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The House Appropriation Committee has voted to uphold a ban on genetically modified babies; an assisted suicide bill was passed by the Maine Legislature and will head to the desk of Governor Janet Mills; Beverly Hills has become the first city in the United States to ban sales of tobacco and tobacco-related products.

Results from a new study show that most nicotine-dependent patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who attended a 3-month smoking cessation program at a single-center clinic in Japan were able to quit smoking.

Though chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has been largely touted as one of the most important advances in cancer care in recent years, the therapy comes with the risk of severe toxicities as well as increased financial burden due to the high cost of the drugs.

Outlining a set of issues that need to be addressed under the Oncology Care Model (OCM), the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is urging the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation to delay the October 2019 deadline for practices to transition to 2-sided risk under the model.

The government seeks make it easier for cancer patients to use experimental drugs; a federal judge says the FDA can regulate stem cell companies; US senators reveal a list of 400 troubled nursing homes.

Bone metastases can cause pain in patients with cancer, and 2 abstracts presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting evaluated treating this pain.

Arbaclofen extended-release tablets were found to be a safe treatment that reduced spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis.

The essay appears as 9 states have passed laws that are designed to provoke challenges to Roe v Wade before the Supreme Court of the United States.

People living with HIV are generally at 1.5- to 2-fold higher risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure, and they often face barriers to accessing care.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, higher levels of genomic instability have been associated with lower immunogenicity, which means drugs are less effective, in patients with BRCA1/2-related breast cancers, according to research published in Clinical Cancer Research.

The authors, from the CDC, say that while the decline in diabetes incidence occurred alongside public health efforts, it's too soon to assume a causal relationship.

The Illinois Senate passed an abortion rights bill; a new study presented last weekend at ASCO 2019 found the Affordable Care Act (ACA) reduced racial disparites in cancer care; Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay an additional $300 million in NY talcum powder case.

Evidence suggests probiotics may decrease pro-inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress, and potentially pathogenic bacterial overgrowth in patients with Parkinson disease.

Patients with multiple sclerosis who received natalizumab therapy had lower relapse rates and reduced inflammation.

Two abstracts at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting analyzed bone metastases in cancer.

Long-term use of ozanimod may be associated with improved cognitive speed and higher rates of no evidence of disease activity among patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to 2 new abstracts presented at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.

According to a recent study, people with bipolar disorder were more likely to later develop Parkinson disease (PD) compared with patients who do not have the disorder.

This is part 3 of a 3-part vaccine series covering the potential of vaccines for infectious diseases, the impact of the antivaccination movement, and the promise of vaccines for cancer treatment. Read part 1 and part 2.

Creating a healthcare system that prioritizes a well-informed consumer and rewards improvements in quality requires overhauling the current system. Through a series of programs and initiatives, CMS, under Administrator Seema Verma’s leadership, is trying to fix some of the issues that plague the current US health system and make accessing care challenging for patients.

The addition of daratumumab to standard treatment of lenalidomide and dexamethasone for patients with multiple myeloma, who were ineligible for autologous stem-cell transplant, was found to significantly lower the risk of disease progression or death compared with those who only received standard treatment.

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/managing-vasoocclusive-crisis-in-sickle-cell-disease-a-look-at-the-clinical-and-economic-burden

Lack of awareness of hypoglycemia symptoms can be dangerous, because the person with diabetes can experience a dangerous drop in blood sugar; chronic low blood glucose can result in complications.

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/on-demand/ajmc-payer-and-specialty-pharmacy-forum-improving-the-adoption-of-oncology-biosimilars-in-practice

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

Here are the top 5 articles for the month of May.

There have been 91 cases of measles in the last week and a half, bringing the number of cases so far this year to 971; a coalition of civil rights group is suing the Trump administration over the recently issued conscience protection rule; Oklahoma's opioid trial against Johnson & Johnson has started.

This week, the top managed care news included the FDA's approval of a $2.1 million gene therapy; a study revealing that the worldwide need for palliative care will nearly double by 2060; the FDA granting priority review to Amarin’s Vascepa for a cardiovascular indication.

According to results from a recent retrospective study, patients previously diagnosed with a hematologic malignancy were found to be at a higher risk of developing head and neck cancers compared with patients without a prior hematologic malignancy.

While women reported smoking less than men, they were found to be more severely affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The American Heart Association has called for the creation of specialized, multidisciplinary, clinical programs that combine focused expertise in the fields of genetics and cardiovascular medicine.