Articles related to Family Medicine/General Practice

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the US continued to rise during the first year of the pandemic. For the first time in seven years, the overall number of reported STD cases was lower than the previous year, but the CDC attributed the drop-off to a decline in reported cases of chlamydia — the nation’s most common STD — that was likely a result of pandemic-related interruptions to screening.

New research into intermittent fasting has found that the practice is generally safe, producing few gastrointestinal, neurologic, hormonal, or metabolic effects. Additionally, the research found that intermittent fasting is on par with traditional calorie-restricted diets for weight loss.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said “no” to Akebia Therapeutics’ drug application for vadadustat, a therapy to treat anemia due to chronic kidney disease. Vadadustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to mimic the physiologic effect of altitude on oxygen availability. The FDA cited safety concerns as the main reason for it rejecting the application.

New guidelines recommend that internists treat uncomplicated diverticulitis in an outpatient setting without the use of antibiotics. The new guidelines on diagnosis and management of patients with diverticulitis have been published by the Annals of Internal Medicine. And they are stirring up debate among physicians.

A study published in Nature makes the case that even mild COVID-19 can lead to long-term changes in the human brain. Researchers at Oxford University reported that several months after study participants had COVID-19, they had more gray matter loss and tissue abnormalities, mainly in the areas of the brain associated with smell, and more brain size shrinkage than participants who hadn’t been infected with the virus.

The FDA has withdrawn its authorization for use of the monoclonal antibody sotrovimab in the treatment of COVID-19 in regions with a high frequency of the Omicron BA.2 subvariant. Data show that the authorized dose of the monoclonal antibody — 500 mg — is unlikely to be effective against the BA.2 COVID-19 subvariant.