Patrick Campbell is the editorial director of HCPLive. Patrick has spent years spearheading coverage surrounding cardiometabolic health and rheumatic disease for MJH Life Sciences. Before joining MJH Life Sciences in 2019, he spent time as a beat reporter and/or multimedia specialist with the Pocono Record, Star News Group, and NJ Advance Media. He is the executive producer for multiple HCPLive podcasts, including Diabetes Dialogue, Don't Miss a Beat, Kidney Compass, Medical Ethics Unpacked, The Medical Sisterhood, and Skin of Color Savvy. 


Follow him on Twitter @RealPatCampbell or reach him via email at PCampbell@mjhlifesciences.com.

Stopping GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy, even briefly, is associated with a measurable increase in risk of 

, according to a cohort study of more than 300,000 published in 

The findings add important clinical context to the widely documented problem of GLP-1 discontinuation and suggest the cardiovascular consequences of stopping treatment extend well beyond weight regain.¹

“There is enormous exuberance about starting GLP-1 drugs, but not nearly enough attention to what happens when people stop,” said lead investigator Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, a Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine clinical epidemiologist and chief of the Research and Development Service at the VA Saint Louis Health Care System. “Many quit after a few months because of cost, side effects or shortages. When they stop, it’s not just weight that comes back; they experience a resurgence in inflammation, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Weight regain is visible; the metabolic reversal is not.”

Leveraging VA Data to Understand GLP-1 Benefits

The analysis used a target emulation trial design drawing on data from 333,687 US veterans with type 2 diabetes. Researchers compared 132,551 patients prescribed GLP-1 receptor agonists, including semaglutide and tirzepatide, with 201,136 patients prescribed sulfonylureas. Treatment status was evaluated every 6 months over a 3-year follow-up period. The primary outcome was a composite of major adverse cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction, stroke, and death.¹

Continuous GLP-1 use over the full 3-year period was associated with the greatest cardiovascular benefit, corresponding to an 18% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events compared with sulfonylurea use, or 4 fewer events per 100 patients over 3 years. Benefit was also observed among patients who used GLP-1s for 2 to 2.5 years before discontinuing (7% and 15% risk reduction, respectively). Patients who stopped within 18 months saw no significant risk reduction at the end of follow-up compared with the sulfonylurea group.¹

Interruptions followed by resumption of treatment also diminished benefit. Compared to continuous use, a gap of 6 months before restarting was associated with a 4% to 8% increase in cardiovascular risk relative to uninterrupted therapy. Discontinuation of 1 or 2 years without resumption corresponded to a 14% or 22% increased risk, respectively, compared to staying on the drug. Restarting treatment restored some protection, a finding the investigators characterized as evidence of a lasting effect from the period of discontinuation.¹

Over the course of the study, 26% of GLP-1 users stopped treatment entirely and approximately 23% experienced an interruption of 6 months or more before resuming.¹

Clinical Implications for Adherence and Access

The study is observational and subject to limitations inherent in real-world claims-based data, including potential confounding by indication and differences in baseline characteristics between GLP-1 and sulfonylurea users. The cohort was drawn exclusively from the VA population, which skews male and older, limiting generalizability. Additionally, the use of sulfonylureas as the comparator group, rather than placebo, shapes the magnitude of relative risk estimates.

The investigators called for health systems to treat GLP-1 adherence as a primary clinical outcome, including proactive side effect management, patient counseling about the long-term nature of treatment, and structural approaches to addressing the cost barriers that drive discontinuation.¹

“Health systems need plans in place to help people continue their medication indefinitely, recognizing that GLP-1s treat chronic conditions,” Al-Aly added. “That includes proactive management of side effects, candid conversations about the long-term nature of treatment, infrastructure to identify and support patients at risk of stopping and addressing the cost barriers that make GLP-1 therapy unsustainable for many.”

Xie Y, Choi T, Al-Aly Z. GLP-1RA discontinuation and risks of major adverse cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes: a target emulation trial. 

