Two catheter-directed thrombectomy devices demonstrated efficacy and safety in the treatment of acute intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism, speakers reported. The results of the investigational device exemption APEX-AV trial and the first-in-human ENGULF trial were presented at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Scientific Sessions. For the prospective, multicenter, single-arm APEX-AV trial, William Brent Keeling, MD, associate professor at the Emory School of Medicine, and colleagues evaluated the safety and efficacy of a mechanical aspiration thrombectomy system ..read more

Racial and ethnic minorities with breast cancer had a higher likelihood of declining various treatment options than white patients in the past 2 decades, results from a retrospective study published in JAMA Network Open showed. Individuals who received chemotherapy, hormone therapy, radiotherapy and/or surgery had higher 5-year and 10-year OS rates than those who did not, according to study investigators. Moreover, they observed a trend showing significantly more patients declining treatment with hormone therapy, radiotherapy or surgery. “These findings highlight racial and ethnic ..read more

DESTIN, Fla. — New data on discontinuation or dose reduction of biologic therapies has led to a shifting landscape in axial spondyloarthritis management, according to a speaker at the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology East annual meeting. “We want to control disease activity,” Nigil Haroon, MD, PhD, head of the division of rheumatology at the University Health Network and Sinai Health, in Toronto, and past president of the Canadian Rheumatology Association, said in his presentation. “We also want to slow disease progression.” The good news is that both of these ..read more

DENVER — Lidocaine injection in the occipital region for young persons with acute migraine significantly increased pain relief compared with saline injections, according to research presented at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting. “Peripheral nerve blocks, injections of local anesthetics over branches of the occipital and/or trigeminal nerves, have been associated with benefit for pediatric headaches in case series,” Christina L. Szperka, MD, MSCE, a pediatric neurologist and director of the pediatric headache program at Children’s Hospital of ..read more

Topcon Healthcare has partnered with Microsoft Corp. to create “Healthcare from the Eye,” an AI-powered solution developed to improve health care by prescreening patients for systemic and neurological diseases via a noninvasive eye scan. According to a Topcon press release, the cloud-based solution uses the Nuance Precision Imaging Network and Harmony, Topcon’s vendor-inclusive, connected data management platform. “We are committed to making health care accessible and affordable through prescreening using oculomics — leveraging the eye for insights into systemic ..read more

A recent survey from Women Living Better revealed that 63% of midlife women reported “not feeling like myself” half the time or more over 3 months. The phrase “not feeling like myself” was most correlated with anxiety/vigilance, fatigue/pain, brain fog, sexual symptoms and volatile mood symptoms. “With this work, we are trying to normalize and validate experiences for women,” Nina Coslov, MBA, founder of Women Living Better, told Healio. “The hope is that when many women understand that most of these symptoms are part of the perimenopausal period of ..read more

NEW ORLEANS —The rise in use of diabetes medications and continuous glucose monitoring had led to new challenges for treating pregnant women with diabetes. During a presentation at the American College of Clinical Endocrinology annual meeting, Linda A. Barbour, MD, MSPH, FACP, professor in endocrinology, metabolism and diabetes and maternal-fetal medicine at University of Colorado; Victoria Sandler, MD, clinical assistant professor at University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and clinical endocrinologist at Endeavor Health; and Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, BC-ADM, CDCES ..read more

Sleeve gastrectomy may be an effective option for adults with obesity who are kidney transplant candidates, according to a published data. “Of the weight loss surgeries, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG) has been the most commonly performed procedure in patients seeking [kidney transplant] KT,” Aleksandra Kukla, MD, a transplant nephrologist at Mayo Clinic, wrote with colleagues. “It has been reported to be effective in inducing rapid weight loss, reducing obesity-related comorbidities, and improving access to KT; however, safety concerns remain.” Researchers of the ..read more

NEW ORLEANS —A noninvasive device using a radiofrequency sensor may be able to measure glucose levels for people with diabetes in the future, according to a speaker at the AACE Annual Meeting. In a clinical trial, researchers used a radiofrequency dielectric sensor (Know Labs) to rapidly scan a large range of frequencies using dielectric spectroscopy. Voltage values are detected at each frequency and used to measure real-time glucose levels, according to Dominic Klyve, PhD, professor of mathematics at Central Washington University and Know Labs Data Science & Engineering. “The ..read more

Belize, Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines became the latest nations to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced. The dual elimination of congenital HIV and syphilis has now been achieved by 19 countries globally, including 11 in the Americas, according to PAHO. WHO awards a certification of elimination to nations that have a mother-to-child HIV transmission rate under 5%, provide antenatal care and ART treatment for more than 90% of pregnant women, report fewer than 50 new cases of congenital syphilis per 100,00 ..read more