We held a contest in the AGA Community forum asking members to share a piece of advice they learned or heard in the past year for a chance to win free registration to this year’s AGA Postgraduate Course in Washington, D.C., on June 2 and 3.

Here are some of our favorite responses from early career members, including our winner, Hüseyin Bozkurt from Medical Park Private Tarsus Hospital, Turkey:

• “We can provide healthy gut microbiome, don’t lose your hope. The future is changeable.” Hüseyin Bozkurt Sr., MD, contest winner.
• “Ambulatory reflux monitoring modalities can help phenotype GERD and guide optimal management.” Amit Patel, MD, 2018 AGA Postgraduate Course faculty.
• “One tip I heard from an attending in the first year of fellowship, which is particularly useful for IBS patients, is to set realistic expectations from the outset, for e.g. – when diagnosing patients with IBS and giving them advice, telling them ‘We are not looking to cure your GI symptoms, but to control them – you will have GI symptoms off and on despite treatment, my goal is to make sure you have more good days, than bad.’” Aakash Aggarwal, MD

Registration for the popular 1.5-day course is now open. Learn more at pgcourse.gastro.org and save $75 by registering before April 18.

The AGA Postgraduate Course takes place during AGA’s annual meeting Digestive Disease Week®, which is cosponsored by AASLD, ASGE, and SSAT. Learn more and register at www.ddw.org.

We held a contest in the AGA Community forum asking members to share a piece of advice they learned or heard in the past year for a chance to win free registration to this year’s AGA Postgraduate Course in Washington, D.C., on June 2 and 3.

Here are some of our favorite responses from early career members, including our winner, Hüseyin Bozkurt from Medical Park Private Tarsus Hospital, Turkey:

• “We can provide healthy gut microbiome, don’t lose your hope. The future is changeable.” Hüseyin Bozkurt Sr., MD, contest winner.
• “Ambulatory reflux monitoring modalities can help phenotype GERD and guide optimal management.” Amit Patel, MD, 2018 AGA Postgraduate Course faculty.
• “One tip I heard from an attending in the first year of fellowship, which is particularly useful for IBS patients, is to set realistic expectations from the outset, for e.g. – when diagnosing patients with IBS and giving them advice, telling them ‘We are not looking to cure your GI symptoms, but to control them – you will have GI symptoms off and on despite treatment, my goal is to make sure you have more good days, than bad.’” Aakash Aggarwal, MD

Registration for the popular 1.5-day course is now open. Learn more at pgcourse.gastro.org and save $75 by registering before April 18.

The AGA Postgraduate Course takes place during AGA’s annual meeting Digestive Disease Week®, which is cosponsored by AASLD, ASGE, and SSAT. Learn more and register at www.ddw.org.

We held a contest in the AGA Community forum asking members to share a piece of advice they learned or heard in the past year for a chance to win free registration to this year’s AGA Postgraduate Course in Washington, D.C., on June 2 and 3.

Here are some of our favorite responses from early career members, including our winner, Hüseyin Bozkurt from Medical Park Private Tarsus Hospital, Turkey:

• “We can provide healthy gut microbiome, don’t lose your hope. The future is changeable.” Hüseyin Bozkurt Sr., MD, contest winner.
• “Ambulatory reflux monitoring modalities can help phenotype GERD and guide optimal management.” Amit Patel, MD, 2018 AGA Postgraduate Course faculty.
• “One tip I heard from an attending in the first year of fellowship, which is particularly useful for IBS patients, is to set realistic expectations from the outset, for e.g. – when diagnosing patients with IBS and giving them advice, telling them ‘We are not looking to cure your GI symptoms, but to control them – you will have GI symptoms off and on despite treatment, my goal is to make sure you have more good days, than bad.’” Aakash Aggarwal, MD

Registration for the popular 1.5-day course is now open. Learn more at pgcourse.gastro.org and save $75 by registering before April 18.

The AGA Postgraduate Course takes place during AGA’s annual meeting Digestive Disease Week®, which is cosponsored by AASLD, ASGE, and SSAT. Learn more and register at www.ddw.org.

A career in inflammatory bowel disease promises to be challenging, exciting, at times frustrating, and always educational. We asked our expert faculty at the inaugural Crohn’s & Colitis Congress, which took place Jan. 18-20 in Las Vegas, to reflect on why a career in IBD is an excellent path to take.

Why pursue a career in IBD

1. “IBD is the fastest moving area of GI to integrate science (genomics, microbiome, immunology) into care that will change the natural history of disease. The physicians and scientists have an unusually collegial culture, and the patients really care.” – Jonathan G. Braun, MD, PhD



2. “Managing patients with IBD is becoming ever more complex. When patients move beyond having mild disease, complex decisions need to be made. Choosing the right medication at the right time for the right patient will lead to the best outcomes for patients with IBD. I have every reason to believe that specializing in the clinical care of patients with IBD will be intellectually challenging while offering great personal satisfaction in taking care of these ill patients.” – Francis A. Farraye, MD, MSc



3. “IBD research findings and the implications for patient care are evolving rapidly. Many recommendations that we made 5-10 years ago have changed as we are learning more about IBD every day. There are so many opportunities to participate in the expansion of that knowledge base and help us reach our goal of a cure for IBD in the lifetime of many of our patients. Take the challenge.” – Teri Lynn Jackson, MSN, ARNP



4. “IBD is an outstanding field led by great people who want to see fellows and junior faculty succeed. Identify a mentor and listen to them, meet and engage with new people, be curious, think big, and work hard!” – Michael J. Rosen, MD, MSCI



5. “The best career in the world! Such variety. A home for everyone with any interest. It won’t always be smooth, but it will be incredibly rewarding with hardly a dull moment.” – Dermot McGovern, MD, PhD, FRCP



For additional tips and advice, visit the AGA Community.
 

A career in inflammatory bowel disease promises to be challenging, exciting, at times frustrating, and always educational. We asked our expert faculty at the inaugural Crohn’s & Colitis Congress, which took place Jan. 18-20 in Las Vegas, to reflect on why a career in IBD is an excellent path to take.

