Medicare has been told to reassess a significant premium increase it had announced that largely stemmed from the expensive new Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra’s directive, which was announced on Monday, comes shortly after Aduhelm maker Biogen cut the price of the drug by about half, from $56,000 to… read on > read on >
Researchers say they’ve uncovered a clue to why the Omicron variant spreads COVID-19 so much more rapidly than its predecessors. People who are infected but have no symptoms are still far more likely to infect others than they would have been with earlier variants, the data shows. “As we witness the quick, global spread of… read on > read on >
Exercise helps you stay fit, hale and hearty, and researchers say it may also help you stave off dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Now they have a better understanding of the hidden benefits that aid the brain. Older folks who are more physically active have higher levels of a protein that promotes better communication between the… read on > read on >
Swabs that come with at-home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests should be used in the nose and not the throat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns. It issued the warning on Twitter in response to reports that some people are using swabs intended for nasal samples to take samples from their throats and posting their… read on > read on >
For people newly diagnosed with advanced melanoma, a combination of two immunotherapy drugs can double the amount of time their cancer remains progression-free, a clinical trial has found. The treatment combines two drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors. One, called nivolumab (Opdivo), is already standard for advanced melanoma; the other, relatlimab, is not yet approved.… read on > read on >
Vaccination is still the best way to protect someone from COVID-19, but new research suggests that immune system activation of T-cells by common colds may offer some cross-protection. The study might also provide a blueprint for a second-generation, universal vaccine that could prevent infection from current and future variants, the research team said. “Being exposed… read on > read on >
MONDAY, Jan. 10, 2022 (American Heart Association News) — Jeff and Christina Russ – and their beagle mix, Lacey – were walking their regular 2-mile loop through their neighborhood in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, when Jeff began to feel winded. It was a warm Sunday evening in early August 2020, and they were headed back home.… read on > read on >
The surge of the Omicron variant across the United States has left people scrambling to find at-home COVID-19 test kits. “Tests are in short supply, there’s no doubt about it, because of the sheer volume of people wanting and needing to get tests,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of… read on > read on >
As the Omicron variant blankets America and demand for COVID-19 tests climbs, so, too, does price gouging. High prices for over-the-counter antigen tests are being seen around the country, CBS News reported. “The danger in health care is that for any lifesaving product — it’s vulnerable to price gouging because most people would pay [an]… read on > read on >
It’s a COVID phenomenon that had, until now, gone relatively unnoticed: You can be infected with COVID-19 and the flu at the same time. Thanks to the internet, it even has a name — “flurona.” And it will likely happen much more often this particular winter, as the flu season kicks into gear and the… read on > read on >
