Medicine
- Baby born deaf can hear after breakthrough gene therapywww.cuh.nhs.uk Baby born deaf can hear after breakthrough gene therapy
Baby born deaf can hear after breakthrough gene therapy
Opal Sandy from Oxfordshire in the UK is the first patient treated in a global gene therapy trial, which shows “mind-blowing” results. She is the first British patient in the world and the youngest child to receive this type of treatment.
Opal was born completely deaf because of a rare genetic condition, auditory neuropathy, caused by the disruption of nerve impulses travelling from the inner ear to the brain.
Within four weeks of having the gene therapy infusion to her right ear, Opal responded to sound, even with the cochlear implant in her left ear switched off.
Clinicians noticed continuous improvement in Opal’s hearing in the weeks afterwards and at 24 weeks confirmed close to normal hearing levels for soft sounds, such as whispering, in her treated ear.
Now 18 months old, Opal can respond to her parents’ voices and can communicate words such as “Dada” and “bye-bye.”
"These results are spectacular and better than I expected. Gene therapy has been the future in otology and audiology for many years and I’m so excited that it is now finally here," says Professor Manohar Bance, an ear surgeon at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and chief investigator of the trial.
Professor Bance hopes that this is the start of a new era for gene therapies for the inner ear and many types of hearing loss.
- More than 200 people with diabetes injured after software issue drained insulin pump batteries | CNNedition.cnn.com More than 200 people with diabetes injured after software issue drained insulin pump batteries | CNN
More than 200 people with diabetes have been injured when their insulin pumps shut down unexpectedly due to a problem with a connected mobile app, the US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.
cross-posted from: https://kbin.run/m/world@lemmy.world/t/410267
> More than 200 people with diabetes have been injured when their insulin pumps shut down unexpectedly due to a problem with a connected mobile app, the US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.
- Researchers Discover First Effective Treatment for Spitting Cobra Snakebitewww.sci.news Researchers Discover First Effective Treatment for Spitting Cobra Snakebite | Sci.News
Researchers from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and elsewhere used cellular and mouse experiments to determine which toxins in certain African spitting cobra venom are responsible for causing tissue damage.
- Covid lessons remain unlearned as avian flu infects cattle, hospitals say
> Hospital leaders say the health system won’t be ready if the avian flu that’s infected American dairy cattle becomes widespread among humans. > > In discussing a hypothetical scenario, the hospitals have struck a different tone than the Biden administration. It says the risk is currently low to most people and that agencies are closely monitoring for any sign of danger to Americans. > > Still, hospital officials told POLITICO they’re dismayed that they don’t feel better prepared, just four years after Covid-19 caught them unawares. They’re not confident that the health care system — including the government agencies that have wound down Covid responses — can avoid the missteps around tests, bed space and communication that plagued the last public health emergency, should this strain of flu, H5N1, become more of a threat.
- Does the American Diabetes Association work for patients or companies? A lawsuit dared to ask | Neil Barskywww.theguardian.com Does the American Diabetes Association work for patients or companies? A lawsuit dared to ask | Neil Barsky
The ADA just settled an explosive legal case accusing the organization of betraying people with diabetes
- Overworked B.C. doctors say sick notes are wasting their time
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/20510991
> > Sick notes place an unnecessary burden on doctors and patients, physicians' organizations say > > > Family doctors frustrated with writing sick notes have created a template letter for patients to give to their employers, explaining that the notes place an unnecessary burden on physicians during an ongoing primary-care crisis. > > > > They are also calling on the province to restrict when and how employers can ask for sick notes. > > > Many family doctors spend between 20 and 30 per cent of their day doing paperwork, Ali says, and filling out sick notes only adds to that. > > > > Also, having to leave the house to get a note does not allow the sick person to rest, Ali said, and the task is made even more difficult for those who don't have a family doctor and have to wait in walk-in clinics. "A person who feels under the weather — the last thing they want to do is possibly get on a bus, or into their vehicle, or ask someone for a ride to go to their doctors office," said Ali. > > > As of 2023, employers in Nova Scotia are only allowed to request a sick note if the absence is more than five consecutive work days. > > > > New legislation in Ontario, meanwhile, will force employers to scrap sick notes for the three days of provincially mandated annual sick leave. The Ontario government is moving to ban sick notes for short-term illness, in an effort to cut down on paperwork for family doctors. > > > In a statement sent to CBC News, B.C.'s Ministry of Labour said employers are able to request "reasonably sufficient proof" of illness, but are encouraged to be thoughtful about when they request sick notes. > > > > It did not respond to questions about whether it is considering legislation to ban or restrict asking for sick notes.
