‘A ton of Covid out there’: US summer wave not taken seriously enough – experts

Epidemiologists push newly approved booster vaccines as current virus strain threatens at-risk groups

… Notably, the Covid viral activity in wastewater in August in the United States was almost twice as high as the same time last year and about the same as the peak of summer 2023, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Still, hospitalizations and deaths are a fraction of what they were in 2022.Guardian.

Oregon Measles Outbreak Is State’s Largest Amid National Spike

Oregon’s measles outbreak is now the largest in the state in over three decades, mirroring a trend of rising measles cases across the U.S. this year. Nearly one-third of measles cases since the pandemic occurred in the past three months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of cases in Oregon’s outbreak first tracked in mid-June grew to 31 as of Tuesday, surpassing the last outbreak in the state, in 2019, when 28 cases were reported. USAToday.

US Will Still Pay At Least Twice As Much After Negotiating Drug Prices

The U.S. government’s first-ever negotiated prices for prescription drugs are still on average more than double, and in some cases five times, what drugmakers have agreed to in four other high-income countries, a Reuters review has found. A Reuters review of publicly available maximum prices set by other wealthy nations – Australia, Japan, Canada and Sweden – show that they have negotiated far lower prices for the same drugs. Reuters.

Dexcom Starts Selling Its New Over-The-Counter Glucose Monitor. Here’s How Much It Costs

San Diego’s Dexcom began sales this week of Stelo, the industry’s first FDA-approved continuous glucose monitor that doesn’t require a prescription. With a two-pack of the biosensor costing just under $100 per month, the local company aims to tap a new market of users and increase access to this technology. Now, people without health insurance coverage for such devices have the option to buy Stelo directly from Dexcom’s website. MercuryNews.

The invisible toll of life with polycystic ovary syndrome

The overlooked emotional and psychological effects of PCOS are creating a silent mental health crisis

… Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). People with the condition were born with ovaries and experience at least two of the three main diagnostic criteria: menstrual irregularities, elevated levels of androgens like testosterone and the presence of small follicles on the ovaries … Though estimates vary, between 8 and 13% of menstruating adults have PCOS, and many experience adverse mental health outcomes. Recent studies have revealed that people with PCOS are four to seven times more likely to have depression and anxiety, three to six times more likely to have an eating disorder, and 8.47 times more likely to attempt suicide. Guardian.

US woman who faked cancer may have Münchausen syndrome – prosecutors

Amanda C Riley – also known as ‘Scamanda’ – pleaded guilty in 2021 to defrauding over $100,000 from donors

The woman who earned the derisive nickname “Scamanda” by faking a prolonged fight with terminal cancer and raising money for herself may have Münchausen syndrome – a psychological disorder involving the feigning of illness to win others’ nurturing, according to prosecutors. Guardian.

Dialysis May Prolong Life for Older Patients. But Not by Much. 

In one recent study, the challenging regimen added 77 days of life after three years. Often, kidney disease can be managed in other ways.

… dialysis can prolong the lives of patients with kidney failure. But a new study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine analyzed data from a simulated trial involving records from more than 20,000 older patients (average age: about 78) in the Veterans Health Administration system. It found that their survival gains were “modest.” How modest? Over three years, older patients with kidney failure who started dialysis right away lived for an average of 770 days — just 77 days longer than those who never started it. NYT.

Can I Lower My Cholesterol Without Taking a Statin?

Here’s what the evidence suggests can work.

… Research also suggests that a plant-forward diet called the portfolio diet — which includes soy products like tofu and other plant-based proteins like beans, lentils and chickpeas; viscous-fiber-containing foods like oats, barley, psyllium husk, berries, apples and citrus fruits; nuts and seeds; avocado; and healthy plant-based oils like canola oil and olive oil — can help lower cholesterol, said Andrea Glenn, a nutrition researcher at New York University. NYT.

Rethinking Addiction as a Chronic Brain Disease

Some researchers argue that the roles of social environment and personal choice have to be considered in order to make progress in treating people addicted to drugs.

… In the recent critique, researchers contended that, rather than emphasizing the brain’s brokenness in perpetuity, an addiction definition should include the motivation or context in which the person chose to use drugs. That choice, they said, is often about seeking an escape from intractable conditions such as a fraught home, undiagnosed mental health and learning disorders, bullying or loneliness. Generations of family addiction further tip the scales toward substance use. NYT.

An Agonizing Dilemma: When Obesity Prevents a Joint Replacement

Many doctors say it is too dangerous to perform the common surgeries on people with high body mass indexes, but patients say they are facing discrimination.

. . . Less than half of orthopedic surgeons in a survey published last year said they would operate on a patient with a B.M.I. over 40 — more than 22 million American adults fell into that category in 2017-18. Only 11 percent would operate on one of the 3.9 million Americans with a B.M.I. over 50. And patients with a B.M.I. over 55 would be rejected almost everywhere. Just 3 percent of U.S. orthopedists would operate.NYT.

Supreme Court allows HHS to divert funds over abortion referrals

The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the Biden administration to strip millions of health-care dollars from Oklahoma over its refusal to direct patients to information about abortions — a federal requirement that the state says would be at odds with its strict ban on terminating pregnancies. WashPost.