Apr 24 WATCH: Trump, first lady speak at drug abuse summit in Atlanta President Donald Trump said his administration has secured $6 billion in federal dollars over two years to fight opioid abuse, but the epidemic won't be solved overnight. Opioid abuse claimed nearly 48,000 American lives in 2017. Continue reading
Apr 23 Why Shakespeare's own finale remains a closed book By Dr. Howard Markel In "Hamlet," William Shakespeare contemplated the fact that once a person dies, no living person knows where that departed soul goes. That same uncertainty hovers around the final hours of the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon. Continue reading
Apr 23 Ex-CEO is first drug exec indicted in opioid crisis, U.S. Attorney says By Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press The indictment unsealed Tuesday alleges former Rochester Drug Co-Operative CEO Laurence Doud III ordered subordinates to ignore red flags about certain pharmacy customers to maximize company revenues and his own pay, which more than doubled between 2012 and 2016 as… Continue reading
Apr 22 Medicare and Social Security stay on unsustainable financial paths, reports show By Philip Moeller Mostly unchanged from last year's report, the outlook for Social Security improved slightly. Its solvency was extended to 2035 due to significant changes in the program’s disability insurance fund. Continue reading
Apr 22 Measles cases rise to 626 driven by New York outbreak By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press Health officials say 71 more cases were reported last week, with 68 of them from New York. Continue reading
Apr 21 What my polio-stricken mother would tell parents today about the importance of immunization By Fred Leonard, STAT The success of immunizations in the U.S., as well as in other developed countries, has had unintended consequences. Continue reading
Apr 19 Watch 7:29 How a volunteer surgical team in Rwanda chooses which patients to save By Fred de Sam Lazaro, Sarah Clune Hartman Rheumatic heart disease develops when strep throat goes untreated. It causes an estimated 275,000 premature deaths per year, mostly youth in developing countries like Rwanda, where antibiotics are rarely available. Surgery is the only treatment option for advanced cases. Special… Continue watching
Apr 19 Police are now taking roadside blood samples to catch impaired drivers By Jenni Bergal, Stateline While it’s easy for police to screen drivers for alcohol impairment using a breath-testing device, there’s no such machine to screen for drug impairment. As a result, more police are ordering electronic warrants and drawing blood roadside, sparking concerns about… Continue reading
Apr 19 Why are so many Latino children developing fatty liver disease? By Rob Waters, Kaiser Health News In California, researchers are exploring the disproportionate rise of a progressive form of fatty liver disease in Latino children. The condition is the fastest-growing cause of liver transplants in young adults and appears to be linked to excess consumption of… Continue reading
Apr 19 U.S. researcher says he's ready to start pregnancies with 'three-parent' embryos By Emily Mullin, STAT Researchers at Columbia University in New York have created embryos containing genetic material from three people and are ready to use them to start pregnancies. But they’re at a legal impasse. Continue reading