FDA approves much-debated Alzheimer’s drug panned by experts
WASHINGTON — Government health officials on Monday approved the first new drug for Alzheimer’s disease in nearly 20 years, disregarding warnings from independent advisers that the much-debated treatment hasn’t been shown to help slow the brain-destroying disease. The Food and Drug Administration said it granted approval to the drug developed...
Polio: When vaccines and re-emergence were just as daunting
CINCINNATI — The covid-19 pandemic and the distribution of the vaccines that will prevent it have surfaced haunting memories for Americans who lived through an earlier time when the country was swept by a virus that, for so long, appeared to have no cure or way to prevent it. They...
New England’s success against covid-19 could be a model
For Dr. Jeremy Faust, the moment he realized the pandemic no longer dominated his workday came over Memorial Day weekend, when he didn’t see a single coronavirus case over two shifts in the emergency room at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Kerry LaBarbera, an ER nurse a few miles...
FDA approves obesity drug that helped people cut weight 15%
Regulators on Friday said a new version of a popular diabetes medicine could be sold as a weight-loss drug in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration approved Wegovy, a higher-dose version of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug semaglutide. In company-funded studies, participants taking Wegovy had average weight loss of 15%,...
Overdose deaths spike in Allegheny County amid pandemic’s isolation
Overdose deaths in Allegheny County rose 22% in 2020, an increase likely spurred by the stress and isolation wrought by the covid-19 pandemic, officials said. Across the county, 689 people were victims of fatal overdoses, a majority of which had some amount of fentanyl in their systems: 77%. Overdose deaths...
Experts see strides on AIDS, but covid-19 halted progress
NEW YORK — Some researchers believe covid-19 has derailed the fight against HIV, siphoning away health workers and other resources and setting back a U.S. campaign to decimate the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the first report that brought AIDS to the attention of the...
Is it covid or Lyme Disease? If you’re vaccinated and have a rash, it’s easier to diagnose
It’s tick season, and with it comes an increased risk of contracting Lyme disease or another tick-borne illness. Diagnosing the disease can be trickier this year amid the covid-19 pandemic, as some of the symptoms of the diseases are similar. “There’s a lot of overlap,” Dr. Amesh Adalja said of...
UPMC reports $6B in 2021 revenue as hospital volumes rebound from covid slowdown
UPMC continues to grow its insurance rolls and investment capacity to record-high levels so far this year as patient demand for services rebounds and covid-19 restrictions ease. “Our hospitals are busy,” UPMC Chief Financial Officer Edward Karlovich said. “We are past the point where we had the significant reduction in...
China reports human case of H10N3 bird flu, a possible first
BEIJING — A man in eastern China has contracted what might be the world’s first human case of the H10N3 strain of bird flu, but the risk of large-scale spread is low, the government said Tuesday. The 41-year-old man in Jiangsu province, northwest of Shanghai, was hospitalized April 28 and...
AHN starts 2021 with $23 million loss; patient visits rebound as covid vaccinations climb
The Allegheny Health Network reported an operating loss of $23.4 million for the first three months of 2021, financial documents released Friday show. Despite starting the year in the red, AHN Chief Financial Officer James Rohrbaugh said the 14-hospital system remains on solid financial footing. He points to patient visits...
Pennsylvania’s flu season among mildest ever
Pennsylvania had one of its mildest flu seasons on record, with high flu vaccine rates and mitigation measures aimed to slow the spread of covid-19 keeping influenza cases low, officials said Friday. This year’s flu season, which officially ended May 22, saw 3,664 lab-confirmed cases statewide, according to Deputy Secretary...
Change may allow scientists to grow human embryos longer
LONDON — New guidelines released Wednesday remove a decades-old barrier to stem cell research, recommending that researchers be allowed to grow human embryos longer under limited conditions. The “14-day rule,” an international ethical standard that limits laboratory studies of human embryos, has been in place for decades and has been...
