Georgia Reports Another Measles Case As Oregon Outbreak Hits 30

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) yesterday reported a measles infection in an Atlanta resident who wasn’t fully vaccinated, marking the state’s fifth case of the year, according to a statement. The DPH said the patient was exposed to the virus during international travel, adding that it is working to identify people who had contact with the patient during the infectious period. CIDRAP.

Cancer Poses A Growing Problem For Employers

Rising cancer rates among younger workers are a new factor clouding employers’ health cost outlook, per a major benefits survey released Tuesday. Cancer was the most reported condition driving up health care costs in 2024, followed by musculoskeletal and cardiovascular conditions. Axios.

Out-Of-Pocket Costs for Cancer Treatment Can Wreak Financial Havoc

Roughly 1.9 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer each year — awful news not just for the person’s physical health and emotional state, but also for their finances. Out-of-pocket costs — including copays, deductibles, hospital stays, doctor’s office visits, emergency services, and home health care services — can wreak havoc. HoustonChronicle.

Many Older People Maintain And Even Gain Cognitive Skills 

… that in the six years after turning 75, about half of people showed little to no change in their physical, biological, hormonal and cognitive functioning, whereas the other half changed quite a lot. A longer-term study followed more than 2,000 individuals with an average age of 77 for up to 16 years. It showed that the three quarters who did not develop dementia showed little to no cognitive decline. SciAm.

Lilly’s Zepbound Slashed Risk of Developing Diabetes

Eli Lilly’s obesity drug Zepbound significantly cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, showing the benefits of long-term use of the blockbuster therapy. In a Phase 3 trial that lasted over three years, people with pre-diabetes taking Zepbound had a 93% lower risk of progressing to diabetes compared with people on placebo, Lilly said Tuesday. The company did not report absolute risk rates. STAT.

Microplastics are infiltrating brain tissue, studies show: ‘There’s nowhere left untouched’

Twenty-four brain samples collected in early 2024 measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight

… Finding microplastics in more and more human organs “raises a lot of concerns”, given what we know about health effects in animals, studies of human cells in the lab, and emerging epidemiological studies, said Bethanie Carney Almroth, an ecotoxicologist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. “It’s scary, I’d say.” Guardian.

Two slices of ham a day can raise type 2 diabetes risk by 15%, research suggests

Cambridge-led study of 2m people globally is most comprehensive evidence yet of red meat link to diabetes

… They found habitual daily consumption of 50g of processed meat – equivalent to two slices of ham – was associated with a 15% higher risk of type 2 diabetes in the next 10 years. Consuming 100g of unprocessed red meat a day – the equivalent of a small steak – was associated with a 10% higher risk of the disease. Habitual consumption of 100g of poultry a day was associated with an 8% higher risk. When further analyses were conducted to test the findings under different scenarios the association for poultry consumption became weaker but the associations with type 2 diabetes for processed meat and unprocessed red meat persisted, the researchers found. Guardian.

Voters in Arizona and Montana Can Decide on Constitutional Right to Abortion

 Voters in Arizona and Montana will be able to decide in November whether they want to protect the right to an abortion in their state constitutions. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a 200-word summary that abortion advocates used to collect signatures for a ballot measure is valid, clearing the way for the issue to remain on the ballot. Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen on Tuesday certified Montana’s constitutional initiative for the November ballot. Under both measures, abortions would be allowed until fetal viability — the point at which a fetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks. AP.

Climate crisis threatens medical blood supply in US amid extreme weather

Turnout at blood drives affected as summers get hotter and extreme weather causes cancellations, Red Cross warns

… Record heat in July and other extreme weather combined with typical seasonal obstacles, such as summer leisure travel, drove a shortfall of more than 19,000 blood donations across the country, the organization said. Its national blood inventory plummeted more than 25%, while hospital demand for lifesaving blood products has remained constant… Guardian.

Opinion: Another Pandemic Looms. Guess What? We’re Still Not Ready.

…We shouldn’t discount the pandemic potential of mpox. If mpox cases were to seed in Europe, there could be rapid and sustained spread.

Routine smallpox vaccinations were discontinued after the W.H.O. declared the disease eradicated in 1980. (The United States stopped routine vaccinations in 1972.) This means the world’s population, including in the United States, is relatively naïve to orthopoxviruses — the group of viruses that include mpox and smallpox. Given how effectively mpox can spread through sex and other kinds of close contact, for instance, in homes and hospitals where there’s insufficient protective gear, mpox could become a major threat. NYT.

Matthew Perry’s Death Shines a Harsh Light on Ketamine Treatment

Was Mr. Perry, whose struggles with substance abuse were widely known, a good candidate for a drug used to relieve depression? Doctors say his case raises thorny questions.

… Studies have found that ketamine can drastically relieve symptoms of depression, but even those who support the drug’s use for psychiatric disorders typically acknowledge that evidence of long-term safety and effectiveness is scant. While ketamine poses a lower addiction risk than opioids, it can produce an out-of-body experience that some people enjoy, and abuse has been linked to serious health problems, including bladder damage… NYT.

The rapidly evolving field of street medicine

Using Medicaid dollars to provide health care to homeless people

… The rapidly evolving field of street medicine — the practice of providing health care to homeless people living outside — is getting a jolt in California with a new player: a medical group devoted exclusively to homeless people. WashPost.

Does dairy need to be part of a healthy diet?

There’s conflicting data. And with many other options now, it can be confusing. Here are some facts.

…Is cow’s milk healthier than plant milk? Dairy milk has a wider array of nutrients. Plant milks such as almond, oat and coconut are usually fortified with calcium and vitamins A and D, but they have no vitamin B12 and little protein. They’re also lower in magnesium, potassium, and other vitamins and minerals. (Soy milk, however, has seven grams of protein per cup.) If you choose a plant milk, make sure it’s fortified with calcium and vitamin D… WashPost.

Schools Face Fiscal Cliff As Federal Pandemic Aid Expires 

School districts across the country received the largest infusion of federal cash ever to pull themselves out of the throes of the pandemic. But now that money is set to expire and districts are slashing jobs, increasing class sizes and cutting programs to keep their schools afloat. Congress designed the aid — roughly $190 billion altogether — as a one-time distribution of cash primarily to tackle pandemic crises like learning loss, chronic absenteeism and worsening mental health. That’s more than one fifth of total U.S. K-12 education spending in 2022. Now, the last $122 billion runs out at the end of September. Politico.

PlayStation Is Good for You: Video Games Improved Mental Health During COVID

Playing video games for a couple of hours a day can improve mental health, according to a study on gamers in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research — which was done from December 2020 to March 2022 — found that even just owning a game console increased life satisfaction and reduced psychological distress. The results were published today in Nature Human Behaviour.