November 20, 2017
(New York Times) – The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued new guidelines to speed the introduction of treatments involving human cells and tissues, including gene therapy. But the agency also said it would crack down on rogue clinics … Read More
November 20, 2017
(U.S. News & World Report) – An Australian state parliament’s marathon debate on allowing voluntary euthanasia abruptly ended on Friday unresolved after a lawmaker collapsed in his office. Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state, is in the final stage of … Read More
November 17, 2017
(BBC) – Uganda’s doctors have gone on strike, fed up with what they say are the lowest wages in Africa and a lack of resources. They are demanding that their salaries, currently starting at just $260 a month for junior … Read More
November 17, 2017
(ABC News) – For Nevada’s first execution in more than a decade, state officials are turning to a never-before-tried combination of drugs, including a powerful painkiller that is fueling much of the opioid epidemic and a paralyzing drug that could … Read More
November 17, 2017
(STAT News) – That impulse — combined with the fact that health problems crop up outside of office hours, or that even daytime problems can present a transportation challenge — drive many older patients to turn to 911 for help. … Read More
November 17, 2017
(Reuters) – Three cities in Yemen have run out of clean water because a blockade by a Saudi-led coalition has cut imports of fuel needed for pumping and sanitation, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Friday. … Read More
November 17, 2017
(Newsweek) – Whether or not we believe head transplants will “work” or whether or not we want them to happen, the fact is the technology to perform them is being developed in China right now. We have been disappointed by the … Read More
November 17, 2017
(Science) – For the first time, researchers have infused a person’s blood with gene-editing tools, aiming to treat his severe inherited disease, The Associated Press (AP) reported today. The 44-year-old patient has a rare metabolic disorder called Hunter syndrome. But … Read More
November 16, 2017
The John J. Lynch MD Center for Ethics at MedStar Washington Hospital Center (hereafter referred to as the Center) invites applications for our graduate internship. MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC), is a 900+ bed, Level I trauma center that provides … Read More
November 16, 2017
(UPI) – For the first time, research has confirmed that scientists successfully detected chronic traumatic encephalopathy — known commonly as CTE — in a living former professional football player. Scientists detected signs of the dementia-like disease in former player Fred … Read More
November 16, 2017
(Reuters) – Battle lines are being drawn as the first gene therapy for an inherited condition nears the U.S. market, offering hope for people with a rare form of blindness and creating a cost dilemma for healthcare providers. Spark Therapeutics, whose … Read More
November 16, 2017
(ABC News) – U.S. health authorities announced plans Thursday to crack down on doctors pushing stem cell procedures that pose the gravest risks to patients amid an effort to police a burgeoning medical field that previously has received little oversight. … Read More
November 16, 2017
(Medical Xpress) – Conducting a sweeping analysis of everything from enzymes to lipids to immune-system-associated molecules, the team—which includes researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the University of Tokyo and the University … Read More
November 16, 2017
(Pew Research Center) – Americans’ concerns about prescription drug abuse have risen over the past four years, with some of largest increases coming among well-educated adults. Today, 76% of the public says that prescription drug abuse is an extremely or … Read More
November 16, 2017
(Medscape) – The first step in that scenario, human germline editing, is already a reality. Germline editing refers to genetically engineering a genome in ways that are heritable—as in, editing reproductive cells or embryos. And while gene therapy for ill, … Read More
November 16, 2017
(Pacific Standard) – By that point, advances in the technology will have almost certainly outpaced any ethical debate over how to use it. Questions about what kinds of genetic edits should be allowed, whether it’s even right to make a … Read More
November 16, 2017
(NPR) – The U.S. military’s restrictions on covering abortions can create logistical, emotional, career and health challenges for service members who become pregnant, according to a newly released study. Previous research shows that women serving in the military have a … Read More
November 16, 2017
(Nature) – Africa’s academy of science has announced that it will launch an open-access publishing platform early next year — the first of its kind aimed exclusively at scientists on the continent. The platform, called AAS Open Research and announced … Read More
November 15, 2017
(Vox) – For the first time, a new study in The Lancet, sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), compared the effectiveness of naltrexone with buprenorphine in the US. The results were both promising and disappointing. While naltrexone … Read More
November 15, 2017
(STAT News) – A wearable device claiming to block the pain of opioid withdrawal has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration under an expedited review process for medical devices. However, patient safety advocates note that the device has … Read More
November 15, 2017
(New Scientist) – GENE editing is entering the mainstream. CRISPR, a cheap and easy technique for making precise changes to DNA, has got researchers around the world racing to trial its use in treating a host of human diseases. But … Read More
November 15, 2017
(Quartz) – But Madeux’s life might be about to change. He is the first patient to receive an experimental gene therapy as part of a clinical trial. Earlier this week, Sangamo Therapeutics injected Madeux with viruses containing a package of … Read More
November 15, 2017
(Wired) – We’re not living in the golden age of AI, but we are living in the golden age of AI-enhanced productivity. Call it the First Pass Era. AI is now powerful enough to make a solid first attempt at … Read More
November 14, 2017
(Quartz) – A.J. has now survived long enough that he can receive a kidney transplant, something that would allow him a healthy and normal childhood unmarked by the trials of constant dialysis. His father Anthony Dickerson is an excellent match … Read More
November 14, 2017
(New York Times) – The hard data have been rolling in now at a steady pace. A recent study in the Annals of Family Medicine used the E.M.R. to examine the work of 142 family medicine physicians over three years. … Read More
