‘Humbling, Exhausting, Exhilarating’: The Life of AMA President Jesse Ehrenfeld
WASHINGTON — “Humbling, exhausting, and exhilarating.” That’s how Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, president of the American Medical Association (AMA), described his experience so far, 8 months into his 1-year tenure. Although it has been interesting to be on “some pretty big stages,” some of the more meaningful experiences have come in the lesser-known destinations, Ehrenfeld […]
Anti-Tobacco Activists Hold ‘Menthol Funeral’ in Washington
WASHINGTON — A group of anti-tobacco activists and their supporters held a “menthol funeral” here Thursday, demanding that the Biden administration release a long-delayed final rule banning the sale of menthol cigarettes and other menthol-flavored tobacco products. “Let us bury menthol cigarettes; enough is enough,” said Rev. Horace Sheffield, CEO of the Detroit Association of […]
Want to Get More Healthcare Bills Passed? Fix the Filibuster, Suggests a Senator
WASHINGTON — The Senate could get a lot more done on healthcare and other issues if the rules for holding a filibuster were changed, a senator and his former chief of staff said Wednesday. “Think about, for example, drug prices, where 80% of Americans think every drug should be negotiated so we get the same […]
Board Restricts Doctor’s License Over COVID Misinfo
The Medical Commission in Washington state has restricted the license of Idaho pathologist Ryan Cole, MD. In an order dated January 4, the commission concluded that Cole spread misinformation related to COVID-19 and failed to meet the standard of care for a number of patients during the pandemic. As a result, the commission restricted Cole […]
Five Companies Sign Agreement to Participate in National Health Data-Sharing Network
WASHINGTON — Five healthcare companies took another step toward becoming part of a nationwide network to exchange patient health information on Tuesday. “I feel like we’re watching the Big Bang occur in 2023,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said during an event held at HHS headquarters here. He congratulated “the entities who stepped up early to […]
TULSA Effective in Controlling Prostate Cancer Long-Term
WASHINGTON — Results from a long-term follow-up of the pivotal TACT trial showed that MRI-guided transurethral ultrasound ablation (TULSA) was effective and durable in men with localized prostate cancer. The median prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level at 5 years was 0.63 ng/mL — a 90% reduction from the median PSA at baseline, reported Scott Eggener, MD, […]
Oncolytic Virus Shows High Response Rates in BCG-Unresponsive Bladder Cancer
WASHINGTON — Treatment with cretostimogene grenadenorepvec, an investigational intravesically delivered oncolytic immunotherapy, achieved high response rates in patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) unresponsive to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), according to an interim analysis of the phase III BOND-003 trial. Among 66 patients evaluable for efficacy, 75.7% (95% CI 63-85) achieved a complete response (CR) […]
Noninvasive Therapy Shows Efficacy in Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
WASHINGTON — An investigational non-surgical treatment led to a “robust” complete response rate in patients with recurrent, low-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, the phase III ENVISION study showed. Patients treated with the UGN-102 (mitomycin) intravesical solution achieved a complete response rate of 79.2% (95% CI 73.5-84.1) at 3 months without having to undergo transurethral resection of […]
Epigenetic signature for obesity found in study of twins
A susceptibility to gain weight may be written into molecular processes of human cells, a Washington State University study indicates. The proof-of-concept study with a set of 22 twins found an epigenetic signature in buccal or cheek cells appearing only for the twins who were obese compared to their thinner siblings. With more research, the […]
Suicidal Ideation Common Among Transgender, Gender Diverse Youth in ED
WASHINGTON — A keyword-based search in the electronic medical record (EMR) at an urban emergency department (ED) showed high rates of suicidal ideation among transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth, according to a retrospective cross-sectional study. In 81% of ED encounters at a single tertiary children’s hospital, TGD youth screened positive on the Ask Suicide-Screening […]