Wide-eyed, foaming at the mouth - the city gripped by panic as healthy residents dropped dead one by one... because they'd all taken the same everyday pill: Special report by TOM LEONARD
Hours after her death on the morning of September 29, 1982, in another part of Chicago, postal worker Adam Janus suffered an apparent heart attack despite being a healthy 27-year-old.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
a few seconds ago
- The Independent
‘Mount Everest air' could hold key to reversing Parkinson's symptoms, study finds
A low- oxygen environment similar to the air around Mount Everest 's base camp could be key to tackling and even reversing Parkinson's disease, a new study suggests. The research, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, shows that faulty cellular processes in the brain cause a build-up of excess oxygen molecules, leading to Parkinson's symptoms. The excess oxygen appears to drive the breakdown of cells in the brain, suggesting that limiting oxygen intake could help slow or reverse symptoms, say researchers from Harvard Medical School. Parkinson's patients experience a progressive loss of neurons in the brain, leading to tremors and slowed movements, with the disease affecting over 10 million people worldwide. Neurons affected by Parkinson's also tend to accumulate toxic protein clumps called Lewy bodies, with some research suggesting that these clumps interfere with the function of mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, . Anecdotal case studies have shown that people with Parkinson's seem to fare better at high altitudes. 'Based on this evidence, we became very interested in the effect of hypoxia on Parkinson's disease,' said study author Fumito Ichinose. 'We first saw that low oxygen could alleviate brain-related symptoms in some rare diseases where mitochondria are affected, such as Leigh syndrome and Friedreich's ataxia... That raised the question: Could the same be true in more common neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's?' said Vamsi Mootha, another author of the study. In the research, scientists induced Parkinson's-like conditions in mice by injecting them with clumps of the α-synuclein proteins that seed the formation of Lewy bodies. They then split the mice into two groups – one breathing normal air with 21 per cent oxygen, and the other continuously housed in chambers with 11 per cent oxygen, comparable to living at an altitude of about 4,800 metres (16,000 ft). Researchers found that just three months after receiving the α-synuclein protein injections, mice breathing normal air had high levels of Lewy bodies, dead neurons, and severe movement problems. On the other hand, the mice kept in low-oxygen conditions didn't lose any neurons and showed no movement problems, despite developing Lewy bodies. The results show that while hypoxia couldn't stop the formation of Lewy bodies, it was protecting neurons from the damaging effects of these protein clumps. Researchers hope the findings could serve as a new way to interpret and treat Parkinson's without targeting α-synuclein or Lewy bodies. Scientists also found that the low-oxygen treatment still worked even when hypoxia was introduced six weeks after the injection, when symptoms were already appearing. After six weeks, the mice's motor skills rebounded, their anxiety-like behaviours faded, and the loss of neurons in the brain stopped, researchers found. When scientists analysed the brain cells of the mice, they discovered that mice with Parkinson's symptoms had much higher levels of oxygen in some parts of the brain than control mice and those that had breathed low-oxygen air. They suspect the excess oxygen likely resulted from mitochondrial dysfunction. With the damaged cell powerhouses unable to use oxygen efficiently, oxygen was building up to damaging levels, researchers say. 'Too much oxygen in the brain turns out to be toxic. By reducing the overall oxygen supply, we're cutting off the fuel for that damage,' Dr Mootha said. Scientists are working on 'hypoxia in a pill' drugs which mimic the effects of low oxygen to treat disorders stemming from mitochondrial dysfunction. But while the results are encouraging, researchers caution that more research is needed before the findings can be directly used to treat Parkinson's in humans. 'It may not be a treatment for all types of it's a powerful concept – one that might shift how we think about treating some of these diseases,' Dr Mootha said.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Diabetes drug Ozempic will cost half-price for US patients paying cash
American diabetes patients will now be able to buy the wildly popular weight-loss drug Ozempic for half its usual price — as long as they pay out of pocket. Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk said on Monday that it would make the drug available through its direct pharmacy service for $499 per month, compared to a list price of just under $1,000 per month. The drug is available as an obesity medication under the alternate brand name Wegovy but will now be sold to patients with diabetes prescriptions as well. Scientifically known as semaglutide, Ozempic and other GLP-1 agonists have rapidly transformed weight loss and diabetes treatment across the world, while at one point boosting Novo Nordisk's profits enough to raise the entire GDP of Denmark. It comes after President Donald Trump specifically called out GLP-1 agonists for being more expensive in the U.S. than in other countries, claiming he would "slash the cost of prescription drugs" by as much as 80 percent. He also accused European nations of "unfairly shifting the cost burden onto American patients" by using the bargaining power of their large single-payer healthcare services to force U.S. pharma companies to accept lower prices. Big Pharma has been responsive, with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla recently admitting that he and other firms are discussing ways to make their drugs available more cheaply. Sales of Ozempic surged by 500 to 600 percent in the U.K. after its competitor Mounjaro announced that prices would more than triple starting on September 1. But Trump's tariffs could also raise the price of U.S. drugs that are manufactured abroad unless pharma companies or foreign governments can agree some exemption. Novo Nordisk launched its NovaCare pharmacy in March, offering Wegovy for $499 to patients willing to skip insurance and forego any reimbursement. More recently the president upgraded his promise on drug prices to say he would cut them by up to "1,500 percent", which is mathematically impossible without going into negative numbers. In Ozempic's case, reducing the list price by 1,500 percent would result in Novo Nordisk paying American patients around $14,000 for a month's supply of the drug — which is unlikely.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
US pediatricians' new COVID-19 shot recommendations differ from CDC advice
For the first time in 30 years, the American Academy of Pediatrics is substantially diverging from U.S. government vaccine recommendations. The group's new COVID-19 recommendations — released Tuesday — come amid a tumultuous year for public health, as vaccine skeptics have come into power in the new Trump administration and government guidance has become increasingly confusing. This isn't going to help, acknowledged Dr. James Campbell, vice chair of the AAP infectious disease committee. 'It is going to be somewhat confusing. But our opinion is we need to make the right choices for children to protect them,' he added. The AAP is strongly recommending COVID-19 shots for children ages 6 months to 2 years. Shots also are advised for older children if parents want their kids vaccinated, the AAP said. That differs from guidance established under U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which doesn't recommend the shots for healthy children of any age but says kids may get the shots in consultation with physicians. Children ages 6 months to 2 years are at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19, and it was important that recommendations continue to emphasize the need for them to get vaccinated, said Campbell, a University of Maryland infectious diseases expert. Vaccinations also are recommended for older children who have chronic lung diseases or other conditions that put them at higher risk for severe disease, the AAP said. The 95-year-old Itasca, Illinois-based organization has issued vaccination recommendations for children since the 1930s. In 1995, it synced its advice with recommendations made by the federal government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been a few small differences between AAP and CDC recommendations since then. For example, the AAP has advised that children get HPV vaccinations starting at age 9; the CDC says that's OK but has emphasized vaccinations at ages 11 and 12. But in 30 years, this is the first time the recommendations have differed 'in a significant or substantial way,' Campbell said. Until recently, the CDC — following recommendations by infectious disease experts — has been urging annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older. But in May, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. A few days later, the CDC issued language that healthy children may get the shots, but that there was no longer a 'should' recommendation. The idea that healthy older kids may be able to skip COVID-19 boosters has been brewing for some time among public health experts. As the COVID-19 pandemic has waned, experts have increasingly discussed the possibility of focusing vaccination efforts on people 65 and older — who are among those most as risk for death and hospitalization. A CDC expert panel in June was set to make recommendations about the fall shots. Among the options the panel was considering was whether suggest shots for high-risk groups but still giving lower-risk people the choice to get vaccinated. But Kennedy bypassed the group, and also decided to dismiss the 17-member panel and appoint his own, smaller panel, that included vaccine skeptics. Kennedy also later excluded the AAP, the American Medical Association and other top medical organizations from working with the advisers to establish vaccination recommendations. Kennedy's new vaccine panel has yet to vote on COVID-19 shot recommendations. The panel did endorse continuing to recommend fall flu vaccinations, but also made a decision that led to another notable difference with the AAP. The new advisory panel voted that people should only get flu vaccines that are packaged as single doses and do not contain the preservative thimerosal. The AAP said there is no evidence of harm from the preservative, and recommended doctors use any licensed flu vaccine product that's appropriate for the patient. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
