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☆ ‘Ozempic babies’: What the science says on whether GLP-1s lead to surprise pregnancies, and their safety if they do
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Mira Cheng | Meg Tirrell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“I was depressed, severely depressed for that whole time.”Five months earlier, in October 2022, Bentley had started taking Mounjaro for weight loss. Ozempic uses the active ingredient semaglutide, and Wegovy is the version approved for weight loss. Mounjaro uses tirzepatide, which also targets a second hormone called GIP, and Zepbound is its brand name for weight loss. Safety in pregnancyEven as GLP-1 medicines may increase fertility, little is known about their safety during pregnancy. “It’s kind of like heart failure or sleep apnea,” he said, referring to conditions for which GLP-1 drugs have recently shown positive results.

Persons: CNN — Catera Bentley, Bentley, ”, “, ” Bentley, she’d, —, ‘, ’ Bentley, Jody Dushay, Dushay, Catera Bentley, Ivy, Daniel Drucker, ” Drucker, they’re, Drucker, Eli Lilly, ” Dushay, haven’t, That’s, Anuja Dokras, Dokras, Melanie Cree, Cree, PCOS, aren’t, Eli Lilly’s, Daniel Skovronsky, ” Skovronsky, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, it’s, Mounjaro Organizations: CNN, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, University of, Mount Sinai, Novo Nordisk, Zepbound, US Centers for Disease Control, University of Pennsylvania, PCOS, Children’s Hospital, National Institutes of Health, CNN Health Locations: Steele , Alabama, Mount, United States, Children’s Hospital Colorado, —, Colorado

☆ Extreme temperatures are tied to more than half a million stroke deaths a year. With climate change, expect more
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Men had more strokes related to extreme temperatures than women, but it affected people across all age groups. While that may sound counterintuitive for global warming, cold temperatures also come along with climate change. Last year was the warmest since scientists started recording global temperatures in 1850 and temperatures are expected to break more records in the near future. The new study wasn’t designed to show why extreme temperatures that come with the climate crisis seem to be causing so many strokes. Extreme cold temperatures also can lead someone to have a stroke.

Persons: Mary Rice, ”, Rice, Beth, ” Rice, Ali Saad, who’s, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, “, ‘ I’m, ’ ” Saad, Saad, ” Saad Organizations: CNN, Neurology, Xiangya Hospital Central South University, Central Asia “, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, Health, University of Colorado, CNN Health Locations: China, Africa, Central Asia, Boston

☆ FDA clears first digital treatment for depression, but experts caution that research is still early
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Mira Cheng | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The US Food and Drug Administration is allowing the use of Rejoyn, the first prescription digital treatment for major depressive disorder. About 18% of American adults – more than 1 in 6 – say they are depressed or receiving treatment for depression, a 2023 Gallup report found. Rejoyn is designed to serve as an adjunct to antidepressants for these partial responders, according to the news release. They were assigned to use either the Rejoyn app or a sham app that gave memory tasks that did not involve cognitive-emotional training or cognitive behavioral therapy. There is also the question of how engaged patients will be with the app, Torous said.

Persons: Rejoyn, Dr, John Kraus, Otsuka, Brian Iacoviello, John Torous, Torous, ”, ” Otsuka, Sanjay Gupta, “, ” Torous Organizations: CNN, Food and Drug Administration, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Therapeutics, Gallup, Research, Click Therapeutics, Digital Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, FDA, ” Otsuka Pharmaceutical, CNN Health

☆ Weight-loss drug Wegovy can be marketed for heart benefits after FDA label update
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Meg Tirrell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The label expansion may improve insurance coverage for Wegovy, which costs more than $1,300 per month out of pocket before any discounts. Many insurers, including Medicare, don’t cover drugs for weight loss, leaving patients scrambling to afford them. “This patient population has a higher risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke,” he added. More studies need to be done to show whether there are heart benefits for people who haven’t had a cardiac event. Wegovy continues to be in shortage, along with other GLP-1 medicines, as drugmakers struggle to keep up with demand.

