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Balmes discusses the latest annual State of the Air Report, which shows that 131 million Americans are living in areas with failing air quality grades.

2024 State of the Air: Record Highs in US Particle Pollution, with Dr. John Balmes

 What caused the particle pollution spike?


 The health effects of fine particle pollution exposure


 The new EPA particle pollution standard


 Improvements to ozone pollution and the Clean Air Act


 Reflecting on 25 years, and looking ahead


Four in every 10 Americans are now living in an area with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to a new report that which additionally observed the most severe jump in deadly particle pollution exposure in the last quarter-century.

The 2024 State of the Air—an annual report from the American Lung Association (ALA) that which grades 3-year exposures to smog and air particle pollution—marks the 25th consecutive report from the organization. This latest iteration makes history in showing that approximately 131 million Americans are living in area that which received a failing grade for ≥1 measure of air pollution.

In contextualizing the findings, the ALA acknowledged 3 key factors of influence on this year’s report. The first is that the 2024 State of the Air reports on air quality from 2020 – 2022—recognized primarily as the COVID-19 pandemic era.

“While many people speculated that the changes in behaviors during the pandemic, such as working from home, would result in improved air quality, this report shows that poor air quality continued to impact millions of people during those years,” the ALA wrote in a statement. “Notably, freight and goods movement on heavy-duty trucks, by rail and at ports increased significantly in some regions, adding to increased pollution burdens.”

—many regions have been burdened by the growing threat of wildfires during this time as well.

Lastly, the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) had finalized new regulations designed to target pollution concerns through measures including limits on tailpipe emissions from newly manufactured cars, as well as a stricter standard for particle pollution exposure, in February this year.

“Now, the Lung Association is urging EPA to set long overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution,” the ALA wrote. “Stronger limits would help people protect themselves and drive cleanup of polluting sources across the country.”

Additionally, the report showed a continued disparity in pollution exposure-related health outcomes among people of color, who are more than twice more likely to live in an area that has a failing grade on all 3 measures of pollution.

 This same population is additionally more susceptible to asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular disease—each chronic condition being associated with worsened outcomes due to air pollution.

The State of the Air report observed the highest rate of persons in counties with unhealthy spikes in short-term particle pollution since 2010: 65 million people.

“In the three years covered by this report, individuals in the U.S. experienced the highest number of days when particle pollution reached ‘very unhealthy’ and ‘hazardous’ levels in the 25 years of reporting the State of the Air,” an ALA statement read. “Short term particle pollution spikes are a clear example of the impacts that climate change is having on health. Changing weather patterns are driving more frequent and severe wildfires, which are delivering dangerous levels of particle pollution to more communities.”

This year’s report also set a record for people living in counties where year-round particle pollution levels are worse than the new standard for national air quality: 90.7 million people in 119 counties. That total increased nearly 5-fold from last year’s report.

Each of Bakersfield, CA; Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA; Visalia, CA; and Eugene-Springfield, OR, appeared on the lists for top 5 most polluted cities based on short-term and year-round particle pollution.

Perhaps in the lone instance of good news from the 25th State of the Air report is the continued improvement in national ozone pollution. The ALA reported 2.4 million fewer people lived in areas with unhealthy ozone pollution compared to the 2023 report. Though 3 in 10 Americans still live in an area with unhealthy ozone pollution, the organization has seen a “dramatic improvement in ozone pollution” over the last quarter century: approximately three-fourths of all Americans were living in a county with unhealthy ozone pollution rates in 2000.

Additionally, the report cited 5 US cities considered the “cleanest” on the measures of short-term and year-round particle, as well as ozone pollution: Bangor, ME; Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA; Lincoln-Beatrice, NE; Urban Honolulu, HI; Wilmington, NC.

, ALA chief medical officer Albert Rizzo, MD, discussed the headline findings of the 2024 State of the Air Report with John Balmes, MD, professor of medicine emeritus at the University of California San Francisco, and professor of environmental health sciences emeritus in the School of Public Health at the University of California Berkeley.

