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Ongoing shortages of a medication that hospitals and emergency rooms rely upon to treat breathing problems are likely to worsen in coming days and weeks, experts warn. That’s because one of the two major U.S. suppliers of liquid albuterol, Akorn Pharmaceuticals, abruptly laid off its entire workforce and closed plants in New Jersey, New York and Illinois in late February. “We’re down to just one plant that’s supplying liquid albuterol to all patients in the United States,” said Dr. Juanita Mora, a Chicago allergist/immunologist and volunteer spokesperson for the American Lung Association. That remaining supplier of liquid albuterol, Nephron Pharmaceuticals, has had manufacturing issues of its own, exacerbating the situation even more, said Bayli Larson, a strategic initiatives associate with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). “Another phenomenon that could be at play is institutions, anticipating the shortage, may have increased their orders to ensure they had enough on hand,” Larson added. “ASHP discourages hoarding as a countermeasure to medication supply disruptions; however, some institutions feel they have to do it to avoid jeopardizing patient care.” The shortage comes at an extremely inopportune time, Mora said. “We are about to enter allergic asthma season, where pollen levels are going to begin to rise all throughout the United States,” Mora said. “And we know so many kids and adults suffer from allergic asthma symptoms and… read on > read on >

Troubling new research finds that rates of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are continuing to increase in children and young adults. Asian or Pacific Islander, Black and Hispanic children had higher rates, the study found. “Our research suggests a growing population of young adults with diabetes who are at risk of developing complications from the disease,” said lead researcher Lynne Wagenknecht, a professor and director of public health sciences at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. “It’s a troubling trend in young people whose health care needs will exceed those of their peers,” she said in a university news release. The findings are from the final report of the large SEARCH For Diabetes in Youth study, launched in 2000 with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Wake Forest School of Medicine was coordinating center for the study, which included five U.S. medical centers. It identified more than 18,000 young people age 19 and under who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and 5,200 10- to 19-year-old diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between 2002 and 2018. The annual incidence of type 1 diabetes was 22.2 per 100,000 in 2017-2018 and 17.9 per 100,000 for type 2 diabetes. “In our 17-year analysis, we found that the incidence of type 1 diabetes increased by 2% per… read on > read on >

Side effects from a COVID-19 vaccination might have made you feel poorly for a day or two, but that may have come with an extra benefit. A new study of health care workers finds a link between stronger side effects and a longer-lasting vaccine. In addition, those who had a COVID-19 infection prior to their vaccination also had a more powerful immune response, according to researchers from UConn Health in Farmington. “Prior infection with COVID meant you were more likely to have a sustained immune response. It definitely set your immune system to respond in a more vigorous way to the vaccination,” study co-author Dr. Kevin Dieckhaus said in a university news release. He’s chief of infectious diseases at UConn School of Medicine. To study this, researchers recruited 296 nurses, doctor and other hospital workers. That included 46 who had already been infected with COVID. Participants were vaccinated with either the Pfizer or the Moderna mRNA vaccines. The study had originally included health care workers vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, but not enough chose that option to make the results statistically significant. The health care workers had their blood tested for neutralizing antibodies at two months post-vaccination, then at five months and again at nine months. These neutralizing antibodies attack the parts of the virus important for infection, the study noted, while other antibodies… read on > read on >

In yet another example of the mind-body connection, people with depression symptoms may face an increased risk of having a stroke, as well as a worse recovery afterwards. A new international study, published online March 8 in the journal Neurology, found about 18% of those who had a stroke had symptoms of depression, compared to 14% of those who did not have a stroke. After adjusting for other contributing factors, researchers determined that people with symptoms of depression before stroke had an overall 46% increased risk of stroke compared to those with no symptoms of depression. As the symptoms increased, so did the higher risk of stroke. “Depression affects people around the world and can have a wide range of impacts across a person’s life,” said study author Dr. Robert Murphy, of the University of Galway in Ireland. “Our study provides a broad picture of depression and its link to risk of stroke by looking at a number of factors including participants’ symptoms, life choices and antidepressant use,” Murphy said in a journal news release. “Our results show depressive symptoms were linked to increased stroke risk and the risk was similar across different age groups and around the world.” The researchers used data from more than 26,000 adults in the INTERSTROKE study, which included 32 countries across Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Middle… read on > read on >

A new review of 137 studies from around the world has found that, despite dramatic stories about COVID-19’s impact on mental health, the psychological fallout from the pandemic has been less intense than thought. “Mental health in COVID-19 is much more nuanced than people have made it out to be,” said senior study author Brett Thombs, a Canada Research Chair and professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal. “Claims that the mental health of most people has deteriorated significantly during the pandemic have been based primarily on individual studies that are ‘snapshots’ of a particular situation, in a particular place, at a particular time,” Thombs said in a university news release. “They typically don’t involve any long-term comparison with what had existed before or came after.” About 75% of study participants in the studies reviewed were adults and 25% were children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19. The mental health changes were minimal, researchers found, whether the studies covered the mental health of the population as a whole or that of specific groups. “This is by far the most comprehensive study on COVID-19 mental health in the world, and it shows that, in general, people have been much more resilient than many have assumed,” said study first author Ying Sun, a research coordinator from the Lady Davis Institute… read on > read on >

