‘You’re Going To Start The Zombie Apocalypse’: Project To ‘Reanimate’ The Brain Dead Provokes Fear, Hope
Scientist Ira Pastor believes brain death is a potentially curable condition, given the right combination of stem cells, drugs, electrical currents, magnetic fields or other stimuli. But his quest to explore the idea is being greeted with skepticism, confusion and worries of a zombie apocalypse.
The Washington Post:
Sparking Fears Of A Zombie Apocalypse: Controversial Study Aims To ‘Reanimate’ The Brain Dead
Ever since Ira Pastor declared his company’s intentions to take 20 brain-dead patients and try to “regenerate” their nervous systems, his email box has been overflowing with inquiries from far-flung parts of the world. Skeptical scientists grilling him about the details of the techniques his team is using. Desperate families, who have been paying for years to keep loved ones on life support, wondering how to enroll. Outraged representatives from every major religion telling him why what he’s doing violates the laws of nature. But the most vociferous challenge, says Pastor, chief executive of Philadelphia-based Bioquark, has been from the “zombie contingent.” (Cha, 5/24)
In other public health news, those affected by an outbreak of fungal meningitis in 2012 have yet to see a dime from their civil suit, doctors are using antidepressants to treat more than depression and baby boomers are going to be expensive senior citizens —
The Washington Post:
Why Victims Of Deadly Meningitis Outbreak Haven’t Been Compensated
Kathy Pugh quit her job when her mother got sick from a tainted medication, and now Pugh spends her days helping the once-vibrant 85-year-old get out of bed, shower and dress. If her mom ever were compensated for what she endured, Pugh said she would like to install laminate flooring — which would make it easier to move around in a wheelchair — and maybe buy a handicap van. Evelyn Bates-March, Pugh’s mother, is one of hundreds of victims of a 2012 outbreak of fungal meningitis that federal investigators traced to a batch of contaminated steroid injections manufactured by the New England Compounding Center. A civil fund of more than $200 million was created after victims sued the compounding center and companies with which it did business. The federal government also has money available to compensate crime victims. But the 85-year-old, like all the others affected by the outbreak, has yet to see a dime to help her cope with how her life has changed since she was given a tainted shot. (Zapotosky, 5/24)
Los Angeles Times:
Antidepressants Aren't Just For Depression Anymore, Study Finds
Antidepressants didn’t get to be the third-most commonly prescribed medication in the United States for nothing. In fact, says a new study, the medications taken by more than 10% of American adults may be so ubiquitous because they are used to do so much. Depression medication, a new study suggests, has become a “do something” drug for primary care physicians to offer when a patient’s complaints may only be vaguely related to depression. In a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. on Tuesday, researchers reported that close to three in 10 antidepressant prescriptions written between 2006 and 2015 by general practitioners in Quebec, Canada, were for conditions for which the medications have not been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (Healy, 5/24)
NPR:
Baby Boomers Will Become Sicker Seniors Than Earlier Generations
The next generation of senior citizens will be sicker and costlier to the health care system over the next 14 years than previous generations, according to a new report from the United Health Foundation. We're talking about you, Baby Boomers. The report looks at the current health status of people aged 50 to 64 and compares them to the same ages in 1999. The upshot? There will be about 55 percent more senior citizens who have diabetes than there are today, and about 25 percent more who are obese. Overall, the report says that the next generation of seniors will be 9 percent less likely to say they have good or excellent overall health. (Kodjak, 5/25)