 2026;5(1):e002150. doi:10.1136/bmjmed-2025-002150

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Stopping GLP-1 drugs can quickly erase cardiovascular benefits. EurekAlert! Published March 18, 2026. Accessed March 20, 2026. 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1120133

Articles

Stopping GLP-1 receptor agonists in adults with type 2 diabetes was associated with attenuation or loss of cardiovascular risk reduction, with even brief interruptions linked to measurable increases in major adverse cardiovascular events. In a VA-based target trial emulation comparing GLP-1RAs with sulfonylureas, continuous 3-year therapy conferred the largest benefit, while early discontinuation showed no significant advantage. Treatment gaps followed by resumption only partially restored protection, implying a durable adverse impact of interruption. Findings emphasize adherence, access, and long-term management.

GLP-1 discontinuation increases major adverse cardiovascular event risk in type 2 diabetes, highlighting the need for continuous therapy to sustain cardiometabolic benefit.

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Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease

GLP-1 Discontinuation Tied to Loss of Cardiovascular Protection  

Victoria Johnson joined MJH Life Sciences in 2020 and has written for NeurologyLive, CGTLive, and is now an assistant managing editor for HCPLive and RheumatologyLive. She doesn’t have enough time for her numerous hobbies. You can reach her at vjohnson@mjhlifesciences.com.

 is, at its core, a story of expanding possibility — and expanding complexity. Beginning with omalizumab's approval in 2003 and accelerating dramatically over the past decade, the field has moved from a single IgE-targeting agent that required allergy consultation to a therapeutic landscape where pulmonologists now independently select among seven approved biologics spanning 5 distinct mechanisms. Mepolizumab established the IL-5 pathway as a durable target in 2015; dupilumab's dual IL-4/IL-13 blockade arrived for asthma in 2018 and redefined expectations for both lung function improvement and steroid sparing¹; and tezepelumab's 2021 approval for any eosinophil level began to challenge the biomarker-centric framework that had organized biologic prescribing since its inception.² Most recently, dupilumab's landmark 2023 FDA approval for COPD with type 2 inflammation — the first biologic ever cleared for that indication — and mepolizumab's subsequent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) approval following the MATINEE trial³ have opened a new frontier, extending precision immunotherapy to a disease that clinicians had long assumed was beyond its reach. And with depemokimab's approval for severe eosinophilic asthma in late 2024,⁴ offering a 6-month dosing interval that reframes the adherence calculus entirely, the pace of development shows no sign of slowing.

Yet the expansion of the toolkit has not been matched by equivalent clarity about how to use it. Which biologic for which patient — and when, at what biomarker threshold, and in the face of which insurance barriers — are questions that clinical trial data can inform but cannot fully resolve. It is in that practical space that 

 convened a virtual expert forum moderated by MeiLan Han, MD MS, is a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at the University of Michigan Health. Together, they worked through the evidence base, traded candid assessments of which drugs they actually use and why, and confronted the practical obstacles that no trial protocol accounts for: J-code delays on newly approved agents, step therapy requirements that have pushed some panelists to stop prescribing certain biologics altogether, and the persistent challenge of patients who arrive having already accumulated a damaging history of repeat oral corticosteroid courses before a specialist ever sees them.

“I feel like the biggest issue for me, so we have 2 Urgent Cares right next to my office, and they're actually part of our healthcare system. And if patients can't get in to see me, they'll usually go see the Urgent Care, and Urgent Care hands out prednisone like candy. Like, you have a cough, here's prednisone. They have a lot much lower threshold to prescribe,” a panelist said.

