News & Updates

Early diagnosis and treatment of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy significantly improves outcomes

Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) is a significantly underdiagnosed, life-threatening disease caused by the deposition of transthyretin amyloid fibrils in the heart. Dr Soon Chao Yang, Interventional Cardiologist at The Heart Doctors Clinic in Mount Alvernia Hospital, Singapore, reviews the data on early treatment of ATTR-CM, and shares his clinical experience with tafamidis.

Optimizing anticoagulation therapy for atrial fibrillation with prior gastrointestinal bleeding

Long-term anticoagulation therapy is often recommended for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to reduce their risk of stroke, but gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is a common complication that presents a significant challenge. Patients with a history of GIB have heightened risks of recurrent bleeding events, hence interruption or discontinuation of anticoagulants is often warranted. When and how to restart anticoagulant therapy following an episode of GIB has been debated. MIMS Doctor interviewed Dr Pipin Kojodjojo, Cardiologist and Cardiac Electrophysiologist at Asian Heart & Vascular Centre, Singapore, to gather his perspectives on how to manage anticoagulant therapy after a GIB episode.

Tafamidis still the only approved therapy for ATTR-CM in Asia

Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) is a progressively debilitating disease with a formidable symptom burden and an average survival of 2–5 years from diagnosis. In 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration approved tafamidis (Vyndamax) as the first disease-modifying therapy for ATTR-CM. Since then, tafamidis has been approved for the treatment of ATTR-CM in over 55 countries including Japan, Australia, and Singapore. MIMS Doctor interviewed Dr Tang Hak Chiaw, consultant cardiologist at Novena Heart Centre, Singapore, about the types and clinical presentation of ATTR-CM in Singapore, and the role of tafamidis in the treatment of this often underdiagnosed and fatal disease of the heart muscle.

Abrocitinib: The Novel Oral Treatment for Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis

Abrocitinib, the first janus kinase (JAK)1 inhibitor specifically indicated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD), was recently approved in Singapore. During a webinar hosted by the Dermatological Society of Singapore, with the support of Pfizer, Professor Stephan Weidinger of University Hospital Scheswig-Holstein, Germany discussed several cases that exemplified appropriate patient selection for this novel agent.

Burden of Dengue amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dengue fever (DF) is endemic in many tropical countries, including Singapore, and is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. All four serotypes of the dengue virus (DENV 1–4) are found in Singapore, with serotype distribution fluctuating from year to year. DENV-1 and DENV-2 were previously the dominant serotypes in outbreaks, but DENV-3 has now replaced DENV-2 as the most common serotype in 2022. Along with a larger proportion of people staying home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this has resulted in an increase in dengue incidence in Singapore. In the week of 12th to 18th June 2022, 1,258 new dengue cases were reported. According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), this number is expected to rise and exceed the highest weekly figure of 1,787 cases recorded in 2020.

Management of multidrug-resistant organisms in paediatric patients: Role of newer antimicrobial agents

The management of multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections in children is complex, with limited studies and a relative lack of approved new antibiotics with paediatric indications.

At a recent Meet-the-Expert session, Dr Louis Grandjean, Consultant in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Associate Professor at University College, London, UK, addressed the growing threat of MDR infections in children and discussed treatment strategies and options for management. He focused on ceftazidime-avibactam (CAZ-AVI, Zavicefta^®), whose approval in Singapore was recently expanded to include paediatric patients aged 3 months and older.

Adj Asst Prof Natalie Tan, Senior Consultant at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, chaired this webinar, which was organized by Pfizer under the auspices of the Singapore Paediatric Society and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Early treatment of ATTR-CM with tafamidis increases survival

Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) is a progressive and life-threatening rare disease caused by unstable transthyretin proteins that misfold and aggregate into insoluble amyloid fibrils that deposit in the heart and other organs of the body. Tafamidis, a transthyretin stabilizer, is the first disease-modifying therapy approved for ATTR-CM. Clinical Assistant Professor Khoo Chun Yuan, Consultant Cardiologist at the National Heart Centre Singapore, discusses the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of ATTR-CM patients.

Denosumab: A critical aspect of metastatic prostate cancer treatment

Men with metastatic prostate cancer (mPC) have an elevated risk of skeletal complications either due to bone metastases (skeletal-related events [SREs]), or from osteoporosis induced by androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Two key opinion leaders recently shared their perspectives on bone complications in mPC as well as the use of bone-targeted agents (BTAs) such as denosumab (Xgeva) to reduce the risk of bone complications.

Professor Bertrand Tombal

Professor of Urology

Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc & Université catholique de Louvain

Brussels, Belgium

Associate Professor Edmund Chiong

Head, Department of Urology

National University Hospital, Singapore