Weight-Loss Drugs Should Be First Step to Prevent Heart Disease, Top Cardiology Group Says
Millions more Americans should be taking weight-loss drugs to prevent heart disease, according to the American College of Cardiology.
Exercise and a clean diet aren't always enough for heart health, the nation's top cardiology organization said when releasing new recommendations on Friday. Weight-loss drugs should used earlier, making them part of the first line of defense for obese patients, the group said.
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CBS News
11 minutes ago
- CBS News
Murkowski says she has been "pretty clear" about her concerns with Trump's "big, beautiful bill"
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she has been "pretty clear" about her concerns over potential cuts President Trump's so-called "big, beautiful bill" would make to Medicaid and food benefits for her constituents in Alaska. In an interview for "CBS Sunday Morning," Murkowski told CBS News senior correspondent Norah O'Donnell that she hasn't given any absolute deal-breakers in the Senate legislation — but she's voiced her reservations about the Medicaid proposals. "I have not given anybody in the administration an absolute, this is my red line, right?" Because I think it's important that every step of the way, I communicate where my concerns are," Murkowski told O'Donnell in the interview airing this weekend. The reconciliation bill — or "one big, beautiful bill," as Mr. Trump and Republicans in Congress have dubbed it — has passed the House, but remains up for debate in the Senate, where some Republicans are pushing for deeper cuts to Medicaid than the House-passed version allows. Medicaid is the entitlement program that offers government-backed health care for both low-income Americans and those with disabilities, with the federal government and states splitting the costs. While the House version adds a new work requirement to Medicaid for childless adults, the Senate wants work requirements to expand to parents of older children. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides food benefits to the poorest Americans, and some Senate Republicans are hoping to place more requirements on states. "So I've been pretty clear that when it comes to Medicaid, those cuts that would harm Alaskan beneficiaries, that's not something that I can take home, right? We have some of the highest health care costs in the country. We have 40% of Alaska's kids that are on Medicaid. I want to try to do what we can to address certain aspects of our entitlement spending. We've got to do that. But doing it with the most vulnerable bearing the brunt of that is not the answer," she said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from North Dakota, wants the reconciliation bill to pass by the July 4 holiday, but that deadline is quickly approaching. Watch more of the interview with Sen. Lisa Murkowski on "CBS Sunday Morning" on Sunday, June 22.
Medscape
25 minutes ago
- Medscape
EMA Recommends Rezdiffra for MASH Liver Fibrosis
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended conditional marketing authorization for Rezdiffra (resmetirom) for adults with noncirrhotic metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) with moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis. MASH was formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NASH). There are currently no authorized treatments for MASH in the EU, making Rezdiffra a potential first. MASH is a serious liver disease that occurs when fat accumulates in the liver, causing inflammation. Left untreated, it can lead to cirrhosis and cancer. Symptoms may only present in more advanced stages of the condition, at which point they may include discomfort or pain in the upper right abdomen, muscle weakness or loss, and swelling in the abdomen or legs. Estimates suggest that up to 5% of people in Europe have MASH and that around 25% have metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the condition that precedes MASH. MASLD was previously known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The active substance of Rezdiffra is resmetirom, which is a partial agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor-beta. It works by promoting lipophagy and hepatic fatty acid beta-oxidation to reduce liver fat, inflammation, and liver fibrosis. The EMA's decision comes after interim results from a pivotal, ongoing phase 3 trial including 966 adults with biopsy-confirmed MASH with varying stages of fibrosis. Patients were randomly assigned treatment on a 1:1:1 ratio to receive once-daily resmetirom at 80 mg or 100 mg, or a placebo. The primary endpoints were MASH resolution at week 52 with no worsening of fibrosis, and a reduction in fibrosis by at least one stage alongside no worsening of NAFLD activity score. MASH resolution included a reduction in the NAFLD activity score by ≥ 2 points. Scores range from 0 to 8; higher scores indicate more severe disease. After 12 months, 30% of patients in the 100 mg resmetirom group and 26% of those in the 80 mg group achieved MASH resolution with no worsening fibrosis compared with 10% in the placebo group. Meanwhile, 26% of patients in the 100 mg resmetirom group and 24% of patients in the 80 mg group experienced fibrosis improvement by at least one stage with no worsening of NAFLD activity score compared with 14% in the placebo group. The most frequent side effects were diarrhea, nausea, itching, and pruritus. Diarrhea and nausea were more frequent among those taking resmetirom than those taking the placebo. The rate of serious adverse events was similar across all groups and ranged from 10.9% to 12.7%. Rezdiffra will be available as 60 mg, 80 mg, and 100 mg film-coated tablets. It should be taken alongside diet and exercise. The opinion adopted by the EMA will now go to the European Commission to await a decision on EU-wide marketing authorization. In the meantime, the EMA has required Rezdiffra's applicant to complete both the pivotal and another ongoing trial to provide further data regarding the drug's efficacy. This conditional approval comes as the EMA perceives that the benefits to patients from immediate availability outweigh the risk inherent in incomplete data. Detailed recommendations for using Rezdiffra will be described in the summary of product characteristics, which will be published on the EMA website in all official European Union languages.