Dupilumab dominated biologic selection preferences across both asthma and COPD — driven by ease of home administration, familiarity, and a perception among many panelists that it simply performs better in clinical practice than the IL-5 agents, particularly for patients with nasal polyp and eczema comorbidities. IL-5 agents retain a clear niche for very high eosinophil counts — several panelists named 600 to 800 cells/µL as the threshold where they lean toward rapid eosinophil depletion — with mepolizumab the preferred IL-5 among most, given recurring reports of end-of-cycle breakthrough symptoms with benralizumab that have led some panelists to dose it every six rather than eight weeks using office samples. Tezepelumab's positioning as a biomarker-agnostic agent has been complicated by step therapy insurance requirements and what one panelist called a "disingenuous" marketing pivot after its initial launch, though the moderator noted that 3–4 patients who failed dupilumab and benralizumab responded to tezepelumab — all non-TH2 asthma — and argued that broader familiarity with the drug is worth building. Depemokimab, meanwhile, remains more theoretical than clinical reality for most of the group, though panelists identified adherence-challenged populations — including patients who might receive a dose at hospital discharge — as compelling future use cases.

In COPD, the discussion reflected a field gaining momentum but constrained by patient expectations and payer realities. The GOLD 2025 guidelines have incorporated eosinophil counts and T2 biomarkers into the COPD escalation algorithm,⁵ and the BOREAS and NOTUS trials for dupilumab demonstrated not only exacerbation reduction but statistically significant FEV1 improvement — a finding the panel interrogated at length, with the leading hypothesis pointing to mucus plug clearance in distal airways as the likely mechanism, supported by VESTIGE trial data and an ongoing dedicated COPD mucus plug study.⁶ Mepolizumab's COPD data from MATINEE, by contrast, showed exacerbation reduction without meaningful lung function or symptom improvement,³ creating a practical differentiation that has pushed most panelists to default to dupilumab when insurance allows — and to mepolizumab only when dupilumab is denied. The core challenge in COPD that no trial has fully resolved: patients don't always feel better even when exacerbation rates decline, making biologics a harder sell than in asthma, where the "life-changing" patient report is common. Several panelists noted off-label success with dupilumab in bronchiectasis and ABPA by coding chronic obstruction and mucus plugging — and 1 panelist anecdote of a patient who came off daytime oxygen entirely after an inadvertent off-label start underscored both the drug's potential and the limits of what approved indications currently capture.

The forum closed with a look at a pipeline that promises to keep the field moving — IL-33 inhibitors with mixed trial results but ongoing third studies, tezepelumab in COPD, emerging bispecifics, brensocatib for bronchiectasis, and ensifentrine as an inhaled dual PDE3/4 inhibitor with variable but real bronchodilatory benefit — while acknowledging the fundamental gap that remains: no biomarker equivalent to the eosinophil has emerged for the neutrophilic COPD population that current biologics cannot reach. For the clinicians in this forum, that gap is not an abstraction. It is the patient on triple therapy who keeps exacerbating, whose eosinophils are normal, and for whom the next therapeutic option does not yet exist. Until it does, the panel's consensus was clear: move patients with T2 inflammation to biologics earlier, set realistic expectations in COPD, fight insurance denials aggressively, and resist the reflex to reach for prednisone when a more durable answer is increasingly within reach.

Castro M, Corren J, Pavord ID, et al. Dupilumab efficacy and safety in moderate-to-severe uncontrolled asthma. 

. 2018;378(26):2486-2496. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1804092

Menzies-Gow A, Corren J, Bourdin A, et al. Tezepelumab in adults and adolescents with severe, uncontrolled asthma. 

. 2021;384(19):1800-1809. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2034975

Eger K, Hashimoto S, Braunstahl GJ, et al. Mepolizumab for eosinophilic COPD with exacerbations (MATINEE). 

. 2024;391(1):21-31. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2401300

Wechsler ME, Menzies-Gow A, Brightling CE, et al. Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of depemokimab in patients with severe asthma with an eosinophilic phenotype (SWIFT-1 and SWIFT-2). 

. 2024;404(10471):2373-2385. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02063-4

Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. 

Global Strategy for Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of COPD: 2025 Report

Bhatt SP, Rabe KF, Hanania NA, et al; BOREAS Investigators. Dupilumab for COPD with type 2 inflammation indicated by eosinophil counts. 

