Aug 09 How a ‘custody war’ broke out over a famous patient’s damaged brain By Jeffrey Brown In the new book "Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets," Luke Dittrich tells the story of the man known to science for decades under that moniker. But Dittrich does something more, because the man who performed… Continue reading
Aug 09 Big pharmaceutical companies reluctant to produce Zika vaccine By Helen Branswell, STAT The bulk of the work is being done by U.S. and Brazilian government research teams and smaller biotech companies. That matters: Small biotechs generally lack the money and expertise to take an experimental vaccine from the idea stage to a… Continue reading
Aug 09 For elderly patients, hospital stays often worsen disabilities By Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News About one-third of patients over 70 years old and more than half of patients over 85 leave the hospital more disabled than when they arrived, research shows. Continue reading
Aug 08 Watch 9:46 Syrian refugees adjusting to U.S. bring complex health needs By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Aug 07 Watch 25:10 PBS NewsHour Weekend full episode Aug. 7, 2016 By PBS News Hour On this episode for Sunday, Aug. 7, rebels in Syria advance on government forces in the embattled city of Aleppo, peace talks aimed at resolving Yemen’s 16-month civil war are suspended and the Obama administration declassifies its playbook for drone… Continue watching
Aug 07 Zika is ‘game-changer’ for OB-GYN doctors in Florida By Sammy Mack, WLRN For many OB-GYN doctors in Florida, discussing Zika risks with patients has become a standard part of prenatal care. Continue reading
Aug 06 Watch Concerns grow as fentanyl fuels rise in opioid overdose deaths By PBS News Hour According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths involving prescription opioids have quadrupled since 1999. But amid growing concern over the country’s problem with heroin and prescription opioids, a lesser-known drug in that same group is just… Continue watching
Aug 06 Feds approve controversial plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes to fight Zika By Kamala Kelkar As the Zika virus continued to spread in Florida, federal officials on Friday approved a plan to release millions of mutant mosquitoes there in hopes they can suppress the disease-carrying insect’s population. Continue reading
Aug 05 Column: Marilyn Monroe and the prescription drugs that killed her By Dr. Howard Markel Long before the opiate and opioid epidemics struck American life with such resounding force, there were plenty of other prescription drugs abused to excess with deadly results. Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe consumed, if not abused, a great deal of them. Continue reading
Aug 04 Does modern society worsen allergies and asthma? Ask the Amish By Lindzi Wessel, STAT A recent study compares the health of Amish children with others, its conclusion boosts support for the so-called hygiene hypothesis: the idea that a lack of early childhood exposure to a diversity of germs can keep the immune system underdeveloped… Continue reading