Exposure to Wildfire Smoke Linked to Increased Risk of Dementia

At least 10 percent of NF1 patients will develop a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor in their lifetime, most often when patients are in their 20s and 30s."-dr. rebecca brown musculoskeletal pain, vomiting, and fatigue.The FDA pointed out that mirdametinib can cause left ventricular dysfunction and ocular toxicity."Overall, these are really safe medications," Dr. Yohay said.The doctors said the two drugs are likely to have similar effectiveness and side effects in real-world practice.Dr. Brown said that, in their trials, selumetinib looked slightly more effective while mirdametinib was a little less likely to cause side effects.She suspects that was because of different dosing regimens, which could be modified as doctors gain more experience with the treatments.Selumetinib was taken every day.Mirdametinib was taken in 28-day cycles.Patients took the drug for three weeks and then took a week off.It remains to be seen how long treatment effects last.Results of a John Hopkins University study on whether mirdametinib affects skin tumors have not yet been published.Dr. Brown said there is reason to hope that the new treatments may prevent malignancies, but that needs more study.She said mirdametinib's approval for most age groups and possible oral suspension will likely be market advantages."That's really going to open up access to a MEK inhibitor to a far wider range of NF1 patients," she said.She suspects that the versatility will lead her to switch most patients to the newer drug.SpringWorks' Cantone said the tablets can easily be dissolved in water at home and then drunk by the patient or administered with a syringe.Dr. Yohay said he will need to talk with patients and their parents about side effects and which symptoms they hope will improve with treatment."Whether or not to treat is going to be a fairly in-depth discussion with either patients or their family," he said.It is not yet known how long patients will need to take the drugs.Dr. Brown said doctors are likely to start with 18 months and then reevaluate.