News from NYU Langone Health
Woman Speaks Out After Receiving Gene-Edited Pig Kidney Transplant. (ABC News)
ABC News (12/18) Towana Looney, the fifth American to receive a gene-edited pig organ, is recovering well after receiving a genetically modified pig kidney at NYU Langone Health, marking the first such transplant into an otherwise healthy patient and offering hope for addressing the organ shortage; Robert Montgomery, MD, DPhil, the H. Leon Pachter, MD, Professor of Surgery, chair, Department of Surgery, director, NYU Langone Transplant Institute, said, “Without a pathway to receiving a human kidney, she decided a gene edited pig kidney was worth a try,” and expressed optimism about future patients through expanded access programs and upcoming clinical trials.
Fox News (12/18) Senior medical contributor Marc K. Siegel, MD, clinical professor, Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Innovation, joins ‘America Reports’ to explain the latest medical development in organ transplants.”
Also reporting are Good Morning America (12/18), People (12/18), Forbes (12/18), Crain’s New York Business (12/18), WKBW-TV Buffalo, NY (12/19), and Smithsonian (12/18).
NYU Langone Health Family Health Centers Hosted Toy Drive. (News 12 Brooklyn (USA))
News 12 Brooklyn (USA) (12/17) The Family Health Centers at NYU Langone Health hosted their annual toy drive, where individuals donated new and unwrapped toys at the Sunset Park Family Health Center Pediatrics Clinic on December 18.
WPIX-TV New York (12/18) Approximately 650 educational gifts were distributed to local children and families, with Octavia Melvin, site director, saying, “The families appreciate it and it’s known by the smiles on their face when they leave and the kids are happy, we’re happy. So it’s what we do.”
Long-Term Antiviral Therapy May Prevent Shingles-Related Vision Damage. (ReachMD)
ReachMD (12/18) New research co-led by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and NYU Grossman School of Medicine found that year-long antiviral therapy with valacyclovir reduced the risk of eye complications from herpes zoster ophthalmicus and decreased the likelihood of multiple flare-ups, suggesting that extended antiviral use could prevent vision loss and reduce chronic nerve pain associated with shingles; lead investigator Elisabeth J. Cohen, MD, professor, Department of Ophthalmology, vice chair, academic affairs, Department of Ophthalmology, stressed that “prevention is even more effective than any treatment.”
Carle Place Community Participates In Holiday Drive And Adopt-a-Family Initiatives. (Long Island (NY) Press)
Long Island (NY) Press (12/18) The Carle Place High School Key Club, in collaboration with Adopt-A-Family and NYU Langone Hospital–Long Island’s child life department, successfully conducted their annual holiday drive in December, collecting gifts from various community members to support families in need.
Road To Recovery For Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson. (New York Post)
The New York Post (12/18) Mehul R. Shah, MD, associate professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, joins Brandon London for the weekly ‘Injury Report’ segment to provide a potential timeline for Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson’s return to the court.”
Skincare Addicts Are Slathering Their Faces In Beef Fat For Glowing Skin – But Dermatologists Are Dubious. (New York Post)
New York Post (12/18) Despite TikTok users promoting beef tallow as a miracle skincare product, Mary L. Stevenson, MD, associate professor, the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, said, “There is little data for it, and there are so many alternative options,” adding that it can cause acne.
New Insights Into Sjögren’s Disease Pathogenesis And Treatment. (News Medical)
News Medical (12/18) Researchers at NYU College of Dentistry and NYU Grossman School of Medicine have advanced in understanding Sjögren’s disease by identifying impaired regulatory T cells as a critical factor and suggesting baricitinib, a JAK inhibitor, as a promising therapy; Stefan Feske, MD, the Jeffrey Bergstein Professor of Medicine, Department of Pathology, said, “Interferon gamma was absolutely critical for causing dysfunction of salivary glands in our mouse model.”
