Amy Jacob

200,000 to 400,000 people die annually from medical errors.

According to Tatsiana Singh, PA-C, Indiana State University Sycamore Center for Wellness, at an individual level, each Physician Assistant (PA) or healthcare provider should aim at staying up-to-date, reflecting on their workdays, and discerning whether there was a situation that was a close call and how it could be prevented in the future. Being a good team player is critical for PAs particularly and not being frightened to solicit another opinion and verify the diagnosis.

Stephanie Chen, MSN, MPH, NP-C, Barrow Neurological Institute, also discussed goals of The VA Epilepsy Centers of Excellence, a national consortium aiming to provide high quality epilepsy care and educational resources to patients and their caregivers.

At AACE 2017, John Bilezikian, MD, discussed the latest FDA approval of Tymlos for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and for women who are at high risk for fracture.

Peter Goadsby, M.B., B.S., Director of the NIHR- Wellcome Trust King’s Clinical Research, London, Professor of Neurology, University of California at San Francisco, explained the benefits of the recent FDA approval of the gammaCore non-invasive vagal nerve stimulator on patients suffering from cluster headaches.

In terms of specific endocrine functions, bones favor glucose metabolism and homeostasis and are necessary for memory formation and for muscle function during exercise. Gerard Karsenty, MD, PhD also explained that osteo-calcium is not only necessary to foster this function, but it’s also sufficient, and can improve this function in animals.

Researchers previously only considered ALS as one illness, but new knowledge has changed that mentality and has shown experts they need to personalize treatment approaches. “It’s important to understand the disease in different groups of people.”

More good news on treatment for hepatitis C patients.

Could insulin could be dosed off of values from a continuous glucose monitor? Anne Peters, MD, and team sought to find out.

Shanlee Davis, MD, University of Colorado, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and team were interested in the effects of this pre-pubertal androgen treatment on the testicular function, or puberty.

Farid Saad, DVM, PhD, Bayer Pharma AG learned that the men with type 1 diabetes did experience benefits of long-term testosterone therapy – they showed improvements in their underlying diseases.

The FDA approved new drug for two forms of multiple sclerosis.

FDA gives priority review designation for exertional heat stroke drug.

Severe skin disease medication gets FDA breakthrough therapy designation status.

IBS-D treatment eluxadoline is a risk for patients who do not have gallbladders.

Jay Jin, MD, PhD, Mayo Clinic, shared the results from his team's case series surrounding unexpected bradycardia effect from epinephrine administration.

Anthony S. Fauci, MD, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), shared with MD Magazine what the main theme would be in his keynote address at the AAAAI 2017 meeting in Atlanta, GA: emerging and reemerging infections, a perpetual challenge.

Katia Boven, MD, Head of Clinical Development and Global Medical Affairs, Infectious Diseases, Janssen, discussed results and impact of the SWORD clinical trial involving the investigational two-drug combination being as effective as the three or four regimens as maintenance therapy in HIV patients who have already achieved viral suppression.

"Even though we have a lot of drugs, because of the resistance profile of their virus, they don't have a lot of options, so what these results mean for the most vulnerable of our patients is that they have access now to a new class of drugs," Emu concluded.

Obesity could significantly impact end-of-life care.

Don't drink peroxide, even if alternative medicine promotes it.

The FDA approved two breath-activated inhalers to treat asthma.

Study results show that gonorrhea may soon develop resistance to the most commonly recommended antibiotic treatments – oral azithromycin and single-injection ceftriaxone.

Drug store CVS now carries cheaper option to EpiPen.

Scientists have been busy in the lab. Molecules that release carbon-monoxide are considered the key to developing a new antibiotic to fight gonorrhea.

Researchers initiated a new phase 3 clinical trial for topical agent olumacostat glasaretil, a potential treatment for acne vulgaris.

While the culprit for the stomach pain and discomfort in autistic children was unknown for quite some time, new research suggests it could be caused by an “increased reaction to stress”.

Researchers sought to debunk the myth of a causal relationship between the pill and decreased libido in women.

Patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) may benefit from a new drug, plecanatide, making its way through the approval pipeline.

For men afflicted with type 2 diabetes and at high risk for heart attacks; however, relief might be found in an unlikely source – the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra (sildenafil).