Top news stories from AMA Morning Rounds®: Week of Dec. 23, 2024

Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of Dec. 23, 2024–Dec. 27, 2024.

The Washington Post (12/20, Roubein, Gilbert) reported the FDA “on Friday approved Eli Lilly’s weight-loss drug Zepbound [tirzepatide] to treat sleep apnea, a common but potentially serious sleep-related breathing disorder, marking it the first medication for certain patients with the condition.” The FDA “green-lit the blockbuster medication to treat moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity in combination with increased physical activity and a reduced-calorie diet.”

Reuters (12/20, Satija, Roy, Wingrove) reported, “The FDA’s approval is based on data from two trials involving 469 participants, in which Zepbound helped ease breathing difficulties in patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea.” The data showed “the drug helped resolve the disorder in up to 52% of patients in these trials.” Additionally, trial data “showed that Zepbound lowered the so-called biomarkers of sleep apnea, including low blood oxygen and blood pressure, which can indicate heart disease.”

NBC News (12/20, Lovelace) reported, “The expanded approval could persuade more insurance companies— which have been reluctant to cover the expensive weight loss drugs—to pay for the medication.”

The Washington Post (12/22, Atkins) reports, “A growing body of evidence suggests that using infrared light— photobiomodulation, as scientists call it—can spur cellular changes in the body that may reduce pain, improve skin, sleep and mood, and may even be useful in treating such neurological diseases as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.” However, “the scientific evidence is not all in yet—and...while the Food and Drug Administration has approved some red-light devices for sale, that approval is based on safety, not effectiveness.” Claims about photobiomodulation’s “benefits abound on social media, in gyms and in physical therapy clinics.” The Post offers “a look at some of the claims and” discusses “what the science says about each.”

Reuters (12/26, Singh) reports that the CDC “said on Thursday its analysis of samples from the first severe case of bird flu in the country last week showed mutations not seen in samples from an infected backyard flock on the patient’s property.” The agency “said the patient’s sample showed mutations in the hemagglutinin...gene, the part of the virus that plays a key role in it attaching to host cells.”

Editor’s Note: Stay informed on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) with the latest updates from the AMA’s bird flu (H5N1) resource center.

NBC News (12/25, Burke) reported, “Systane brand eye drops were voluntarily recalled because of possible fungal contamination, the Food and Drug Administration said.” A single “lot of Systane Lubricant Eye Drops Ultra PF was recalled following a consumer complaint ‘of foreign material observed inside a sealed single-use vial,’ the FDA said in a release.” According to NBC News, “It was determined that the material was ‘fungal in nature.’”

HealthDay (12/24, Foster) reported that investigators have found “repeated doses of paracetamol, known as acetaminophen...in the United States, raised the risk of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and kidney complications among those over 65.” Investigators analyzed data on more than “180,400 people aged 65 and over who had been prescribed acetaminophen repeatedly.” The health of these individuals “was then compared to nearly 402,500 people of the same age who had never been prescribed the drug repeatedly.” The data “showed that prolonged acetaminophen use was associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding (36%); peptic ulcers (20%); heart failure (9%); hypertension (7%); and chronic kidney disease (19%).” The research was published in Arthritis Care and Research.

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