Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited is thrilled to announce that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved LEQSELVI™ (deuruxolitinib) 8 mg tablets for the treatment of adults with severe alopecia areata. This approval is a significant milestone, particularly for the roughly 300,000 Americans living with this challenging condition.
Sun Pharma Headquarters
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder marked by significant hair loss, often resulting in severe emotional and psychological distress. The journey to finding effective treatment options has been fraught with challenges, as the condition could be unpredictable and resistant to previous therapies.
Groundbreaking Clinical Trial Results
The FDA’s approval of LEQSELVI™ was supported by robust evidence from two Phase 3 clinical trials, THRIVE-AA1 and THRIVE-AA2, which collectively enrolled 1,220 patients. These studies demonstrated that LEQSELVI™ delivered substantial hair regrowth: at 24 weeks, approximately one-third of the patients achieved 80% or more scalp hair coverage, a significant improvement from an average baseline scalp hair coverage of just 13%.
How LEQSELVI™ Works
LEQSELVI™ is a cutting-edge, twice-daily oral medication that selectively inhibits Janus Kinases (JAK) JAK1 and JAK2. This mechanism targets the immune pathways believed to contribute to the hair loss seen in severe alopecia areata, offering a new hope to those who have had limited success with existing treatments.
Safety and Efficacy
The treatment has been carefully tested for safety across several studies. While the medication is generally well-tolerated, it does carry warnings for serious infections, malignancies, thrombosis, and gastrointestinal perforations, similar to other treatments in its class. Patients and healthcare providers are advised to monitor for symptoms and manage them accordingly.
Support and Accessibility
Understanding the challenges associated with treatment access, Sun Pharma is initiating a comprehensive access program. This initiative will help eligible patients begin and adhere to their treatment, ensuring that LEQSELVI™ reaches those who need it the most. More details about this program are available on the official LEQSELVI™ website.
A Step Forward for the Alopecia Community
The approval of LEQSELVI™ represents a significant advancement for the alopecia community. Abhay Gandhi, CEO North America Business, Sun Pharma, shared his enthusiasm about bringing this innovative treatment to the market, stating it “offers a new and effective solution that will significantly enhance the options for patients and their physicians.”
Moreover, organizations such as the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF) have welcomed this new treatment option. Nicole Friedland, President and CEO of NAAF, highlighted the importance of this development, underscoring the profound impact alopecia areata can have on individuals’ lives.
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Looking Ahead
With the introduction of LEQSELVI™, Sun Pharma continues to cement its position as a leader in dermatological treatments. The company’s commitment to addressing complex medical conditions through innovative solutions is evident in their rapidly expanding dermatology portfolio.
For patients suffering from severe alopecia areata, LEQSELVI™ represents not merely a new treatment option but a new hope—a possibility of regaining not just their hair, but also their confidence and quality of life.
For further details on LEQSELVI™ and patient support initiatives, visit www.LEQSELVI.com.
Disclaimer: This content may include forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations and projections about future events. Readers should not place undue reliance on these statements, as actual results may vary.
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Hal Machina is a passionate writer, blogger, and self-proclaimed journalist who explores the intersection of science, tech, and futurism. Join him on a journey into innovative ideas and groundbreaking discoveries!
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Hal Machina is a passionate writer, blogger, and self-proclaimed journalist who explores the intersection of science, tech, and futurism. Join him on a journey into innovative ideas and groundbreaking discoveries!
(Family Features) Taking good care of your skin all year long is essential, but even more so in the summer when the power of the sun is at its strongest. Healthy skin doesn’t require fancy moisturizers or expensive skin care products. You just need to adopt a few healthy habits.
For example, keeping your skin healthy and glowing starts from the inside out by eating and drinking healthy foods and beverages that nourish your body’s largest organ and promote healthy skin cells. Additionally, studies show certain foods, such as fresh, juicy grapes, may help protect healthy skin even when exposed to UV light, which is known to damage skin cells.
