Multidisciplinary

Specific carbohydrate diet may improve symptoms for some IBD patients

7 hours ago

A specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) and a modified SCD (MSCD) demonstrate inconsistent effectiveness for the improvement of symptoms in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with some patients benefitting and others not, reports a study.

P-gp/CYP3A4 inhibitor use ups bleeding, mortality risks in NOAC-treated AF patients

8 hours ago

Bleeding and mortality risks are elevated in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients treated with nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) who are also using P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and CYP3A4 inhibitors, reports a study, noting the need for close monitoring of these individuals.

Diabetes, fertility treatment, family history up autism risk in infants

10 hours ago

A recent Egypt study has identified several maternal and neonatal factors contributing to the risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in infants, including the use of assisted fertility treatments, family medical history, and threatened abortion.

Type 3c diabetes is caused by injury to the pancreas, and is often misdiagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

Novel oral neoadjuvant therapy shows promising phase II results

Yesterday

The novel neoadjuvant therapy S-1, an oral fluoropyrimidine agent containing tegafur, gimeracil, and oteracil potassium, yields promising survival outcomes in high-risk patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, a recent study has found.

MACE, stroke, death common after acute coronary syndrome in people with bipolar disorder

Yesterday

In people with bipolar disorder, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) are common occurrences after acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a new study has found. Similarly, the risks of all-cause mortality and stroke are also increased post-ACS.

Tirzepatide: A winning weight-loss therapy for nondiabetic, obese adults

Roshini Claire Anthony, Yesterday

Non-diabetic overweight or obese adults experienced a greater reduction in weight and cardiometabolic measures with the addition of tirzepatide to their lifestyle interventions, findings of the SURMOUNT-1 trial showed.

Long-term PPI tied to pneumonia in older adults

PPIs raise death risk in advanced NSCLC patients on antitumour therapy

Yesterday

Treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPI) appears to increase the risk of mortality among patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing systemic antitumour therapy, reveals a recent study.

$Empagliflozin: A new dawn for heart failure treatment across the ejection fraction spectrum$

Empagliflozin: A new dawn for heart failure treatment across the ejection fraction spectrum

06 Jun 2022

Initially approved to improve glycaemic control and reduce cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D), the SGLT-2* inhibitor empagliflozin reduced hospitalization for heart failure (HFH) or cardiovascular death and delayed renal function decline when added to recommended therapy in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) in the EMPEROR-Reduced** trial. The EMPEROR-Preserved** trial has now shown that the benefits of empagliflozin extend to patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

Psoriasis: Getting at the heart of the matter

01 Jun 2022

Psoriasis (PsO) is a chronic, systemic immune-mediated inflammatory disease that is associated with significant cardiovascular (CV)comorbidities.1,2 Recently, MIMS Doctor spoke to Dr Norazirah Md Nor, a Consultant Dermatologist at KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital to gather her thoughts on the impact of early treatment on disease prognosis, and to understand the link between the severity of PsO and the risk of CV diseases (CVDs). Here are the highlights from the interview.

Elucidating the value of childhood immunisation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic

01 Jun 2022

A group of paediatricians came together in a virtual satellite symposium held during the joint 11th Asia Pacific Paediatric Endocrine Society Biennial Scientific Meeting and the 42nd Annual Congress of the Malaysian Paediatric Association. The educational event, which was supported by GSK, served as a platform for the experts to review updates on paediatric respiratory diseases and discuss the importance of timely childhood immunisation.

In his welcome speech, Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail highlighted the inclusion of two new vaccines in Malaysia’s National Immunisation Programme (NIP) and its impact on local vaccination practices. Subsequently, Dr Asiah Kassim delivered a presentation on the importance of paediatric pneumococcal vaccines in preventing childhood respiratory infections, followed by a second lecture from Dato’ Dr Musa Mohd Nordin on optimising immunisation for children based on current data surrounding hexavalent combination vaccines.

Probiotics: Clinically Proven to be Effective in Treating Women’s Urogenital Infections

01 Jun 2022

Urogenital infections, particularly bacterial vaginosis and urinary tract infections (UTI), are common in women of reproductive age. Although these infections can be treated with antibiotic therapy, the global antibiotic resistance crisis has resulted in the emergence of multidrug resistant bacteria, with over seven million deaths caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year. New antimicrobials eventually lose their efficacy owing to a multitude of factors that result in acquired resistance, including poor adherence to therapy. Thus, new treatment modalities are required to reduce the reliance on antibiotic use. One approach is the application of probiotics as a means of prophylaxis or antibiotic adjuvant therapy. Probiotic microorganisms are symbiotic in human hosts and, when consumed in adequate amounts, can provide health benefits, including antimicrobial effects and modulation of biological functions.

Dengue Epidemiology and Serotype in Malaysia: The Malaysian dengue epidemic from the perspective of epidemiology

01 Jun 2022

Dengue remains a public health issue in Malaysia despite years of public health efforts to mitigate the endemic disease. In this introductory part of the second interview of a series focused on dengue, Dr Ravindran Thayan, Head of Virology Unit at Institute for Medical Research, discussed progressive developments in dengue epidemiology in Malaysia over the last few decades.

Tirzepatide: A winning weight-loss therapy for nondiabetic, obese adults

Roshini Claire Anthony, 25 Jun 2022

Baricitinib delays, lowers frequency of flares in JIA

Roshini Claire Anthony, 23 Jun 2022

In patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) with insufficient response to conventional synthetic (cs) or biologic (b) disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), the JAK*1/2 selective inhibitor baricitinib reduced the frequency and delayed time to disease flares, according to a phase III trial presented at EULAR 2022.

Dostarlimab in rectal cancer: are we inching towards a cure?

Audrey Abella, 22 Jun 2022

In what has been dubbed as ‘a small but mighty study’ at ASCO 2022, a phase II trial spearheaded by investigators from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, US heralded the remarkable efficacy and safety of the monoclonal antibody dostarlimab for the treatment of locally advanced mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) rectal cancer.

Can vitamin D prevent severe COVID-19 outcomes in older people?

Kanas Chan, 22 Jun 2022

Vitamin D deficiency is common in modern society, particularly among older people who are homebound. Vitamin D supplements in older people may have a role in preventing serious complications of COVID-19, according to data presented at AIM 2022.

How effective were COVID-19 antivirals during HK’s Omicron BA.2 wave?

How effective were oral antivirals during HK’s Omicron BA.2 wave?

Christina Lau, 21 Jun 2022

A real-world study during Hong Kong’s Omicron BA.2 wave showed that both molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir effectively lowered the risks of disease progression and all-cause mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients not requiring oxygen supplementation on admission. However, mortality risk reduction was larger with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir vs molnupiravir.

Semaglutide reduces long-term T2D risk in overweight/obese patients

Elaine Soliven, 21 Jun 2022

Once-weekly injection of semaglutide significantly reduced the 10-year risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) among overweight or obese patients, according to a post hoc analysis of the STEP* 1 and 4 trials presented at ADA 2022.

Bimekizumab triumphs in bDMARD-naïve psoriatic arthritis patients

Roshini Claire Anthony, 20 Jun 2022

Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with no prior exposure to biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) experience improvements in their condition when treated with bimekizumab, according to results of the phase III BE OPTIMAL trial.