- 蘑菇影院 Health News Original Stories 3
- WHO Overturns Dogma on Airborne Disease Spread. The CDC Might Not Act on It.
- AC, Power Banks, Mini Fridges: Oregon Equips Medicaid Patients for Climate Change
- Listen to the Latest '蘑菇影院 Health News Minute'
- Health Industry 2
- Walmart's Closure Of Clinics Is Part Of Larger Retail Retreat From Health Care
- Watchdog Report: Hospital Patient Grades Up For First Time Since Covid
- Outbreaks and Health Threats 1
- Scientists: Influenza A Virus Found In Wastewater Triggers Bird Flu Concerns
From 蘑菇影院 Health News - Latest Stories:
蘑菇影院 Health News Original Stories
WHO Overturns Dogma on Airborne Disease Spread. The CDC Might Not Act on It.
After grave missteps in the covid pandemic, the World Health Organization revisited the science and now confirms that many respiratory viruses are inhaled as airborne particles. The new framework implies that stopping transmission relies on costly measures like ventilation and masking. (Amy Maxmen, )
AC, Power Banks, Mini Fridges: Oregon Equips Medicaid Patients for Climate Change
Oregon is giving Medicaid patients air conditioners and other equipment to help them cope with soaring heat, smoky skies, and other dangers of climate change. Oregon health officials hope to show other states and the federal government that they can save lives and money. (Samantha Young, )
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Summaries Of The News:
Biennial Breast Cancer Screening Should Start At 40, Task Force Suggests
The group based its recommendation to bump up mammograms by 10 years on studies showing "moderate net benefit." The group also found that Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer. Experts from other groups contend testing every other year isn't enough.
An influential task force has recommended that women begin mammograms at age 40 and screen every other year for breast cancer until they are 74. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's updated guidance, released Tuesday, said women with an average risk for breast cancer should begin screening at 40 rather than 50. The task force said medical evidence drawn from studies suggests every-other-year screening of breast tissue provides a "moderate net benefit" for women up to age 74. (Alltucker, 4/30)
The task force recognized that among all racial and ethnic groups, Black women are most likely to be diagnosed with breast cancers that have progressed beyond stage 1, including the aggressive 鈥渢riple negative鈥 tumors that are particularly difficult to treat. Black women also have the highest mortality rate from breast cancer 鈥 about 40% higher than that of white women 鈥 鈥渆ven when accounting for differences in age and stage at diagnosis,鈥 the task force wrote in JAMA. (Kaplan, 4/30)
An influential national advisory group has called for women to start getting mammograms beginning at age 40, but only every two years聽 鈥 a recommendation that highlights a rift within the cancer community. (Reed, 4/30)
On cancer screenings and treatment in the military 鈥
Tricare beneficiaries at average risk for colorectal cancer can now receive covered screening exams and lab tests five years sooner, at age 45, following a recent coverage change. The change in coverage comes as people younger than 50 are getting colon cancer more often, according to the American Cancer Society. The incidence of colorectal cancer in the U.S. rose steadily from 2011 to 2020 in people younger than 50, increasing at a rate of 2% per year. Cases of advanced colon cancer in patients under 50 grew even faster during that time, at about 3% per year. (Miller, 4/30)
More than 9,000 veterans will have access to advanced oncology treatment and monitoring in locations closer to their homes under an expansion of the Department of Veterans Affairs' Close to Me cancer care program, according to VA officials. In the program, VA providers travel to community-based outpatient clinics to provide diagnostics, treatment and services, rather than the veteran having to travel to a VA medical center. (Kime, 4/30)
More cancer news 鈥
The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it has finalized a ban on consumer uses of鈥 methylene chloride, a chemical that is widely used as a paint stripper but is known to cause liver cancer and other health problems. The EPA said its action will protect Americans from health risks while allowing certain commercial uses to continue with robust worker protections. (Daly, 4/30)
The first trial over claims that blockbuster heartburn drug Zantac, once sold by GSK and other companies, causes cancer is set to begin this week in Chicago. Jury selection began on Tuesday before Judge Daniel Trevino of the Circuit Court of Cook County and was expected to continue Wednesday morning. Lawyers will deliver their opening statements once a jury is chosen. GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim are the only defendants in the trial, after other companies settled. (Pierson, 4/30)
