FRIDAY, Dec. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved two milestone gene therapies for sickle cell disease, including the first treatment ever approved that uses gene-editing technology. Casgevy, developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Boston and CRISPR Therapeutics of Switzerland, is the first medicineContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — As the war in the Ukraine rages on, new research shows that hospitals there are waging a battle of their own against a different kind of enemy: antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” that are spreading at an alarming rate. In a study published Thursday by theContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Some women with a very early form of breast cancer known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) can safely skip follow-up radiation therapy after surgery, new research suggests. Results from a sophisticated genetic test are key to the decision to either undergo orContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Sydnee Meth survived breast cancer, but she wasn’t prepared for the aftereffects of her treatment. Doctors removed the lymph nodes from Meth’s right armpit during her second bout with breast cancer in 2014, and as a result she developed a painful condition calledContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — More than half of night shift workers have at least one sleep disorder, as nocturnal labor plays havoc with body rhythms, a new study shows. About 51% of people working nights score positive for at least one sleep disorder, said senior study authorContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Could blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss meds such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound also lower users’ odds for colon cancer? New research suggests they might. All of these medications (and more) fall into a class of diabetes drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptorContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Suicide rates for Black women and girls ages 15 to 24 have more than doubled over the past two decades, a new report finds. “Suicides are rapidly increasingly among young, Black females in the U.S.,” said study first author Victoria Joseph, an analystContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Dec. 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) — The Biden administration is flexing some federal muscle in its push for lower drug prices, warning pharmaceutical companies that it might use its authority to cancel patent protections if a medication costs too much. Federal law allows the government to grant patent licensesContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Dec. 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) — The Biden administration has again delayed enacting a ban on menthol cigarettes following intense lobbying from the tobacco industry. Along with that pressure, other critics of the ban have warned that it might anger Black smokers, who use menthol cigarettes at far higherContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Dec. 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Games like football, soccer and rugby come to mind when thinking about sports-related concussions. But a smashing tennis shot could cause a traumatic brain injury if the ball whacks a player’s head, a new study argues. Concussions can happen if a tennis ballContinue Reading