Latest Conference Articles

AT AAN 2017, Andres Kanner, MD, Professor of Clinical Neurology, Chief of Epilepsy Division from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine spoke with MD Magazine about the latest advancements in epilepsy research.

Larry Altstiel, MD, PhD, EVP, Chief Medical Officer, vTv Therapeutics also discussed their team’s programs in type 2 diabetes. One is an activator of an enzyme called glucocynase – a master regulator for glucose in the body. According to Altstiel, when glucose is too high, it either shuns it off to energy production or stores it in the form of glycogen. It’s an insulin independent way of how the body controls glucose.

“This phase 2b study did exactly what we wanted a phase 2 study to do, which was to establish a patient population in mild patients and also find a safe and well tolerated dose,†said Larry Altstiel, MD, PhD.

Follow-up data from TOPIC, CARE-MS II trials positive for the two MS drugs.

“This appears to be a very safe and effective drug, and is a valuable part of our therapeutic armamentarium. I don’t think teriflunomide addresses all the unmet needs in MS, in fact, no drug meets all the unmet needs, but this is a very well tolerated oral agent.”

The nearly 7-year extension trial presented a 47% reduction overall in conversion to clinically definite MS with those patients who had been on 14mg of teriflunomide from the beginning.

Ocrevus reduced all 3 aspects of relapsing MS disease: reduction relapses, reduction disability, and reduction lesions within the brain quite substantially.

Tecfidera and Tysabri can provide MS patients with positive outcomes.

“Unlikely to have clinically relevant interactions with any commonly prescribed AEDs.”

Patients with tardive dyskinesia were previously only looked at, not treated.

The treatment of tardive dyskinesia can improve the impact of the condition on these very complicated patients.

“When we make recommendations, we don’t just use the evidence from the studies.”

Study results coincide with FDA's recent decision on a stimulation device.

Kids with lower limb spasticity should be given Dysport.

Those treated experienced an average decrease of 2.9 monthly migraine days.

Researchers previously only considered ALS as one illness, but new knowledge has changed that mentality and has shown experts they need to personalize treatment approaches. “It’s important to understand the disease in different groups of people.”

Risk of death in epilepsy "almost the elephant in the room,” according to Donner.

"This is disease-specific, mechanism-based treatment," Amaal Starling enthuses.

Past studies of AF have under-represented women, according to Louise McCullough.

Preliminary results hint at a new type of progressive MS treatment.

Cannabidiol may cut the number of seizures for some patients who have epilepsy.

Decreases in anabolic hormone levels, vitamin D linked to weakening with age.

Could insulin could be dosed off of values from a continuous glucose monitor? Anne Peters, MD, and team sought to find out.

A project from the University of New Mexico looks to turn physicians to experts.

Doctors should have an honest discussion with patients who exhibit red flags showing that they should not be given opioids, Larry Greenblatt, MD, of Duke University School of Medicine said at the American College of Physicians Internal Medicine Meeting (ACP 2017) in San Diego, California.

Meredith McCormack, MD, MHS, talked about managing asthma and COPD in the primary care setting and when it’s time to refer a patient to a specialist at the American College of Physicians Internal Medicine Meeting (ACP 2017) in San Diego, California.

Hepatitis C diagnoses are rarely made by a specialist, said Norman Sussman, MD. He explained how the telehealth program, Project ECHO, can help primary care physicians better manage patients with the virus at the American College of Physicians Internal Medicine Meeting (ACP 2017) in San Diego, California.

Bradley Miller, MD, University of Minnesota Academic Health Center hopes the team learns “good information” about how kids are growing on this dose of somavaratan that will then be confirmed in the phase 3 head-to-head with growth hormone daily.

What was designed to make physicians’ lives easier have caused major frustration. Bob Wachter, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) talked with MD Magazine about the issues surrounding electronic health records (EHRs).