City of Hope will further聽extend its reach by teaming up with more academic medical centers and employers, fueled by a $33 million funding round for its startup AccessHope. Narrow Medicare Advantage networks threaten access, however, a City of Hope executive said. AccessHope, which Duarte, California-based cancer provider聽City of Hope launched in 2019 and spun off in 2020, offers employees at more than 400 companies access to specialty care. (Kacik, 4/30)
Gigantic DEA Policy Shift May See Pot Classified As Less Dangerous
The AP reports that the DEA is moving to reclassify marijuana, though the drug will remain listed as a controlled substance. News outlets examine what the ripple effects of reclassification will be, including facilitating research into the drug.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, The Associated Press has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country. The proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation鈥檚 most dangerous drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use. The agency鈥檚 move, confirmed to the AP on Tuesday by five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regulatory review, clears the last significant regulatory hurdle before the agency鈥檚 biggest policy change in more than 50 years can take effect. (Miller, Goodman, Mustian and Whitehurst, 4/30)
Moving marijuana away from Schedule I would make it much easier to research.聽聽Schedule III drugs are considered to have a 鈥渕oderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.鈥 Substances within this category include ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone.聽Since Schedule I drugs have no medical value, there is no easy way to conduct clinical research.聽聽(Weixel, 4/30)
Schedule III drugs 鈥 which include ketamine, anabolic steroids and some acetaminophen-codeine combinations 鈥 are still controlled substances. They鈥檙e subject to various rules that allow for some medical uses, and for federal criminal prosecution of anyone who traffics in the drugs without permission. No changes are expected to the medical marijuana programs now licensed in 38 states or the legal recreational cannabis markets in 23 states, but it鈥檚 unlikely they would meet the federal production, record-keeping, prescribing and other requirements for Schedule III drugs. (Peltz and Whitehurst, 4/30)
One of the biggest benefits for cannabis firms would be that they would no longer be subject to Section 280E of the U.S. federal tax code. That provision prevents businesses dealing in schedule one and two controlled substances from claiming tax credits and deductions for business expenses. The tax change would put close to $3.5 billion of cash back into the sector, which will lower the overall cost of capital for the industry, and spark a flurry of M&A activity, said Katan Associates International founder Seth Yakatan. (Roy, 4/30)
Florida's Abortion Ban After 6 Weeks Now In Effect
Starting today, the window in which a pregnant person can get an abortion in Florida was reduced from 15 weeks to six. Leading up to the new law taking effect, abortion clinics rushed to treat as many patients as possible.
Starting Wednesday, people will lose access to legal abortions in Florida beyond six weeks of pregnancy.聽The restriction replaces a 15-week ban that's been in effect since July 2022, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Abortion rights supporters say it will dramatically curb access to the procedure for thousands of residents in Florida and around the Southeast. Proponents of the ban say it 鈥減rotects life.鈥 (Colombini, 4/30)
Abortion clinics in Florida say they have been trying to see as many patients as possible before the state's ban on abortions after six weeks takes effect Wednesday. In Jacksonville, a clinic called A Woman鈥檚 Choice provided around double its usual volume of abortions Monday, according to Amber Gavin, its vice president of advocacy and operations. (Parra, Harris, Bendix and Arcodia, 4/30)
A six-week abortion ban taking effect today in Florida will usher in a significant shift in abortion access in the South. The new restrictions position North Carolina as one of the last places in the South that allows abortion past six weeks of pregnancy 鈥 a point at which many women do not yet know they are pregnant. (Crumpler, 5/1)
Florida's six-week abortion ban goes into effect Wednesday, but its impact will sweep far beyond the Sunshine State. Florida's new abortion law 鈥 one of the strictest limits in the nation 鈥 means its role as a post-Roe refuge for people seeking care in the U.S. South will dramatically change. (Habeshian, 5/1)
Abortion news from Arizona 鈥
Arizona lawmakers seemed poised on Wednesday to repeal an abortion ban that first became law when Abraham Lincoln was president and a half-century before women won the right to vote. The expected vote in the Arizona State Senate could be the culmination of a fevered effort to repeal the law that has made abortion a central focus of Arizona鈥檚 politics. (Healy, 5/1)
In related election news 鈥
