Medical news

[brewer]

Risk of Severe Arboviral Disease in Patients Receiving B Cell-Depleting or Modulating Medications

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to share information and notify clinicians, public health authorities, and the public about the risk of severe arboviral neuroinvasive disease among patients who are receiving B cell-depleting or B cell-modulating medications, particularly anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Patients and their providers should be aware of this risk to help patients protect themselves against the bites of mosquitoes and ticks, which can increase patients' risk of arboviral disease.
...
In recent years, a novel clinical presentation of chronic, neurodegenerative encephalitis developing over months to years has been described in at least five patients receiving rituximab who were infected with an orthobunyavirus, including Jamestown Canyon virus, Cache Valley virus, or Potosi virus. All patients died; diagnoses were delayed because of unrecognized infection and rare or unexpected pathogens requiring specialized diagnostic testing.

Risk of Severe Arboviral Disease in Patients Receiving B Cell-Depleting or Modulating Medications

Risk of Severe Arboviral Disease in Patients Receiving B Cell-Depleting or Modulating Medications

www.cdc.gov

Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies — which include rituximab and its biosimilars, ocrelizumab, ofatumumab, ublituximab, obinutuzumab, and ibritumomab tiuxetan. Anti-CD20s, used to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma, several leukemias, rheumatoid arthritis, pemphigus vulgaris, some types of vasculitis, multiple sclerosis (MS), and prevention of transplant rejection.

 

[crazyfingers]

What do you think about this?

I think that I don't know anything about it. But if Trump appointed people had anything to do with this alert I'd call it suspect. If only professional civil employees put this out I'd trust it.

 

[brewer]

Probably influenced and paid for by the big DEET consortium.

 

[thebeave]

Probably influenced and paid for by the big DEET consortium.

Big DEET. Just when I thought I heard it all.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

Probably influenced and paid for by the big DEET consortium.

I'm going to need the deets on that.

 

[Elixir]

Probably influenced and paid for by the big DEET consortium.

What’s the connection to DEET?
I did a lot of reading about DEET and it’s tox testing (mainly on rats) back in the 90s when the Company I was VP of, was bought by Wisconsin Pharmacal (now “Pharmacal”)
J&J was “big DEET” at the time … don’t know if that has changed, but WP was a main player.
The toxicology lit was quite surprising. It took an equivalent of a 150lb adult human consuming (orally) an ounce a day of pure DEET for measurable symptoms to show up, headlined by “loss of appetite”. The neurological studies didn’t turn up anything significant even at those levels of exposure.
I’m sure more studies have been done since then (there were a lot of companies poised to pounce if DEET were found to be really bad, esp if it were to be pulled off the market) so I wonder - what’s the latest, 30 years later?

 

[brewer]

What’s the connection to DEET?
I did a lot of reading about DEET and it’s tox testing (mainly on rats) back in the 90s when the Company I was VP of, was bought by Wisconsin Pharmacal (now “Pharmacal”)
J&J was “big DEET” at the time … don’t know if that has changed, but WP was a main player.
The toxicology lit was quite surprising. It took an equivalent of a 150lb adult human consuming (orally) an ounce a day of pure DEET for measurable symptoms to show up, headlined by “loss of appetite”. The neurological studies didn’t turn up anything significant even at those levels of exposure.
I’m sure more studies have been done since then (there were a lot of companies poised to pounce if DEET were found to be really bad, esp if it were to be pulled off the market) so I wonder - what’s the latest, 30 years later?

The connection is arbovirus (arthropod-borne virus) transmitted by mostly mosquitoes and ticks where I'm at. DEET is the active repellant (i.e. Deep Woods Off). Applied to the skin or clothing to keep the biting critters away. We use it when we're off road with the dog(s) or out playing golf.

 

[thebeave]

Probably influenced and paid for by the big DEET consortium.

What’s the connection to DEET?
I did a lot of reading about DEET and it’s tox testing (mainly on rats) back in the 90s when the Company I was VP of, was bought by Wisconsin Pharmacal (now “Pharmacal”)
J&J was “big DEET” at the time … don’t know if that has changed, but WP was a main player.
The toxicology lit was quite surprising. It took an equivalent of a 150lb adult human consuming (orally) an ounce a day of pure DEET for measurable symptoms to show up, headlined by “loss of appetite”. The neurological studies didn’t turn up anything significant even at those levels of exposure.
I’m sure more studies have been done since then (there were a lot of companies poised to pounce if DEET were found to be really bad, esp if it were to be pulled off the market) so I wonder - what’s the latest, 30 years later?

Yeah, DEET is surprisingly safe. Seems kind of counterintuitive given its nasty"chemical" smell and appearance.

Loss of appetite, you say? Sounds like drinking a can of DEET a day could be a safe off label weight loss drug. Maybe I'll give it try. Got a few pounds to lose.

