Sparsentan Bests Irbesartan for Preserving Kidney Function in IgA Nephropathy
PHILADELPHIA — Sparsentan (Filspari) outperformed irbesartan in patients with IgA nephropathy over the 2-year phase III PROTECT trial. Over a 110-week treatment period, those on sparsentan had an average 42.8% (95% CI -49.8 to -35.0) reduction in urine protein-to-creatinine ratio compared with a 4.4% (95% CI −15.8 to 8.7%) reduction with irbesartan (geometric least-squares mean […]
Colorado’s Ban on ‘Abortion Reversal’ Tied Up in Court Battle
A fight is raging in Colorado over whether or not the state can ban medication abortion reversal — a procedure that mainstream medicine says isn’t backed by science. Last month, a Trump-appointed federal judge blocked the state from enforcing a ban on the so-called treatment while he considers a legal challenge brought by the Bella […]
FDA Panel Endorses DFMO for Kids’ High-Risk Neuroblastoma in Remission
After wrangling all day over semantics and a potential precedent-setting dataset, an FDA advisory committee voted to recommend approval of eflornithine (difluoromethylornithine; DFMO) maintenance for high-risk pediatric neuroblastoma in complete remission after standard therapy. By a 14-6 vote, the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) decided that the totality of evidence presented was sufficient to show […]
ChatGPT Improving, but Still Lacks Reliability as a Clinical Support Tool
Despite mostly being accurate and showing clear improvement over time and across versions, caution is still warranted when using ChatGPT as a clinical decision support tool, according to authors of a cross-sectional study. In an analysis of nearly 300 medical questions developed by 33 physicians across 17 specialties posed to ChatGPT, the median accuracy score […]
‘Con Man’ Gets Another Top Hospital Job, This Time at Penn Medicine
A convicted felon who hopscotched his way into high-paying health executive positions all over the country despite a federal prison term has once again landed in a top position — albeit briefly — this time at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, according to news reports. In an investigative story last spring, MedPage Today detailed the long […]
Global Incidence of Early-Onset Cancer Has Surged Since 1990
The global incidence of early-onset cancer has increased by 79% over the last three decades, researchers reported. In 2019, new cancer diagnoses in people under 50 totaled 3.26 million compared with 1.82 million in 1990, according to Xue Li, PhD, of Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China, and colleagues. Meanwhile, 1.06 million people under […]
Complete PCI Better for Older MI Patients Too
AMSTERDAM — Complete revascularization improved outcomes over culprit-lesion-only stenting in older acute myocardial infarction (MI) patients, the FIRE trial affirmed. Among a population ages 75 and older, the composite risk of death, MI, stroke, or any revascularization came out a relative 27% less common when addressing all the stenosed vessels during the same hospitalization (15.7% […]
Fight Over Abortion Escalates in Texas
The latest legal fight over Texas’s 6-week abortion ban has drawn strong comments from groups on both sides of the abortion debate, with each casting blame on different entities for the lack of clarity on when pregnancy terminations are permitted under the law. The law, known as S.B. 8, was signed into law in May […]
House Lawmakers Clash Over Gender-Affirming Care in Youth
Lawmakers clashed over the safety of gender-affirming care in minors on Thursday, during a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government. Republicans condemned the practice, which they characterized as “mutilation,” while Democrats argued such care is safe and effective, citing the support of multiple medical groups. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Mike […]
Tick-Related Meat Allergy Lurks Under the Radar, Unfamiliar to Many
Despite alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), or tick bite meat allergy, rising over the last several years and affecting many people in the U.S., many healthcare providers remained unsure about its diagnosis and treatment, CDC data showed. An estimated 96,000 to 450,000 people in the U.S. have been affected by AGS since 2010, the large range accounting […]