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The most popular stories of the week on AJMC®.

Eighteen out of 30 studies included in a recent literature review, published in Nutrients, showed a link between serum vitamin D levels and headaches, with the strongest connection established between serum vitamin D and migraine.

Substantial medication and follow-up nonadherence exists among inmates with glaucoma, according to a study published in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Twenty-one people aboard a cruise ship carrying more than 3500 people off the California coast tested positive for the new coronavirus, but only 46 people overall have been tested, and federal officials are trying to bring the ship to a non-commercial port. COVID-19 (which stands for coronavirus disease 2019) passed a global milestone; SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease, has infected more than 100,000 worldwide.

The authors said their study is the first to show that targeted treaments for patients with certain molecular alterations could be a possibility in pancreatic cancer.

Screening mammography is important for reducing race/ethnicity-associated triple-negative breast cancer disparities among African American and white patients.

This week, the top stories in managed care included a study finding key drug prices are soaring; Congress providing funds for coronavirus; alcohol-related deaths rising.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) misunderstood a law for decades affecting healthcare access for veterans with less-than-honorable discharges; days after Super Tuesday and a decision by the Supreme Court to hear a Republican challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Democrats are eager to talk about the issue, but vulnerable Republicans are not; moderate drinking is linked with lower levels of beta amyloid, the protein that forms the brain plaques of Alzheimer disease.

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

Cataract surgery was associated with an increase in melatonin secretion, according to new study findings; melatonin secretion has been linked to depression, diabetes, cognitive impairment, and breast cancer.

A federal judge has invalidated Medicaid work requirements in Michigan; the Department of Justice (DOJ) launches an initiative to root out the worst nursing homes; wholesale retailer Costco purchases a stake in a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM).

The FDA now requires a boxed warning for montelukast (Singulair) due to the risk of neuropsychiatric events associated with the drug.

Thirty-seven percent of women prefer to receive their lifetime risk of breast cancer through numbers and words, while 73% prefer a combination of lifetime and 10-year age-related risk.

Although it is the most commonly cited food-based trigger for migraines, there is insufficient evidence to prove chocolate is a migraine trigger, according to a review of 25 studies published in Nutrients.

Isatuximab-irfc, sold as Sarclisa, in combination with pomalidomide and dexamethasone, was approved this week by the FDA for the treatment of adults with relapsed refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least 2 prior therapies.

A study on data from the Women’s Health Initiative found good metabolic health and effective weight management can minimize diabetes risk in postmenopausal women. The study, published in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society, aimed to determine the relationship between metabolic weight categories with incident diabetes in postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years.

Federal incentives fail to spur development of new drugs to treat rare diseases; alcohol-related deaths have risen steadily over the past several years; will CMS stop auto-enrolling low-income individuals in exchange health plans?

Treatment regimens of steroids and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs were effective in reducing the short-term death rate among patients with acute exacerbation of interstitial lung disease (AE-ILD), a complication of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy.

Improved sleep patterns were linked with potential risk reductions of heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases, with additional associations found in helping women achieve and maintain a healthier body weight, according to preliminary research to be presented at American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2020.

Eighty percent of annual costs for heart failure come from hospitalization for the condition, which more than 23 million persons suffer from worldwide, 6.2 million (27%) in the United States alone. These costs are estimated to increase almost 58% between 2012 and 2030, from $30.7 billion to $53 billion.

Researchers developed a multisensor tool that quickly and simply records motor changes in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study recently published in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. Researchers hope the introduction of the device will lead to future developments in neurological vital signs using wearable technology.

A special issue takes a wide-ranging look at the cost of prescription drugs.

Four more US deaths related to the coronavirus were reported in Washington state yesterday; the 2 justices appointed by President Trump to the Supreme Court will hear their first case on abortion tomorrow; Sandoz agreed to pay $195 million in a generic drug price-fixing investigation.

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/managed-care-considerations-for-navigating-biosimilar-and-her2-directed-therapies-for-the-treatment-of-her2-positive-breast-cancer

Researchers determined that patients with Wolfram syndrome have impaired smell identification abilities and blunted perceptions of certain taste stimuli, according to a study published in the Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has contributed to more US patient deaths than the next 60 reportable infectious diseases combined. The United States Preventive Services Task Force has issued updated guidelines on screening for HCV that account for the larger proportion of this patient group that now includes persons who inject drugs, as well as the shift from interferon-based therapy to regimens composed of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medications.

The second US Coronavirus death was reported in EvergreenHealth hospital in Kirkland, Washington; extended-release drugs were shown to cost almost $14 billion more than twice-a-day medications over a 5-year study; the Supreme Court plans to hear the third challenge to the Affordable Care Act in October.

In 2018, Washington, DC, saw 340 newly diagnosed cases of HIV, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. The city’s rate is 5 times higher than the national rate, and it falls under the World Health Organization’s definition of an epidemic. Researchers used next-generation sequencing to gain a broader view of the disease’s dynamics in the DC area.

A recent study aiming to evaluate the impact of motor and non-motor wearing-off—a common phenomenon in Parkinson disease (PD)—found that the fluctuations have an impact on the activities of daily living and quality of life, with non-motor wearing-off having the greater impact.

A new review article shows scientific studies have consistently identified links between sleep problems and health outcomes in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Despite the apparent links, there are no screening recommendations related to sleep in patients with the disease.