The expert clinician examined the multidisciplinary approach to alopecia areata care, with the board-certified dermatologist serving as the central coordinator, supported by pediatricians and family practice providers for early recognition and timely referral, dermatopathologists for cases requiring biopsy, and specialists in endocrinology, rheumatology, and psychiatry or psychology for management of associated comorbidities and psychosocial needs.
The panelist discussed the SALT scoring system, which divides the scalp into four regions — the frontal parietal scalp, bilateral preauricular and postauricular scalp, and posterior scalp — and evaluates the percentage of hair loss in each area to produce a composite score ranging from 0 to 100, with a score below 20 serving as the primary efficacy benchmark in JAK inhibitor clinical trials.
The panelist examined the wide-ranging burden of alopecia areata on patients and their families, including the challenges of accessing specialist care, navigating prior authorization processes, and the financial strain faced by uninsured or underinsured patients who cannot access the three FDA-approved Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors now available for this condition.
Dr. Amy McMichael highlighted the clinical presentation of alopecia areata, describing the characteristic patchy, round hair loss that can progress to more extensive forms including ophiasis, alopecia totalis, and alopecia universalis, with associated symptoms such as burning, stinging, conjunctivitis, and worsening allergic reactions from loss of eyelash and nasal hairs.
The panelists highlighted how stigma, misdiagnosis, and the concentration of mental health care in primary care settings collectively contribute to significant delays in patients receiving appropriate psychiatric treatment for MDD, bipolar depression, and schizophrenia.
Learn why CKD often goes undiagnosed in type 2 diabetes and how UACR screening plus obesity therapies can cut cardiovascular risk.
Uncover hidden CKD in type 2 diabetes: boost UACR screening, close diagnosis-to-treatment gaps, and navigate modern obesity therapies.
Factor XIa inhibitors emerge as safer stroke prevention, cutting harmful clots without excess bleeding—see which oral and IV drugs reach phase 3.
Learn how anticoagulants, antiplatelets, and atrial appendage closure prevent repeat ischemic stroke—and why early follow-up boosts adherence.
How awareness, screening, and team-based care help catch chronic kidney disease early and cut heart risk with new protective medicines.
Learn how tailored meds, diet, exercise, and cholesterol control help prevent repeat ischemic stroke—while balancing bleeding risk and adherence.
Experts reveal gaps in stroke detection, follow‑up and prevention, plus a simple “MATH” guide to hemorrhagic causes and blood pressure goals.
Seventy percent of participants rated total symptom clearance as very important—higher than any other treatment attribute, including speed of response or convenience. How does this align with what dermatologists have traditionally defined as treatment success?
Rising urine albumin signals higher heart and kidney risk; learn how better screening, EHR prompts, and new therapies can transform CKD care.
Discover the stroke care team—from primary care to rehab—plus proven prevention steps and the high stakes of recurrent stroke.
Stroke subtypes vary widely, but prevention is clear: control blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, exercise, quit smoking, and cut disability costs.
A retrospective analysis comparing 3-year psoriatic arthritis incidence across immunomodulatory classes finds an emerging signal favoring IL-23 pathway agents—a finding with meaningful implications for treatment selection in patients at risk for joint disease.
The panelist explored the following critical questions: What systems-level strategies can improve coverage readiness for new metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) treatments? What system-wide transformations are necessary to sustain scalable, multidisciplinary MASH care? What barriers exist to adopting emerging metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) therapies at the system level, and how can they be overcome? What clinical and economic evidence is needed for formulary adoption of new therapies? The estimated financial burden of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is considerable. How does delayed detection and intervention impact the overall cost of MASH care? What financial and clinical benefits arise from implementing early detection programs for MASH? How does fragmentation within the MASH ecosystem affect value-based care outcomes? How can population health efforts optimize these outcomes?
In this episode, 'System-Level Barriers and Evidence Gaps in the Adoption of Emerging MASH Therapies,' the expert hepatologist explored the following questions: What barriers exist to adopting emerging metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) therapies at the system level, and how can they be overcome? What clinical and economic evidence is needed for formulary adoption of new therapies? The estimated financial burden of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is considerable. How does delayed detection and intervention impact the overall cost of MASH care? What financial and clinical benefits arise from implementing early detection programs for MASH? How does fragmentation within the MASH ecosystem affect value-based care outcomes? How can population health efforts optimize these outcomes?
Welcome back to another AJMC Insights series. In this episode titled, 'The Financial and Clinical Cost of Delayed MASH Detection and Fragmented Care', Dr. Jaideep Behari led the conversation about the following questions: The estimated financial burden of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is considerable. How does delayed detection and intervention impact the overall cost of MASH care? What financial and clinical benefits arise from implementing early detection programs for MASH? How does fragmentation within the MASH ecosystem affect value-based care outcomes? How can population health efforts optimize these outcomes?
Rising urine albumin signals hidden kidney and heart risk; learn why earlier UACR/eGFR screening and new therapies can change CKD outcomes.
An analysis of the POSITIVE study showed that tildrakizumab not only clears skin but substantially reduces itch, pain, and fatigue, with psychological well-being scores ultimately surpassing general population norms by year 2.
Across a landmark guideline update, a primary prevention trial, and the first treat-to-target proof of concept, the message is consistent: lower LDL for longer saves lives—and achieving that goal in practice demands goals, teams, tools, and lifestyle as the foundation.
Even with a treat-to-target protocol, only 61% of Ez-PAVE participants reached goal—but the trial's broader lesson is that combination therapy and equitable access to newer agents are the path to closing the gap.
Welcome back to another AJMC Insights series. In this episode titled, ‘Addressing the Challenges of Undiagnosed Chronic Kidney Disease’, Manisha Jhamb led the conversation
The POSITIVE study's 2-year real-world data confirm that tildrakizumab drives near-total skin clearance and sustained improvement in difficult-to-treat areas, lending important practical validity to the phase 3 trial results.
Ez-PAVE delivers the first direct trial evidence that targeting LDL below 55 mg/dL is superior to below 70 mg/dL in ASCVD patients—providing proof of concept for treat-to-target strategies and a wake-up call about clinical inertia.
Long-acting therapies could be key to engaging unsuppressed patients and closing persistent gaps in HIV care.
Landmark analyses from VESALIUS-CV reveal that the cardiovascular benefits of intensive LDL lowering build meaningfully over time in primary prevention—reinforcing the "lower for longer" principle and pointing toward lower LDL targets for high-risk diabetic patients.
Panelists examine the societal impact of stroke by outlining its prevalence, underlying pathophysiology, key modifiable risk factors, and the substantial clinical, economic, and long-term disability burden it places on patients and the healthcare system.
