AJMC Staff

President Donald Trump on Friday declared the novel coronavirus a national emergency, which unlocks billions of dollars in federal funding to fight the disease’s spread. He also announced the creation of a website to direct symptomatic individuals to drive-through testing locations.

Two individuals died after recieveing stool transplants; a CDC report highlights a lack of action on binge drinking; Congress has approved a food aid measure for seniors.

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The FDA granted a fast track designation to Jardiance (empagliflozin) for treatment of chronic kidney disease; a new review in the New England Journal of Medicine urges physicians to prepare for self-managed abortion complications; Alcoholics Anonymous is more effective than other common abstinence treatments.

Johnson & Johnson and Apple’s Heartline trial is serving as a model of success for virtual clinical trials; from 2012 to 2018, conscientious vaccine exemption rates rose in Texas schools; a 25% increase in emergency department visits in just 2 years from patient self-harm shows the importance of suicide prevention.

New federal regulations will allow patients to download their electronic health records (EHRs) and other healthcare data onto their smartphone; FDA's final report on the link between talc, asbestos in cosmetic products finds 43 negative, 9 positive results; 2 proposed bills aim to support mental health legislature in Minnesota schools.

A year after being only the second person to be cured of HIV, the “London Patient” revealed his identity; BMS announced today that its combination therapy for multiple myeloma—elotuzumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone—failed its primary endpoint of progression-free survival in its phase 3 ELOQUENT-1 trial; Biocon and Mylan N.V. announced that the FDA accepted their biologics license application (BLA) for MYL-14020, a proposed biosimilar to bevacizumab (Avastin), for review.

The combination of the biologic adalimumab and hydroxychloroquine may be responsible for the improvement in lichen planopilaris, including the hair regrowth, according to the study.

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Twenty-one people aboard a cruise ship carrying more than 3500 people off the California coast tested positive for the new coronavirus, but only 46 people overall have been tested, and federal officials are trying to bring the ship to a non-commercial port. COVID-19 (which stands for coronavirus disease 2019) passed a global milestone; SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease, has infected more than 100,000 worldwide.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) misunderstood a law for decades affecting healthcare access for veterans with less-than-honorable discharges; days after Super Tuesday and a decision by the Supreme Court to hear a Republican challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Democrats are eager to talk about the issue, but vulnerable Republicans are not; moderate drinking is linked with lower levels of beta amyloid, the protein that forms the brain plaques of Alzheimer disease.

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A federal judge has invalidated Medicaid work requirements in Michigan; the Department of Justice (DOJ) launches an initiative to root out the worst nursing homes; wholesale retailer Costco purchases a stake in a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM).

Federal incentives fail to spur development of new drugs to treat rare diseases; alcohol-related deaths have risen steadily over the past several years; will CMS stop auto-enrolling low-income individuals in exchange health plans?

Four more US deaths related to the coronavirus were reported in Washington state yesterday; the 2 justices appointed by President Trump to the Supreme Court will hear their first case on abortion tomorrow; Sandoz agreed to pay $195 million in a generic drug price-fixing investigation.

The second US Coronavirus death was reported in EvergreenHealth hospital in Kirkland, Washington; extended-release drugs were shown to cost almost $14 billion more than twice-a-day medications over a 5-year study; the Supreme Court plans to hear the third challenge to the Affordable Care Act in October.

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Rates of opioid poisoning in children point to a greater need for mental health services among this age group to prevent suicide; lung cancer screening rates fall below recommended levels for at-risk patient groups; not all deaths from opioid-related causes are reported as such.

Express Scripts’ insulin coverage decisions are questioned; the United States may have its first coronavirus case of unknown origin; obesity rates are on the rise among US adults.

A nonprofit in Philadelphia can open a safe injection site for intravenous drug users; clinical trial sponsors could be deemed noncompliant for not posting their data; Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals agrees to pay $1.6 billion in ongoing opioid crisis lawsuit.

Drugmaker Moderna Inc. sent out its first batch of a experimental coronavirus vaccine to be tested in humans; eptinezumab, sold as Vyepti and developed by Lundbeck, was approved by the FDA as a migraine prevention therapy; a US appeals court upheld a Trump administration rule on abortion referrals.

Nonprofit hospitals with the highest net income were shown in a study to devote the smallest proportion of earnings to charity care; FDA approves a novel drug to lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); the White House is seeking emergency funding from Congress to fight the novel coronavirus.

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Millennials have increaseing incidence of liver disease related to alcohol consumption; the EPA will regulate 2 chemicals in drinking water; unpaid caregivers are on the rise in the United States.

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A study found potential age bias in heart care for patients on different sides of their 80th birthday; 2 passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship die of coronavirus; California Governor Gavin Newsom outlined several mental health proposals to address homelessness in the state.

Our brains experience social and physical pain in much the same way; rural hospitals in the United States are increasingly at risk of closure; there is strong support for organ and tissue donation for research.

A vascular surgeon in Florida allegedly stole $26 million from insurers and the government; a new report finds many rural areas are still at risk of an HIV outbreak; new disposable flavored vape pens have largely replaced Juul use among teens.

Passengers of the coronavirus-infected ship Diamond Princess landed in the United States Monday, including 14 infected with the virus; 1 in 4 opioid overdoses were shown in a study to involve children 18 years old and younger; World Health Organization (WHO) initiative on insulin prices gains support.