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Top Medical News

2 hours ago
Applying a single dose of the novel vaginal film ZB-06 before intercourse is safe and appears to prevent sperm from reaching the egg, according to the results of a phase I, proof-of-concept trial.

14 hours ago
The combination of camrelizumab plus apatinib and temozolomide appears to be beneficial in the first-line treatment of advanced acral melanoma, with the majority of the patients showing response and an acceptable safety profile, according to the results of a phase II study.

Jairia Dela Cruz,
18 hours ago
A novel endoscopic electroporation procedure, when combined with semaglutide, can eliminate the need for insulin injections for individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D), as shown in the results of the first-in-human EMINENT study.

19 hours ago
A clinically meaningful endpoint for future therapeutic trials in urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome is a decrease of 30‒50 percent in pelvic pain severity, suggests a study. Clinically significant differences for urinary symptom severity are more appropriately defined separately for males and females.

Stephen Padilla,
20 hours ago
Treatment with 2.0-mg OPT-302, a biologic inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C and D, in combination with ranibizumab, an anti‒VEGF-A inhibitor, results in greater vision gains when compared with the current standard of care for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), reports a study. In addition, the combined therapy has an acceptable safety profile.

21 hours ago
More intense physical activities (PAs) help reduce abdominal fat in children, reveals a study, noting that PA programs must provide occasions for children to perform vigorous (V)PA to achieve healthier body fat profiles and prevent excess adiposity.

Yesterday
Exercising late in the afternoon may be more potent than working out at any other time of the day for lowering blood sugar levels in people with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D), as reported in a study.
Special Reports

01 Jun 2023
Dengue is regarded as the most eminent mosquito-borne viral disease by the World Health Organisation. In Malaysia, dengue fever has the highest incidence rate among communicable diseases, with 397.71 cases per 100,000 populations. Dengue Prevention Advocacy Malaysia (DPAM), an independent advocacy group was set up to enhance dengue prevention, management, and control within the country.

01 Jun 2023
Dr Jeremy Quah, Cardiology Fellow at National Heart Institute, talks about a rare disease known as transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR).
Amyloidosis is the extracellular tissue deposition of fibrils. There are two major forms of cardiac amyloidosis, namely light-chain amyloidosis (AL) and ATTR-CM. The clinical manifestations of ATTR-CM can vary greatly but essentially it presents as either new or worsening heart failure or new conduction system disease.
Amyloidosis is the extracellular tissue deposition of fibrils. There are two major forms of cardiac amyloidosis, namely light-chain amyloidosis (AL) and ATTR-CM. The clinical manifestations of ATTR-CM can vary greatly but essentially it presents as either new or worsening heart failure or new conduction system disease.

01 Jun 2023
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most prevalent forms of cardiac arrhythmias, particularly among the ageing population. It is projected to affect about 8 and 17 million individuals in the United States and Europe in 2050, respectively. Although the prevalence of AF among Asians is relatively lower, the disease burden is high owing to the growing ageing population; approximately 72 million individuals are expected to receive an AF diagnosis in the next few decades. Stroke is a clinically important complication observed in patients with AF as its incidence rate is 4- to 5-fold higher than that in patients without AF. In particular, Asians have a higher incidence of AF-related risks of bleeding and stroke when compared with non-Asians. The annual risk of ischaemic stroke in Asian patients with AF was reported to be approximately 3%. As such, stroke prevention is an important aspect in the management of AF.

01 Jun 2023
Paediatric patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have increased chances of survival and improved quality of life when managed by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals. Dr Poorani Anandakrishnan, a paediatric neurologist from Hospital Tunku Azizah, explains how a multidisciplinary team can contribute to the optimal management of SMA patients.

02 May 2023
At the recent 20th Malaysian Society of Haematology Annual Scientific Meeting, Associate Professor Dr Azlan Husin, clinical haematologist, Hospital USM, discussed the diagnosis and treatment of polycythaemia vera (PV). Subsequently, he explored the issue of hydroxyurea intolerance and resistance in PV.

01 May 2023
Dr Shalini C Sree Dharan, a consultant endocrinologist, discusses the benefits of treatment options for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) that also address a patient’s underlying cardiovascular and hepatic dysregulation. Here, Dr Shalini discusses a case study where a fixed dose combination of a sodium/glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT-2i) and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 enzyme inhibitor (DPP-4i) provided benefits for both glucose control and cardiovascular risk reduction.

Prof. Ghassan Dbaibo,
27 Apr 2023
The WHO defines long COVID as a condition that occurs 3 months from COVID-19 onset, whose symptoms last ≥2 months and cannot be attributed to an alternative diagnosis. In an interview with MIMS Doctor, Professor Ghassan Dbaibo of the Center for Infectious Diseases, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, describes the evolving attitudes towards long COVID among healthcare professionals (HCPs), some unexpected predisposing factors, potential biological mechanisms behind prolonged symptom duration and shares data on vaccination’s protective effects against long COVID.
Conference Reports

Audrey Abella,
31 May 2023
COVID-19 remains a global health concern, and children and adolescents are equally affected. In fact, COVID-19 hospitalization rates in children increased during the Omicron era. [MMWR 2022;71:271-278] In children aged 5–11 years who were hospitalized during the predominance of Omicron, nearly 90 percent were unvaccinated. [MMWR 2022;71:574-581]

Audrey Abella,
30 May 2023
In individuals with hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) compounded by alcoholic hepatitis (AH), treatment with the synthetic, long-acting vasopressin analogue terlipressin led to the achievement of verified HRS reversal, a subgroup analysis of the phase III CONFIRM trial has shown.

Audrey Abella,
29 May 2023
In the new analysis of the REGENERATE trial, the FXR* agonist obeticholic acid (OCA) was generally well tolerated and demonstrated a favourable safety profile in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Elaine Soliven,
27 May 2023
Administration of maternal influenza vaccine during the first- or second-trimester of pregnancy reduces the risk of influenza-like illness (ILI) in the offspring, according to a study presented at ESPID 2023.

Jairia Dela Cruz,
25 May 2023
Uncertainty weighs heavily on managing tuberculosis (TB) infection in children, with multi-level factors influencing the decision-making regarding testing and treatment.
Audrey Abella,
25 May 2023
The direct-acting antiviral (DAA) sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) was effective and safe for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in individuals aged 6–18 years, the PANDAA-PED study has shown.

Jairia Dela Cruz,
25 May 2023
Both the 2-dose and 3-dose vaccination schedules of the four-component meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB) appear to provide protection against a panel epidemiologically relevant strains in adolescents and young adults, according to a phase III study presented at ESPID 2023.
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