In a finding that suggests Ozempic and Wegovy have powers that extend beyond weight loss, a new study finds the medications might also lower people’s risk of opioid overdose. People with type 2 diabetes prescribed semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) had a significantly lower risk of an opioid OD than patients taking any of eight other diabetic medications, researchers found. The results show “semaglutide as a possible new treatment for combating this terrible [opioid] epidemic,” said lead researcher Rong Xu, a biomedical informatics professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. For the study, researchers analyzed six years of medical data for nearly 33,000 patients with opioid use disorder who also had type 2 diabetes. The data found that those prescribed semaglutide were less likely to suffer from an opioid overdose. The new study was published Sept. 25 in the journal JAMA Network Open. If this effect is confirmed in clinical trials, semaglutide could provide a new means of protecting people suffering from opioid addiction, Xu said in a university news release. About 107,500 people died from drug ODs in 2023 in the United States, mainly from opioids, researchers said in background notes. About 72% of drug ODs involve opioids. Only about a quarter of people with opioid addiction are taking effective medicines to prevent overdoses, and half discontinue treatment within six months, researchers said. “Not everyone…  read on >  read on >

During a tense hearing before a Senate committee on Tuesday, Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen faced tough questions over the company’s high prices for its blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. While testifying before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Jørgensen shifted the blame for those prices to pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), explaining that Ozempic and Wegovy would likely no longer be offered by PBMs if they had a lower list price, NBC News reported. A “high list price,” he explained, “is more likely to lead to more access to patients,” because PBMs can get larger rebates with higher-priced drugs.  Still, Committee Chair Sen. Bernie Sanders did get Jørgensen to agree to meet with PBMs to discuss lowering the cost of Ozempic and Wegovy, NBC News reported.  Sanders noted that he had received commitments in writing from “all the major PBMs” — UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx, CVS Health’s Caremark and Cigna’s Express Scripts — that if Novo Nordisk substantially reduced the list price, they wouldn’t take Ozempic and Wegovy off their formulary lists. PBMs work with insurance companies to negotiate discounts or rebates on drugs in return for coverage. PBMs have been criticized for pushing patients to higher-priced drugs, NBC News reported. For months, Sanders has railed against how much Novo Nordisk charges Americans for both Ozempic (used to treat type 2 diabetes) and…  read on >  read on >

A non-drug nasal spray could theoretically help stop the spread of respiratory viruses like the flu and COVID-19 better than wearing a mask, a new study suggests. The spray uses ingredients that are medically inactive to trap germs in the nose before they can infect a person, researchers said. “We developed a drug-free formulation using these compounds to block germs in three ways,” said co-senior study author Nitin Joshi, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The nasal spray “forms a gel-like matrix that traps respiratory droplets, immobilizes the germs, and effectively neutralizes them, preventing infection,” Joshi explained in a hospital news release. Researchers call their discovery Pathogen Capture and Neutralizing Spray (PCANS). Most viruses enter the human body through the nose. Vaccines can help the immune system fend off an immune attack, but they can’t stop the attack at its source, researchers noted. “The COVID pandemic showed us what respiratory pathogens can do to humanity in a very short time. That threat hasn’t gone away,” said co-senior study author Jeffrey Karp, distinguished chair in anesthesiology at Brigham and Women’s. “Not only do we have the flu to deal with seasonally, but we now have COVID, too.” Using a 3D-printed replica of the human nose, researchers showed that the spray captured twice as many droplets as would be trapped by…  read on >  read on >

