STAT+: A breakthrough in pancreatic cancer has experts excited — and braced for what’s to come

LONDON — When researchers started planning a pancreatic cancer conference here, the aim was to simply offer a counterpart to a regular U.S. meeting, where international scientists and doctors could discuss the latest developments in the specialty. 

Then came the biggest shake-up in pancreatic cancer care in decades. 

“It’s one of those moments,” Talia Golan, an oncologist at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center, said on a panel that conference organizers hastily added to the schedule centered on a new pancreatic cancer drug. She likened the medicine’s recent clinical trial performance to other milestones in cancer treatment such as the arrival of the first checkpoint inhibitors. 

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As states absorb Medicaid funding cuts, family caregivers face financial ruin

In 2018, Kristine Fifer was lucky to avoid bankruptcy. 

Her son, Eddie, had lost the nurse provided to him by the state after he turned 22. Maryland health officials told Fifer that he didn’t qualify for nursing care, even though Eddie’s cerebral palsy, feeding tube, and other complex medical conditions require around-the-clock care. Fifer spiraled as she sought to pay for the care Eddie needed. She lost her job, took on heaps of debt as bills piled up, and eventually called a lawyer about filing for bankruptcy. 

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STAT+: HHS presses ahead with effort to curb antidepressant use

WASHINGTON — Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pressing forward with his effort to help Americans stop taking psychiatric drugs, a medical practice known as deprescribing.

Earlier this month, dozens of mental health professionals met with federal health officials to map out forthcoming clinical guidance they hope will help providers instruct patients on how to come off of antidepressant medications. While the Department of Health and Human Services has discussed plans to hold such a meeting, the outlines of the discussion haven’t been reported.

During those talks, they reviewed guidance from European nations and worked on recommendations for nonmedication-based options for patients to address their mental health, such as therapy. A senior HHS official said they discussed gaps in the research around deprescribing SSRIs, including the side effects a person may experience, which vary depending on the drug and how long the person was on it, and how to recognize the difference between those side effects and a return of a patient’s depressive symptoms.

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HALO-TRIAL: High, Medium And LOw Intensity Psychotherapy for Binge Eating Disorder

Conditions: Binge Eating Disorder; Binge Eating Episodes; Binge Eating/Loss of Control Eating; Binge Eating Disorders; Binge Eating; Binge Eating Behaviour; Binge Eating Disorder Associated With Obesity; Eating Disorder Binge; Eating Disorders

Interventions: Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Enhanced – Individual; Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Enhanced – Group; Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – Guided Self Help; Behavioral: Systemic Narrative Therapy – Group

Sponsors: Herlev and Gentofte Hospital; Jascha Fonden; BETA-HEALTH Foundation; Mental Health Centre Ballerup; Region Capital Denmark; University of Copenhagen

Recruiting

Personalized Brain Health Service and Dementia Prevention

Conditions: Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD)

Interventions: Behavioral: Multimodal Lifestyle Intervention; Behavioral: Lifestyle Recommendations and Counseling

Sponsors: Barcelonabeta Brain Research Center, Pasqual Maragall Foundation; Hospital del Mar; Hospital del Mar Research Institute

Not yet recruiting