January 24, 2025
(New York Times) – Some posts related to obtaining abortion pills were recently hidden on Instagram and Facebook and some accounts were suspended, before being later restored. Instagram and Facebook have recently blurred, blocked or removed posts from two abortion … Read More
January 24, 2025
(Science) – On 2 January, Japan’s regulatory agency issued a news release that startled some scientists: It had approved the antiviral drug tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, for the treatment of mpox and two cousins, smallpox and cowpox. No treatments … Read More
January 23, 2025
(The Atlantic) – Now a preliminary study suggests that using another drug in place of mifepristone may be just as effective for terminating an early pregnancy. The drug, called ulipristal acetate and sold as a 30-milligram pill under the brand … Read More
January 23, 2025
(DNYUZ) – ExThera, which has about 50 employees, makes a single product: a filter that it says can be used to remove the tumor cells that circulate in patients’ blood and enable cancer to metastasize. Early last year, the company … Read More
January 23, 2025
(BBC) – When Zhang Junjie was 17 he decided to protest outside his university about rules made by China’s government. Within days he had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital and treated for schizophrenia. Junjie is one of dozens of … Read More
January 23, 2025
(Wired) – H5N1 vaccines have been previously licensed, and millions are in the national stockpile. But even with the news of the country’s first human death due to bird flu, vaccination isn’t yet recommended. The US has previously licensed three … Read More
January 23, 2025
The New England Journal of Medicine (vol. 391, no. 23, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
January 21, 2025
(NBC News) – As fears grow of a possible bird flu pandemic in humans, the federal government is pouring more money into the development of new vaccines, including an mRNA shot. On Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services … Read More
January 21, 2025
(Axios) – A study of more than 2 million Veterans Health Administration patient records found GLP-1 drugs lowered the likelihood of dozens of health conditions including Alzheimer’s disease but also had some unexpected risks. Why it matters: The review in … Read More
January 20, 2025
(Washington Post via MSN) – Recreational ketamine use has increased in the United States in recent years, outpacing its rise as a treatment for depression, a new analysis suggests. The hallucinogenic drug — a controlled substance designed for use as … Read More
January 20, 2025
(BBC) – The first study to assess how weight-loss drugs affect the whole of human health has discovered an “eye-opening” impact on the body, researchers say. The analysis, involving about two million people, linked the drugs to better heart health, … Read More
January 20, 2025
(Discover Magazine) – Colloquially, a constant concern for health is known as hypochondria. But medically speaking, when this concern tips over to obsessive or harmful behavior, it’s referred to as illness anxiety disorder. Fear or concern of serious illness can … Read More
January 17, 2025
(New York Times) – A law that coaxed companies to lower the price of drugs came with a little-known consequence: smaller discounts for low-income health clinics. The decision to make these medications more affordable for large swaths of patients has … Read More
January 16, 2025
(New York Times) – A private business has helped supercharge a controversial federal drug program. Patients and insurers have been left with big bills. The intention behind the program was for a small number of safety-net providers to have access … Read More
January 16, 2025
(BBC) – Families of those harmed by Covid vaccines told the UK Covid Inquiry they were forced to support each other during the pandemic because there was no other help. Kate Scott, who represents the group Vaccine Injured and Bereaved … Read More
January 15, 2025
(The Guardian) – Democratic states across the country are embarking on a pioneering effort to increase access to abortion by teaching people who are not doctors to offer and perform the procedure. In Washington state, a first-of-its-kind pilot program called … Read More
January 13, 2025
(Apricitas Economics) – This Thanksgiving, many Americans ended up with more leftovers than usual—the use of recently discovered GLP-1 drugs is rapidly increasing as millions of people turn to them for help in battling obesity and cardiovascular diseases. These drugs … Read More
January 9, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – Biotech firm sees a growing market, if it can navigate the risks of intellectual-property theft, as well as political pushback in the U.S. While many Western companies are picking up stakes in China, U.S.-based drugmakers are … Read More
January 8, 2025
(Quartz) – Google’s anti-aging company Calico released disappointing trial results of its first ever drug. Calico’s fosigotifator was tested for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and leads … Read More
January 8, 2025
(New York Times) – Variant Bio, a small biotech company based in Seattle, is using genetic information from Indigenous people to develop drugs for obesity and diabetes. When Stephane Castel first met with a group of M?ori people and other … Read More
January 7, 2025
(New York Times) – Pharmacists have begun prescribing abortion pills, not simply dispensing the medication — a development intended to broaden abortion access by taking advantage of rules that give them prescribing ability in most states. The new effort is … Read More
January 3, 2025
(Axios) – The number of prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs jumped roughly 10% in 2024, according to insurance claims data provided to Axios by health analytics company PurpleLab. Why it matters: The data, which shows double-digit growth in 23 states, offers … Read More
January 3, 2025
(KFF Health News) – The mix of stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamines with fentanyl — a synthetic opioid 50 times as powerful as heroin — is driving what experts call the opioid epidemic’s “fourth wave.” The mixture of stimulants … Read More
January 3, 2025
(TIME) – Work on a vaccine is underway to protect the public in the event of a pandemic, and earlier this year, Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pointed to mRNA as … Read More
December 31, 2024
(Wired) – Do “anti-hangover” supplements really work? With the sterling help of a UK rugby team, we raised a glass or five to find out. So on a cold and frosty Saturday night in December—with a crate of beer in … Read More