A study published in the journal “Antioxidants,” in which people consumed 2 1/4 cups of grapes every day for two weeks, showed increased resistance to sunburn and reduced markers of UV damage at the cellular level. This study reinforced previous and similar findings published in the “Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.” Grapes are also a hydrating food with 82% water content; hydration is essential to healthy skin.
Along with snacking on fresh, delicious California grapes, consider these everyday ways you can keep your skin safe from the sun’s rays.
Seek Shade
Most experts recommend avoiding the sun at the height of the day, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when its rays are at full strength. That doesn’t mean you can’t be outside – just seek shade as often as possible while enjoying the warm summer air.
Prioritize Hydration
Drinking water and staying hydrated is important year-round, but especially when it’s hot and you’re more likely to lose water content through sweat. Keep your body full of moisture with simple and delicious Grape-Infused Waters. For a zesty kick, try Grape, Ginger and Lime that combines the sweetness of grapes with the zing of ginger and lime, or Grape, Lemon and Mint, offering a bright and invigorating blend of citrus and mint. Enter your Zen state with a mellow, spa-like sip from Grape, Cucumber and Mint.
For a cool, hydrating snack, try freezing grapes. Simply rinse, pat dry, remove from the stems and freeze for 2 hours in a single layer on a sheet pan. You can even enjoy them as flavorful ice cube replacements in these easy-to-prepare, flavorful beverages.
Layer Up
While you’re enjoying the sunshine, layer up with a generous application of 30 SPF or higher sunscreen every 1-2 hours. Wear lightweight, long-sleeve shirts; wide-brimmed hats; sunglasses; and other protective clothing to reduce sun exposure, which can lead to wrinkles, age spots and other health problems, including an increased risk of skin cancer.
Visit GrapesFromCalifornia.com for more delicious recipes and information on grapes and health.
1 heaping cup Grapes from California, muddled, plus additional for serving (optional)
3 lemon slices
3 large stems fresh mint
4 cups water
ice
Grape, Cucumber and Mint:
1 heaping cup Grapes from California, muddled (plus additional for serving (optional)
6-8 thin slices cucumber, halved
3 large stems fresh mint
4 cups water
ice
To make grape, ginger and lime water: In pitcher, place grapes, ginger and lime slices. Add water and stir well. Cover and chill overnight.
Before serving, stir well and pour into ice-filled glasses, adding grapes to each glass, if desired.
To make grape, lemon and mint water: In pitcher, place grapes, lemon slices and mint. Add water and stir well. Cover and chill overnight.
Before serving, stir well and pour into ice-filled glasses, adding grapes to each glass, as desired.
To make grape, cucumber and mint water: In pitcher, place grapes, cucumber and mint. Add water and stir well. Cover and chill overnight.
Before serving, stir well and pour into ice-filled glasses, adding grapes to each glass, as desired.
Nutritional information per serving: 25 calories; 0 g protein; 7 g carbohydrates; 0 g fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 0 mg sodium; 0 g fiber.
SOURCE:California Table Grape Commission
(Family Features) Senior year of high school is a time for big changes for most people, but for Emani McConnell-Brent, she did not expect it would include changes to her health. After being rushed to the emergency room with severe stomach pain, McConnell-Brent learned the problem was her kidneys and she was diagnosed with a kidney disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS).
After her diagnosis, McConnell-Brent struggled to get the right medicines to treat her disease. She was encouraged to undergo a genetic test and discovered her FSGS was the result of APOL1-mediated kidney disease (AMKD), a rapidly progressive genetic kidney disease that can cause kidney failure. The diagnosis brought McConnell-Brent some relief, both physically and emotionally.
“Knowing it’s genetic and knowing I’m taking care of myself makes a big difference in my mental state,” said McConnell-Brent, now 21 and an ambassador for the American Kidney Fund.
Everyone has two copies of the apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) gene – one from each parent – but Black Americans of West and Central African ancestry are more likely to have changes (variants or mutations) in their APOL1 gene that cause AMKD. This genetic form of kidney disease can develop even at a young age, in otherwise healthy people, and can advance faster than other kidney diseases.
