Latest Conference Articles

Researchers who conducted the ASTRAL-1 trial of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir attending the Liver Meeting (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA, presented results of a study on an antiviral that works on five types of hepatitis C virus. The study findings were released last month by manufacturer Gilead.

Hepatitis C genotype 3 can be hard to cure, but researchers presenting a study at the Liver Meeting (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA, said they have found a regimen that works.

Egypt has the highest prevalence of hepatitis C in the word and most of it (90%) is genotype 4. Researchers presenting a study at the Liver Meeting (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA, reported success in a trial of ravidasvir

The high costs of direct-acting antivirals to treat hepatitis C infection is no secret, but neither is the fact that the drugs are cost-effective. Pennsylvania researchers found insurers were lagging in approving payment for the drugs in their four-state region, with Medicaid programs the worst offenders.

Despite the success of direct antivirals in curing hepatitis C, there are concerns about resistance to the drugs.

Liver transplant specialists looked at whether post-transplant hepatitis C patients could safely eliminate ribavirin (RBV) from their drug regimens. They found they could.

Ever since direct acting antivirals for hepatitis C came on the scene, physicians have been watching to see if the need for liver transplants will diminish. It appears they have.

Most patients with non-cirrhotic livers and HCV infection may need only three weeks of direct-acting antivirals, researchers said. They reported on a small proof-of-concept study in China.

In a post-hoc analysis, researchers found that the clinical efficacy of tofacitinib after 6 months of treatment was greater than placebo, and appeared similar regardless of methotrexate dose.

Automatic external defibrillators are becoming more common throughout the country and the world helping to save countless lives. However with some devices not available at all times of the day there are questions about how they could be used more effectively

The Framingham Heart Study has been one of the most in depth studies in the field of cardiology and medicine as a whole. A recent portion of the study looked at the impact of carbon monoxide exhalation and its role in patient health.

A review of six Phase 3 studies shows that tofacitinib is more effective for rheumatoid arthritis treatment than regimens including placebo and a disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug or methotrexate as monotherapy or in combination therapy.

In a phase 3 study, ixekizumab showed significant, clinically meaningful improvements of disease activity and physical function for patients with psoriatic arthritis.

Highly trained female athletes showed no sign of a negative effect on their hearts after intense workouts--contradicting studies that found such maximal excercise can be counter-productive, researchers said at the AHA meeting in Orlando, FL.

Heart disease presents differently in women, and a drug for angina that works for most men did not help most women with their angina, researchers reported today.

Injecting globs of a biopolymer based on brown algae into the heart muscle of patients with advanced heart disease helped halt or reverse disease. The procedure is meant to thicken the ventricle wall. That reduces pumping stress.

An investigational drug called andexanet alfa that can reverse the anticoagulant effects of FXa inhibitors met all primary and secondary efficacy endpoints, researchers said in a late-breaking clinical trial report at the AHA meeting in Orlando.

In patients with active rheumatoid arthritis symtoms that persisted even though they were taking methotrexate, baricitinib (Lilly/Incyte) treatment led to "significant improvements" researchers reported at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who received sarilumab plus a DMARD who did not respond to anti-TNF medications showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful changes from baseline in fatigue, morning stiffness, pain, productivity, and participation at week 24.

Results from the MEASURE 1 trial suggest that about 80% of patients with ankylosing spondylitis had no radiographic progression in the spine on x-ray assessment after a 2-year course of secukinumab.

Analysis of data from the PEGASUS-TIMI 54 trial showed high rates of treatment discontinuation due to adverse events such as bleeding and dyspnea, with the highest rate occurring in the first year of treatment. Patients who stuck with treatment experienced a reduction in cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke.

Patients with persistently active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) benefit from repository corticotropin injection (RCI).

Chest pain is one of the most common reasons that patients visit the emergency room, and the use of troponin testing can help cut down the time between first medical contact to final patient disposition.

Intravenous administration of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) appears safe in selected patients who were already on novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) a team reported at the American Heart Association Annual Scientitific Session in Orlando, FL.

Blocking IL-23p19 with an investigational Boehringer-Ingelheim compound called BI 655066 got better results than ustekinumab (Stelara/Janssen) in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis

Other than joint replacement, not much works in treating osteoarthritis of the knee. A Brazilian research team said it has had success with intra-articular injections of ozone.

Compared with placebo, treatment with odanacatib consistently reduced fracture risk across a range of subgroups in a phase 3 clinical trial.

In phase 2 data, ABT-494 showed a significant dose response over placebo in treating rheumatoid arthritis.

Registering with multiple organ transplant centers may give wealthier patients an edge over less affluent patients who may be more deserving of a transplant.

A biologic agent called SB5 worked as well adalimumab,researchers reported at the American College of Rheumatology meeting in San Francisco, CA.