Benralizumab Allows Inhaled Corticosteroid Taper for Asthma Patients
MILAN — Benralizumab (Fasenra) allowed patients with severe eosinophilic asthma to reduce inhaled corticosteroid (ISC) use without compromising control, the SHAMAL phase IV randomized trial found. After 32 weeks, 92% of patients on the monoclonal antibody with planned tapering from high-dose ICS plus formoterol were able to reduce their use, reported David J. Jackson, MD, […]
Should Students Carry Naloxone? AMA Members Debate Policy Stance
Should students be allowed to carry naloxone (Narcan)? Is the height of the border wall a health issue? Can connecting formerly incarcerated persons with healthcare stop the revolving door into prisons and jails? These and other questions were debated at the American Medical Association’s (AMA) annual House of Delegates meeting on Saturday. Final policy decisions […]
Opinion | Abortion Is Not Murder in the Eyes of the Law
Recently, the Utah House of Representatives passed a bill that would have allowed pregnant women to use the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane. The Utah Senate rejected this bill. HOV lanes are intended to reduce traffic congestion and help the environment. They have no further ambition. Bills like this are really attempts to imbue a fetus […]
Haptics device creates realistic virtual textures
Technology has allowed us to immerse ourselves in a world of sights and sounds from the comfort of our home, but there’s something missing: touch. Tactile sensation is an incredibly important part of how humans perceive their reality. Haptics or devices that can produce extremely specific vibrations that can mimic the sensation of touch are […]
Patiromer Limits Impact of RAAS Inhibitor-Related Hyperkalemia in HF
WASHINGTON — Use of the potassium-binding agent patiromer (Veltassa) allowed more heart failure patients at risk for hyperkalemia to remain on optimal therapy with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RAAS), including mineralocorticoids, the randomized DIAMOND trial showed. For the study’s revised primary endpoint, patiromer led to a significant reduction in potassium levels by study end versus placebo […]
Add-On Mavacamten Cuts Need for Septal Reduction in Obstructive HCM
WASHINGTON – Treatment with investigational mavacamten allowed patients with advanced obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM) to avoid septal reduction therapies (SRT), a researcher reported. In the VALOR-HCM study among 56 patients with documented oHCM who received add-on mavacamten to maximally-tolerated medical therapy, 17.9% met the composite endpoint (decision to move to SRT by week 16 or […]
Unwinding Medicaid’s Pandemic Protections Won’t Be Easy, Experts Say
When the public health emergency (PHE) ends, pandemic-era protections that allowed Medicaid enrollees to remain in the program regardless of changes to their eligibility, will also end. Will states and the federal government be ready for the transition, or will beneficiaries fall through the cracks? “The stakes couldn’t be higher,” said Kinda Serafi, JD, a […]
Doc Groups Seek to Reinstate Ban on Step Therapy in Medicare Advantage
WASHINGTON — Are Medicare Advantage (MA) plans allowed to require patients to go through “step therapy” to get a medication or treatment they need? Yes — for now — but physician groups are trying to change that. “On August 7, 2018, CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) issued a memo to MA plans […]