An estimated 13% of Black Americans have the two APOL1 gene variants that are associated with AMKD. Those who have variants in both copies of the APOL1 gene have a 1 in 5 chance of developing kidney disease.
“A lot of people don’t even know about how prevalent the APOL1 gene is in the African American community,” McConnell-Brent said.
Early diagnosis of AMKD can keep your kidneys working longer, delaying the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant.
If you have kidney damage, symptoms may not occur until your kidneys are close to failing. As kidney damage worsens, one or more of these symptoms may occur:
Protein in urine
Swelling in legs or weight gain
Feeling weak or tired
High blood pressure
The only way to get an official diagnosis for AMKD is through a genetic test. You can find more information about the risks and benefits of genetic testing online.
“If you got genetic testing, you would have the facts of what your genes are telling you,” McConnell-Brent said. “Your genes are telling you a story of what did happen, is happening and could happen.”
This AMKD Awareness Day, on April 29, become APOL1 Aware by learning how your genes impact your kidney health and help build awareness in your community by visiting KidneyFund.org/APOL1Aware.
SOURCE:American Kidney Fund
Older adults generally have a good sense of their own financial abilities – unless they have dementia.
shapecharge/E+ via Getty ImagesIan McDonough, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Older adults diagnosed with dementia lose their ability to assess how well they manage their finances, according to a recent study I co-authored in The Gerontologist. In comparison, people of the same age who don’t have dementia are aware of their financial abilities – and this awareness improves over time.
For our study, we used data from over 2,000 adults in the U.S. age 65 and older, collected during a long-term study on aging.
We focused on how participants’ financial skills changed over time. The study began in 1998 and is still running, but we probed data collected between 1998 and 2009.
Participants were assessed at one year, two years, five years and 10 years for their ability to carry out everyday tasks, including ones that required handling money. For example, they had to calculate the cost of a gym membership and a store discount rate, fill out part of a tax return and assess the cost of medical services. They also rated how well they thought they could do everyday financial tasks. Initially, none of the participants were diagnosed with dementia, but over the course of the decade, 87 participants, or 3.1%, received a dementia diagnosis.
We found that even though participants’ performance on financial tasks declined as they aged, older adults who did not have dementia and older adults who had mild cognitive impairment were appropriately aware of their financial abilities. What’s more, that awareness increased over time. However, participants who were diagnosed with dementia during the study and experienced severe cognitive decline often misjudged how well they performed financial tasks.
Financial scams targeting older adults are on the rise.
The lack of insight into one’s cognitive abilities is called anosognosia. This study reveals a new type called financial anosognosia.
Why it matters
As people get older, their financial management skills start to deteriorate. The combination of a lifelong accumulation of wealth, declining financial abilities and a lack of awareness of those declines puts older adults at serious risk for financial scams.
Few tools are available that can support families in helping cognitively impaired adults manage their finances. Our research suggests that there is a critical window of time after people begin to experience cognitive decline during which they are still aware of their financial abilities. We believe that this is when people can take action to secure their finances and develop systems to protect themselves from fraud.
What still isn’t known
Close friends or family members are often tempted to take away the financial autonomy of an older adult who is mismanaging their finances. However, that may not be the best solution, particularly for people who feel that handling their finances is a core part of their identity. More research is needed to identify how best to balance personal autonomy and the need to protect a person’s finances.
What’s next
This study used paper-and-pencil tasks to assess financial performance. But increasingly, many older adults are using online banking.
E-banking simplifies many calculations, which may be helpful for older adults with declining cognition. However, e-banking can also make finances more of a black box, which may decrease a person’s awareness of their financial abilities. Furthermore, e-banking is constantly advancing, putting older adults at a disadvantage because they are more likely to be less cognitively flexible and to learn more slowly.
We hope to explore whether older adults with and without cognitive decline have similar awareness of their ability to appropriately manage their finances online and identify potential financial scams.
