pTau181 biomarker now TGA approved – what does that mean?

13th August 2026, A/Prof Chee L Khoo

is there beta-amyloid in there?

We know (maybe better phrased – we think we know) that it is the amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques that are a key driver of pathological processes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (1,2).  Targeting the Aβ should then prevent or at the very least delay the progression of the dementia. The problem with prevention is that we don’t know who are going to get dementia till there is some cognitive impairment.…

Low carbohydrate diet in MAFLD – how important is it?

25th July 2026, A/Prof Chee L Khoo

MAFLD

We know that 55-65% patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) (1). We also know that 28% of patients with MAFLD will develop T2D if not already present by the time MAFLD is detected (2). There is emerging evidence that there are profound alterations in oral glucose handling in individuals with MAFLD even before T2D is diagnosed.…

New – Olezarsen for severe hypertriglyceridaemia

12th July 2026, A/Prof Chee L Khoo

acute pancreatitis

We don’t see many acute pancreatitis in our rooms but the incidence of acute pancreatitis is gradually increasing (1). Many will develop further episodes and some will develop chronic pancreatitis. Although most patients with acute pancreatitis have its mild form, some develop moderate or severe acute pancreatitis, both of which include serious complications and an increased risk for death.…

Teplizumab approved for T1D – what does that mean in practice?

28th June 2026, A/Prof Chee L Khoo

T1D

It’s all over the news. Teplizumab (Tzield) has just been approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) delay the onset of Stage 3 type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) in adult and paediatric patients aged 8 years and older with Stage 2 type 1 diabetes mellitus (1). Wow. But what does that mean for our patients already with T1D or those who are at very high risk of developing T1D?…

GDM is more than just T2D later in life

10th June 2026, A/Prof Chee L Khoo

diabetic retinopathy

We know that if a woman developed gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), the risk of development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) later in life increases by 4-10 times. We also know that the same woman also have higher risk of developing elements of cardiovascular disease (CVD) including hypertension, atherosclerotic CVD ASCVD and heart failure (HF).…

Management of Resistant Hypertension – new kid on the block

25th May 2026, A/Prof Chee L Khoo

resistant hypertension

All of us have more than a few patients with essential hypertension (i.e. hypertension with no secondary causes) who remain hypertensive despite two or three anti-hypertensives. These are patients who are already on an ACE inhibitor (ACEi) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) plus a calcium channel blocker (CCB) or a diuretic or both.…

Should we be checking apoB instead of LDL-C?

23rd May 2026, A/Prof Chee L Khoo

apoB assays

We all know about the causal association between the so called bad cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). There are suggestions that apolipoprotein B (apoB) levels might be a better reflection of atherosclerotic burden. There is now emerging consensus that relying on particle number whether with LDL-C or apoB is rather too simplistic.…

Meniscal injuries without OA – do arthroscopy help?

10th May 2026, A/Prof Chee L Khoo

meniscal injuries

We were taught in medical school that meniscal injuries inevitably need arthroscopic debridement. Of course, these are likely the ones that don’t improve with physical therapy – physiotherapy, hydrotherapy or chiropractic treatment. We don’t see those that got better with conservative measures. We also don’t see what happen after they had arthroscopic debridement.…

What’s wrong with the pancreas in diabetes?

25th April 2026, A/Prof Chee L Khoo

pancreas

When we think about diabetes, we think about the shrinkage of beta cell mass and its inability to keep up with the insulin demand. We have lots of information of what the islet cells can or cannot do in diabetes but we don’t actually know much of pathogenesis of the pancreatic endocrine (or exocrine) dysfunction in diabetes.…

Exercise benefits – volume or intensity?

24th April 2026, A/Prof Chee L Khoo

Australian and international guidelines recommend 150– 300 min of moderate physical activity (MPA), 75–150 min of vigorous physical activity (VPA), or a combination of both per week (1,2). Some people prefer slower but longer exercises while other prefer more intense for shorter periods of time. There is data suggesting that VPA leads to superior improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness, functional capacity, and several cardiometabolic risk factors compared to lower-intensity activities at equivalent volumes (3-5).…

Obesity and diabetes management just got more crowded

29th March 2026, A/Prof Chee L Khoo

Just as we are getting used to the GLP1-RA and the bi-hormonal GLP1/GIP co-agonists in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity, the playground is about to get more crowded. Retatrutide is a once weekly triple hormone receptor agonist. It is a single molecule that can activate the receptors for glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and glucagon.…