E-mails reveal concerns about Theranos' FDA compliance date back years | Washington Post
A military official reviewing Theranos blood-testing technology for the Defense Department raised concerns about FDA approval of the technology and launched a formal inquiry with the FDA in 2012, the Washington Post reports. E-mails between Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and four-star Marine Gen. James Mattis show Holmes sought Mattis' help in halting the inquiry. Mattis was appointed to the Theranos board of directors after his retirement from the Marines.
Scientists debate how far to go in editing human genes | NPR
"Intensive basic" research on human gene editing should continue but there won't be designer babies anytime soon. That's the word out of the International Summit on Human Gene Editing in Washington this week. The meeting was convened to discuss the potential and pitfalls of editing human DNA in light of rapid advances in gene editing such as the CRISPR-Cas9 technique. An international committee assembled by the academies hosting the meeting plans to have a set of ethical guidelines in place next year.
Screening for abnormal blood glucose and Type 2 diabetes mellitus: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement | Annals of Internal Medicine
The USPSTF is recommending overweight and obese adults aged 40-70 be screened for abnormal blood glucose every three years as part of cardiovascular risk assessment, even if they do not have symptoms of diabetes. The task force recommends behavioral interventions for patients with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance to prevent or delay onset of diabetes. This is an update from 2008 screening guidelines which recommended diabetes screening for asymptomatic adults with hypertension.
San Bernardino 'SWAT' doctor was first responder to massacre | CNN
Clad in SWAT gear and armed with an assault rifle as well as a medical pack, Dr. Michael Neeki, an emergency physician at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Rialto, Calif., arrived on the scene of the San Bernardino mass shooting with his tactical equipment even before the rest of the SWAT team, minutes after the shooting began. Neeki is one of a growing number of emergency health providers practicing battlefield medicine in the field as assault weapon injuries become more common in America.
Superbug resistant to last-resort antibiotics turns up in Europe | STAT
Remember when Chinese researchers discovered a strain of E. coli resistant even to colistin, the last-defense antibiotic? Danish scientists say they've also discovered resistance in E. coli samples, some dating back to 2012, which means the resistance has been spreading longer than anyone realized.
Martin Shkreli questioned by Express Scripts chief medical officer (VIDEO) | Forbes
Earlier this week, pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts announced it had partnered with compounder Imprimis Pharmaceuticals to offer a compounded, low-cost version of toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim to its members. Thursday, Express Scripts CMO Dr. Steve Miller got a chance to question Turing CEO Shkreli about whether he believed his price hike on the drug harmed patients. It went about as well as you'd expect.
