For patients aged 18 to 64 years with chronic diseases, electronically delivered letter nudges increase influenza vaccination rates compared with usual care, according to a study published online Oct. 11 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Niklas Dyrby Johansen, M.D., Ph.D., from Copenhagen University Hospital—Herlev and Gentofte in Denmark, and colleagues examined whether electronically delivered letter-based...
Category: <span>Clinical Practice</span>
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Atopic Dermatitis Control on Biologic Persists Over 3 Years
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — For patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) who responded to the anti-interleukin (IL)-13 monoclonal antibody lebrikizumab in the pivotal trials, the level of response, including 90% skin clearance, has generally remained unchanged among those followed up for an additional 2 years, according to the latest data from an extension study. At the end...
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Hidradenitis Suppurativa Symptoms Eased by Semaglutide-Aided Weight Loss
People with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) who have overweight or obesity may benefit from adjunctive treatment with the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), suggests research presented at the annual meeting of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV). In a small, nonrandomized, observational, retrospective study, semaglutide-aided weight loss was found to...
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Study finds ‘brain endurance training’ boosts cognitive and physical abilities in older adults
Mean (SE) walk, chair-stand, and arm curl exercise performance as a function of group (BET, Exercise, Control), test (pre-, mid-, post-, follow-up) and state (before Stroop, after Stroop). T tests: B = different from BET group, E = different from Exercise group. Credit: Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2024.102757 Brain endurance training (BET), a combined cognitive and exercise training...
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Clinical trial finds multidisciplinary approach improves quality of life for movement disorder patients
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A research team has published a randomized clinical trial demonstrating for the first time that a multidisciplinary approach integrating specific physiotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective in improving the symptoms and physical aspects of the quality of life of patients with functional movement disorders. The study, published in the journal JAMA Neurology, was led...
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AI scans RNA ‘dark matter’ and uncovers 70,000 new viruses
Newly-discovered viruses live in hydrothermal vents and other extreme environments. Credit: Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover 70,500 viruses previously unknown to science1, many of them weird and nothing like known species. The RNA viruses were identified using metagenomics, in which scientists sample all the genomes present in the environment without having...
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Kinetic analysis of protein and peptide aggregation
Peptide-based pharmaceutical technology necessitates the delivery of therapeutic oligopeptides that are designed in a stable state for efficacious application. Following therapeutic peptide isolation or synthesis, peptides are frequently exposed to HPLC purification, synthetic modification, and preparatory treatments for storage over long periods. During any of these processes, spoilage can happen in the form of aggregation,...
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Why Neurodivergent Individuals Hyperfixate
What is hyperfixation? Hyperfixation can be defined as an intense interest in or concentration on something for a prolonged period. This can manifest for a variety of activities or topics, and this period of focus is marked by completely disregarding everything else.1 This period of hyperfixation may appear as becoming fully engrossed in an activity,...
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WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ‘BREAKTHROUGH’ HIV DRUG
A “significant breakthrough” in HIV prevention could be on the horizon, according to the World Health Organization. Results of an interim analysis from a Phase 3 clinical trial sponsored by Gilead Sciences, Inc., showed that lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable drug, is a highly promising tool for thwarting new HIV infections. Here, Onyema Ogbuagu, associate professor of...
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Too much lactate can harm our health—these microbes in our gut keep it in check
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Lactate will be familiar to many due to a common belief that it causes muscle “burn” following exercise—but this is a myth. Lactate is formed in our muscles during exercise, but this is not the only source of it in our bodies. It is also produced by many of the microbes that...