Progression Independent of Relapse Activity in Pediatric-Onset MS
Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patients showed progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) even when they were relatively young, a prospective cohort study found. Confirmed PIRA events within 48 weeks of baseline occurred in 40.4% of pediatric-onset MS patients and were more frequent in older-onset groups, reported Maria Pia Amato, MD, of the University of Florence […]
Suicidal Ideation Common Among Transgender, Gender Diverse Youth in ED
WASHINGTON — A keyword-based search in the electronic medical record (EMR) at an urban emergency department (ED) showed high rates of suicidal ideation among transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth, according to a retrospective cross-sectional study. In 81% of ED encounters at a single tertiary children’s hospital, TGD youth screened positive on the Ask Suicide-Screening […]
Spravato Safety Holds Up Long-Term for Treatment-Resistant Depression
NASHVILLE — Esketamine nasal spray (Spravato) showed consistent long-term safety outcomes for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), according to follow-up data from the SUSTAIN-3 trial. In the open-label, phase III study, intermittent dosing of esketamine for up to 6.5 years had a similar safety profile as dosing for up to 1 year, according to Reina […]
Neurodevelopment After Prenatal Exposure to Newer Epilepsy Drugs Tracked for 3 Years
Children with fetal exposure to newer antiseizure medications showed no difference in neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 3 compared with unexposed children, data from the ongoing MONEAD study showed. In the prospective observational study, mean verbal index scores at age 3 did not differ for children of women with epilepsy (102.7) versus those born to mothers […]
Lisa Marie Presley’s Cause of Death; End of AIDS? Human-Animal COVID Transmission
Note that some links may require subscriptions. An autopsy report showed that Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley, died of a small-bowel obstruction “caused by adhesions that developed after bariatric surgery years ago.” (NBC News) States are scrambling to prepare for record high temperatures. (NBC News) The CDC announced its plan to […]
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Safe, Effective in Cancer Patients With HIV
Immune checkpoint inhibitors showed activity among people with HIV and various cancer types, without any excess or unexpected toxicities, according to a retrospective real-world study. In a cohort of 390 patients with HIV and cancer, 20% had immune-related adverse events (AEs) of any grade and 7.7% had grade ≥3 immune-related AEs, reported Abdul Rafeh Naqash, […]
Tongue Nerve Stimulator Does Good for Sleep Apnea Patients
Targeted hypoglossal nerve stimulation (THN) showed safety and efficacy for patients with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the randomized THN3 trial found. Four months after receiving a THN device, patients who had had their devices activated at month 1 were more likely to meet criteria for treatment response in terms of reduced apnea-hypopnea index (AHI; […]
Sickle Cell Disease Patients Miss Out on Decades of Life
A cohort study of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries with sickle cell disease (SCD) showed a life expectancy of just 52.6 years, well below that of the general population. And among SCD patients, survival varied by sex and insurance status. Men, individuals covered by Medicare for disabilities or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and the dual-eligible were […]
Pembrolizumab Active in BCG-Unresponsive Papillary High-Risk Bladder Cancer
SAN FRANCISCO — Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) monotherapy showed encouraging antitumor activity in patients with papillary high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR NMIBC) that was unresponsive to Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) treatment. In a cohort of patients in the KEYNOTE-057 study who had 45 months of follow-up, those treated with pembrolizumab (n=32) had an estimated 12-month disease-free survival (DFS) […]
CEND-1 Offers Hope in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
Chemotherapy combined with the CEND-1 cyclic peptide showed promising efficacy, and was well tolerated as a first-line treatment, for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, researchers reported. In a phase I study of 29 patients evaluable for efficacy, 59% (95% CI 39-77) responded to the combination of CEND-1 — a novel 9-amino acid cyclic peptide that […]