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The latest about sleep deprivation and dementia: The Washington Post interviews researchers about recent studies. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine coordinated an initiative with the American Academy of Neurology and others to respond to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s draft assessment questioning CPAP’s long-term clinical benefits. Repetitive head hits caused chronic synaptic

During the latest episode of Saturday Night Live, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he was the first person with Asperger’s Syndrome to host the variety sketch show. “Or at least the first person to admit it,” he said during the opening monologue. This may have been the first time that Musk has publicly said he

In what’s likely a first for any drug with emergency use authorization (EUA), Regeneron launched TV ads for its monoclonal antibody combination therapy for COVID-19. The ads are permitted by the drug’s EUA, a spokesperson for the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research told MedPage Today. “Any materials made available must be consistent with

The more complicated a primary endpoint, the greater a puzzle it can be for clinicians to interpret the results. It’s likely even tougher for patients, who don’t help choose the events studied in clinical trials yet are increasingly sharing in the management decisions they influence. That creates an opening for a more patient-centered take on

Overall mortality rates for cancer continue to decline in the U.S., but since 2011 that decline has slowed for obesity-associated cancers, likely due to the obesity epidemic, researchers reported. The mortality trends for obesity-associated cancers mirror those for heart disease, according to Christy Avery, PhD, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and

In the United States, cryoablation or freezing tissue to death is a primary treatment option for a variety of cancers, including those originating in or spread to the bone, cervix, eye, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, and prostate. Cryoablation for prostate cancer, one of the most common cancers in men, was first approved in the 1990s.

“There were a number of patients that were in the hinterlands.” — William Schweizer, MD, of NYU Langone Health, discussing the pregnant women that fled New York City to give birth during the pandemic. “This made us hypothesize that eating a Mediterranean-like diet might act like a brake against Alzheimer’s progression.” — Tommaso Ballarini, PhD,

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Vice President Kamala Harris’ maternal uncle, Balachandran Gopalan, talks to media outside his house in New Delhi, India, last November. WASHINGTON (AP) — G. Balachandran turned 80 this spring — a milestone of a birthday in India, where he lives. If

Obesity might be a bigger COVID-19 threat in men than women, with increased risks for severe pneumonia, intubation, and mortality seen among hospitalized patients. (European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases) Could vitamin D help postmenopausal women stave off postoperative pain after a total knee replacement? (Menopause) Bone Health Technologies announced it has finished

Allergen disclosure legislation accurately covers the main triggers of anaphylaxis in different countries, according to a systematic review of food anaphylaxis studies. This “first global snapshot” of regional differences in food anaphylaxis fills “a significant evidence gap” in ensuring safe global trade of food, said the study’s senior author Professor Paul Turner, from the National Heart

While preparing my grand rounds presentation on omega-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease risk, I reviewed in detail three recent, large randomized trials, which showed no benefit of fish oil supplements on cardiovascular outcomes. These trials confirmed multiple other randomized studies over the last 20 years that have failed to show any benefit from over-the-counter

The first clinical trial of fecal microbiota transplantation in patients with psoriatic arthritis has found the procedure to be as safe as a sham procedure, but it didn’t show any effectiveness in decreasing PsA symptoms over 6 months, a team of researchers in Denmark reported in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2021 Apr 29. 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-219511).

I was trained in delivering bad news. I knew what to expect. I knew the questions that would come. I have learned the stages of grief. More importantly, I had done this before many times in the past 15 years. This is my job and my responsibility, I told myself. I got to work earlier

An experimental varenicline nasal spray can reduce signs and symptoms of dry eye disease, the results of a phase 3 trial suggest. Dr Michael Raizman Squirting the spray into their noses causes patients’ eyes to water. It also makes them sneeze, but it doesn’t irritate their eyes the way many eye drops do, said Michael