. 2023;389(3):205-214. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2303951

Biologic therapy for airway disease has rapidly diversified from IgE targeting to seven agents across five mechanisms, now extending into COPD with type 2 inflammation. Clinical choice is increasingly shaped less by trial hierarchies than by real-world constraints: delayed billing codes, step therapy, and late referral after repeated oral corticosteroid exposure. Dupilumab is often favored for asthma and COPD given home administration, perceived superior effectiveness, and comorbidity synergy, while IL-5 agents remain preferred for very high eosinophils. Persistent unmet need remains for neutrophilic COPD.

Clinicians compare newest asthma/COPD biologics, highlighting dupilumab’s edge, biomarker shifts, and insurance barriers shaping real-world use.

COPD

COPD condition center page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on COPD research, treatment, and drug development.

Pulmonology

Infectious Disease condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on respiratory health. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease, COVID-19, and more.

COPD Biologics in Practice: Exacerbation Reduction is No Longer Enough

Linda Stein Gold, MD, is a dermatologist at Henry Ford Health. 

Key Points on Icotrokinra Following FDA Approval for Psoriasis, With Linda Stein Gold, MD

 editorial team about icotrokinra (Icotyde) and its recent approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adult and adolescent patients aged 12 and older weighing at least 40 kg who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy.

Stein Gold addressed the gap this medication fills. Icotrokinra is the first oral targeted peptide to selectively block the interleukin (IL)-23 receptor, introducing a new mechanistic class to the psoriasis armamentarium. In her responses, Stein Gold framed the approval as addressing a longstanding unmet need in the oral treatment space.

“I think we've had a big unmet need for our moderate to severe plaque psoriasis patients,” Stein Gold explained. “We have great biologic agents, we have good topical agents, but the oral space really needed something that had very good efficacy, very good safety, and very good tolerability. So I think that this drug fills that need.”

While biologics and topical agents have served those living with moderate to severe psoriasis reasonably well, Stein Gold noted the oral category had been missing an option. In her view, the treatment delivers on all efficacy, safety, and tolerability, producing efficacy she described as comparable to a biologic agent while preserving the convenience and tolerability expected of an oral medication. That profile, she said, positions it well for any patient who needs systemic therapy.

She was also asked about the efficacy and safety picture for dermatologists weighing icotrokinra against agents they already know. In her response, Stein Gold pointed to the breadth and design of the ICONIC phase 3 program as the basis for confidence. The drug was studied not only against a placebo but also head-to-head against deucravacitinib, which she identified as having previously demonstrated the best efficacy record among oral medications in this space.

“What we see is the drug starts to kick in fairly rapidly,” Stein Gold said. “We see a nice steep slope, and there's good separation from the placebo, but also from deucravacitinib, as early as week four.”

This separation was described as continuing across the full 16-week primary endpoint period. Approximately 70% of those assessed attained clear or almost clear skin by the 16-week mark, with this level of response holding through long-term follow-up.

Stein Gold also described the adolescent data as good news, noting, for pediatric dermatologists managing patients right at the approved threshold of 12 years and 40 kg, icotrokinra actually performed better in adolescents than it did in adults. This was noted, while the drug maintained the same strong tolerability and safety profile seen across the broader trial population.

The once-daily oral dosing was also highlighted by Stein Gold as a practical advantage for this age cohort. She noted many adolescent patients had been and would be relieved not to require an injection.

Disclosures: Stein Gold has reported serving as an investigator, advisor, or speaker for AbbVie, Amgen, Arctis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Dermavant, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB. AWA has served as a research investigator, scientific advisor, or speaker to AbbVie, Amgen, Arcutis, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Dermavant Sciences, Eli Lilly, Galderma, Incyte, Johnson & Johnson, Leo Pharma, Novartis, Parexel, Pfizer, Regeneron, Sanofi, Takeda, and UCB. RB is an advisory board member, consultant, speaker, investigator for, or received honoraria or grants from AbbVie, Alumis, Amgen, AnaptysBio, Arcutis, BMS/Celgene, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, LEO Pharma, Organon, Nimbus, Takeda, UCB, VentyxBio, Vyne, Xencor, and Zurabio, and is also an employee and shareholder of Innovaderm Research.

