Weekly Health Digest: Food Recalls, Semaglutide, Gender Health Gap, Eye Implants, Stroke Guidelines, Abortion Access

Why Food Recalls are Everywhere Right Now

By Ellen Ioanes and Li Zhou, Vox

Multiple outbreaks in the United States has been linked to fast food and grocery products after foodborne illnesses cases and associated hospitalizations and deaths. 

Regulatory experts have two hypotheses regarding the widespread outbreak. First, more imported foods in the US food system leaves more room for disease to enter. Second, public health authorities are better able to identify, track, and recall products before they are released in the market. 

Known contaminated food products include Quarter Pounders at McDonald’s, chicken products at grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s and Aldi, and some Boar’s Head deli meats. Different pathogens have been detected in each outbreak, notably E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella. Public health officials are particularly concerned about these outbreaks, as all three infections disproportionately affect populations lacking robust immune systems, including pregnant people, young children, and individuals over the age of 65. 

Longer and more complicated supply chains allow more opportunities for bacteria to contaminate, creating more susceptibility for foodborne illness than ever before. Our ability to detect outbreaks and report them, however, has also increased, thanks to new technology and tests to help us protect against disease. 

— by Joy Lee

The Maker of Ozempic Is Trying to Block Compounded Versions of Its Blockbuster Drug

By Kate Kibbs and Emily Mullin, WIRED

The pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is lobbying the FDA to stop semaglutide from being compounded. Novo Nordisk has cited concerns about the inclusion of the active ingredient, found in its popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, in complex compound drug formulations.

Compounded versions of semaglutide would allow patients to access these drugs for as low as $100 per month, compared to around $1,000 for the brand-name equivalents. These products, however, do not require FDA approval, raising safety concerns from reports of adverse side effects.

Novo Nordisk has filed 50 lawsuits against various businesses selling compounded products in an attempt to limit their circulation, citing trademark infringement and unfair competition. The FDA is currently reviewing the situation.

The tensions between pharmaceutical companies and compounding drug pharmacies, due to the ongoing shortage of GLP-1 drugs, is expected to be a key factor in this review.

— by Diyya Ganju

How to Close the Gender Health Gap

By Anna Byrne, WIRED

Medical systems around the world have failed women. Wait periods in hospitals are longer for women than men. Women are then likely to be prescribed drugs that are predominantly tested in men. Women are likely to live longer in ill health as compared to men. A report from the McKinsey Health Institute may shed light on this situation, however, detailing a $1 trillion opportunity to close the gender health gap.

Women’s health has not been studied separately from men despite their anatomical differences. As such, sexism within health systems has led to the dismissal of female-specific diseases, as well as a lack of funding to study them. Gynecological diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis are often diagnosed late in life, despite notable pain in patients long before treatment.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Training geared specifically towards women’s health within medical schools can improve the diagnosis and care of such conditions. Increase in incentives in women’s health technology can lead to creation of innovative tools to track data on female-specific health concerns, such as the vaginal microbiome, gynecological diseases, and contraceptions.

Moreover, women experience cardiovascular disease, the largest cause of death worldwide, differently than men. Back pain, nausea, or lightheadedness can denote a heart attack in women, not the classic symptom of chest pain, with which we are familiar. Instead, this is predominantly experienced by men. These key differences have not been well publicized across the health system. As such, physicians, especially cardiologists, need to state such distinctions to improve access to health care across sexes.

The road to combating women’s health issues is long. The health care system must shed its biases and,, instead, teach and practice medicine thoughtfully to create a level ground to treat women.

— by Ananya Dash

A Neuralink Rival Says Its Eye Implant Restored Vision in Blind People

By Antonio Regalado, WIRED

A new brain-connected implant developed by Science Corporation has given a person with total blindness the ability to perceive basic shapes and outlines, marking a significant milestone in medical technology. Science Corporation, founded by former co-founder of Neuralink Max Hodak, created the implant to bypass damaged eye pathways and directly stimulate the brain’s visual cortex, which is responsible for processing sight. The implant then allows the individual to recognize simple visuals like outlines and shadows without depending on the eyes.

This restored vision enables the person to detect obstacles and navigate through spaces, offering a new level of independence for those with degenerative conditions, such as retinitis pigmentosa. This disease gradually destroys the eye’s ability to pass along visual information to the brain, which makes traditional methods ineffective. Science Corporation’s technology takes a novel approach by “speaking” directly to the brain’s vision center to open up new treatment possibilities for individuals with severe vision loss.

The implant represents a significant leap forward in brain-machine interface technology, an area of medical science focused on using devices that communicate directly with the brain to help people regain lost functions. More devices could be developed to treat various sensory or cognitive impairments, potentially transforming the lives of people with a range of disabilities. Important questions remain around the long-term safety of the implant, its affordability, and how accessible it will be to people with severe vision loss, but these early results have created hope for patients.

Science Corporation’s implant offers a glimpse into a future where bioengineering could reshape medical treatment, allowing for restored senses and improved quality of life for those with previously untreatable conditions.

— by Jaden Hayes

New Stroke Recommendations Call Out Risks Unique to Women

By Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times

Strokes are amongst the leading causes of death in the United States, often triggered by restricted blood flow to the brain due to high blood pressure. The American Stroke Association (ASA) publishes guidelines annually to help prevent this deadly condition. These recommendations have historically targeted the general public. This year, however, the ASA considered how sex, gender, race, and socioeconomic status can affect stroke risk differently amongst individuals. 

The ASA guidelines outline risks associated with pharmaceutical use in female-identifying populations. Specifically, they explain how hormonal supplements put individuals at a significantly higher risk, including transgender women, postmenopausal hormone therapy candidates, and estrogen-based contraceptive users. 

The guidelines also acknowledged the increased risk for pregnant people. The two-week period following childbirth is highly vulnerable. The risk of stroke in individuals recovering during the postpartum period is three times higher than that of individuals who are not pregnant or recovering from pregnancy.

Additionally, ASA also addressed the effect of income disparities. Poverty can significantly increase stroke risk due to food insecurity, limited health care, and the added stress of social prejudice, all of which are associated with increased activation of biological mechanisms leading to strokes. 

The updates to the ASA’s guidelines highlight the deep connection between health and social factors. They represent a crucial step in developing more personalized and inclusive healthcare, recognizing the diverse realities that shape individual health risks and outcomes.

— by Alya Khoury

States Revive Lawsuit to Sharply Curb Access to Abortion Pill

By Pam Belluck, New York Times

Missouri, Idaho, and Kansas have renewed a 2022 lawsuit against the FDA that seeks to impose strict regulations on the abortion pill mifepristone. The lawsuit was previously dismissed, as the anti-abortion doctors and advocates behind it could not prove they had suffered a direct injury from the FDA’s approval and regulation of the drug.

Now, in 2024, these pro-life groups have revised the lawsuit in an attempt to reverse the FDA’s expansion of mifepristone access, despite evidence of its safety and rarity of serious complications. The previous complaint was filed before Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, a Trump appointee and staunch abortion opponent. Judge Kacsmaryk had ruled for the original plaintiffs, issuing a temporary order that revoked the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, effective for nearly 25 years. An appeals court later upheld the FDA’s approval and ensured the pill remains accessible.

The updated lawsuit could lead to further restrictions on abortion medication across the U.S. if successful.

— by Rama Esrawee

Items summarized by: Joy Lee, Diyya Ganju, Ananya Dash, Jaden Hayes, Alya Khoury, Rama Esrawee