Along with discussing the overarching findings of this year’s report, Rizzo and Balmes reviewed the new EPA standards for particle pollution and the positive effect of longer-standing regulations set by the Clean Air Act—which can be contributed to the continued progress in ozone pollution reduction.

Balmes also shares advice on how individuals and organizations alike can become more active participants and advocates in the effort to improve environmental health. He and Rizzo then discuss the new report’s highlight of air quality inequity in the US and the factors that which influence it, before signing off reflecting on the last quarter-century of change in US air quality-related health.

Click here to read the full 2024 State of the Air Report from the ALA.

Lungcast is a monthly respiratory news podcast series hosted by Al Rizzo, MD, chief medical officer of the ALA, and produced by HCPLive.

American Lung Association. State of the Air 2024 Report. Published April 24, 2024. https://www.lung.org/getmedia/dabac59e-963b-4e9b-bf0f-73615b07bfd8/State-of-the-Air-2024.pdf

American Lung Association. 2024 ‘State of the Air’ Report Reveals Most ‘Hazardous’ Air Quality Days in 25 Years. Press release. Published April 24, 2024. https://www.lung.org/media/press-releases/sota-2024

Kunzmann K. Poor Air Quality Across the US: What You Need to Know. 

. Published June 8, 2023. https://www.hcplive.com/view/poor-air-quality-across-the-us-what-you-need-to-know

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Lungcast

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2024 State of the Air: Record Highs in US Particle Pollution, with John Balmes, MD

Phase 3 Data on Brilaroxazine for Schizophrenia with Larry Ereshefsky, PharmD

New phase 3 data found brilaroxazine at 50 mg and 15 mg significantly reduced symptoms of acute schizophrenia.

Investigators already conducted a phase 1 study with healthy volunteers and stable schizophrenia patients. A phase 2 study assessed the efficacy and safety of brilaroxazine in acute schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

More recently, the team, led by Laxminarayan Bhat, from Reviva Pharmaceuticals, conducted the pivotal phase 3 RECOVER trial to assess safety and efficacy. RECOVER was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study evaluating brilaroxazine in acute schizophrenia patients for 28 days. The primary endpoint being the PANSS score vs placebo from baseline to day 28, and the secondary endpoints were the positive and negative symptoms, PANSS social cognition, excitement/agitation, personal and social performance, clinical global impression severity, safety, and emergent adverse events.

Participants were considered to have acute schizophrenia if they had a Mean Baseline Positive and Negative Assessment (PANSS) score of 98.22). They were randomized to either receive 15 mg (n = 140), 50 mg (n = 134), or placebo (n = 137).

Investigators saw brilaroxazine 50 mg achieved a 10.1-point reduction compared to placebo (-23.9 vs -13.8;

 < .001). They also saw significant reductions in positive (P < .001), negative (P = .003), negative marder symptoms (P = .002), PANSS social cognition (P < .001), excitement/agitation (P < .001), PSP (P < .001), and CGI-S (P < .001). Furthermore, brilaroxazine 15 mg was superior to placebo for all endpoints and significant for social cognition (P = .024) and PSP (P = .022).

Brilaroxazine is serotonin-dopamine signaling targeting D2/3/4 and 5-HT1A/2A receptors as a partial agonist and 5-HT2B/7 receptors as an antagonist. The drug helps control inflammatory cytokines which can be a disease driver.

“I'm an advocate for ways to treat the brain other than receptor blockade, and the area of neuroinflammation and damage done by inflammatory stress processes is really gaining support for Parkinson's, depression, Alzheimer's, and serotonin seems to modulate the anti-inflammatory processes in the brain,” said Larry Ereshefsky, PharmD, the owner and chief scientific officer at CenExcel Research, in an interview with 

“So, this is another gear, possibly, for this drug [that] now needs confirmation.”

the next step for the research is testing out the 30 mg dose of brilaroxazine for acute schizophrenia since the US Food and Drug Administration likes to know the minimum effective dose.

