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☆ What We Know About Children and Opioids
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Benjamin Mueller | More About Benjamin Mueller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

How can children be exposed? It is not clear how the children at the Bronx day care might have come into contact with any drugs. But nearly all cases of children being exposed to opioids involved their ingesting the drug, a study published in The Journal of Pediatrics in 2019 found. The study looked at more than 80,000 records of children under 18 who had been exposed to drugs containing an opioid over a five-year period. The study found that roughly 99 percent of the exposures involved children orally ingesting it.

Persons: Narcan, Dr, Sharon Levy, Levy Organizations: Boston Children’s, Pediatrics Locations: Boston

☆ Mitch McConnell May Be Experiencing Small Seizures, Doctors Suggest
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Benjamin Mueller | More About Benjamin Mueller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A four-line letter, signed by the attending physician of Congress and released by Senator Mitch McConnell on Thursday, suggested that his recent spells of speechlessness were linked to “occasional lightheadedness” perhaps brought on by his recovery from a concussion last winter or “dehydration.”But seven neurologists, relying on what they described as unusually revealing video of Mr. McConnell freezing up in public twice recently, said in interviews Thursday and Friday that the episodes captured in real time likely pointed to more serious medical problems afflicting the longtime Republican leader. Some of the neurologists, while cautioning that they could not diagnose the minority leader from afar, said that the letter and other comments from Mr. McConnell’s office appeared to fall short of explaining why he abruptly stopped speaking during news conferences in late July and again on Wednesday. “If I gave that tape to a medical student and that was his explanation, I’d fail him,” said Dr. Orrin Devinsky, a professor of neurology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, referring to the account given by the attending physician of Congress on Thursday. “Medically, these episodes need to be taken seriously.”

Persons: Mitch McConnell, McConnell, ”, Orrin Devinsky, “ Organizations: Republican, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana and the majority leader, said Tuesday he had been diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, but planned to return to Washington to continue working as he undergoes treatment over the next several months. Mr. Scalise, 57, said in a statement that he had begun treatment for multiple myeloma, which he described as “a very treatable blood cancer,” after feeling ill over the August congressional recess and having tests that led to his diagnosis. “I am incredibly grateful we were able to detect this early and that this cancer is treatable,” Mr. Scalise said in a statement. “I will tackle this with the same strength and energy as I have tackled past challenges.”Mr. Scalise was gravely wounded in 2017 when a gunman opened fire on members of the Republican congressional baseball team at a practice field in Alexandria, Va. Mr. Scalise was shot in the hip and underwent many surgeries to relearn how to walk.

Persons: Steve Scalise, Scalise, Mr, “, ” Mr Organizations: Republican Locations: Louisiana, Washington, Alexandria, Va

☆ Obesity Treatment Relieves Heart Failure Symptoms, Drugmaker’s Study Finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Benjamin Mueller | More About Benjamin Mueller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One of the leading new obesity drugs, Wegovy, eased symptoms and raised the quality of life of patients with obesity and a common type of heart failure, a study funded by the drug’s maker found, adding to the evidence that the medications can produce health benefits beyond weight loss. The condition accounts for roughly half of all heart failure cases. Patients given Wegovy in the trial showed greater improvements in physical fitness and in symptoms like fatigue and shortness of breath than those administered a placebo. The study, which included 529 participants and lasted for a year, was not designed to assess cardiac emergencies, but it found that 12 patients on the placebo and only one on Wegovy were hospitalized or required an urgent medical visit for heart failure. The drug showed more pronounced relief of heart failure symptoms than other treatments, the study said.

Persons: Wegovy Organizations: The New England, of Medicine Locations: The

☆ Weight Loss Drug Cuts Risk of Heart Problems, Maker Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Benjamin Mueller | More About Benjamin Mueller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A new obesity drug, Wegovy, slashed the risk of serious heart problems by 20 percent in a large trial, the drug’s maker said on Tuesday, a finding that could put pressure on insurers to cover the in-demand treatment. The trial — the first to demonstrate that one of the new class of obesity drugs could also shore up patients’ heart health — reinforced the scientific consensus that obesity brings with it medical risks like heart attacks and strokes. And it bolstered the idea that those obesity drugs can deliver long-term health benefits in addition to helping patients lose weight. The drug’s maker, Novo Nordisk, reported only its top-line findings from the trial on Tuesday and not details about how Wegovy affected the risk of individual cardiovascular complications or patients’ weight. The data has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Organizations: Novo Nordisk

Marc Tessier-Lavigne, a renowned neuroscientist, announced on Wednesday that he would step down from his position as president of Stanford University, after the release of an external review of his scientific work found fault with several high-profile journal articles published under his purview. A committee drafted the review in response to allegations that Dr. Tessier-Lavigne was involved in scientific misconduct. In its report, which focused on 12 academic papers, the committee said there was no evidence that Dr. Tessier-Lavigne had knowingly falsified data or withheld such information from the public. In response, Dr. Tessier-Lavigne vowed to retract three of the five articles, request major corrections for two and step down from his position as president. “I am gratified that the panel concluded I did not engage in any fraud or falsification of scientific data,” Dr. Tessier-Lavigne said in a statement, adding: “Although I was unaware of these issues, I want to be clear that I take responsibility for the work of my lab members.”

Persons: Marc Tessier, Lavigne, Tessier, Randy Schekman, Shirley Tilghman, Dr . Tessier, . Tessier, “, Dr, ” Organizations: Stanford University, Physiology, Princeton University

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