FDA approves Ultomiris to reduce proteinuria for primary IgAN

The FDA has approved Ultomiris to reduce proteinuria in adult patients with primary immunoglobulin A nephropathy who are at risk for disease progression, according to a company press release.
The indication was granted as an accelerated approval based on the reduction of proteinuria demonstrated during a prespecified interim analysis of phase 3 I CAN study data.
According to the release, ravulizumab-cwvz (Ultomiris, Alexion Pharmaceuticals/AstraZeneca), a C5 complement inhibitor, showed 43.4% reduction in proteinuria at 34 weeks compared with patients taking placebo. The reduction was seen as

Monovision planning not always tied to eye dominance

NEW ORLEANS — Determining the dominant eye should be one part of monovision planning but not the deciding rule on eye assignment, according to a speaker.
In a presentation at Refractive Surgery Subspecialty Day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting, Jay S. Pepose, MD, PhD, said most surgeons were taught to identify the dominant dye and set it for distance when planning refractive surgery.
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“That assumes that baseline dominance should determine eye assignment and that it stays informative once asymmetric blur is imposed,” he said. “So, I want to ask the question: Is the

Health news on Eagles QB sparks talk on blood clots, prevention

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was diagnosed with a superficial vein thrombosis that later developed into deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary embolisms, ending his 2026 season in the NFL.
Prashant Rao, MD, cardiologist and physician-scientist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, discussed with Healio how embolisms form in otherwise healthy athletes, and what their impact can be.
Hurts initially presented for calf treatment Oct. 8 after the Oct. 4 football game against the Los Angeles Rams, during which Hurts experienced a “cleating” injury,

Study: Most who switch to long-acting HIV therapy stick with it

WASHINGTON — A large real-world study of people who switched from daily oral therapy to long-acting injections for HIV treatment showed that most stuck with the long-acting regimen and few experienced virologic failure.
The results could help alleviate providers’ concerns about the perceived challenges of remaining on a long-acting regimen for HIV, according to Ricky Hsu, MD, medical director at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation Healthcare Center in New York.
Hsu summarized the 5-year study for reporters before it was presented at IDWeek. He said he has heard from providers who are interested in

Caring for immunosuppressed patients during measles outbreaks

The rise of measles cases in the United States has clinical implications for patients prescribed immunosuppressive therapies, who are at higher risk for serious complications and may have vaccine contraindications, according to a study.
As of Oct. 15, 4,410 confirmed measles cases and 42 new outbreaks have been reported in the U.S. in 2026, according to the most recent CDC update. Three cases have resulted in death, the CDC reported.
While many cases resolve without complication, the risk for serious outcomes is higher among patients who are immunocompromised, including those with dermatologic

Program educates HCPs about treatment-resistant depression

Given the complexity and burden of treatment-resistant depression, educational initiatives can help clinicians understand its neurobiology and available care pathways to help improve outcomes, according to a press release.
Compass Pathways, a biotechnology company focused on advancing mental healthcare treatment options, recently launched Change the Tune in TRD, a campaign aimed at educating healthcare professionals (HCPs) about the patterns of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and to help expand awareness about this condition. The initiative combines knowledge-building with the opportunity

Heart failure overlaps with cardio-kidney-metabolic comorbidities

BOSTON — Comorbidities related to cardio-kidney-metabolic syndrome have become increasingly prevalent in patients with heart failure, which has implications for prevention and treatment, according to a speaker.
“In my patients with heart failure, half will have prevalent chronic kidney disease (CKD) and almost half will have diabetes and obesity,” Biykem Bozkurt, MD, PhD, the Mary and Gordon Cain Chair and Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said during a presentation at the Cardiometabolic Health Congress. “And those prevalences are increasing to the

FDA approves new tricuspid valve repair system

Edwards Lifesciences announced that the FDA approved its system for tricuspid valve repair.
The repair system (PASCAL Precision) is indicated for patients with symptomatic severe tricuspid regurgitation despite optimal medical therapy at elevated surgical risk, according to a company press release.
Approval was based on the 1-year results of the CLASP TR trial, in which researchers evaluated the repair system in a group of 65 patients with severe symptomatic tricuspid regurgitation despite optimal medical therapy.
As Healio previously reported, the repair system was associated with significant

HHS launches new Kidney Care National Plan

HHS launched the Kidney Care National Plan, a federal initiative to set the direction for the next phase of improving kidney disease treatment and advancing policy, reimbursement, research and regulation.
As part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative, the plan “identifies where federal action can improve kidney care across the entire spectrum of kidney disease, eliminate regulatory barriers to support innovation and a well-functioning kidney market, and deliver greater choice and superior outcomes to Americans,” according to an HHS press release.
In 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed

DEWS III update: Another bloated effort, little new to offer

While enjoying a rare extended and relaxed lunch break on a clinic day, I read an article on the latest Dry Eye Workshop offering from the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society that included interviews of working group members and authors.
Which led me to the official publication in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
Which led me to the medicine cabinet and a couple of extra-strength Tums.
Some of you may recall my thoughts on the processes seeking to create a consensus definition of dry eye disease (DED). In 1995, 5 years before the founding of the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society