The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday urged gay men and other individuals at high risk from mpox to get fully vaccinated to prevent a summer resurgence of the virus. The CDC’s call for those at risk to get up to date on their vaccines comes after a cluster of at least 21 mpox cases was reported in the Chicago area this month. Many of the people who caught mpox in the Chicago cluster were partially or fully vaccinated against the virus, raising questions about whether immunity from the shots might wane over time. The patients in the Chicago cluster all have mild symptoms, said Demetre Daskalakis, deputy head of the White House mpox task force, on a call with reporters Thursday. Daskalakis said no vaccine is perfect but people who have received two doses have a much lower risk of catching and spreading the disease. Vaccination also ...
With scarce clinical resources unable to keep pace with elevated rates of mental illness, technological solutions could help decrease waitlists and disparities in access to therapy. Recent advances in artificial intelligence have fueled interest in the use of chatbots and virtual assistants for mental health treatment. A new study led by researchers from University of Illinois Chicago, with collaborators at Washington University and Pennsylvania State University, finds that an AI voice assistant app delivering a form of psychotherapy can help patients with mild depression and anxiety. The article, published in Translational Psychiatry, reports changes in brain activity along with improved depression and anxiety symptoms after using the AI voice assistant, called Lumen, for eight sessions of problem-solving therapy. The results of this pilot study, the first to test an AI voice-based virtual coach for behavioral therapy, offer encouraging evidence that virtual therapy can play a role in filling the gaps ...
A new study of more than 50,000 US adolescents across the country indicates that vaping nicotine is strongly linked with an increased likelihood of high levels use of binge drinking and cannabis usage. The findings, published today in Substance Use and Misuse, will add to growing public health concerns about the increased popularity of electronic cigarette (or “vaping”) use among young people. “While the overall health risks of vaping are lower than smoking, electronic cigarettes are still harmful to adolescents and warrant ongoing surveillance—especially as the long-term impacts remain unknown,” says lead author Noah Kreski from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. “Our results indicate that vaping is not an isolated behavior, but rather strongly tied to other substance use that can harm adolescents and make quitting nicotine more difficult. Recognizing the strong overlap between various forms of substance use, effective intervention efforts should work to simultaneously address ...
An industry-first FDA approval for a nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) therapy may still be a ways off.After reviewing Intercept Pharmaceuticals’ latest application for obeticholic acid (OCA), the agency appears all but ready to reject the drug in NASH-related pre-cirrhotic liver fibrosis, according to a briefing document released ahead of an expert panel meeting set for Friday. Citing a long list of safety risks and the practical hurdle for patients to undergo a liver biopsy—coupled with “modest” efficacy—the FDA said it “cannot justify OCA use in NASH subjects with stage 2 or 3 fibrosis.” The FDA’s negative review could once again thwart Intercept’s bid to win the first NASH approval in the U.S. If members of the FDA’s Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee side with the FDA and the agency follows through with its own staff’s analysis, it would mark the second rejection for OCA in NASH. Intercept’s stock price was down more ...
The penguin-shaped Walnut Thermometer, intended for continuous chest temperature monitoring of children ages 6 and under, has been recalled due to reports of injuries, including skin burns. Amanda Pedersen | A popular children’s thermometer has been recalled after the manufacturer received reports of injuries such as skin burns. Hauppauge, NY-based BearCare initiated a voluntary recall of its rechargeable Walnut Wearable Smart Thermometer. The wearable device is intended for continuous chest temperature monitoring of children up to age 6. The device has a silicone exterior designed to resemble a cartoon penguin. The thermometer was sold and distributed from December 2022 to April 2023 through Amazon, Walmart (online), and www.walnutcares.com. If users of the thermometer observe any substance leaking from the device’s exterior, any corrosion near the smart sensor on the back of the device, diminished battery life, or connectivity issues with the Walnut app, these are indicators of a failing device, ...
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBS Massachusetts) is expanding members’ access to primary care by adding Eden Health, On Belay Health Solutions and VillageMD to its network, the insurer announced Tuesday. New York City-based Eden Health offers primary care, telemedicine and insurance navigation. On Belay Health Solutions, based in Boston, works with independent primary care physicians and helps them engage in value-based contracts. Chicago-based VillageMD is a primary care provider that is majority owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance. These primary care physician groups will provide both virtual and in-person care for BCBS Massachusetts members. “Research shows that patients who have an established primary care physician achieve better health outcomes than those who don’t,” said Dr. Ashley Yeats, vice president of medication operations at BCBS Massachusetts. “These additional physician groups each offer a wide-range of services — including care navigation support, chronic disease care, mental health support — both in-person ...
Roche has announced positive new data from a mid-stage study of fenebrutinib in adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The phase 2 FENopta study met its primary and secondary endpoints, the company said, with oral fenebrutinib significantly reducing MRI markers of MS disease activity in the brain compared to placebo. MS is a disabling, neurological disease in which the immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath that covers the nerves and disrupts communication between the brain and the rest of the body. The disease affects approximately 2.8 million people worldwide. Relapsing forms of MS are characterised by clearly defined, but unpredictable, attacks of worsening neurologic function, followed by partial or complete recovery periods. Approximately 85% of patients are initially diagnosed with relapsing forms of MS, compared to 15% with progressive forms of the disease. Roche and Genentech’s fenebrutinib belongs to a class of drugs known as Bruton’s tyrosine ...
F. Perry Wilson, MD, MSCE This transcript has been edited for clarity. Welcome to Impact Factor, your weekly dose of commentary on a new medical study. I’m Dr F. Perry Wilson of the Yale School of Medicine. The thing to realize about this story is that even if it were just a problem for the military, it would be a huge problem. But although this is a story about the military, in the end, it may affect a much larger segment of the population. It’s a story about a military base, Camp Lejeune, and the toxins that leached into the water system there, poisoning the base residents for decades. It is about the most rapidly growing neurologic disease in the country. And it is very much about a simple molecule, trichloroethylene (TCE). TCE was first synthesized in 1864 and quickly became a sensation as an early anesthetic. Less toxic to ...
A pair of internationally renowned stem cell cloning experts at the University of Houston is reporting their findings of variant cells in the lungs of patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) which likely represent key targets in any future therapy for the condition. IPF is a progressive, irreversible and fatal lung disease in which the lungs become scarred and breathing becomes difficult. The rapid development and fatal progression of the disease occur by uncertain mechanisms, but the most pervasive school of thought is that IPF arises from recurrent, subclinical lung injury that imparts changes to epithelial and stromal cells, which, in turn, compromise lung repair and favor fibrosis. To dig deeper into the cause of IPF, Frank McKeon, professor of biology and biochemistry and director of the Stem Cell Center, and Wa Xian, research associate professor at the center, used single cell cloning technologies to generate libraries of basal stem ...
Children whose families participated in a program that helped them move from distressed neighborhoods to areas with lower rates of poverty and better public resources like schools and parks experienced significant improvements in severe asthma episodes, according to a new study led by a researcher at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved 123 children, ages 5 to 17, with persistent asthma whose families took part in a six-year housing mobility program in Baltimore. Before moving, for every 100 children, there were approximately 88 severe asthma attacks per year. After moving, there were approximately 40 severe attacks per year, a reduction of more than 50%. In fact, researchers found that the reduction in neighborhood-related stress was responsible for between 20% and 35% of the improvement in asthma exacerbations and symptoms. The number of symptom ...
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