Trending News: Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Exhibit Higher Rates of Fatigue, Depression

The CDC has issued a new guidance with a simplified dosing schedule that could help improve adherence for the use of tafenoquine to treat and prevent malaria, according to Contagion Live. The report states that patients aged 18 years and older traveling to countries with malaria transmission can use 100 mg tafenoquine tablets for chemoprophylaxis for all species of malaria: in doses of 200 mg for 3 days before the travel, 200 mg weekly during travel, and 200 mg after returning. Unlike most drugs approved for malaria, tafenoquine kills both the blood and liver stages, including the dormant hypnozoites in the liver that cause relapse in Plasmodium vivax and P ovale species of the parasite.

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) exhibit higher rates of fatigue (92%) and depression (24%) compared with the general population, and neuropathic pain occurs at a rate 5 times greater, according to The American Journal of Managed Care. These 3 symptoms are interrelated in the disease course of MS and having these symptoms provides an efficient target for treatment determination. The study authors speculate that addressing pain may improve fatigue and depression levels, thereby improving overall quality of life.

New research into the effects and usage of low-dose aspirin found that black Americans were less likely to use low-dose aspirin and, among those who did, it appeared to be ineffective for primary prevention or reducing the risk of death, according to MD Magazine. The 11-year follow-up study, which included more than 65,000 individuals, did not reveal any evidence to suggest that low-dose aspirin has a beneficial effect among black Americans for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, when compared to their white counterparts, black patients were less likely to take low-dose aspirin—regardless of cardiovascular disease risk and significant covariates.