There was no association between use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and increased disease severity or mortality among patients with COVID-19 requiring hospitalization, a U.K. cohort study found. After adjusting for confounders, in-hospital mortality for patients who were taking NSAIDs prior to admission was no different from those who were not (matched OR 0.95, 95%

May 7, 2021 — Planning to hit the beach this summer? You might want to throw some bug spray into that beach bag along with your sunscreen. For the first time, Lyme disease-carrying ticks — typically associated with woodlands in New England and other forested regions of the U.S. — have been found in abundance near beaches in Northern California,

Members of an FDA advisory panel were sharply divided as to whether avacopan, an oral small molecule inhibitor of the C5a receptor, was sufficiently safe and effective for treating antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. As to whether the efficacy data supported approval of the drug, the FDA’s Arthritis Advisory Committee was split 9 to 9;

A panel of federal advisers on May 6 lent support to the ChemoCentryx bid for approval of avacopan for a rare and serious autoimmune condition. But they also flagged concerns about both the evidence supporting claims of a benefit for this experimental drug and its safety. At a meeting of the Food and Drug Administration’s

Just as reports of severe lung illnesses related to vaping began to make headlines in 2019, rates of cannabis vaping among high school students were soaring, according to high-quality survey data. Results from the long-running Monitoring the Future study showed that 4.9% (95% CI 4.3%-5.5%) of high school students reported “frequent” vaping of cannabis products

The COVID-19 pandemic may have increased the prevalence of myopia by confining young children indoors, researchers say. Spending more time inside focused on computer screens appears to have most affected the eyesight of the youngest school children, said Xuehan Qian, MD, PhD, of Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital in Tianjin, China. “We should be worried

Fewer than half of U.S. physicians worked in private practice during 2020, continuing a trend that has accelerated in recent years, according to a survey by the American Medical Association (AMA). Data collected from 3,500 U.S. physicians showed that 49.1% worked in physician-owned practices, a relative 9% decrease from the previous survey in 2018, when

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Employers who require COVID-19 tests for applicants or workers would be required to pay for them under a bill heard by a House committee Wednesday. The bill would prohibit employers from requiring that an employee or job applicant pay the cost of a COVID-19 test as a condition of employment. Sen.

Organ procurement organizations (OPOs) have been exploiting taxpayers for decades — NHL and NFL season tickets, board meetings in California wine country, private jets chartered for organ delivery but hijacked for CEO jaunts — all while failing to do what they’re supposed to do: procure organs for needy patients. During a virtual hearing Tuesday, Rep.

An investigational, orally dissolving film formulation of dexmedetomidine (BXCL501, BioXcel Therapeutics) may offer rapid relief from acute agitation related to schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (BD), results of two phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled trials show. Dr Leslie Citrome For both disorders, BXCL501 showed “superiority over placebo” by meeting the primary endpoint of reduction of agitation as

Skin tags and moles are natural skin growths that are very common. Skin tags are usually found in skin folds but can occur anywhere in the body and can easily be removed by dermatologists. However, there are also ways to remove them at home using over-the-counter medication, home remedies and patches. We’ve created a list

Note that some links may require registration or subscription. The White House is changing its vaccine distribution strategy. (Washington Post) Do monetary incentives work for COVID-19 vaccination? A study suggests they do. (New York Times) Pfizer is planning to seek FDA authorization of its COVID vaccine for kids ages 2 to 11 years by September.

The family of Ohio surgeon Thomas Lee Flanigan, 48, who died last week, made public the obituary he wrote himself, self-eulogizing his “shocking and unexpected, yet fabulous, exit.” Flanigan, who referred to himself as the “Ginger God of Surgery and Shenanigans,” wrote, “Yes, I have joined the likes of Princess Diana, John Belushi, and Steve

Talk show host Carrie Ann Inaba is taking a leave of absence as one of the co-hosts of CBS’s “The Talk.” The 53-year-old, who is also one of the judges on “Dancing with the Stars,” said she is stepping away to concentrate on her health. In a post on her website, Carrie Ann Conversations, Inaba