Interviews

Form will determine in which patient populations, and why, a vaccine is not indicated for administration, said Maura Abbott, PhD, AOCNP, CPNP, RN, assistant professor of nursing at the Columbia University School of Nursing.

Kassandra Munger, ScD, of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, discusses findings that vitamin D deficiencies are linked to a greater risk of multiple sclerosis.

The biggest difference between ocrelizumab and the recently approved ofatumumab is that ofatumumab can be taken at home for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), explained Patricia K. Coyle, MD.

In the real world, dupilumab has been as effective as the results in clinical trials, and patients are seeing low exacerbation rates, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations, explained Neal Jain, MD, FAAP, FAAAAI.

A novel combination shows promise against advanced solid tumors, including triple-negative breast cancer, noted Timothy A. Yap, MBBS, PhD, FRCP, medical director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are primarily effective through immunomodulation, in that they target relapse prevention, said Burcu Zeydan, MD, assistant professor of neurology, assistant professor of radiology, at Mayo Clinic.

Vaccine safety and effectiveness are patients’ biggest concerns about a potential coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, says Maura Abbott, PhD, AOCNP, CPNP, RN, assistant professor of nursing at the Columbia University School of Nursing.

Relapse at an older age can significantly contribute to a worsening of multiple sclerosis (MS), explained Burcu Zeyda, MD, assistant professor of neurology, assistant professor of radiology, at Mayo Clinic.

Patients who have oral corticosteroid–dependent asthma are recommended to use dupilumab, which reduces the use of oral steroids, explained Neal Jain, MD, FAAP, FAAAAI, of Arizona Allergy & Immunology Research.

Melissa L. Johnson, MD, associate director for lung cancer research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute and partner in Tennessee Oncology, speaks on changes necessitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and connecting virtually.

Obesity is common in the general population and research has shown it can increase the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as increase diagnostic delays, explained Ruth Ann Marrie, MD, PhD, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at the University of Manitoba.

Nurses often get involved with patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) before their diagnosis and then work to educate them on the disease and its care, said Amy Perrin Ross, APN, MSN, CNRN, MSCN, Neuroscience Program Coordinator at Loyola University Medical Center.

It is well known that women are disproportionately affected by multiple sclerosis (MS), but there remains a lack of understanding regarding gender differences in response to treatments for MS, said Riley Bove, MD, assistant professor of neurology at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences.

Do patients with multiple sclerosis who have been on disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for decades need to keep taking them? John Corboy, MD, professor of neurology, University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine, and co-director of the Rocky Mountain MS Center at Anschutz Medical Campus, explains what is known about this area.

Many patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) are actually being misclassified and treated as if they have relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), which can have an impact on research, treatment, and health care planning, said Jan Hillert, MD, PhD, professor and senior physician at Karolinska Institutet.

There is a push to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) earlier, which can lead to misdiagnosis if the diagnostic criteria aren’t used properly, explained Patricia K. Coyle, MD, director of the MS Comprehensive Care Center and professor of neurology at Stony Brook University Neurosciences Institute.

A vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is aspirationally possible by the end of the year and the beginning of 2021, noted Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Melissa L. Johnson, MD, associate director for lung cancer research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute and partner in Tennessee Oncology, discusses the potential of tiragolumab/atezolizumab for metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Providers need to focus on detecting and treating cardiovascular complications in at-risk patients, and not get lost in the fact they have COVID-19, said Manan Pareek, MD, PhD, FAHA, FESC, an internal medicine hospital resident at the Yale University School of Medicine.

In the past 30 years, we've never seen a heart failure drug that has had such a beneficial effect on the kidneys, said Milton Packer, MD, a distinguished scholar in cardiovascular science at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, and chair of the department of clinical sciences at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

If you change the narrative and package SGLT-2 inhibitors as a form of cardiovascular risk modulation, cardiologists may be more likely to get involved in diabetes management, said Javed Butler, MD, MPH, MBA, chairman for the Department of Medicine at the University of Mississippi.

During the surge of the pandemic in the Northeast, we saw about a 40% reduction in cardiovascular admissions, while there was a higher rate of mortality among patients who came in, said Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart & Vascular Center and Harvard Medical School.

It is imperative individuals with cardiovascular diseases remain active despite COVID-19 lockdowns, said Antonio Pelliccia, MD, senior consultant and chief of cardiology at the Institute of Sports Medicine and Science, of the Italian National Olympic Committee.

Melissa L. Johnson, MD, associate director for lung cancer research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute and partner in Tennessee Oncology, discussed the biggest gains in the lung cancer space that have contributed to improved survival for patients.

It's a great time to be a doctor treating patients with heart failure, given the development of 2 fantastic new treatments within the space of 5 years, said John McMurray, MD, FRCP, FESC, professor of medical cardiology in the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow.

The new guidelines can help cardiologists better advise patients with CVD on physical activity, said Antonio Pelliccia, MD, senior consultant and chief of cardiology at the Institute of Sports Medicine and Science, of the Italian National Olympic Committee.

It's interesting that we saw such a clear U-shaped mortality curve for serum bicarbonate levels in a patient population where we usually don't think about measuring bicarbonate, said Manan Pareek, MD, PhD, FAHA, FESC, an internal medicine hospital resident at the Yale University School of Medicine.

Having 2 trials that both show benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors in heart failure hospitalizations can only encourage the use of these drugs, said John McMurray, MD, FRCP, FESC, professor of medical cardiology in the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow.