This Year's Top Nursing Schools

 For those looking to pursue a graduate degree in nursing, Johns Hopkins, Rush, and Emory universities are among the top places to do so, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Johns Hopkins and Emory took the top two spots, respectively, on the "2022 Best Nursing Schools: Master's" list, while Johns Hopkins placed second to Rush on the "2022 Best Nursing Schools: Doctor of Nursing Practice" list.

Master's programs included in the rankings focus on areas such as acute care, pediatric care, and obstetrics, according to U.S. News, with in-depth coursework on management, research, and social and physical sciences. Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs focus on advanced practice, as well as diagnosis and treatment of disease; the degree is typically recommended to train registered nurses, U.S. News noted.

U.S. News releases its nursing school rankings every year in March. To determine top performing schools, U.S. News examined indicators such as peer assessment scores by nursing school deans, research activity (including total grants), nursing practice participation, and student-faculty ratios.

Below are the lists of the top 10 nursing schools for master's and DNP degrees.

2022 Best Nursing Schools: Master's

1. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore

• Overall score: 100/100
• 2020 master's acceptance rate: 63%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad grade point average (GPA): 3.5
• 2020 master's program enrollment: 466
• Tuition: $1,738 per credit (full-time); $1,738 per credit (part-time)

2. Emory University, Atlanta

• Overall score: 92/100
• 2020 master's acceptance rate: 63%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.5
• 2020 master's program enrollment: 606
• Tuition: $1,963 per credit (full-time); $1,963 per credit (part-time)

3. Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (tie)

• Overall score: 90/100
• 2020 master's acceptance rate: 42.9%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.5
• 2020 master's program enrollment: 532
• Tuition: $1,838 per credit (full-time); $1,838 per credit (part-time)

3. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (tie)

• Overall score: 90/100
• 2020 master's acceptance rate: 70%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.7
• 2020 master's program enrollment: 646
• Tuition: $45,248 per year (full-time); $1,931 per credit (part-time)

5. Columbia University, New York City

• Overall score: 88/100
• 2020 master's acceptance rate: 47.2%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.5
• 2020 master's program enrollment: 357
• Tuition: $87,242 per year (full-time); $17,000 per year (part-time)

6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (tie)

• Overall score: 87/100
• 2020 master's acceptance rate: 45.7%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.6
• 2020 master's program enrollment: 176
• Tuition: $19,062 per year (in-state, full-time); $40,394 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

6. University of Washington, Seattle (tie)

• Overall score: 87/100
• 2020 master's acceptance rate: 96.4%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.5
• 2020 master's program enrollment: 157
• Tuition: $17,919 per year (in-state, full-time); $31,026 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

8. Vanderbilt University, Nashville

• Overall score: 85/100
• 2020 master's acceptance rate: 46.9%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.8
• 2020 master's program enrollment: 761
• Tuition: $1,716 per credit (full-time); $1,716 per credit (part-time)

9. Ohio State University, Columbus (tie)

• Overall score: 84/100
• 2020 master's acceptance rate: 62.2%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.4
• 2020 master's program enrollment: 497
• Tuition: $973 per credit (in-state, full-time); $2,447 per credit (out-of-state, full-time)

9. University of California San Francisco (tie)

• Overall score: 84/100
• 2020 master's acceptance rate: 24.3%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.6
• 2020 master's program enrollment: 390
• Tuition: $12,570 per year (in-state, full-time); $24,815 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

2022 Best Nursing Schools: Doctor of Nursing Practice

1. Rush University, Chicago

• Overall score: 100/100
• 2020 DNP acceptance rate: 47.6%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.6
• 2020 DNP program enrollment: 865
• Tuition: $1,166 per credit (full-time); $1,166 per credit (part-time)

2. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore

• Overall score: 99/100
• 2020 DNP acceptance rate: 64.6%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.3
• 2020 DNP program enrollment: 442
• Tuition: $1,825 per credit (full-time); $1,825 per credit (part-time)

3. University of Washington, Seattle

• Overall score: 95/100
• 2020 DNP acceptance rate: 56.9%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.6
• 2020 DNP program enrollment: 310
• Tuition: $29,122 per year (in-state, full-time); $41,521 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

4. Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

• Overall score: 94/100
• 2020 DNP acceptance rate: 39.1%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.5
• 2020 DNP program enrollment: 297
• Tuition: $1,838 per credit (full-time); $1,838 per credit (part-time)

