— Health news and commentary gathered by MedPage Today staff
by
MedPage Today Staff
May 8, 2024
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Vaccine-skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says that in 2010 he began experiencing memory loss and became concerned about a brain tumor; doctors later found a dead parasite in his brain. (New York Times)
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, who is currently serving prison time for defrauding investors, has gotten her sentence reduced by a few months. (CNN)
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) and the Catholic Medical Association sued the Biden administration over a non-discrimination rule they say will force providers to provide gender-affirming care or face heavy penalties. (Reuters)
Five suspects were arrested after dozens of people in Austin overdosed last week, resulting in nine deaths. (ABC News)
How should public health researchers approach evaluation of large datasets? The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report has an answer.
Love to go for a ride in the car? You may be breathing in cancer-causing chemicals. (People)
Panera Bread is removing Charged Lemonade from its menu following two wrongful death lawsuits related to the highly caffeinated beverage. (CNN)
Pfizer paused a clinical trial of a gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy following the death of a participant in the trial, which included boys ages 2 to 3. (Fierce Biotech)
Meanwhile, an investigational gene therapy restored hearing in two children with profound genetic deafness due to variants of the otoferlin gene, Regeneron announced.
An FDA advisory committee on June 4 will weigh in on a new drug application for capsules of midomafetamine (MDMA), known as the street drug Molly or ecstasy, for treating post-traumatic stress disorder.
The European Medicines Agency has withdrawn the authorization of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine in Europe; the vaccine, which was never authorized in the U.S., fell out of favor shortly after its release due to rare but serious cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome. (AP)
Florida’s 6-week abortion ban could set up clashes in court because of state residents who are receiving medication abortion pills from out of state. (NBC News)
A total of 62% of young adults say they wouldn’t live in a state with an abortion ban, a survey found. (The Hill)
Farmworkers need better protection from H5N1 virus, this infectious disease expert says. (Washington Post)
Kris Hallenga, a stage IV breast cancer patient who was diagnosed at age 23 and worked to encourage early detection of the disease, died at age 38. (New York Times)
Great Plains Native American tribes realized they were having a syphilis outbreak, but federal help was hard to come by. (ProPublica)
A Republican state legislator in Kansas changed her mind on a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors. Here’s why. (The 19th)