Why pursue a career in IBD

1. “IBD is the fastest moving area of GI to integrate science (genomics, microbiome, immunology) into care that will change the natural history of disease. The physicians and scientists have an unusually collegial culture, and the patients really care.” – Jonathan G. Braun, MD, PhD



2. “Managing patients with IBD is becoming ever more complex. When patients move beyond having mild disease, complex decisions need to be made. Choosing the right medication at the right time for the right patient will lead to the best outcomes for patients with IBD. I have every reason to believe that specializing in the clinical care of patients with IBD will be intellectually challenging while offering great personal satisfaction in taking care of these ill patients.” – Francis A. Farraye, MD, MSc



3. “IBD research findings and the implications for patient care are evolving rapidly. Many recommendations that we made 5-10 years ago have changed as we are learning more about IBD every day. There are so many opportunities to participate in the expansion of that knowledge base and help us reach our goal of a cure for IBD in the lifetime of many of our patients. Take the challenge.” – Teri Lynn Jackson, MSN, ARNP



4. “IBD is an outstanding field led by great people who want to see fellows and junior faculty succeed. Identify a mentor and listen to them, meet and engage with new people, be curious, think big, and work hard!” – Michael J. Rosen, MD, MSCI



5. “The best career in the world! Such variety. A home for everyone with any interest. It won’t always be smooth, but it will be incredibly rewarding with hardly a dull moment.” – Dermot McGovern, MD, PhD, FRCP



For additional tips and advice, visit the AGA Community.
 

A career in inflammatory bowel disease promises to be challenging, exciting, at times frustrating, and always educational. We asked our expert faculty at the inaugural Crohn’s & Colitis Congress, which took place Jan. 18-20 in Las Vegas, to reflect on why a career in IBD is an excellent path to take.

Why pursue a career in IBD

1. “IBD is the fastest moving area of GI to integrate science (genomics, microbiome, immunology) into care that will change the natural history of disease. The physicians and scientists have an unusually collegial culture, and the patients really care.” – Jonathan G. Braun, MD, PhD



2. “Managing patients with IBD is becoming ever more complex. When patients move beyond having mild disease, complex decisions need to be made. Choosing the right medication at the right time for the right patient will lead to the best outcomes for patients with IBD. I have every reason to believe that specializing in the clinical care of patients with IBD will be intellectually challenging while offering great personal satisfaction in taking care of these ill patients.” – Francis A. Farraye, MD, MSc



3. “IBD research findings and the implications for patient care are evolving rapidly. Many recommendations that we made 5-10 years ago have changed as we are learning more about IBD every day. There are so many opportunities to participate in the expansion of that knowledge base and help us reach our goal of a cure for IBD in the lifetime of many of our patients. Take the challenge.” – Teri Lynn Jackson, MSN, ARNP



4. “IBD is an outstanding field led by great people who want to see fellows and junior faculty succeed. Identify a mentor and listen to them, meet and engage with new people, be curious, think big, and work hard!” – Michael J. Rosen, MD, MSCI



5. “The best career in the world! Such variety. A home for everyone with any interest. It won’t always be smooth, but it will be incredibly rewarding with hardly a dull moment.” – Dermot McGovern, MD, PhD, FRCP



For additional tips and advice, visit the AGA Community.
 

Unfathomable. Unspeakable.

These are among the terms used to describe children’s extreme traumatic experiences such as severe abuse and neglect. It is often most shocking when these acts are perpetrated by the children’s parents – the very ones that children should be able to depend on for their protection and safety.

Many believe that, in addition to the cumulative and serious nature of repetitive interpersonal traumas themselves, this betrayal of trust will result in irreparable psychological damage. Fortunately, this does not have to be the case. Children are more resilient than we realize; with safety, support, and effective treatment, they can recover from even the most extreme traumas and live healthy, productive lives.

The first priority is for child-serving systems to remove children from severely abusive situations and allow them to live in safe, stable, supportive settings while minimizing traumatic separation from siblings or further disruptions in their living situation. Acute medical problems need to be stabilized, and a thorough mental health assessment should be conducted.

Evidence-based trauma-focused psychotherapy is the first-line treatment for addressing pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010 Apr;49[4]:414-30). Several treatments are currently available. A few examples are trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy, or TF-CBT, for children aged 3-18 years; child-parent psychotherapy (CPP) for children aged 0-6 years; a group school-based model, cognitive behavioral interventions for trauma in schools (CBITS); and Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy for teens (TARGET).

Common elements of evidence-based trauma-focused treatments are: 1) nonperpetrating caregivers are included in therapy to enhance support and understanding of the child’s trauma responses, and to address trauma-related behavioral problems; 2) skills are provided to the youth and caregiver for coping with negative trauma-related thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; and 3) children are supported to directly talk about and make meaning of their trauma experiences.

Through trauma-focused treatment, children become able to cope with their traumatic experiences and memories – make sense out of them. These traumas are no longer “unfathomable or “unspeakable,” but rather, manageable memories of bad experiences that the children have had the courage to face and master.

Children can recover from even extreme trauma experiences when they receive effective trauma-focused treatment in the context of a supportive environment. More information about evidence-based treatments is available from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network at www.nctsn.org/resources/topics/treatments-that-work/promising-practices.
 

Unfathomable. Unspeakable.

These are among the terms used to describe children’s extreme traumatic experiences such as severe abuse and neglect. It is often most shocking when these acts are perpetrated by the children’s parents – the very ones that children should be able to depend on for their protection and safety.

Many believe that, in addition to the cumulative and serious nature of repetitive interpersonal traumas themselves, this betrayal of trust will result in irreparable psychological damage. Fortunately, this does not have to be the case. Children are more resilient than we realize; with safety, support, and effective treatment, they can recover from even the most extreme traumas and live healthy, productive lives.

The first priority is for child-serving systems to remove children from severely abusive situations and allow them to live in safe, stable, supportive settings while minimizing traumatic separation from siblings or further disruptions in their living situation. Acute medical problems need to be stabilized, and a thorough mental health assessment should be conducted.

Evidence-based trauma-focused psychotherapy is the first-line treatment for addressing pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010 Apr;49[4]:414-30). Several treatments are currently available. A few examples are trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy, or TF-CBT, for children aged 3-18 years; child-parent psychotherapy (CPP) for children aged 0-6 years; a group school-based model, cognitive behavioral interventions for trauma in schools (CBITS); and Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy for teens (TARGET).

Common elements of evidence-based trauma-focused treatments are: 1) nonperpetrating caregivers are included in therapy to enhance support and understanding of the child’s trauma responses, and to address trauma-related behavioral problems; 2) skills are provided to the youth and caregiver for coping with negative trauma-related thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; and 3) children are supported to directly talk about and make meaning of their trauma experiences.

