NEW ORLEANS — In high-risk patients with diabetes but without known atherosclerosis, evolocumab reduced risk for a first major CV event compared with placebo, according to a subgroup analysis of the VESALIUS-CV trial.
As Healio previously reported, in the main results of VESALIUS-CV, a trial of high-risk patients with diabetes and/or atherosclerosis and no history of MI or stroke, evolocumab (Repatha, Amgen) became the first PCSK9 inhibitor to demonstrate effectiveness for primary and secondary prevention, lowering risk for a 3-point major adverse CV event endpoint by 25%. Nicholas A. Marston,

DENVER — Adults with active psoriatic arthritis and obesity had improvements in disease activity, physical function, weight loss and quality of life with combination ixekizumab plus tirzepatide, according to phase 3 study results.
In this Beneath the Surface video interview conducted live at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, FAAD, the James J. Leyden Professor of Clinical Investigation and professor of dermatology and epidemiology at University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and Healio Dermatology’s Chief Medical Editor, spoke with

NEW ORLEANS — In patients with intermediate coronary lesions, an angiography-guided percutaneous coronary intervention strategy was noninferior to a pressure wire-guided PCI strategy for CV outcomes at 1 year, new data show.
The ALL-RISE trial, presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed that AI-assisted 3D modeling of the coronary tree could help determine intermediate lesion eligibility for percutaneous coronary intervention, with no need for more invasive diagnostics, Ajay Kirtane, MD, SM,

DENVER — Drivers of climate change, including air pollution and microplastics, may worsen dermatologic diseases. An American Academy of Dermatology resource group offers an opportunity to advocate for policy changes that could improve health.
“We know that heat-related illnesses, greater UV exposure, inflammatory diseases and their relation to pollution and increases in infectious diseases are all related to climate change,” Hannah Rodriguez, MPAS, PA-C, a dermatology PA at the Pennsylvania Dermatology Group and a Healio Dermatology Peer Perspective Board Member, told Healio. “But, today, we

NEW ORLEANS — New data support the use of mavacamten as a treatment option for adolescents with symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, researchers reported at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session.
The SCOUT-HCM trial is the first to evaluate mavacamten (Camzyos, Bristol Myers Squibb) in adolescents. Mavacamten, a cardiac myosin inhibitor, is currently FDA approved for adults with obstructive HCM.
Pediatric-onset HCM is less common than adult-onset HCM, but it is associated with “a far worse prognosis,” Joseph W. Rossano, MD, chief of cardiology at Children’s

DENVER — Oral brepocitinib 30 mg was superior to placebo for treating dermatomyositis in adults already receiving standard therapies, according to phase 3 data presented at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.
The findings, which included a hallmark rapid reduction in itch and rates of clinical remission that exceeded published results with standard therapies, were simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Cutaneous dermatomyositis remains a major therapeutic challenge, Ruth Ann Vleugels, MD, MPH, MBA, vice chair for academic affairs at Brigham and Women’s

NEW ORLEANS — In a phase 2 trial of a novel antihypertensive agent, multiple doses lowered plasma angiotensinogen to a greater extent than a single dose, but did not provide further blood pressure lowering, researchers reported.
The KARDINAL study, presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, evaluated the effect of tonlamarsen (Kardigan) on patients with an office systolic BP of 135 mm Hg to 170 mm Hg despite use of two to five antihypertensive medications.
“Tonlamarsen is an antisense

NEW ORLEANS — Home-delivered groceries tailored to the low-sodium Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet improved BP among Black adults already being treated for hypertension, according to results from the GoFreshRx trial.
Even the comparator arm of this randomized trial, in which adults being treated for hypertension received stipends to do their own grocery shopping, experienced reductions in BP that persisted months after trial discontinuation, according to data presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session. The results were simultaneously published in Nature

DENVER — Turns out, 12-time Grammy Award winner John Legend and American Academy of Dermatology President Susan C. Taylor, MD, FAAD, have a few things in common.
In addition to calling the University of Pennsylvania their alma mater, Legend and Taylor also share a love for Philadelphia’s music scene, a passion for giving back to the communities they came from and collaborating and creating new things — including skin care lines.
“It started with me being hired as a spokesperson for other skin care brands, established brands with big corporations,” Legend, also an Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award

MIAMI — At Sunshine Eye and Retina, Rishi P. Singh, MD, shared advice with comprehensive ophthalmologists for addressing five commonly missed retinal diagnoses.
“You guys see these patients all the time. You diagnose them first, and you then have to decide whether to refer them right away to us or to wait,” he said.
One commonly missed diagnosis is proliferative diabetic retinopathy, Singh said.
“This is an example where the [OCT angiography] can be very helpful,” he explained. “I’ll take an OCTA of the patient’s neovascularization of the disc, which will give me a reference point for why I’m