Latest News

• Influenza Season Winds Down, but Not Done Yet, CDC Says This influenza season is in its final stages but influenza is not completely gone just yet, according to the CDC.
  Medscape Medical News, May 2019
• Physician Groups Decry Plan to Reverse Transgender Protections Transgender individuals already are reluctant to seek care because of fears of discrimination, according to a recent survey.
  Medscape Medical News, May 2019
• Alert FDA OKs Alpelisib, First PI3K Inhibitor for Breast Cancer The FDA approved alpelisib (Piqray, Novartis) to be used with the FDA-approved fulvestrant in certain patients with breast cancer. A companion test was also approved.
  FDA Approvals, May 2019
• Alert FDA OKs First Gene Therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy A single, one-time infusion of onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi (Zolgensma) can minimize the progression of SMA and improve survival in children younger than age 2 years — and will cost over $2 million.
  FDA Approvals, May 2019
• Weight-Training May Help Reduce Hot Flashes Postmenopausal women can fight off hot flashes and night sweats through weight-training, a new clinical trial shows.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• Social Conflict Seeps Into Medical Societies In U.S. medical society boardrooms, far from legislative chambers, social conflict is forcing board members to deal with laws that raise issues of medical ethics.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• U.S. Congress Considers Whether to Require Car Child Alerts Automakers would be required to install technology on new vehicles that alerts exiting parents to check for children in the back seat under legislation introduced in Congress in response to deaths of children left behind in hot cars.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• Screen-Detected Breast Cancer Rates Similar With Digital Breast Tomosynthesis, Digital Mammography Breast cancer detection is similar with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) or standard digital mammography, though DBT may reduce recall rates, researchers say.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• Cataract Lens Replacement May Improve Sleep People who get new lenses implanted during cataract surgery may not only see better but also experience better sleep, suggests a new study of how light entering the eye regulates the body's internal clock.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• Vaccine Refusal Persists After Personal Belief Exemptions Banned in California A replacement effect may have "stifled" the effect of California's senate bill 277 (SB277), which banned non-medical vaccine exemptions for kindergarteners, researchers say.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• WHO Drug Pricing Talks May Fail to End Secrecy, Activists Fear Governments are working on a drug pricing transparency deal at the World Health Organization's (WHO) annual assembly, but activists said on Thursday they fear crucial costs may be left out, enabling pharmaceutical firms to keep prices high.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• JPMorgan Cuts Ties With OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma -Sources JPMorgan Chase & Co has cut ties with Purdue Pharma LP over the OxyContin maker's alleged role in the U.S. opioid crisis, forcing it to find a new bank to manage cash and bill payments, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• 'Smart' Hearing Aids Would Identify Speakers in Crowded Room People wearing hearing aids often struggle to differentiate between speakers in a crowded environment, but a small experiment suggests that brain-controlled assistive hearing devices would be able to detect which voice the user is paying attention to, and enhance it.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Argentina-Based Online Pharmacies for Opioids The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday placed sanctions on Goldpharma, an Argentina-based network of online pharmacies that it said contributed to the opioid crisis by selling clandestinely produced narcotics to customers in the United States.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• A Third of Reviews of Corneal-Disease Treatments Not Reliable A third of the systematic reviews of corneal-disease treatments are unreliable, according to a new study.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• Overall Diet Quality in Many With IBS Is Poor Many people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) don't get the nutrition they need, according to new research from the United Kingdom.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• No Race Difference in Prostate Cancer With Equal Access Black men with nonmetastatic prostate cancer did not appear more likely to die from this disease than white men when given similar access to care and standardized treatment, an analysis found.
  Medscape Medical News, May 2019
• Down and Out in Paris: Homeless Women Find Refuge in Grandeur
  Reuters Health Information, May 2019
• ESOC 2019RATULS: No Advantage for Robotic Assist in Post-Stroke Rehab Researchers compared robot-assisted upper limb training vs enhanced therapy or standard care in patients recovering from stroke, and find no advantage for the robotic assist.
  Medscape Medical News, May 2019
• Alert Pharmacy School Dean Has Book Review Retracted A book review by the incoming dean of a leading pharmacy school in Canada has been retracted from the Lancet because 'substantial passages...match parts of a review of the same book' by a newspaper columnist.
  News Alerts, May 2019