Innovative new treatments give patients back energy, health, and valuable time with loved ones. And several new breakthroughs in pharmaceutical innovation over this past week are delivering on this for thousands of patients.
A new drug that slows down the symptoms of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, has received FDA approval, and promising research could lead to a new Alzheimer's drug that will slow cognitive decline.
Innovation like this changes the lives of patients living with rare and chronic diseases. It means patients will be able to manage their symptoms while also paving the road for future patients to benefit from the research happening today.
Read on for more news on innovation and the latest health news headlines.
The Ice Bucket Challenge wasn’t just for social media. It helped fund a new ALS drug. The ALS Association said that $2.2 million of funds that were raised from the Ice Bucket Challenge went into funding the development and trial of the new drug that the Food and Drug Administration approved this week for treatment of ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. (NPR)
Caregiver Confessions: Cleaning Out My Grandmother’s Home. You know those stretches in life that are just insanely busy? You keep thinking that things are going to calm down “as soon as,” but as soon as never quite seems to come. That’s what I’ve been dealing with for the last 6+ months. (Living in Steil Blog)
Fatigue and Impaired Cognition Among
Long-Covid Sufferers
It’s been more than two-and-a-half years since almost the entire world came to a standstill. The rapid spread of a deadly virus (SARS-COV-2) morphed into the COVID-19 pandemic. Research efforts and resources quickly led to efficient diagnostic tests, preventive vaccines, and treatment options. We are not yet seeing an end to the pandemic, and a section of the population is enduring the health impacts of a new condition - long COVID.
"I have always known something was off with my health. I officially started to search for answers in about 2011-2012. Doctors wrote off symptoms like my #PainfulPeriods and constant bleeding, and all my other laundry list of symptoms weren't taken seriously. My bloodwork would always be great, other than showing slight inflammation and low B12."
A client, we'll call him Erik, reached out to us when his 35 year-old son, a schizophrenic, got arrested. They have been trying for years to get him treatment, but the son insisted he didn't need it, even though the need was obvious to everyone else.
Response: "Getting the mental healthcare one needs is never simple. Often the patient (in this case your son) feels like they don't need help, while their loved ones (you) see the obvious need. In cases like this, civil commitment (aka involuntary incarceration), can be the best answer.
"Varying by title and subtle nuances, civil commitment is ubiquitous throughout the practice of psychiatry. Defined by the United States Health and Human Services, civil commitment - involuntary hospitalization of a patient – is the legal process by which a person is confined in a psychiatric hospital because of a treatable mental disorder, against his or her wishes." - "Involuntary Commitment" by Fariba/Gupta.
Essentially, each State has different interpretations of the federal laws on mental health services, so what you could do is perform a search like, "[your state] + involuntary incarceration" or "[your zip code] + civil commitment" or some combination of these."
Then, as usual, I suggested he do the search for himself (providing clients with agency and protecting their privacy) or I could do it for him. Erik opted to search on his own.
Has your prescription been delayed by a mail-order pharmacy? Trying to track down your medication can be tiring and often impersonal, but a new model for specialty medications seeks to solve this problem by putting pharmacy services right within the clinic setting.
This week, we talk with House Rx’s Co-founder and CEO, Ogi Kavazovic, and Denali Cahoon, Chief Pharmacy and Operating Officer. House Rx is a tech start-up that’s making it easier for patients to get specialty medicine. They use technology to help clinics set up their own specialty pharmacies that provide faster, more accessible, and personal care to patients.
This innovative technique opens pathways for doctors to work closely with patients to make sure they get their medication quickly and keep an eye out for any side effects. Tune in Friday to hear more, and check out this op-ed from Executive Director Terry Wilcox on how this new specialty pharmacy model can help patients.
