Weekly review: Type 1 diabetes special report, FDA approvals, and more

Thank you for visiting the Contemporary Pediatrics® website. Take a look at some of our top stories from last week (Monday, December 15, to Friday, December 19, 2025), and click on each link to read and watch anything you may have missed.

Special Report: T1D experts tackle earlier detection and prevention

In a new Special Report published to Contemporary Pediatrics, titled "Advancing Type 1 Diabetes Management," we present a peer-to-peer discussion examining how advances in disease understanding are changing the way pediatricians approach type 1 diabetes. Moderated by Herbert Bravo, MD, the conversation frames type 1 diabetes not as an abrupt clinical event, but as a condition with a defined natural history that can be recognized and addressed earlier than ever before.

The discussion introduces Marian Rewers, MD, PhD, whose career spans pediatric endocrinology and preventive medicine. Rewers describes more than 3 decades of experience caring for children with type 1 diabetes while also approaching the disease through a public health lens. This dual perspective, he explained, informs his focus on identifying type 1 diabetes earlier in its course rather than waiting for symptomatic presentation.

Click here to view the 6-part series.

The latest on navepegritide for children with achondroplasia, with Carlos Bacino, MD

A randomized phase 2b clinical trial published November 17, 2025, in JAMA Pediatrics found that once-weekly navepegritide significantly improved growth velocity in children aged 2 to 11 years with achondroplasia, with a favorable safety profile. The findings add to emerging evidence that targeted pharmacologic therapies may address not only growth but broader functional outcomes in achondroplasia, a condition increasingly recognized as multisystem rather than solely skeletal.

In this Q&A interview, Carlos A. Bacino, MD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, discusses the clinical implications of the APPROACH trial data and the evolving treatment landscape for children with achondroplasia.

Read it here.

2025: A year of fewer vaccines and increasing distrust

In 2025, shifting federal vaccine policies, leadership changes, and highly visible outbreaks intensified concerns among pediatric experts that misinformation and erosion of trust were fueling rising vaccine hesitancy. Clinicians reported growing confusion among families as long-standing federal guidance was questioned, placing pediatricians at the center of navigating uncertainty, reaffirming evidence-based recommendations, and maintaining trust through clear, science-driven communication.

Read what infectious disease experts, including Paul Offit, MD, and Tina Tan, MD, have said in reviewing 2025, and what implications are for the new year ahead.

19-year-old female with painful, purpuric nodules in the phalanges of her fingers

A 19-year-old female presented with painful purpuric nodules localized to the distal phalanges of her fingers. It is associated with intermittent swelling, itching, and pain. Three weeks earlier, she had experienced mild upper respiratory symptoms, including nasal congestion and sore throat, which resolved without medical intervention. Shortly thereafter, she learned that a close friend had tested positive for COVID-19 prior to her illness.

On examination, the lesions were erythematous and violaceous, tender to touch, and consistent with chilblain-like lesions. She denied systemic symptoms such as fever or fatigue, and was otherwise healthy.

Read our latest, puzzler case study.

Mimi C. Lee, MD, PhD, breaks down GeneDx's ExomeDx and GenomeDx tests

In October, the FDA granted Breakthrough Device Designation to GeneDx’s ExomeDx and GenomeDx tests, highlighting the growing role of comprehensive genomic analysis in diagnosing rare and life-threatening diseases. The designation provides an expedited review pathway for technologies that may offer more effective diagnosis or treatment for serious or irreversibly debilitating conditions. It underscores the potential for these tests to transform the diagnostic approach for symptomatic patients who often face a prolonged “diagnostic odyssey.”

Mimi C. Lee, MD, PhD, Chief of Precision Genetic Medicine at GeneDx, described the tests as critical tools for understanding patients’ underlying conditions at the genomic level.

Watch the interview here.

FDA approves depemokimab for severe asthma in patients 12 years or older

On December 16, 2025, the FDA approved depemokimab-ulaa (Exdensur; GSK) as an add-on maintenance therapy for severe eosinophilic asthma in adults and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older, introducing the first ultra–long-acting biologic for this population with twice-yearly dosing. The decision, based on the phase 3 SWIFT clinical trial program, positions depemokimab as a new option for patients who continue to experience exacerbations despite standard inhaled therapies, with the goal of providing sustained protection while reducing the treatment burden associated with more frequent injections.

Click here for more on this FDA approval.