“It's likely 15 [mg] works in stable patients quite well, less ill patients, it could well be a maintenance dose that's being shown to be effective right now,” Ereshefsky said. “But for acute psychosis, where you're trying to control someone who's a danger to themselves or others, you need a drug with a higher dose that's been shown elsewhere.”

Bhat, L, Bhat, S, Ramakrishnan, A. Brilaroxazine Efficacy and Safety in the Phase 3 RECOVER Trial in Acute Schizophrenia. ASCPT Annual Conference in Colorado Springs, USA on March 27 – 29, 2024.

Reviva to Present RECOVER Phase 3 Clinical Trial Data for Brilaroxazine in Schizophrenia at the SIRS 2024 Annual Meeting. March 28, 2024. 

https://revivapharma.com/reviva-to-present-recover-phase-3-clinical-trial-data-for-brilaroxazine-in-schizophrenia-at-the-sirs-2024-annual-meeting/

Videos

In an interview with HCPLive, Larry Ereshefsky, PharmD discussed the phase 3 RECOVER trial assessing brilaroxazine at 50 mg and 15 mg for acute schziophrenia.

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  Phase 3 Data on Brilaroxazine for Schizophrenia with Larry Ereshefsky, PharmD

Patrick Campbell is the managing editor of HCPLive. Formerly the editorial lead of Endocrinology Network, Practical Cardiology, and Rheumatology Network, Patrick has spent years spearheading coverage surrounding cardiometabolic health and rheumatic disease for MJH Life Sciences. He now helps to lead coverage in each of these respective areas for HCPLive. Before joining MJH Life Sciences in 2019, he spent time as a beat reporter with the Pocono Record in Stroudsburg, PA, and Star News Group in Manasquan, NJ. He also touts experience in multimedia, having spent time as a multimedia specialist with NJ Advance Media and multimedia coordinator at the Pocono Record. Follow him on Twitter @RealPatCampbell or reach him via email at PCampbell@mjhlifesciences.com.

Chris Bunick, MD, PhD
Credit: Yale School of Medicine

An analysis of structural basis for p19 targeting by IL-23 inhibitors is providing clinicians with new insight that study investigators suggest could help guide treatment decisions with biologics in 

Performed by Christopher Bunick, MD, and colleagues, the study examined the structural composition of the IL-23 binding epitopes of risankizumab, tildrakizumab, ustekinumab, and guselkumab and assessed their relationship with short- and long-term efficacy observed in previous data.

“Computational structural analysis of IL-23 inhibitor epitopes revealed important molecular differences among p19-specific psoriasis biologics that have direct relevance to patient outcomes,” wrote investigators. “Strong correlations between inhibitor epitope SA, binding affinity, dissociation kinetics, and PASI-90 response rates exemplify how biochemical and molecular data are critical for explaining clinical observations. Furthermore, structure–function–clinical response relationships can inform future pharmacologic innovation”

Analysis of IL-23 binding mechanisms revealed risankizumab, tildrakizumab, and guselkumab epitopes exist exclusively on p19, whereas ustekinumab binds exclusively on p40. Results also revealed risankizumab has the largest epitope surface area (SA), followed by guselkumab, whereas ustekinumab and tildrakizumab binded a significantly smaller epitope SA.

Analysis of correlations between epitope SA and binding affinity and kinetics suggested a greater epitope SA was associated with more stable immune complexes with IL-23. Specifically, results of a linear regression analysis provided evidence of a correlation between epitope SA and an inhibitor's dissociation equilibrium constant (R2 = 0.9772, 

 = .0115), with further analysis suggesting individual epitope SA was also inversely correlated with an inhibitor's dissociation rate constant (R2 = 0.9489, 

 = .0259) but this was not observed between epitope SA and association rate constant (R2 = 0.4330, 

When assessing correlation of IL-23 epitope molecular properties with short-term clinical efficacy, investigators found the efficacy of IL-23–targeting biologics, assessed by PASI-90 response within 10–16 weeks, correlates directly with epitope SA and inversely with mean inhibitor epitope equilibrium dissociation constant (K

), but not with association rate constant (k

). Additionally, total residue hydrophobicity, polarity, and charge composition demonstrated no correlation with short-term PASI-90 clinical response, with the mean PASI-90 responses across tildrakizumab, guselkumab, ustekinumab, and risankizumab ranging from 38.8%, with tildrakizumab, to 71.6%, with risankizumab.

