Opioid Settlement Funds In Jeopardy From Bankruptcy Plan By Mallinckrodt, Hedge Funds

The Wall Street Journal: Hedge Funds Seek To Cut Off $1 Billion Meant For Opioid Victims
A group of hedge funds is devising a plan to cut off about $1 billion meant to help victims of opioid addiction, opening the way to keep some of the money for themselves. Mallinckrodt, one of America’s largest manufacturers of opioids, last year agreed to pay $1.7 billion to resolve thousands of lawsuits brought by state and local governments and opioid-addicted individuals, who accused the company of helping cause a public-health crisis. The settlement funds, to be paid through 2030, were meant to help state health departments buy lifesaving overdose reversal drugs like Narcan and pay treatment costs for people who took prescription opioids. (Saeedy, Gladstone and Matsuda, 7/26)

KFF Health News' 'Payback' Investigation: Tracking The Opioid Settlement Funds

In other public health news —

The New York Times: For Adults With No Heart Attack or Stroke History, Evidence Says Not to Start Baby Aspirin
A new analysis of data from a large clinical trial of healthy older adults found higher rates of brain bleeding among those who took daily low-dose aspirin, and no significant protection against stroke. The analysis, published Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA, is the latest evidence that low-dose aspirin, which slows the clotting action of platelets, may not be appropriate for people who do not have any history of heart conditions or warning signs of stroke. Older people prone to falls, which can cause brain bleeds, should be particularly cautious about taking aspirin, the findings suggest. (Baumgaertner, 7/26)

Bloomberg: Syphilis Cases Surge Amid Penicillin Shortage, US Considers Health Emergency
A shortage of penicillin to treat a skyrocketing number of syphilis cases is so dire that US health officials are debating the need to declare a public health emergency, according to people familiar with the matter. Major US medical centers are rationing the recommended treatment for the deadly sexually transmitted disease because of a supply crunch. From Michigan to Missouri to Texas, some health-care providers are prioritizing giving a key treatment — penicillin G benzathine — to pregnant patients and babies, because the drug can pass through the placenta and also treat the fetus. (Swetlitz, Griffin and Griffin, 7/26)

CBS News: Woman Gives Birth To Baby Boy After Uterus Transplant In Alabama
A woman born without a uterus welcomed a baby boy, becoming the first person outside of a clinical trial to give birth after receiving a uterus transplant. The mom, identified by University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital only as Mallory, was 17 when she was diagnosed with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, which affects approximately 1 in 4,500 female newborns. She was told she would never be able to biologically carry her own child. (Chasan, 7/26)

CBS News: Almond Or Soy Milk May Not Be As Nutritious As Cow's Milk, Researchers Say
Many people are turning to plant-based milk such as soy, almond, and oat as healthy alternatives to traditional cow's milk, which is fortified with two vital nutrients, calcium and vitamin D. It's also a good source of protein. But researchers at the University of Minnesota examined more than 200 plant-based milk products sold in the U.S. and found that only 12 percent contained similar or greater amounts of calcium, vitamin D, and protein. (Marshall, 7/26)

NBC News: Why Young Adults, Especially Women, Are Prone To Falls On Stairs
Children under 3 and adults over 85 are the age groups most commonly injured from falling down stairs, but the third-most likely group is often overlooked, experts say: young adults in their 20s. So in a study published Wednesday, a team of researchers at Purdue University focused on that cohort, analyzing particular behaviors that lead young adults to fall on stairs and how much those behaviors varied between men and women. (Pandey, 7/26)

CNN: More Than 40% Of Americans Are At Risk Of Extreme Heat Today
 A brutal heat wave is set to persist Thursday as more than 140 million Americans from coast-to-coast are under heat alerts, with parts of the Northeast expected to sizzle under their highest temperatures this year. Dangerously high temperatures are creeping east into parts of the Midwest and Northeast over the next two days after extreme heat consistently smashed record highs in southern states in recent weeks. (Elamroussi, 7/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Cardiac Arrest Isn’t Increasing Among Athletes Despite Incidents Like Bronny James’s Collapse 
Despite the clustering of headline-grabbing cases, experts say there has been no statistically significant rise in cardiac events of young athletes. What has changed is the high profile of the athletes involved—and the preparedness to respond to those emergencies. (O'Connell and Higgins, 7/26)