Free CME

In this online, self-learning activity:

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is an inflammatory kidney disease with IgA deposition in the glomerular mesangium. IgAN is the most prevalent primary chronic glomerular disease worldwide. Globally, IgAN has an estimated incidence of 25 cases per one million people annually. It is more common in children and young adults than in the elderly. Among patients of all ages, the average annual prevalence of IgAN in the United States is 329 per 1 million. The epidemiology and gender distribution of IgAN vary by country and region. In North America and Europe, the prevalence is higher in men.

Target Audience:

HCPs including: nephrologists, internists, and pediatricians; physician associates, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in those areas of specialty; and those who otherwise care for or clinically encounter patients with IgAN.

Activity Description:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Pyruvate kinase (PK) is an enzyme that plays a major role in a metabolic pathway integral to the production of ATP, and a deficiency in the enzyme (PKD) is one of the most common enzyme-related glycolytic defects in a pathway integral to the production of ATP. It is transmitted as an autosomal recessive trait and is caused by mutations in the PKLR gene on chromosome 1, and over one hundred eighty of these mutations have been associated with PKD. While PKD affects approximately five people of European descent per 100,000 (data in other patient populations are lacking), it is one of the more frequent causes of chronic hemolysis. Anemia arising from the condition may range from mild and fully compensated to life-threatening in severity.

Target Audience:

HCPs including: hematology; nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists who specialize in hematology; and those with an interest in or may clinically encounter patients with PKD.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Hemophilia is a genetic disease caused by mutation of one of the genes for coagulation proteins leading to dangerous, uncontrolled bleeding. In hemophilia B, a mutation in the gene for factor IX (FIX) leads to an endogenous deficiency in the clotting factor. The incidence of hemophilia B is the same across race and ethnic groups, affecting approximately 1 out of every 30,000 male births.

Target Audience:

HCPs including but not limited to: hematologists, internists, and pediatricians; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in hematology, and other HCPs who practice in hemophilia treatment center; and any other clinicians with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with hemophilia B.

In this online, self-learning activity:

Dravet syndrome (DS) is a rare form of early-onset epilepsy syndrome affecting between 1:16,000 and 1:46,000 and is associated with pleomorphic seizure activity, cognitive decline, motor, and behavior abnormalities. Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy is the cause of death in nearly half of the deaths in patients with DS, with the mean age of death 8.7 years old and 73% of deaths occurring before age 10. Seizures typically begin in the first year of age, with most occurring between months 5 and 8, and it is usually a prolonged, tonic-clonic (accounting for 52% of first seizures) or hemiclonic (35%) seizure. Environmental triggers or events, such as fever, acute stress, and physical exercise may precipitate seizures, and at least 85% of those who are clinically diagnosed with DS have variations in the SCN1A gene. Unfortunately, diagnosis is not uncommonly delayed until a patient 3 years of age or older, prior to which antiseizure medication selection may be suboptimal or ineffective, which may lead to seizure exacerbation, an increased risk of status epilepticus, and worse cognitive outcomes.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Acromegaly is an endocrine disorder characterized by dysregulated hypersecretion of growth hormone (GH), usually caused by a GH-secreting, pituitary adenoma and leading to an overproduction of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Estimated at between 40 and 240 people per million, is not as high as other endocrine disorders, acromegaly has a significant impact on patient quality of life. Approximately 25 percent of people with acromegaly have elevated blood pressure, and 50 percent have evidence of insulin resistance, putting them at risk of developing type 2 diabetes in future. The mortality rates of acromegaly patients are three times higher than the general population, with most dying from respiratory or cardiac complications.

