Bill Schu

For patients with underlying advanced liver disease, the hepatitis C infection treatments Viekira Pak (AbbVie) and Technivie (AbbVie) may increase the risk for serious liver injury, according to the FDA.

Earlier education, better understanding of pain guidelines, and better agreement among those guidelines are needed to prevent significant disparities in how certain types of pain are treated.

A retrospective review suggests that patients who have cervicofacial rhytidectomy (face lift) after radiotherapy are likely to have increased complication rates over patients who have not had radiotherapy.

The FDA has approved Tris Pharma's extended-release amphetamine oral suspension (Dyanavel XR) for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children aged 6 years and older.

A topical foam product combining calcipotriene and betamethasone dipropionate has been approved for the treatment of plaque psoriasis in adults age 18 and older.

Study results suggest that exposure to secondhand smoke either in the womb or early in childhood also leads to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation later in life.

Researchers report that tailored, computer-based training and interventions can increase the effectiveness of health promotion programs for many workplaces.

Study results suggest that gaps in knowledge among primary care physicians are leading to less than optimal treatment for atrial fibrillation patients, many of whom are improperly assessed for stroke and bleeding risks.

Studies show that laser- and light-based therapies can be effective as adjunct therapy in the treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa. Originally introduced to reduce the size of pores in acne treatment, laser- and light-based therapy is showing potential in other forms of dermatologic treatment.

Researchers have suggested that major depressive disorder (MDD) is a "nonlinear dynamic phenomenon with two discrete states." If so, then treatment can be more effectively tailored based on which state of MDD patients are in.

Study results suggest that maintaining proper weight is not just associated with better disease outcomes but also less pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Researchers reported that treatment with isotretinoin is not only associated with significant clinical improvement in patients with moderate to severe acne, but it also did not cause worsening of depression or suicidal thoughts in any of the patients in the study.

A recent study showed that retinal abnormalities detected through objective electrophysiological measurements may help identify the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder and possibly other psychological conditions.

The use of filtered sunlight is both safe and noninferior to conventional phototherapy for the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. This is important because severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia can lead to fatal complications, and because in some cases, existing guidelines for managing neonatal hyperbilirubinemia explicitly discourage the use of sunlight for the treatment.

The "obesity paradox" suggests that patients with excess weight are associated with better survival among individuals with cardiovascular disease -a mysterious and confounding phenomenon that has been demonstrated in many clinical studies.

A recent study looked at whether data from electronic health records could be used to develop a predictive model for patients likely to develop low back pain.

Hemodynamic activity and neural coupling within the salience network are disrupted in psychopathy, and that the effects of psychopathy on moral evaluation are influenced by attentional demands, according to a study in Translational Psychiatry.

A Swedish study is set to analyze the effect of massage and exercise therapy on subacute and long-lasting neck pain, according to an article in Trials. While both massage and exercise therapy are widely used for neck pain, there is little clinical evidence on the effectiveness of these treatments. Even where outcome measurements are available, the results have been conflicting.

A German cohort study in Archives of Dermatological Research found that antipsoriatic drugs for treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis are generally safe over the long-term.

For the first time, it's been demonstrated that the proto-oncogene survivin can distinguish drug-specific clinical responses in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to new study in BMC Medicine.

A study in the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine marks an important primary step in establishing a valid, patient-reported neck pain scale that could ultimately help in diagnosis and treatment of the condition.

Misconceptions about waterpipe smoke content may lead users to underestimate the health risks, which include all the cardiovascular risks of cigarette smoking, tobacco dependence, and even nicotine withdrawal.

Researchers report that not only does a reduction in the use of alcohol in adolescence not lead to replacement by tobacco or cannabis use, but that the same clustering effect blamed for high abuse of all three substances may also contribute to decreases across use of all three substances.

Results from a pilot study suggest that a technique called "Mental Contrasting and Implementation Intentions" is a promising way to promote physical activity in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Study results suggest that sustained remission of major depressive disorder requires treatment of all symptoms until they are undetectable, and make a case for linking symptoms with malfunctioning brain circuits and neurotransmitters to find a targeted approach for treating residual symptoms.

The authors of a previous study on the use of blood gene expression biomarkers to predict future hospitalizations due to suicidality recently published results from their research to identify genes that change in expression between no suicidal ideation (SI) and high SI states.

Gilead continues a string of recent successes with stellar data from four late-stage studies showing that a combination featuring its blockbuster polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir (Sovaldi®) and the experimental NS5A inhibitor velpatasvir is effective across all hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes.

Wrist–worn actigraphy might be an alternative to polysomnography (PSG) in measuring sleep efficiency and number of awakenings in certain patients with schizophrenia, according to a study in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment.

Anxiety can impact anyone, but athletes in pressure situations represent a heightened potential for nervousness to impact performance. An upcoming clinical trial in China will test the effectiveness of wrist-ankle acupuncture in treating precompetition nervous syndrome.

A study in Anesthesiology suggests a new target for pain control in patients who develop chronic pain after surgery. The target, spinal cathepsin G (CTSG), is a pro–nociceptive mediator in both an animal model and human study. The research points to the potential for inhibiting CTSG through an inhibitor.