TOPLINE: A probiotic mixture containing three specific strains reduced fever duration by 2 days in children with upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). The treatment showed significant efficacy with a median fever duration of 3 days vs 5 days for placebo. METHODOLOGY: A randomized clinical trial was conducted between November 2021 and June 2023 at the … Read more
TOPLINE: Difficulty distinguishing spoken words from background noise, called speech-in-noise hearing impairment, was associated with increased risk for Parkinson’s disease (PD), with a 57% elevation in risk per 10 dB increase in the speech reception threshold (SRT), a new study showed. METHODOLOGY: In the preregistered prospective cohort study, investigators analyzed data for more than 159,000 … Read more
The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has released an expert review and clinical practice update focusing on esophageal dysfunction caused by immune-mediated and infectious diseases. “Many different disorders can lead to esophageal dysfunction, which is characterized by symptoms including dysphagia, odynophagia, chest pain and heartburn. These symptoms can be caused either by immune or infectious conditions … Read more
TOPLINE: A 24-week phase 3 trial has found that once-daily vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor is generally safe and well tolerated in children with cystic fibrosis aged 6-11 years. The treatment maintains normal baseline lung function while improving cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) function. METHODOLOGY: Researchers conducted a phase 3 trial across 33 clinical sites in eight countries … Read more
The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has released a clinical practice update synthesizing current available evidence and expert opinion on peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) to treat achalasia and other esophageal motility disorders. “Any patient suspected to have achalasia, or difficulty swallowing for that matter, should undergo a comprehensive diagnostic workup, and that should include clinical history, … Read more
Regular dental flossing is linked to a lower risk for ischemic stroke, primarily by reducing systemic inflammation, which can lead to atrial fibrillation (AF) increasing the likelihood of a cardioembolic event, new research suggested. The reduced risk is independent of oral care such as regular teeth brushing and visits to the dentist, the research showed. … Read more
New research, with the caveat of a relatively short follow-up, adds to encouraging data showing an overall low risk of the development of thyroid cancer associated with glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) treatment. However, a notably increased rate of thyroid cancer detections limited only to the first year after drug initiation — but … Read more
TOPLINE: Esophageal Candida infection is linked to an 8.2-fold increased risk for esophageal cancer in patients with achalasia, according to results of a retrospective cohort study. Older age at diagnosis and male sex were also associated with an increased risk. METHODOLOGY: Researchers conducted a study in of 234 patients with achalasia between January 1980 and … Read more
Children with asthma scored significantly lower than those without asthma on measures of episodic memory, based on longitudinal data from nearly 500 individuals. Animal models have shown associations between asthma and memory problems, but data for children are lacking, wrote Nicholas J. Christopher-Hayes, MA, of the University of California, Davis, and colleagues. “Asthma is very … Read more
TOPLINE: Compared with standard concurrent chemoradiation, neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by transoral robotic surgery (NECTORS) and neck dissection led to superior distant metastasis-free and overall survival outcomes in patients with advanced human papillomavirus–related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV-OPSCC). METHODOLOGY: Distant metastasis is a leading cause of death in patients with HPV-OPSCC, and standard of care concurrent … Read more