Tag - medicine

 
 

MEDICINE

A Japanese research team has developed a method to curb cancer growth by restraining certain T cells and stimulating weakened immune activity.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 22, 2024
Japan team finds new way to curb cancers using immune system
The researchers developed in tests using mice a method to stimulate weakened immune activity by restraining the cells restraining the immune response.
Out of over 16,000 pharmaceutical products, 3,103 — or 18.5% — were either in limited or suspended supply as of the end of October, according to a recent survey. Of these, over 60% are generic drugs.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2024
Japan's generic drug shortage continues as flu season kicks off
The supply shortfall is due to a string of scandals that hit the generic drug industry in recent years as well as other structural problems.
A Nigerian health official administers an mpox vaccination at Federal Medical Center in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2024
WHO approves Japanese pharmaceutical company's mpox vaccine
The listing from the World Health Organization paves the way for countries worldwide to quickly approve and import the vaccine for distribution.
Scientists worry that if H5N1 spreads through commercial pig farms, it could evolve into a form capable of causing a human pandemic.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2024
Bird flu in pigs is one step closer to endangering humans
Flu viruses have historically been transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs — either on farms or at agricultural fairs.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer known for his anti-science stances, lacks public health experience and has a history of promoting harmful conspiracy theories, such as anti-vaccine activism.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2024
RFK Jr.’s junk science will put every American at risk
His promotion of bizarre conspiracy theories could turn the government into an “accelerant for misinformation.”
Lecanemab was developed by drugmakers Eisai of Japan and Biogen of the United States.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 15, 2024
European agency switches to recommending new Alzheimer's drug
The committee judged that the efficacy of lecanemab outweighs the risk for some patients.
Shannon Turner, who is often in and out of the hospital due to waterfall effects related to the interplay between long COVID, psoriatic arthritis, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome and autoimmune diseases, sits up on a hospital bed in Philadelphia, in May 2023.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 15, 2024
Many long COVID patients adjust to slim recovery odds as world moves on
Recent scientific studies suggest the longer someone is sick, the lower their chances of making a full recovery.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 23, 2024. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he is nominating Kennedy to be the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 15, 2024
Vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. vows to 'Make America Healthy Again'
Donald Trump announced he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the next secretary of Health and Human Services.
As the weather gets colder, we are seeing an uptick in cases of influenza as well as COVID-19.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 13, 2024
The Japanese you need to get vaccinated before winter comes
With strains of both COVID-19 and the flu circulating, learn the words that will help you navigate a visit to the clinic.
For patients using donanemab, it will cost them about ¥3.08 million per year. But national insurance coverage will have the government shoulder most of the cost.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 13, 2024
Japan OKs insurance coverage of Alzheimer's drug donanemab
Donanemab became the second Alzheimer's drug that targets causative deposited plaque in the brain to win the coverage after lecanemab.
National Cancer Center Hospital building in Tokyo's Chuo Ward
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 9, 2024
Right-sided colon gets rid of cancer, Japanese researchers find
It has been known that colorectal cancer often occurs in the left-sided colorectum while the small intestine and the right colon are almost cancer-free.
The anterior cruciate ligament can be damaged when people play sports such as soccer and basketball, and does not heal on its own, requiring reconstructive surgery.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 7, 2024
Clinical trial to use cow tendons for ligament reconstruction
The number of patients who undergo anterior cruciate ligament surgery in Japan is about 19,000 annually, including many professional soccer players and sumo wrestlers.
A pharmacist displays boxes of Ozempic in Provo, Utah.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2024
Obesity drug maker Novo Nordisk posts strong profit
Europe's most valuable company and the main driver of the Danish economy said it expected its 2024 full-year sales to be up by 23% to 27% from a year earlier.
The National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo's Chuo Ward. A study by researchers at the hospital aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy drugs used in cancer treatment.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 6, 2024
Japan explores intestinal flora transplants for cancer treatment
A study aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can make drugs used in the treatment of esophageal and stomach cancers more effective.
Since October, patients have been asked to pay more for brand-name drugs prescribed by medical institutions if the patents have expired.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2024
Japan raises out-of-pocket costs for off-patent drugs
With the increases, the government aims to reduce health care costs by encouraging greater use of generic drugs.
The winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry are announced in Stockholm, Sweden, on Oct. 9. They are, as seen on the display screen, David Baker (left), of the University of Washington; Demis Hassabis (center) and John M. Jumper (right), both from Google DeepMind, U.K.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 15, 2024
Google's DeepMind Nobel Prize showcases AI’s medical potential
Google’s AlphaFold tool is already widely used by pharmaceutical researchers searching for groundbreaking new medicines.
Hiroyuki Okuzawa, chief operating officer of Daiichi Sankyo, during an interview in Tokyo on Friday
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 11, 2024
Daiichi Sankyo eyes newer cancer drugs to stave off rivals
The Japanese drugmaker has emerged as a leader in ADC, a type of cancer therapy that targets cancerous cells while sparing the healthy ones.
Adapting to new information when faced with public health crises like COVID-19 is crucial, as oversimplified public health messaging can erode trust in science. 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2024
The best answer science may have right now is ‘I don't know’
Acknowledging uncertainty and adapting to new information is crucial, as oversimplified public health messaging can erode trust in science.
A researcher holds a plate of nematodes in a lab at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on Monday. American scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the Nobel Prize in Medicine the same day for their discovery of microRNA and its role in how genes are regulated.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 9, 2024
Nobel Prize for medicine recognizes microRNA — and curiosity
Although microRNA's key role in regulating gene expression hasn't yet resulted in groundbreaking treatments, it may still significantly impact our health in the future.
A researcher works in the Ruvkun Lab in the Richard B. Simches Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday. U.S. scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the Nobel Prize in Medicine on Monday for their discovery of microRNA and its role in how genes are regulated.
WORLD
Oct 8, 2024
What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
Several treatments and tests are under development using microRNAs against cancer, heart disease, viruses and other illnesses.

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