NEW YORK MEDICAL COLLEGE

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) techniques show promise in improving asthma and allergic conditions, with studies indicating reduced IgE levels and improved symptoms. Ongoing TCM research aims for FDA approval, focusing on treatments like triple therapy for eczema and topical steroid withdrawal.

Ferhina S. Ali, MD, MPH, discusses managing geographic atrophy (GA) by considering treatment timing, imaging, phase 3 trial data, and patient adherence. Ali uses an individual treatment approach, focusing on the eye with better vision in bilateral GA cases. She administers GA treatments pegcetacoplan and avacincaptad pegol every 4-6 weeks, guided by trial extension data and patient motivation. Ali emphasizes the importance of monitoring for choroidal neovascularization and progressive vision loss, and ongoing patient education.

Upadacitinib (Rinvoq) demonstrated a favorable long-term benefit-risk profile through 76 weeks in adolescents with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis, achieving EASI-75 in 84-96% of patients across three phase III trials. Both 15 mg and 30 mg doses met primary endpoints, with acne and nausea as most common adverse events. Long-term outcomes were consistent with known AE profile, with no new signals observed. The analysis involved 542 adolescents, with data gathered from August 2018 to April 2022.

Teal Health awarded $1.68 million SBIR grant from NCI for at-home cervical cancer screening with Teal Wand™, enabling self-collection of vaginal samples for HPV testing.

FDA approves Cobenfy, first new schizophrenia drug in over 30 years, combining xanomeline and trospium chloride to manage symptoms via a different mechanism targeting acetylcholine, potentially reducing common side effects like weight gain and drowsiness.