Vitamin D and Fractures; Bariatric Surgery Helps Neuropathy; Brain’s Obesity Drivers

Monthly supplementation with 60,000 IU of oral vitamin D₃ for older adults didn’t appear to increase or decrease overall fracture risk over a 5-year period. The same held true for non-vertebral, major osteoporotic, and hip fractures. (The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology)

Teprotumumab (Tepezza) led to a significantly greater reduction in proptosis over placebo in people with chronic thyroid eye disease for an average of 5 years and low levels of disease activity (2.41 vs 0.92 mm, p=0.0004), Horizon announced with its phase IV trial results.

Denosumab (Prolia, Xgeva) significantly reduced abnormal bone turnover in adults with the rare bone disease, fibrous dysplasia. “Surgery is still the standard treatment for fractures and deformities caused by fibrous dysplasia. Denosumab is the first medication that appears to affect how fibrous dysplasia lesions behave and improves patients’ disease outcomes,” said study author Alison Boyce, MD, of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. (New England Journal of Medicine)

Sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass improved peripheral neuropathy — measured by intra-epidermal nerve fiber density at the distal leg and proximal thigh — in patients with a body mass index (BMI) over 35. Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy and retinopathy remained stable over the 2-year follow-up. (Diabetologia)

More than a 10% loss of body weight over a few years in healthy older men and women was tied with a 289% and 114% increase in all-cause mortality, respectively. (JAMA Network Open)

Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs said it is now selling brand-name canagliflozin (Invokana) on top of approximately 1,000 generic drugs. (The Street)

Researchers pinpointed different brain signals in men and women responsible for driving obesity. “In designing treatment plans for females with high BMI, it may be important to focus on emotional regulation techniques and vulnerability factors,” suggested study author Arpana Gupta, PhD, of UCLA. (Brain Communications)

Lawmakers in Montana are looking into a bill that would require insurance companies to cover continuous glucose monitors for patients with diabetes. (KHN)

Too much sugar increased the risk of dozens of health problems, according to a large meta-analysis of published literature. (The BMJ)