Free Allergy and Immunology CME

Physicians specializing in Allergy or Dermatology.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Biosimilar drugs are products meant to be similar in quality, safety, and efficacy to an already licensed reference biotherapeutic product. Whereas generics are virtually identical replicas of conventional medications, biosimilars are not the same as the original product – a practically unavoidable outcome because of the considerably large molecular structure that biologics mimic. The literature suggests that learning activities focused on the evolving landscape of biosimilars, which are germane to the therapeutic area because of their potential role in cost containment. Both the FDA and medical literature independently affirm the need for clinician education on biosimilars, including: comparative efficacy; adverse event rates and management (potential concerns have included immunogenicity); regulatory guidance on interchangeability and substitution – including prescribers retaining some degree of ability to intervene in a product’s substitution at the dispensing stage; and cost considerations. There has been significant progress in the adoption of biosimilars since the first one received FDA approval over half a decade ago. Clinicians who employ biosimilars have a generally positive view of them. However, challenges remain.

Target Audience:

The following healthcare professionals: rheumatologists, gastroenterologists, and primary care physicians; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in the aforementioned areas of specialty; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with the immune-mediated and autoimmune disease states covered by this activity.

Treatment Updates on Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy emphasizes the use of IVIg in the treatment of Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy.

The presentation consists of a single lecture, Treatment Updates on Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, with discussion by Roy L. Freeman, MD, Richard J. Barohn, MD and Kenneth C. Gorson, MD.

After viewing Treatment Updates on Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, you will be better able to :
• Conduct a thorough and timely evaluation and differential diagnosis of patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.
• Devise appropriate treatment regimen for the effective management of chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy based on guidelines and clinical evidence.

Target Audiences:
This program is intended for US-based neurologists, immunologists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses who manage, or have an interest in managing patients with immune-mediated neuropathies.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, highly pruritic inflammatory skin disease that is one of the most common skin disorders in children but may develop at any age. It affects 15-30% of children and two to ten percent of adults in developed countries, and between 10-30% of children who have the condition continue to experience it in adulthood. AD is thought to arise from a complicated interplay between multiple genes and environmental triggers, with known risk factors including family history and loss of function mutations in filaggrin. Complications include food allergy, asthma, and allergic rhinitis, and aside from genetics, its pathophysiology involves T-cell mediated inflammation and epidermal dysfunction. The disease is associated with a considerable healthcare burden placed on patients and their families; pruritis aside, patients not uncommonly suffer a loss of sleep and experience secondary infections, anxiety, and depression.

Target Audience:

The following HCPs: Pediatric and adult dermatologists, allergists, and internists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who treat patients with dermatologic conditions; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who diagnose, treat, or manage patients with AD.

Primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDD) comprise a group of 430 different known inborn errors of immunity. The heterogeneous etiology of PIDD leads to a vast array of clinical presentations, including infection, malignancy, autoimmunity, and inflammation. Once thought to be exceedingly rare, PIDD is increasingly being recognized as an underdiagnosed disease affecting between one in 1,000 to one in 5,000 births.

Because a significant percentage of people with PIDD are undiagnosed, improving the recognition of PIDD signs and symptoms necessarily forms the foundation of PIDD-focused medical education efforts. Early treatment improves outcomes and health-related quality of life in children and adults with PIDD, yet time from symptom onset to diagnosis can exceed 4 years. Diagnostic lag has serious consequences for many patients with PIDD due to recurrent infections, which may take a toll on pulmonary function. In a large-scale analysis of patients with common variable immunodeficiency, a common form of PIDD, risk of death increased by 1.7% each year of diagnostic delay.  The most up-to-date guidance around the classification of PIDD and how to determine related genetic tests has been published relatively recently. Communicating related information to HCPs in a timely manner is a demonstrated need.