state of play
Huge uncertainty on drug pricing in Europe
Adobe
President Trump's campaign to make wealthy countries in Europe spend more on drugs so that the U.S. can pay less has not gone unnoticed across the pond. "Nobody wants to feel cornered," said Yannis Natsis who leads the European Social Insurance Platform, which represents national payers.
So far, there's little evidence that the prices of medications in Europe have actually jumped. Still, countries are facing questions about whether drugmakers — eager to see the region increase spending — will try to charge more, and if so, how strained health systems will respond. Read more from Andrew Joseph, STAT's Europe correspondent.
heads up
(American) football is still bad for your head
By now, most people understand broadly that playing American-style football can pose major risks for brain health. But existing studies trying to nail down the specifics are often small, limited to elite players, lacking proper control groups, or all of the above. Research published Friday in JAMA Network Open aimed to provide higher quality evidence.
Using surveillance data on hundreds of men aged 40 and older, the researchers found that those with any experience playing football typically scored worse on a computerized cognitive test, had more of their own cognitive concerns, and reported more severe symptoms of depression than those who hadn't experienced repeated head impacts. In a separate cohort of nearly 4,000 former football players — with varying experience from youth leagues to professional play — those who played longer and at higher levels showed worse cognitive and neuropsychiatric function.
first opinion
Reading the Reddit tea leaves on ketamine
It was personal at first. A year ago, Michael Alvear got esketamine in a medically supervised clinic. After his insurance denied coverage for extended maintenance treatments, he went to Reddit to seek out affordable alternatives. "Instead," he writes in a new First Opinion essay, "I found a digital triage unit run by patients."
Some telehealth companies will send patients at-home oral ketamine. On Reddit, Alvear found users comparing vastly different instructions from different providers and deliberating severe side effects with the site's upvote function. An independent researcher, he paused his personal plans and decided to analyze six months of posts and comments. Read more for his results and why he believes these companies are abdicating their responsibilities.
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