Through trauma-focused treatment, children become able to cope with their traumatic experiences and memories – make sense out of them. These traumas are no longer “unfathomable or “unspeakable,” but rather, manageable memories of bad experiences that the children have had the courage to face and master.

Children can recover from even extreme trauma experiences when they receive effective trauma-focused treatment in the context of a supportive environment. More information about evidence-based treatments is available from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network at www.nctsn.org/resources/topics/treatments-that-work/promising-practices.
 

Unfathomable. Unspeakable.

These are among the terms used to describe children’s extreme traumatic experiences such as severe abuse and neglect. It is often most shocking when these acts are perpetrated by the children’s parents – the very ones that children should be able to depend on for their protection and safety.

Many believe that, in addition to the cumulative and serious nature of repetitive interpersonal traumas themselves, this betrayal of trust will result in irreparable psychological damage. Fortunately, this does not have to be the case. Children are more resilient than we realize; with safety, support, and effective treatment, they can recover from even the most extreme traumas and live healthy, productive lives.

The first priority is for child-serving systems to remove children from severely abusive situations and allow them to live in safe, stable, supportive settings while minimizing traumatic separation from siblings or further disruptions in their living situation. Acute medical problems need to be stabilized, and a thorough mental health assessment should be conducted.

Evidence-based trauma-focused psychotherapy is the first-line treatment for addressing pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010 Apr;49[4]:414-30). Several treatments are currently available. A few examples are trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy, or TF-CBT, for children aged 3-18 years; child-parent psychotherapy (CPP) for children aged 0-6 years; a group school-based model, cognitive behavioral interventions for trauma in schools (CBITS); and Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy for teens (TARGET).

Common elements of evidence-based trauma-focused treatments are: 1) nonperpetrating caregivers are included in therapy to enhance support and understanding of the child’s trauma responses, and to address trauma-related behavioral problems; 2) skills are provided to the youth and caregiver for coping with negative trauma-related thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; and 3) children are supported to directly talk about and make meaning of their trauma experiences.

Through trauma-focused treatment, children become able to cope with their traumatic experiences and memories – make sense out of them. These traumas are no longer “unfathomable or “unspeakable,” but rather, manageable memories of bad experiences that the children have had the courage to face and master.

Children can recover from even extreme trauma experiences when they receive effective trauma-focused treatment in the context of a supportive environment. More information about evidence-based treatments is available from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network at www.nctsn.org/resources/topics/treatments-that-work/promising-practices.
 

Social media communication around lung cancer is focused primarily on cancer treatment and use of pharmaceutical and research interventions, followed closely by awareness, prevention, and risk topics, according to an analysis of Twitter conversation over a 10-day period.

Although awareness and risk prevention tweets were likely to contain cues toward action, “messages focused on treatment, end of life ... were significantly less likely to integrate cues for personal activity,” the investigators wrote. The report was published in Journal of the American College of Radiology.

©Huntstock/thinkstockphotos.com

SOURCE: Sutton J. et al., J Am Coll Radiol. 2018 Jan. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2017.09.043

Social media communication around lung cancer is focused primarily on cancer treatment and use of pharmaceutical and research interventions, followed closely by awareness, prevention, and risk topics, according to an analysis of Twitter conversation over a 10-day period.

Although awareness and risk prevention tweets were likely to contain cues toward action, “messages focused on treatment, end of life ... were significantly less likely to integrate cues for personal activity,” the investigators wrote. The report was published in Journal of the American College of Radiology.

©Huntstock/thinkstockphotos.com

SOURCE: Sutton J. et al., J Am Coll Radiol. 2018 Jan. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2017.09.043

Social media communication around lung cancer is focused primarily on cancer treatment and use of pharmaceutical and research interventions, followed closely by awareness, prevention, and risk topics, according to an analysis of Twitter conversation over a 10-day period.

Although awareness and risk prevention tweets were likely to contain cues toward action, “messages focused on treatment, end of life ... were significantly less likely to integrate cues for personal activity,” the investigators wrote. The report was published in Journal of the American College of Radiology.

©Huntstock/thinkstockphotos.com

SOURCE: Sutton J. et al., J Am Coll Radiol. 2018 Jan. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2017.09.043

LOS ANGELES – When a panel organized by the American Heart Association’s Stroke Council recently revised the group’s guideline for early management of acute ischemic stroke, they were clear on the overarching change they had to make: Incorporate recent evidence collected in two trials that established brain imaging as the way to identify patients eligible for clot removal treatment by thrombectomy, a change in practice that has made this outcome-altering intervention available to more patients.

“The major take-home message [of the new guideline] is the extension of the time window for treating acute ischemic stroke,” said William J. Powers, MD, chair of the guideline group (Stroke. 2018 Jan 24. doi: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000158).

Based on recently reported results from the DAWN (N Engl J Med. 2018;378[1]:11-21) and DEFUSE 3 (N Engl J Med. 2018 Jan 24. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1713973) trials “we know that there are patients out to 24 hours from their stroke onset who may benefit” from thrombectomy. “This is a major, major change in how we view care for patients with stroke,” Dr. Powers said in a video interview. “Now there’s much more time. Ideally, we’ll see smaller hospitals develop the ability to do the imaging” that makes it possible to select acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for thrombectomy despite a delay of up to 24 hours from their stroke onset to the time of thrombectomy, said Dr. Powers, professor and chair of neurology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

The big priority for the stroke community now that this major change in patient selection was incorporated into a U.S. practice guideline will be acting quickly to implement the steps needed to make this change happen, Dr. Powers and others said.

Mitchel L. Zoler/Frontline Medical News

Mitchel L. Zoler/Frontline Medical News

Dr. Powers and Dr. Furie had no disclosures. Dr. Saver has received research support and personal fees from Medtronic-Abbott and Neuravia.

mzoler@frontlinemedcom.com

LOS ANGELES – When a panel organized by the American Heart Association’s Stroke Council recently revised the group’s guideline for early management of acute ischemic stroke, they were clear on the overarching change they had to make: Incorporate recent evidence collected in two trials that established brain imaging as the way to identify patients eligible for clot removal treatment by thrombectomy, a change in practice that has made this outcome-altering intervention available to more patients.

“The major take-home message [of the new guideline] is the extension of the time window for treating acute ischemic stroke,” said William J. Powers, MD, chair of the guideline group (Stroke. 2018 Jan 24. doi: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000158).