Persons: CNN — Wegovy’s, –, Dr, Harlan Krumholz, hasn’t, Eli Lilly, Wegovy, John Sharretts, haven’t, it’s, Sanjay Gupta, Jody Dushay, Beth, Dushay, Novo, Doug Langa, ” Organizations: CNN, US Food and Drug Administration, Yale University, Yale New Haven Hospital, Novo Nordisk, Diabetes, ”, CNN Health, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Novo Nordisk’s, North America Operations

☆ Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy could strengthen the US economy, Goldman Sachs predicts
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington, DC CNN —The US economy is set to reap considerable benefits from Americans taking popular medications used for weight loss, including Ozempic and Wegovy, Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a recent research report. Originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, they proved to be highly effective at helping people shed weight in clinical trials. (Ozempic has not been approved for weight loss by regulators, though Wegovy, a similar drug, has.) Goldman Sachs argues that since poor health unambiguously weighs on the economy, improving health outcomes due to GLP-1s could lower costs and boost productivity, shoring up economic output. For some Americans who are obese but don’t have diabetes, obtaining those drugs has become difficult, if not impossible.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Eli Lilly, Jody Dushay, Beth, Doug Langa, they’ve Organizations: DC CNN, Government, Novo Nordisk, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, CNN Locations: Washington, United States, North America, Novo

☆ Opinion: Ozempic and similar drugs mean nothing for patients who can’t access them
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Opinion Jody Dushay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

We discussed that for many people, the most powerful tools for medical weight management are the glucagon like peptide 1 (GLP1) agonists. As of 2024, insurance, not body weight or BMI, has become the most important vital sign for doctors who see patients for medical weight management. They really did transform a fairly barren landscape of pharmacotherapeutic options for medical weight management that lasted several decades. Weight loss is on average about 15% with Wegovy and 22% with Zepbound, with super responders losing more than 25% of their body weight. By comparison, other medications that are FDA-approved for weight loss, including Qsymia and Contrave, are combinations of much older drugs.

Persons: Jody Dushay, MMSc, Beth, I’ve, Stanley, —, cravings Organizations: Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, CNN, Insurance, FDA, Medicare Locations: Boston, prediabetes

☆ Some states are loosening their Covid isolation guidelines, shifting away from CDC recommendations
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Oregon changed its isolation policy in May when the Covid-19 public health emergency lifted, and California followed suit earlier this month. The recent order from the California health department notes that the potential infectious period spans from two days before through 10 days after symptoms or a positive test. Less restrictive isolation policies could allow people to feel more comfortable with testing, which could prompt them to get treatment or feel more comfortable taking other protective measures. Dr. Dean Sidelinger, Oregon’s state health officer, said that equity was a key factor considered in the decision to change isolation policy in the state. Public health policy decisions are rarely black-and-white, experts say, and weighing tradeoffs can be more of an art than a perfect science.

Persons: Tomás Aragón, ”, Jennifer Nuzzo, we’re, Dan Barouch, Sarita Shah, Dean Sidelinger, ” Barouch, –, ” Nuzzo, Shah, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, you’re, ” Shah, “ Organizations: CNN —, US Centers for Disease Control, California Department of Public Health, CDC, Pandemic, Brown University School of Public Health, Center, Virology, Vaccine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, Emory University, Get CNN, CNN Health Locations: California, Oregon, COVID, hospitalizations, Covid

☆ Was This a Recurrence of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma or Something Else?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Lisa Sanders | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

He introduced himself and asked the patient to tell his story, listening as the man described his trip, his weakness, his rash, his fever. Kaminski asked if he had any body aches. On the ride home, his neck felt strangely weak, as if his head had suddenly gotten much heavier. He had felt this sick only once in his life — and that time was diagnosed with lymphoma. As he examined the priest, Kaminski noted that his rash was on his back and arms as well as his chest.

Persons: Martin Kaminski, Kaminski, hadn’t Organizations: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Locations: South America

Those beliefs are known to have caused medical providers to rate Black patients’ pain lower, misdiagnose health concerns and recommend less relief. “I believe technology can really provide shared prosperity and I believe it can help to close the gaps we have in health care delivery,” Omiye said. In 2019, for example, academic researchers revealed that a large hospital in the United States was employing an algorithm that systematically privileged white patients over Black patients. It was later revealed the same algorithm was being used to predict the health care needs of 70 million patients nationwide. In June, another study found racial bias built into commonly used computer software to test lung function was likely leading to fewer Black patients getting care for breathing problems.

Persons: Google’s Bard, Anthropic’s Claude —, ”, Stanford University’s Dr, Roxana Daneshjou, ” Daneshjou, “ It's, Tofunmi Omiye, “, ” Omiye, Bard, Beth Israel, Adam Rodman, Rodman, Dr, John Halamka, “ ChatGPT, MedPaLM, Mayo, ” Halamka, Halamka, Stanford, Jenna Lester, ” ___ O'Brien Organizations: FRANCISCO, Stanford School of Medicine, Digital Medicine, Associated Press, Google, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, American Medical Association, Stanford, Nationwide, Health, Mayo Clinic, Mayo Clinic Platform's, Microsoft, University of California Locations: Boston, United States, Minnesota, Mayo, San Francisco, Providence , Rhode Island

Nicknamed "Pirola" on social media, the BA.2.86 Omicron subvariant is being tracked by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As of Aug. 30, CDC said the BA.2.86 variant was detected in at least four U.S. states in people or wastewater. Delaware on Tuesday said it had detected a BA.2.86 infection at a hospital. Moderna on Wednesday said clinical data showed that its retooled COVID vaccine generated a nearly 9-fold increase in human antibodies that can neutralize BA.2.86. Pfizer said on Wednesday that its updated COVID shot showed neutralizing activity against BA.2.86 and EG.5 in studies conducted on mice.

