Infosnack: updates in photography, medicine, & technology.

Morning Rounds: Americans’ health is trending downward, poll finds https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/15/health-news-texas-abortion-hca-mission-health-obesity-diversity-rsv/?utm_campaign=rss Understand how science, health policy, and medicine shape the world everyday. Sign up for our Morning Rounds newsletter here. Good morning. What do the numbers say? That’s a question Olivia Goldhill tackled to estimate how many Texans may be struggling to get an abortion for serious medical reasons. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 15, 2023 at 09:21AM

FDA chastens pet companies over antibiotics https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/15/biotech-news-amgen-novartis-chewy-bluebird-antibiotics-pfizer-ftc/?utm_campaign=rss Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get our biotech newsletter in your inbox. Hullo! Turns out Jay Bradner is moving from academia and Novartis to serve as Amgen’s new CSO. Also, the FDA has a new registry of trial sponsors and investigators who didn’t finish their paperwork. Have a nice weekend! Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 15, 2023 at 09:11AM

Kate Cox is one of hundreds in Texas denied abortions despite serious health risks, data show https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/15/abortion-kate-cox-texas-health-risks-trisomy-18/?utm_campaign=rss A Texas woman’s unsuccessful legal fight for an abortion on medical emergency grounds drew nationwide headlines in recent days, but her plight is hardly a rare occurrence amid vague and highly restrictive state laws in the post-Roe era. Kate Cox is likely one of hundreds, if not thousands, of Texans who’ve faced a similar struggle this year to get an abortion for medical reasons, according to a STAT review of studies and abortion data from other states. Over the first six months of this year, there were 34 legal abortions recorded in Texas, all of which were categorized as both “medical emergencies” and to “preserve the health of the woman,” in a state where abortions are only permitted under such circumstances. That figure, said physicians and researchers, is far below the number of patients who would typically need abortions to protect the health of the mother, suggesting many women have been forced to continue pregnancies despite the risks, or to travel out of state for abortions. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 15, 2023 at 04:30AM

Morning Rounds: Teen pregnancies down, but remain higher in the U.S.  https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/14/health-news-medication-abortion-mifepristone-pregnancy-nausea-sickness-dobbs/?utm_campaign=rss Understand how science, health policy, and medicine shape the world everyday. Sign up for our Morning Rounds newsletter here. Good morning. Reproductive health is dominating the news and the newsletter this morning. We also have a look at the decade-long battle over a patent for CRISPR. It’s been a rollicking ride. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 14, 2023 at 10:43AM

Is it time to worry about Moderna? https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/14/biotech-news-moderna-apellis-merck-obesity-machine-learning-sage-biogen-amgen/?utm_campaign=rss Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get our biotech newsletter in your inbox. Hello, everyone. Damian here with the fallout from Pfizer’s downbeat update, a new entrant in obesity research, and an orthogonal CRISPR business. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 14, 2023 at 08:55AM

When Dobbs forced one doctor to shutter his abortion clinic, he took his mission on the road https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/14/traveling-doctor-abortion-clinic-dobbs/?utm_campaign=rss On June 24, 2022, Aaron Campbell turned away patients at his abortion clinic for the first time. Earlier that day, the 32-year-old doctor had received word that the Supreme Court had just handed down a consequential decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, upending the constitutional right to an abortion in the U.S. The lawyers at Campbell’s clinic, the Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health in Knoxville, Tennessee, urged him to stop performing all abortions immediately. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 14, 2023 at 04:30AM

Morning Rounds: For kids with high BMI, task force not ready to recommend weight loss drugs https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/13/health-news-humana-beta-thalassemia-weight-loss-bmi-gene-therapy-birth-control/?utm_campaign=rss Understand how science, health policy, and medicine shape the world everyday. Sign up for our Morning Rounds newsletter here. Good morning. Don’t miss Brittany Trang’s compelling story about seven-year-old Shelby Campbell’s life — and her family’s — while being treated for beta thalassemia with gene therapy. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 13, 2023 at 10:05AM

A plot to solve the ‘whack-a-mole’ of drug discovery https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/13/biotech-news-vertext-inductive-bio-pfizer-alnylam-pharma-non-opiod-gene-therapy/?utm_campaign=rss Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get our biotech newsletter in your inbox. Good morning, everyone. Damian here with some hotly anticipated news from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a closer look at the latest FTC controversy, and a detailed look at what it’s like to actually receive a gene therapy. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 13, 2023 at 09:44AM