Vice President Harris on Wednesday will head to Florida as the state鈥檚 six-week abortion ban is set to take effect, using the occasion to tear into former President Trump for his most recent comments about reproductive rights if he is reelected. Harris will deliver remarks in Jacksonville, where a Biden campaign official said she will describe Florida鈥檚 new law as one of the 鈥淭rump abortion bans鈥 that have been implemented since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. (Samuels, 5/1)
Former President Trump in a new interview suggested states with restrictive abortion bans might monitor women鈥檚 pregnancies and should be left to decide whether to prosecute women for having the procedure. Trump sat for an interview earlier this month聽with Time Magazine聽about his plans for a possible second term. When asked about various abortion policies and how he would handle them if he is elected in November, Trump repeatedly said it should be left up to individual states to decide. (Samuels, 4/30)
In exclusive interviews, the former President lays out a second-term agenda that would reshape America and its role in the world. (Cortellessa, 4/30)
Class-Action Lawsuit OK'd Against Florida's 'Unwinding' Of Medicaid
The suit alleges Florida did not properly tell people that they were going to be disenrolled from the program. Meanwhile, Mississippi lawmakers might vote this week on a proposal to expand Medicaid.
A federal judge has cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit that alleges Florida did not properly inform people before dropping them from the Medicaid program after a COVID-19 public health emergency ended. (Saunders, 4/30)
One year after restarting the pre-pandemic review process for enrollment in Medicaid and the Children鈥檚 Health Insurance Program, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System cut coverage for 611,144 recipients and approved 1,953,301 renewals, according to its eligibility dashboard. The agency is continuing to review coverage for 1,892 recipients as of April 5. The nationwide review process, referred to as 鈥渦nwinding,鈥 cut the Medicaid rolls in every state. (Tourlas, 4/29)
The loss of Medicaid coverage among Americans eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid 鈥 known as dual-eligible beneficiaries 鈥 was substantially reduced during the COVID public health emergency due to temporary policy changes, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open this month. More importantly, those policy changes, which prohibited the states from disenrolling people from Medicaid, reduced and to some extent eliminated the pre-pandemic racial disparity in Medicaid coverage loss. (Miller, 4/30)
More Medicaid developments 鈥
Mississippi lawmakers are expected to vote this week on a proposal that would expand Medicaid coverage to tens of thousands more people, but it includes a work requirement that might not win federal approval. The state House and Senate passed separate expansion plans earlier this year. With the four-month legislative session pushing into its final days, negotiators from the two chambers submitted a compromise moments before a Monday night deadline. They declined to answer questions after emerging from a closed-door meeting, but the proposal was filed in legislative clerks鈥 offices. (Pettus, 4/29)
A senior Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services official pushed back against Republican attacks on the agency's controversial long-term care regulations during a congressional hearing Tuesday. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) and other GOP lawmakers asserted that rules to boost pay for home- and community-based healthcare workers and to mandate minimum staffing levels at nursing homes could jeopardize providers and hamper access to care. (McAuliff, 4/30)
Texas gave two consultancies and a law firm a sneak peek into how managed care companies bid to run Texas鈥 $116 billion Medicaid program, which some insurers contend gave CVS Health's Aetna subsidiary an unfair advantage.聽The Texas Health and Human Services Commission聽last August released 18 companies鈥 redacted proposals to manage the state's聽Medicaid program聽to consultancy Health Management Associates and law firm Hahn, Loeser and Parks after the two submitted public information requests. (Tepper, 4/30)
蘑菇影院 Health News:
AC, Power Banks, Mini Fridges: Oregon Equips Medicaid Patients For Climate Change
Oregon is shipping air conditioners, air purifiers, and power banks to some of its most vulnerable residents, a first-in-the-nation experiment to use Medicaid money to prevent the potentially deadly health effects of extreme heat, wildfire smoke, and other climate-related disasters. The equipment, which started going out in March, expands a Biden administration strategy to move Medicaid beyond traditional medical care and into the realm of social services. (Young, 5/1)
蘑菇影院 Health News:
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鈥淗ealth Minute鈥 brings original health care and health policy reporting from the 蘑菇影院 Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week. (4/30)
Walmart's Closure Of Clinics Is Part Of Larger Retail Retreat From Health Care
Walmart will shut down all 51 of its health clinics and its virtual care services, citing costs and the challenges of reimbursements as the force behind its change of strategy.