A new poll on sleep and mental health has found that more than 90% of adults who reported they get good sleep were also free of depressive symptoms. In its annual poll, the nonprofit National Sleep Foundation (NSF) focused this year on the impact of sleep on mental health because of the current mental health crisis in the United States. “In the day-to-day execution of our sleep health mission, we give lots of simple, evidence-based and consensus-driven tips and tools to help people get enough of the quality sleep they need. For this year’s poll, we were compelled to look again at the connection between sleep health and mental health conditions like depression,” NSF CEO John Lopos said in a foundation news release. The Sleep in America poll also found that about 65% of adults who were dissatisfied with their sleep experience had mild or greater levels of depressive symptoms. Those who reported difficulties falling or staying asleep just two nights a week had higher levels of depressive symptoms than those without sleep difficulties. About 50% of all adults who sleep less than the recommended seven to nine hours nightly experienced mild or greater levels of depressive symptoms. “One unique aspect of this year’s research was how we combined NSF’s multiple validated measures of the population’s sleep health with an established measure of depressive symptoms,… read on > read on >

Pregnant women will no longer have any drug to prevent preterm birth after the maker of the only available treatment announced Tuesday that it will withdraw its product, Makena, from the market. Covis Pharma Group’s decision follows a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel vote last October that concluded the drug does not actually benefit newborns. “While we stand by Makena’s favorable benefit-risk profile, including its efficacy in women at highest risk of preterm birth, we are seeking to voluntarily withdraw the product and work with the FDA to effectuate an orderly wind-down,” Covis chief innovation officer Raghav Chari said in a statement. Makena was approved 12 years ago as part of the FDA’s accelerated drug approval program after promising results from a 2011 study, The New York Times reported. A larger study in 2019 showed no benefit to pregnant women or their infants. The FDA has been proposing to remove Makena from the market since October 2020, a decision appealed by the drug maker, the Times reported. In October 2022, 15 FDA advisors voted that the study had not shown benefit. With one exception, they each voted for it to be withdrawn from the market. “I think that when we leave something on the market that hasn’t been shown to be effective, we lose out on other investigations that might be pursued,” Dr.… read on > read on >

When people struggle to fall asleep, it’s no surprise they seek solutions. Options can range from prescription medications to sleep therapy, good habits and an abundance of supplements. Taking magnesium for sleep is something some say has real benefits, but does it really? It’s not entirely certain, but the mineral serves a variety of other important functions, so it just might actually work. “The science on whether taking magnesium helps improve the length or quality of sleep has been mixed,” said Dr. Indira Gurubhagavatula, an associate professor of medicine in the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. Past research has had various design limitations and has not been of high enough quality to support a general recommendation for magnesium supplementation in insomnia sufferers, Gurubhagavatula said. “We don’t have definitive, large, randomized trials across healthy populations, or those with specific diseases, over long periods of time,” she said. What is magnesium? Magnesium is a mineral found in a range of foods and in dietary supplements, according to the Sleep Foundation. It produces protein, bone and DNA; maintains blood sugar and pressure; and regulates the muscles, nerves and the cardiovascular system, according to the foundation. This nutrient is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body, according to the National Library of Medicine. “It is used by hundreds of enzymes… read on > read on >

A water heater set to 120 degrees Fahrenheit can release water from the tap hot enough to cause a second-degree burn in about nine minutes. Turned up to 130 degrees, that injury happens in just 25 seconds. At 140 degrees, it only takes three seconds, according to a new study that tallied the personal and financial costs of scalding injuries in the United States. Researchers led by Wendy Shields, a senior scientist from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, recommend a potential solution to help prevent these serious accidents. Mandating thermostatic mixing valves that add cold water to tap water before it comes out of the faucet could make a difference, they said. “Scald burns are actually something that’s fairly common that we will see in the emergency department and it is often smaller children that are injured,” said Dr. Torree McGowan, a spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians and an ER doctor for St. Charles Health System in Redmond, Ore. “When we do see scald burns from the tap, it is usually because our water heaters are turned up too high and we underestimate how much of a difference 10 degrees in the heat of our hot water heater can make,” said McGowan, who was not involved in the research. To study the issue, scientists used data from two… read on > read on >

U.S. Federal health officials have issued recall notices for two more brands of eyedrops. In the latest round of recalls, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted notices after the companies voluntarily pulled several lots of their eyedrops from the market. These recalls do not appear to be connected to other recent recalls or an outbreak in drug-resistant infections, the Associated Press reported. The companies involved in the recalls are Phoenix-based Pharmedica and Florida-based Apotex. Pharmedica is recalling its Purely Soothing 15% MSM Drops meant to treat eye irritation. The two lots were pulled because of problems “that could result in blindness,” the company said. People who have the eyedrops should immediately stop using them and return them to the store where they bought them, the company added. Meanwhile, Apotex is recalling six lots of prescription eyedrops distributed as Brimonidine Tartrate Ophthalmic Solution, 0.15%. They were sold between April 2022 and February 2023. These eyedrops are meant to treat glaucoma. Unfortunately, some of the eyedrop bottles have cracks in the caps, the company said. More information The U.S. National Eye Institute has more on eyedrops and the earlier recalls involving bacteria. SOURCES: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, recall notices, March 2, 2023 and March 3, 2023; Associated Press read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Pharmacies, Hospitals Facing Shortage of Asthma Drug Albuterol

Diabetes Rates Keep Rising Among Young Americans

Strong Side Effects From Your COVID Shot? That Could Be a Good Thing

Depression Ups Odds for a Stroke

COVID’s Toll on Mental Health May Have Been Exaggerated: Study

Poll Finds Strong Links Between Depression and Lack of Sleep

Preterm Birth Drug Pulled From Market Over Lack of Effectiveness

What an Expert Says About Taking Magnesium for Sleep

Is Your Tap Water Too Hot? Scalding Burns Send Thousands to ER Each Year

Two More Brands of Eyedrops Recalled Over Infection Risks