02Nov 2023 by Janice Holland
New lung cancer screening guidelines expand who should get tested annually

New lung cancer screening guidelines expand who should get tested annually

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Only a fraction of people at high risk for lung cancer are getting screened for the disease even though it kills more in the United States than breast, colorectal and prostate cancers combined. New American Cancer Society guidelines will allow millions more to become eligible for regular scans that can detect tumors early enough to save lives. With one important exception, the new guidelines echo existing recommendations from the highly influential U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. In 2021, the panel said people ages 50 to 80 who had smoked at least 20 “pack years” and were either still smoking or had quit within the last 15 years should be tested annually with low-dose CT scan, a type of X-ray. According to the new guidance released Wednesday, even heavy smokers who…
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01Nov 2023 by Janice Holland
FDA takes first step to protect children from medications that look and taste like candy

FDA takes first step to protect children from medications that look and taste like candy

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Is that gummy a vitamin or candy? It can be hard to tell, especially for children.Since 2019, there’s been a spike in the number of children younger than 4 who were taken to the emergency room for ingesting gummy multivitamins and over-the-counter sleep aids like melatonin.That’s why the Food and Drug Administration convened a meeting of experts Monday to discuss what, exactly, makes a drug “candy-like.”The experts, who included more than a dozen doctors, drugmakers and poison control center directors, noted that risks of candy-like drugs being accidentally ingested depended on taste, packaging and how the products were formulated, such as chewable gummies versus hard tablets that must be swallowed.“I’ve heard of situations where babysitters didn’t know which are the gummies or which are the medications,” Dr. Suzanne Doyon, medical…
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01Nov 2023 by Janice Holland
FDA moves closer to sickle cell cure that uses gene editing

FDA moves closer to sickle cell cure that uses gene editing

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The Food and Drug Administration may be one step closer to what could be the first approval of a drug that uses the groundbreaking gene-editing tool CRISPR. The drug, called exa-cel, treats sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder that affects an estimated 100,000 people in the U.S., most of whom are Black, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness causes the body’s red blood cells, usually disk-shaped, to take on a crescent or sickle shape. When that occurs, the cells can clump together, leading to clots and blockages in the blood vessels. That may result in a variety of complications, including excruciating pain, trouble breathing or stroke.  “The promise of a universally available, potentially curative option for individuals with sickle cell disease is revolutionary,” said Dr. Biree Andemariam,…
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01Nov 2023 by Janice Holland
Infant mortality rose in 2022 for the first time in two decades

Infant mortality rose in 2022 for the first time in two decades

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The U.S. infant mortality rate rose last year for the first time in two decades. The rate refers to the number of infants who died before their first birthdays out of every 1,000 live births.The U.S. recorded 5.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022, a 3% increase over the previous year, according to a report Wednesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The last year-to-year increase was from 2001 to 2002, when the rate similarly rose by 3%. The 2022 data are estimates based on birth and death records submitted to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The CDC will most likely release a final report next year following a more comprehensive review of the data.According to Danielle Ely, a co-author of the report and a…
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01Nov 2023 by Janice Holland
Minoxidil, drug that treats thinning hair, may be in short supply

Minoxidil, drug that treats thinning hair, may be in short supply

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A popular drug used to regrow hair and thicken thinning locks in both men and women may be difficult to find in some pharmacies, according to new research.The pill, called minoxidil, must be taken every day for patients to maintain the progress they've made in restoring hair growth. An interruption could be devastating."You can go backwards and start losing your hair again," said Dr. Adam Friedman, professor and chair of dermatology at George Washington University. Minoxidil is often used for androgenetic alopecia, also known as male or female pattern hair loss. It's a condition that affects nearly half of men and about a quarter of women by age 50, according to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology. In recent months, Friedman noticed that his patients were having difficulty obtaining 30-day supplies…
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01Nov 2023 by Janice Holland
FDA warns against buying, using eyedrops made in ‘insanitary conditions’

FDA warns against buying, using eyedrops made in ‘insanitary conditions’

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The Food and Drug Administration on Monday expanded its warning not to buy or use eyedrops sold by several major retailers, sometimes under their own brand names.The warning now includes the product Equate Hydration PF Lubricant Eye Drop 10 mL sold by Walmart, the FDA said. "Walmart is removing the product from their store shelves and website," it said in an updated drug safety warning.A list of eyedrops published under the FDA's warning also includes those sold under the brands CVS Health, Leader, Rugby, Rite Aid, Target Up & Up and Velocity Pharma.The agency said retailers should pull them from shelves and consumers should discard them. Besides Walmart's noted cooperation, the FDA said CVS, Target and Rite Aid were pulling the eyedrops from shelves and making them unavailable on their…
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