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This week, the top managed care stories included responses to the disaster in Houston after Hurricane Harvey; the approval of the first gene therapy in the United States; and a new cardiovascular indication for a popular drug to treat type 2 diabetes.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research in the healthcare and mainstream press.

Less than 2 months after it ordered a stop to 3 trials of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in multiple myeloma due to safety concerns, the FDA has released a more detailed analysis of what went wrong in these trials.

Among the many exercise tests used to assess patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a 6-minute walking test was most strongly associated with patient-reported outcomes and quality of life.

The study finds that the GLP-1 receptor agonist can slow progression of kidney disease, one of the most costly and debilitating complications of type 2 diabetes.

Results of a combination trial evaluating epacadostat with pembrolizumab in advanced melanoma, to be presented at the upcoming European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress, has found that the treatment is well tolerated and has promising clinical activity.

There are positive signs among the youngest children in states where adult obesity rates are highest, but the challenge is to continue that progress as these children get older.

A once-daily treatment that lasts up to 16 hours post-dose for patients older than 13 years who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is now available in the United States.

A gene therapy for patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), a rare skin disease that causes the skin to be very fragile and blister easily, has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation status by the FDA.

A new study finds that individuals with advanced cancer have high rates of hospitalization in the year after diagnosis. Palliative care aimed at preventing hospital admissions may be a useful tool, especially for the populations most at risk of rehospitalization.

Through the power of social media, hospitals in Texas are asking nurses from across the country to lend a hand in assisting the overwhelmed staff who have been working overtime to care for survivors of Hurricane Harvey.

The findings will likely add to the controversy over the US dietary guidelines. Lobbyists for grain interests have long been accused of having undue influence in food policy, especially over the now-discarded "food pyramid."

The FDA has approved the first chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) treatment, tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah), for the treatment of B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia in certain pediatric and young adult patients. The therapy represents a new frontier in cancer care.

Caregivers fill an important role for older individuals who are suffering from disabilities or severe diseases and especially for those at the end of life; however, they often go unpaid.

The merger is yet another sign that in healthcare, it's all about the data.

According to the CDC, 8.9% of children aged 2 to 5 are obese and more than 20% of youth are obese by the time they are 12 to 19 years old.

A newly released poll by Morning Consult/Politico finds that 51% of Americans surveyed support the idea of requiring individuals to work in order to be eligible for Medicaid.

AstraZeneca announced that the FDA has expanded the indications for fulvestrant (Faslodex). The drug is now approved as first-line monotherapy for women with certain types of breast cancer.

FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, announced the agency would take more forceful steps to prevent unregulated stem cell therapies from endangering patients.

The state of Texas remains in a public health emergency after the landfall of Hurricane Harvey as first responders rush to meet emergency medical needs and officials urge insurers to loosen restrictions on care delivery.

The largest study of its type sought to pinpoint when the link between weight gain in pregnancy and childhood obesity occurs.

The report finds that the same technology that physicians use to remind patients about appointments can be used to send reminders about screenings or that a payment is past due.

Gilead Sciences will acquire Kite Pharma by the end of 2017 in an $11.9 billion transaction that will place Gilead at the forefront of chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell therapy development.

A study published in JCO Precision Oncology has identified an association between genetic inheritance and patients’ response to efficacy and toxicity in the phase 3 ECOG-ACRIN-5103 trial.