Trending News Today: US Task Force Issues Updated Guidelines on PrEP Use, HIV Screening

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued new guidelines on the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV and updated its recommendation on HIV screening, The American Journal of Managed Care reported. According to the article, the task force recommended that clinicians offer PrEP with effective antiretroviral therapy for those at risk of infection, which includes men who have sex with men, those at risk through heterosexual contact, and people who inject drugs. USPSTF also recommended screening for adolescents and adults aged 15 to 65 years for HIV infection, as well as screening for younger adolescents and older adults who are at an increased risk, the article reported.

Long-term results from a phase 3 study showed that patients with psoriasis treated with risankizumab (Skyrizi) showed improvement in symptoms, MD Magazine reported. According to the article, patients in the study who reached a score of clear or almost clear on the static Physician Global Assessment (sPGA 0/1) at week 28 were randomized to either continue on risankizumab or placebo. Among those who were continuously treated with risankizumab, 73% achieved sPGA of 0 and 72% reached a 100% improvement in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index, the article reported.

A new study demonstrated that Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide for type 2 diabetes posed no greater risk for serious heart problems or death than a placebo in patients at high risk for complications, Reuters reported. Overall, patients with type 2 diabetes and either heart disease or a high risk for heart problems who received oral semaglutide in pill form had a combined rate of heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death of 3.8% compared with 4.8% for placebo. The study also showed that death from any cause occurred in 1.4% of patients treated with semaglutide compared with 2.8% for placebo, the article reported.