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Featured topic and speakers
How do you test for Alzheimer's? Have COVID vaccine guidelines changed? Are men more lonely than women? How many adults are lonely? Is measles still going around?
Covering measles cases in the U.S., new Alzheimer's blood test, FDA warning for allergy medication, changes to new COVID vaccines, and the effects of loneliness with AMA's Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health, Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH. AMA Chief Experience Officer Todd Unger hosts.
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Speaker
- Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH, vice president, science, medicine & public health, American Medical Association
Transcript
Garcia: This was a big survey on the topic of loneliness, and it looked at aggregate data from 2023 and 2024. And almost across the board, it showed that Americans are lonelier than their counterparts in other wealthy nations. On average, it found that 18% of U.S. adults said that they felt lonely a lot of the previous day. That's two points higher than their peers in other nations. Additionally, it found that young men are most likely to experience feelings of loneliness.
Unger: Hello everyone, and welcome to the AMA Update video and podcast. Today is our weekly look at the public health issues facing physicians and patients across the country with the AMA's Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health, Andrea Garcia. I'm Todd Unger, AMA's chief experience officer. Welcome, Andrea.
Garcia: Thanks, Todd. Good to be here.
Unger: I have a lot to talk about today, a new blood test for Alzheimer's, COVID, measles and more. Why don't we start first with Alzheimer's? There's been a lot of news from the FDA recently, and one of those updates was around a new blood test for Alzheimer's. Andrea, what can you tell us about that?
Garcia: Well, Todd, earlier this month, a blood test that can help diagnose Alzheimer's disease received clearance from the FDA. The test is manufactured by Fujirebio Diagnostics, and it's called the Lumipulse G pTau217/ß-Amyloid 1-42 Plasma Ratio Test. That is a mouthful, but it's describing what the test measures. And it looks at the levels of two proteins, amyloid and tau, which have been called the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.
According to the FDA, this test is intended to be used only by specialists in Alzheimer's. It also should only be given to people who are already experiencing cognitive decline and are aged 55 and older. Lastly, it should not be used on its own to diagnose or rule out Alzheimer's. Rather, those results need to be interpreted in conjunction with other patient clinical information.
Unger: It's an exciting development, and I agree with you that name may need some shortening. We've talked about these types of tests before. What makes this one so significant?
Garcia: You're right. There are already lab developed blood tests for Alzheimer's, which we discussed a few weeks ago. Those tests work similar to this one and detect the presence of amyloid and tau. What the difference here is that this test is the first to receive marketing clearance from the FDA, so it's expected to be much more widely available. Currently, PET scans are the gold standard for detecting amyloid plaques in the brain. However, these tests can be costly, and they're not available in many communities, so hopefully, this blood test will allow more patients to get diagnosed with Alzheimer's earlier when their symptoms are mild, and potentially, more treatable.
Unger: So many new blood tests being developed. It's a really welcome development. Andrea, let's turn now to updates from the FDA on this fall's COVID vaccine. What do we need to know there?
Garcia: Well, there are two notable updates that we should talk about. The most recent was last Thursday. That's when the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC, met to make a recommendation on the formula for the 2025-2026 COVID vaccine. That committee determined that vaccine manufacturers should target strains related to the JN.1 variant. This would produce strong protection against the latest versions of the virus, such as the LP.8.1, which has become the dominant strain here in the U.S.
However, the committee was uncertain about which specific subvariant to target, and that's because it's not yet known which strain is going to be dominant by the fall. In fact, we're already seeing some reports about a new variant in the U.S., the NB.1.8.1, which has been linked to a large surge of the virus in China. FDA officials said that they would work with vaccine manufacturers to make a final determination.
Unger: Now, Andrea, the FDA also announced changes to the approval process, which might affect who can receive the COVID vaccine this fall. What kind of news do you have for us there?
Garcia: Well, Todd, these changes were outlined by the FDA last Tuesday in an article published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The new policy would keep in place the current vaccine approval process for people 65 and older, and then younger people with conditions that put them at higher risk for serious complications or death. Those specific conditions have been identified by the CDC. They include obesity, heart disease and cancer, among many others.