Walmart will close all of its clinics and its virtual care platform in a sharp reversal of its five-year-old health center strategy. The retailer attributed the shutdown of its Walmart Health unit, which involves closing 51 clinics聽across five states, to a challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs, making the business model unsustainable. Walmart declined to share closing dates for individual centers, but a spokesperson said some clinics will remain open for up to 90 days. (Hudson, 4/30)
Walmart's decision to shutter its health clinics and virtual care services marks the most significant retrenchment yet from major retailers who sought to transform how health care is delivered. (Reed, 5/1)
Millions of low-income Americans may find it harder to see health care providers virtually after federal subsidies for high-speed internet expired Tuesday. Many of the 23 million households that received financial help to afford their internet bill made or attended health care appointments online, a federal survey indicates. (Goldman, 5/1)
On the UnitedHealth hack 鈥
A trio of US senators asked the federal government鈥檚 lead cybersecurity agency to explain its response to a February ransomware attack on an insurance company that paralyzed much of the country鈥檚 health-care system. The group, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, on Monday asked the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to share details of its role in addressing the breach of Change Healthcare. ... The letter also requested a broader picture of the risk posed by ransomware and the agency鈥檚 efforts to combat it. (Bleiberg, 4/30)
Democratic US lawmakers led by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren are asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the timing of stock sales by UnitedHealth Group Inc.鈥檚 chairman and three executives. The company officials netted a combined $101.5 million through trades made after the company was reportedly notified of an antitrust investigation but before the probe became public, Bloomberg News disclosed earlier this month. (Tozzi, 4/30)
UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty is scheduled to be on Capitol Hill Wednesday, responding to lawmakers demanding answers about the company's failed cybersecurity measures and response to the Change Healthcare cyberattack. Witty plans to testify before the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday morning and the House Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in the afternoon. The House committee released Witty鈥檚 written testimony ahead of the hearing. (Berryman, 4/30)
More health care company developments 鈥
Tenet Healthcare plans to grow its ambulatory surgical center footprint and invest in specialty hospital care after a strong first quarter, CEO Dr. Saum Sutaria said. During a first-quarter earnings call with analysts Tuesday, Sutaria said Tenet spent $449 million on 45 new ambulatory facilities during the quarter and the system anticipates more mergers and acquisitions and start-up investments for its ambulatory surgical center division. (DeSilva, 4/30)
CVS Health paid an undisclosed sum to acquire Hella Health, according to the Medicare Advantage brokerage's founder. Hella Health debuted in 2020 and claims to offer more than 3,000 Medicare plans from insurers such as CVS Health subsidiary Aetna, UnitedHealth Group subsidiary UnitedHealthcare and Humana. (Tepper, 4/30)
Following various belt-tightening measures, including layoffs and compensation cuts, Duly Health & Care was downgraded by a major bond credit ratings agency, an indication that the private-equity-backed physicians group鈥檚 financial position continues to darken. Moody鈥檚 Ratings downgraded Duly on three key metrics in an April 16 report, saying the action reflected its 鈥渄eteriorating operating performance and very high leverage," or debt loads, based on an analysis of the company鈥檚 financial performance in the 12 months ended Sept. 30. (Davis, 4/30)
Digital therapeutics company Akili said Tuesday it is reducing its workforce by 46% and exploring strategic alternatives.聽Akili, which has developed聽video game therapies for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,聽said in a release it was eliminating its marketing and medical affairs teams. As a result, the company said it would 鈥渟ubstantially reduce鈥 promotional activity for its EndeavorRx and EndeavorOTC therapeutic video games. This is the third major layoff for Akili in 18 months.聽(Turner, 4/30)
Watchdog Report: Hospital Patient Grades Up For First Time Since Covid
The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit watchdog organization, finds that the improved patient experience scores in at least 70% of hospitals have helped drive an improvement in overall safety grades for spring 2024.