- Nurses Say Hospital Adoption Of Half-Cooked ‘AI’ Is Recklesswww.techdirt.com Nurses Say Hospital Adoption Of Half-Cooked ‘AI’ Is Reckless
We’ve noted repeatedly that while “AI” (language learning models) hold a lot of potential, the rushed implementation of half-assed early variants are causing no shortage of headac…
Sorry that's being referenced in this one: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/health/nurses-kaiser-sf-protest-ai/3516888
- Walmart will close all of its health care clinics | CNN Businesswww.cnn.com Walmart will close all of its health care clinics | CNN Business
Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, will close all 51 of its health care clinics in six states and end virtual health care services, the company said Tuesday.
> Walmart had made a big push into health care in recent years, opening clinics next to its superstores that offered primary and urgent care, labs, X-rays, behavioral health and dental work — Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri and Texas. Walmart believed it could use its massive financial scale and store base to offer convenient, low-cost services to patients in rural and underserved areas that lacked primary care options. > > But the announcement is an abrupt reversal in Walmart’s strategy and may leave a gap in health care access, particularly for lower-income patients without insurance who relied on the centers. Walmart also said it will end virtual health care services. 99 Cents Only Stores, founded in 1982, announced Thursday that they will close all 371 of its stores. Nearby stores include Visalia (pictured), Tulare, Hanford, and Porterville. > > Related article Dollar stores are shutting down across America. They did this to themselves > > “One of unique things was they were focused on stores located in underserved communities. It’s disappointing that Walmart wasn’t able to make it work because these patients need care and don’t have as many options,” said Ateev Mehrotra, a professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School who researches retail health clinics. > > Walmart said it was a “difficult decision,” but its health care push was not profitable for the company because of the “challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs.” > > “We determined there is not a sustainable business model for us to continue,” the company said.
- Bacterial enzyme strips away blood types to create universal donor bloodnewatlas.com Bacterial enzyme strips away blood types to create universal donor blood
Using enzymes produced by a bacteria that almost everyone has in their gut, researchers have removed the antigens from red blood cells that determine blood type, putting us within reach of producing universal donor blood.
"Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Lund University, Sweden, have used enzymes produced by a common gut bacteria to remove the A and B antigens from red blood cells, bringing them one step closer to creating universal donor blood."
- First scientist to publish Covid sequence in China protests over lab ‘eviction’www.theguardian.com First scientist to publish Covid sequence in China protests over lab ‘eviction’
Zhang Yongzhen stages sit-in protest, as government attempts to avoid scrutiny over handling of outbreak
- [SciShow] Autoimmune Diseases Are Sexist. Here’s Why
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- A Doctor at Cigna Said Her Bosses Pressured Her to Review Patients’ Cases Too Quickly. Cigna Threatened to Fire Her.www.propublica.org A Doctor at Cigna Said Her Bosses Pressured Her to Review Patients’ Cases Too Quickly. Cigna Threatened to Fire Her.
Cigna tracks every minute that its staff doctors spend deciding whether to pay for health care. Dr. Debby Day said her bosses cared more about being fast than being right: “Deny, deny, deny. That’s how you hit your numbers,” Day said.
- ‘My mum gave the injections that killed my brothers’: how UK’s infected blood scandal has torn lives apartwww.theguardian.com ‘My mum gave the injections that killed my brothers’: how UK’s infected blood scandal has torn lives apart
As an inquiry into the infected blood scandal that has claimed 3,000 lives in Britain prepares to report on its findings, victims and families who have lost loved ones tell their stories
- Researchers systematically investigate efficacy of CRISPR antimicrobial agentsphys.org Researchers systematically investigate efficacy of CRISPR antimicrobial agents
The antimicrobial potential of CRISPR-Cas systems is promising, yet how to best design or implement CRISPR nucleases remains poorly understood. An international team led by the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg has now addressed this knowledge gap.
- McKinsey reportedly under US criminal investigation over opioid industry workwww.theguardian.com McKinsey reportedly under US criminal investigation over opioid industry work
Federal prosecutors looking at relationship with Purdue Pharma and other drug manufacturers, and its role in US opioid crisis
- Chemo side effect caused man's eyelash growth to go haywirewww.livescience.com Chemo side effect caused man's eyelash growth to go haywire
Some medicines can inadvertently cause people's eyelashes to grow incredibly long.
- Study Uncovers Serious Side Effects From Common Dementia Drugswww.sciencealert.com Study Uncovers Serious Side Effects From Common Dementia Drugs
Several antipsychotic treatments given to patients with dementia have been linked to serious side effects including heart failure, a study published Thursday has found.