The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.Ian McDonough, Associate Professor of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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(Family Features) Taking good care of your skin all year long is essential, but even more so in the summer when the power of the sun is at its strongest. Healthy skin doesn’t require fancy moisturizers or expensive skin care products. You just need to adopt a few healthy habits.
For example, keeping your skin healthy and glowing starts from the inside out by eating and drinking healthy foods and beverages that nourish your body’s largest organ and promote healthy skin cells. Additionally, studies show certain foods, such as fresh, juicy grapes, may help protect healthy skin even when exposed to UV light, which is known to damage skin cells.
A study published in the journal “Antioxidants,” in which people consumed 2 1/4 cups of grapes every day for two weeks, showed increased resistance to sunburn and reduced markers of UV damage at the cellular level. This study reinforced previous and similar findings published in the “Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.” Grapes are also a hydrating food with 82% water content; hydration is essential to healthy skin.
Along with snacking on fresh, delicious California grapes, consider these everyday ways you can keep your skin safe from the sun’s rays.
Seek Shade
Most experts recommend avoiding the sun at the height of the day, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when its rays are at full strength. That doesn’t mean you can’t be outside – just seek shade as often as possible while enjoying the warm summer air.
Prioritize Hydration
Drinking water and staying hydrated is important year-round, but especially when it’s hot and you’re more likely to lose water content through sweat. Keep your body full of moisture with simple and delicious Grape-Infused Waters. For a zesty kick, try Grape, Ginger and Lime that combines the sweetness of grapes with the zing of ginger and lime, or Grape, Lemon and Mint, offering a bright and invigorating blend of citrus and mint. Enter your Zen state with a mellow, spa-like sip from Grape, Cucumber and Mint.
For a cool, hydrating snack, try freezing grapes. Simply rinse, pat dry, remove from the stems and freeze for 2 hours in a single layer on a sheet pan. You can even enjoy them as flavorful ice cube replacements in these easy-to-prepare, flavorful beverages.
Layer Up
While you’re enjoying the sunshine, layer up with a generous application of 30 SPF or higher sunscreen every 1-2 hours. Wear lightweight, long-sleeve shirts; wide-brimmed hats; sunglasses; and other protective clothing to reduce sun exposure, which can lead to wrinkles, age spots and other health problems, including an increased risk of skin cancer.
Visit 
(Family Features) Senior year of high school is a time for big changes for most people, but for Emani McConnell-Brent, she did not expect it would include changes to her health. After being rushed to the emergency room with severe stomach pain, McConnell-Brent learned the problem was her kidneys and she was diagnosed with a kidney disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS).
After her diagnosis, McConnell-Brent struggled to get the right medicines to treat her disease. She was encouraged to undergo a genetic test and discovered her FSGS was the result of APOL1-mediated kidney disease (AMKD), a rapidly progressive genetic kidney disease that can cause kidney failure. The diagnosis brought McConnell-Brent some relief, both physically and emotionally.
“Knowing it’s genetic and knowing I’m taking care of myself makes a big difference in my mental state,” said McConnell-Brent, now 21 and an ambassador for the American Kidney Fund.
Everyone has two copies of the apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) gene – one from each parent – but Black Americans of West and Central African ancestry are more likely to have changes (variants or mutations) in their APOL1 gene that cause AMKD. This genetic form of kidney disease can develop even at a young age, in otherwise healthy people, and can advance faster than other kidney diseases.
An estimated 13% of Black Americans have the two APOL1 gene variants that are associated with AMKD. Those who have variants in both copies of the APOL1 gene have a 1 in 5 chance of developing kidney disease.
“A lot of people don’t even know about how prevalent the APOL1 gene is in the African American community,” McConnell-Brent said.
Early diagnosis of AMKD can keep your kidneys working longer, delaying the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant.
If you have kidney damage, symptoms may not occur until your kidneys are close to failing. As kidney damage worsens, one or more of these symptoms may occur:
Ian McDonough, Associate Professor of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