The Leapfrog Group said hospitals improved their patient experience scores for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading some to earn higher safety grades in the nonprofit watchdog's latest report. The organization鈥檚 spring 2024 report found that hospitals鈥 average scores on measures related to staff responsiveness and doctor communication increased between October 2021 and March 2023. Around 70% of hospitals increased their score for at least one patient experience measure. (Devereaux, 4/30)
In other hospital news 鈥
Memorial Hermann鈥檚 liver transplant program had been underperforming in some areas before a national scandal emerged at the Texas Medical Center hospital, according to publicly available data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. A Houston Chronicle analysis of registry data found that the hospital鈥檚 liver transplant volume had been declining since at least 2015 and, in recent years, dropped lower than would be expected of a program with a similar patient population.聽(Gill and Zdun, 4/30)
In what could be a harbinger of things to come for struggling rural hospitals, Mahnomen Health will transition its 10-bed hospital to a rural emergency center starting Wednesday. The money-saving move effectively eliminates overnight stays at the federally designated critical-access hospital located in northwest Minnesota. Outpatient and emergency services will continue. (Eagle III, 5/1)
Sparta (Ill.) Community Hospital cut its no-show rate by 6% by combining the electronic health record with the communications system to deliver medical reminders and information directly to patients, according to an article on the American Hospital Association website. Research published in the National Library of Medicine showed critical access hospitals lag behind other hospitals with regards to technology, especially in the use of patient engagement features. (Taylor, 4/30)
Physicians might be hesitant to write annual prescriptions, but Marie Brown, MD, director of practice redesign at the American Medical Association, says providers can save two hours a day with these scripts.聽Synchronized refills for chronic medications, not including controlled substances, are 90-day prescriptions written with four refills. They are renewed each year, and the ideal scenario aligns with a patient's annual wellness visit, Dr. Brown recently said in an AMA podcast.聽(Twenter, 4/30)
On wheelchair repairs 鈥
When Maureen Amirault purchased her first electric wheelchair in 2020, she had been living with muscular dystrophy for decades. Braces and a cane helped, but walking became too arduous, so she got a chair through a company called Numotion. (Broderick, 5/1)
Scientists: Influenza A Virus Found In Wastewater Triggers Bird Flu Concerns
A new study about the possible spread of H5N1 through dairy cattle includes observations of spiking levels of influenza A virus in wastewater samples. Meanwhile, the USDA is testing ground beef for bird flu particles, though it stresses meat is safe.
Spikes of influenza A virus seen in wastewater samples from 59 sewer systems across 18 different states this spring may point to the spread of the H5N1 avian influenza virus that is currently infecting dairy cattle, a new study suggests. (Goodman, 4/30)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will test ground beef for bird flu particles, though officials said Tuesday they鈥檙e confident the nation鈥檚 meat supply is safe. Bird flu has been found in nearly three-dozen dairy herds across nine states. The new testing is the latest effort by the USDA to track and understand how the virus is spreading among livestock. Two studies will test if particles of the bird flu virus, called Type A H5N1, is found in beef for sale in the states where dairy cows have tested positive or in the muscles of dairy cows sent to slaughter. A third will test how cooking meat at different temperatures affects the virus using a bird flu surrogate. (Shastri, 4/30)
There is a risk that the H5N1 bird flu virus, present in many wild birds, may infect cows in countries beyond the United States as they migrate, a World Health Organization official said on Tuesday. "With the virus carried around the world by migratory birds, certainly there is a risk for cows in other countries to be getting infected," Wenqing Zhang, head of WHO's Global Influenza Programme, said at a news briefing in Geneva. (4/30)
The fact that infections so far appear to be limited to lactating dairy cows, and that the members of a herd that are the biggest milk producers 鈥 which are also the animals that stay on milking machines the longest 鈥 are the ones most heavily impacted by the disease. 鈥淭here鈥檚 still a lot that鈥檚 unknown, but what we鈥檙e seeing right now is not a respiratory disease by and large; it鈥檚 a mastitic disease,鈥 said Jared Taylor, a professor of veterinary pathobiology at Oklahoma State University. For now, that鈥檚 somewhat reassuring, because it means that increased attention to sterilization and disinfection during milking should make a dent in the virus鈥檚 further spread. ... Taylor noted another worry: H5N1, which is notorious for its ability to evolve, is being given a huge opportunity to adapt to bovine hosts. 鈥淭he concern is if it becomes effective as a respiratory pathogen in cattle, it鈥檚 more likely to become effective as a respiratory pathogen in humans,鈥 he said.
