Illinois accepted into new access model for cell and gene therapy
Illinois was accepted this week into a new access model focused on helping Medicaid patients access expensive sickle cell disease treatment.
Focused Ultrasound Matches Prostatectomy for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer
LAS VEGAS — Focused ultrasound ablation for prostate cancer proved at least equivalent to radical prostatectomy for failure-free survival, according to a randomized trial reported here. After 3 years of follow-up, treatment failure had occurred in 5.6% of patients treated with focused ablation and 7.9% of the prostatectomy groups. The difference did not achieve statistical […]
Opening Blood-Brain Barrier to Deliver Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Promise
Aducanumab (Aduhelm) infusions combined with focused ultrasound led to lower cerebral amyloid-beta levels in Alzheimer’s disease, a proof-of-concept trial showed. The investigational treatment involved creating an opening in the blood-brain barrier with MRI-guided focused ultrasound to boost drug delivery. In each of three participants who received aducanumab infusions, amyloid reduction was greater in brain regions […]
Practicing mindfulness can help people make heart-healthy eating choices
Practicing mindfulness focused on healthy eating can be good for the heart, a new study shows, because it improves self-awareness and helps people stick to a heart-healthy diet. When people who had elevated blood pressure participated in an eight-week mindfulness-based blood pressure reduction program for the study, they significantly improved their scores on measures of […]
Postpartum Psychosis: A Life-Threatening Emergency
The recent news cycle has focused on the tragic deaths of three young children in Boston, allegedly at the hands of their mother. Lindsay Clancy, a labor and delivery nurse, has been charged with homicide in the killings of her 8-month-old, 3-year-old, and 5-year-old children. It is believed that after she strangled them, she injured […]
Advanced Parkinson’s Symptoms Improved With Focused Ultrasound
Unilateral focused ultrasound ablation targeted to the globus pallidus internus led to a higher percentage of Parkinson’s disease patients with improved motor function or reduced dyskinesia compared with sham over 3 months but was associated with adverse neurologic effects, a pivotal trial showed. A total of 45 patients (69%) in the focused ultrasound group had […]
MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Eases Pain From Bone Metastases
MRI-guided focused ultrasound improved pain and quality of life for patients with bone metastases, similar to external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), according to a prospective nonrandomized phase II trial in Italy. At 1-month follow-up, the overall response rates were 91% for those who underwent focused ultrasound and 67% for those who underwent EBRT (P<0.001), with […]
A Fork in the Road on My ‘Cancer Journey’
For the past 12 years, I have been focused on my diagnosis of low-risk prostate cancer, and in 2016, I began sharing my experience and covering the latest developments in the field in my “A Patient’s Journey” blog for MedPage Today. But in recent months, a few events reminded me that prostate cancer isn’t my […]
People with low BMI aren’t more active, they are just less hungry and ‘run hotter’
To date most research on obesity has focused on studying those with a high body mass index (BMI), but a research group in China is taking a different approach. In a study published July 14 in the journal Cell Metabolism, the scientists looked at individuals with a very low BMI. Their findings reveal that these […]
Biden Signs ‘Historic’ Gun Reform Bill Into Law
President Biden on Saturday signed into law a bipartisan legislative package focused on preventing gun violence, calling it the “most significant” gun safety legislation in 30 years. “From Columbine to Sandy Hook, to Charleston, Orlando, Las Vegas, Parkland, El Paso, Atlanta, Buffalo, Uvalde, and for the shootings that happen every day in the streets,” the […]