- Vertex Pharma scientist talks about the long road to developing non-addictive painkillersapnews.com Vertex Pharma scientist talks about the long road to developing non-addictive painkillers
Patients suffering from pain have limited options when it comes to medication. For decades, the only two choices have been over-the-counter medicines like Tylenol or powerful prescription opioids.
- Deadly ‘Zombie’ Sedative Penetrating The U.K.’s Illicit Drugs Marketwww.forbes.com Deadly ‘Zombie’ Sedative Penetrating The U.K.’s Illicit Drugs Market
An animal tranquilizer that can lead to amputation and even death has been detected in counterfeit medications and cannabis vapes.
- Many cancer drugs remain unproven 5 years after accelerated approval, study findswww.nbcnews.com Many cancer drugs remain unproven 5 years after accelerated approval, study finds
The FDA's accelerated approval program, meant to speed access to promising drugs, grants approval based on promising initial results.
- ‘Game changer’ UTI vaccine stops infection for nine yearswww.telegraph.co.uk ‘Game changer’ UTI vaccine stops infection for nine years
Urinary tract infections lead to 150,000 hospitalisations a year, costing the NHS £380m
- "This Is The First Time": Drug Shows Signs of Slowing Parkinson's Diseasewww.sciencealert.com "This Is The First Time": Drug Shows Signs of Slowing Parkinson's Disease
A drug used to treat diabetes slowed the progression of motor issues associated with Parkinson's disease, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine said Wednesday.
- Clinical trial will attempt growing new liver from lymph nodearstechnica.com Clinical trial will attempt growing new liver from lymph node
With donor livers perpetually in short supply, growing them may be the answer.
- Thousands with Type 1 diabetes in England to receive 'artificial pancreas'news.sky.com Thousands with Type 1 diabetes in England to receive 'artificial pancreas'
NHS England says the mass rollout of the artificial pancreas builds on a successful pilot of the technology, which saw 835 adults and children given devices to improve the management of their condition.
- Pain medication recall as dire warning issuedwww.newsweek.com Pain medication recall as dire warning issued
Pharmaceutical company Eugia US LLC has recalled its Methocarbamol Injections, used to treat musculoskeletal conditions.
- Poland's president vetoes law on free access to morning-after pill for ages 15 and aboveapnews.com Poland's president vetoes law on free access to morning-after pill for ages 15 and above
The office of Poland's President Andrzej Duda says he has vetoed a law that would have allowed over-the-counter access to the morning-after pill for girls and women ages 15 and above.
- Unlocking mRNA’s cancer-fighting potentialnews.mit.edu Unlocking mRNA’s cancer-fighting potential
MIT spinout Strand Therapeutics has developed a new class of mRNA molecules that can sense where they are in the body, for more targeted and powerful treatments.
- World’s First Genetically-Edited Pig Kidney Transplant into Living Recipient Performed at Massachusetts General Hospitalwww.massgeneral.org World’s First Genetically-Edited Pig Kidney Transplant into Living Recipient Performed at Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital announced the world’s first successful transplant of a genetically-edited pig (porcine) kidney into a 62-year-old man living with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).
- Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk facing pressure as study finds $1,000 appetite suppressant can be made for just $5fortune.com Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk facing pressure as study finds $1,000 appetite suppressant can be made for just $5
A joint study between Yale University, King’s College Hospital in London and Doctors Without Borders found a single shot could be made for just 89 cents.
- Prolonged use of certain hormone drugs linked to increased brain tumor riskmedicalxpress.com Prolonged use of certain hormone drugs linked to increased brain tumor risk
Prolonged use of certain progestogen hormone drugs is associated with an increased risk of developing a type of brain tumor known as an intracranial meningioma, finds a study from France published by The BMJ today.
- Study reveals how measles virus mutates and spreads in the human brainwww.news-medical.net Study reveals how measles virus mutates and spreads in the human brain
Mayo Clinic researchers mapped how the measles virus mutated and spread in the brain of a person who succumbed to a rare, lethal brain disease.
- What psychedelics legalisation and decriminalisation looks like around the worldwww.bbc.com What psychedelics legalisation and decriminalisation looks like around the world
Psychedelics see increased legalisation and decriminalisation globally as treatment usages expand
- First US drug approved for a liver disease surging around the worldwww.nature.com First US drug approved for a liver disease surging around the world
A therapy called resmetirom improves hallmarks of an obesity-linked condition that can lead to liver failure.