 

[Elixir]

What’s the connection to DEET?
I did a lot of reading about DEET and it’s tox testing (mainly on rats) back in the 90s when the Company I was VP of, was bought by Wisconsin Pharmacal (now “Pharmacal”)
J&J was “big DEET” at the time … don’t know if that has changed, but WP was a main player.
The toxicology lit was quite surprising. It took an equivalent of a 150lb adult human consuming (orally) an ounce a day of pure DEET for measurable symptoms to show up, headlined by “loss of appetite”. The neurological studies didn’t turn up anything significant even at those levels of exposure.
I’m sure more studies have been done since then (there were a lot of companies poised to pounce if DEET were found to be really bad, esp if it were to be pulled off the market) so I wonder - what’s the latest, 30 years later?

The connection is arbovirus (arthropod-borne virus) transmitted by mostly mosquitoes and ticks where I'm at. DEET is the active repellant (i.e. Deep Woods Off). Applied to the skin or clothing to keep the biting critters away. We use it when we're off road with the dog(s) or out playing golf.

Permethrin impregnated treated clothing is also very effective … and it kills insects.

Probably influenced and paid for by the big DEET consortium.

What’s the connection to DEET?
I did a lot of reading about DEET and it’s tox testing (mainly on rats) back in the 90s when the Company I was VP of, was bought by Wisconsin Pharmacal (now “Pharmacal”)
J&J was “big DEET” at the time … don’t know if that has changed, but WP was a main player.
The toxicology lit was quite surprising. It took an equivalent of a 150lb adult human consuming (orally) an ounce a day of pure DEET for measurable symptoms to show up, headlined by “loss of appetite”. The neurological studies didn’t turn up anything significant even at those levels of exposure.
I’m sure more studies have been done since then (there were a lot of companies poised to pounce if DEET were found to be really bad, esp if it were to be pulled off the market) so I wonder - what’s the latest, 30 years later?

Yeah, DEET is surprisingly safe. Seems kind of counterintuitive given its nasty"chemical" smell and appearance.

Loss of appetite, you say? Sounds like drinking a can of DEET a day could be a safe off label weight loss drug. Maybe I'll give it try. Got a few pounds to lose.

Easy there, Beave! Rats are not a perfect analog to humans. I think the amount absorbed trans dermally by people using it as a repellent* is likely harmless, but I am willing to bet that drinking an ounce a day if 100% DEET is going to upset your tummy at the very least.

* it doesn’t actually repel insects, it confuses them. DEET renders their CO2 sensors inoperative, disabling their homing ability.

 

[Elixir]

ETA: don’t listen to me; I rarely get bitten by insects and rarely use chemical interventions. I’m more concerned with the stinging varieties.

 

[brewer]

Repeat Rectal Chlamydia Fell at a Seattle Clinic After Doctors Traded One Antibiotic Dose for a Week

Repeat and persistent rectal chlamydia infections fell measurably at a large Seattle sexual health clinic after it moved away from single-dose azithromycin in favor of a seven-day course of doxycycline, according to a 13-year analysis of electronic health records published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Repeat Rectal Chlamydia Fell at a Seattle Clinic After Doctors Traded One Antibiotic Dose for a Week

A 13-year King County analysis found that repeat rectal chlamydia declined after a clinic guideline favored doxycycline over single-dose azithromycin.

www.medicaldaily.com

Maybe this should have been in the in your ass thread.

 

[brewer]

First case of Naegleria fowleri I've heard of this year.

https://ldh.la.gov/news/7696

She died.

Girl, 8, dies from brain-eating amoeba infection in Louisiana, family says

Lillian Smart, 8, has died after being infected by an extremely rare brain-eating amoeba that is found in warm freshwater, her family said.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Loren Pechtel]

First case of Naegleria fowleri I've heard of this year.

https://ldh.la.gov/news/7696

She died.

Girl, 8, dies from brain-eating amoeba infection in Louisiana, family says

Lillian Smart, 8, has died after being infected by an extremely rare brain-eating amoeba that is found in warm freshwater, her family said.

www.cbsnews.com

This is the first I've ever heard of it other than around hot springs. Not a good thing--idiot reporters trying to have something "important" to say periodically talk about it in the Lake Mead area. And it's always a false alarm--the reality is that it's found at the hot springs near the lake.

 

[brewer]

Real-world effectiveness of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis for STI prevention in a Southern U.S. HIV/PrEP clinic

Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (DoxyPEP) has been shown to reduce cumulative STI incidence among high-risk men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) by approximately 60%. STI incidence in North Carolina exceeds the U.S. average by more than 25%...

https://programme.aids2026.org/Abstract/Abstract/?abstractid=3130

 

[brewer]

FDA Approves First Therapy for Patients aged 8 years and older with Glycogen Storage Disease Type Ia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued an accelerated approval for Genglycos (pariglasgene brecaparvovec-opnr) to reduce daily cornstarch intake as an adjunct to nutritional management in adults and pediatric patients 8 years of age and older with glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSDIa), a rare, inherited genetic disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase, which prevents the body from properly breaking down stored glycogen into glucose. Genglycos is the first approved treatment for this condition.
...
Genglycos is a one-time AAV8 based gene therapy designed to deliver a functional G6PC gene to the liver, aiming to restore the deficient enzyme required to release stored glucose and ensure stable blood sugar levels when a person is fasting.

