Jan 30th, 2023 - Myelofibrosis treatment with the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor momelotinib resulted in clinically significant improvements in symptoms and spleen response compared with danazol for symptomatic, JAK inhibitor-exposed patients with anemia and intermediate- or high-risk disease, the phase III MOMENTUM trial showed. A significantly greater proportion of patients in the momelotinib group reported a ≥...

Jan 30th, 2023 - Vinod Chandran, MBBS, MD, DM, PhD Most patients develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA) after the onset of cutaneous psoriasis. The path toward long-term remission of PsA may be by early diagnosis and effective treatment prior to the onset of joint damage.

Jan 30th, 2023 - Heavy binge drinking isn't just a college problem, researchers affirmed, finding that most teen alcohol use that escalated to having 10 or more drinks in a row reached that level rapidly during the high school years. Among a sample of youth who reported drinking in the prior 30 days when surveyed in the 12th grade and who said they engaged in high-intensity drinking (HID, 10 or more in a row) w...

Jan 30th, 2023 - ILLUSTRATIVE CASE A 52-year-old woman presents to the emergency department complaining of dysuria and a fever. Her work-up yields a diagnosis of sepsis secondary to pyelonephritis and bacteremia.

Jan 30th, 2023 - Evidence summary Walking’s impact on cholesterol levels is modest, inconsistent A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis of 21 studies (n = 1129) evaluated the effects of walking on lipids and lipoproteins in women older than 18 years who were overweight or obese and were not taking any lipid-lowering medications. Median TC was 206 mg/dL and median LDL was 126 mg/dL.

Jan 30th, 2023 - Although rare, acute hepatic porphyrias (AHPs) may be more common than previously thought, particularly among women between ages 15 and 50, according to a new clinical practice update from the American Gastroenterological Association. For acute attacks, treatment should include intravenous hemin, and for patients with recurrent attacks, a newly-approved therapy called givosiran should be consid.

Jan 30th, 2023 - Children with a concussion may no longer have to sit quietly in a dark room for days. New research suggests that prolonged absence from school and other activities may hinder recovery from a concussion. Returning to school earlier than previously recommended may be associated with lower symptom burden, leading to a faster recovery, according to an published online in JAMA Network Open. The anal...

Jan 30th, 2023 - Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) showed reduced antibody responses following COVID-19 vaccination, with drugs for the condition such as belimumab (Benlysta) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) likely to blame, researchers said. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers measured 2 weeks after the second dose of mRNA COVID vaccines were lower by about 20% among 342 lupus patients compared with th...

Jan 30th, 2023 - At least 22 viral illnesses were linked with an increased risk of subsequent neurodegenerative disease, NIH researchers found. Using data from the U.K. and Finland, Mike Nalls, PhD, of the NIH Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias, and co-authors identified 45 viral exposures that were tied to an increased risk of dementia or other neurodegenerative diseases and replicated 22 of these as...

Jan 30th, 2023 - Supervised moderate and vigorous aerobic activity helped stave off type 2 diabetes in at-risk individuals with central obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to 10-year follow-up of a randomized trial from China. Compared with adults who did not exercise, the risk of diabetes was reduced by 49% in the vigorous exercise group (relative risk [RR] 0.51, 95% CI 0.27-0.94, P=0.01) a...

Jan 30th, 2023 - A woman in her late 40s presented with painful ulcers in her groin and armpits that hadn't healed in 3 years, an Indian group reported in JAMA Dermatology. The woman explained that when the sores first appeared, they were just itchy, oozing, reddish bumps; over time, they worsened to form painful, pus-filled oozing ulcers. She had been treated with numerous courses of antibiotics, antifungals, ...

Table of Contents for Volume 29, Number 2-February 2023

Jan 27th, 2023 - Erin Roesch, MD Standard first-line therapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+, ERBB2+) metastatic breast cancer (MBC) includes dual-HER2 blockade (trastuzumab + pertuzumab) in combination with a taxane. 1,2 Differences according to hormone receptor status within HER2+ MBC have been demonstrated in clinicopathologic features, survival, and treatment response.

Jan 27th, 2023 - Steven R. Feldman, MD, PhD I suspect lebrikizumab is going to be another excellent atopic dermatitis (AD) treatment option.

Jan 27th, 2023 - Fluorescence-optical imaging (FOI) identified early signs of psoriatic arthritis, based on data from 2 years of follow-up of a cohort of 389 adults at 14 rheumatology centers. Approximately 25% of individuals with psoriasis go on to develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA), but there are no validated biomarkers to identify patients at risk for progression to PsA, Michaela Koehm, MD, of Goethe Universi.

Jan 27th, 2023 - Key clinical point: Recent phase 2 trials have recommended a 2-weekly schedule of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) in patients with heavily treated metastatic breast cancer (BC); however, it failed to demonstrate any advantage in terms of efficacy or safety over the registered 4-weekly regimen of PLD. Major finding: The median progression-free survival was 3.

Jan 27th, 2023 - Key clinical point: Autologous fat grafting (AFG) in the second stage of a 2-stage prosthetic breast reconstruction was linked to a higher risk for breast cancer (BC) recurrence when performed within a year after mastectomy. Major finding: Patients who did vs did not undergo AFG within 1 year after the primary operation had a significantly increased risk for disease recurrence (hazard ratio 5.

Jan 27th, 2023 - Key clinical point: Treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival (OS) outcomes in patients with estrogen receptor-negative (ER−)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2−), T1abN0 breast cancer (BC). Major finding: After a median follow-up of 7.

Jan 27th, 2023 - Key clinical point: In patients with advanced human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive ( HER2+ or ERBB2+) breast cancer (BC) treated with trastuzumab emtansine, the pre-established levels of ERBB2 mRNA expression according to the HER2DX standardized assay served as an important prognostic biomarker in predicting survival outcomes. Major finding: High, medium, and low levels of ERBB2 mR.

Jan 27th, 2023 - Key clinical point: Addition of atezolizumab to carboplatin+paclitaxel in the neoadjuvant setting improved the pathological complete response (pCR) rate in patients with stage II-III triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Major finding: After a median follow-up of 6.