STAT+: Male birth control gets another shot with small new trial of non-hormonal pill https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/13/male-birth-control-pill/?utm_campaign=rss From several types of hormonal pills to implants, IUDs, and vaginal rings, women have a lot of birth control choices that are both non-surgical and reversible. Men have just one: Condoms, which are 87% effective in preventing pregnancy, and thus less reliable than many other methods. Attempts to change the status quo have been scarce and unsuccessful. In 2016, a trial for a hormonal male birth control pill was halted after men reported side effects including acne and mood swings — though such side effects are also experienced by women on various hormonal contraceptives. One man in the trial developed severe depression and another attempted suicide, developments that have been recorded, but are not typical for, women on birth control pills. But there may be hope on the horizon for men who want to have more agency over birth control, and for women who would rather share the responsibility of contraception with male partners: YCT-529, a drug candidate that aims to be the first non-hormonal contraceptive pill for men. The pill entered its Phase 1 clinical trial today in the U.K., testing safety, tolerability, and functioning of oral doses of the drug in a small trial of 16 participants. Continue to STAT+ to read the full story… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 13, 2023 at 06:00AM

Doctors call out ableism in cancer care: ‘The biggest accommodation is attitude’ https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/13/cancer-care-disabilities-discrimination/?utm_campaign=rss People with disabilities often spend a lot of time navigating bias and educating others about their condition. When it comes to cancer, assumptions made by their doctors can undermine their care even before it starts. The potential for pitfalls is vast. Clinicians might assume a woman who uses a wheelchair isn’t sexually active so doesn’t need to be tested for HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer. They might order a mammogram to screen for breast cancer without considering the fact that the test requires someone who uses a wheelchair to stand. Imaging scans may be unworkable for someone unable to hold their limbs still because of cerebral palsy. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 13, 2023 at 04:30AM

STAT+: Bone marrow transplant advance could widen use of this less buzzy cure for sickle cell disease https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/12/sickle-cell-disease-bone-marrow-transplant-advance/?utm_campaign=rss SAN DIEGO — The sickle cell community has for the past few days been buzzing with news of the first-ever approved gene therapies for the devastating disease. Meanwhile, researchers at the American Society of Hematology meeting on Tuesday are reporting advances in a less expensive and more established strategy proven to cure patients: bone marrow transplant. This approach has been around for decades but required patients to have a well-matched donor and endure a hefty dose of chemotherapy, ruling out transplant as an option for the vast majority of patients. In a mid-stage trial, however, researchers said sickle cell patients who were given a gentler course of chemo and an infusion of half-matched cells fared well: They had less pain, and 95% of participants were alive two years after transplant and only 7% of recipients experienced a severe reaction caused by transplanted immune cells attacking their new home. The news comes as researchers are still processing the Food and Drug Administration’s landmark approval of two cutting-edge sickle cell therapies, one made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics and the other by Bluebird Bio. These drugs have price tags of $2.2 million and $3.1 million, respectively. By comparison, a bone marrow transplant costs about $200,000 to $400,000, and, the study’s authors argue, could be performed on a broader swath of patients. Continue to STAT+ to read the full story… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 12, 2023 at 12:00PM

Morning Rounds: Can you take GLP-1 drugs during pregnancy? https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/12/health-news-mental-health-depression-yosemite-cigna-humana-methadone/?utm_campaign=rss Understand how science, health policy, and medicine shape the world everyday. Sign up for our Morning Rounds newsletter here. Buongiorno! We’re now officially in this year’s home stretch. For me, that means I am flying home to Italy (with Tuna — please send any and all tips for long flights with spicy little dogs) at the end of this week. Meanwhile, don’t miss Allison DeAngelis’s fascinating profile on Reed Jobs and his investment in oncology. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 12, 2023 at 09:21AM

Tome Biosciences goes public today in another biotech megaround https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/12/biotech-news-pfizer-seagen-bicara-tome-sanofi-reed-jobs-bristol-myers-daiichi/?utm_campaign=rss Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get our biotech newsletter in your inbox. Hello, everyone. Damian here with an introduction to an emerging VC with a famous name, an escalation from the FTC, and the latest biotech megaround. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 12, 2023 at 09:03AM

Methadone clinics spar with addiction doctors on bill that would widen access https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/12/opioids-methadone-clinics-direct-prescriptions/?utm_campaign=rss Lawmakers on Tuesday will debate an addiction medicine proposal that would have been considered unthinkable just years ago: giving a select group of doctors the power to prescribe methadone directly to patients. With no end in sight to the deadly U.S. drug overdose crisis, which claims nearly 110,000 lives a year, many advocates have zeroed in on methadone as a potential game changer. While the medication is highly effective, it is so tightly regulated that many patients see it as impossible to access. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 12, 2023 at 04:30AM

Boston’s mobile clinics offer model of health care that meets patients where they are https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/12/health-care-mobile-medicine/?utm_campaign=rss BOSTON — Chongcan Zhu, an 83-year-old longtime resident of Boston, lives alone — but she doesn’t feel a sense of isolation when it comes to receiving health care. That’s thanks to the van that comes straight to the senior residential community where she lives, providing services to people dealing with conditions like high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes, and substance use disorders. “It’s very convenient to have the doctor check up on me,” said Zhu, who has been a patient at the Mass General Brigham Community Care Van about five times so far, speaking through a translator. Read the rest… via STAT Health - Science, medicine and healthcare news https://www.statnews.com/category/health/ December 12, 2023 at 04:30AM