Based on recently reported results from the DAWN (N Engl J Med. 2018;378[1]:11-21) and DEFUSE 3 (N Engl J Med. 2018 Jan 24. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1713973) trials “we know that there are patients out to 24 hours from their stroke onset who may benefit” from thrombectomy. “This is a major, major change in how we view care for patients with stroke,” Dr. Powers said in a video interview. “Now there’s much more time. Ideally, we’ll see smaller hospitals develop the ability to do the imaging” that makes it possible to select acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for thrombectomy despite a delay of up to 24 hours from their stroke onset to the time of thrombectomy, said Dr. Powers, professor and chair of neurology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

The big priority for the stroke community now that this major change in patient selection was incorporated into a U.S. practice guideline will be acting quickly to implement the steps needed to make this change happen, Dr. Powers and others said.

Mitchel L. Zoler/Frontline Medical News

Mitchel L. Zoler/Frontline Medical News

Dr. Powers and Dr. Furie had no disclosures. Dr. Saver has received research support and personal fees from Medtronic-Abbott and Neuravia.

mzoler@frontlinemedcom.com

LOS ANGELES – When a panel organized by the American Heart Association’s Stroke Council recently revised the group’s guideline for early management of acute ischemic stroke, they were clear on the overarching change they had to make: Incorporate recent evidence collected in two trials that established brain imaging as the way to identify patients eligible for clot removal treatment by thrombectomy, a change in practice that has made this outcome-altering intervention available to more patients.

“The major take-home message [of the new guideline] is the extension of the time window for treating acute ischemic stroke,” said William J. Powers, MD, chair of the guideline group (Stroke. 2018 Jan 24. doi: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000158).

Based on recently reported results from the DAWN (N Engl J Med. 2018;378[1]:11-21) and DEFUSE 3 (N Engl J Med. 2018 Jan 24. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1713973) trials “we know that there are patients out to 24 hours from their stroke onset who may benefit” from thrombectomy. “This is a major, major change in how we view care for patients with stroke,” Dr. Powers said in a video interview. “Now there’s much more time. Ideally, we’ll see smaller hospitals develop the ability to do the imaging” that makes it possible to select acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for thrombectomy despite a delay of up to 24 hours from their stroke onset to the time of thrombectomy, said Dr. Powers, professor and chair of neurology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

The big priority for the stroke community now that this major change in patient selection was incorporated into a U.S. practice guideline will be acting quickly to implement the steps needed to make this change happen, Dr. Powers and others said.

Mitchel L. Zoler/Frontline Medical News

Mitchel L. Zoler/Frontline Medical News

Dr. Powers and Dr. Furie had no disclosures. Dr. Saver has received research support and personal fees from Medtronic-Abbott and Neuravia.

mzoler@frontlinemedcom.com

The prevalence of birth defects strongly linked with congenital Zika virus infection increased 21% from the first to the second half of 2016 in areas of the United States with local, endemic transmission: Puerto Rico, south Florida, and southern Texas, according to a report in the Jan. 26 edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

In those areas, complications strongly associated with Zika – including microcephaly; brain and eye abnormalities; and neurogenic hip dislocation, clubfoot, hearing loss, and arthrogryposis – jumped from 2.0 to 2.4 cases per 1,000 live births, with 140 cases in the first half of the year and 169 cases in the second (P = .009). Microcephaly and brain abnormalities were the most common problems.

Sumaia Villela/Agência Brasil/CC BY 3.0 BR

aotto@frontlinemedcom.com

SOURCE: Delaney A, et. al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018 Jan 26;67(3):91-6

The prevalence of birth defects strongly linked with congenital Zika virus infection increased 21% from the first to the second half of 2016 in areas of the United States with local, endemic transmission: Puerto Rico, south Florida, and southern Texas, according to a report in the Jan. 26 edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

In those areas, complications strongly associated with Zika – including microcephaly; brain and eye abnormalities; and neurogenic hip dislocation, clubfoot, hearing loss, and arthrogryposis – jumped from 2.0 to 2.4 cases per 1,000 live births, with 140 cases in the first half of the year and 169 cases in the second (P = .009). Microcephaly and brain abnormalities were the most common problems.

Sumaia Villela/Agência Brasil/CC BY 3.0 BR

aotto@frontlinemedcom.com

SOURCE: Delaney A, et. al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018 Jan 26;67(3):91-6

The prevalence of birth defects strongly linked with congenital Zika virus infection increased 21% from the first to the second half of 2016 in areas of the United States with local, endemic transmission: Puerto Rico, south Florida, and southern Texas, according to a report in the Jan. 26 edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

In those areas, complications strongly associated with Zika – including microcephaly; brain and eye abnormalities; and neurogenic hip dislocation, clubfoot, hearing loss, and arthrogryposis – jumped from 2.0 to 2.4 cases per 1,000 live births, with 140 cases in the first half of the year and 169 cases in the second (P = .009). Microcephaly and brain abnormalities were the most common problems.

Sumaia Villela/Agência Brasil/CC BY 3.0 BR

aotto@frontlinemedcom.com

SOURCE: Delaney A, et. al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018 Jan 26;67(3):91-6

More than a year after the release of EXPEDITION 3’s negative data, a new report is reminding the world once more that antiamyloid antibodies have yet to live up to their promise.

Solanezumab, an antibody that targets soluble amyloid-beta (AB) did nothing to improve cognition in the phase 3, placebo-controlled trial of 2,129 patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease, Lawrence Honig, MD, and his colleagues reported in the Jan. 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Eli Lilly initially released the disappointing topline data in November 2016. The next month, Lilly detailed the numbers at the Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) meeting in San Diego.

Dr. Honig of Columbia University Medical Center, New York, presented the data at the San Diego meeting, as well as being primary author of the journal paper. In a nutshell, solanezumab was no better than placebo on any of the primary or secondary endpoints of cognition or function, he and his coinvestigators wrote.

Agnieszka Letowska/Thinkstock

The investigators also suggested that the 400-mg monthly dose was probably much too small. Only about 3% of the antibody crossed the blood-brain barrier – too little to have a clinically meaningful effect, they posited.

Indeed, this idea of ineffective dosing has saved solanezumab from the ever-growing scrap heap of a decade’s worth of failed antiamyloid drugs. Solanezumab is also being investigated in the ongoing Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s Disease (A4) prevention study and the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trial (DIAN-TU).

