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Medicine
- U.S. doctors perform kidney transplant on awake patient in milestone - National | Globalnews.caglobalnews.ca U.S. doctors perform kidney transplant on awake patient in milestone - National | Globalnews.ca
A medical team in the U.S. has performed a rare kidney transplant during which the patient was awake throughout the procedure and was discharged the next day.
- Quadriplegic man’s MAID death from bedsore results in public inquiry being ordered | Globalnews.caglobalnews.ca Quadriplegic man’s MAID death from bedsore results in public inquiry being ordered | Globalnews.ca
During his hospital stay, the Quebec man developed a major pressure sore on his buttocks. In late March, he received medical assistance in dying to put an end to his suffering.
- Gilead’s twice-yearly shot to prevent HIV succeeds in late-stage trialwww.cnbc.com Gilead’s twice-yearly shot to prevent HIV succeeds in late-stage trial
Gilead's experimental twice-yearly medicine to prevent HIV was 100% effective in a late-stage trial, the company said Thursday.
- Policy that forced patients to switch to cheaper medications saved B.C. $730-million, report sayswww.theglobeandmail.com Policy that forced patients to switch to cheaper medications saved B.C. $730-million, report says
The B.C. government said Friday that the money freed up through its biosimilar switching plan allowed the province to expand public coverage of other drugs and devices
> A British Columbia provincial policy that forced people with chronic illnesses such as Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis to switch to cheaper medications saved the province more than $730-million over five years, according to a new government report. > > The B.C. government said Friday that the money freed up through its biosimilar switching plan allowed the province to expand public coverage of other drugs and devices, including Trikafta, a life-changing treatment for cystic fibrosis and continuous glucose monitors for people with diabetes.
- Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic | Reuters Investigation
> At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus.
> Reuters identified at least 300 accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that matched descriptions shared by former U.S. military officials familiar with the Philippines operation. Almost all were created in the summer of 2020 and centered on the slogan #Chinaangvirus – Tagalog for China is the virus.
> The military program started under former President Donald Trump and continued months into Joe Biden’s presidency, Reuters found – even after alarmed social media executives warned the new administration that the Pentagon had been trafficking in COVID misinformation. The Biden White House issued an edict in spring 2021 banning the anti-vax effort, which also disparaged vaccines produced by other rivals, and the Pentagon initiated an internal review, Reuters found.
- Scientists develop glowing dye that sticks to cancer cells in breakthrough studywww.theguardian.com Scientists develop glowing dye that sticks to cancer cells in breakthrough study
Experts say fluorescent dye, which spotlights tiny cancerous tissue invisible to naked eye, could reduce risk of cancer returning
- Self-surgery on South Pole
30 April 1961 Leonid Rogozov does appendectomy on himself during his Antarctica expidition with help of driver and meteorologist.
- ‘I could bench-press 100kg. Now, I can’t walk’: Lucy’s life with long Covidwww.theguardian.com ‘I could bench-press 100kg. Now, I can’t walk’: Lucy’s life with long Covid
Before the pandemic, Lucy Keighley ran a gym, worked as a personal trainer and went on gruelling, exhilarating runs. But after three and a half years of illness, she isn’t sure she will ever recover
> I was incredibly strong and fit,” says Lucy Keighley. And she looks it, in the photo she is showing me, taken a few years ago. She is with her best friend, Lorna; they have just completed a 15-mile race on the North York Moors. “It was a brutal race,” she says. “But it was great. I was happy.” Today, although it’s quite dark in the room (she doesn’t get on well with bright light), I can see a tear rolling down her cheek. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to get back there.”
> In the most recent findings by the Office for National Statistics, released in April, an estimated 2 million people in England and Scotland (3.3% of the population) self-reported experiencing long Covid, meaning symptoms that continued for more than four weeks after infection, although many reported their symptoms had lasted two years or longer. Of those, about 1.5 million felt their day-to-day activities were affected, while 381,000 said their day-to‑day activities were “limited a lot”. Worldwide, at least 65 million people are estimated to have long Covid.
- MDMA therapy for PTSD rejected by FDA panelwww.nature.com MDMA therapy for PTSD rejected by FDA panel
Scientific advisors vote overwhelmingly that the risks of MDMA treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder outweigh the benefits.
- Study shows most doctors endorsing drugs on X are paid to do somedicalxpress.com Study shows most doctors endorsing drugs on X are paid to do so
A team of medical researchers affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. has found that a high percentage of doctors posting endorsements regarding drugs on the social media site X were paid to do so by the makers of the drugs.
- Trial results for new lung cancer drug are ‘off the charts’, say doctorswww.theguardian.com Trial results for new lung cancer drug are ‘off the charts’, say doctors
More than half of patients with advanced forms of disease who took lorlatinib were still alive after five years with no progression
- AAN 2024: Myostatin inhibitors on the horizon for the treatment of SMAwww.clinicaltrialsarena.com AAN 2024: Myostatin inhibitors on the horizon for the treatment of SMA
At the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2024 Annual Meeting, Biohaven presented its Phase III RESILIENT trial (NCT05337553), which investigates the efficacy and safety of taldefgrobep alfa in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
- Baby born deaf can hear after breakthrough gene therapywww.cuh.nhs.uk Baby born deaf can hear after breakthrough gene therapy
Baby born deaf can hear after breakthrough gene therapy
Opal Sandy from Oxfordshire in the UK is the first patient treated in a global gene therapy trial, which shows “mind-blowing” results. She is the first British patient in the world and the youngest child to receive this type of treatment.
