Health News Highlights: Space Travel Effects, Bird Flu Case, Advisors Back Alzheimer's Drug

Recent health news covers a detailed report on the health effects of space travel on an all-civilian crew, a confirmed human case of bird flu in India, and unanimous approval from an FDA advisory panel for an Alzheimer’s drug by Eli Lilly. Other topics include legal rulings on gender-affirming healthcare and significant pharmaceutical settlements.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Data from all-civilian crew details health effects of space travel

When pediatric cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux and a trio of crewmates spent three days in space in 2021 as part of SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission, they made history not only as the first all-civilian team to orbit Earth. They also provided the most in-depth data on record regarding the effects of space travel on the human body. New research based on this data details changes in the brain, heart, muscles, kidneys and skin, immune regulation and stress levels and a breakdown in the activity of subcellular structures called mitochondria amid the microgravity environment, increased radiation and other factors in space.

US judge strikes down Florida ban on gender-affirming healthcare

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that parts of Florida's ban of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender children and restrictions on gender-affirming healthcare for adults are unconstitutional and ordered that it not be enforced.

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the restrictions into law in 2023, banning people under the age of 18 from receiving puberty blockers or hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria, though the law allowed children who had begun receiving gender-affirming care before May 17, 2023, to continue to do so with new restrictions.

Johnson & Johnson reaches $700 million talc settlement with US states

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $700 million to settle an investigation by 42 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. into its marketing of baby powder and other talc-based products blamed for allegedly causing cancer. The settlement resolves charges that Johnson & Johnson misled consumers into believing its talc products, which it sold for more than a century before stopping, were safe.

WHO confirms human case of bird flu in India

The World Health Organization on Tuesday said a case of human infection with bird flu caused by the H9N2 virus was detected in a four-year-old child in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. The patient was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) of a local hospital due to persistent severe respiratory issues, high fever and abdominal cramps in February, and was discharged three months later after diagnosis and treatment, the WHO said.

US FDA grants accelerated approval to Genfit and Ipsen's liver disease drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to French drugmakers Ipsen and Genfit's drug for a chronic inflammatory liver disease, Iqirvo, the companies said on Monday. Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) causes inflammation of the small bile ducts in the liver and eventually destroys them. It primarily affects women aged 30 to 60, impacting 75,000 in the United States.

US health dept lets UnitedHealth notify victims of data breach, WSJ reports

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has agreed to allow UnitedHealth Group to notify people whose data was exposed during a hack on its Change Healthcare unit in February, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The decision would spare U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers from time-consuming and expensive work, according to the report.

US Senate panel to weigh Novo Nordisk subpoena over Ozempic, Wegovy prices

The U.S. Senate health panel said on Tuesday it would vote this month on whether to subpoena Novo Nordisk to answer questions about U.S. prices for weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, which are far higher than those in other countries. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, which is investigating the drugs' costs, said in a statement that at its June 18 meeting it will weigh a subpoena requiring Novo Nordisk Inc President Doug Langa to testify at a July 10 hearing.

Lilly Alzheimer's drug gets unanimous backing from FDA advisory panel

Outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday voted unanimously that the benefits of Eli Lilly's experimental Alzheimer's treatment donanemab outweighed its risks, and agreed that trial data showed it was effective in patients with an early stage of the memory-robbing disease. The vote clears the way for a final FDA decision on the treatment, which initially had been expected earlier this year before the agency called for the meeting so its independent panel of experts could weigh in.

South Africa records first mpox death after five cases in past month

A 37-year-old man has died in South Africa from the viral infection mpox, becoming the first fatality in the country after five laboratory-confirmed cases were recorded over the past month, the health minister said on Wednesday. The man died in Tembisa Hospital on Monday, Health Minister Joe Phaahla told a news conference.

Merck pursuing next-generation opportunities in cardiometabolic drugs

Merck is focused on second- and third-generation opportunities in the cardiometabolic drugs market, which includes weight-loss treatments, the company said on Tuesday. "We think more in terms of small-molecule orals, versus injectables. That's the preferred route," CEO Robert Davis said at the Goldman Sachs Global Healthcare Conference.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)