Health

Mosquito-borne dengue fever is spreading rapidly around the world, reaching record levels and even popping up in unexpected places. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning doctors in the United States to be on the lookout for cases, as the risk of infection has increased this year. Why the wave? Several factors are driving the increase in dengue. The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the virus, thrives in warm, humid environments. Climate change is creating the ideal conditions for these mosquitoes to expand their range and become more numerous. Additionally, urbanization brings people closer to mosquito breeding…

For many Americans, the rising tide of prescription drug prices seems like a relentless force, threatening to swamp family budgets and access to health care. While pharmaceutical companies often assume public responsibility, the web of influences on drug costs is much more intricate. Today we shine our spotlight on a critical, but typically hidden, player in this system: pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Rebecca Robbins, a leading investigative journalist specializing in pharmaceuticals for the New York Times, will take us on a deep dive into the world of PBMs. We will explore their role as intermediaries between drug manufacturers, insurers,…

“In a creative environment there is an encounter with yourself, an awakening to your unconscious, to your experiences,” said Tammy Federman, a filmmaker whose new documentary “Memory Game” centers on a theater troupe of survivors of Holocaust in Israel managed by AMCHA, an Israeli social support services organization. “But there's also a group meeting because one person talks about this very traumatic experience and another person can relate to it. It gives you the courage to open up, to share your experience, and there is also joy, there is humor, there is movement and creativity.” And while research from Brandeis…

Hunter Biden, the president's son, is on trial in federal court for falsely claiming in a gun application that he had not used illicit drugs. Testimonies from his ex-wife and his ex-girlfriends describe his drug-fueled character; look for his dealer on the streets; his large cash withdrawals from the bank. Hallie Biden, his brother Beau's widow who was dating him in the fall of 2018 when the gun purchase occurred, spoke of his erratic behavior, possession of rocks of crack and cocaine "the size of ping-pong balls, or bigger, maybe” and how she frantically urged him to go to rehab.…

As of April, the world's oldest living man is believed to be Englishman John Alfred Tinniswood at 111 years old, according to Guinness World Records. (Guinness lists María Branyas Morera, a California native living in Spain, as the world's oldest woman, at 117.) When Mr. Markoff heard the news of his rise to the top of the list, "he just smiled and said, 'Well, someone has to be there,'" his daughter said in an interview. He stood out not only for his longevity but also for a lucidity unusual for his age. Until her final months, she pored over the…

Those most likely to be involved are younger and able to walk, "able to move and put themselves in harm's way," Dr. Pillemer said. Most had at least moderate cognitive impairment. The studies also found that incidents occurred more often in specialized dementia units. “Memory care has positive elements, but it also puts residents at greater risk of assault,” Dr. Pillemer said. “More people with brain diseases, uninhibited people, gather in a smaller space.” Because so many, both perpetrators and victims, suffer from dementia, "sometimes we can't say what started it all," said Leanne Rorick, director of a program that…

Linked media - Associated media As the drugs have grown in popularity, so too has the pressure for public figures to disclose whether they’re using them. Some have made an event out of revealing they take medication — perhaps none more notably than Oprah Winfrey, who announced in People magazine that she was taking a weight loss drug and “done with the shaming.” She later hosted a prime-time special devoted to weight stigma and the new medications. Elon Musk was one of the earliest proponents, writing on Twitter in 2022 after being asked how he had become so “fit, ripped…

Related media - Linked media Top of the Waiting List Last week, Kendric came prepared for the stem cell collection — he has spent many weeks in this hospital being treated for pain so severe that on his last visit, even morphine and oxycodone could not control it. He brought his special pillow with a Snoopy pillowcase that his grandmother gave him and his special Spider-Man blanket. And he had a goal. “I want to be cured,” he said. Bone marrow stem cells, the source of all the body’s red and white blood cells, are normally nestled in a person’s…

Associated media - Related media When Surgeon General Vivek Murthy went on a nationwide college tour last fall, he started to hear the same kind of question time and again: How are we supposed to connect with one another when nobody talks anymore? In an age when participation in community organizations, clubs and religious groups has declined, and more social interaction is happening online instead of in person, some young people are reporting levels of loneliness that, in past decades, were typically associated with older adults. It’s one of the many reasons loneliness has become a problem at both the…

Linked media - Connected media “This reconceptualization that we’re proposing affects not a small minority of people,” said Dr. Juan Fortea, an author of the study and the director of the Sant Pau Memory Unit in Barcelona, Spain. “Sometimes we say that we don’t know the cause of Alzheimer’s disease,” but, he said, this would mean that about 15 to 20 percent of cases “can be tracked back to a cause, and the cause is in the genes.” The idea involves a gene variant called APOE4. Scientists have long known that inheriting one copy of the variant increases the risk…