5. Columbia University, New York City

• Overall score: 89/100
• 2020 DNP acceptance rate: 38.8%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.5
• 2020 DNP program enrollment: 352
• Tuition: $66,156 per year (full-time); $35,190 per year (part-time)

6. University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (tie)

• Overall score: 88/100
• 2020 DNP acceptance rate: 36.1%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.7
• 2020 DNP program enrollment: 192
• Tuition: $920 per credit (in-state, full-time); $1,098 per credit (out-of-state, full-time)

6. Vanderbilt University, Nashville (tie)

• Overall score: 88/100
• 2020 DNP acceptance rate: 86.1%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.9
• 2020 DNP program enrollment: 178
• Tuition: $1,716 per credit (full-time); $1,716 per credit (part-time)

8. Emory University, Atlanta

• Overall score: 87/100
• 2020 DNP acceptance rate: 42.1%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.7
• 2020 DNP program enrollment: 119
• Tuition: $1,671 per credit (full-time); $1,671 per credit (part-time)

9. University of Illinois, Chicago (tie)

• Overall score: 85/100
• 2020 DNP acceptance rate: 89.9%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.4
• 2020 DNP program enrollment: 517
• Tuition: $975 per credit (in-state, full-time); $1,440 per credit (out-of-state, full-time)

9. University of Kentucky, Lexington (tie)

• Overall score: 85/100
• 2020 DNP acceptance rate: 100%
• 2020 mean full-time average undergrad GPA: 3.5
• 2020 DNP program enrollment: 156
• Tuition: $17,682 per year (in-state, full-time); $46,126 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/93972

Diabetes Drug Linked With Less Brain Amyloid

 Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors -- hypoglycemic agents used to treat type 2 diabetes -- were associated with low amyloid burden and slower cognitive decline in a retrospective study.

Of 282 Alzheimer's disease patients with cognitive impairment and positive amyloid PET scans, people who used DPP-4 inhibitors to treat diabetes had lower global amyloid burden than people who used other diabetes drugs (β 0.075, P=0.002) or people without diabetes (β 0.054, P=0.010), after adjusting for age, sex, education, cognitive status, and APOE4 status, reported Phil Hyu Lee, MD, PhD, of Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues.

Diabetes patients using DPP-4 inhibitors also had lower regional amyloid burden in temporoparietal areas than people in other groups, they wrote in Neurology. Moreover, these patients showed slower longitudinal decrease in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores (β 0.772, P=0.005) and memory recall subscores (β 0.291, P=0.012) than patients who used other diabetes drugs.

"People with diabetes have been shown to have a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease, possibly due to high blood sugar levels, which have been linked to the buildup of amyloid beta in the brain," Lee said in a statement.

"Not only did our study show that people taking dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors to lower blood sugar levels had less amyloid in their brains overall, it also showed lower levels in areas of the brain involved in Alzheimer's disease," he added.

Previous research involving diabetes drugs and Alzheimer's disease has shown mixed results. A 2020 study showed DPP-4 inhibitor use was associated with a slower rate of memory decline among diabetes patients, with a possible greater benefit for APOE4 carriers. The recent SNIFF study showed no cognitive or functional benefits for intranasal insulin in people with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's dementia but was complicated by problems with the insulin delivery device; some participants treated with an effective device trended toward improved cognitive scores.

In their analysis, Lee and colleagues reviewed records of 282 Korean patients who met National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association criteria for probable, prodromal, or preclinical Alzheimer's dementia and had positive amyloid 18F-florbetaben PET imaging from June 2015 to May 2020. Participants underwent a standardized neuropsychological battery at baseline and had at least two MMSE scores with a 1-year interval.

Mean baseline age was 76 and participants were followed for up to 6 years. In total, 70 people had diabetes and were treated with DPP-4 inhibitors, 71 had diabetes and were being treated with other drugs, and 141 did not have diabetes. People without diabetes were matched with people with diabetes on age, sex, and education.

Vascular risk factors were similar, as were baseline MMSE scores, in the diabetes groups. Fasting glucose tended to be higher in patients using DPP-4 inhibitors than in patients who did not; HbA1c levels were significantly higher.

Co-prescription of other diabetes drugs did not differ significantly between the diabetes groups. Patients treated with DPP-4 inhibitors used them for a mean of 4 years before PET imaging; most took linagliptin (Tradjenta; 19 people) or sitagliptin (Januvia; 18 people).