Persons: Emily Elconin, David Dowdy, Dowdy, Dan Barouch, David Ho, Deena Beasley, Julie Steenhuysen, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Moderna, Pfizer, World Health Organization, WHO, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, EG, Omicron, East, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center, Virology, Vaccine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, Columbia University, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Thomson Locations: Waterford , Michigan, U.S, Europe, Asia, Delaware, East Coast, Boston, Sweden, China

☆ Would you pay hundreds of dollars for an app your doctor prescribed? Buzzy digital therapeutics could make you healthier — but your insurer probably won't cover them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Natalie Rahhal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Apps such as Somryst — known as prescription digital therapeutics — aim to raise the bar for personal healthcare delivered via smartphone. Digital therapeutics show promise for treating IBS and insomniaFunding for digital therapeutics surged by 133% between 2020 and 2021, and the sector's global value is estimated to grow from roughly $7 billion to about $28 billion from now to 2030, Fortune Business Insights reported. In fact, many insurance companies want years of data on real-world use before covering digital therapeutics, Insider previously reported. While there are free nonprescription DTxs available from sources such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, those aren't cleared by the FDA, and privately made prescription digital therapeutics often cost hundreds of dollars. "Digital therapeutics are meant to increase access to care.

Persons: Charlotte Jee, Jee, Corey McCann, John Torous, Beth Israel, they're, Torous, They're, AspyreRx, Mark Berman, hadn't Organizations: Healthcare, Morning, MIT Technology, National Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, Pear Therapeutics, Harvard Medical, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, Fortune Business, FDA, Better Therapeutics, Disease Control, Department of Health, Human Services, of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs, Aetna

☆ A Mystery in the E.R.? Ask Dr. Chatbot for a Diagnosis.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Gina Kolata | More About Gina Kolata | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The patient was a 39-year-old woman who had come to the emergency department at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. On a recent steamy Friday, Dr. Megan Landon, a medical resident, posed this real case to a room full of medical students and residents. They were gathered to learn a skill that can be devilishly tricky to teach — how to think like a doctor. “Doctors are terrible at teaching other doctors how we think,” said Dr. Adam Rodman, an internist, a medical historian and an organizer of the event at Beth Israel Deaconess. But this time, they could call on an expert for help in reaching a diagnosis — GPT-4, the latest version of a chatbot released by the company OpenAI.

Persons: Megan Landon, ”, Adam Rodman, Beth Israel Deaconess Organizations: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, Beth Locations: Boston

☆ Being overweight not linked to dying early, study says, but questions remain
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Being overweight as defined by the body mass index rating scale is not linked to an increase in death when considered separately from other health issues, a new study found. “The use of the word ‘overweight’ is misleading here, as it excludes anyone with a BMI above 30. “This paper found an unequivocal association between BMI and mortality, before and after adjustment for risk factors,” said Leurent, who was not involved in the study. Being overweight may not lead to an early death, but may add to the risk of chronic disease, experts say. While the study did control for smoking and a variety of other diseases linked to early death, that information was only gathered once for each person in the survey.

Persons: ”, Aayush, Rutgers Robert Wood, ’, Baptiste Leurent, Leurent, Robert H, Shmerling, “, Soko, Visaria, Naveed Sattar, ” Sattar, Tom Sanders, Beth, they’ve, It’s, ” Visaria, it’s, University of Glasgow’s Sattar Organizations: CNN, BMI, US Centers for Disease Control, Rutgers, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University College London, Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, Rutgers School of Public Health, University of Glasgow, King’s College London, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, “, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, University of Glasgow’s Locations: New Brunswick , New Jersey, Boston, Scotland, “

☆ Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi could cost Medicare up to $5 billion per year, study estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Alzheimer's drug Leqembi is seen in this undated handout image obtained by Reuters on Jan. 20, 2023. The new Alzheimer's antibody treatment Leqembi could cost Medicare up to $5 billion per year, according to research published in a leading medical journal this week. Medicare would spend about $2 billion per year if around 85,700 patients test positive for the disease and are treated with the Eisai and Biogen product Leqembi, according to the research published Thursday in JAMA Internal Medicine. The program for seniors would spend $5 billion if around 216,500 patients become eligible for the breakthrough treatment, according to the study. The authors said the estimated costs to Medicare are conservative and that spending on Leqembi might increase more than anticipated depending on demand and other factors.