The ongoing outbreak of H5N1 avian flu virus looks a lot like a public-health problem that the United States should be well prepared for. Although this version of flu is relatively new to the world, scientists have been tracking H5N1 for almost 30 years. Researchers know the basics of how flu spreads and who tends to be most at risk. They have experience with other flus that have jumped into us from animals. The U.S. also has antivirals and vaccines that should have at least some efficacy against this pathogen. (Wu, 4/30)
Trump: Pandemic Office Isn't Needed; Biden Campaign Slams His Words
"Pandemic preparedness isn鈥檛 abstract to the millions of Americans that lost a loved one" during former President Trump's covid leadership, Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said, after Donald Trump said the preparedness office was "a way of giving out pork."
President Biden鈥檚 reelection campaign criticized former President Trump on Tuesday after Trump said he would get rid of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR). The OPPR was founded in聽2022 over failures in government response to the聽COVID聽pandemic. Trump聽said in a TIME interview聽on Monday that office isn鈥檛 necessary. (Robertson, 4/30)
蘑菇影院 Health News:
WHO Overturns Dogma On Airborne Disease Spread. The CDC Might Not Act On It
The World Health Organization has issued a report that transforms how the world understands respiratory infections like covid-19, influenza, and measles. Motivated by grave missteps in the pandemic, the WHO convened about 50 experts in virology, epidemiology, aerosol science, and bioengineering, among other specialties, who spent two years poring through the evidence on how airborne viruses and bacteria spread. (Maxmen, 5/1)
Congressional Republicans are banking on a blockbuster hearing Wednesday on the origins of Covid-19 to show once and for all that U.S. scientists, working with a Chinese lab, caused a devastating pandemic. To counter the view of many scientists that Covid originated naturally among wild animals, the Republicans will rely on evidence uncovered by a tiny nonprofit in Oakland, California, led by a disciple of consumer activist Ralph Nader. (Paun, 4/30)
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear a case involving 39 military chaplains who say they continue to face recrimination for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons. In an announcement Monday of the cases the court has selected to hear next year, the justices denied the chaplains' petition to review last year's dismissal of the case by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. (Kime, 4/30)
Just 17 percent of Rhode Island residents have received the most recent COVID-19 vaccine, a number some officials want to see much higher. 鈥淚 was hoping we could come out of this with people viewing the COVID vaccines as something you do every year like the flu shot,鈥 state Senator Samuel D. Zurier, a Providence Democrat, said Monday. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe we are doing everything we can to achieve that goal.鈥 (Fitzpatrick, 4/30)
Today a new meta-analysis of six randomized controlled trials in聽JAMA Neurology聽finds no increase in seizures in the month following COVID vaccination. The study compared the incidence of new-onset seizures between the 63,521 vaccine and 54,919 placebo recipients involved in randomized controlled trials conducted in the last 4 years.聽In the vaccine group there were 9 seizure events reported, compared to 1 in the placebo group. (Soucheray, 4/30)
CDC: Rural Americans More Likely Than Urban Americans To Die Early
The federal data, published in a report Tuesday, covers 2010 through 2022 and finds rural Americans to be at higher risk of early death from one of the five leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory disease.
