a century.

Bioimpedance spectroscopy

Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) is a clinical measurement technique that passes low-intensity alternating currents through body tissue at many frequencies to estimate fluid distribution, total body water, and body cell mass.

Biological activity

Biological activity (bioactivity): a substance's capability to provoke a response from living matter, beneficial or adverse, per IUPAC. Quantified as potency via bioassays, dose-response curves, and high-throughput screening, with assay interference a key caveat.

Biological dressings

Biological dressings are temporary wound coverings made from human or animal tissue, such as amniotic membrane or pig skin, that protect wounds and support healing.

Biological half-life

Biological half-life (t1/2, elimination half-life): time for plasma drug concentration to fall 50%; t1/2 = 0.693·Vd/CL; governs dosing frequency, steady state in 4–5 half-lives, and half-life extension of biologics.

Biological hazard

Biological hazard (biohazard): organic-origin hazards, pathogens, toxins, vectors, pests, affecting humans, animals, plants; foodborne illness sickens 866 million yearly; controlled via biosafety levels and risk assessment.

Biological Monitoring

Biological monitoring, also called biomonitoring, is the measurement of toxins, pollutants, or their effects in the bodies of living organisms, typically by analyzing blood, urine, and saliva, complementing environmental monitoring.

Biological Preservation

Biological preservation, chiefly cryopreservation, maintains cells, tissues, germplasm, biospecimens, and forensic evidence in usable condition. Key facts: 1949 glycerol discovery, vitrification, −80 °C and liquid nitrogen storage, ISBER and ISO biobanking standards, NISTIR 7928 evidence handbook.

Biological psychiatry

Biological psychiatry: interdisciplinary science of the biological bases of behavior (biochemical, genetic, physiological, neurological) applied to mental illness; three historical waves, flagship journal Biological Psychiatry (1969), ongoing biomarker and clinical-translation debate.

Biology of depression

Biology of depression: mechanisms proposed for major depressive disorder. Covers the monoamine (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine) hypothesis, the 2022 Moncrieff umbrella review finding no consistent serotonin-deficit evidence, the Jauhar rebuttal, and glutamate, stress, and neuroinflammation research.