Based on a rethinking of the failed EXPEDITION 3 and its likewise negative predecessors (EXPEDITION and EXPEDITION 2), researchers announced at CTAD 2017 that they will quadruple the dose of solanezumab in A4. Patients already enrolled will be titrated up from 400-mg to 1,600-mg infusions every month, principal investigator Reisa A. Sperling, MD, said at the meeting. DIAN-TU follows a dose-escalation pattern with no stated upward limit.

Timing – every AD researcher’s nightmare – also may have been a factor in EXPEDITION 3’s failure, Dr. Honig and his coauthors said. Even though it enrolled only patients with mild AD, they already may have been beyond the critical tipping point of potentially successful cognitive rescue.

“Some data from mouse models suggest that neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease may reach a point at which it becomes self-propagating and not susceptible to intervention,” the team wrote.

At CTAD 2017, Dr. Sperling, director of the Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, echoed this comment, saying the fear of treating too late “keeps me up at night.” But recent advances in imaging confirm that amyloid pathology begins years, or even decades, before any cognitive changes occur. This gives researchers hope that backing up the treatment timeline even further may interrupt, or at least slow, the pathology that leads to memory loss.

“One of the greatest advances in this field over the past 10 years is the recognition that Alzheimer’s disease is a continuum that likely begins well before the stage we recognize as dementia, and even before the stages of mild cognitive impairment and prodromal Alzheimer’s,” Dr. Sperling said at the meeting. “Treating in the presymptomatic phase may be the best opportunity to bend this curve back toward the trajectory of normal aging.”

Studies of cognitively healthy elderly who are amyloid positive, like A4, and of healthy younger subjects with high genetic risk factors, like DIAN-TU and the Colombian study of those with presenilin-1 mutations, should answer this question.

Finally, Dr. Honig and his colleagues wrote, the amyloid cascade hypothesis – the foundation of all antiamyloid therapies – may itself be flawed.

“Although the amyloid hypothesis is based on considerable genetic and biomarker data, if amyloid is not the cause of the disease, solanezumab would not be expected to slow disease progression. A single study ought not to be viewed as disproving a hypothesis; nevertheless, the amyloid hypothesis will need to be considered in the context of accruing results from this trial and other clinical trials of antiamyloid therapies.”

Eli Lilly sponsored EXPEDITION 3. Dr. Honig reported receiving financial remuneration from the company and financial ties with numerous other pharmaceutical manufacturers.

msullivan@frontlinemedcom.com

SOURCE: Honig LS et al. N Engl J Med. 2018;378:321-30.

More than a year after the release of EXPEDITION 3’s negative data, a new report is reminding the world once more that antiamyloid antibodies have yet to live up to their promise.

Solanezumab, an antibody that targets soluble amyloid-beta (AB) did nothing to improve cognition in the phase 3, placebo-controlled trial of 2,129 patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease, Lawrence Honig, MD, and his colleagues reported in the Jan. 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Eli Lilly initially released the disappointing topline data in November 2016. The next month, Lilly detailed the numbers at the Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) meeting in San Diego.

Dr. Honig of Columbia University Medical Center, New York, presented the data at the San Diego meeting, as well as being primary author of the journal paper. In a nutshell, solanezumab was no better than placebo on any of the primary or secondary endpoints of cognition or function, he and his coinvestigators wrote.

Agnieszka Letowska/Thinkstock

The investigators also suggested that the 400-mg monthly dose was probably much too small. Only about 3% of the antibody crossed the blood-brain barrier – too little to have a clinically meaningful effect, they posited.

Indeed, this idea of ineffective dosing has saved solanezumab from the ever-growing scrap heap of a decade’s worth of failed antiamyloid drugs. Solanezumab is also being investigated in the ongoing Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s Disease (A4) prevention study and the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trial (DIAN-TU).

Based on a rethinking of the failed EXPEDITION 3 and its likewise negative predecessors (EXPEDITION and EXPEDITION 2), researchers announced at CTAD 2017 that they will quadruple the dose of solanezumab in A4. Patients already enrolled will be titrated up from 400-mg to 1,600-mg infusions every month, principal investigator Reisa A. Sperling, MD, said at the meeting. DIAN-TU follows a dose-escalation pattern with no stated upward limit.

Timing – every AD researcher’s nightmare – also may have been a factor in EXPEDITION 3’s failure, Dr. Honig and his coauthors said. Even though it enrolled only patients with mild AD, they already may have been beyond the critical tipping point of potentially successful cognitive rescue.

“Some data from mouse models suggest that neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease may reach a point at which it becomes self-propagating and not susceptible to intervention,” the team wrote.

At CTAD 2017, Dr. Sperling, director of the Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, echoed this comment, saying the fear of treating too late “keeps me up at night.” But recent advances in imaging confirm that amyloid pathology begins years, or even decades, before any cognitive changes occur. This gives researchers hope that backing up the treatment timeline even further may interrupt, or at least slow, the pathology that leads to memory loss.

“One of the greatest advances in this field over the past 10 years is the recognition that Alzheimer’s disease is a continuum that likely begins well before the stage we recognize as dementia, and even before the stages of mild cognitive impairment and prodromal Alzheimer’s,” Dr. Sperling said at the meeting. “Treating in the presymptomatic phase may be the best opportunity to bend this curve back toward the trajectory of normal aging.”

Studies of cognitively healthy elderly who are amyloid positive, like A4, and of healthy younger subjects with high genetic risk factors, like DIAN-TU and the Colombian study of those with presenilin-1 mutations, should answer this question.

Finally, Dr. Honig and his colleagues wrote, the amyloid cascade hypothesis – the foundation of all antiamyloid therapies – may itself be flawed.

“Although the amyloid hypothesis is based on considerable genetic and biomarker data, if amyloid is not the cause of the disease, solanezumab would not be expected to slow disease progression. A single study ought not to be viewed as disproving a hypothesis; nevertheless, the amyloid hypothesis will need to be considered in the context of accruing results from this trial and other clinical trials of antiamyloid therapies.”

Eli Lilly sponsored EXPEDITION 3. Dr. Honig reported receiving financial remuneration from the company and financial ties with numerous other pharmaceutical manufacturers.

msullivan@frontlinemedcom.com

SOURCE: Honig LS et al. N Engl J Med. 2018;378:321-30.

More than a year after the release of EXPEDITION 3’s negative data, a new report is reminding the world once more that antiamyloid antibodies have yet to live up to their promise.