Campbell P. Icotrokinra, an Oral Il-23 Inhibitor, Receives FDA Approval for Psoriasis. HCPLive. March 18, 2026. Accessed March 20, 2026. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/icotrokinra-receives-fda-approval-for-psoriasis

Johnson and Johnson. FDA approves ICOTYDE (icotrokinra), the first and only targeted oral peptide IL-23 receptor antagonist, for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Press release. Published March 18, 2026. Accessed March 20, 2026. 

https://www.jnj.com/media-center/press-releases

Videos

Linda Stein Gold, MD, shares her perspective on the clinical significance of icotrokinra's FDA approval and what dermatologists need to know.

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.

Experts discuss which outcome instruments are most useful in routine clinical practice and address how patients' tendency to underreport disease burden before experiencing effective treatment affects baseline severity assessment and escalation decision-making.

Outcome Instruments in Practice and Baseline Underreporting in Untreated CSU

Chronic spontaneous urticaria is assessed through several validated instruments that measure distinct but related dimensions of disease: the daily UAS and UAS7 quantify objective disease activity through hive count and itch severity; the Urticaria Control Test (UCT) captures the patient's own perception of disease control; and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) measures the broader impact of disease on daily functioning. The updated international guidelines recommend UAS7 and UCT as primary monitoring tools for CSU, with provocation thresholds added for inducible subtypes. In clinical practice, however, implementing a multi-instrument assessment consistently across a busy practice requires deliberate workflow integration, and not all instruments are equally accessible or practical in every clinical setting.

A recurring pattern across multiple CSU data sets — including the REMIX-1/-2 remibrutinib analyses — is that the correlation between UAS7 and UCT is moderate at baseline but strengthens substantially once effective treatment is underway. This dynamic reflects a clinically important phenomenon: patients who have lived with poorly controlled CSU for months or years may lack a meaningful reference point for what disease control actually feels like, and as a result may underreport the degree to which their disease is affecting them at the time of initial evaluation. The implication is that pre-treatment severity assessments, while necessary, may systematically underestimate true disease burden — and that the full impact of untreated CSU may only become legible to both patient and clinician retrospectively, once effective therapy has established a new baseline for comparison.

In this final segment of the video discussion on CSU management updates, Steve Dorman, MD, notes that this underreporting dynamic has direct implications for escalation decisions: a patient whose baseline UCT or UAS7 appears only moderately abnormal may in fact be carrying a heavier burden than the scores reflect, and clinicians should weigh that possibility when deciding whether to advance therapy. Eric Karlin, MD, adds that in his practice he captures both UAS7 and UCT routinely, finding that the 2 instruments together provide a more complete picture than either alone — and that watching the UCT rise in parallel with falling UAS7 scores as treatment takes effect is itself one of the more reliable signals that a step-up therapy is producing genuine disease control rather than partial or transient relief.

Video Series

Special Reports

Ashley Shoemaker, MD, MSCI
Credit: Vanderbilt Health

 has approved an expanded indication for setmelanotide (Imcivree) to treat acquired hypothalamic 

 (HO) in adults and pediatric patients aged 4 years and older, the company announced on March 19, 2026. 

According to Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, the approval makes setmelanotide the first and only FDA-approved therapy for this rare condition, which is characterized by accelerated and sustained weight gain following injury to or dysfunction of the hypothalamus.¹

“Setmelanotide has shown effectiveness in targeting the underlying biology of acquired HO,” said Ashley Shoemaker, MD, MSCI, associate professor of pediatrics and pediatric endocrinology at Vanderbilt Health. “Patients treated with setmelanotide experienced meaningful reductions in BMI and hunger, demonstrating the therapy’s ability to deliver clinically significant outcomes in both children and adult patients. Acquired HO is a severe disease that requires early and proactive management. With the availability of IMCIVREE, physicians can offer a targeted therapy.”¹

