Prescribing rates for leucovorin among youth with autism was 24-fold higher in November 2025 compared with the average prescribing rate from January 2023 to January 2025, according to a research letter published in JAMA Network Open.
Joshua “Yoshi” Rothman, MD, MS, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, told Healio that the study “shows how quickly information shared through news coverage, social media and public figures can influence real-world prescribing patterns, even before large clinical trials establish whether a

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Children with Down syndrome are naturally predisposed to a variety of ophthalmic disorders, some with a significant impact on vision.
The National Down Syndrome Society reports a 60% to 80% prevalence of eye problems in this population, from less severe abnormalities such as nasolacrimal duct obstruction, slanting palpebral fissures and epicanthal folds to vision-threatening diagnoses such as high refractive errors, optic nerve anomalies, keratoconus and cataract.
High-sensitivity vision screening programs, a multidisciplinary approach and

AstraZeneca announced the FDA approved baxdrostat for uncontrolled hypertension as add-on therapy on top of standard care.
Baxdrostat (Baxfendy) is the first treatment for uncontrolled high blood pressure designed to inhibit production of aldosterone, a hormone that promotes sodium and water retention, according to a company press release.
The approval was based on the results of the phase 3, multinational, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled BaxHTN trial presented at the 2025 European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

In patients with stable coronary artery disease, colchicine 0.5 mg per day did not impact low-attenuation plaque volume but did improve other plaque metrics, according to the results of the EKSTROM study.
For the prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, Matthew J. Budoff, MD, FACC, FAHA, investigator at The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation, and colleagues enrolled 84 patients with stable CAD as confirmed by invasive coronary angiography, coronary CT angiography or a coronary artery calcium score of more than 400 Agatston units and randomly assigned them to

CLEVELAND — Researchers are beginning to understand the pathogenesis of dermatomyositis, leading to new, targeted therapies for the disease, according to a speaker at Cleveland Clinic’s Medical Dermatology Therapy Update IV.

“Dermatomyositis is starting to have its moment,” Lisa Christopher-Stine, MD, MPH, director of Johns Hopkins Myositis Precision Medicine Center of Excellence, told Healio. “For a long time, myositis was largely left behind. It is only recently we have come into a new therapeutic era.”
According to Christopher-Stine, researchers now know that the disease’s autoantibodies are

Long-term use of crinecerfont reduced glucocorticoid dosage over 2 years and was tied to multiple improvements in clinical outcomes for children and adolescents with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia, researchers reported.
As Healio previously reported, adults with classic CAH had sustained declines in glucocorticoid dose at 2 years with crinecerfont (Crenessity, Neurocrine Biosciences). In data from two posters presented at the Pediatric Endocrine Society annual meeting, similar findings were reported from a 2-year open-label extension of the phase 3 CAHtalyst pediatric trial, which

The time from outpatient imaging to interpretation by a radiologist more than doubled over the past decade, and most of that increase occurred in 2022 and 2023, which are the most recent data.
An evaluation of more than 2 million Medicare claims between 2014 and 2023 showed that time from CT to interpretation increased over 300%, MRI more than 250% and ultrasound nearly 150%, with disenfranchised communities experiencing longer delays.
“We’ve reached a critical juncture with the workforce,” Eric W. Christensen, PhD, research director at Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, told Healio.

CHICAGO — Even as colorectal cancer screening rates have risen among older adults across race and ethnicity, racial disparities in cancer screenings have not improved comparatively, according to data presented at Digestive Disease Week.
An analysis of 2015-2023 National Health Interview Surveys showed that despite an annual 1.6% increase in CRC screening overall, individuals who identify as Black, Hispanic or Asian are still less likely to undergo screening than white individuals.
“We found colorectal cancer screening rate growth in all racial groups with an increased use of colonoscopy and

Christopher Lock, MD, spoke with Healio about takeaways on the impact of lifestyle factors on Alzheimer’s disease presented at the 2026 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting.
Lock, a neurologist and clinical associate professor of adult neurology at Stanford University, emphasized the importance of both physical and cognitive exercise to protect the brain.
“Just as the muscles need a workout, the brain needs a workout,” he said.

The FDA has proposed to withdraw its approval of avacopan for ANCA-associated vasculitis, alleging that employees of the original manufacturer, ChemoCentryx, manipulated data in the sole trial used to assess the drug’s efficacy.
In a letter to Amgen, which acquired avacopan (Tavneos) in its 2022 purchase of ChemoCentryx, Tracy Beth Høeg, MD, PhD, acting director of the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), also asserted that the original new drug application filed by ChemoCentryx contained false statements regarding the trial, known as the ADVOCATE study. The allegations follow