Author: KnowledgeHippo

Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Boston announced Tuesday that it has developed an experimental drug that relieves moderate to severe pain by blocking pain signals before they reach the brain. It only works on peripheral nerves—those outside the brain and spinal cord—which makes it different from opioids. Vertex says its new drug is expected to avoid opioids’ potential to lead to addiction.The company said it had completed two randomized studies, the first in 1,118 people who had tummy tucks and the other in 1,073 people who had shell surgery. The two procedures are commonly used in studies of people with acute pain,…

Never one to miss a beat, Matt Fitzgerald climbed into the second row of his Mazda CX-90 on a recent weekday morning and opened his MacBook so he could work on another book.Mr. Fitzgerald, 52, is many things – author, public speaker, coach – but most of all he is prolific. He has written or co-written 34 books, mostly on running, endurance sports and nutrition. He writes early. He writes often. He writes a lot.”Sometimes I feel like I’m doing B-plus work on a dozen things versus A-plus on three or four,” he said. “But I am who I am.…

There are exceptions to these general trends, and the findings may not apply to dogs outside Britain, where breeding practices – and gene pools – may be different, the researchers noted.More research will be needed to determine why some breeds have shorter lifespans than others. Some breeds are genetically predisposed to serious health problems, but breed-related differences in behavior, lifestyle, diet, environment or other factors could also play a role in shortening some dogs’ lives, experts said.”Now that we’ve identified these populations at risk of early death, we can start to look at why this is happening,” said Kirsten McMillan,…

You may have heard of the Stanley glass, the trendy water bottle that has people camping outside stores or fighting to get their hands on it.They’ve become fashion accessories, especially since Stanley has used influencer culture to target women and skyrocket sales of its glasses. The bottles’ reach has been boosted by social media users.But social media gives and social media takes away. In recent weeks, several widely shared posts on TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and X have fueled concerns that Stanley cups may contain lead, with one X user calling it “The leadership”. YouTubers have also entered the fray. A…

Why it matters: Price quotes start negotiations.The drugs selected for negotiations are taken by millions of older Americans to treat conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart failure. The government identified them in August, starting a lengthy process aimed at reaching an agreed price that would take effect in 2026, provided the negotiating program survives legal challenges.The initial round of price quotes is a key step in the negotiation process. Each pharmacist has until early March to accept the offer or propose a counteroffer to the government. A series of negotiating sessions could follow, with the process being completed by…

Women are much more likely than men to have their immune systems turn against them, resulting in a range of so-called autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and multiple sclerosis. A study published Thursday offers an X-chromosome-based explanation.The research, published in the journal Cell, suggests that a special set of molecules that act on the extra X chromosome that women carry can sometimes confuse the immune system.Independent experts said the molecules are unlikely to be the only reason the autoimmune disease disfigures women. But if the results hold up in further experiments, it may be possible to base new treatments on…

Done chasing scientists for the day?I didn’t make it today. But if I spent a few hours reading papers, I’d probably write four or five comments about errors in scientific papers. These problems are not hard to find, and they are not hard to find in any institution. They are all out there to be found if one cares to read the scientific literature.What motivates you to take the time to do it?I’m not anti-German, I’m not a conspiracy theorist or anything like that. I’m a scientist myself and I care about doing science right.You focus in part on images…

Record: Global warming is intensifying both threats.As humans warm the planet, both heat waves and wildfires are becoming more severe and long-lasting in the American West. This also means they are more likely to overlap. Researchers estimated that two-thirds of California’s land area experienced heat and heavy smoke from wildfires at some point during the state’s record fire year of 2020.Both risks are harmful to health in their own right: Heat stress increases cardiac strain, and fire smoke inhalation can worsen lung conditions. The new study, led by researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California,…

The doctor is in. So does the yogi.A sharp shift in health care is taking place as more than a third of American adults now supplement or replace mainstream medical care with acupuncture, meditation, yoga and other therapies long considered alternative.In 2022, 37 percent of adult pain patients used nontraditional medical care, a marked increase from 19 percent in 2002, according to research published this week in JAMA. The change has been driven by increasing insurance reimbursement for clinical alternatives, more scientific evidence of their effectiveness, and increasing patient acceptance.”It’s become part of the culture of the United States,” said…

About 3.8 million people in the United States — four times the number two years ago — are now taking the most popular weight-loss drugs, according to the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, an industry data provider.Some of these recipes are for diabetes. The drugs are Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy (the same drug sold under different brand names) and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound (also the same drug).The pent-up demand is even greater because many people who want the drugs cannot find or afford them. Without insurance coverage, people have to pay out of pocket. If they get…