The first-ever mRNA-1345 vaccine (mRESVIA) for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) manufactured by Moderna has been accorded US FDA approval. The vaccine, to be available in a prefilled syringe, is intended to protect against lower respiratory tract disease in individuals aged ≥60 years… (Source: MedPage Today. May 31, 2024).

Early-onset colorectal cancer, which is diagnosed before 50 years of age most frequently presents with hematochezia and abdominal pain. The other most common symptoms were altered bowel habits and unexplained weight loss. The time period from the onset of these signs/symptoms to diagnosis of colorectal cancer ranged between 4 and 6 months… (Source: JAMA Network Open. May 24, 2024).

Warm nights increase the incidence of strokes by 7%, especially for older women. Analysis of data from Germany's Augsburg Hospital across a 15-year period revealed 11,037 cases of strokes between 2006 and 2020, from May through October, when temperatures are at their highest. Over 80% of the strokes were minor or of moderate-severity. Incidence of ischemic strokes was highest followed by transient ischemic attacks and hemorrhagic strokes… (Source: Eur Heart J. May 21, 2024).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported the third human case of H5N1 (highly pathogenic avian influenza) following exposure to infected dairy cows in a dairy farm worker from the state of Michigan in the US. Unlike the other two cases, which reported only conjunctivitis, this patient has reported upper respiratory tract symptoms, cough without fever, and eye discomfort with watery discharge… (Source: CDC. May 30, 2024).

The European Medicines Agency (EMA)’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has granted marketing authorization for dasiglucagon for the treatment of children aged ≥6 years, adolescents and adults with diabetes mellitus. Available by the name of Zegalogue, dasiglucagon is a glycogenolytic hormone that raises blood sugar levels by increasing the glycogen breakdown and encouraging the liver to release glucose by activating hepatic glucagon receptors… (Source: EMA. May 30, 2024).

Results from the INSPIRE study show that neuropsychiatric symptoms such as nightmares and hallucinations may be a presentation feature of systemic lupus erythematosus and other systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases at any stage during the course of the disease. More than half of the patients who reported hallucinations developed these symptoms more than 1 year after the onset of disease… (Source: eClinicalMedicine. May 20, 2024).

Supplementing history and physical examination with point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) may help primary care physicians to accurately diagnose meniscal injuries. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed meniscal injuries in 6 of the 11 patients who underwent POCUS. These findings were presented at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society of General Internal Medicine held in Boston last month… (Source: Medscape. May 31, 2024).

Upadacitinib can now be used to treat children aged 2 years with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis and psoriatic arthritis who are either intolerant to or fail to respond to treatment with tumor necrosis factor blockers… (Source: Medscape. June 4, 2024).