Trending News: Commentary Emphasizes Efficacy of First-Line PrEP

A new commentary argues that given the strong safety and efficacy profile of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate with emtricitabine (TDF/TFC) for use in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), there is no sufficient benefit to warrant changing clinician emphasis to tenofovir alafenamide with emtricitabine (TAF/FTC), according to Contagion Live. The commentary authors took issue with the claim that TAF/FTC was definitively a safer and more effective drug, noting that support for TAF/FTC is based on a single randomized trial, the DISCOVER study, which demonstrated noninferiority to TDF/FTC. TDF/FTC has robust data demonstrating efficacy in a wide range of patient populations, including cisgender women.

New data suggests that ambroxol, a treatment for patients with cough linctus, may target the glucocerebrosidase pathway in patients with Parkinson disease, according to MD Magazine. An open-label clinical trial that included 17 patients with Parkinson disease found that ambroxol crossed the blood-brain barrier and bound to the β-glucocerebrosidase enzyme, increasing β-glucocerebrosidase enzyme protein levels and cerebrospinal fluid α-synuclein levels in patients with or without glucocerebrosidase gene mutations. The results suggest that ambroxol therapy was safe and well-tolerated, according to the study authors.

The risk of heart disease is falling among survivors of childhood cancer, according to The American Journal of Managed Care. The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study findings suggest that efforts to protect children from the most toxic effects of cancer treatment, such as radiotherapy, appear to be working. Risk of coronary artery disease fell steadily from 0.38% in the 1970s to 0.19% by the end of the 1990s, according to the report.