Alaska Doctors Could Be Disciplined for Providing Transgender Care for Minors
Alaska medical professionals who provide gender-affirming care for children could risk disciplinary action under proposed changes to state regulations approved by the state medical board on Friday. The board unanimously approved draft language that would add those providing medical or surgical intervention to “treat gender dysphoria or facilitate gender transition” to a state regulation outlining […]
Illinois to maintain 988 lifeline for LGBTQ+ youths
The Pritzker administration said Thursday it will maintain the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline to provide mental health support services for LGBTQ+ youths.
Lawmakers approve plan to require mental health professionals at universities
Public universities in Illinois will have to provide mental health professionals to students under a proposal passed over the weekend by state lawmakers.
Court Rules Against Pharmacist Who Refused Emergency Contraception Prescription
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that a pharmacist who refused to provide emergency contraceptives to a customer because of his personal beliefs engaged in discrimination. The three-judge panel ruled Monday that pharmacist George Badeaux engaged in business discrimination in 2019 when he wouldn’t fill a prescription for an emergency contraception that is used […]
Opinion | ‘A Cash Cow for Hospitals’: What We Heard This Week
“A government program meant to provide incentives to serve lower income Americans is actually a cash cow for hospitals.” — Michael Barnett, MD, of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, on the pitfalls of the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program. “In practice, it’s just not happening.” — Samuel Dickman, MD, […]
The Case for a Yearly COVID Booster Shot
BOSTON — A yearly booster with an mRNA-based COVID vaccine may provide the best protection against catching the pandemic disease, a new analysis of the phase III COVE trial suggested. “Interestingly, we found that the longer duration between boosting actually provides better protection against COVID-19,” Dean Follmann, PhD, of the National Institute of Allergy and […]
Making plant-based meat more ‘meaty’ — with fermented onions
Plant-based alternatives such as tempeh and bean burgers provide protein-rich options for those who want to reduce their meat consumption. However, replicating meat’s flavors and aromas has proven challenging, with companies often relying on synthetic additives. A recent study in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry unveils a potential solution: onions, chives and leeks […]
‘Conscience’ Bills Let Medical Providers Opt Out of Providing a Wide Range of Care
A new Montana law will provide sweeping legal protections to healthcare practitioners who refuse to prescribe marijuana or participate in procedures and treatments such as abortion, medically assisted death, gender-affirming care, or others that run afoul of their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles. The law, which goes into effect in October, will gut […]
Cardiorespiratory Monitoring Can Be Telling of Outcomes in Extremely Preterm Infants
Physiologic data from cardiorespiratory monitoring may provide prognostic information about the clinical outcomes of extremely preterm infants, the Prematurity-Related Ventilatory Control (Pre-Vent) study found. The endpoint of death or need for respiratory medications or support at 40 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) was predicted by physiological parameters, the relationship growing stronger as the babies got older, […]
Sarepta’s Duchenne Gene Therapy Does Not Have ‘Unambiguous Evidence,’ FDA Staff Says
Clinical studies to date “do not provide unambiguous evidence” for SRP-9001 (delandistrogene moxeparvovec), an investigational gene therapy for ambulatory Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, FDA reviewers said in briefing documents released ahead of an advisory committee meeting. The agency also raised safety concerns about the possibility of administering an ineffective gene therapy. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is […]