A new consensus statement from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), published in Diabetes Care (July 2025), outlines a clear and practical strategy for identifying and risk-stratifying patients with metabolic dysfunction–associated liver disease (MASLD). MASLD is becoming a leading cause of cirrhosis and liver failure, yet it remains underdiagnosed due to the complexity of available diagnostic tools. The ADA emphasizes the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index as the best initial test for evaluating liver fibrosis in patients with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, especially those with obesity.
The U.S. FDA has approved KERENDIA® (finerenone), a non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (nsMRA), for treating adults with heart failure (HF) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥40%. This approval follows a Priority Review and is based on findings from the Phase III FINEARTS-HF trial. The new indication allows KERENDIA to be used for reducing cardiovascular (CV) death, hospitalization for heart failure, and urgent heart failure visits in patients with mildly reduced (HFmrEF) or preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
Over the past several decades, the overweight and obesity epidemic in the USA has resulted in a significant health and economic burden. The prevalence of obesity has outpaced the increase in overweight over time, especially among adolescents. Nearly 20% of U.S. children have obesity. Existing policies have failed to address overweight and obesity. Without major reform, the forecasted trends will be devastating at the individual and population level, and the associated disease burden and economic costs will continue to escalate. Kimberly Gudzune & team discussed the introduction and need for comprehensive care for obesity management.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published its first global guideline on managing sickle cell disease (SCD) during pregnancy—marking a critical step in addressing the serious health risks this condition poses for both mothers and babies. SCD, a group of inherited blood disorders, causes red blood cells to become abnormally shaped, leading to complications such as severe anemia, pain crises, infections, and life-threatening events like strokes and organ failure.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Yeztugo (lenacapavir), a powerful new HIV-prevention drug developed by Gilead Sciences. Given via injection just twice a year, Yeztugo has shown remarkable success in clinical trials, virtually eliminating HIV transmission among recipients. It significantly outperformed existing daily oral PrEP drugs like Truvada, cutting infection rates by 89% among gay and bisexual men and transgender individuals. In a separate trial among cisgender women in sub-Saharan Africa, none of the participants who received Yeztugo contracted HIV.
