Dozens of deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police

Demetrio Jackson was desperate for medical help when the paramedics arrived. The 43-year-old was surrounded by police who arrested him after responding to a trespassing call in a Wisconsin parking lot. Officers had shocked him with a Taser and pinned him as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe. Now he sat on the ground with … Read more

Takeaways from AP’s investigation into fatal police encounters involving injections of sedatives

The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. At least 94 people died after they were given sedatives and restrained by police from 2012 through … Read more

Venezuela broke its HPV vaccine promises, and there’s barely any sex ed. Experts say it’s a problem

PUTUCUAL, Venezuela — Some of the 10 women and teenage girls who recently came to a medical clinic in eastern Venezuela for free contraceptives fidgeted a bit when a community health worker taught them how to use an IUD, condoms and birth control pills correctly. The health worker also asked what they knew about HPV, … Read more

NHS prescription errors laid bare as 30,000 reported – leading to 21 deaths in UK

More than 30,000 medication errors were reported last year leading to 21 patient deaths and serious harm of 27 others, new research reveals. In total 5,500 patients were in some way damaged by mistakes in the prescription process, such as being given the wrong drug, the wrong dosage, or not being supplied with medicine when … Read more

UN approves an updated cholera vaccine that could help fight a surge in cases

The World Health Organization has approved a version of a widely used cholera vaccine that could help address a surge in cases that has depleted the global vaccine stockpile and left poorer countries scrambling to contain epidemics. WHO authorized the vaccine, made by EuBiologics, which also makes the formulation now used, last week. The new … Read more

It’s the first drug shown to slow Alzheimer’s. Why is is it off to a slow start?

The first drug shown to slow Alzheimer’s disease hit the U.S. market over a year ago, but sales have lagged, major hospital systems have taken months to start using it and some insurers have rejected coverage. Doctors also expect some patients will hesitate to take Leqembi due to its limited impact and potential side effects. … Read more

France is proposing to allow terminally ill patients to take lethal medication

PARIS — France’s government presented a bill Wednesday to allow adults with terminal cancer or other incurable illness to take lethal medication, as public demands grow for legal options for aid in dying. Many French people have traveled to neighboring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia are legal. French President Emmanuel Macron has long … Read more

Many cancer drugs remain unproven 5 years after accelerated approval, a study finds

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval program is meant to give patients early access to promising drugs. But how often do these drugs actually improve or extend patients’ lives? In a new study, researchers found that most cancer drugs granted accelerated approval do not demonstrate such benefits within five years. “Five years after … Read more

ALS drug will be pulled from US market after study showed patients didn’t benefit

WASHINGTON — The maker of a drug for Lou Gehrig’s disease that recently failed in a large study said Thursday it will pull the medicine from the market, acknowledging it didn’t help patients with the deadly neurological condition. Amylyx Pharmaceuticals announced it will voluntarily halt sales and marketing of the drug in the U.S. and … Read more

Sex, drugs and the Ramones: CNN’s Camerota ties up ‘loose ends’ from high school

NEW YORK — Wandering the former site of New York’s famed CBGB nightclub, pointing to familiar names on band posters spread amid carefully preserved graffiti, is like being transported to a life that CNN’s Alisyn Camerota has long since left behind. The high-end apparel store there now has kept some of those artifacts to appeal … Read more