News & Updates

Depression raises risk of hypertension, CVD in adults

15 Feb 2024

Depressive symptoms are common among Chinese adults aged >45 years and appear to increase the risk of incident hypertension and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), reveals a recent study.

Depression raises risk of hypertension, CVD in adults

15 Feb 2024

Cancer risk reduced a decade after smoking cessation

15 Feb 2024

For ex-smokers, the risk of cancer appears to significantly decrease 10 years after quitting, according to a study from Korea.

Cancer risk reduced a decade after smoking cessation

15 Feb 2024

Staying safe on social media

15 Feb 2024 by

Social media can be a very powerful tool for medical professionals. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated just how useful the rapid sharing of information and experiences across the world can be in the face of a novel disease. As the use of social media platforms increases, however, so do the associated risks for doctors, especially where privacy is concerned and when professional and personal boundaries become blurred. This article provides tips for doctors to keep their career and reputation safe on social media based on Medical Protection’s experience in handling relevant cases.

Staying safe on social media

15 Feb 2024

Management of adults with SMA: Practical considerations and treatment experiences

15 Feb 2024 by

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an inherited disorder that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. Although there is no cure for SMA, emerging disease-modifying treatments can potentially change disease trajectory and substantially improve patients’ outcomes. At a local symposium, Professor Tim Hagenacker of the Department of Neurology, Essen University Hospital in Essen, Germany, shared his clinical experience and expertise in managing adults with SMA, with a focus on early treatment with an oral drug, risdiplam (Evyrsdi^®). Dr Shirley Pang of the Division of Neurology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, reported preliminary data on treatment outcomes with risdiplam in Hong Kong.

Management of adults with SMA: Practical considerations and treatment experiences

15 Feb 2024

In-hospital initiation of an SGLT2 inhibitor in an elderly patient with acute heart failure

15 Feb 2024 by

A 76-year-old female was hospitalized in July 2023 due to a 3-month history of shortness of breath (SoB), lower limb oedema and reduced exercise tolerance with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II. At the time of hospitalization, she experienced acute pulmonary oedema, which was effectively treated with intravenous furosemide supported by a short course of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation. The patient also had multiple comorbidities on background medications, including hypertension treated with losartan 25 mg daily and amlodipine 10 mg daily, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treated with metformin 500 mg BID, atrial fibrillation treated with apixaban 5 mg BID, as well asobesity and obstructive sleep apnoea.

In-hospital initiation of an SGLT2 inhibitor in an elderly patient with acute heart failure

15 Feb 2024

Use of a PCSK9 inhibitor in a patient with established ASCVD

15 Feb 2024 by

A 54-year-old nonsmoking Australian male with a known history of hypertension presented with chest discomfort in September 2019. His LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) level was 2.2 mmol/L. Coronary CT angiography in 2011 indicated mild stenosis at the left anterior descending (LAD) and left circumflex (LCX) arteries. However, assessment in September 2019 revealed stenosis progression, with 50–70 percent stenosis in the proximal LAD (p-LAD) artery and 50 percent stenosis in the proximal LCX (p-LCX) artery. Pulmonary CT angiography showed segmental pulmonary embolism (PE). Ultrasonography showed left lower limb deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Use of a PCSK9 inhibitor in a patient with established ASCVD

15 Feb 2024

Prioritizing cardiorenal protection in T2DM, HF & CKD: Why SGLT2 inhibitors?

15 Feb 2024 by

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors’ (eg, empagliflozin) cardiorenal benefits demonstrated in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) have led to guideline recommendations for their use across these populations. In a Boehringer Ingelheim–sponsored lecture at the 6^th Annual Meeting of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism Hong Kong (EDM HK), Professor Dirk Müller-Wieland of the RWTH University Hospital Aachen in Aachen, Germany, discussed how these cardiorenal-protective therapies improve patients’ prognosis, highlighting international guidelines that now recommend SGLT2 inhibitors for cardiorenal risk reduction in T2DM patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), HF patients regardless of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and diabetes status, and CKD patients.

Prioritizing cardiorenal protection in T2DM, HF & CKD: Why SGLT2 inhibitors?

15 Feb 2024

Fremanezumab effective in migraine prevention and depression management

15 Feb 2024 by

A holistic approach to migraine management involves taking into consideration patients’ psychiatric comorbidities and addressing the cumulative burden of both diseases to help improve overall treatment outcomes. At an industry-sponsored symposium during the 2023 International Headache Congress in Seoul, South Korea, experts in neurology stressed the importance of bridging the gap between psychiatry and neurology in migraine care by highlighting the role of the calcitonin gene–related peptide (CGRP) pathway monoclonal antibody (mAb), fremanezumab, in migraine prevention in patients with comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD).

Fremanezumab effective in migraine prevention and depression management

15 Feb 2024

$Testosterone treatment offers no protection against fractures in men with hypogonadism$

Testosterone treatment offers no protection against fractures in men with hypogonadism

14 Feb 2024

Testosterone treatment does not help lower the incidence of clinical fractures in middle-aged and older men with hypogonadism, according to a study.

Testosterone treatment offers no protection against fractures in men with hypogonadism

14 Feb 2024

Three dementia screening tools validated in a multi-ethnic Asian setting

14 Feb 2024 by

The Community Screening Instrument for Dementia (CSI-D), Chinese Mini Mental State Examination (CMMSE), and Elderly Cognitive Assessment Questionnaire (ECAQ) have been confirmed to be valid instruments for dementia screening in a multiethnic, multilingual Singaporean population comprising ethnic Chinese, Malays, and Indians.

Three dementia screening tools validated in a multi-ethnic Asian setting

14 Feb 2024

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Depression raises risk of hypertension, CVD in adults

Depression raises risk of hypertension, CVD in adults

Cancer risk reduced a decade after smoking cessation

Cancer risk reduced a decade after smoking cessation

Staying safe on social media

Staying safe on social media

Management of adults with SMA: Practical considerations and treatment experiences

Management of adults with SMA: Practical considerations and treatment experiences

In-hospital initiation of an SGLT2 inhibitor in an elderly patient with acute heart failure

In-hospital initiation of an SGLT2 inhibitor in an elderly patient with acute heart failure

Use of a PCSK9 inhibitor in a patient with established ASCVD

Use of a PCSK9 inhibitor in a patient with established ASCVD

Prioritizing cardiorenal protection in T2DM, HF & CKD: Why SGLT2 inhibitors?

Prioritizing cardiorenal protection in T2DM, HF & CKD: Why SGLT2 inhibitors?

Fremanezumab effective in migraine prevention and depression management

Fremanezumab effective in migraine prevention and depression management

Testosterone treatment offers no protection against fractures in men with hypogonadism

Testosterone treatment offers no protection against fractures in men with hypogonadism

Three dementia screening tools validated in a multi-ethnic Asian setting

Three dementia screening tools validated in a multi-ethnic Asian setting