Analysis of long-term efficacy of IL-23–targeting biologics, which was assessed by PASI-90 response over 44 to 60 weeks, suggested efficacy directly correlates with epitope surface area size and inversely with mean inhibitor epitope equilibrium dissociation constant (K

), while mean inhibitor association rate constant (k

) shows no correlation with long-term PASI-90 response rate. Investigators also pointed out total residue hydrophobicity, polarity, and charge composition demonstrate no correlation with long-term PASI-90 clinical response. Across guselkumab, ustekinumab, and risankizumab, mean long-term PASI-90 responses ranged from 52.4%, with ustekinumab, to 79.4%, with risankizumab.

Of note, for both the short- and long-term efficacy analyses, investigators pooled PSI-90 responses from a 2020 meta-analysis and mean K

 values are derived from a study published in 2021.

Investigators called attention to a multitude of limitations to consider when interpreting the findings of this study. These limitations included, but were not limited to, lack of detailed biologic–cytokine structures for the medications presented in this paper, reliance on biochemical, noncrystallographic data acquired from hydrogen–deuterium exchange experiments, and absence of long-term clinical response data for all agents included in the study.

“Our work deepens the molecular understanding of IL-23 inhibitors by characterizing and differentiating the chemistry and structure of their binding epitopes. In doing so, we provide the molecular rationale underpinning not only preclinical findings but also the short- and long-term clinical efficacy of these medications in the treatment of plaque psoriasis,” wrote investigators.

Daniele SG, Eldirany SA, Damiani G, Ho M, Bunick CG. Structural Basis for p19 Targeting by Anti-IL-23 Biologics: Correlations with Short- and Long-Term Efficacy in Psoriasis. 

. 2024;4(2):100261. Published 2024 Jan 20. doi:10.1016/j.xjidi.2024.100261

Armstrong AW, Puig L, Joshi A, et al. Comparison of Biologics and Oral Treatments for Plaque Psoriasis: A Meta-analysis. 

. 2020;156(3):258-269. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2019.4029

Zhou L, Wang Y, Wan Q, et al. A non-clinical comparative study of IL-23 antibodies in psoriasis. 

. 2021;13(1):1964420. doi:10.1080/19420862.2021.1964420

Articles

Plaque Psoriasis

The HCPLive plaque psoriasis page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on psoriasis. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos and research on the therapies and development of treatments for psoriatic disease, and more.

Study Details Epitope Binding, Efficacy of IL-23 Inhibitors in Plaque Psoriasis

Abigail Brooks is an assistant editor for 

She joined MJH Life Sciences in August 2023 shortly after graduating from Monmouth University where she earned her BA in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations/Journalism and later an MA in Interactive Digital Media. She enjoys traveling, running, and reading books. She can be reached at abrooks@mjhlifesciences.com.

Health care is a major contributor to climate change, but in addition to its notable contributions to the growing climate crisis, the health care system is also greatly impacted by changing climatic conditions, a topic Caren Solomon, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, discussed during her session at the 

2024 American College of Physicians (ACP) Internal Medicine Meeting

In a post-conference Q&A with the editorial team of 

, Solomon gave an overview of key topics discussed during her session and provided further insight into the health care system’s impact on climate change, pressing health issues stemming from climate change, and the disproportionate effect on low-income communities and communities of color.

: How does the health care system contribute to climate change?

