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Painkiller prescriptions after wisdom tooth removal could set teens on path to long-term opioid use

Getting wisdom teeth removed may be a rite of passage for many teens and young adults, but the opioid painkiller prescriptions that many of them receive could set them on a path to long-term opioid use, a new study finds.

9 Aug 2018

Learning to live well with dementia

Imagine your doctor telling you have Alzheimer's disease or some other type of dementia. Then, imagine being told, "I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do. You might want to start getting your affairs in order."

9 Aug 2018

New guideline released to improve diagnosis, care for people with prolonged disorders of consciousness

For people in a vegetative or minimally conscious state caused by brain injury, an accurate diagnosis and ongoing medical and rehabilitative care based on the latest scientific evidence could mean a better chance for recovery, according to a new guideline by the American Academy of Neurology, American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.

9 Aug 2018

Pharmacy-made pain creams flagged on fears of Medicare fraud and risk

Medicare pays hundreds of millions of dollars each year for prescription creams, gels and lotions made-to-order by pharmacies — mainly as pain treatments. But a new report finds that officials are concerned about possible fraud and patient safety risks from products made at nearly a quarter of the pharmacies that fill the bulk of those prescriptions.

9 Aug 2018

FDA flags risks linked to improper use of ROM tests

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today alerted women and their doctors about serious adverse events related to the improper use of tests intended as an aid in detecting if a pregnant woman's water has broken (also known as a rupture of the membranes containing amniotic fluid).

9 Aug 2018

FDA approves potassium chloride oral solution as first generic drug to receive CGT designation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved several strengths of potassium chloride oral solution as the first generic drugs to receive a Competitive Generic Therapy designation.

9 Aug 2018

FDA approves drug for rare, hard-to-treat types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Poteligeo (mogamulizumab-kpkc) injection for intravenous use for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory mycosis fungoides or Sézary syndrome after at least one prior systemic therapy.

8 Aug 2018

FDA issues scientific recommendations to encourage development of novel drugs for treatment of OUD

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued new scientific recommendations aimed at encouraging more widespread innovation and development of novel medication-assisted treatment drugs for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

7 Aug 2018

In weary post-storm Puerto Rico, Medicaid cutbacks bode new ills

Blue tarps still dot rooftops, homes lack electricity needed to refrigerate medicines, and clinics chip away at debts incurred from running generators. Yet despite the residual effects from last year's devastating hurricanes, Puerto Rico is moving ahead with major cuts to its health care safety net that will affect more than a million of its poorest residents.

6 Aug 2018

Research uncovers new approach for expanding stem cells from umbilical cord blood

Researchers from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and collaborators have identified a way to expand blood-forming, adult stem cells from human umbilical cord blood.

3 Aug 2018

Obesity increases viral shedding duration in adults with influenza A

Obesity, which increases influenza disease severity, also extends by about 1.5 days how long influenza A virus is shed from infected adults compared to non-obese adults, according to a multi-year study of two cohorts of Nicaraguan households.

2 Aug 2018

ADHA applauds federal agencies that update Surgeon General's Report on oral health

The American Dental Hygienists' Association applauds the federal agencies that will be involved in updating the Surgeon General's Report on oral health.

2 Aug 2018

How rival opioid makers sought to cash in on alarm over oxycontin’s dangers

As Purdue Pharma faced mounting criticism over deaths linked to OxyContin, rival drugmakers saw a chance to boost sales by stepping up marketing of similarly dangerous painkillers, such as fentanyl, morphine and methadone, Purdue internal documents reveal.

2 Aug 2018

To tame prescription prices, HHS dips a toe into drug importation stream

It came as something of a surprise when Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced that the administration was exploring the importation of prescription drugs to fight high domestic prices.

1 Aug 2018

FSMB partners with NAM to form Action Collaborative on countering opioid epidemic

In recognition of the need for a national coordinated and collective response to the epidemic of opioid addiction in the U.S., the Federation of State Medical Boards is partnering with the National Academy of Medicine and 35 organizations to form the Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic.

1 Aug 2018

Missed visits, uncontrolled pain and fraud: report says hospice lacks oversight

Elderly patients spent over two weeks in uncontrolled pain or respiratory distress. Acute care was rare on weekends. And recruiters went door to door pitching fraudulent schemes, luring healthy patients to sign up for hospice in exchange for free housecleaning and medicine.

31 Jul 2018

FDA approves first therapy for patients with rare tumors of the adrenal gland

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Azedra (iobenguane I 131) injection for intravenous use for the treatment of adults and adolescents age 12 and older with rare tumors of the adrenal gland (pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma) that cannot be surgically removed (unresectable), have spread beyond the original tumor site and require systemic anticancer therapy.

31 Jul 2018

Newer version of ALS drug may effectively treat inherited form of the disease

NIH-funded researchers delayed signs of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in rodents by injecting them with a second-generation drug designed to silence the gene, superoxide dismutase 1.

27 Jul 2018

A transgender woman’s quest for surgery caught in political crosswinds

With the country on course to enshrine the rights of transgender Americans, Wren Vetens introduced herself as a woman for the first time in January 2016, at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

26 Jul 2018

NIH officials highlight growing threat of tickborne diseases

The incidence of tickborne infections in the United States has risen significantly within the past decade. It is imperative, therefore, that public health officials and scientists build a robust understanding of pathogenesis, design improved diagnostics, and develop preventive vaccines, according to a new commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine from leading scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health

26 Jul 2018

Health and Human Services News and Research

Painkiller prescriptions after wisdom tooth removal could set teens on path to long-term opioid use

Learning to live well with dementia

New guideline released to improve diagnosis, care for people with prolonged disorders of consciousness

Pharmacy-made pain creams flagged on fears of Medicare fraud and risk

FDA flags risks linked to improper use of ROM tests

FDA approves potassium chloride oral solution as first generic drug to receive CGT designation

FDA approves drug for rare, hard-to-treat types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

FDA issues scientific recommendations to encourage development of novel drugs for treatment of OUD

In weary post-storm Puerto Rico, Medicaid cutbacks bode new ills

Research uncovers new approach for expanding stem cells from umbilical cord blood

Obesity increases viral shedding duration in adults with influenza A

ADHA applauds federal agencies that update Surgeon General's Report on oral health

How rival opioid makers sought to cash in on alarm over oxycontin’s dangers

To tame prescription prices, HHS dips a toe into drug importation stream

FSMB partners with NAM to form Action Collaborative on countering opioid epidemic

Missed visits, uncontrolled pain and fraud: report says hospice lacks oversight

FDA approves first therapy for patients with rare tumors of the adrenal gland

Newer version of ALS drug may effectively treat inherited form of the disease

A transgender woman’s quest for surgery caught in political crosswinds

NIH officials highlight growing threat of tickborne diseases

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