"This study presents intriguing results that DPP-4 inhibitor use is associated with reduced PET amyloid burden and slower cognitive decline in patients with diabetes and biomarker-verified Alzheimer's disease," observed Suzanne Craft, PhD, of the Wake Forest School of Medicine, who wasn't involved with the research.

"The study used a clinic convenience sample and, as the authors note, is therefore subject to several biases, including confounding by indication due to the fact that DPP-4 inhibitor use is most common in diabetes that is not fully responsive to metformin or other treatments," Craft told MedPage Today.

"In addition the groups differed or tended to differ at baseline in measures of glucose control and medial temporal atrophy," she added. "Nevertheless, the results may suggest beneficial effects of DPP-4 inhibitors that are deserving of investigation in a randomized trial."

The analysis had other limitations, Lee and colleagues acknowledged. Effects of glucose control were not included due to missing HbA1c data. More precise tests than MMSE may better assess cognitive function over time, and longitudinal amyloid imaging was not available.

Disclosures

This work was supported by a grant through the Korean Healthy Industry Development Institute, funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea.

Researchers reported no disclosures.

Primary Source

Neurology

Source Reference: Jeong SH, et al "Association of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor use and amyloid burden in diabetic patients with AD-related cognitive impairment" Neurology 2021; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012534.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/alzheimersdisease/93999

COVID Vaccine Booster Effective for Transplant Recipients in Small Trial

 For organ transplant recipients, a third dose of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine more than tripled the proportion with a sufficient antibody response, a randomized trial showed.

A third dose 2 months after the regular two-shot series produced a serologic response previously shown to confer at least 50% virus neutralization (an anti-receptor-binding domain [RBD] antibody level ≥100 U/mL) at month 4 in 55% of patients compared with 18% in the placebo group (33 of 60 patients vs 10 of 57, P<0.001).

The trial had short follow-up and was not powered to determine clinical impact on infection rate or other outcomes, cautioned Atul Humar, MD, of the University Health Network in Toronto, and colleagues in their research letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). A single patient in the placebo group developed COVID-19 during the trial.

However, the extra dose was "safe when risk versus benefit was considered," they noted, concluding that "a third-dose booster COVID-19 vaccine should be considered, in conjunction with regulatory approval, for transplant recipients who have received two doses of mRNA-1273."

The findings were in line with recent observational studies.

Local and systemic adverse events were "slightly" more common with the third dose, as might be expected, but none were serious. Importantly, there were no signals of acute rejection of the transplanted organ.

In an accompanying editorial, NEJM deputy editors Winfred Williams, MD, and Julie Ingelfinger, MD, called the findings convincing and agreed that the third dose appears warranted in transplant patients, at least with Moderna's vaccine.

Weak or even no immune response after the standard two doses of mRNA vaccine has been reported in this group, leading to the proposal of a third dose, which has been supported by an anecdotal report and observational studies. FDA is reportedly weighing regulatory avenues for booster shots in immunocompromised patients.

Some older and earlier-vaccinated individuals have also been considering booster shots. However, the CDC has warned against antibody testing to determine immunity after vaccination.

Just how far to extrapolate the results of Humar's trial isn't clear, Williams and Ingelfinger noted.

"Although some may infer from these data that solid-organ transplant recipients should routinely receive a third vaccine dose, additional randomized trials will be key to learning how to better care for solid-organ transplant recipients during this pandemic," they argued.

One concern was the short-term follow-up of only 4 months, with the editorialists calling for continued monitoring of the antibody response over time.

Another was the modest size: 120 COVID-19-naive solid-organ transplant recipients who were randomized at a median 3.16 years post-transplantation to a third dose of mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccine or a saline placebo 2 months after the second dose.

The editorialists also highlighted some imbalances between groups in the type of transplant, with fewer lung transplants and more abdominal organ transplants in the vaccine group than in the placebo group. Time from transplantation was also a median of 1.37 years shorter in the placebo group.

However, baseline immunosuppression levels and medication types and doses were similar between groups, as were the lymphocyte counts.

Secondary measures of immunogenicity also favored the booster shot:

• Change in anti-RBD antibody level from before to after the third dose (75 times greater)
• Median percent virus neutralization (71% vs 13%)
• Proportion above the 30% threshold for neutralizing antibody positivity (60% vs 25%)
• Median severe SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell counts (432 vs 67 cells per 10⁶ CD4+ T cells)

The researchers noted that a small number of the placebo group patients had modest increases in antibody levels. "This may reflect ongoing mRNA vaccine-induced B-cell stimulation, as recently described, and highlights the importance of evaluating a control group," they wrote.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/93994

Hims & Hers beats, offers above consensus guidance

 Hims & Hers Health Inc 

HIMS 4.34% shares are trading higher by 13.1% at $8.48 in Wednesday's after-hours session after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter EPS and sales results and issued third-quarter 2021 revenue guidance above estimates.

