M. Alexander Otto began his reporting career early in 1999 covering the pharmaceutical industry for a national pharmacists' magazine and freelancing for the Washington Post and other newspapers. He then joined BNA, now part of Bloomberg News, covering health law and the protection of people and animals in medical research. Alex next worked for the McClatchy Company. Based on his work, Alex won a year-long Knight Science Journalism Fellowship to MIT in 2008-2009. He joined the company shortly thereafter. Alex has a newspaper journalism degree from Syracuse (N.Y.) University and a master's degree in medical science -- a physician assistant degree -- from George Washington University. Alex is based in Seattle.
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Methotrexate gives durable remission from idiopathic granulomatous mastitis
ATLANTA – A study presented at the ACR annual meeting and previous work from others builds a case for methotrexate.
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EEG surveillance, preseizure treatment prevents TSC epilepsy, cognitive loss
BALTIMORE – “If you are not convinced to do early treatment,” at least “do surveillance with EEG. You will diagnose epilepsy earlier, and treat...
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Down syndrome arthritis: Distinct from JIA and missed in the clinic
ATLANTA – “If you only have a second to examine a child or you can’t get them to sit still, just go straight for the hands, and have a low...
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First autoimmune epilepsy RCT supports IVIG therapy
BALTIMORE – Misdiagnosis and delayed treatment may mean that patients end up in nursing homes diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
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California researchers work to update EMS status epilepticus protocols
BALTIMORE – There was a lower risk of intubation with 5 mg midazolam IM or more.
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Hydroxychloroquine prevents congenital heart block recurrence in anti-Ro pregnancies
ATLANTA – Women taking the drug experienced more than a 50% drop in the rate of congenital heart block in comparison to the historical rate.
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FDA clears first fully disposable duodenoscope
Boston Scientific anticipates early 2020 launch.
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FDA clears first fully disposable duodenoscope
Boston Scientific anticipates early 2020 launch.
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ADA2 is a potent new biomarker for macrophage activation syndrome
ATLANTA – The hope, first author Dr. Pui Y. Lee said, is that the finding will lead to quicker recognition and treatment of MAS.
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High infantile spasm risk should contraindicate sodium channel blocker antiepileptics
BALTIMORE – Subsequent spasms are seven times more likely.
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Updated gout guidelines: Don’t let kidney function dictate allopurinol dosing
Inadequate allopurinol dosing has been the bête noire of rheumatology for years.
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Scalp EEG predicts temporal lobe resection success
BALTIMORE – There was one hundred percent failure if seizures spread within 10 seconds.
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Skip CTs for breakthrough seizures in chronic epilepsy
BALTIMORE – Eliminating CTs saves money, prevents unnecessary radiation exposure.
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Transseptal access for MViV replacement cuts mortality
SAN FRANCISCO – Higher mortality was seen with transapical approach for mitral valve-in-valve replacement.
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Late-onset MS is often more severe than earlier-onset MS
ST. LOUIS – Late-onset MS often has faster accrual of disability and might require different treatment options.