Video Series

Early signals from a TLR9 agonist point to a role for innate immune modulation, though likely as one piece of a larger combination strategy rather than a standalone cure. This episode explains why.

As treatment options multiply, Jason and Dr. Lal weigh localized versus systemic delivery against body surface area, safety, and real-world absorption risk, questioning whether cost alone should keep topical therapy as the default choice.

With no head-to-head trials among the five adjunctive antipsychotics approved for major depressive disorder, payers default to skepticism toward branded options unless indirect comparative evidence proves added value beyond cost.

The panelists examined the hurdles of practicing without local backup.

From host-directed therapies to inhaled drug delivery, Dr. Losier maps the research priorities that could finally match the right MAC and NTM treatment to the right patient.

Led by the moderator, the expert neurology and primary care panelists examined what an ideal training curriculum looks like.

Led by the moderator, the panelists/expert mental health experts examined key patient-level factors driving selection among the five adjunctive agents — including weight status, sleep disturbance, and general medication sensitivity — with Wilkinson noting a preference for lumateperone given its lack of weight gain and quetiapine for patients needing help with sedation who aren't already overweight, while Bhide observed these are exactly the clinical factors payers would want documented under utilization management.

Led by the moderator, the expert mental health experts examined network meta-analysis data comparing weight gain and akathisia across the five agents, with Rhee noting lumateperone did not differ from placebo on weight gain while the other four agents showed increased risk, and cautioning that these exploratory findings warrant careful interpretation given limited clinical data.

A newer generation of capsid assembly modulators may finally move the needle on surface antigen, something earlier compounds in this class could not achieve. This episode explores that shift.

A roughly 20% functional cure rate is meaningful, but it comes with a safety profile that demands scrutiny in patients already doing well on suppressive therapy. This episode weighs that tradeoff.

Two years of ruxolitinib cream data show continued gains rather than a plateau, and Dr. Rosmarin argues that early initiation prevents a repigmentation gap patients never fully close. Jason explains why payers remain cautious regardless.

Led by the moderator, the panelists discussed how lecanemab and donanemab differ in trial efficacy, dosing schedule, and administration route, and how ARIA — while it can sound alarming to patients — is usually asymptomatic and stratifiable by a patient's APOE4 status, requiring the most intensive MRI monitoring in the first six months of treatment before rates drop off.

Culture conversion alone cannot capture what patients experience during MAC treatment, and new patient-reported outcome data argue for a more multidimensional definition of treatment success.

Early data on inhaled clofazimine suggest the drug can reach the lung at meaningful concentrations with far less systemic exposure than oral therapy, though efficacy evidence remains preliminary.

The panelists examined the full treatment continuum for Alzheimer's disease.

Led by the moderator, the panelists discussed brexpiprazole's pivotal two-phase trial design and how its reduced intrinsic dopamine partial agonism and lower starting doses contributed to fewer akathisia events than aripiprazole, followed by cariprazine's D3-preferring mechanism and more favorable metabolic and sedation profile.

The panelists examined aripiprazole's pivotal trial design, which used an antidepressant lead-in phase followed by randomization to placebo or active drug among non-responders, with Thase detailing how dose-finding evolved toward lower 5 mg and 10 mg doses to minimize akathisia, the primary dose-limiting side effect, while preserving antidepressant benefit at doses lower than those used for antipsychotic indications.

The Be Well trials narrowed eligibility to a specific surface antigen window, a design choice with real implications for which patients could benefit first. This episode reviews that rationale and its practice impact.

Repigmentation unfolds over months, not weeks, and Dr. Desai argues that managing expectations from the first visit matters as much as the medication itself. Dr. Lal adds that clinical-trial consistency rarely mirrors real-world adherence.

Without a head-to-head trial, comparing JAK inhibitors requires care. Dr. Rosmarin urges matching time points before drawing conclusions, while Jason explains how payers weigh incomplete data, member churn, and documentation when building coverage exceptions.

Bepirovirsen's antisense mechanism raises a genuinely unsettled question: how much of its effect comes from direct antiviral activity versus an unexpected immune response. This episode unpacks that debate.

An all-oral, bedaquiline-containing regimen offers a potential salvage option for refractory MAC, reducing reliance on aminoglycoside therapy while requiring continued QT monitoring.

Led by the moderator, the expert neurology and primary care panelists examined the realities of delivering Alzheimer's disease care where specialists are scarce.

Led by the moderator, the panelists discussed how their practices use structured screening tools, electronic health record order sets, and attention to subtle behavioral symptoms to catch Alzheimer's disease earlier, and how targeted continuing medical education, a "see one, do one, teach one" mentoring approach, and e-consult safety nets are building primary care physicians' confidence to diagnose despite a shrinking pool of behavioral neurologists and geriatricians.

The ENCORE trial challenges the practice of reserving inhaled amikacin liposome therapy for refractory disease, showing improved culture conversion when it is introduced earlier in newly diagnosed, non-cavitary MAC.

Led by the moderator, the expert mental health experts examined how tolerability shapes agent selection, with Wilkinson highlighting metabolic side effects and akathisia — most pronounced with aripiprazole — as key counseling points, alongside the value of anticipatory guidance in building patient trust and preventing premature discontinuation.

Dr. Chung welcomes Dr. Robert Gish to the program, who introduces himself as medical director of the Hepatitis B Foundation, an academic appointee at UCSD, Loma Linda, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a clinician who sees patients with hepatitis B across five active clinic sites, where the disease makes up roughly 10% of his practice.

Led by the moderator, the panelists discussed persistent efficacy, tolerability, and adherence gaps in antidepressant treatment, noting that only about 60% of patients with MDD receive treatment and roughly 30% develop treatment resistance, with early adverse effects often undermining adherence before benefits take hold.