The Endocrine Society today applauded the introduction of the Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act in the House of Representatives. The INSULIN Act is a bipartisan bill to address insulin affordability.

An Emory University physician and an Ohio State University veterinarian have published a perspective paper in the New England Journal of Medicine on the human-animal bond, detailing how health systems may need new approaches to healthcare access when patients who are hospitalized may have a pet at home that also needs care.

In the midst of another intense wildfire season, a new study sheds light on the risks they pose to life-sustaining dialysis care for thousands of Canadians.

In a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary project conducted by McGill researchers from the Departments of Medicine and Geography, the team led a national wildfire risk assessment focused on Canadian dialysis facilities. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the team integrated dialysis facility locations with historical wildfire records and current fire danger data to identify communities and patients at greatest risk.

Those experiencing worsening voice quality – in pitch, clarity, volume, reduced vocal range or other voice disorders – and no hearing loss may be at 58% greater risk of cognitive impairment or dementia than those who are not experiencing a voice disorder, according to the first large-scale study on diagnosed voice disorders and cognitive decline. The findings, which suggest that voice disorders may be a more accurate early sign of cognitive decline than hearing loss alone, were recently published in the Journal of Voice from researchers at Drexel University’s College of Medicine.

Historically, cerebral palsy (CP) was linked largely to events at birth, including prematurity or temporary loss of oxygen to the brain, but research over the past decade has suggested that genetic factors contribute to CP in many children. In a study publishing in the Cell Press journal American Journal of Human Genetics on September 3, researchers report that only 89 of the 515 genes previously linked to CP have a statistically significant association with the condition. They suggest that instead of viewing CP as a single disease with genetic causes, it may be better described as a collection of symptoms that can occur in many different conditions as a result of both genetic variants and environmental factors. 

Neuro-oncology, neurosurgery and nuclear medicine physicians from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, in collaboration with Cerenome, Inc., launched the first clinical trial in children of radiotherapy called Rhenium-186 Nanoliposome (¹⁸⁶RNL), which is injected directly into the brain tumor through a catheter with hopes of providing minimal exposure to the surrounding healthy tissue. Children with recurrent high grade glioma (HGG) and ependymoma who have exhausted the standard of care options might be eligible to participate.

Researchers at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine have identified a cellular signaling pathway in fat cells that may play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis, offering a potential new target for treating the disease.