Green Bay Packers legend and NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre announced Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Favre, 54, made the announcement while testifying to Congress on his potential misuse of taxpayer funds. The former quarterback has been presenting testimony in Washington to the House Ways and Means Committee, following accusations that he used political connections to funnel public money to himself and his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi. As reported by NBC News, Favre told assembled lawmakers that, “Sadly, I also lost an investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others, and I’m sure you’ll understand why it’s too late for me because I’ve recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.” Frequent head injuries could be a risk factor for Parkinson’s. One study published last year found that people with a history of playing football were 61% more likely to be diagnosed with the brain illness. According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, Parkinson’s is an incurable, degenerative brain disease with symptoms developing over a period of years. Not everyone will experience the same symptoms, but they can include tremor, slowness and other difficulties in walking and limb stiffness. Cognitive impairments, sleep issues, depression, apathy, anxiety, constipation, falling upon standing and other issues can also arise. Medicines such as dopamine-replacing drugs can…  read on >  read on >

The Federal Assault Weapons Ban (FAWB) would have prevented as many as 38 mass shootings that have taken place since the law lapsed in 2005, a new study estimates. Enacted by Congress in 1994, the ban prohibited the sale and manufacture of certain military-style semiautomatic weapons in the United States – including notoriously deadly weapons like AK-47s, AR-15s, TEC-9s and “Street Sweeper” shotguns with high-capacity revolving cylinders. There have been multiple attempts to renew the ban, but none have succeeded. While the ban was in place, would-be mass shooters denied access to an assault weapon did not turn to other types of firearms to carry out a massacre, researchers found. “These results suggest that the FAWB discouraged potential perpetrators from committing a mass shooting with an assault weapon, and, furthermore, that these potential perpetrators did not simply carry out attacks with other types of weapons,” said lead researcher Alexander Lundberg, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University School of Medicine, in Chicago. For the study, researchers looked for events in which at least four people were killed by a firearm. A total of 184 such mass shootings have occurred between 1966 and 2022. The researchers then looked at trends before, during and after the assault weapon ban, to estimate the number of mass shootings that relied on such firearms. While it was active,…  read on >  read on >

Research in rats and hibernating squirrels has pinpointed a naturally occurring protein that appears to reverse cataracts, scientists report. Animal studies don’t always pan out in people, of course. But the discovery of the RNF114 protein raises the possibility of surgery-free cataract removal, according to a team from the U.S. National Eye Institute (NEI). “Understanding the molecular drivers of this reversible cataract phenomenon might point us in a direction toward a potential treatment strategy,” said the study’s co-lead investigator, Wei Li. He’s a senior investigator in the NEI’s Retinal Neurophysiology Section. His team published its findings Sept. 17 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. As the NEI explained, “a cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of your eye [the clear part of the eye that helps to focus light]. This can make your vision cloudy.” Right now, surgery is a patient’s only treatment option, and almost 4 million such procedures are conducted in the United States each year. A non-surgical approach has long been a holy grail of ophthalmological research. Meanwhile, anyone living in the American heartland has probably seen a 13-lined ground squirrel. These hardy creatures are perfect for cataract research, Li’s team explained, because their retinas contain light-sensitive photoreceptor cells that are mostly cones, not the “rods and cones” found in the human eye. Cones are especially tied to color vision. These prairie squirrels can also withstand…  read on >  read on >

It’s that time of year when respiratory viruses start to circulate widely, but how can you tell the difference between the symptoms of a cold, the flu and COVID? Dr. William Brian Glenn, from Hackensack Meridian Medical Group in New Jersey, shares what you need to know to be ready for whatever virus comes your way this fall and winter. The challenge with cold, flu and COVID-19 is that the symptoms for each are similar, Glenn noted. A cold can show up as cough, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat and fatigue, while the flu can include all of those symptoms plus headache, fever, chills, body aches and fatigue. Meanwhile, COVID can present with cold and flu symptoms, along with a loss of taste or smell, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, or shortness of breath, Glenn said. Cold symptoms tend to come on gradually, while flu symptoms come on suddenly. COVID symptoms take between two and 14 days after exposure to surface — and can progress to more severe symptoms in some people. Are some people more at risk of developing colds, flu and COVID-19 than others? The elderly, as well as children and adults with chronic conditions including diabetes, lung or kidney disease, metabolic disorders, heart disease and cancer are more susceptible to respiratory infections. Taking certain medicines that weaken the immune system can also put…  read on >  read on >