☆ The creepy secret behind online therapy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Tanmoy Goswami | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Crisis Text Line, now in its 10th year of operations, uses artificial intelligence to respond to people experiencing emotional abuse, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. 'The vast majority of mental-health apps are exceptionally creepy'BetterHelp, a poster child of online therapy founded in 2013, calls itself "the world's largest therapy platform" and says it has over 2 million users. One of the first popular mental-health apps, PTSD Coach, was launched by the US Department of Veteran Affairs in 2011. But for mental-health companies these practices can undermine the very foundations of mental-health care: dignity, trust, and psychological safety. As Crisis Text Line wrote on its website extolling its deal with Loris: "Why sell T-shirts when you can sell what your organization does best?"

☆ Myocarditis after Covid vaccine low among teens and young adults, large study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Berkeley-Lovelace-Jr.Jpg | Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis after Covid vaccination is low and most patients make a full recovery, a large international study from Nationwide Children’s Hospital found. The findings confirm earlier studies that found myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, an inflammation of the outer lining of the heart, following Covid vaccination are rare. The review included more than 800 teens and young adults who developed myocarditis and pericarditis following Covid vaccination. The heart-related conditions usually occurred within four days after the second dose of a Covid vaccine, the study found. Daniel Salmon, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins University, said he would still like to see estimates of myocarditis risk by age, gender, vaccine type and spacing between doses.

Two new omicron subvariants have overtaken BA.5 as the prevailing versions of the coronavirus in the U.S.BA.5 became dominant in July, then consistently accounted for the majority of new Covid infections until last week. The two together make up around 44% of new Covid infections, whereas BA.5 makes up just 30%. BQ.1.1 and BQ.1 cases are also rising in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe. Both of the subvariants are considered part of the BA.5 family — they're sublineages that evolved from BA.5. "There’s nothing in the signature of the clinical cases that are being reported that suggests that anything is changing in terms of symptoms with these omicron subvariants," Pekosz said.

☆ As Ebola outbreak grows in Uganda, US ramps up preparedness plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“All primary and secondary schools in Uganda are directed to close by November 25th, 2022 for third term holidays as a measure to contain Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country,” Museveni said in a statement. Major US cities get Ebola plans in placeThe CDC estimates that 20% of travelers from Uganda will arrive without a cell phone or US-based phone number. “CDPH continues to work with our hospitals to screen patients for travel history and be alert for symptoms of Ebola virus disease or, more likely, malaria or circulating respiratory viruses. ‘We need to be prepared’The Ebola virus is transmissible – but not as transmissible as some other infectious diseases, like Covid-19. “If we do see any cases in the United States, the hope is that they will be identified quickly before there is further spread,” Barouch said.

☆ Updated Covid-19 boosters offer protection, but new studies suggest they don't offer an edge against Omicron
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Similar immune responsesThe studies have important limitations, and they aren’t the final word on the updated boosters. In Barouch’s study, antibody concentrations were 15 times higher after the original boosters, rising from 184 to 2,829. They were 17 times higher after the updated shots, jumping from 211 to 3,693. After waiting the recommended three months since his last Covid-19 infection, President Joe Biden got an updated booster Tuesday and urged eligible Americans to do the same. Worobey says that when the strains are combined as they are in the updated boosters, they actually end up competing.

Other omicron subvariants that have piqued the interest — and concerns — of scientists read like a viral alphabet soup: BQ.1, BQ.1.1, BF.7. Ever since the omicron variant emerged, it's been omicron all the way down, with omicron subvariants splitting off into their own subvariants. Barouch's study was small, including just 35 people who'd had either the Covid vaccine or an omicron infection. Most, regardless of prior infection, had at least three doses of Covid vaccine. The World Health Organization is tracking more than 300 omicron subvariants worldwide, Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said during a media briefing Wednesday.

☆ Paxlovid: Covid-19 treatment can interact with common heart medications, doctors warn
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Paxlovid can have dangerous interactions with some of the most common medications for cardiovascular disease, including certain statins and heart failure therapies, a new paper warns. The review paper says that interactions between Paxlovid and certain blood thinners can cause an increased risk of bleeding. Interactions between Paxlovid and some cholesterol medications such as statins can be toxic to the liver, and interactions between Paxlovid and certain blood pressure medications could cause low blood pressure, flushing and swelling. For cardiovascular medications that patients could discontinue in order to take Paxlovid, Morgan noted that the Covid-19 treatment is a five-day regimen. “Awareness of the presence of drug-drug interactions of Paxlovid with common cardiovascular drugs is key.

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