Top 5 Most-Read Articles on AJMC.com for 2022

COVID-19–related symptoms and infectiousness duration, disparities in migraine care, and novel therapeutic breakthroughs for repigmentation in vitiligo were among the most popular topics covered on AJMC.com this year. Vitamin D supplementation topped the list, showing potential benefits among patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

Here are the top 5 most-read articles on AJMC.com for 2022.

5. Study Finds Association Between COVID-19 and Dry Eye Symptoms

As researchers worldwide were still learning more on the symptoms associated with COVID-19, a study found that one of the long-term effects of the infectious disease may be small fiber neuropathy in the ocular surface causing similar symptoms to dry eye disease (DED) and diabetic neuropathy.

Examining a cohort of 23 patients who overcame COVID-19 between March and December 2020 and 46 uninfected volunteers as a control group, those with prior infection were associated with corneal subbasal plexus and corneal tissue alterations typically present in small fiber neuropathy, while images from healthy individuals did not show significant nerve fiber or corneal tissue damage. Moreover, 8 of the previously infected patients reported increased feelings of ocular dryness and had DED indicators after COVID-19 infection.

Read the full article here.

4. Ruxolitinib Cream Shows Improved Efficacy, Sustained Safety in Vitiligo After Extended Follow-up

Prior to its FDA approval for the treatment of repigmentation in patients with vitiligo, ruxolitinib cream (Opzelura) monotherapy showcased its clinical efficacy in late-breaking findings presented at the 2022 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting. Compared with vehicle (nonmedicated cream), adolescent and adult patients with nonsegmental vitiligo showed clinically significant improvement in facial and total body repigmentation with ruxolitinib cream 1.5% twice daily over 52 weeks in 2 phase 3 studies, TRuE-V1 (NCT04052425) and TRuE-V2 (NCT04057573). Ruxolitinib cream is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for repigmentation in patients with vitiligo.

Read the full article here.

3. COVID-19 Is at Peak Infectiousness for 5 Days After Symptom Onset

COVID-19 was involved in another one of the most-read articles on AJMC.com this year, with this study investigating the window of COVID-19 infectiousness from the onset of infection and its correlation with symptom onset. Findings indicated that up to two-thirds of patients could transmit SARS-CoV-2 at 5 days after symptom onset and one-fourth of patients could transmit the virus after 7 days. They also found that infectiousness lasts a median of 5 days after symptoms began.

Researchers concluded that, “Preliminary evidence from our study has already informed policy and the real-world evidence presented here could be used to improve infection control policies and optimize guidance on self-isolation to minimize secondary transmission.”

Read the full article here.

2. Care for Migraine Insufficient in Germany, Online Survey Finds

Better experiences with overall medical care were observed among patients with more monthly migraine days (MMDs) in Germany, but receiving such care remains insufficient among these populations, according to findings of an online survey.

Survey responses showed that patients were typically seen by neurologists, together with pain specialists and orthopedists, more than 5 years after the condition was diagnosed, with general practitioners seeing the highest proportion of patients with migraine within 2 years of diagnosis. Moreover, just 26% of patients reported receiving treatment of any kind when responding to the survey, and among those reporting 15 or more MMDs, still fewer than half (43%) reported visiting physicians.

Read the full article here.

1. Vitamin D Provides Therapeutic Benefit Among Patients With MM, Review Says

The most-read article on AJMC.com covered findings of a literature review that revealed supplementation with vitamin D could provide therapeutic benefits for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who are being treated with chemotherapeutic agents. Searching 6 scholarly databases for all in vitro studies, clinical trials, and retrospective studies that exclusively focused on MM, myeloma cell lines, and use of vitamin D, vitamin K, or any variations of those vitamins, a positive impact was shown regarding vitamin D receptor expression for patients with breast cancer and MM, as well as those at risk of peripheral neuropathy.

Clinical trials additionally concluded that vitamin D deficiency does not impair the biochemical markers of bone metabolism in MM, prior to or after a patient receives autologous stem cell transplantation. However, more research is needed to confirm findings.

Read the full article here.