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This week, the top managed care news included testimony on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic; a rare inflammatory disease emerging in children with COVID-19; a novel cell replacement treatment shows promise in Parkinson disease.

Washington is home to 2 pertinent developments in the arrival of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to the United States: the first US case of the virus was reported in the state on January 21 and the first major US city to report deaths as a result was Seattle.

Teenagers with obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2D), or high blood pressure may have a higher risk of experiencing premature vascular aging compared with teens without the conditions, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The investigators made a presumptive diagnosis of acute interstitial pneumonia after the patient presented with fever, chills, muscle pain and a dry cough, which deteriorated into respiratory failure, soon after the woman ran a half marathon.

A new analysis of patients with early multiple sclerosis (MS) suggests they universally carry antibodies for Epstein-Barr virus, a virus increasingly thought to be linked to MS.

Visual impairment (VI) is estimated to affect around 1 in 11 US adults aged 65 and older and is associated with an increased risk of falls, social isolation, loss of independence, disability, and dementia. Older adults with dementia and self-reported VI may be at high risk for disability, while the co-occurrence of the 2 conditions may potentiate this risk, according to a study published in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Uncertainty remains surrounding the overall cost of care for employers, as subsequent waves of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)–related care may occur. Current projections suggest a lower health care spend due to deferral of nonrelated care, said Trevis Parson, chief actuary of Health & Benefits North America at Willis Towers Watson.

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi will expand access to a potential coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine among Europeans; COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons threaten already-strained rural hospitals; individuals with chronic illnesses report alcohol intake exceeding recommended guidelines.

Reports of children contracting—and occasionally dying—from a rare inflammatory disorder associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have prompted concern, as the disease has so far largely spared pediatric populations. But a new study from Italy indicates that the disorder associated with COVID-19 is more severe than the type known before the pandemic.

Insufficient response to triptans is associated with poor health-related quality of life and lower work productivity in migraineurs compared with those who respond well to the medications, according to a study published in The Journal of Headache and Pain.

Patients hospitalized due to acute decompensated heart failure have both a higher rate of annual mortality, compared with patients who have chronic ambulatory heart failure, and of dying within 6 months of hospital release.

A novel treatment that reprogrammed the skin cells of a single patient with Parkinson disease (PD) to replace cells in the brain improved symptoms over 24 months, according to a study published Wednesday, although researchers cautioned that a longer, more diverse clinical trial is needed to demonstrate results.

The benefit was especially pronounced for Hispanics, the researchers reported.

Shift workers were found to have a higher incidence of excessive daytime sleepiness compared with patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to study findings published this week.

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) had a 3.5-fold increase in all-cause mortality and a 1.5-fold increase in cardiovascular disease mortality, compared with those without MS, even after controlling for traditional risk factors, and women were more at risk than men. Statins were linked with lowering the mortality risk.

Organ donations and transplants have seen precipitous decreases since the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; access to medicines used to treat opioid dependence has improved in recent months in light of COVID-19; will gym goers feel safe working out when their gyms reopen?

More than 80,000 Americans have died of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, that number is likely an underestimate, said Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, in a hearing before the US Senate today.

Almost twice as many young women than men account for the 60% of Canadian adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosed between ages 20 and 49 years. Researchers developed an expert review of the most common comorbidities, as well as effective management styles available.

Among the principal reasons for recommending initiating antiretroviral treatment (ART) among pregnant patients who are HIV positive is to prevent transmission of the virus to their unborn children. This number was estimated at 1.3 million pregnant women, as of 2018.

Improvements observed through CVT-301 treatment in motor scores measured by part 3 of the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale were associated with improved scores in activities of daily living for patients with Parkinson disease, according to findings presented in an abstract.

Although pulmonary rehabilitation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is linked to better survival, a large study of fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare patients show it is underused, with less than 2% of those studied taking part in a 3-month program.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said there are 7 or 8 top vaccine candidates for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); hydroxychloroquine alone, or paired with azithromycin, showed no benefit for hospitalized patients with severe cases of COVID-19; the reported death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 80,000 yesterday, with a CDC report suggesting that thousands of unreported New York City deaths may be linked to the virus.

How will coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affect prescription drug trends? The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) put questions to Chris Robbins, chief executive officer of Arxcel Consulting LLC, to review these subjects and more in a wrapup discussion after the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy virtual meeting.

Challenges in sensory processing are common among adolescents with episodic migraine, while sensory avoidance may be related to individual pain experience, pain catastrophizing, and disability level, according to a study published in The Journal of Headache and Pain.

Cognitive function, especially verbal intelligence, is strongly and consistently associated with myopia (nearsightedness) among adolescents, according to a study published in BMC Public Health.

The FDA approved Eli Lilly’s selpercatinib (Retevmo) capsules to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) and other thyroid cancer tumors. The treatment is indicated for patients whose tumors have an alternation, such as a mutation or fusion, in a specific gene (RET or 'rearranged during transfection'), marking the first approval of a therapy for cancer patients with the RET gene alterations.

In a first-quarter earnings report, Novo Nordisk announced promising initial data from a phase 2 trial testing the efficacy of glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist semaglutide (Ozempic) in individuals with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

The nation’s top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, MD, and other health officials are entering various levels of quarantine after potential exposure to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases details how and why it halted a study on remdesivir in patients with COVID-19 early; the president’s economic advisers project rising unemployment rates.

Fatal breast cancers were reduced by 41% and advanced breast cancers by 25% following recommended screening for the disease by mammography in 9 counties in Sweden, emphasizing the importance of early detection.

Triage via text messaging can help providers reach patients in a shorter amount of time, the author says.