Rural Americans are more likely to die early from one of the five leading causes of death than those who live in urban areas, according to new federal data. Researchers looked at the number of potentially preventable deaths from 2010 through 2022. The report was published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Kekatos, 4/30)
In other health news from across the U.S. 鈥
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning Tuesday about a multi-state e.coli outbreak聽connected to walnuts. Twelve people from two states have gotten sick with this particular strain of the bacteria. (Christensen, 4/30)
A group of six GOP state attorneys general sued the Biden administration over changes to Title IX on Tuesday, the fourth such suit over proposed revisions to the anti-discrimination protections in two days. Tuesday鈥檚 suit, led by Kentucky and Tennessee, claims that expansions to campus sexual assault rules overstep the president鈥檚 authority. It follows a pair of suits from nine states on Monday contesting transgender student protections. (Robertson, 4/30)
Patients who are medically cleared to be discharged from a hospital continue to stay much longer than they need to largely because they cannot get the ongoing specialized care they require, according to a new report from the New Hampshire Hospital Association. (Timmins, 4/30)
More than 16,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or IDD, are housed in institutions in the U.S., reports the Residential Information Systems Project. While that's significantly lower than nearly 200,000 people in the 1960s, there is more work to be done, says disability rights activist Rebecca Cokley. Cokley, currently working as the disability rights program officer at the Ford Foundation, was born with achondroplasia, a common cause of dwarfism. (Roppolo, 4/30)
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to block a Texas law requiring online age verification in order to access pornographic websites in a case pitting the Republican-led state's effort to keep adult content away from minors against constitutional free speech protections. (Chung, 4/30)
FDA: Brain Biopsies Performed With 'False Justification' At Mount Sinai
Patients desperate for relief from debilitating diseases were asked to participate in research study, prompting a review by the Food and Drug Administration. In other news, a treatment to restore brain cells for patients with Timothy syndrome shows promise for treating other genetic conditions.
By the time Peter Bauman considered deep brain stimulation, he was desperate. Early onset Parkinson鈥檚 disease, diagnosed at age 49, had disabled him, ended his bartending career, and led him to consider suicide. He hoped that the treatment, known as DBS, in which an electrode connected to an external battery is inserted into the brain and emits electrical impulses, would ease his Parkinson鈥檚 tremors. (Eban, 5/1)
Scientists have found a way to restore brain cells impaired by a rare and life-threatening genetic disorder called Timothy syndrome. A type of drug known as an antisense oligonucleotide allowed clusters of human neurons to develop normally even though they carried the mutation responsible for Timothy syndrome, a team reports in the journal Nature. The approach may help researchers develop treatments for other genetic conditions, including some that cause schizophrenia, epilepsy, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder. (Hamilton, 4/30)
Researchers may have hit "gold" when it comes to the treatment of multiple sclerosis. An experimental medication called CNM-Au8 鈥 a drinkable liquid with gold nanocrystals 鈥 has shown promising results in clinical trials in terms of improvements in MS symptoms. The "catalytically active" liquid, developed by Clene Nanomedicine in South Carolina, can cross the blood-brain barrier to help improve cellular energy and restore neurological function, according to researchers. (Rudy, 4/30)
Does it ever feel as if your anger courses through your veins? Well, that isn鈥檛 too far off, according to new research. Feelings of anger adversely affect blood vessel health, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. (Holcombe, 5/1)
In the years leading up to menopause, a person can experience a multitude of symptoms, including emotional shifts such as depression. Now, a new study has quantified the risk of depression during the transition, known as perimenopause 鈥 showing that women in this stage are about 40% more likely to experience the mental health condition than premenopausal women. (Rogers, 4/30)
In the Los Angeles restaurant where Nathaly Paola Castro Torres works, customers never fail to comment on her short stature. 鈥淧eople stare at me too much and make comments or jokes,鈥 Torres, 42, said. 鈥淢any times they also (take) photos of me and I don鈥檛 like it. I feel very bad.鈥 At 4 feet, 2 inches tall (127 centimeters), Torres is a 鈥渓ittle person鈥 who isn鈥檛 used to such reactions. (LaMotte, 4/30)
Controversial Generic Drug 'Skinny Labels' Saved Medicare Billions
Read recent pharmaceutical developments in 蘑菇影院 Health News' Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
A controversial provision of a federal law designed to speed copycat drugs to market and foster competition saved Medicare Part D nearly $15 billion from 2015 to 2021 on just 15 medicines during that period, according to a new analysis. (Silverman, 4/30)