The approval was based on data from the global, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 TRANSCEND trial enrolling 142 patients with acquired HO aged 4 years and older. According to the company, participants were randomized 2:1 to receive once-daily subcutaneous setmelanotide, titrated up to 1.5 to 3.0 mg depending on age, weight, and tolerability, or placebo for 52 weeks.¹

The trial met its primary endpoint. Patients on setmelanotide (n=94) achieved a mean BMI reduction of 15.8% from baseline at 52 weeks, compared with a 2.6% increase in the placebo arm (n=48), yielding a placebo-adjusted BMI reduction of 18.4% (

 <.0001).¹ The result built on earlier phase 2 findings published in 

, in which 89% of 18 patients with hypothalamic obesity met the primary endpoint of at least a 5% BMI reduction after 16 weeks of setmelanotide treatment, with a mean BMI reduction of 15% across the study population.²

Setmelanotide was generally well tolerated in TRANSCEND, the company noted. Adverse events occurring in more than 20% of participants included skin hyperpigmentation, nausea, vomiting, and headache. 

According to prescribing information, patients with acquired HO and secondary adrenal insufficiency experienced serious adverse reactions related to acute adrenal insufficiency in 5% of setmelanotide-treated patients, and sodium imbalances, including both hyponatremia and hypernatremia, were observed in patients with concomitant central diabetes insipidus. Depression and suicidal ideation have also been reported with setmelanotide across indications and warrant monitoring.¹

A Rare Disease With No Prior Approved Options

Acquired HO most frequently follows the growth or treatment of craniopharyngioma, astrocytoma, or other hypothalamic-pituitary tumors, though traumatic brain injury, stroke, and inflammatory causes are also recognized. Hypothalamic injury disrupts MC4R pathway signaling, resulting in impaired regulation of hunger and energy expenditure, driving rapid and often severe weight gain that proves resistant to conventional anti-obesity approaches. Rhythm estimates there are approximately 10,000 people in the US living with the condition, though the company acknowledged that figure is based on analysis of published literature, tumor registries, and claims data.¹

Setmelanotide is an MC4R agonist that Rhythm describes as designed to restore impaired MC4R pathway signaling. It was first approved by the FDA in 2020 for adults and pediatric patients aged 6 years and older with obesity due to POMC, PCSK1, or LEPR deficiency, and subsequently for Bardet-Biedl syndrome, establishing a prior regulatory track record in MC4R pathway-driven rare obesity.³ The acquired HO approval represents the first indication extending setmelanotide to an obesity phenotype driven by structural rather than genetic disruption of that pathway.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals announces FDA approval of IMCIVREE (setmelanotide) for patients with acquired hypothalamic obesity. Press release. Published March 19, 2026. Accessed March 19, 2026. 

https://ir.rhythmtx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/rhythm-pharmaceuticals-announces-fda-approval-imcivreer-1

Roth CL, Schulten S, Meeker D, et al. Setmelanotide for the treatment of acquired hypothalamic obesity: a phase 2, open-label, multicentre trial. 

 2024;12(6):385-393. doi:10.1016/S2213-8587(24)00085-8

Walter K. FDA approves setmelanotide for obesity caused by genetic deficiencies. 

 Published November 27, 2020. Accessed March 19, 2026. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/fda-setmelanotide-obesity-genetic-deficiencies

FDA expanded setmelanotide (Imcivree) to treat acquired hypothalamic obesity in adults and children aged ≥4 years, establishing the first approved therapy for this rare, injury-related obesity phenotype. In the phase 3 TRANSCEND trial (n=142), once-daily SC setmelanotide produced a 15.8% mean BMI reduction at 52 weeks versus a 2.6% BMI increase with placebo (placebo-adjusted −18.4%; P<.0001), with parallel hunger improvements. Safety was consistent with prior use, with specific monitoring considerations in adrenal insufficiency, central diabetes insipidus, and mood symptoms.

FDA clears setmelanotide for acquired hypothalamic obesity for ages 4 years and older, delivering 15.8% BMI drop in TRANSCEND.

Obesity Management

Obesity Management condition center page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into clinical weight management can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on obesity research, treatment, and drug development.

