Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Side Effects Of Drugs Like Leqembi Masked By 'ARIA' Acronym, Some Say
The complication called ARIA has nothing to do with music. It is a term adopted by an influential group of pharmaceutical executives and academic scientists to describe potentially fatal bleeding and swelling in the brain caused by drugs like Leqembi. (Petersen, 6/17)
With nearly seven million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s disease — and 13 million projected to have the illness by 2050 — early diagnosis and treatment are more urgent than ever. To help address this, Mayo Clinic has announced a new, non-invasive blood test that detects a protein in the brain that signals Alzheimer’s. The goal, doctors say, is for this test to offer a convenient, less invasive alternative to traditional diagnostic methods. (Rudy, 6/17)
U.S. pharmaceutical giant Cencora has been affected by a data breach. The company is notifying affected individuals that their personal and highly sensitive medical information was stolen during a cyberattack and data breach earlier this year. This includes patient names, postal addresses, dates of birth as well as information about their health diagnoses and medications. (Knutsson, 6/17)
The maker of Zyn nicotine pouches suspended nationwide sales on its U.S. website as local officials in Washington, D.C., investigate the company’s compliance with the district’s ban on the sale of flavored products. Philip Morris International PM on Monday said that its Swedish Match North America unit has received a subpoena from the attorney general of the District of Columbia and is currently conducting a full review of its sales and supply-chain arrangements in the district and other U.S. localities where the bans might apply. (Ojea, 6/17)
Antibiotics found in the top oceanic surface layer can contribute to antimicrobial resistance and have negative ecologic effects, according to research presented late last week at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in Atlanta. Scientists evaluated the susceptibility and resistance of marine bacteria to the antibiotics ofloxacin, clindamycin, clarithromycin, and novobiocin on bacterial diversity in the sea surface microlayer in Jade Bay in the southern North Sea in Germany, the ASM press release said. (Van Beusekom, 6/17)