Solanezumab, an antibody that targets soluble amyloid-beta (AB) did nothing to improve cognition in the phase 3, placebo-controlled trial of 2,129 patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease, Lawrence Honig, MD, and his colleagues reported in the Jan. 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Eli Lilly initially released the disappointing topline data in November 2016. The next month, Lilly detailed the numbers at the Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) meeting in San Diego.

Dr. Honig of Columbia University Medical Center, New York, presented the data at the San Diego meeting, as well as being primary author of the journal paper. In a nutshell, solanezumab was no better than placebo on any of the primary or secondary endpoints of cognition or function, he and his coinvestigators wrote.

Agnieszka Letowska/Thinkstock

The investigators also suggested that the 400-mg monthly dose was probably much too small. Only about 3% of the antibody crossed the blood-brain barrier – too little to have a clinically meaningful effect, they posited.

Indeed, this idea of ineffective dosing has saved solanezumab from the ever-growing scrap heap of a decade’s worth of failed antiamyloid drugs. Solanezumab is also being investigated in the ongoing Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s Disease (A4) prevention study and the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trial (DIAN-TU).

Based on a rethinking of the failed EXPEDITION 3 and its likewise negative predecessors (EXPEDITION and EXPEDITION 2), researchers announced at CTAD 2017 that they will quadruple the dose of solanezumab in A4. Patients already enrolled will be titrated up from 400-mg to 1,600-mg infusions every month, principal investigator Reisa A. Sperling, MD, said at the meeting. DIAN-TU follows a dose-escalation pattern with no stated upward limit.

Timing – every AD researcher’s nightmare – also may have been a factor in EXPEDITION 3’s failure, Dr. Honig and his coauthors said. Even though it enrolled only patients with mild AD, they already may have been beyond the critical tipping point of potentially successful cognitive rescue.

“Some data from mouse models suggest that neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease may reach a point at which it becomes self-propagating and not susceptible to intervention,” the team wrote.

At CTAD 2017, Dr. Sperling, director of the Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, echoed this comment, saying the fear of treating too late “keeps me up at night.” But recent advances in imaging confirm that amyloid pathology begins years, or even decades, before any cognitive changes occur. This gives researchers hope that backing up the treatment timeline even further may interrupt, or at least slow, the pathology that leads to memory loss.

“One of the greatest advances in this field over the past 10 years is the recognition that Alzheimer’s disease is a continuum that likely begins well before the stage we recognize as dementia, and even before the stages of mild cognitive impairment and prodromal Alzheimer’s,” Dr. Sperling said at the meeting. “Treating in the presymptomatic phase may be the best opportunity to bend this curve back toward the trajectory of normal aging.”

Studies of cognitively healthy elderly who are amyloid positive, like A4, and of healthy younger subjects with high genetic risk factors, like DIAN-TU and the Colombian study of those with presenilin-1 mutations, should answer this question.

Finally, Dr. Honig and his colleagues wrote, the amyloid cascade hypothesis – the foundation of all antiamyloid therapies – may itself be flawed.

“Although the amyloid hypothesis is based on considerable genetic and biomarker data, if amyloid is not the cause of the disease, solanezumab would not be expected to slow disease progression. A single study ought not to be viewed as disproving a hypothesis; nevertheless, the amyloid hypothesis will need to be considered in the context of accruing results from this trial and other clinical trials of antiamyloid therapies.”

Eli Lilly sponsored EXPEDITION 3. Dr. Honig reported receiving financial remuneration from the company and financial ties with numerous other pharmaceutical manufacturers.

msullivan@frontlinemedcom.com

SOURCE: Honig LS et al. N Engl J Med. 2018;378:321-30.

For more information about upcoming events and award deadlines, please visit http://www.gastro.org/education and http://www.gastro.org/research-funding.
 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Feb. 22, 2018; March 22, 2018
Reimbursement, Coding and Compliance for Gastroenterology
Improve the efficiency and performance of your practice by staying current on the latest reimbursement, coding, and compliance changes.
2/22 (Edison, NJ); 3/22 (St. Charles, MO)

April 11, 2018
AGA Regional Practice Skills Workshop – Pennsylvania
During this free workshop, senior and junior GI leaders will guide you through various practice options and address topics rarely discussed during fellowship, such as employment models, partnerships, hospital politics, billing and coding, compliance, contracts, and more. Find out more at http://www.gastro.org/in-person/regional-practice-skills-workshop-philadelphia.
Philadelphia

May 10-11, 2018
HIV and Hepatitis Management: THE NEW YORK COURSE
This advanced CME activity will provide participants with state-of-the-art information and practical guidance on progress in managing HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C and will enable practitioners to deliver the highest-quality care in all practice settings.
New York City

Jun. 2-5, 2018

DIGESTIVE DISEASE WEEK^® (DDW) 2018 – WASHINGTON, DC

AGA Trainee and Early-Career GI Sessions
Join your colleagues at special sessions to meet the unique needs of physicians who are new to the field. Participants will learn about all aspects of starting a career in clinical practice or research, have the opportunity to network with mentors and peers, and review board material.

• June 2, 8:15 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; June 3, 8:30 a.m.-12:35 p.m.
AGA Postgraduate Course: From Abstract to Reality
Attend this multi-topic course to get practical, applicable information to push your practice to the next level. The 2018 course will provide a comprehensive look at the latest medical, surgical, and technological advances over the past 12 months that aim to keep you up to date in a rapidly changing field. Each presenter will turn abstract ideas into concrete action items that you can implement in your practice immediately. AGA member trainees and early-career GIs receive discounted pricing for this course.

• June 3, 4-5:30 p.m.
Difficult Conversations: Navigating People, Negotiations, Promotions, and Complications
During this session, attendees will obtain effective negotiation techniques and learn how to navigate difficult situations in clinical and research environments.

• June 4, 4-5:30 p.m.
Advancing Clinical Practice: Gastroenterology Fellow–Directed Quality-Improvement Projects
This trainee-focused session will showcase selected abstracts from GI fellows based on quality improvement with a state-of-the-art lecture. Attendees will be provided with information that defines practical approaches to quality improvement from start to finish. A limited supply of coffee and tea will be provided during the session.

• June 5, 1:30-5:30 p.m.
Board Review Course
This session, designed around content from DDSEP^® 8, serves as a primer for third-year fellows preparing for the board exam as well as a review course for others wanting to test their knowledge. Session attendees will receive a $50 coupon to use at the AGA Store at DDW to purchase DDSEP 8.

• TBD
AGA Early-Career Networking Hour
Date, time, and location to be announced soon.