Federal regulators are challenging patents on 20 brand-name drugs, including the blockbuster weight-loss injection Ozempic, in the latest effort by the Biden administration targeting pharmaceutical industry practices that drive up prices. The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday sent warning letters to 10 drugmakers, taking issue with patents on popular drugs for weight loss, diabetes, asthma and other reparatory conditions. The letters allege that certain patents filed by Novo Nordisk, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and seven other companies are inaccurate or misleading. (Perrone, 4/30)
There is no escaping Ozempic and Wegovy. The diabetes and obesity drugs are a global phenomenon. They鈥檝e won over the rich and famous, generated billions in sales and blown open a new market for weight loss drugs, which Goldman Sachs estimates will reach $100 billion a year by 2030. The development of semaglutide, the key ingredient in the medicines, has also transformed their maker, Novo Nordisk, into Europe鈥檚 most valuable company, with profound implications for its home country of Denmark. (Wass and Kresge, 4/30)
A national quality improvement (QI) initiative was associated with increases in appropriate antibiotic prescribing for pediatric infections at 118 US hospitals, researchers聽reported yesterday in Pediatrics. (Dall, 4/30)
A new study examining the role of aspirin in breast cancer treatment reveals critical issues related to health equity and aging that have broad implications for cancer and other disease intervention trials, say researchers. (Georgetown University Medical Center, 4/29)
Read recent commentaries about pharmaceutical issues.
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, one of President Biden鈥檚 signature achievements, prescription drugs are set to become substantially more affordable for seniors. Yet many Americans seem unaware of just how monumental these changes will be. (Leana S. Wen, 4/30)
Opill was recently recognized as the first FDA-approved over-the-counter daily birth control pill. While this is a step forward for contraceptive access, how can we make sure that young people - who are often navigating their sexual health for the first time and may not be well-informed on safe sex practices - know about the pill and how to obtain it? (Suhanee Mitragotri, 5/1)
Subcutaneous administration of the monoclonal antibody L9LS protected adults against controlled Plasmodium falciparum infection in a phase 1 trial. Whether a monoclonal antibody administered subcutaneously can protect children from P. falciparum infection in a region where this organism is endemic is unclear. (Kassoum Kayentao, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., et al, 4/26)
Viewpoints: Is Home Research Hurting The Doctor-Patient Relationship?; What To Look For With H5N1
Editorial writers discuss doctor-patient relationships, bird flu, colorectal cancer, and the health of children.
Not long ago, medical decision making was largely left to doctors. Patients were a passive bunch, arriving at the doctor with their concerns and symptoms, and departing with their doctor鈥檚 orders. But today patients have incredible access to information online and elsewhere, and this has prompted a shift to what is sometimes called 鈥渟hared decision making鈥: patients and doctors, together, sharing the burden of making consequential health choices. (Emily Oster and Nathan Fox, 4/30)
H5N1 is in a better position than ever to move between species and spill over aggressively into humans: This bird flu virus is now thought to have been spreading among dairy cows for many months, and federal regulators have found viral fragments circulating widely in the commercial milk supply chain across the United States (though live virus has not been found). (Erin M. Sorrell, Monica Schooch-Spana and Meghan F. Davis, 5/1)
American dairy cows have been contracting avian flu, and inactive traces of the virus have been found in milk supplies across the country. The spread to humans has been very limited, but the Times Opinion columnist Zeynep Tufekci argues that hoping for good luck is not a strategy for responding to potential pandemics and that government agencies need to do a better job of coordinating, testing and reporting their findings quickly. (Zeynep Tufekci, 5/1)
I am not writing here to talk about my husband, Chadwick Boseman, who died far too young from colorectal cancer. I am not here to give any glimpses into our obviously private life and his obviously private battle with this cancer, which is affecting far more young lives than it should. (Simone Ledward-Boseman, 5/1)
Across the U.S., a growing challenge to our children鈥檚 mental and physical well-being has been felt in every corner of our country 鈥 while countless children and youth are fulfilled and thriving physically and mentally, so many are struggling. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over the last 10 years, feelings of persistent sadness and hopelessness 鈥 as well as suicidal thoughts and behaviors 鈥 increased by about 40 percent among young people in this country. (Sen. Tom Carper and Kara Odom Walker, 4/30)