Acetaminophen has been considered the drug of choice for treatment of fever and pain during pregnancy for decades, but a recent announcement by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has prompted discussion about its effects on fetal neurodevelopment and the risk of autism.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT — The HHS announcement claims that chronic acetaminophen use in pregnant women, especially late in pregnancy, may cause long-term neurological effects such as autism in their children.1 The announcement cites a "consensus statement" that calls for minimizing use of...
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Donidalorsen (Dawnzera – Ionis), a subcutaneously injected prekallikrein-directed antisense oligonucleotide, has been approved by the FDA for prevention of hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks in patients ≥12 years old. It is the first RNA-targeted drug to be approved in the US for this indication.
THE DISEASE ― HAE, an autosomal dominant disorder with an estimated prevalence of 1:50,000, is characterized by recurrent, often unpredictable, painful attacks of angioedema, typically involving the skin and the gastrointestinal, oropharyngeal, and laryngeal mucosa. Attacks generally last for 2-5 days and are less likely to be fatal now that effective treatment is available.
Uncontrolled production of the potent vasodilator bradykinin has been shown to be the mediator of angioedema attacks. HAE is usually caused by a mutation of the SERPING 1 gene, which results in deficiency …