Medicine

The New York Times reports: With Pride events scheduled worldwide over the coming weeks, U.S. officials are bracing for a return of mpox, the infectious disease formerly called monkeypox that struck tens of thousands of gay and bisexual men worldwide in 2022. A combination of behavioral changes and vaccination quelled that outbreak, but a majority of those at risk have …

NBC News reports: The Food and Drug Administration’s panel of independent advisers will on June 4 deliberate whether they should recommend approval for the first MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, Lykos Therapeutics said on Monday. This would be the first FDA panel of outside experts to review a potential new PTSD treatment in 25 years. In support of its …

Sky News reports: Measles cases nearly doubled globally between 2022 and 2023, researchers say. There were 321,582 cases worldwide in 2023 – an 88% increase from the previous year, when 171,153 cases were recorded. Total cases for 2024 look on track to at least match last year’s numbers, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Some countries could now lose …

Fierce Biotech reports: After more than a year in the works, Roche and Eli Lilly have taken a step closer to delivering their blood test designed to aid in the diagnosis of earlier cases of Alzheimer’s disease. The FDA has granted their work a breakthrough designation to help accelerate its development. Roche’s Elecsys plasma assay searches for and quantifies phosphorylated …

The Hill reports: Mpox cases have been elevated since October, with an average of roughly 200 monthly cases detected per month, spurring efforts to avoid a summer surge like what was seen in 2022. Recent numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed a startling difference between the first quarter of 2023 and 2024, with the first …

CNN Business reports: Some people go to Costco for its $1.50 hot dogs, others for its $179 Ozempic prescriptions. The warehouse retailer is now offering its US members access to prescriptions for GLP-1 weight loss drugs through its low-cost health care partner Sesame. Costco first partnered with Sesame, a direct-to-consumer health care marketplace that connects medical providers nationwide with consumers, …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Monday a human case of avian influenza A(H5N1), also known as bird flu, in the state. According to a press release from the department, the person had direct contact with dairy cattle presumed to be infected with avian influenza. DSHS did not specify where the person lives or …

Charleston’s CBS affiliate reports: Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would eliminate vaccination requirements for children in virtual, private and parochial schools. The governor had until midnight to take action on House Bill 5105, which would eliminate those requirements or let parents opt out. Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), who is running against Justice in the U.S. …

Reuters reports: A U.S. lawmaker involved in health policy has asked the Food and Drug Administration why it did not inspect Elon Musk’s Neuralink before allowing the brain implant company to test its device in humans. Reuters reported last month that FDA inspectors found problems with record keeping and quality controls for animal experiments at Neuralink last June, less than …

CNN reports: The rollout is underway for Opill, the first over-the-counter birth control pill approved in the United States, and online sales begin Monday morning, according to drugmaker Perrigo. Consumers can start ordering Opill online Monday, and orders will be fulfilled within a day or two, Sara Young, senior vice president and chief consumer officer at Perrigo, said in an …

USA Today reports: More than 50 years after the oral contraceptive pill went on the market in the United States, the country’s first over-the-counter birth control pill will be available in stores and online nationwide later this month. Known as Opill, the birth control pill will be available without prescription necessary in major retailers and pharmacies nationwide in late March, …

The New York Times reports: The two largest pharmacy chains in the United States will start dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone this month, a step that could make access easier for some patients. Officials at CVS and Walgreens said in interviews on Friday that they had received certification to dispense mifepristone under guidelines that the Food and Drug Administration issued …

The Guardian reports: A second Alabama provider announced that it will pause its in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments on Thursday, just days after the state supreme court ruled in a first-of-its-kind decision that embryos are “extrauterine children”. “We have made the impossibly difficult decision to hold new IVF treatments due to the legal risk to our clinic and our embryologists,” Alabama …

The Hill reports: The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system is pausing all in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments for fear of lawsuits and criminal prosecution following a recent ruling from the state supreme court. A spokesperson said the health system is evaluating the first-of-its-kind decision that declared frozen embryos are entitled to the same protections as humans, and those …

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: Officials with Broward County Public Schools announced a fifth confirmed measles case at an elementary school in Weston Monday. The additional case at Manatee Bay Elementary School, located at 19200 Manatee Isles Drive, adds to the four reported since Friday. The Florida Department of Health is working to track down the origin of the case cluster. …

Miami’s CBS affiliate reports: The Florida Department of Health is carrying out an epidemiological investigation surrounding the multiple cases of measles at a Broward County elementary school over the weekend. DOH-Broward announced on Sunday that it is investigating the cases in response to the four reported cases that appeared at Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston over the weekend. “Please …

The Hill reports: Advocates and lawmakers across the political spectrum are optimistic about its chances for approval and pushing for a speedy rollout of so-called “MDMA-assisted therapy,” which they say could finally reduce the more than 6,000 veterans who die by suicide each year. “Having served our Nation in combat I keenly understand the toll it takes on a Service …

Ars Technica reports: Health insurance companies cannot use algorithms or artificial intelligence to determine care or deny coverage to members on Medicare Advantage plans, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) clarified in a memo sent to all Medicare Advantage insurers. The memo—formatted like an FAQ on Medicare Advantage (MA) plan rules—comes just months after patients filed lawsuits claiming …

Axios reports: Anthony Fauci, arguably the world’s most famous living doctor, will be out June 18 with a memoir called “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service.” Fauci, 83 — as chief medical adviser President Biden, and longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — helped steer the U.S. through peak COVID with calm, relentless …

USA Today reports: U.S. health officials are warning clinicians to be alert for cases of measles following several outbreaks, largely among children who were eligible for the vaccine but did not receive it. The CDC urged vigilance among health providers across the U.S. following reports of nearly two dozen cases of the preventable virus since December. Most cases were in …