News from NYU Langone Health

Childhood Vaccinations Will Have Prevented More Than 500 Million Illnesses And 1 Million Deaths In US Since 1994, CDC Report Says. (CNN)

CNN (8/8) Routine childhood vaccinations have prevented hundreds of millions of illnesses, tens of millions of hospitalizations, and more than 1 million deaths among people born between 1994 and 2023, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Sara Siddiqui, MD, clinical assistant professor, Department of Pediatrics, commented, “I am very pleased and grateful to see this study being performed to report the health benefits of vaccinations as a way to prevent disease.”

NYU Langone Bucks Hospital Group, Backs FTC Noncompete Ban. (Bloomberg Law)

Paywalled* Bloomberg Law (8/8)* NYU Langone Health expressed support for the Federal Trade Commission rule banning noncompete agreements for doctors, arguing that these contracts harm patient access and choice while unfairly constraining physicians, despite the American Hospital Association, of which NYU Langone Health is a member, joining efforts to block the rule in late July, citing potential adverse effects across the healthcare industry.

Veterans And Lawmakers Lobby For Approval Of MDMA Therapy. (New York Times)

The New York Times (8/8) Stephen Ross, MD, clinical professor, Departments of Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, said researchers in the field have long struggled to find ways to dampen the effects of functional unblinding, stating, “No one yet has found the holy grail of a placebo that effectively obscures that someone got a drug that creates an unusual experience and does not have therapeutic effects.”

Is This The Biggest Covid Summer Wave Ever? (NBC News)

NBC News (8/9) The US is experiencing a significant summer wave of COVID-19 with Michael S. Phillips, MD, associate professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, and chief epidemiologist observing that while test positivity at NYU Langone Health has surged to 12%, “the severe pulmonary complications of Covid-19 are extremely rare,” with hospitalization rates remaining low.

Cancer Vaccine For NSCLC And Melanoma Could Be Paradigm-Changing. (Cure Today)

Cure Today (8/8) Vaccines like mRNA-4157, which instruct the body to produce a specific protein triggering an immune response, require personalized creation for each patient following mutation identification, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Professor of Oncology, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Perlmutter Cancer Center, and co-author of the Cancer Discovery study, said, “It basically generates an immune cell response specifically against things that are only in the tumor and not in the normal tissue.” Distinct Pattern In Protein Production Can Predict Severe Side Effects From Skin Cancer Treatment.

FDA Says Ozempic, Mounjaro, And Zepbound No Longer In Short Supply. (Everyday Health)

Everyday Health (8/8) Melanie R. Jay, MD, associate professor, Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, and Department of Population Health, said that Zepbound and Mounjaro may improve sleep apnea and lead to more weight loss than Ozempic or Wegovy, adding, that “patients with specific conditions that they are looking to treat in addition to their obesity should discuss with their doctors which to try first.”

Generative AI Model Can Help Explain Echocardiogram Reports. (Drug Information Online)

Drug Information Online (8/1) Jacob Martin, MD, clinical instructor, Department of Medicine, the Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology, and colleagues evaluated the performance of ChatGPT in generating patient-oriented reports from 100 echocardiogram cases, with assessments by five echocardiographers on acceptance, accuracy, relevance, understandability, and quantitative representation.

Also reporting is HealthDay (8/8).

Interprofessional Addiction Consultation Ups Medication For Opioid Use Disorder. (Drug Information Online)

Drug Information Online (8/1) A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine reports that interprofessional addiction consultation services significantly boost postdischarge initiation and engagement in medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) among patients, based on an analysis led by Jennifer McNeely, MD, associate professor, Departments of Population Health, and Medicine, involving 2,315 adults hospitalized at six public hospitals and identified through Medicaid claims from October 2017 to January 2021.

Himani Goyal, MD, On Incorporating Meditation, Mindfulness In The OR. (Healio)

Healio (8/8) Himani Goyal, MD, clinical associate professor, Department of Ophthalmology, shared her journey into meditation and mindfulness, offering practical advice for integrating mindfulness into daily routines for physicians, such as focusing on breath control to manage emotions, understanding mindfulness as non-judgmental observation, and emphasizing the importance of regular practice to improve meditation skills.

Outcomes In Resected Melanoma Influenced By Timing Of Recurrence. (MedPage Today)

MedPage Today (8/8) Early recurrence after adjuvant anti-PD-1/L1 therapy for melanoma resulted in shorter survival, with patients benefiting more from non-PD-1-targeted systemic therapies, according to a subgroup analysis of a randomized trial reported by Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Professor of Oncology, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Perlmutter Cancer Center, and co-authors in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Epilepsy Linked To Severe Pregnancy Complications. (MedPage Today)

MedPage Today (8/8) Women with epilepsy face a higher risk of severe pregnancy complications and substantial mortality, according to a Nordic population-based study, with Daniel Friedman, MD, professor, Department of Neurology, Division of Epilepsy, commenting that reasons for the higher risks are likely multifactorial in nature.

CDC Issues New Guidelines About Pain Management During IUD Insertion. (NBC News Now-2)

NBC News (8/8) The CDC has issued new guidelines to improve pain management during IUD insertions following widespread reports of severe pain from patients, with Natalie E. Azar, MD, clinical associate professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, explaining that the guidelines now focus on patient-centered care, including the use of topical lidocaine for anesthesia; she emphasized, “I would say that probably the biggest change in these new guidelines is really more of like a mechanical one, if you will, and that is that the guidelines are really meant to be more patient centered.”

Also reporting is NBC News Now (8/8).

Heart Attack Risk Could Rise With Artificial Sweetener Consumption, Study Finds. (Fox News)

Fox News (8/8) Marc K. Siegel, MD, clinical professor, Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Innovation analyzes the W.H.O.’s plan to declare aspartame a possible carcinogen on ‘America Reports.’

News from NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn

What To Expect During A Well-Woman Exam, According To Ob-Gyns Who Perform Them. (PopSugar)

PopSugar (8/8) A well-woman exam, also known as a well-woman visit, is an appointment with an ob-gyn or primary care physician, and according to Meleen Chuang, MD, clinical associate professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, chief, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Family Health Centers, NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, “The purpose of a well-woman exam is to make sure preventive care like preconception planning, infection evaluation, contraception counseling, and cancer screening for cervical, breast, and colon is done, typically by your ob-gyn.”