Hims & Hers Health reported quarterly losses of 5 cents per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of a loss of 10 cents per share. Hims & Hers Health reported quarterly sales of $60.70 million which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $56.49 million.

"This was a quarter of very strong execution, as we continued to drive consistent organic revenue growth across our business, from our core categories to the newer mental health services" said Andrew Dudum, CEO and co-founder of Hims & Hers.

"We also heavily invested in key infrastructure and differentiated technologies. These are long-term plays to drive financial improvement and create durable advantage," Dudum stated.

Hims & Hers Health is a multi-specialty telehealth platform that connects consumers to licensed healthcare professionals, enabling them to access high-quality medical care for numerous conditions related to mental health, sexual health, dermatology and primary care.

https://www.benzinga.com/news/small-cap/21/08/22455175/whats-going-on-with-hims-hers-healths-stock-after-hours

Clover Health 2021 guidance and commentary

 

• Total revenues are expected to be in the range of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion. This reflects MA revenue of $760 million to $790 million and Medicare Direct Contracting revenue of $650 million to $700 million.
• Medicare Advantage membership is expected to be in the range of 68,000 - 70,000 by December 31, 2021, a growth rate of 17% - 21% as compared to year end 2020.
• For the Medicare Direct Contracting program, the Company expects the number of aligned beneficiaries to remain roughly flat for the remainder of 2021. Further, the Company expects a significant increase in total aligned beneficiaries on January 1, 2022 when claims aligned beneficiaries for 2022 become active.
• Normalized MCR (Non-GAAP)(1) for Medicare Advantage is expected to be in the range of 94% - 97%.
• Adjusted Operating Expenses (Non-GAAP)(1), which we define as Salaries and benefits plus General and administrative expenses less stock-based compensation expense, is expected to be between $250 and $270 million.
• Adjusted Operating Expenses (Non-GAAP) as a percentage of revenue(1) is expected to be 16% in the second half of 2021 compared to 21% in the first half of 2021 and 22% in full year 2020.
• Normalized Adjusted EBITDA loss (Non-GAAP)(1) is expected to be in the range of $(250) - $(210) million. This excludes gross profit or loss from Direct Contracting, reflecting the fact that we do not yet have sufficient claims data to prepare a “normalized” result for the Direct Contracting segment.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/08/11/2279209/0/en/Clover-Health-Reports-Second-Quarter-2021-Financial-Results.html

Dyadic to License COVID Vaccine Candidate, Technology to Sorrento

 

• Sorrento to obtain exclusive rights in North and South America, Europe, major Asian countries (including Greater China and Japan) and certain other countries to utilize Dyadic’s C1 technology for the development and commercialization of vaccines, therapeutic antibodies, protein therapeutics, and diagnostics for coronaviruses, including DYAI-100, Dyadic’s lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate
  

• Exclusivity is subject to Sorrento’s timely achievement of certain development milestones

• Expands Sorrento’s extensive COVID-19 programs and corporate mission to develop novel vaccines and therapeutic treatments for unmet needs

• Consideration includes a $10 million up-front payment ($5 million in cash and $5 million in Sorrento stock), reimbursement of certain DYAI-100 R&D expenses, with potential for multiple future development milestones and royalty payments

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dyadic-sorrento-announce-binding-term-123500450.html

Moderna doubles size of COVID-19 vaccine pediatric study

 Moderna Inc is planning to double the size of an ongoing trial testing its COVID-19 vaccines in children aged six months to less than 12 years.

According to updated details on clinical trial record site clinicaltrials.gov, the study will now enroll an estimated 13,275 participants, nearly double the earlier target of 6,975 participants. (https://bit.ly/3ACoHIn)

In July, Moderna said it was in discussions with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to expand the study with an objective to enroll a larger safety database, which increases the likelihood of detecting rarer events.

The company's vaccine, which received its emergency authorization for people aged 18 and older in the United States in December, is currently under an FDA review for use in adolescents.

Rival shot from Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech was authorized for ages 12 to 15 years earlier this year. 

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MODERNA-INC-47437573/news/Moderna-doubles-size-of-COVID-19-vaccine-pediatric-study-36137605/