SGLT2 Inhibitors Might Lower Stone Risk Better Than Other Type 2 Diabetes Drugs. (Cardiology Advisor)
Cardiology Advisor (12/18) Recent studies indicate that SGLT2 inhibitors may significantly reduce the risk of nephrolithiasis in patients with type 2 diabetes, including those with gout, by 40% compared to placebo and 34% compared to active therapies like GLP-1 receptor agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors; in a recent Kidney News editorial discussing that study, Amy A. Yau, MD, and David S. Goldfarb, MD, professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, and Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, clinical chief, Division of Nephrology, NY Harbor VA Medical Center, called for more studies to explore the findings.
New Virtual Reality-Tested System Shows Promise In Aiding Navigation Of People With Blindness Or Low Vision. (Science Daily)
Science Daily (12/17) A study from NYU Tandon School of Engineering, published in JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology, reveals a new navigation system tested in virtual reality that uses vibrational and sound feedback to assist people who are blind or have low vision (pBLV), with John-Ross Rizzo, MD, Ilse Melamid Associate Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Rusk Rehabilitation, and associate professor, Department of Neurology, saying, “We want to reach a point where the technology we’re building is light, largely unseen and has all the necessary performance required for efficient and safe navigation.”
What An NHL Player Taught The Medical Tourism Community About The Right To Try. (Medical Tourism Magazine)
Medical Tourism Magazine (12/18) In discussing Right to Try laws following a documentary based on an NHL player’s controversial stem-cell therapy, Alison Bateman-House, MPH, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Population Health, said, “Right to try laws show a lack of understanding of the system for getting access to drugs,” noting that the “U.S. system depends on a drug company’s willingness to give out approved drugs.”
Ozempic Before And After: 5 Women Get Real About Weight Loss, Side Effects And Cost. (TODAY)
TODAY / Yahoo Life (12/18) Research published in JAMA Cardiology in 2024 shows nearly 137 million Americans are eligible for semaglutide, with Natalie E. Azar, MD, clinical associate professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, saying, “It’s studies like this that we hope will definitely move the needle on (insurance) coverage.”
Study Finds Lower Alzheimer’s Deaths Among Taxi And Ambulance Drivers. (NBC News Now-2)
NBC News (12/18). Research published in the British Medical Journal indicates that taxi and ambulance drivers have a lower risk of dying from Alzheimer’s disease compared to the general population and Natalie E. Azar, MD, clinical associate professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, explains that this is due to the larger hippocampus in these drivers, as their jobs require continuous spatial navigation, unlike bus drivers or pilots who follow pre-mapped routes.
Costco-Brand Cold And Flu Medication Recalled By FDA: ‘Not Effective.’ (Fox News)
Fox News (12/17) The FDA recalled 8,640 boxes of Kirkland Severe Cold & Flu Plus Congestion Day and Night packs due to quality control issues, following its proposal to ban oral phenylephrine as an over-the-counter nasal decongestant, with Marc K. Siegel, MD, clinical professor, Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Innovation agreeing with the pushback against the ingredient, stating, “This chemical is shown to be ineffective against cold and flu in its oral form, except at a dose that has some heart toxicity and can lead to palpitations, arrhythmia and high blood pressure.”
In a separate article, Fox News (12/17) New research from the U.K., published in Arthritis Care & Research, suggests that acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylenol, may increase the risk of serious medical complications such as peptic ulcer bleeding, heart failure, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease in older individuals; Marc K. Siegel, MD, clinical professor, Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Innovation commented on the evolving perception of acetaminophen, saying, “It is generally accepted doctrine that acetaminophen is not associated with GI bleeding or advancing kidney disease, but the thinking is starting to change on this front.”
News from NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island
Higher Caregiving Stress Tied To Incident Hypertension. (Ophthalmology Advisor)
Ophthalmology Advisor (12/18) A study published in Hypertension on Nov. 27 found that higher caregiving stress is linked to a greater incidence of hypertension among reproductive-age Black women, with a hazard ratio of 1.39, according to research led by Milla Arabadjian, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Foundations of Medicine, NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island.
