NEJM This Week — May 14, 2026

NEJM This Week presents a comprehensive review of cutting-edge clinical research and perspectives on pressing healthcare issues. The episode highlights a promising Phase III trial of brepositinib, a novel oral TIC2-JAK1 inhibitor, showing significant benefits in dermatomyositis patients—particularly in skin disease severity and glucocorticoid tapering—though muscle strength improvements were not clinically meaningful. A major trial on endovascular thrombectomy for medium vessel occlusion strokes demonstrates improved functional outcomes but increased risk of symptomatic hemorrhage, with patient selection guided by imaging and clinical factors. Encitrilvir emerges as the first antiviral effective for post-exposure prophylaxis in household contacts of COVID-19 patients, reducing infection rates by over 60%. Teletacicept shows promise in reducing proteinuria in IgA nephropathy, while a complex case of overlap syndrome between systemic lupus erythematosus and inflammatory myopathy underscores diagnostic challenges in multi-system disease. The episode also features critical perspectives on AI in medicine, emphasizing the need for systems to express uncertainty, the growing digital divide in health AI, the role of self-insured employers in driving healthcare affordability, and a poignant reflection on the quiet miracles of routine nephrology care. These diverse topics converge on themes of innovation, equity, and the human experience in medicine.