{"id":1868,"date":"2018-10-01T08:00:16","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T00:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/?p=1868"},"modified":"2018-09-30T07:36:21","modified_gmt":"2018-09-29T23:36:21","slug":"monthly-roundup-the-best-medical-news-for-october-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/monthly-roundup-the-best-medical-news-for-october-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Monthly Roundup: The Best Medical News for October 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>\u201cGive-up-itis&#8221;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1870 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/self-portrait-with-death-playing-the-fiddle.jpg\" alt=\"self-portrait with death playing the fiddle\" width=\"907\" height=\"604\" srcset=\"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/self-portrait-with-death-playing-the-fiddle.jpg 907w, https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/self-portrait-with-death-playing-the-fiddle-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/self-portrait-with-death-playing-the-fiddle-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 907px) 100vw, 907px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The discussion around the subject (as well as the term itself) of \u201cgive-up-itis\u201d is one of the more interesting happenings in the medical scene at the moment. These were largely sparked by a paper from University of Portsmouth senior research fellow Dr. John Leach. Available on pages 14-21 of Volume 120 of the <em>Medical Hypotheses<\/em> journal, the article is entitled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.mehy.2018.08.009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u2019Give-up-itis&#8217; revisited: Neuropathology of <em>extremis<\/em><\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In the paper, Dr. Leach discusses psychogenic death and its usual connection to trauma. Besides detailing 5 stages in the process\u2014which can take place over a period as short as 3 days, he claims\u2014he also suggests a somatic cause for this fatal psychological decline. The brain\u2019s frontal-subcortical circuit (critical to goal-direction and hence, motivation) may undergo a malfunction or change, he proposes. This change severely impairs the person\u2019s capacity to live, leading to psychogenic death.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Responses to the Price Hike for Nitrofurantoin<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1871 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Temazepam_10mg_tablets-1.jpg\" alt=\"temazepam tablets 10mg pills\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Temazepam_10mg_tablets-1.jpg 2500w, https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Temazepam_10mg_tablets-1-300x165.jpg 300w, https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Temazepam_10mg_tablets-1-768x422.jpg 768w, https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Temazepam_10mg_tablets-1-1024x563.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When Nostrum Laboratories implemented a price hike of over 400% for its liquid preparation of nitrofurantoin last August, strong reactions were predictable. The antibiotic in question went from costing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/48b0ce2c-b544-11e8-bbc3-ccd7de085ffe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$474.75 to $2,392 a bottle<\/a>. Soon after the Nostrum CEO\u2019s explanations for the hike\u2014which included citing a \u201cmoral requirement to sell the product at the highest price\u201d\u2014responses flowed in, including from US FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">1\/2 Regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@FT<\/a> story today <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bydavidcrow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@bydavidcrow<\/a>; there\u2019s no moral imperative to price gouge and take advantage of patients. FDA will continue to promote competition so speculators and those with no regard to public health consequences can\u2019t take advantage of patients who need medicine<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Scott Gottlieb, M.D. (@SGottliebFDA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SGottliebFDA\/status\/1039481679218401285?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Both the Infectious Diseases Society of American and The HIV Medicine Association have also issued <a href=\"https:\/\/www.infectioncontroltoday.com\/antibiotics-antimicrobials\/exorbitant-drug-price-hike-reflects-greed-not-need-say-societies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">condemnatory statements<\/a>, calling it reflective of \u201copportunistic greed in its most indefensible form\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The incident has parallels in the 2015 Turing price hike for Darapram under the leadership of Turing\u2019s then-CEO, Martin Shkreli. Turing raised Darapram\u2019s price by a factor of 56 (from $13.50 to $750 per pill).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Improvements in Cryptosporidium Research and Vaccine Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1872 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cryptosporidia.jpg\" alt=\"cryptosporidia cryptosporidium\" width=\"820\" height=\"362\" srcset=\"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cryptosporidia.jpg 820w, https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cryptosporidia-300x132.jpg 300w, https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cryptosporidia-768x339.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The microscopic <em>Cryptosporidium<\/em> parasite has long been a problem for researchers. Developing drugs and vaccines for its treatment has been difficult because its oocysts (the infectious form of the parasite found in a host\u2019s small intestine) could not be produced in controlled conditions. Even oocysts grown in host animals were difficult to preserve for long-term use and study because they tended to lose their infectious quality following cryopreservation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-018-05240-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Recent discoveries involving oocyst bleaching and vitrification<\/a> have changed that. Researchers can now produce uniformly cryopreserved oocytes for study and distribution to the various labs dedicated to finding a vaccine for the enteric sickness caused by Cryptosporidium.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Discovery of Three New Types of Neurons in the Inner Ear<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1873 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/karolinska-institutet-fri-ulf-sirborn.jpg\" alt=\"karolinska institutet\" width=\"652\" height=\"435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/karolinska-institutet-fri-ulf-sirborn.jpg 652w, https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/karolinska-institutet-fri-ulf-sirborn-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 652px) 100vw, 652px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2018\/09\/180912081258.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Researchers at Sweden\u2019s Karolinska Institutet have just discovered<\/a> that one of the 2 neuron types in the inner ear is actually composed of 3 different neuron types itself. This means that there are at least 3 different pathways to the central auditory system, not one. The discovery may pave the way for an improved understanding of the way the auditory system functions, as well as better therapies for those with hearing impairments.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Francois Lallemand, the leader of the group doing the research, has also noted that their discovery may eventually \u201clead to the development of better auditory aids such as cochlear implants\u201d. Since the newly identified neuron types seem to be involved in decoding sound volume, those studying hearing disorders like hyperacusis may gain the most fresh insight.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cGive-up-itis&#8221; The discussion around the subject (as well as the term itself) of \u201cgive-up-itis\u201d is one of the more interesting happenings in the medical scene at the moment. These were largely sparked by a paper from University of Portsmouth senior research fellow Dr. John Leach. Available on pages 14-21 of Volume 120 of the Medical [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1868"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1874,"href":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868\/revisions\/1874"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seriousmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}