June 4-8, 2018
Exosomes/Microvesicles: Heterogeneity, Biogenesis, Function, and Therapeutic Developments (E2)
Deepen your understanding of the structural and functional complexity of extracellular vesicles, their biogenesis and function in health and disease, cargo enrichment, potential as ideal biomarkers, and breakthroughs in their use as therapeutic targets/agents.

Breckenridge, CO
 

AWARDS APPLICATION DEADLINES

AGA Fellow Abstract Award
This travel award provides $500 and one $1,000 prize to recipients who are MD and/or PhD postdoctoral fellows presenting posters/oral sessions at DDW.
Application Deadline: Feb. 16, 2018

AGA-Moti L. & Kamla Rustgi International Travel Awards
This travel award provides $750 to recipients who are young basic, translational, or clinical investigators residing outside North America to support travel and related expenses to attend DDW.
Application Deadline: Feb. 16, 2018

AGA Student Abstract Award
This travel award provides $500 and one $1,000 prize to recipients who are high school, undergraduate, graduate, medical students, or residents (residents up to year 3 postgraduates) presenting posters/oral sessions at DDW.
Application Deadline: Feb. 16, 2018
 

For more information about upcoming events and award deadlines, please visit http://www.gastro.org/education and http://www.gastro.org/research-funding.
 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Feb. 22, 2018; March 22, 2018
Reimbursement, Coding and Compliance for Gastroenterology
Improve the efficiency and performance of your practice by staying current on the latest reimbursement, coding, and compliance changes.
2/22 (Edison, NJ); 3/22 (St. Charles, MO)

April 11, 2018
AGA Regional Practice Skills Workshop – Pennsylvania
During this free workshop, senior and junior GI leaders will guide you through various practice options and address topics rarely discussed during fellowship, such as employment models, partnerships, hospital politics, billing and coding, compliance, contracts, and more. Find out more at http://www.gastro.org/in-person/regional-practice-skills-workshop-philadelphia.
Philadelphia

May 10-11, 2018
HIV and Hepatitis Management: THE NEW YORK COURSE
This advanced CME activity will provide participants with state-of-the-art information and practical guidance on progress in managing HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C and will enable practitioners to deliver the highest-quality care in all practice settings.
New York City

Jun. 2-5, 2018

DIGESTIVE DISEASE WEEK^® (DDW) 2018 – WASHINGTON, DC

AGA Trainee and Early-Career GI Sessions
Join your colleagues at special sessions to meet the unique needs of physicians who are new to the field. Participants will learn about all aspects of starting a career in clinical practice or research, have the opportunity to network with mentors and peers, and review board material.

• June 2, 8:15 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; June 3, 8:30 a.m.-12:35 p.m.
AGA Postgraduate Course: From Abstract to Reality
Attend this multi-topic course to get practical, applicable information to push your practice to the next level. The 2018 course will provide a comprehensive look at the latest medical, surgical, and technological advances over the past 12 months that aim to keep you up to date in a rapidly changing field. Each presenter will turn abstract ideas into concrete action items that you can implement in your practice immediately. AGA member trainees and early-career GIs receive discounted pricing for this course.

• June 3, 4-5:30 p.m.
Difficult Conversations: Navigating People, Negotiations, Promotions, and Complications
During this session, attendees will obtain effective negotiation techniques and learn how to navigate difficult situations in clinical and research environments.

• June 4, 4-5:30 p.m.
Advancing Clinical Practice: Gastroenterology Fellow–Directed Quality-Improvement Projects
This trainee-focused session will showcase selected abstracts from GI fellows based on quality improvement with a state-of-the-art lecture. Attendees will be provided with information that defines practical approaches to quality improvement from start to finish. A limited supply of coffee and tea will be provided during the session.

• June 5, 1:30-5:30 p.m.
Board Review Course
This session, designed around content from DDSEP^® 8, serves as a primer for third-year fellows preparing for the board exam as well as a review course for others wanting to test their knowledge. Session attendees will receive a $50 coupon to use at the AGA Store at DDW to purchase DDSEP 8.

• TBD
AGA Early-Career Networking Hour
Date, time, and location to be announced soon.

June 4-8, 2018
Exosomes/Microvesicles: Heterogeneity, Biogenesis, Function, and Therapeutic Developments (E2)
Deepen your understanding of the structural and functional complexity of extracellular vesicles, their biogenesis and function in health and disease, cargo enrichment, potential as ideal biomarkers, and breakthroughs in their use as therapeutic targets/agents.

Breckenridge, CO
 

AWARDS APPLICATION DEADLINES

AGA Fellow Abstract Award
This travel award provides $500 and one $1,000 prize to recipients who are MD and/or PhD postdoctoral fellows presenting posters/oral sessions at DDW.
Application Deadline: Feb. 16, 2018

AGA-Moti L. & Kamla Rustgi International Travel Awards
This travel award provides $750 to recipients who are young basic, translational, or clinical investigators residing outside North America to support travel and related expenses to attend DDW.
Application Deadline: Feb. 16, 2018

AGA Student Abstract Award
This travel award provides $500 and one $1,000 prize to recipients who are high school, undergraduate, graduate, medical students, or residents (residents up to year 3 postgraduates) presenting posters/oral sessions at DDW.
Application Deadline: Feb. 16, 2018
 

For more information about upcoming events and award deadlines, please visit http://www.gastro.org/education and http://www.gastro.org/research-funding.
 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Feb. 22, 2018; March 22, 2018
Reimbursement, Coding and Compliance for Gastroenterology
Improve the efficiency and performance of your practice by staying current on the latest reimbursement, coding, and compliance changes.
2/22 (Edison, NJ); 3/22 (St. Charles, MO)

April 11, 2018
AGA Regional Practice Skills Workshop – Pennsylvania
During this free workshop, senior and junior GI leaders will guide you through various practice options and address topics rarely discussed during fellowship, such as employment models, partnerships, hospital politics, billing and coding, compliance, contracts, and more. Find out more at http://www.gastro.org/in-person/regional-practice-skills-workshop-philadelphia.
Philadelphia

May 10-11, 2018
HIV and Hepatitis Management: THE NEW YORK COURSE
This advanced CME activity will provide participants with state-of-the-art information and practical guidance on progress in managing HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C and will enable practitioners to deliver the highest-quality care in all practice settings.
New York City

Jun. 2-5, 2018

DIGESTIVE DISEASE WEEK^® (DDW) 2018 – WASHINGTON, DC

AGA Trainee and Early-Career GI Sessions
Join your colleagues at special sessions to meet the unique needs of physicians who are new to the field. Participants will learn about all aspects of starting a career in clinical practice or research, have the opportunity to network with mentors and peers, and review board material.