Target Audience:

HCPs including: endocrinologists and primary care providers; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who specialize in endocrinology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with acromegaly.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common monogenic blood disorder, affecting millions of people worldwide and approximately 100,000 Americans. Although it may be found in various areas of the world, SCD predominantly affects individuals of African or Hispanic heritage. It is caused by the inheritance of b-globin alleles that code for hemoglobin S, resulting in an amino acid substitution in hemoglobin’s b chain and clinical disease. Patients with SCD have impaired circulation, and lysis of the erythrocytes contributes to a chronic inflammatory response, causing severe pain and less efficient oxygen delivery. The hallmark clinical features of SCD are hemolytic anemia and painful vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs), which may lead to emergency department visits, hospitalization, and potentially fatal complications such as acute chest syndrome, stroke, or pneumonia. In one US study, 45% of deaths among people with SCD were related to cardiopulmonary causes, and VOCs alone have been shown to increase the risk of death by 50%. SCD may disrupt employment or school and is associated with a significant reduction in quality of life. This learning activity has been designed to bring HCPs’ knowledge of rationale behind treatment of SCD up to date and to enhance their competence and performance in the condition’s management.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is an ultra-rare genetic connective tissue disorder characterized by dysregulated chondrogenesis, with heterotopic ossification (HO) being the most typical feature. The global prevalence of FOP is estimated at 1.43 per million individuals, with a U.S. prevalence of 0.88 per million. FOP develops due to a mutation in the ACVR1 gene encoding the active receptor-like kinase (ALK2), with unique presenting symptoms including great toe malformations and the development of swelling in several areas of the body within the first decade of life.

Target Audience:

HCPs including: pediatricians, pediatric orthopedic surgeons, endocrinologists, and medical geneticists; nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists who practice in orthopedics, orthopedic surgery, and rheumatology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with FOP.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Thalassemias are a group of recessively inherited blood disorders characterized by little or no hemoglobin production and chronic anemia of varying severity. Beta-thalassemia (BT) is most commonly found in people of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Asian, and North African descent. Worldwide, 1.5% of people are BT carriers, with about 40,000 infants born with BT annually. About half of patients with BT are transfusion-dependent, which may significantly impact patient quality of life. BT is caused by a point mutation in the gene encoding hemoglobin subunit beta (HBB), resulting in either lower beta-globin production (termed beta-plus [B⁺]) or the prevention of all beta-globin production (termed beta-zero [B⁰]). Disease severity depends on the extent of hemoglobin β and γ chain imbalance.

Target Audience:

The following HCPs: hematologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in hematology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who may clinically encounter patients with beta-thalassemia.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) occurs in an estimated five to seven percent of term births and up to 90% of preterm births. The risk for neonatal RDS decreases with increasing gestational age,  such that at a gestational age of 37 weeks, the risk has fallen to just three times that of a full-term infant. In addition to premature birth, risk factors for neonatal RDS include maternal gestational diabetes, male sex, multiparity, abnormal fetoplacental circulation, fetal distress, Cesarean delivery, and low birth weight. The ability for the clinician to recognize neonatal RDS is a documented practice gap, and failure to do so is associated with mortality and complications that may include respiratory failure in the short-term and chronic lung disease in the long-term.

Target Audience:

The following healthcare professionals: neonatologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists who practice in neonatology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with neonatal RDS.  

In this online, self-learning activity:

Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) occurs in an estimated five to seven percent of term births and up to 90% of preterm births. The risk for neonatal RDS decreases with increasing gestational age,  such that at a gestational age of 37 weeks, the risk has fallen to just three times that of a full-term infant. In addition to premature birth, risk factors for neonatal RDS include maternal gestational diabetes, male sex, multiparity, abnormal fetoplacental circulation, fetal distress, Cesarean delivery, and low birth weight. The ability for the clinician to recognize neonatal RDS is a documented practice gap, and failure to do so is associated with mortality and complications that may include respiratory failure in the short-term and chronic lung disease in the long-term.

Target Audience:

The following healthcare professionals: neonatologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists who practice in neonatology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with neonatal RDS.  

All courses are about new and current imaging modalities, with a primary focus on breast imaging.

Courses fall into these groups:
• Advanced MRI Tutorials
• Automated Breast Ultrasound
• Breast MRI
• Breast Stereotactic Biopsy
• Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT)
• Breast Ultrasound
• DXA
• Liver LI-RADS
• Prostate MRI

Target Audience: Radiologists