Exposure therapy to feared foods may help kids with eating disorders
Whether you’re afraid of dogs, needles or enclosed spaces, one of the most effective interventions for this type of anxiety disorder is exposure therapy in which you confront your fear in a safe environment. A new study led by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine finds that exposure therapy is also a promising treatment […]
Avoiding Just This Dietary Trigger Helps Resolve Eosinophilic Esophagitis
A one-food elimination diet (1FED) could be just as effective as the popular six-food elimination diet (6FED) for patients suffering from eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a randomized trial showed. Removing animal milk alone led to histological remission at 6 weeks in 35% of people by eosinophil count, which was statistically no different than the 42% in […]
Sutezolid With 3-Drug Combo Appears Safe and Effective in Multidrug-Resistant TB
SEATTLE — Adding the oxazolidinone antibiotic sutezolid to a three-drug combination appeared to be safe and effective for people with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), according to a dose-finding phase II study. Across five treatment arms that included four different doses of sutezolid with bedaquiline, delamanid, and moxifloxacin at standard doses, there was a similar increase in […]
Comorbidity Burden in People With HIV Tied to Increased Mortality Risk
The prevalence of comorbidities in people with HIV on effective antiretroviral treatment was consistently higher compared with HIV-negative individuals, and was linked to an increased risk for death, according to a prospective longitudinal cohort study. In people age 45 and older followed for a median 5.9 years, 5.2% of the 596 HIV-positive participants died compared […]
Is Pain Treated Effectively With Antidepressants?
While some antidepressant drugs were effective for certain pain conditions, most were either ineffective or evidence was inconclusive, a review found. Evidence of efficacy of antidepressants for pain emerged in 11 of 42 comparisons included in an overview of systematic reviews, reported Giovanni Ferreira, PhD, of the University of Sydney, and colleagues. In four of […]
XBB Variant Up to 21 Times More Evasive to Vaccine Antibodies Than BA.5
Omicron subvariants BQ.1.1 and XBB.1 were more effective at escaping neutralizing antibodies compared with the BA.5 variant following both monovalent and bivalent mRNA boosters, new data suggested. In 15 participants who had received a monovalent mRNA booster in 2022, neutralizing antibody titers against BA.5 were seven times higher than those for BQ.1.1, and 17 times […]
Sequential Gemcitabine/Docetaxel Promising in NMIBC After BCG Relapse
SAN DIEGO — The use of sequential intravesical gemcitabine and docetaxel appeared effective and well tolerated in patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) following the failure of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy, a retrospective study showed. At a median follow-up of 18 months, the 6-, 12-, and 24-month high-grade recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates among […]
Robotic Surgery Proves Its Mettle for Liver Cancer
Fully robotic liver resection was safe and effective for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared with open liver resection, a cohort study found. Propensity score-matched analysis showed “better perioperative tolerability … based on clinical, oncologic, and technical criteria” compared with open resection, reported Fabrizio Di Benedetto, MD, PhD, of the University of Modena and Reggio […]
Monoclonals for COVID in Pregnancy Pass Safety Test, Efficacy on the Other Hand …
Monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 was safe to use in pregnancy, but wasn’t all that effective, according to a single-center study. Among pregnant patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who received monoclonal antibody treatment, infusion reactions were rare, with 1.4% of patients experiencing mild, drug-related adverse events (AEs), reported Erin McCreary, PharmD, of University of Pittsburgh Medical […]
Novel BTK Inhibitor Looks Good for Sjogren’s Syndrome
PHILADELPHIA — Remibrutinib, an investigational Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, appeared effective in reducing signs of Sjogren’s syndrome in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Scores on the EULAR Sjogren’s Syndrome Activity Index (ESSDAI), a comprehensive measure of Sjogren’s severity, fell by 2.86 points with the oral drug relative to placebo during the 24-week trial, according to […]