Mar 20th, 2023 - Social media and mainstream media websites are full of stories on the new wonder weight loss drug: Ozempic. Even Hollywood stars are talking about it.

Mar 20th, 2023 - Tofersen, an investigational antisense drug developed to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) associated with a mutation in the SOD1 gene (SOD1-ALS), may have clinical benefit, FDA reviewers indicated in briefing documents ahead of an advisory committee meeting. On Wednesday, the Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee will vote on whether evidence supporting a reduc...

Mar 20th, 2023 - As previously suspected, changes in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) were associated with reciprocal changes in mortality risk independent of other comorbidities or initial fitness status, a large observational study found. People who had serial exercise treadmill test assessments, with a median 6 years between initial and final tests, showed that changes in aerobic capacity over time tracked wi...

Mar 20th, 2023 - Compared with standard fractionation, hyperfractionated intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) could significantly increase overall survival (OS), as well as reduce the rate of severe late complications in patients with locally advanced recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma, according to Chinese investigators. Their phase III trial showed that patients randomized to hyperfractionated IMRT had bet...

Mar 20th, 2023 - Metformin may help cut the risk of osteoarthritis (OA) in those with type 2 diabetes, researchers reported. In a retrospective cohort study of nearly 21,000 adults with diabetes, those who were taking metformin saw a 24% lower risk for developing OA compared with those taking a sulfonylurea (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.76, 95% CI 0.68-0.85), according to Matthew Baker, MD, MS, of Stanford Uni...

Mar 17th, 2023 - HealthDay News — Household opioid availability is associated with increased odds of opioid overdose for others in the household, according to a study published online in JAMA Network Open. Michelle A. Hendricks, PhD, from Comagine Health in Portland, Oregon, and colleagues examined the role of household opioid availability and other household prescription factors associated with individuals’ od...

The timeline gives a summary of significant HPAI and LPAI outbreaks in birds, infections in people, and events from 2020-2023.

Mar 17th, 2023 - B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) is voluntarily recalling five (5) lots of 0.9% Sodium Chloride for Injection USP 250ML in Excel within the United States to the hospital/user level. The voluntary recall has been initiated due to fluid leakage or low fill volume of the respective containers. The biggest risk with a slow leak in any intravenous solution preparation is a break in sterility which p...

Mar 17th, 2023 - The FDA announced on Thursday that it has approved the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib (Tafinlar) combined with the MEK inhibitor trametinib (Mekinist) for the treatment of pediatric patients 1 year and older with low-grade glioma with a BRAF V600E mutation who require systemic therapy. The agency also approved new oral formulations of both drugs suitable for patients who cannot swallow pills. Approv...

Mar 16th, 2023 - Obesity experts offered practice pearls on managing obesity with semaglutide and tirzepatide at a recent conference convened by the Endocrine Society.1 Below are highlights on how these anti-obesity medications work, side effects, drug shortages, and barriers to uptake applicable to primary care providers and obesity specialists. 1. Semaglutide and tirzepatide work by suppressing the body’s com...

Mar 16th, 2023 - The association between short sleep duration and subsequent incident peripheral artery disease (PAD) was clarified and supported by complementary analyses of various large cohorts. Based on a group of 50,000 Swedish adults, excess PAD risk was more likely in people sleeping less than 5 hours a day or 8 hours or more, a U-shaped relationship that was replicated in Million Veteran Program and U.K...

Mar 16th, 2023 - Overall risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) was low for typical COVID outpatients, though higher rates were identified in certain groups, suggesting opportunity for targeted interventions or increased short-term surveillance, according to authors of a cohort study. In the California study of nearly 400,000 outpatients with a confirmed case of COVID-19, VTE was identified in 0.1% (0.26 per 100...

Mar 15th, 2023 - Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) wards off severe disease in high-risk COVID patients, but drug interactions at the individual level often disfavor its use, said FDA staff in briefing documents released ahead of an advisory committee meeting. On Thursday, the Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee will weigh in on the strength of evidence for use of the oral antiviral in outpatients at risk fo...

Mar 15th, 2023 - Relapse-free survival (RFS) data at 5 years showed that laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) was noninferior to open distal gastrectomy (ODG) in locally advanced gastric cancer, according to a phase II/III randomized trial from Japan. Among 500 randomized patients, the 5-year RFS rate was 75.7% in the LADG group and 73.9% in the ODG group, with a hazard ratio of 0.96 (90% CI 0.72-1.26...

Mar 15th, 2023 - Every patient with discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) that had not responded to multiple standard medications showed substantial improvement when put on anifrolumab (Saphnelo) in a small retrospective study, researchers said. Among eight patients treated with anifrolumab for at least 8 weeks, mean scores on the Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index's (CLASI) activity subs...

Mar 15th, 2023 - A collaborative group from Colorado School of Public Health (ColoradoSPH) has been awarded $600,000 from the National Institutes of Health to support the first year of work for the newly-established Mountain West Alliance for Community Engagement-Climate and Health (ACE-CH) Hub, a community of public health researchers and community members working to identify evidence-based and community-drive...

Mar 15th, 2023 - Researchers at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University found that an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was associated with the deaths of more than 330 New England harbor and gray seals along the North Atlantic coast in June and July 2022, and the outbreak was connected to a wave of avian influenza in birds in the region. The study was published on March 15 ...

Mar 14th, 2023 - NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - A U.S. lending program to stem deposit outflows in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse gives the Federal Reserve scope to continue raising interest rates if needed to slow inflation without exacerbating losses on bonds held by banks. That said, Tuesday’s U.S. inflation news should not force the Fed’s hand on aggressive hikes, as was expected before the regi...

Mar 14th, 2023 - WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday it charged IT services firm DXC Technology with making misleading disclosures about its non-GAAP financial performance in multiple reporting periods from 2018 until early 2020. “Without admitting or denying the findings in the order, DXC consented to a cease-and-desist order, to pay an $8 million penalt...

Mar 14th, 2023 - A majority of older adults undergoing surveillance colonoscopy were invited to return for a subsequent colonoscopy, even when no significant polyps were detected and they had a limited life expectancy, a study using Medicare claims data found. Of nearly 10,000 adults 65 and up undergoing surveillance colonoscopy due to a prior polyp, colonoscopy turned up colorectal cancer (CRC) in 0.2%, advanc...