It's known that the US healthcare system is responsible for about 8.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions and about 4.5% of total global emissions, so it's an enormous source of emissions contributing to climate change. Those include both direct emissions from healthcare institutions, the electricity and heating and such that are being purchased, and the biggest source is through goods and services that healthcare systems are purchasing and using.

In general, there's definitely an increasing move to help healthcare systems decarbonize. The National Academy of Medicine has this big initiative right now focused on healthcare system decarbonization, and there are many ways that can be done. Systems and people in those systems are working on trying to reduce building emissions and trying to have more green buildings and energy-efficient buildings. A big area is reducing anesthetic emissions by moving toward things like IV anesthesia, and a lot of institutions are either developing or have systems to make that transition.

With respect to the purchase of goods and services, there's a lot that we can work on, like locally sourcing the foods that we serve in our cafeteria. Reducing our waste is a huge one, trying to reduce single-use disposables and just not be creating so much waste, and then addressing things like employees' commutes. I think docs often don't necessarily think about it, but that factors into these emissions, the amount of business travel that goes on at these institutions. There was certainly a move during the pandemic to switch to much more virtual, not meeting in person all the time. We have since moved back to a great deal of travel, but we learned through the pandemic that in not all, but in many situations, remote meetings can work very successfully and don't generate these emissions.

: What do you consider to be the most pressing issue when it comes to health care and climate change?

I think the most pressing issue is that we need to rapidly transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Back in 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had warned that we really needed to decrease our greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from our 2010 levels by 2030, and get to net zero emissions by 2050 so that we could avoid the most devastating climate change impacts for health and for other outcomes.

Despite that warning, we still see that greenhouse gas emissions are rising. We know that fossil fuels account for three-quarters of all greenhouse gas emissions, and they cause air pollution and chemical pollution, which are major causes of serious illnesses and death, so I would just emphasize that the transition away from fossil fuels has enormous benefits for health, as well as many other outcomes.

: How does climate change disproportionately affect marginalized communities and directly translate to negative health impacts?

There’s a long list of general adverse effects of climate change on health. Among those are heat-related illnesses, which range from mild illnesses to heat stroke, which can be fatal. There's more respiratory and cardiovascular disease. There are more pregnancy complications like preterm birth and stillbirth. There are more insect and waterborne diseases, there's more kidney dysfunction. There are more mental health conditions or exacerbations of those that we see with climate change.

There are certain groups that are higher risk, including really young people or very old people, those who have pre-existing health conditions, pregnant women and fetuses, but also very, very importantly, low-income communities and communities of color. With respect to those racial inequities, there are a number of reasons why there are these disparities, and one is certainly land use and housing policies that are rooted in structural basis.

For example, people will point to the policy of redlining, which goes back to the 1930s and labeled communities of color as ‘high-risk investments,’ and the result was that highways, landfills, and industry were cited in these communities. There were not a lot of trees or other greenery, which predisposes people to a greater risk of heat illness because these areas get so much hotter, they're known as urban heat islands.

There's also still a disproportionate placement of pollution-generating fossil fuel infrastructure in communities of color and other low-income communities. Those greater exposures and having fewer resources to address these exposures and the associated health risks obviously end up causing much greater health harm to these communities.

Beyond all the health conditions that I mentioned with respect to climate change, it's also important to note the increasingly intense storms associated with climate change can also affect people's ability to access health care and health care institutions' ability to provide health care, so that's another means by which climate change is causing real health dangers.

Solomon explains how the health care system contributes to climate change and the direct health impacts seen as a result, based on her session at ACP.

Conference

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Caren Solomon, MD, MPH: Health Impacts of Climate Change, Health Care’s Contribution

Lana Pine is the editor of HCPLive Rheumatology. She is an experienced editor and technical writer with a demonstrated history of working in the banking and publishing industries. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, yoga, listening to podcasts, and drawing. She can be reached via email at LPine@mjhlifesciences.com.