FDA Approves First Therapy for Patients aged 8 years and older with Glycogen Storage Disease Type Ia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued an accelerated approval for Genglycos (pariglasgene brecaparvovec-opnr) as the first-ever treatment for adults and children 8 years of age and older with glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSDIa)

www.fda.gov

 

[Playball40]

Repeat Rectal Chlamydia Fell at a Seattle Clinic After Doctors Traded One Antibiotic Dose for a Week

Repeat and persistent rectal chlamydia infections fell measurably at a large Seattle sexual health clinic after it moved away from single-dose azithromycin in favor of a seven-day course of doxycycline, according to a 13-year analysis of electronic health records published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Repeat Rectal Chlamydia Fell at a Seattle Clinic After Doctors Traded One Antibiotic Dose for a Week

A 13-year King County analysis found that repeat rectal chlamydia declined after a clinic guideline favored doxycycline over single-dose azithromycin.

www.medicaldaily.com

Maybe this should have been in the in your ass thread.

Can't doxycycline cause it's own set of issues though? My cousin hasn't been the same since being prescribed that particular antibiotic.

 

[brewer]

Can't doxycycline cause it's own set of issues though? My cousin hasn't been the same since being prescribed that particular antibiotic.

All antibiotics have "issues". The patient population in this retrospective review benefited.

I don't know enough/anything about your cousins condition/reaction to comment.

 

[southernhybrid]

Repeat Rectal Chlamydia Fell at a Seattle Clinic After Doctors Traded One Antibiotic Dose for a Week

Repeat and persistent rectal chlamydia infections fell measurably at a large Seattle sexual health clinic after it moved away from single-dose azithromycin in favor of a seven-day course of doxycycline, according to a 13-year analysis of electronic health records published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Repeat Rectal Chlamydia Fell at a Seattle Clinic After Doctors Traded One Antibiotic Dose for a Week

A 13-year King County analysis found that repeat rectal chlamydia declined after a clinic guideline favored doxycycline over single-dose azithromycin.

www.medicaldaily.com

Maybe this should have been in the in your ass thread.

Can't doxycycline cause it's own set of issues though? My cousin hasn't been the same since being prescribed that particular antibiotic.

I hate doxycycline. I'm not allergic to it but it gives me too many side effects. The only time I took it was when I had a tick bite with a mild positive reaction when tested for Lyme disease. I was supposed to take it for 6 weeks, but I read that 2 weeks was enough so I took it for two weeks. I think the test was likely a false position as I had no signs of a reaction for the tick, which had fallen off one of my dogs. That was about 15 years ago, so obviously I didn't get any tick related illnesses. Ok. Enough about Doxy, as I refer to it.

 

[brewer]

US emergency department visits for tick bites highest in 10 years.

Tick Bite Data Tracker

Information on the use of syndromic surveillance data for tickborne disease surveillance.

www.cdc.gov

 

[brewer]

UnitedHealthcare eliminates 30% of prior authorization requirements

UnitedHealthcare will eliminate 30% of its prior authorization requirements beginning Oct. 1, removing the requirements from about 1,700 treatments. The reductions apply to UnitedHealthcare commercial, Medicare Advantage, Community, Individual Exchange and Oxford plans, the insurer said. The affected services span several clinical specialties, including cardiology; genetic and laboratory testing; chiropractic care; physical, occupational and speech therapy; and orthopedic and musculoskeletal procedures.

UnitedHealthcare said it is making the changes to reduce providers' administrative workload and remove barriers that can delay patient care. Providers can use the insurer's Prior Authorization and Notification Tool to determine whether authorization is still required for a particular patient or service. The October changes fulfill a commitment UnitedHealthcare announced in May. At the time, the insurer said the reduction would include selected outpatient surgeries and diagnostic tests, such as echocardiograms, outpatient therapies and chiropractic care.

"Prior authorization is an essential safeguard but should only be used when it truly protects patients and improves care," UnitedHealthcare CEO Tim Noel said in the May announcement. "Eliminating these requirements is one more way we are working to make it easier for patients to get the care they need when they need it and ensure doctors can spend more time with their patients." UnitedHealthcare said prior authorization was required for about 2% of its medical services before the latest reduction. Approximately 92% of submitted requests were approved in less than 24 hours on average, according to the insurer.

Others were not so quick to applaud the new politcy. "We are encouraged by the news of UHC reducing prior authorization requirements, but voluntary commitments from any insurer should not be mistaken for solving the prior authorization problem," said Dr. Stephen T. Amann, chair of the American College of Gastroenterology's Legislative and Public Policy Council.

https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/unitedhealthcare-eliminates-30-prior-authorization-requirements