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These PET scan images provided by the New England Journal of Medicine in January 2024 show a reduction in amyloid-beta levels in an Alzheimer’s patient after focused ultrasound treatment to open the blood-brain barrier after 26 weeks. Red is associated with higher levels of amyloid-beta levels. Scientists have found a way to help Alzheimer’s drugs seep inside the brain faster _ by temporarily breaching its protective shield.

Alzheimer’s drugs might get into the brain faster with new ultrasound tool, study shows

January 3, 2024, 6:01pm Health

Scientists have found a way to help Alzheimer’s drugs seep inside the brain faster — by temporarily breaching its protective shield. Read story

FILE - Bottles of abortion pills mifepristone, left, and misoprostol, right, are shown, Sept. 22, 2010, at a clinic in Des Moines, Iowa. Thousands of women stocked up on abortion pills just in case they needed them, according to new research published Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, in JAMA Internal Medicine, with demand peaking in the past couple years at times when it looked like the medications might become harder to get.

U.S. women are stocking up on abortion pills, especially when there is news about restrictions

January 2, 2024, 9:27am Health

Thousands of women stocked up on abortion pills just in case they needed them, new research shows, with demand peaking in the past couple years at times when it looked like the medications might become harder to get. Read story

The Seattle skyline is obscured by a thick haze of smoke in October 2022. (Ellen M.

Those breathing poorer air in WA live sicker, die younger, report says

January 2, 2024, 7:10am Health

Residents in parts of Washington disproportionately impacted by poor air quality are, on average, sicker and die younger compared with the rest of the state, a new report from the Washington Department of Ecology found. Read story

A high school student uses a vaping device near a school campus in Cambridge, Mass., on April 11, 2018.

Despite crackdown, e-cigs flood into U.S. from China

January 1, 2024, 4:53pm Health

Federal officials are seizing more shipments of unauthorized electronic cigarettes at U.S. ports, but thousands of new flavored products continue pouring into the country from China, according to government and industry data reviewed by The Associated Press. Read story

Pa. senator reflects on depression treatment

January 1, 2024, 4:40pm Health

Sen. John Fetterman acknowledges having “dark conversations” about harming himself before he hit “the emergency brake” and sought treatment for depression. Read story

Once people with inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis reach a certain stage, the first prescription offered is typically Humira, the best-selling drug in history, and part of a class known as tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, or TNFis, which fail to significantly help about half of the patients who take it.

A new test could save arthritis patients time, money and pain. But will it be used?

December 31, 2023, 6:00am Health

Erinn Maury knew Remicade wasn’t the right drug for Patti Schulte, a rheumatoid arthritis patient the physician saw at her Millersville, Maryland, practice. Schulte’s swollen, painful joints hadn’t responded to Enbrel or Humira, two drugs in the same class. Read story

FILE - Ellen Isaacs, left, and Lee Nuss, center, both from Florida, hold each other and sing a song of remembrance for Randall M. Nuss, Lee’s husband, during a protest with other advocates for opioid victims outside the U.S. Department of Justice, Dec. 3, 2021, in Washington. Families who lost loved ones to overdose are divided over OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s plan to settle lawsuits over the toll of opioids with governments. It could provide billions to address an overdose epidemic and pay some victims. But it would also protect members of the Sackler family who own the company from future lawsuits.

The year in opioid settlements: 5 things you need to know

December 31, 2023, 5:54am Health

This year, about $1.5 billion has landed in state and local government coffers from court settlements made with more than a dozen companies that manufactured, sold, or distributed prescription painkillers and were sued for their role in fueling the opioid crisis. Read story

In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, Airman 1st Class Jackson Ligon, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron technician, examines the internals of an intercontinental ballistic missile during a simulated electronic launch Minuteman test Sept. 22, 2020, at a launch facility near Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont. The Air Force has determined that cancer data recorded in health records of service members who worked with the nation's nuclear missiles warrants a further review, as part of a massive testing and cleanup effort it launched in response to reports that many who served are now ill. (Tristan Day/U.S.

The Air Force said its nuclear missile capsules were safe. But toxic dangers lurked, documents show

December 29, 2023, 7:58am Health

A large pool of dark liquid festering on the floor. No fresh air. Computer displays that would overheat and ooze out a fishy-smelling gel that nauseated the crew. Asbestos readings 50 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s safety standards. Read story

FILE - Dental assistants go over appointments at SmileDirectClub’s SmileShop located inside a CVS store April 24, 2019, in Downey, Calif. SmileDirectClub is shutting down, just months after the struggling teeth-straightening company filed for bankruptcy, leaving existing customers in limbo. On Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, the company said it was unable to find a partner willing to bring in enough capital to keep the company afloat, despite a months-long search. (AP Photo/Jae C.

SmileDirectClub is shutting down. Where does that leave its customers?

December 29, 2023, 7:34am Business

Just months after filing for bankruptcy, SmileDirectClub announced it was shutting down its global operations and halting its teeth-aligner treatments. Read story

In this Friday, April 17, 2020, photo, a news story about the University of Washington Medicine department plays on a resident's television as a member of a team from UW Medicine arrives to take a nose swab sample as part of testing for the new coronavirus at Queen Anne Healthcare, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Seattle. More than 100 residents were tested during the visit, and the results for all were negative, according to officials. (AP Photo/Ted S.

Washington Department of Health cuts hundreds of jobs as federal COVID funds run out

December 28, 2023, 10:47am Health Free

Washington’s Department of Health has cut over 300 employees who helped with the state’s pandemic response and hundreds more of these jobs are on the chopping block as federal COVID aid dries up. Read story