Publications by authors named "B R Becker"
Background: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is generally associated with life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Supraventricular arrhythmias are an accepted cause of SCD in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and complex congenital heart disease. However, the role of atrial tachyarrhythmias (ATAs) in SCD in patients with structurally normal hearts is unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - Deucravacitinib is a new oral medication approved in Japan for treating different types of psoriasis, including plaque, generalized pustular, and erythrodermic psoriasis.
- - The POETYK PSO-4 clinical trial involving 74 Japanese patients showed that the drug was effective and well tolerated, with significant improvements in psoriasis symptoms and quality of life over 52 weeks.
- - Results indicated that about two-thirds of patients achieved a Dermatology Life Quality Index score of 0 or 1 by week 52, although the small number of participants with generalized pustular or erythrodermic psoriasis makes it harder to draw broad conclusions for these types.
Article Synopsis
- This study examined how patient-reported disease burden and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) affect the decision to switch from nonbiologic to biologic therapy in people with plaque psoriasis.
- It included biologic-naive patients aged 18 and older who were using nonbiologic treatments and gathered data on their disease burden and quality of life when they entered the CorEvitas Psoriasis Registry from April 2015 to August 2022.
- Results showed that a higher reported burden was linked to a greater likelihood of switching to biologic treatment, indicating that patient experiences significantly influence treatment decisions alongside clinical assessments.
Background: Drug-resistant hypertension affects approximately 9-18% of the United States hypertensive population. Recognized as hypertension that is resistant to three or more medications, drug-resistant hypertension can lead to fatal sequelae, such as heart failure, aortic dissection, and other vast systemic disease. The disruption of the homeostatic mechanisms that stabilize blood pressure can be treated procedurally when medication fails.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Thrombotic cardiovascular diseases profoundly impact patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments that are disease-specific or antithrombotic-treatment focused, developed according to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance on PROs, and can be used in clinical trials, are lacking. The aim of this study was to understand concepts important to patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease (CAD) or acute coronary syndrome (ACS), atrial fibrillation (AF), or stroke who require antithrombotic treatment for reducing risk of future thrombotic events (indications being evaluated for an investigational new drug), identify PROs that measure relevant symptoms and impacts, and determine acceptability of PROs from a health technology assessment (HTA) perspective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF