Federal regulators have toughened the requirements for surgeons and medical device makers to inform women in detail about rising risks associated with breast implants, which also now will carry the government’s sternest warning — a “black box” label cautioning about the products’ potential harms. The implant alarms, announced after years of complaints by patients, include….
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It’s past time to cry foul on wealthy corporations’ unfair practices
While Republicans and a handful of Democrats in Congress may be filling campaign coffers and pleasing wealthy corporations to the nth degree during the current lawmaking session, regular folks have reason to be aghast at how companies are throwing around their money and weight to get their way. The signs are evident as to how….
Continue ReadingFDA gives Big Tobacco a big win — approval for e-cigarette for vaping
The federal Food and Drug Administration has infuriated health and anti-smoking advocates by handing Big Tobacco a major first — the agency’s seal of approval for an e-cigarette as a way for consumers to reduce or stop harmful use of burning tobacco cigarettes. The decision allowing RJ Reynold’s Vuse product (shown, left) to stay on….
Continue ReadingDaily low-dose aspirin? Rethink its risks vs. benefits, experts advise
Aspirin may not be the easy, cheap, daily wonder drug that doctors once thought it might be: New research has led medical experts to rethink and caution against the low-dose regimen followed by tens of millions of patients in hopes of preventing heart and colon conditions. Those popping aspirin as a safeguard should talk to….
Continue ReadingFDA dithers dangerously on regulating sketchy ‘stem cell’ care and kid vaping
Yet more derelictions of duty by the federal Food and Drug Administration are happening now, in its handling of largely hokum treatments and health-threatening devices. The latest examples: drug safety regulators step back from their oversight of those who peddle sketchy “stem-cell” treatments for a bevy of ills. And twiddle their thumbs as who knows how….
Continue ReadingFDA snuffs out cloud of e-cigarette and vaping products but delays big ruling
The federal Food and Drug Administration punted on a scheduled showdown over e-cigarettes, delaying decisions on whether to allow Juul and other market-dominating firms to keep selling trendy “smokeless” devices while also banning millions of vaping products from other, mostly smaller manufacturers. The agency argued with a defensive and defiant tone that it had acted….
Continue ReadingA million bucks of surgical machinery? It’s not proven better — at least for patients
If big hospitals really want to keep surgeons happy and provide them with greater comfort during procedures, why not build giant, sanitary glass garages next to operating rooms and let docs park their Bentleys, Lamborghinis, and Bugattis there for ogling and maybe even to take a break under the vehicles’ hoods? Okay, maybe we’re being….
Continue ReadingSurgical robot’s maker sued over business practices — but not patients’ care?
Hospitals finally are saying bull feathers to the leading maker of surgical robots that cost institutions millions of dollars annually to buy and maintain. New lawsuits against Intuitive Surgical dispute the company’s business practices, including the exclusivity it demands for its costly services and products. But will the civil claims also crack open the door to….
Continue ReadingAs opioid drug-case settlement advances, fentanyl deaths spike in D.C. area
Just as attorneys generals for more than a dozen states inch toward a multibillion-dollar settlement with a drug maker faulted for its big role in the start of the opioid abuse and drug overdose crisis, that health menace is taking a new, deadly turn in the region around the nation’s capital. In Washington, D.C., Maryland,….
Continue ReadingHigh-tech tools can boost blacks’ cancer warnings — and be racially biased
While technological advances may help provide crucial warnings to young men, especially those who are black, about their heightened risk of early-onset colorectal cancer, the rise of other high-tech diagnostic aids may only worsen built-in, harmful racial biases in an array of medical practices. Researchers at the University of Chicago, to their credit, have sought….
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