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FDA Approves Setmelanotide (Imcivree) for Acquired Hypothalmic Obesity

Experts review a phase 2 exploratory analysis of barzolvolimab in CSU, examining off-treatment efficacy at 28 weeks after the final dose, complete response rates, and quality-of-life outcomes among patients who achieved well-controlled disease after 52 weeks of treatment.

Barzolvolimab Post-Treatment Durability —Off-Treatment Data, Complete Response Rates, and Quality-of-Life Outcomes

Experts review REMIX-1/-2 pooled data on daily Urticaria Activity Score through day 7 and UCT progression through week 52, examining what daily resolution adds to the understanding of BTK inhibition onset and how the trajectory of disease control informs follow-up conversations with patients.

New Remibrutinib Data — Daily Disease Activity, Severity Band Shifts, and UCT Trajectory Through Week 52

Learn how FIT, Cologuard, blood tests and colonoscopy compare on accuracy, follow-up timing, and easier prep options for screening.

Overcoming Barriers and Advancing Precision in Colorectal Cancer Screening 

Experts discuss the most clinically meaningful changes in the 2026 international urticaria guideline update, including the expanded step-up therapy framework and the current limitations of biomarkers in routine CSU practice.

CSU Management Updates: 2026 Guidelines and Latest Data

Adam Kichler, DO, is a gastroenterologist and advanced endoscopist at Allegheny Health Network.

Kichler notes that EPI is frequently overlooked in patients with symptoms resembling IBD or celiac disease and offers key insights on diagnosis and management.

Gastroenterology

Gastroenterology condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on digestive and GI conditions. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for 

, IBS and IBD, Crohn's disease, and more.

Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

The HCPLive Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies.

Diagnostic Challenges and Clinical Nuance of EPI, With Adam Kichler, DO

Christine Limonte is an assistant professor at UW Medicine and a study investigator for the Kidney Precision Medicine Project.

Nephrology

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

Chronic Kidney Disease

Rethinking Diabetic and Hypertensive CKD Through the Lens of Precision Medicine

Professor of Immunology and Allergy at Imperial College London and 
European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) Secretary General

Shamji shared the factors influencing which treatments are best for each patient and further research he'd like to see.

Conference

 conference coverage page features articles, videos, and expert-led live coverage from major medical meetings throughout the year.

Seasonal Allergy

Allergy

Allergy condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on allergic and inflammatory diseases. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for food and seasonal allergies, as well as allergic asthma and related conditions.

PQ Grass Allergy Immunotherapy: Shared Decision-Making and What's Next, With Mohamed Shamji, PhD

Balázs Szigeti, PhD, from the Translational Psychedelic Research Program at University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

Meta-analysis shows psychedelic-assisted therapy offers similar symptom improvement to open-label antidepressants under equal unblinding conditions.


Psychiatry

Psychiatry condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on mental illnesses. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and more.

Major Depressive Disorder

Major Depressive Disorder condition center page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into depression can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on MDD research, treatment, and drug development.

Psychedelic Therapy Matches Efficacy of Antidepressants in MDD, With Balázs Szigeti, PhD

Abigail Brooks is an assistant managing 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.

The approval is based on results from the STEP UP trial program showing substantial weight loss in adults with obesity. 

FDA Approves Higher Dose Semaglutide (Wegovy HD) Injection 7.2 mg for Obesity

Doug Simonetto, MD, is a Mayo Clinic transplant hepatologist.

AI-enabled ECG may help detect liver disease earlier, offering a new path to close diagnostic gaps and shift toward preventive hepatology in clinical practice.

Latest News

GLP-1 Discontinuation Tied to Loss of Cardiovascular Protection

COPD Biologics in Practice: Exacerbation Reduction is No Longer Enough

Key Points on Icotrokinra Following FDA Approval for Psoriasis, With Linda Stein Gold, MD

Outcome Instruments in Practice and Baseline Underreporting in Untreated CSU

FDA Approves Setmelanotide (Imcivree) for Acquired Hypothalmic Obesity