Ann Robinson’s Research Reviews — 12 May 2022
May 2022
in “
The BMJ
”
TLDR Self-monitoring blood pressure in pregnant women didn't improve outcomes, diabetes drugs may increase gallbladder disease risk, a new drug helps severe hair loss, a plant-based COVID-19 vaccine is 69.5% effective, and new anticoagulants are safer for diabetics with heart rhythm issues than warfarin.
This document reviews several studies. One pre-COVID, unblinded, randomized trial found that self-monitoring of blood pressure by pregnant women with known chronic or gestational hypertension did not improve outcomes compared to usual care. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 76 trials involving over 100,000 patients found that GLP-1 RAs, developed for diabetes treatment but increasingly used for non-diabetic obesity, were associated with an increased risk of gallbladder or biliary disease. Two randomized phase 3 trials found that baricitinib, a selective inhibitor of Janus kinases 1 and 2, was effective in treating severe alopecia areata. A phase 3 trial of a plant-based COVID-19 vaccine found it to be 69.5% effective against symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases in the vaccine group. Lastly, a retrospective cohort study from Taiwan found that novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) had significantly lower hazards of developing macrovascular and microvascular complications, glycaemic emergencies, and mortality in people with diabetes and atrial fibrillation compared to warfarin.
