The biopharmaceutical company Neurocrine Biosciences has launched two interactive learning programs for healthcare professionals on classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). According to the company, bootCAHmp is a self-directed, interactive online course designed for clinicians who want to deepen their basic clinical knowledge of the disease. DiscoverCAH offers virtual patient cases in which clinicians can apply their knowledge in realistic clinical decision-making scenarios.
Classical CAH is a rare genetic disorder, most often caused by a 21-hydroxylase deficiency, requiring lifelong glucocorticoid replacement therapy and presenting long-term treatment and management challenges. Many clinicians have limited contact with CAH patients; learning opportunities that combine fundamental knowledge with clinical application can help strengthen patient management skills. “Whether they treat patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia regularly or only occasionally, these learning opportunities are designed to help clinicians recognize, manage, and navigate the challenges of this lifelong condition,” said Eiry W. Roberts, Chief Medical Officer of Neurocrine Biosciences.
bootCAHmp was developed with endocrinologists Maya Lodish (University of California, San Francisco) and Ricardo Correa (Cleveland Clinic). The curriculum currently includes two modules on pathophysiology, diagnostic approaches, and the role of glucocorticoids and crinecerfont in the treatment of classic chronic hypertension (CHH). Interactive clinical scenarios and anonymized patient cases are designed to reinforce learning. Further modules are planned. Lodish said the course uses real patient cases to illustrate the impact of the disease and helps establish a solid foundation for its management.
DiscoverCAH was developed in collaboration with Selma Feldman Witchel of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, among others. Through self-directed learning and virtual patient avatars based on clinical trials and real cases, clinicians can practice clinical decisions in realistic chronic acute hypertension (CAH) scenarios, including the use of crinecerfont and the reduction of glucocorticoid doses. “Classic CAH presents differently from patient to patient, and clinicians may not have many opportunities to gain experience with a variety of cases,” said Vivian H. Lin, Executive Medical Director, Medical Affairs at Neurocrine. DiscoverCAH gives professionals the chance to learn from realistic management scenarios without clinical risk to patients.
Both offers are free for healthcare professionals; the participating experts were compensated by the company. Crinecerfont (CRENESSITY) is an oral corticotropin-releasing factor type 1 receptor antagonist that reduces excess ACTH and adrenal androgens via a non-glucocorticoid mechanism. According to the company, it is used in combination with glucocorticoids to control androgen levels in adults and children four years of age and older with classic chronic adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). The most common side effects in adults include fatigue, headache, dizziness, joint and back pain, decreased appetite, and muscle pain; in children, headache, abdominal pain, fatigue, nasal congestion, and nosebleeds. Physicians should continue glucocorticoid therapy, as under-adrenal administration may lead to sudden adrenal insufficiency or an adrenal crisis.
