Healthcare

Leisa Prescott endured 24 years of painful abscesses and nodules on her skin, struggling to find a diagnosis while facing dismissive attitudes from doctors, impacting her mental health significantly. Her journey culminated in a chance encounter at a hospital where she was diagnosed with hidradenitis suppurativa, leading her to become an advocate for raising awareness about the disease.

The healthcare industry has welcomed the Indian government's initiative to hold wider consultations with stakeholders on determining standardized healthcare service rates. This move follows the Supreme Court's directive in February 2024, instructing the government to specify standard rates for private hospitals in consultation with states.

AstraZeneca faces claims in a court case alleging deaths and serious injuries linked to the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, where the company has acknowledged rare side effects like Thrombosis Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS). Despite these concerns, AstraZeneca emphasizes its commitment to patient safety and highlights the overall safety profile of the vaccine supported by clinical trial data and regulatory approvals worldwide.

Puma Biotechnology reported a narrower-than-expected loss in the first quarter of 2024, driven by higher-than-anticipated Nerlynx sales and royalty revenue. The company also received FDA approval to proceed with the clinical development of alisertib for the treatment of HER2-negative, hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer.

A Japanese research team has discovered that an infection with a specific virus during infancy may be a trigger for depression in later life. This finding challenges the long-held belief that inherited genes are the primary cause of depression and opens up new possibilities for understanding and preventing this debilitating condition.