Health

More news - Latest news When I was little, my father, who rarely traveled, would tell stories of a trip to Europe he took with his parents when he was 14, in 1966. He remembered how Nonie loved the pristine Swiss roads and flowerbeds; the cozy fireplace in the hillside house near Lugano, where her father was born, with its clever alcoves for drying clothes or warming bread; and the palpable poverty in the house in Pozzuoli, near Naples, where Nonie’s aunt had lined the walls with newspaper for insulation. Occasionally, my father would show me his Kodachrome slides on a projector. As an adult, I often suggested that we repeat the trip, or at least visit Switzerland and Italy, so he could show me his family roots. But as his Alzheimer’s disease progressed, the idea took on a n...

Related media - Latest news Ann Lurie, a former pediatric nurse turned prominent Chicago philanthropist, died Monday at her home. She was 79. Northwestern University, where Lurie was a trustee and major donor, announced her death without giving a cause. Raised in Miami by a single mother, Lurie was an only child and protested the Vietnam War during her college years. She initially planned to join the Peace Corps, but instead married Robert H. Lurie. Robert Lurie built a large real estate and investment business with Sam Zell, which included holdings such as The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Cubs. He also invested in sports teams such as the Chicago Bulls and the White Sox. Robert Lurie died of colon cancer in 1990, leaving behind an estate valued at $425 million. Ann Lurie, who eve...

Related media - Breaking news The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Thursday that all Americans 6 months and older should receive one of the new COVID-19 vaccines when they become available this fall. The recommendation comes amid a summer surge in COVID-19 cases, with infection rates rising in at least 39 states and territories. While most Americans have developed some immunity to the coronavirus through previous infections or vaccinations, the new vaccines offer an incremental boost. However, their effectiveness wanes over a few months as immunity wanes and the virus continues to mutate. Data presented at a recent meeting of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices showed that most Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 had not received the vac...

More news - Breaking news For many Americans, the rising tide of prescription drug prices seems like a relentless force, threatening to swamp family budgets and access to health care. While pharmaceutical companies often assume public responsibility, the web of influences on drug costs is much more intricate. Today we shine our spotlight on a critical, but typically hidden, player in this system: pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Rebecca Robbins, a leading investigative journalist specializing in pharmaceuticals for the New York Times, will take us on a deep dive into the world of PBMs. We will explore their role as intermediaries between drug manufacturers, insurers, pharmacies and, ultimately, patients. This complex dance can have a significant impact on how mu...

More news - Latest news Mosquito-borne dengue fever is spreading rapidly around the world, reaching record levels and even popping up in unexpected places. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning doctors in the United States to be on the lookout for cases, as the risk of infection has increased this year. Why the surge? Several factors are driving the increase in dengue. The Aedes a Egypti mosquito, which transmits the virus, thrives in warm, humid environments. Climate change is creating the ideal conditions for these mosquitoes to expand their range and become more numerous. Additionally, urbanization brings people closer to mosquito breeding grounds, increasing the chance of bites. A global problem While tropical countries like Brazil have long battled ...

More news - Latest news Countries with limited budgets usually choose to pay for health services considered more essential, such as vaccines, rather than reproductive health, said Dr. Ayman Abdelmohsen, head of the family planning branch of UNFPA's technical division, because they produce more immediate results. return. But a recent push by UNFPA for low-income countries to shoulder more of the costs has led 44 governments to sign up to a new financing model that commits them to increasing their contributions to reproductive health every year. Even so, there was a significant global shortfall of around $95 million in product purchases last year. Donors currently pay for most products, but their funding for 2022 was nearly 15% less than in 2019, as the climate crisis, war in Ukraine...

More news - Breaking news Monday is the first opportunity for lawmakers to ask him about his agency's record-keeping practices. For Republicans on the committee, the hearing is also the culmination, so far, of a long campaign against American scientists and health officials who they say helped trigger the Covid pandemic. No new evidence of a pandemic emerging from a laboratory, with or without the help of American taxpayer funding, has emerged in a series of high-profile hearings over the past year. In a report on Monday, titled “Republicans' Fauci Flop,” Democratic lawmakers said Republicans on the committee failed to prove that the coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, came from a lab leak. “Select Republicans on the subcommittee devoted time and taxpayer money to an investigation in...

More news - Breaking news In April, Ms. Pisano became the second person to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig. Hers was a particularly complicated case: she suffers from heart and kidney failure and she received the organ only eight days after receiving a mechanical heart pump. Ms. Pisano was at risk of dying without a heart pump, a device implanted in patients who need a heart transplant. But there is a critical shortage of available human donor kidneys, and her heart disease has made her ineligible to receive one. She is the first known heart pump patient to receive an organ transplant of any type, NYU Langone Health officials said. Patients with kidney failure are usually ineligible to receive a heart pump due to the high risk of death. The first patien...

Related media - News 24 hours As of April, the world's oldest living man is believed to be Englishman John Alfred Tinniswood at 111 years old, according to Guinness World Records. (Guinness lists María Branyas Morera, a California native living in Spain, as the world's oldest woman, at 117.) When Mr. Markoff heard the news of his rise to the top of the list, "he just smiled and said, 'Well, someone has to be there,'" his daughter said in an interview. He stood out not only for his longevity but also for a lucidity unusual for his age. Until her final months, she pored over the Los Angeles Times every morning, discussed the war in Ukraine and other world events and posted dispatches about his life on his blog. “He believed that if he stayed active, he would live, and he really wante...

More news - News 24 hours What is the framework for approval? In 2017, the FDA granted “breakthrough” status to MDMA-assisted therapy. Status, the recognition of a drug's therapeutic promise, aims to shorten regulatory times. The original application was sponsored by the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which earlier this year created a for-profit entity, Lykos Therapeutics, to commercialize MDMA if it gained approval. FDA approval. The request presents an unusual challenge for the FDA, which typically does not regulate drug treatments associated with talk therapy, an essential part of Lykos' regimen for treating post-traumatic stress disorder. On June 4, an expert advisory panel will review Lykos' clinical data, along with public comments and staff ...