M. Alexander Otto began his reporting career early in 1999 covering the pharmaceutical industry for a national pharmacists' magazine and freelancing for the Washington Post and other newspapers. He then joined BNA, now part of Bloomberg News, covering health law and the protection of people and animals in medical research. Alex next worked for the McClatchy Company. Based on his work, Alex won a year-long Knight Science Journalism Fellowship to MIT in 2008-2009. He joined the company shortly thereafter. Alex has a newspaper journalism degree from Syracuse (N.Y.) University and a master's degree in medical science -- a physician assistant degree -- from George Washington University. Alex is based in Seattle.
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FDA approves pembrolizumab for cervical cancer
Pembrolizumab is the first anti-PD-1 therapy approved for the treatment of advanced cervical cancer.
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Nevus count tied to BCC risk
No link between nevus count and squamous cell carcinoma risk.
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Pemphigus remission rate tops 80% with rituximab
ORLANDO – “Rituximab is quickly emerging as frontline therapy” for pemphigus.
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Cutaneous lupus: Switching antimalarials can delay immunosuppressive therapy
ORLANDO – A recent study of patients with cutaneous lupus found that about half of hydroxychloroquine nonresponders did respond to chloroquine.
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Hydroxychloroquine throws off Quantiferon-TB Gold results, study finds
Indeterminate test results can exclude patients from treatment with immunosuppressives and clinical trials.
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Timely dermatomyositis diagnosis, treatment remain elusive
Increased risk of cancer in DM, especially within 1-2 years of symptom onset, is the strongest argument for earlier diagnosis.
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Median time to progression from discoid to systemic lupus may be less than a year
Investigators found that the median time to progression was shorter than the mean time to progression used in most studies.
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Don’t trust interface dermatitis to diagnose dermatomyositis
This histologic finding was not present in about a quarter of a cohort of patients with DM.
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Regular skin exams reduced advanced KCs in posttransplant patients
ORLANDO - Just 2.1% of the patients in the review had annual exams, and less than half saw a dermatologist even once during an average of 5 years...
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Bismuth subgallate cuts stool smell after duodenal switch
SEATTLE – “It really is an intestinal deodorant. I find patients are interested in having access to this tool.”
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CKD triples risk of bad outcomes in HIV
BOSTON – Smoking, diabetes, dyslipidemia, low body mass index, and poor HIV control were modifiable risk factors for CKD.
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CBC values linked to CVD risk in psoriasis
ORLANDO – Red cell distribution width – a measure of the range of red blood cell volumes in a given sample – and mean platelet volume are...
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Sulforaphane for autism? Maybe
LOS ANGELES –The dietary supplement is showing benefit in a small, ongoing trial, but there are a lot of pills.
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Myelin antibody predicts ADEM relapse
LOS ANGELES – Could results help to guide decisions on immunosuppressive treatment?
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Guidance coming for mTOR inhibitors in infantile TSC
LOS ANGELES – Survey aimed to describe the wide variation in their off-label use, particularly in infants.