Motor function improved with a favorable safety profile for patients with Parkinson’s disease who used tavapadon while receiving oral levodopa, according to a study published in JAMA Neurology.
This research “was prompted by a long-standing and very practical clinical need,” Zoltan Mari, MD, FAAN, Ruvo Family (Endowed) Chair and Director of the Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorders Program at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, told Healio.
“While levodopa remains the most effective therapy for Parkinson’s disease, many patients eventually develop motor fluctuations

About one-quarter of adults aged at least 60 years using levothyroxine were able to stop therapy and maintain a thyroid-stimulating hormone level of less than 10 mIU/L at 1 year, researchers reported in JAMA.
“These findings suggest that carefully selected patients aged 60 years or older may not require lifelong levothyroxine treatment and could benefit from a supervised trial of discontinuation, particularly in those taking a dose of 50 µg per day or lower,” Rosalinde K. E. Poortvliet, MD, PhD, academic researcher in the department of public health and primary care at Leiden University

Approximately 1.5% of physicians in the United States also conduct research, according to the Food Allergy Fund, but that percentage is shrinking as these scientists retire without sustainable replacement by younger generations.
The Food Allergy Fund aims to reverse these losses, expand opportunities and support cutting-edge breakthroughs with its national NextGen Fellows Program, Ilana Golant, CEO of the organization, told Healio.
“When I started the Food Allergy Fund 5 years ago, I was really focused on bridging the research gap, the funding gap,” she said. “The more that I got into it, I

Severe respiratory viral infection increases risk for lung cancer, according to study results.
The findings — derived from work in murine models and retrospective analyses of data from humans — underscore the importance of increased lung cancer surveillance among high-risk individuals, researchers concluded.
“The idea that a one-time, relatively short-term respiratory viral infection could lead to this kind of change in risk is pretty striking,” Jeffrey M. Sturek, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, pharmacology and biomedical engineering at University of Virginia (UVA), told Healio.

Referrals to family planning specialists increased by more than 600% following a series of interventions targeting rheumatology providers and patients of childbearing age, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.
The interventions included a check-in form detailing the patient’s pregnancy plans, education materials, EMR modifications and an optional visit to a women’s health clinic.
“Reproductive health counseling is essential for rheumatology patients, as unplanned pregnancy is associated with poorer outcomes,” Daniele Marcy, MD, of the division of