AMA’s first gay president to take over at tumultuous time
CHICAGO — The first openly gay person to lead the American Medical Association takes the reins at a fractious time for U.S. health care. Transgender patients and those seeking abortion care face restrictions in many places. The medical judgment of physicians is being overridden by state laws. Disinformation is rampant....
Pitt study shows probiotics boost cancer treatment in mice, could be precursor for human treatment
A new University of Pittsburgh study shows how good gut health could be beneficial at fighting certain kinds of cancer. A study published Thursday in the science journal Cell showed probiotic bacteria in mice traveled from the animals’ guts and established in tumors, where the bacteria directly stimulate immune cells...
Competing abortion pill rulings sow broad alarm, confusion
Emma Hernandez is defiant even if she fears what may come in the latest stage of the nation’s fight over abortion: a widening prohibition to safe and legal ways to end unwanted pregnancies, including access to abortion pills. Competing rulings by two federal judges over the availability of the abortion...
Access to abortion pill in limbo after competing rulings
AUSTIN, Texas — Access to the most commonly used method of abortion in the U.S. plunged into uncertainty Friday following conflicting court rulings over the legality of the abortion medication mifepristone that has been widely available for more than 20 years. For now, the drug the Food and Drug Administration...
Western Pa. recovery experts celebrate over-the-counter naloxone, voice concern about cost
As the overdose-reversing drug naloxone becomes available over the counter this summer without a prescription, recovery organizations and pharmacies look to the change as a step in the right direction — but not the end of the road. The drug, also known by the brand name Narcan, can halt overdoses...
FDA forces unproven premature birth drug Makena off market
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday ordered the immediate market withdrawal of a drug intended to prevent premature births, which has remained available for years despite data showing it doesn’t help pregnant women. The decision follows repeated efforts by Swiss drugmaker Covis Pharma to keep Makena on...
Allegheny County combats opioid abuse through ‘harm reduction’ campaign
Stacie Brown remembers the date her life came crashing down — and when she started to take it back. “June 1, 2012, is the day I overdosed and stopped using,” said Brown, 51, of Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill, an overdose outreach coordinator for Allegheny County Health Department. “I remember I was...
Damar Hamlin visits Washington to promote AED bill
Ninety percent of the 350,000 people who will suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest this year will not survive. Of them, 7,000 will be under the age of 18. “These victims will not even make it to the emergency room to have a fighting chance at life,” Nancy Brown, CEO of...
Judge’s ruling undercuts U.S. health law’s preventive care
AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge in Texas who previously ruled to dismantle the Affordable Care Act struck down a narrower but key part of the nation’s health law Thursday that requires most insurers to cover preventive services that include screenings for cancer, diabetes and mental health. Other no-cost services,...
Gunshot injuries in U.S. surged during pandemic, CDC says
NEW YORK — For every American killed by gunfire, an estimated two or more more survive, often with terrible injuries — a fact that public health experts say is crucial to understanding the full impact of guns on society. A new government study highlights just how violent the recent past...
FDA approves over-the-counter Narcan; here’s what it means
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved selling naloxone without a prescription, setting the overdose-reversing drug on course to become the first opioid treatment drug to be sold over the counter. It’s a move that some advocates have long sought as a way to improve access to a...
Millennial Money: Manage the costs of a chronic condition
For millennials with chronic medical conditions — or those raising kids with chronic conditions — health care can be an enormous monthly expense. About 44% of older millennials born between 1981 and 1988 have at least one chronic health condition, including migraines, major depression and asthma, according to a 2021...
CDC report: Tick-borne illness babesiosis on rise in Northeast
As a rare tick-borne disease is on the rise in the northeastern United States, a local professor is awaiting test results to see whether babesiosis is taking hold in the Keystone State. Pennsylvania is among the worst states in the nation for Lyme cases, and concern about its prevalence has...
Surge in eating disorders spurs state legislative action
DENVER — Stranded at home amid pandemic lockdowns in spring 2020, Emma Warford stumbled down a social media rabbit hole in her quest to get in shape. Viral 28-day fitness challenges. YouTubers promising “hourglass abs.” Diet videos where slim-stomached influencers peddled calorie-tracking apps. Warford, then a 15-year-old starting volleyball player,...
UPMC, surgeon deemed ‘high risk’ to Medicare after rejecting oversight
The government office that fights Medicare fraud has put UPMC and one of its star surgeons on a “high-risk” list after determining that they pose a “significant risk to federal health care programs and beneficiaries.” U.S. officials took the action after Pittsburgh’s multi-billion-dollar health system settled a sweeping Medicare fraud...
Autism now more common among Black, Hispanic kids in U.S.
NEW YORK — For the first time, autism is being diagnosed more frequently in Black and Hispanic children than in white kids in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Among all U.S. 8-year-olds, 1 in 36 had autism in 2020, the CDC estimated. That’s up...
Senators press Moderna CEO on covid-19 vaccine price hike
Moderna’s CEO on Wednesday defended a plan to more than quadruple the company’s covid-19 vaccine price, but he also said the drugmaker will work to ensure patients continue paying nothing at drugstores or clinics. Stephane Bancel told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that the drugmaker will...
Massachusetts governor: Pharmacies must stock abortion pills
BOSTON — The governor of Massachusetts reminded pharmacies Wednesday that they are required to stock a key abortion pill, despite a nationwide effort by anti-abortion activists to ban the medication. The action comes as a federal judge in Texas is considering a lawsuit that would overturn decades-old federal approval of...
Superbug fungus cases rose dramatically during pandemic
NEW YORK — U.S. cases of a dangerous fungus tripled over just three years, and more than half of states have now reported it, according to a new study. The covid-19 pandemic likely drove part of the increase, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote in the...
DEA warns horse tranquilizer xylazine is making fentanyl overdose crisis worseVideo
The drug xylazine, which has been linked to an increase in overdoses, has now been seized in 48 of 50 states, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced in an alert this week. Xylazine, also known as tranq, is often cut with fentanyl. Xylazine is legal as a horse tranquilizer, but it’s...
Martina Navratilova says doctors told her she is cancer-free
LONDON — Martina Navratilova returned to TV work at Tennis Channel for its coverage of the Miami Open on Tuesday, less than three months after saying she had throat cancer and breast cancer. “It’s great to be back. … Thrilled to be here,” said the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion...
Paul Newman’s camp for sick kids rises from the ashes
ASHFORD, Conn. — Amarey Brookshire was devastated when she heard about the fire at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for seriously ill children — her camp. The February 2021 blaze destroyed much of the retreat in the woods of eastern Connecticut, which was founded by the late actor...
Highmark reports loss in 2022, citing investment losses, supply chain and staffing woes
As with many health care systems, inflation, supply chain woes and staffing challenges took a bite out of Highmark Health’s finances during 2022. Highmark reported a net loss of $346 million on $26 billion in revenue. Excluding investment losses, the organization reported net earnings of about $47 million. Meanwhile, the...
Allegheny Health Network names new president
Allegheny Health Network has named its Chief Operating Officer James Benedict as president of the network. Benedict joined AHN as its executive vice president and COO in 2017. He “was one of the chief architects of the network’s successful operational turnaround and its nearly $2 billion capital investment and market...
Anthony Fauci documentary on PBS covers a career of crisesVideo
NEW YORK — There’s a moment in the new PBS documentary about Dr. Anthony Fauci when a protestor holds up a handmade sign reading, “Dr. Fauci, You Are Killing Us.” It says something about Fauci that it’s not initially clear when that sign was waved in anger — in the...
