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Author Archives: alicia
‘Nonsensical’ Limits on Supportive Drugs Complicate Cancer Care
November 13, 2024 A young woman with breast cancer was experiencing such intense hot flashes from her triplet chemotherapy regimen, AC-T, that she begged to stop treatment. Her oncologist, Ramy Sedhom, MD, suggested she take oxybutynin, an inexpensive drug for overactive … Continue reading
Posted in FDA, Medicine, Medscape
Tagged anti-nausea, cancer, cancer care, ethics, FDA, health insurance, medical ethics, odanesetron, oncology, pill limits, prior authorization
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Anthem Reverses Course on Anesthesia Time Limits
December 6, 2024 The nation’s second-largest health insurer, Anthem, has rescinded a controversial policy to pay for anesthesia only up to a certain time limit that sparked outrage among anesthesiology professionals and state officials. The company announced November 1 it would deny claims for … Continue reading
Posted in Health policy, Medicine, Medscape
Tagged anesthesia, anesthesiology, Anthem, Elevance Health, health insurance, prior authorization
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Gun Violence Researchers Are Making Up for 20 Years of Lost Time
August 4, 2021 Depending on who you ask, the end of a 2-decade dry spell in federal funding for gun violence research is a windfall or a pittance. Either way, experts in the field say that renewed funding is especially … Continue reading
Posted in Health policy, JAMA, Legal, Medicine
Tagged Dickey Amendment, firearms, gun violence, injury, JAMA, NIH, public health, Second Amendment
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US Supreme Court unlikely to approve assisted suicide
January 18, 1997 Should physicians be allowed to give terminally ill patients lethal doses of medication? This question, more frequently on the minds of people in the US thanks to Jack Kevorkian, came before the Supreme Court on Jan 8. … Continue reading
Posted in Legal, Medicine, The Lancet
Tagged ethics, euthanasia, medical ethics, physician-assisted suicide, Supreme Court
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How an Indigenous Weaver’s Mastery of Color Infuses Her Tapestries With a Life Force
October 16, 2024 A red tapestry is edged with indigo at the top and bottom and features an undulating line of the same color across the top quarter. The work is a flat rectangle of wool, but the vibrancy of the … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Crafts, Culture, Smithsonian.com
Tagged Arizona, art, culture, Dine, DY Begay, indigenous, National Museum of the American Indian, Native American, Navajo, Santa Fe Indian Market, weaving
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How Golden Peacocks on a Dining Room Wall Destroyed a Longstanding Friendship in Victorian Society
July 19, 2024 When James McNeill Whistler put the final, defiant flourishes upon two golden peacocks on art collector Frederick Leyland’s dining room wall, it was an act that would lead to the end of a long and lucrative friendship, and the … Continue reading
Psychologists and Psychotropic Prescribing: An Old Debate Heats Up
December 13, 2024 Earlier this year, Utah became the seventh state to allow psychologists with the proper training to prescribe psychotropic medications, giving supporters reason to hope that more states might support expanding this scope of practice. However, the American … Continue reading
Posted in Health policy, Medicine, Medscape
Tagged antidepressants, FDA, Medscape Medical News, mental health, pharmacy, primary care, psychiatry, psychology, psychotropic drugs
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Should the FDA Reconsider Antidepressant Boxed Warnings?
December 23, 2024 For almost two decades, antidepressants have carried boxed warnings linking the medications to an increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young people. Paradoxically, and for almost as long, evidence suggests these warnings may have led … Continue reading
Posted in FDA, Health policy, Medicine, Medscape
Tagged adolescents, antidepressants, FDA, Medscape Medical News, mental health, psychiatry, psychology, suicide
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Ask Smithsonian: Why Do We Kiss?
Love snuggling up to a sweetie and smooching? That’s romantic, but—spoiler alert—kissing can be a disgusting and dangerous activity. While kissing, couples exchange 9 milliliters of water, 0.7 milligrams of protein, 0.18 mg of organic compounds, 0.71 mg of fats, … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Science, Smithsonian.com
Tagged foreplay, kiss, kissing, mate, mating, why do we kiss
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What Is Bertsolaritza And Who Are The Basque Poets Who Know It
Part poetry-slam, part hip-hop freestyling, part a cappella singing and 100 percent improvisational, the tradition of bertsolaritza has become a cultural signifier for the Basque diaspora. Read More.
Posted in Culture, Music, Smithsonian.com
Tagged Basque, Basque Country, bertsolari, bertsolaritza, Euskara, Smithsonian
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Cancer Moonshot Effort Unveils Dozens of Initiatives to Speed Research
WASHINGTON, DC — US federal officials have unveiled a dozen new initiatives designed to accelerate cancer research, speed new therapies to patients, foster data sharing, and simplify participation in clinical trials, all part of the formal liftoff of the Cancer … Continue reading
Ask Smithsonian: How Do Spiders Make Their Webs?
Spiders are skillful engineers, gifted with amazing planning skills and a material that allows them to precisely design rigorous and functional webs. The material—spider silk—has chemical properties that make it lustrous, strong and light. It’s stronger than steel and has … Continue reading
Posted in Science
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Artist Chakaia Booker Gives Tires a Powerful Retread
The first thing you notice is the smell. It’s a bit industrial, but also, maybe a tiny bit pleasant. The odor encapsulates Chakaia Booker’s latest massive sculptural work, displayed as part of the “Wonder” exhibition at the recently reopened Renwick … Continue reading
Califf Breezes Through Nomination Hearing for FDA Chief
WASHINGTON — Most members of a Senate committee had few reservations yesterday about Robert Califf’s qualifications to be the next commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “You come here today with impressive qualifications,” said Senate Health, Education, … Continue reading