• June 2, 8:15 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; June 3, 8:30 a.m.-12:35 p.m.
AGA Postgraduate Course: From Abstract to Reality
Attend this multi-topic course to get practical, applicable information to push your practice to the next level. The 2018 course will provide a comprehensive look at the latest medical, surgical, and technological advances over the past 12 months that aim to keep you up to date in a rapidly changing field. Each presenter will turn abstract ideas into concrete action items that you can implement in your practice immediately. AGA member trainees and early-career GIs receive discounted pricing for this course.

• June 3, 4-5:30 p.m.
Difficult Conversations: Navigating People, Negotiations, Promotions, and Complications
During this session, attendees will obtain effective negotiation techniques and learn how to navigate difficult situations in clinical and research environments.

• June 4, 4-5:30 p.m.
Advancing Clinical Practice: Gastroenterology Fellow–Directed Quality-Improvement Projects
This trainee-focused session will showcase selected abstracts from GI fellows based on quality improvement with a state-of-the-art lecture. Attendees will be provided with information that defines practical approaches to quality improvement from start to finish. A limited supply of coffee and tea will be provided during the session.

• June 5, 1:30-5:30 p.m.
Board Review Course
This session, designed around content from DDSEP^® 8, serves as a primer for third-year fellows preparing for the board exam as well as a review course for others wanting to test their knowledge. Session attendees will receive a $50 coupon to use at the AGA Store at DDW to purchase DDSEP 8.

• TBD
AGA Early-Career Networking Hour
Date, time, and location to be announced soon.

June 4-8, 2018
Exosomes/Microvesicles: Heterogeneity, Biogenesis, Function, and Therapeutic Developments (E2)
Deepen your understanding of the structural and functional complexity of extracellular vesicles, their biogenesis and function in health and disease, cargo enrichment, potential as ideal biomarkers, and breakthroughs in their use as therapeutic targets/agents.

Breckenridge, CO
 

AWARDS APPLICATION DEADLINES

AGA Fellow Abstract Award
This travel award provides $500 and one $1,000 prize to recipients who are MD and/or PhD postdoctoral fellows presenting posters/oral sessions at DDW.
Application Deadline: Feb. 16, 2018

AGA-Moti L. & Kamla Rustgi International Travel Awards
This travel award provides $750 to recipients who are young basic, translational, or clinical investigators residing outside North America to support travel and related expenses to attend DDW.
Application Deadline: Feb. 16, 2018

AGA Student Abstract Award
This travel award provides $500 and one $1,000 prize to recipients who are high school, undergraduate, graduate, medical students, or residents (residents up to year 3 postgraduates) presenting posters/oral sessions at DDW.
Application Deadline: Feb. 16, 2018
 

The percentage of reproductive-aged women who filled a prescription for an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication rose by 344% from 2003 to 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2003, 0.9% of women aged 15-44 years with private employer–sponsored insurance filled a prescription for an ADHD medication. By 2015, that figure had gone up to 4.0% for an increase of 344% that was unevenly split by medication class: prescriptions for stimulants were up by 388%, but nonstimulants had no change, wrote Kayla N. Anderson, PhD, and her associates in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

rfranki@frontlinemedcom.com

SOURCE: Anderson K et al. MMWR. 2018 Jan 19;76(2):66-70.

The percentage of reproductive-aged women who filled a prescription for an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication rose by 344% from 2003 to 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2003, 0.9% of women aged 15-44 years with private employer–sponsored insurance filled a prescription for an ADHD medication. By 2015, that figure had gone up to 4.0% for an increase of 344% that was unevenly split by medication class: prescriptions for stimulants were up by 388%, but nonstimulants had no change, wrote Kayla N. Anderson, PhD, and her associates in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

rfranki@frontlinemedcom.com

SOURCE: Anderson K et al. MMWR. 2018 Jan 19;76(2):66-70.

The percentage of reproductive-aged women who filled a prescription for an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication rose by 344% from 2003 to 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2003, 0.9% of women aged 15-44 years with private employer–sponsored insurance filled a prescription for an ADHD medication. By 2015, that figure had gone up to 4.0% for an increase of 344% that was unevenly split by medication class: prescriptions for stimulants were up by 388%, but nonstimulants had no change, wrote Kayla N. Anderson, PhD, and her associates in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

rfranki@frontlinemedcom.com

SOURCE: Anderson K et al. MMWR. 2018 Jan 19;76(2):66-70.

LOS ANGELES – The final results of the DEFUSE 3 trial are in, and the results are unequivocal: Thrombectomy performed 6-16 hours after the stroke patient was last known to be well was associated with dramatically improved outcomes in 90-day death and disability.

It has long been said that time is brain. Time is still vital, but some strokes progress at a slower rate. “We have the opportunity to treat these patients in a time window that we never thought was possible,” Gregory W. Albers, MD, said in presenting the findings at the International Stroke Conference sponsored by the American Heart Association.

Jim Kling/Frontline Medical News

SOURCE: Albers G et al. ISC 2018

LOS ANGELES – The final results of the DEFUSE 3 trial are in, and the results are unequivocal: Thrombectomy performed 6-16 hours after the stroke patient was last known to be well was associated with dramatically improved outcomes in 90-day death and disability.

It has long been said that time is brain. Time is still vital, but some strokes progress at a slower rate. “We have the opportunity to treat these patients in a time window that we never thought was possible,” Gregory W. Albers, MD, said in presenting the findings at the International Stroke Conference sponsored by the American Heart Association.

Jim Kling/Frontline Medical News

SOURCE: Albers G et al. ISC 2018

LOS ANGELES – The final results of the DEFUSE 3 trial are in, and the results are unequivocal: Thrombectomy performed 6-16 hours after the stroke patient was last known to be well was associated with dramatically improved outcomes in 90-day death and disability.

It has long been said that time is brain. Time is still vital, but some strokes progress at a slower rate. “We have the opportunity to treat these patients in a time window that we never thought was possible,” Gregory W. Albers, MD, said in presenting the findings at the International Stroke Conference sponsored by the American Heart Association.

Jim Kling/Frontline Medical News

SOURCE: Albers G et al. ISC 2018