A post hoc analysis of the phase 3 KEEPsAKE 1 and KEEPsAKE 2 trials evaluating risankizumab treatment in patients with 

 showed greater efficacy when compared with placebo, according to research published in 

“Recent guidelines (Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis, the European League Against Rheumatism, and the American College of Rheumatology/National Psoriasis Foundation) endorse a specialized treatment approach for patients with PsA and other underlying comorbidities,” wrote a team of investigators led by Joseph Merola, MD, MMSc, associated with the Department of Dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. “However, an unmet need remains for new treatment options that provide durable efficacy in a variety of patients, across heterogeneous patient demographics and clinical characteristics.”

Although advancements in PsA have led to the development of a number of treatments for this patient population, those with other comorbidities or prior exposure to biologic therapies could experience lower levels of efficacy.

Risankizumab, a fully humanized immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody that specifically inhibits interleukin (IL)-23 by binding to the p19 subunit, has been proven to be an effective treatment for PsA. This analysis determined long-term efficacy of the drug among clinically relevant subgroups stratified by age, sex, race, body mass index, and disease characteristics up to 52 weeks.

The study focused on the proportion of patients who were able to achieve ≥ 20%/50%/70% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology response criteria (ACR20/50/70), minimal disease activity status, low disease activity status, minimal clinically important difference in pain, and ≥ 90% improvement in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) at week 24 and week 52 compared with baseline demographics and clinical characteristics.

Eligible patients were aged ≥ 18 years, had a clinically confirmed PsA diagnosis, and an inadequate response or intolerance to biologic therapies and/or conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs).

In both trials, patients were randomized 1:1 to receive subcutaneous risankizumab 150 mg or placebo at weeks 0, 4, and 16. At week 24, those in the placebo group were switched to risankizumab 150 mg and those in the risankizumab cohort received a single, double-blinded dose of placebo. At week 28, all patients were treated with risankizumab every 12 weeks for up to 52 weeks.

Within the sample, baseline characteristics and demographics were comparable among patients receiving risankizumab (n = 707) and placebo (n = 700). Approximately half (47.8% — 55.4%) were female, the mean age ranged from 51.2 to 53.1 years, the mean PASI scores were 7.7 to 10.9, and the mean body mass index scores ranged from 30.3 to 31.5.

At week 24, numerically higher ACR20 response rates were reported in the risankizumab cohort (46.3% — 60.1%) compared with the placebo cohort (15.5% — 36.2%), regardless of subgroup categorization.

At the 52-week mark, consistent proportions of patients randomized to risankizumab were able to achieve ACR20 (48.6% — 75.8%). Additionally, those initially treated with placebo who were then switched to risankizumab reported a similar improvement from week 24 (43.7% — 63.9%), regardless of subgrouping.

These trends were also noted among other efficacy measures, including those evaluating skin response criteria, composite measures of overall disease activity, and PsA-related symptoms. Treatment with risankizumab was shown to be an effective strategy among patients with PsA regardless of varying demographic and psoriatic disease characteristics through 1 year.

Investigators noted the relatively small sample size among a few subgroups as a limitation of the study, which may have led to more imprecise estimates of treatment effects. They encourage future research to examine real-world patient data to confirm if results are generalizable to the general population.

“These efficacy results support long-term use of risankizumab for patients with active PsA across multiple patient and psoriatic disease characteristics,” investigators concluded.

Merola JF, Armstrong A, Khattri S, et al. Efficacy of risankizumab across subgroups in patients with active psoriatic arthritis: a post hoc integrated analysis of the phase 3 KEEPsAKE 1 and KEEPsAKE 2 randomized controlled trials. 

. 2024;35(1):2342383. doi:10.1080/09546634.2024.2342383

Kumthekar A, Ogdie A. Obesity and psoriatic arthritis: a narrative review. Rheumatol Ther. 2020;

):447–−456. doi:10.1007/s40744-020-00215-6.

Treatment with risankizumab was shown to be an effective strategy among patients with PsA regardless of varying demographic and psoriatic disease characteristics through 1 year. 

