One-third of older patients with end-stage kidney disease received an arteriovenous fistula within 6 months of starting hemodialysis, according to study data published in Kidney360.
Among patients who received an arteriovenous fistula (AVF), 90% eventually used that access for hemodialysis, according to researchers.
AVFs are considered the preferred vascular access option, but determining the appropriate time to create an AVF can be difficult, according to Boudewijn Heggen, MD, of the department of vascular surgery at Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and colleagues.
If

NEW ORLEANS — Two studies presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session offered insights into how to diagnose and treat patients with heart disease but not blocked arteries.
In the HARP trial, researchers found that using optical coherence tomography (OCT) plus cardiac MRI led to a causal diagnosis in 79% patients with MI with nonobstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA).
In the DISCOVER-INOCA trial, standardized invasive coronary function testing determined that 94% of patients with ischemia with nonobstructive coronary arteries (INOCA) had a coronary vasomotor disorder and

Click here to read the Cover Story, “Eye rubbing: Screen for it, address causes, make patients aware of consequences.”
In the past decade, we have learned much about keratoconus, and in this perspective, I will share a few learnings I find especially important.
I will disclose that, as a cornea specialist, the management of keratoconus was a significant part of my practice, and I participated in the Avedro, Glaukos and Epion clinical trials on collagen cross-linking and continue to consult widely in this field.
First, we have learned that keratoconus is much more prevalent than originally

SAN DIEGO — GLP-1 receptor agonists are a gamechanger in obesity care, but researchers are still working to better understand their effects, according to Vyvyane Loh, MD.
At Obesity Medicine Association’s annual meeting, Loh — founder of Wellth-e, an educational platform focused on human performance medicine — offered attendees a deeper look at these medications.
A key focus of her presentation was chronic suppression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) with GLP-1 receptor agonists, which Loh said could have health implications beyond weight loss, such as muscle growth and brain development.
Healio spoke

Adults with acromegaly may have increased risk for some cancers compared with the general population, according to data from Sweden published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
“Several types of cancer were more common in patients with acromegaly compared to matched controls, which was seen even years before the diagnosis of acromegaly,” Bertil Ekman, MD, PhD, associate professor in the departments of endocrinology and health medicine and caring sciences at Linköping University in Sweden, and colleagues wrote. “Persistent elevated [insulin-like growth factor I] was not

Greater optimism may lower the risk for developing dementia by 15%, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
The data are important “because [they highlight] that our personal emotional and social resources, like how hopeful and positive we feel about the future, may be related to keeping our brains healthy as we age,” Säde Stenlund, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Healio.
“Since there are social conditions that can increase the likelihood that people will feel more optimistic

MIAMI — In this video from Sunshine Eye & Retina, Anat Galor, MD, MSPH, discusses her excitement regarding definitions and terminology in neurotrophic keratitis.
“I am most excited that we are really getting to the nitty-gritty of what is NK and how to best define it, especially grade 1 NK,” Galor, of University of Miami Health System, told Healio.
She touches on having decreased corneal sensation and epitheliopathy in neurotrophic keratitis (NK).
Regarding products and treatment lengths, “I’m excited that there is general excitement about NK, so we can sort it

PHILADELPHIA — Regardless of disease control, patients with mild asthma had greater FEV1 improvement with repetitive use of albuterol-budesonide vs. albuterol alone, according to a poster presented here.
These data on the fixed-dose combination for treating mannitol-induced airway obstruction were presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting.
“Irrespective of control status, the combination provides enhanced lung function recovery over time,” Autumn Burnette, MD, clinical allergist physician at Howard University Hospital, and colleagues wrote.
In a

A virtual tool can facilitate cascade genetic testing for relatives of people with cancer who have pathogenic variants, according to study findings.
The online platform — designed to improve communication and education among families with inherited cancer susceptibility — represents a low-cost, population-level intervention that can be implemented without human navigation, results of a randomized trial showed.
“This could be revolutionary,” Steven J. Katz, MD, MPH, professor of internal medicine and health behavior and policy at University of Michigan, told Healio. “There are few tests in

Prescriptions for direct-acting antivirals to treat hepatitis C virus in the U.S. have declined substantially since 2015 and remain well below the approximately 260,000 annual treatment courses needed to meet the target for elimination.
Results of a national cross-sectional analysis showed annual treatment volume trending alongside HCV infection rate, rather than surpassing it.
“We’re roughly treating the same number of people each year as there are new infections,” Sanjay Kishore, MD, assistant professor at University of Virginia School of Medicine, told Healio. “We’re essentially just holding