Opal was born completely deaf because of a rare genetic condition, auditory neuropathy, caused by the disruption of nerve impulses travelling from the inner ear to the brain.
Within four weeks of having the gene therapy infusion to her right ear, Opal responded to sound, even with the cochlear implant in her left ear switched off.
Clinicians noticed continuous improvement in Opal’s hearing in the weeks afterwards and at 24 weeks confirmed close to normal hearing levels for soft sounds, such as whispering, in her treated ear.
Now 18 months old, Opal can respond to her parents’ voices and can communicate words such as “Dada” and “bye-bye.”
"These results are spectacular and better than I expected. Gene therapy has been the future in otology and audiology for many years and I’m so excited that it is now finally here," says Professor Manohar Bance, an ear surgeon at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and chief investigator of the trial.
Professor Bance hopes that this is the start of a new era for gene therapies for the inner ear and many types of hearing loss.
- More than 200 people with diabetes injured after software issue drained insulin pump batteries | CNNedition.cnn.com More than 200 people with diabetes injured after software issue drained insulin pump batteries | CNN
More than 200 people with diabetes have been injured when their insulin pumps shut down unexpectedly due to a problem with a connected mobile app, the US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.
cross-posted from: https://kbin.run/m/world@lemmy.world/t/410267
> More than 200 people with diabetes have been injured when their insulin pumps shut down unexpectedly due to a problem with a connected mobile app, the US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.
- Researchers Discover First Effective Treatment for Spitting Cobra Snakebitewww.sci.news Researchers Discover First Effective Treatment for Spitting Cobra Snakebite | Sci.News
Researchers from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and elsewhere used cellular and mouse experiments to determine which toxins in certain African spitting cobra venom are responsible for causing tissue damage.
- Covid lessons remain unlearned as avian flu infects cattle, hospitals say
> Hospital leaders say the health system won’t be ready if the avian flu that’s infected American dairy cattle becomes widespread among humans. > > In discussing a hypothetical scenario, the hospitals have struck a different tone than the Biden administration. It says the risk is currently low to most people and that agencies are closely monitoring for any sign of danger to Americans. > > Still, hospital officials told POLITICO they’re dismayed that they don’t feel better prepared, just four years after Covid-19 caught them unawares. They’re not confident that the health care system — including the government agencies that have wound down Covid responses — can avoid the missteps around tests, bed space and communication that plagued the last public health emergency, should this strain of flu, H5N1, become more of a threat.
- Does the American Diabetes Association work for patients or companies? A lawsuit dared to ask | Neil Barskywww.theguardian.com Does the American Diabetes Association work for patients or companies? A lawsuit dared to ask | Neil Barsky
The ADA just settled an explosive legal case accusing the organization of betraying people with diabetes
- Overworked B.C. doctors say sick notes are wasting their time
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/20510991
> > Sick notes place an unnecessary burden on doctors and patients, physicians' organizations say > > > Family doctors frustrated with writing sick notes have created a template letter for patients to give to their employers, explaining that the notes place an unnecessary burden on physicians during an ongoing primary-care crisis. > > > > They are also calling on the province to restrict when and how employers can ask for sick notes. > > > Many family doctors spend between 20 and 30 per cent of their day doing paperwork, Ali says, and filling out sick notes only adds to that. > > > > Also, having to leave the house to get a note does not allow the sick person to rest, Ali said, and the task is made even more difficult for those who don't have a family doctor and have to wait in walk-in clinics. "A person who feels under the weather — the last thing they want to do is possibly get on a bus, or into their vehicle, or ask someone for a ride to go to their doctors office," said Ali. > > > As of 2023, employers in Nova Scotia are only allowed to request a sick note if the absence is more than five consecutive work days. > > > > New legislation in Ontario, meanwhile, will force employers to scrap sick notes for the three days of provincially mandated annual sick leave. The Ontario government is moving to ban sick notes for short-term illness, in an effort to cut down on paperwork for family doctors. > > > In a statement sent to CBC News, B.C.'s Ministry of Labour said employers are able to request "reasonably sufficient proof" of illness, but are encouraged to be thoughtful about when they request sick notes. > > > > It did not respond to questions about whether it is considering legislation to ban or restrict asking for sick notes.
- Nurses Say Hospital Adoption Of Half-Cooked ‘AI’ Is Recklesswww.techdirt.com Nurses Say Hospital Adoption Of Half-Cooked ‘AI’ Is Reckless
We’ve noted repeatedly that while “AI” (language learning models) hold a lot of potential, the rushed implementation of half-assed early variants are causing no shortage of headac…
Sorry that's being referenced in this one: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/health/nurses-kaiser-sf-protest-ai/3516888
- Walmart will close all of its health care clinics | CNN Businesswww.cnn.com Walmart will close all of its health care clinics | CNN Business
Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, will close all 51 of its health care clinics in six states and end virtual health care services, the company said Tuesday.
