Topics

Drug Safety

WHAT THE STUDY ACTUALLY SAYS

Elafibranor held its biochemical gains in PBC across three years

Two-year blinded data and open-label follow-up from the ELATIVE trial show the drug kept improving liver blood tests in primary biliary cholangitis — but the endpoint is still a surrogate, and the trial is industry-run.

WHAT THE STUDY ACTUALLY SAYS

Does colchicine, an old gout drug, prevent heart attacks?

Two trials found low-dose colchicine cut cardiovascular events, and the FDA approved it for heart risk in 2023. Then the largest trial found nothing, leaving the question genuinely unsettled.

ANALYSIS

Restless legs: the first-line drugs just changed places

The 2024 AASM guideline now advises against routinely using the dopamine agonists that were once standard, because over time they often make the condition worse — and puts anticonvulsants and iron first.

EXPLAINER

What actually causes a muscle cramp?

The familiar explanation — dehydration and lost salts — is the weakest part of the evidence. The better-supported idea is that cramping is a failure of nerve control, which is why a mouthful of pickle juice can stop one.

WHAT THE STUDY ACTUALLY SAYS

Secukinumab missed its mark in a giant cell arteritis trial

In the phase 3 GCAptAIN trial the interleukin-17A blocker did not significantly beat placebo for sustained remission at one year, leaving the IL-6 inhibitor tocilizumab as the proven steroid-sparing option.

WHAT THE STUDY ACTUALLY SAYS

Prasinezumab missed its main goal in a Parkinson's trial

The anti-alpha-synuclein antibody did not significantly delay motor progression in the phase 2b PADOVA study, though a non-significant trend and secondary signals keep a phase 3 trial alive.

WHAT THE STUDY ACTUALLY SAYS

An siRNA eased myasthenia gravis in the phase 3 NIMBLE trial

Cemdisiran, a gene-silencing drug given under the skin once every three months, cut daily-living scores more than placebo in antibody-positive generalised myasthenia gravis, a rare complement-driven disease.