However, for everyone else, including children, vaccine manufacturers will be required to conduct new large scale, placebo-controlled clinical trials in order to get approval. Now, this is a major change from the current approach under which the COVID vaccines have been recommended for those age six months and older. Obviously, over the next couple of months, we'll start to get a better understanding of the impacts that this change might have, and it's certainly something that we'll be keeping a close eye on.
Unger: All right. Well, thank you for the update there. Also, this month, the FDA issued a safety alert on two popular allergy drugs. Andrea, what do physicians need to know about that?
Garcia: The FDA warned that some people develop severe itching, or pruritis, after stopping the long-term use of antihistamines, cetirizine, or levocetirizine. These drugs are more commonly known as Zyrtec or Xyzal. The FDA will be updating its prescribing information for these drugs to include a mention of this risk.
The itching typically occurs within a few days of stopping the use of these drugs. And according to the FDA, restarting the medication, and then tapering off of it, resolved the symptoms in some individuals who tried this approach. It recommended that physicians discuss the risk of pruritus when recommending or prescribing these drugs, especially if long-term use is anticipated. For anyone who wants to learn more, we'll be sure to include a link to the full alert in the description of this episode.
Unger: All right, well, thanks for walking us through all of those updates. Over the last week, I saw a number of news stories again about measles. Andrea, bring us up to speed on what's going there.
Garcia: Well, Todd, cases have continued to rise in the large outbreak in the Southwest, and we saw a few new cases pop-up in other areas of the country as well. In Anchorage, a miner tested positive for measles. And in Denver, there was a contagious out-of-state traveler that passed through the Denver International Airport. The state of Georgia confirmed its fourth measles case for the year. And then in Montana, they confirmed their ninth. Meanwhile, in Texas, as of last Friday, that total number of measles cases had risen to 728.
Unger: Now, Andrea, I think the last time we talked about this, I believe you mentioned that the Texas outbreak might be showing some signs of slowing down. Are we still seeing that in the data this week?
Garcia: Well, between last Tuesday and Friday, the number of cases in Texas rose by six. The week before, there was only one new case over that same time period. That was a welcome change, but unfortunately, we did see a larger increase this week. As for the other states involved in this outbreak, cases have also continued to rise, and many of them in New Mexico.
As of last Friday, the total number of cases stood at 78, which is an increase of four since we last talked. In Oklahoma, there have been no new cases. The total number there still stands at 17. And then as of last Wednesday in Kansas, there were a total of 58 cases. That's up from 56 the week before.
Unger: All right. Well, hopefully, we'll have slightly better news to share next week. Let's shift gears now and talk about the findings from a new Gallup World Poll on loneliness. Andrea, what are some of the trends that stood out to you?
Garcia: Well, this was a big survey on the topic of loneliness, and it looked at aggregate data from 2023 and 2024. And almost across the board, it showed that Americans are lonelier than their counterparts in other wealthy nations. On average, it found that 18% of U.S. adults said that they felt lonely a lot of the previous day. That's two points higher than their peers in other nations. Additionally, it found that young men are most likely to experience feelings of loneliness, whereas, 18% of women in the U.S. between the ages of 15 and 34 reported feeling lonely. For men, that number increased to 25%.
Unger: Wow. Just a few weeks ago, we talked about the impact that loneliness can have on older physicians, and adults in general, but of course, this can be an issue for anybody at any age. What do these survey findings mean for physicians?
Garcia: Well, as you know, loneliness can be connected to a range of health problems, including heart disease, stroke and dementia. It's also distressing in and of itself. And we're already seeing those high levels of mental health issues among children and teens. Primary care clinicians, especially, should be on the lookout for signs of loneliness in their younger patients, and when possible, try to create a space to talk to their patients about it and the need for social connection.
Unger: It's such an important topic. And just a piece of personal advice to all of those in the gym, just take your earphones out and introduce yourself. Make a friend. Andrea, we'll continue to focus on that issue of loneliness in the future, and thank you so much for joining us today and keeping us up to date. If you found this discussion valuable, you can support more programming like it. Physicians can join the AMA at ama-assn.org/joinnow. And patients, you too can get involved by joining the AMA's Patients Action Network at patientsactionnetwork.com. As always, can find all our videos and podcasts at ama-assn.org/podcasts. Thanks for joining us today. Please take care.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this podcast are those of the participants and/or do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AMA.
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