FDA Clears AI-Powered Wearable for Essential Tremor
The FDA cleared an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered wristband (Felix NeuroAI) to treat upper-limb functional limitations in adults with essential tremor, device maker Fasikl announced. The noninvasive, wearable peripheral nerve stimulator connects to a cloud-based AI platform and incorporates patient recordings to continuously adjust settings, allowing therapy to be personalized. Essential tremor is one of the […]
Ravulizumab Showed Preclinical Promise for ALS. What Happened?
Ravulizumab (Ultomiris), a terminal complement C5 inhibitor, did not improve functional status and survival in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the phase III CHAMPION-ALS trial showed. No significant difference between ravulizumab and placebo emerged in Combined Assessment of Function and Survival (CAFS) scores at week 50 (mean difference of 5.5 points, 95% CI -15.7 […]
First Drug Approved for Kids’ Functional Constipation
The FDA approved linaclotide (Linzess) capsules for treating functional constipation in kids 6 years and up, the agency announced on Monday. Along with data from trials in adults with chronic idiopathic constipation, support for the pediatric approval came from a phase III trial that included 330 children and adolescents ages 6 to 17 years with […]
Exercise Rehab Helpful After Pulmonary Embolism
Exercise rehabilitation may confer functional improvements to patients struggling to breathe following a pulmonary embolism (PE), a randomized controlled trial found. Patients with persistent dyspnea in the two-center study who were assigned to rehabilitation scored significantly higher on the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT) compared with controls (difference 53 m, 95% CI 17.7-88.3, P=0.0035), reported […]
Can Functional MRI Read Your Mind?
An individually trained semantic decoder translated brain patterns on functional MRI (fMRI) into continuous streams of text, a small study showed. The customized decoder used fMRI responses to generate text describing an individual’s imagined stories, the contents of podcasts they listened to, and silent videos they watched, reported Alexander Huth, PhD, of the University of […]
Brain Structure, Widespread Connectivity Changes Seen With Long COVID
Gray matter atrophy and severe disruption of brain functional connectivity were seen in long COVID patients with anxiety and depression about 3 months after acute mild SARS-CoV-2 infection. Compared with people who were asymptomatic after SARS-CoV-2 infection, long COVID patients with both anxiety and depression showed limbic atrophy and a widespread pattern of hyperconnectivity, reported […]
Can obesity and stress influence appetite? New study shows it’s all in your head
In a series of experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity across networks in the brain, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers looked at how stress might increase appetite in obese and lean adults. The researchers found that stress impacts the brain’s responses to food, and that both lean and obese adults react […]
Routine Stress Testing Didn’t Offer Benefits to High-Risk Patients Post-PCI
BARCELONA – Routine functional testing after percutaneous cardiac interventions (PCI) did not boost clinical outcomes at 2 years in high-risk patients, according to the POST-PCI trial. The composite endpoint of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina was experienced by 5.5% of patients who got routine functional testing versus 6.6% in […]
What’s the Best Way to Treat Femur Breaks From Bone Metastases?
BALTIMORE — The use of long-stem hemiarthroplasty (LSHA) did not improve quality-of-life (QoL) or functional outcomes compared to intramedullary nailing (IMN) in treating pathological fractures of the pertrochanteric femur caused by bone metastases, a researcher reported. In the randomized controlled surgical trial, short-term outcomes (3 to 12 months) demonstrated that mean Toronto Extremity Salvage Scores […]
A Gut-Wrenching Pandemic for Patients With Functional GI Issues
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastroparesis, or functional dyspepsia had more gastrointestinal symptoms during the pandemic, a retrospective single-center study found. Compared to the 6 months before the pandemic, more patients with common functional gastrointestinal and motility disorders (FGIMD) experienced symptoms during the pandemic, including nausea or vomiting (16% vs 22%, respectively), constipation (13% […]