Tuesday, October 8

Health

FDA reviews MDMA therapy for PTSD, citing health risks and study flaws
Health

FDA reviews MDMA therapy for PTSD, citing health risks and study flaws

Research like the current research into MDMA therapy has blocked support from various groups and lawmakers in both parties for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that affects millions of Americans, particularly military veterans who are at enormous risk of suicide . No new treatments for PTSD have been approved for more than 20 years. “What's happening is really a paradigm shift for psychiatry,” said David Olson, director of the Institute for Psychedelia and Neurotherapy at UC Davis. “MDMA represents an important step for the industry because there is a real lack of effective treatments and people need help now.” Amy Emerson, chief executive officer of Lykos Therapeutics, said the company stood by the data and design of its studies, which were developed in cons...
Fauci says the idea that he hid a lab leak is ‘absurd’
Health

Fauci says the idea that he hid a lab leak is ‘absurd’

Monday is the first opportunity for lawmakers to ask him about his agency's record-keeping practices. For Republicans on the committee, the hearing is also the culmination, so far, of a long campaign against American scientists and health officials who they say helped trigger the Covid pandemic. No new evidence of a pandemic emerging from a laboratory, with or without the help of American taxpayer funding, has emerged in a series of high-profile hearings over the past year. In a report on Monday, titled “Republicans' Fauci Flop,” Democratic lawmakers said Republicans on the committee failed to prove that the coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, came from a lab leak. “Select Republicans on the subcommittee devoted time and taxpayer money to an investigation into federally funded research th...
Personal conflicts, even violence, are not uncommon in long-term care
Health

Personal conflicts, even violence, are not uncommon in long-term care

Those most likely to be involved are younger and able to walk, "able to move and put themselves in harm's way," Dr. Pillemer said. Most had at least moderate cognitive impairment. The studies also found that incidents occurred more often in specialized dementia units. “Memory care has positive elements, but it also puts residents at greater risk of assault,” Dr. Pillemer said. “More people with brain diseases, uninhibited people, gather in a smaller space.” Because so many, both perpetrators and victims, suffer from dementia, "sometimes we can't say what started it all," said Leanne Rorick, director of a program that trains staff on dementia intervention and reduction. voltage. “An initiator is not necessarily someone with malicious intent.” A resident may be confused about which roo...
Hunter Biden’s addiction shocked his family.  Has your family had similar problems?
Health

Hunter Biden’s addiction shocked his family. Has your family had similar problems?

Hunter Biden, the president's son, is on trial in federal court for falsely claiming in a gun application that he had not used illicit drugs. Testimonies from his ex-wife and his ex-girlfriends describe his drug-fueled character; look for his dealer on the streets; his large cash withdrawals from the bank. Hallie Biden, his brother Beau's widow who was dating him in the fall of 2018 when the gun purchase occurred, spoke of his erratic behavior, possession of rocks of crack and cocaine "the size of ping-pong balls, or bigger, maybe” and how she frantically urged him to go to rehab. She, like Mr. Biden, is in recovery. I write about addiction for the New York Times and have spoken to countless families who have shared harrowing experiences. I'm working on an article about how the Biden...
The art and power of healing
Health

The art and power of healing

“In a creative environment there is an encounter with yourself, an awakening to your unconscious, to your experiences,” said Tammy Federman, a filmmaker whose new documentary “Memory Game” centers on a theater troupe of survivors of Holocaust in Israel managed by AMCHA, an Israeli social support services organization. “But there's also a group meeting because one person talks about this very traumatic experience and another person can relate to it. It gives you the courage to open up, to share your experience, and there is also joy, there is humor, there is movement and creativity.” And while research from Brandeis University and IMPACT, a non-profit organization born out of a Brandeis initiative, found that creative sector efforts tackling tough challenges “are not adequately understoo...
FDA panel evaluates MDMA therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder
Health

FDA panel evaluates MDMA therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder

What is the framework for approval? In 2017, the FDA granted “breakthrough” status to MDMA-assisted therapy. Status, the recognition of a drug's therapeutic promise, aims to shorten regulatory times. The original application was sponsored by the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which earlier this year created a for-profit entity, Lykos Therapeutics, to commercialize MDMA if it gained approval. FDA approval. The request presents an unusual challenge for the FDA, which typically does not regulate drug treatments associated with talk therapy, an essential part of Lykos' regimen for treating post-traumatic stress disorder. On June 4, an expert advisory panel will review Lykos' clinical data, along with public comments and staff analyses, to make recommendatio...