What we're reading, June 13, 2016: the World Health Organization is recommending women in Zika-infected areas delay pregnancy; one FDA regulator feels too many drug makers are chasing the same treatments in cancer care; and risky behaviors among American teenagers are down.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending that women in areas of the world with the Zika virus should consider delaying pregnancy. While the health secretary of Puerto Rico has issued similar advice, the CDC has not made this recommendation, according to The New York Times. Currently, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and American Samoa remain the only parts of the United States with local transmission of the virus. With no vaccine and efforts unable to stem the spread of infection, delaying pregnancy may be the best way to avoid having children with brain damage, WHO has determined.
Are too many drug makers chasing the same treatments in cancer care? Already there are 3 treatments approved that target the PD-1 protein, and with 5 similar medicines in development, one FDA regulator feels resources might be better spent looking at more novel drugs, reported Reuters. However, drug companies argue that the future is in combinations, and that they aren’t just developing “me-too” drugs.
Risky behaviors among American youth are down significantly. According to AP, the CDC has found that teenagers are having less sex, aren’t smoking as much, and are drinking and using drugs less. Researchers are unsure what may have caused the drop in the number of teenagers who said they have had sex, but the decline may be due to more open discussions of sex and sexual orientation.
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