Duravyu misses primary endpoint in second phase 3 wet AMD trial

Editor’s note: This is a developing news story. Please check back soon for updates.
A second pivotal phase 3 trial of Duravyu in wet age-related macular degeneration failed to meet its primary endpoint, according to a press release from EyePoint Pharmaceuticals.
In the phase 3 LUCIA clinical trial, Duravyu (vorolanib intravitreal insert) given every 24 weeks failed to meet the primary endpoint of statistical noninferiority in mean change in best corrected visual acuity from day 1 to weeks 52 and 56 (blended) compared with a control arm of Eylea (aflibercept 2 mg, Regeneron) given every 8 weeks.

ASN president provides kidney policy, innovation updates

Now is an important time for nephrologists to engage in kidney health advocacy, according to American Society of Nephrology president Samir M. Parikh, MD, FASN.
In a recent kidney health advocacy update, Parikh discussed the organization’s efforts to advance kidney health policy, build the nephrology workforce and help inform payment and care delivery models.
One update comes in response to the Department of Homeland Security’s proposed “Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions.” This new proposal differs from the previous presidential proclamation, “Restriction on Entry of

ADHD medications may improve menopausal brain fog

ADHD medications may help improve executive function during the transition to menopause, according to data shown at The Menopause Society’s annual meeting.
“Many women at perimenopause notice changes in focus, memory and organization that look a lot like ADHD, and the two can be hard to tell apart,” Jennifer Tat, an MD candidate at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, said in a press release. “Our review found early signs that ADHD medications may help women feel more on top of their daily lives.”
According to a press release, around 44% to 60% of perimenopausal women experience

Retinal blood vessel changes may offer clues to stroke risk

Microvascular changes characteristic of retinopathy could be used as a biomarker for stroke risk, according to data published in Frontiers in Medicine.
“Increasing evidence suggests that retinal microvascular changes may parallel pathological processes occurring in the cerebral circulation,” Lingyun Wu, of the school of medicine at Quzhou College of Technology in China, and Weifeng Jiang wrote. “Retinopathy has been proposed as a surrogate marker of cerebral small vessel disease and overall cerebrovascular vulnerability.”
To learn more about this connection, Wu and Jiang

Select over-the-counter skin products contain undisclosed, prescription-strength steroid

A prescription-only, superpotent corticosteroid was found in one-third of select over-the-counter products purchased online in the United States for inflammatory skin conditions, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.
Products that were tested had substantial consumer reach, ranking among the top-selling items in their respective categories and garnering more than 10,000 combined user reviews across online platforms, according to the study. These findings suggest that current regulatory and surveillance approaches for OTC products in the U.S. are inadequate, according to Yury V.

Speaker: Change in ‘weight-loss game’ raises new questions

BOSTON — Pharmaceutical treatments have led to similar weight loss to surgery and greater weight loss than was ever imaginable with lifestyle modifications alone, but this has led to a new set of questions, according to a speaker.
“For most of my career, we’ve had a problem that our treatments simply were not good enough. I spent a lot of time and a lot of effort to produce very small amounts of weight loss,” Holly R. Wyatt, MD, professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, said during a presentation at the Cardiometabolic Health Congress. “But I can say today that

The medical record’s evolution across generations: What’s next?

I found this month’s Healio Exclusive particularly enjoyable, not least because it brings together the perspectives of good friends, colleagues and family: Philip Mease, MD; Kathryn Dao, MD; Brittany Hill, DO; and Cassandra Calabrese, DO.
Much of the discussion viewed generational differences in rheumatology through the lens of medical science and our ever-expanding armamentarium of targeted therapies. And indeed, it is a whole new ballgame.
But I would like to take a slightly different slant on generational change in rheumatology and reflect on something far more mundane, but perhaps equally

Kidney health screening program meets ‘patients where they are’

Now in its fifth year, the DaVita Community Health Experience offers free health screenings to educate community members and help connect them to primary care, according to Jeffrey Giullian, MD, MBA, chief medical officer at DaVita.
“I think there was a point in time in my career when I didn’t really understand the terminology ‘meet patients where they are,’” Giullian, a Healio | Nephrology News & Issues Editorial Advisory Board Member, said in an interview. “As I’ve matured in my own thought process, to me, that term has two meanings. One is about meeting people where they are

Mitigate early symptoms, signs of repetitive strain injury

Click here to read the Healio Exclusive, “Practice good ergonomics early in career to avoid work-related injuries.”
Practicing ophthalmology is mentally and physically stressful. To sustain a long and rewarding career, management of both is critically important. The cover story in this issue of Healio | OSN focuses on physical stress.
Every ophthalmologist is vulnerable to repetitive strain injury (RSI), which is defined as an injury to the musculoskeletal and/or nervous system caused by repetitive tasks, forceful exertions, vibrations, mechanical compression, or sustained or awkward positions.

Cardiac contractility modulation therapy benefits in HFrEF

PHOENIX — Cardiac contractility modulation therapy continued to reduce heart failure hospitalizations and improved functional class and quality of life for many patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, a speaker reported.
The results of a mandated 1-year postmarket approval study of cardiac contractility modulation therapy (Impulse Dynamics) for patients with HFrEF were presented at the Heart Failure Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting.
“Cardiac contractility modulation, therapy is a device-based therapy for heart failure. It’s consisted of a pulse