What We're Reading: FDA Fast Tracks Jardiance; Experts Warn of Restrictive Abortion Laws; Alcoholics Anonymous Proves Effective

FDA Grants Fast Track Designation for Jardiance

The FDA has granted a fast track designation to Jardiance (empagliflozin) for the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a press release from Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company. The designation opens the window for investigation of potential new therapies that treat serious conditions, fulfilling an unmet medical need. Currently, over 30 million Americans are living with CKD, and many patients are at risk of the disease progressing to end-stage kidney disease. In addition, about two-thirds of CKD cases are attributed to metabolic conditions like diabetes.

Experts Urge Physicians to Prepare to Treat Complications From Self-Managed Abortions

In a new review published in The New England Journal of Medicine, experts note US abortion laws have become increasingly restrictive. Because of this, women may decide to end pregnancies without clinical supervision. In the review, the authors provide information for clinicians to adapt treatment to an increasingly restrictive legal climate for abortion, including becoming familiar with complications from medicine-induced abortion and spontaneous abortion. They also note clinicians may face legal threats for treating these complications.

Review Finds Alcoholics Anonymous Effective

A review published by the Chochrane Collaboration found Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) leads to increased rates of abstinence compared with other common treatments, according to The New York Times. Researchers found the program performs, as well as approaches provided by therapists or doctors who don’t incorporate AA’s peer connections. According to the authors, studies show other treatments may result in 15% to 25% of individuals who remain abstinent. In comparison, AA leads to around 22% to 37% of alcoholic individuals becoming abstinent.