Psoriatic Arthritis

On the HCPLive psoriatic arthritis page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into PsA can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on arthritis, and more.

Long-term Risankizumab Treatment Outperforms Placebo in PsA 

Connor Iapoce is an associate editor for 

 and joined the MJH Life Sciences team in April 2021. He graduated from The College of New Jersey with a degree in Journalism and Professional Writing. He enjoys listening to records, going to concerts, and playing with his cat Squish. You can reach him at 

Thoracic ultrasound examination may be applicable as a screening method for interstitial lung disease in patients with RA and respiratory symptoms.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

The HCPLive rheumatoid arthritis page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on arthritis. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for RA, and more.

Thoracic Ultrasound Refines Detection of ILD in Rheumatoid Arthritis

After being prescribed another urate lowering therapy for ≥ 30 days, only 51.0% of patients were able to achieve SU < 6 mg/dL. 

Gout

On the HCPLive gout page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into gouty arthritis can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on gout, and more.

Only Half of Patients Starting ULT After Pegloticase Discontinuation Achieved Target SU

Tim Smith joined the MJH Life Sciences team as an assistant editor for HCPLive in August 2022. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in political science, working in multimedia journalism as a staff writer prior to joining MJH. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, watching TV, listening to podcasts, and rock climbing. You can contact him at 

This segment of Hemming’s ACP interview featured a discussion of a website used to assess digital applications for patients struggling with mental health issues.


Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine condition center page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into internal medicine can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on internal medicine research, treatment, and drug development.

Patrick Hemming, MD: Which Mental Health App is Best for Internal Medicine Patients?

The first in our 3-part quiz series based on the NLA's 2024 update to their 2019 scientific statement on use of lipoprotein(a) in clinical practice focuses on basic considerations surrounding Lp(a) measurement.

Dyslipidemia

Clinical Quiz: Lp(a) Testing Basics from 2024 NLA Update on Use of Lipoprotein(a)

A new study found female patients (8.15%) had a lower mortality rate when treated by female physicians than male physicians (8.38%).

Patients Have Lower Mortality When Treated by Female Physicians

Abeona's pz-cel is up for indicated use to treat patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.

FDA News

Dermatology

The HCPLive dermatology page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on skin disease. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos and research on the therapies and development of treatments for dermatologic conditions, and more.

Rare Disease Report®

The Rare Disease Report page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on rare diseases. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos and research on the therapies and development of treatments for sickle cell disease, multiple myeloma, and more.

FDA Issues CRL to Abeona for Potential RDEB Cell Therapy

Rilzabrutinib led to a durable platelet response in adult patients with persistent or chronic immune thrombocytopenia in the LUNA 3 study. 

Hematology

Rilzabrutinib Achieves Phase 3 Primary Endpoint in Immune Thrombocytopenia

Experts discuss the use of biosimilars in treating neovascular age-related macular edema (nAMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME).

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into ophthalmic disease can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on eye disease research, treatment, and drug development.

The Impact of Biosimilars in Retinal Diseases

Branch provides an overview of the use of dual antiplatelet therapy and anticoagulants based on his session at the ACP Internal Medicine meeting.

Kelley Branch, MD: Considerations for Dual Antiplatelet Therapy, Anticoagulation

Experts discuss the safety of aflibercept 8 mg, emphasizing familiarity, efficacy, and durability, supported by reassuring data from the two-year PULSAR and PHOTON studies. 

Latest News

2024 State of the Air: Record Highs in US Particle Pollution, with John Balmes, MD

Phase 3 Data on Brilaroxazine for Schizophrenia with Larry Ereshefsky, PharmD

Study Details Epitope Binding, Efficacy of IL-23 Inhibitors in Plaque Psoriasis

Caren Solomon, MD, MPH: Health Impacts of Climate Change, Health Care’s Contribution

Long-term Risankizumab Treatment Outperforms Placebo in PsA