Public Health in the News – July 19, 2015

Global

• The FDA has banned import of drugs from an Indian pharmaceutical company because the plant violated manufacturing standards.
• The recently developed malaria vaccine will be running into many obstacles as attempts to implement it move forward.
• Nigeria is getting close to eradicating polio.

National

• Science writer Brian Vastag makes the case for better funding of a debilitating disease, chronic fatigue syndrome.
• In the future, drugs may not be delivered with needles but with other options like pills.
• Scientists are developing new tests to find Alzheimer’s Disease before symptoms begin.
• Cancer survivors may face additional obstacles to adoption.
• Men who work in funeral homes, and are exposed to high levels of formaldehyde, are more likely to develop ALS.
• A new drug has been approved by the FDA to treat schizophrenia and major depressive disorder.
• While many people have heard heath advice recommending that they drink enough water, experts are now warning that drinking too much water can have negative consequences.

Illinois/Chicago

• In Illinois, the number of people that have signed up for Medicaid under the new expanded plan is double the predicted number.
• The seventh meningitis case in Illinois has been identified.
• A Chicago resident has died from Legionnaire’s Disease, a rare bacterial infection.

Northwestern

• A clinical trial led by Northwestern Medicine shows that a new psoriasis medicine is more effective than the current standard.
• A new NU research center will investigate health effects of dietary phosphate, found in a lot of processed foods.
• Research from a Northwestern scientist has found that people often drink more than they wanted to on days in which they exercised, which has negative health effects.