> Walmart had made a big push into health care in recent years, opening clinics next to its superstores that offered primary and urgent care, labs, X-rays, behavioral health and dental work — Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri and Texas. Walmart believed it could use its massive financial scale and store base to offer convenient, low-cost services to patients in rural and underserved areas that lacked primary care options. > > But the announcement is an abrupt reversal in Walmart’s strategy and may leave a gap in health care access, particularly for lower-income patients without insurance who relied on the centers. Walmart also said it will end virtual health care services. 99 Cents Only Stores, founded in 1982, announced Thursday that they will close all 371 of its stores. Nearby stores include Visalia (pictured), Tulare, Hanford, and Porterville. > > Related article Dollar stores are shutting down across America. They did this to themselves > > “One of unique things was they were focused on stores located in underserved communities. It’s disappointing that Walmart wasn’t able to make it work because these patients need care and don’t have as many options,” said Ateev Mehrotra, a professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School who researches retail health clinics. > > Walmart said it was a “difficult decision,” but its health care push was not profitable for the company because of the “challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs.” > > “We determined there is not a sustainable business model for us to continue,” the company said.
- Bacterial enzyme strips away blood types to create universal donor bloodnewatlas.com Bacterial enzyme strips away blood types to create universal donor blood
Using enzymes produced by a bacteria that almost everyone has in their gut, researchers have removed the antigens from red blood cells that determine blood type, putting us within reach of producing universal donor blood.
"Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Lund University, Sweden, have used enzymes produced by a common gut bacteria to remove the A and B antigens from red blood cells, bringing them one step closer to creating universal donor blood."
- First scientist to publish Covid sequence in China protests over lab ‘eviction’www.theguardian.com First scientist to publish Covid sequence in China protests over lab ‘eviction’
Zhang Yongzhen stages sit-in protest, as government attempts to avoid scrutiny over handling of outbreak
- [SciShow] Autoimmune Diseases Are Sexist. Here’s Why
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- A Doctor at Cigna Said Her Bosses Pressured Her to Review Patients’ Cases Too Quickly. Cigna Threatened to Fire Her.www.propublica.org A Doctor at Cigna Said Her Bosses Pressured Her to Review Patients’ Cases Too Quickly. Cigna Threatened to Fire Her.
Cigna tracks every minute that its staff doctors spend deciding whether to pay for health care. Dr. Debby Day said her bosses cared more about being fast than being right: “Deny, deny, deny. That’s how you hit your numbers,” Day said.
- ‘My mum gave the injections that killed my brothers’: how UK’s infected blood scandal has torn lives apartwww.theguardian.com ‘My mum gave the injections that killed my brothers’: how UK’s infected blood scandal has torn lives apart
As an inquiry into the infected blood scandal that has claimed 3,000 lives in Britain prepares to report on its findings, victims and families who have lost loved ones tell their stories
- Researchers systematically investigate efficacy of CRISPR antimicrobial agentsphys.org Researchers systematically investigate efficacy of CRISPR antimicrobial agents
The antimicrobial potential of CRISPR-Cas systems is promising, yet how to best design or implement CRISPR nucleases remains poorly understood. An international team led by the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg has now addressed this knowledge gap.
- McKinsey reportedly under US criminal investigation over opioid industry workwww.theguardian.com McKinsey reportedly under US criminal investigation over opioid industry work
Federal prosecutors looking at relationship with Purdue Pharma and other drug manufacturers, and its role in US opioid crisis
- Chemo side effect caused man's eyelash growth to go haywirewww.livescience.com Chemo side effect caused man's eyelash growth to go haywire
Some medicines can inadvertently cause people's eyelashes to grow incredibly long.
- Study Uncovers Serious Side Effects From Common Dementia Drugswww.sciencealert.com Study Uncovers Serious Side Effects From Common Dementia Drugs
Several antipsychotic treatments given to patients with dementia have been linked to serious side effects including heart failure, a study published Thursday has found.
- Vertex Pharma scientist talks about the long road to developing non-addictive painkillersapnews.com Vertex Pharma scientist talks about the long road to developing non-addictive painkillers
Patients suffering from pain have limited options when it comes to medication. For decades, the only two choices have been over-the-counter medicines like Tylenol or powerful prescription opioids.
- Deadly ‘Zombie’ Sedative Penetrating The U.K.’s Illicit Drugs Marketwww.forbes.com Deadly ‘Zombie’ Sedative Penetrating The U.K.’s Illicit Drugs Market
An animal tranquilizer that can lead to amputation and even death has been detected in counterfeit medications and cannabis vapes.
- Many cancer drugs remain unproven 5 years after accelerated approval, study findswww.nbcnews.com Many cancer drugs remain unproven 5 years after accelerated approval, study finds
The FDA's accelerated approval program, meant to speed access to promising drugs, grants approval based on promising initial results.