Alzheimer’s May Be Transmissible in Rare Circumstances
Alzheimer’s disease appeared to be transmissible under rare conditions, according to new research. Five patients treated with human growth hormone from cadaveric pituitary glands when they were children subsequently developed early dementia or biomarker changes consistent with Alzheimer’s disease, reported John Collinge, MD, of University College London in England, and co-authors in Nature Medicine. Four […]
MedPAC Draft Recommendation Calls for 1.3% Pay Bump for Medicare Clinicians
Physicians who treat Medicare patients would get about a 1.3% pay increase in 2025 under a draft chairman’s recommendation released Thursday by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). That figure represents half of the projected 2.6% increase in the Medicare Economic Index (MEI), a measure of the costs of running a medical practice, Brian O’Donnell, […]
Medicare Finalizes 3.4% Payment Cut for Physician Fees in 2024
Physicians would receive a 3.4% cut in their Medicare reimbursement under a final rule released Thursday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Overall, the finalized calendar year 2024 physician fee schedule conversion factor is $32.74, a decrease of $1.15, or 3.4%, from 2023, CMS said in a press release. CMS’s Positive Spin […]
THC Dose of Edible Cannabis Tied to Degree of Toxicity in Young Kids
The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) dose of edible cannabis correlated to the degree of toxicity in children under 6 years, a retrospective review showed. Among 80 kids with a median age of 2.9 years, THC weight-based dose was a significant predictor of severe toxicity (adjusted OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.8-4.7) and prolonged toxicity (aOR 3.2, 95% CI […]
High-fat diets alter gut bacteria, boosting colorectal cancer risk in mice
The prevalence of colorectal cancer in people under the age of 50 has risen in recent decades. One suspected reason: the increasing rate of obesity and high-fat diets. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute and UC San Diego have discovered how high-fat diets can change gut bacteria and alter digestive molecules called bile acids that […]
Insect protein slows weight gain, boosts health status in obese mice
As the global population grows under a changing climate, the urgency to find sustainable protein sources is greater than ever. Plant-based “meat” and “dairy” products may be popular, but they’re not the only environmentally friendly meat alternatives. A new study in mice from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggests replacing traditional protein sources with mealworms […]
MACRA Gets Mixed Reviews at House Hearing
WASHINGTON — The physician payment system instituted under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) has brought some positive results but still needs to be improved, witnesses said Thursday at a House of Representatives hearing. “Despite the good intentions of policymakers, MACRA has not solved the issues with how Medicare pays doctors,” Joe Albanese, […]
MedPAC Recommends Cutting Admin Fees Paid to Docs Under Part B Program
Drug payments under Medicare Part B could be cut by reducing the administrative fees doctors get for dispensing medications in their office, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) said Thursday in its June report to Congress. “Our work on Medicare spending for Part B drugs is driven largely by the growth in spending between 2009 […]
Obesity treatment could offer dramatic weight loss without surgery or nausea
Imagine getting the benefits of gastric bypass surgery without going under the knife — a new class of compounds could do just that. In lab animals, these potential treatments reduce weight dramatically and lower blood glucose. The injectable compounds also avoid the side effects of nausea and vomiting that are common with current weight-loss and […]
More Young Kids Can Get Bivalent COVID Booster
More children under age 5 are now eligible for a COVID-19 booster, the FDA announced on Tuesday. Kids ages 6 months to 4 years who completed their primary vaccination with three doses of the monovalent Pfizer-BioNTech shot can now get a booster with the companies’ bivalent COVID vaccine — which targets the Omicron BA.4/5 subvariants […]