Marisa Wexler, MS, senior science writer —

Marisa holds a Master of Science in cellular and molecular pathology from the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied novel genetic drivers of ovarian cancer. Her areas of expertise include cancer biology, immunology, and genetics, and she has worked as a science writing and communications intern for the Genetics Society of America.

Articles by Marisa Wexler

Heart damage markers fell for FAP patients on Amvuttra: Phase 3 trial

Treatment with Amvuttra (vutrisiran) may ease heart damage in people with familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), a new analysis of the HELIOS-A Phase 3 clinical trial suggests. “The totality of assessments in this exploratory analysis of the HELIOS-A study provides evidence of potential benefit of [Amvuttra] on cardiac [heart-related] manifestations…

Medications improve FAP survival regardless of patients’ age at onset

Disease-modifying medications can significantly improve survival outcomes among people with familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) no matter what age the disease begins, whereas a liver transplant only improves survival in early-onset FAP. That’s according to “Disease-Modifying Drugs Extend Survival in Hereditary Transthyretin Amyloid Polyneuropathy,” which was published in…

FDA approves eplontersen, now Wainua, for treating FAP in adults

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved eplontersen for treating familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP). The therapy, which will be sold under the brand name Wainua by its co-developers Ionis Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca, is specifically indicated for adults with the genetic disease. In a previous Phase…

Advanced screening may lead to early DMT start for ATTRv carriers

Screening for toxic protein clumps using biopsies and advanced imaging techniques may help people carrying mutations that cause hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv) — a group of conditions that includes familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) — to get an early start on disease-modifying treatment (DMT). That’s according to a study in…

Full eplontersen Phase 3 trial results support efficacy in FAP

More than a year of treatment with the experimental therapy eplontersen significantly reduces blood levels of transthyretin — the protein that accumulates to toxic levels in familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) — eases nerve damage-related disability, and improves quality of life for patients. That’s according to the full results…

Detecting touch, temperature may help predict FAP onset

Testing the ability to sense temperatures and mechanical forces could help predict when symptoms will appear for people who carry mutations that cause familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP). That’s according to “Quantitative sensory testing and skin biopsy findings in late-onset ATTRv presymptomatic carriers: Relationships with predicted time of disease…

Vyndaqel effective for hATTR-CM patients with A97S mutation

Treatment with Vyndaqel (tafamidis) reduces signs of heart damage for most people with hereditary ATTR amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (hATTR-CM) associated with the A97S mutation, the most common cause of the disease in Taiwan, a study in that country shows. Notably, improvements in heart health were most pronounced among patients…

Onpattro shows benefits for 1.5 years in ATTR cardiomyopathy trial

Treatment with Onpattro (patisiran) for 1.5 years leads to sustained reductions in disability progression among people with ATTR amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), or damage to the heart. That’s according to interim data from the ongoing open-label extension (OLE) portion of the Phase 3 APOLLO-B clinical trial (NCT03997383). That…