Forbes
31 minutes ago
- Forbes
How Singapore Reimagines Care Through Design
Healing Forest of the Woodlands Healing Garden Photo courtesy of NParks As Singapore grapples with the challenges of an ageing population and rising chronic health conditions, design is emerging as a powerful catalyst for reimagining the nation's care and wellness systems. At the forefront of this transformation is Tamsin Greulich-Smith, Director of the DesignSingapore Council's School of X, who has spent years championing design-led innovations to improve lives. In this insightful conversation, she explains how human-centered design is shaping national healthcare strategy, empowering communities and driving collaborative, ground-up solutions, from COVID-era co-design initiatives to bold new visions like Healthier SG. How has Singapore's 'City in a Garden' vision influenced the country's approach to designing for physical and mental well-being? On a national level, Singapore has embraced livability and greening as reflected in its vision to be a 'Garden City', which was first articulated in 1967 by then Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. As part of it, HDB estates as well as private developers, were mandated to set aside spaces for trees and greenery in their projects to avoid Singapore becoming a concrete jungle. This has since been an active means of creating a more calming environment as well as softening the impacts of high-density urban living on peoples' health through absorption of air pollutants, softening of background noise levels, etc. What role does nature and biophilic design play in Singapore's healthcare and public infrastructure? National Parks has created healing gardens in their public spaces, and recently opened the first healing garden attached to a hospital, adjacent to Woodlands Hospital. Khoo Teck Puat Hospital also brought biophilic healing design into the care environment more than 10 years ago with its concept of a hospital in a garden, and a garden in a hospital. When they took over the site for construction, it was located next to a pond in Yishun, which the hospital team brought into the design of the space. So very specifically in our hospitals, we see the healing use of nature as a means of enhancing care outcomes. What urban and infrastructural design strategies are in place to promote everyday physical activity in Singapore? Infrastructural-wise, fitness parks are commonplace in our housing estates to remove barriers to exercise and increase accessibility to fitness equipment for all ages as a health prevention measure. Increasingly, the fitness areas in our parks are also featuring well-being aspects, such as massage stones, to further enhance health benefits. Covered walkways are designed to encourage physical activity by removing a deterrent to walking. The walkways protect pedestrians from harmful UV rays, keep people cooler in the hot Singapore climate and provide shelter from the tropical downpours so that people can keep walking, no matter the weather conditions. Across public agencies, there is an effort to keep people well. How does Singapore design integrated environments that bring health, care and community together? In terms of dedicated sites, there are several nationally that bring human-centered, integrated environments together with the aim of improving health and well-being. Kampung Admiralty is designed to better meet the needs of an ageing population, while Kallang Sports Hub is an expanding space that embeds exercise and active living into the heart of the precinct. Enabling Village is also a beautiful example of space design for improved quality of life. It has been carefully designed to enable people of all abilities and disabilities to feel able and empowered to independently access the campus. Again, featuring biophilic design to create a calming environment, with running water and the sounds of nature lowering stress levels. Enabling Village multi-purpose space that is accessible by all Photo Edward Hendricks How is design thinking helping Singapore tackle healthcare challenges at a national level? Design and innovation are integrated into our national care efforts in a variety of ways, including across all of our Regional Health Systems and our social service sector. To design for future population needs, we need to look at the systems level changes required, at the strategic enablers that will drive those changes and at the specific interventions on the ground that would support the changes in being adopted and realized. Design can play a role in each of these areas. At the highest level, both the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social and Family Development have dedicated innovation functions, exploring new ways of creating impacts for those they serve. This requires determined effort to challenge existing norms and assumptions, before devising new approaches. Design thinking is a great method for working through this process and reframing fundamentals. The Ministry of Health's Office for Healthcare Transformation (MOHT), for example, has utilized a design-led approach from the outset of its establishment to gain insights into stakeholder needs and drive relevant innovation. We can't design solutions for transformative adoption if we don't first understand the needs of those we are designing for. Can you give examples of how design-led initiatives have shaped responses to real-world healthcare and social challenges? This has been reflected in the MOHT's initiatives in different ways, such as 'Design4Impact', a national and collaborative effort launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to mobilize the population to design solutions to pressing care needs at the time. The MOHT spearheaded a partnership with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), DesignSingapore Council and the National University of Singapore to leverage grounds-up co-design to support specific health and well-being needs during that challenging period. The solutions that emerged from the program, which addressed complex care challenges, such as supporting mental health or tackling social isolation amongst the elderly, have gone on to be trialed and implemented. One example of this is Garden2Gather, which uses gardening as a way to start conversations on mental health. It was launched in 2022 in the Boon Lay neighborhood. At a sector level, we are seeing design-led efforts shaping strategic priorities. For example, in 2022, the NCSS launched its new strategic road map. I was privileged to be part of the committee tasked with its development, and I was delighted that the process drew upon human-centered, empathic design to inform emerging and future needs of both beneficiaries and the 450-plus social service agencies delivering care across Singapore. It is heartening to see that design is recognized by our public agencies as a relevant and helpful tool in determining how best to meet changing population needs. A design-led approach has directly shaped the future strategic direction of the national social service ecosystem, and its implementation is being enabled through a variety of dedicated initiatives and resources, also fueled by design. The NCSS 4ST Partnership Fund is one such example. It provides financial grants for co-designing solutions to improve the quality of life of families, youth or persons with mental health conditions. How is design helping to shape the future of care in Singapore, particularly in light of the country's ageing population? One of the significant reforms in the health system was introduced in 2023, in the form of Healthier SG, to better meet the needs of our ageing population and the increasing burdens from chronic conditions. As Healthier SG shifts focus to prevention and encourages personal management of one's health to reduce long-term healthcare demands, this requires collaborative design across organizational boundaries and into new domains to create fresh, sustainable health solutions. At School of X, we recently ran a design sprint for one of our regional healthcare systems, along with two social service agencies, as they seek to explore how to collaborate to activate communities that care, from the ground up. This is part of their integrated efforts to develop a more holistic and preventative model of care for Singapore, which requires a more robust and granular ecosystem approach. Design for the future of care in Singapore is strategic, human-centered and innovative. It requires even greater levels of co-design and collaboration as we bring to life the vision for the future, which tackles health before it declines and supports the nation in coming together to achieve a healthier population.
