Home OCT combined with an AI analysis helped in the early detection of retinal fluid in patients with age-related macular degeneration, according to a speaker.
In her presentation at the American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting, Anat Loewenstein, MD, MHA, of Tel Aviv Medical Center, said home OCT has shown the ability to provide quality data on disease activity and reactivation.
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“However, the question comes up if home OCT plus AI-generated data trajectories agree with expert graders’ review for identification of clinically significant change in retinal fluid,” she said in

ACOG and other medical societies revealed a framework urging Congress to invest $20 billion over 10 years to “to transform women’s health research, care and outcomes,” the organization announced.
“Now that we’ve unveiled the framework, the real work begins to make it a reality,” Rachel Gandell Tetlow, ACOG vice president of government and political affairs, told Healio. “By design, this national strategy leaves room for the myriad women’s health organizations to find a priority they align with and advocate for it.”
Tetlow added that many Congressional members “already have existing legislative

There was a sizable reduction in health care-associated infections over a recent 8-year span among hospitalized patients in the United States, according to data from a CDC survey published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The survey showed that hospitalized patients were 27% less likely to contract a health care-associated infection (HAI) in 2023 than in 2015. On any given day about 1 in 38 hospitalized patients had at least one HAI in 2023 — down from 1 in 31 patients in 2015,
CDC epidemiologist Nora Chea, MD, and colleagues reported.
Chea told Healio a “major contributor”

The first patient has been enrolled in the phase 3 Galassia-NAION-301 study to evaluate an intranasal spray for the treatment of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, according to a press release from Dompé.
If approved, it would be the first FDA-approved treatment for nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a spontaneous vision loss that can lead to permanent vision impairment.
The active ingredient in the spray is cenegermin-bkbj, a recombinant human nerve growth factor (NGF). Cenegermin-bkbj is also the active ingredient in Oxervate, an eye drop from Dompé

The FDA has granted traditional approval to selpercatinib for adults and children aged 2 years and older with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors with a RET gene fusion.
Selpercatinib (Retevmo, Eli Lilly & Co.), an oral kinase inhibitor, received approval for treatment of patients with RET fusion-positive tumors, as detected by an FDA-approved test, who have progressed on or following systemic therapy or who have no alternative treatment options.
The agent previously received accelerated approval for this indication in 2022 for adults and in 2024 for pediatric patients aged 2 years

Research published in The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine showed no significant effect of levels of preoperative anxiety on opioid usage in patients who were opioid naive undergoing primary arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.
“Surgery is a stressful event. It does not equal a psychiatric diagnosis and cannot predict who will and will not struggle postoperatively,” Hafiz F. Kassam, MD, director of the shoulder division at Hoag Orthopedic Institute, told Healio. “For me, that indicates the fact that we need to focus on maintaining people’s independence from their

Health experts are raising the alarm on kratom-derived 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, products.
At its annual House of Delegates meeting, the AMA expanded its policy regarding kratom products. The organization is now calling for a complete ban on the marketing, distribution or sale of 7-OH products “and similar derivatives.” Additionally, on July 1, the DEA announced it intends to “temporarily place 7-OH and three related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.”
“There is a distinction between kratom and kratom-derived products. [Kratom has] been around for a long time —

Merck and the FDA announced the approval of enlicitide 20 mg as an add-on to diet and exercise to lower LDL in adults with hypercholesterolemia and those with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.
Enlicitide (Lipfendra), a novel macrocyclic peptide, is the first oral PCSK9 inhibitor FDA-approved to lower LDL, according to press releases from the company and the FDA.
Approval was based on the results of the phase 3 CORALreef Lipids and CORALreef HeFH trials, which were presented at the 2025 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and published in The New England Journal of Medicine

Three major studies showed that finerenone could provide kidney and CV benefits for a wider range of patients with chronic kidney disease, according to a press release.
Finerenone (Kerendia, Bayer), a nonsteroidal selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, is approved by the FDA for reducing kidney and CV risks in patients with CKD and type 2 diabetes. The three studies suggest finerenone may provide kidney and CV benefits for patients with CKD without diabetes, patients with glomerular diseases and across a spectrum of etiologies.
“For many years, progress in developing therapies for

People with dermatomyositis displayed a greater prevalence of concurrent postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome compared with those who had other autoimmune conditions, according to a research letter published in JAMA.
“We have seen enough people with this association that we believe it is worth noting,” Victoria Werth, MD, MS, professor of dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, told Healio.
It is estimated that postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), an autonomic disorder characterized by a rapidly increased heart rate after standing,