Fayette man’s rapid control of robotic arm at Pitt lab detailed in ‘Science’
Having the sensation of touch makes quite a difference for Nathan Copeland. The 35-year-old man from Dunbar, Fayette County, lost the sensation and most of the motion in his limbs at 18 when he broke his neck in a car crash. Since 2014, he’s been participating in a study at...
Medicare for 60-year-olds not guaranteed to be a better deal
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and progressive Democrats have proposed to lower Medicare’s eligibility age to 60, to help older adults get affordable coverage. But a new study finds that Medicare can be more expensive than other options, particularly for many people of modest means. There are two reasons: Traditional...
Americans urged to get colon cancer screening earlier
Americans should start getting screened for colon cancer earlier — at age 45 instead of waiting until they’re 50, according to guidelines released Tuesday. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said it’s time for the change because colorectal cancer increasingly is appearing in younger adults. Colorectal cancer is one of...
3 existing conditions approved for Ohio medical marijuana
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Medical Board of Ohio panel has added three existing conditions for Ohioans to buy medical marijuana. The panel earlier this year determined that arthritis, chronic migraines and complex regional pain syndrome fall into the existing category of chronic or intractable pain. State residents must obtain a...
Walmart, Sam’s Club to begin offering youth vaccinations
Following recommendation by the Federal Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control, Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacy locations will be extending its vaccine supply to children ages 12 to 15, company officials announced Friday. “This is great news, not just for the newly eligible cohort, but for the entire...
NFL families seek to end ‘race-norming’ in $1B settlement
Thousands of retired Black professional football players, their families and supporters are demanding an end to the controversial use of “race-norming” to determine which players are eligible for payouts in the NFL’s $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims, a system experts say is discriminatory. Ken Jenkins, 60, and his...
Senate bill would let residents donate to breast cancer research when renewing driver’s licensesVideo
When state Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward revealed this week that she’d been diagnosed with stage-one breast cancer late last year, she hoped she could use her position to help women both prevent and battle the disease. Her colleagues helped take a step in that direction, unanimously passing a bill...
Salvation Army, UnitedHealthcare answer your covid questionsVideo
If you have covid-19 questions, UnitedHealthcare and The Salvation Army of Western Pennsylvania have answers. The organizations collaborated on a video that features doctors and health care providers addressing common inquiries about virus vaccines. It’s called “Understanding Your Options: Covid-19 Vaccine Educational Townhall.” The video is below. There is also...
Mental health problems likely to outlast pandemic
Mental health problems are likely to outlast the covid-19 pandemic that helped spawn them, university researchers said. “There is a huge wave of mental health struggles here, and it’s likely to be sustained,” Sheri Madigan of the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada said. Madigan was one of three university researchers...
UPMC study finds tubes have no lasting benefit over antibiotics for kids with ear infections
When a young child has chronic ear infections, a common form of treatment is to surgically place tubes in their ears for two years. But researchers from UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh have found no long-term benefit to the tubes compared with the alternative: giving...
U.S. advisers endorse Pfizer covid shot for kids 12 and upVideo
U.S. health advisers endorsed use of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine in kids as young as 12 on Wednesday, just as expected new guidelines say it’s OK for people of any age to get the shot at the same time as other needed vaccinations. The sprint to vaccinate millions of middle and...
American Red Cross teams with actor James Van Der Beek and wife, Kimberly, for donations
Every two seconds someone is in need of a blood transfusion, according to the American Red Cross. Actor James Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, was one of those people. She experienced back-to-back miscarriages which required blood transfusions. The couple has collaborated with the American Red Cross to...
Texas House OKs bill to ban plant-based foods from using ‘meat’ and ‘beef’ on labels
AUSTIN, Texas — Plant-based and other meatless products could be accused of misleading consumers under a bill approved in the Texas House on Monday. Texas is the latest state to debate measures that would prohibit foods that don’t contain animal products from using words like “meat” or “beef” in their...
