‘Same Disease, Very Different Access’: What We Heard This Week

“Same disease, very different access.” — Fei Wang, PhD, of Breakthrough T1D in St. Leonards, Australia, discussing the state-by-state disparities in the U.S. in terms of type 1 diabetes incidence and access to pediatric endocrinologists.

“Clinically useful but imperfect.” — Yara Abdou, MD, of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, on PD-L1 expression in triple-negative breast cancer and the need for better biomarkers to guide care.

“We want to encourage people to be candid about their mental health struggles.” — David Pflaum, MD, of Northwell Health Far Rockaway Treatment Center in New York City, remarking after the news of Brad Pitt’s past suicidal ideation on how celebrity health disclosures can benefit the public.

“It is not a zero-sum game.” — Jonathan Carter, MD, of the University of California San Francisco, noting how prior use of GLP-1 medications likely won’t diminish bariatric surgery’s weight-loss benefits.

“Foreign-born physicians are disproportionately helping to serve communities that have more difficulties accessing care.” — Giacomo Meille, PhD, of the American Board of Internal Medicine, on research showing that doctors born outside the U.S. play a big role in caring for underserved patients.

“The knee-jerk reaction of advising women to stop medication during pregnancy ignores the impact of the underlying illness on maternal-fetal health.” — Katherine Wisner, MD, of the Developing Brain Institute at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., on how stopping antidepressants in pregnancy increases risks for relapse, maternal medical complications, and loss of function and resources.

“Fournier gangrene is a clinical diagnosis, not a demographic diagnosis.” — Ali Bassi, MD, MSc, of King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, arguing that doctors should consider the rare bacterial infection in cases of rapidly progressive perineal pain and swelling, regardless of sex or immune status.

“There are opportunities to improve treatment alignment at both ends of the glycemic spectrum.” — Phuc Le, PhD, MPH, of the Cleveland Clinic, on study findings that most older adults with type 2 diabetes whose HbA1c was outside guideline-recommended ranges did not receive medication tweaks.