Woman reaching for inhaler on pink background

When periods make it tough to breathe

For some women, asthma symptoms worsen before and during menstruation. Fluctuations in sex hormones may be the reason, experts say.

The Washington Post

Doctor and male patient talking

Medical News in Brief

This weekly section covers “a broad range of updates in health and medicine,” including news from the CDC & FDA & clinical trial results.

JAMA Medical News

For end-stage dementia, Medicare can make hospice harder to access

The number of older Americans with the disease is projected to double by 2060. Many will need hospice care but the program will need reform to aid them, experts say. (Photo courtesy of Janet Drey)

The Washington Post


As Mpox Cases Surge in Africa, WHO Declares a Global Emergency—Here’s What to Know

Since the worldwide outbreaks began in 2022, mpox cases have simmered at low levels in multiple countries around the world—except in a handful of African nations, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC, where the virus never stopped raging.

JAMA Medical News

Large Language Models Answer Medical Questions Accurately, but Can’t Match Clinicians’ Knowledge

When Google completes the sentence, “Coronary artery disease is caused by,” the search engine offers several possibilities: atherosclerosis, smoking, and inflammation, to name a few.

JAMA Medical News

Prenatal Exposures; Angelman trial suspension; autistic adult well-being

It can be tough to prove a negative, as illustrated by a new null result that Spectrum covered last week.

Spectrum

Global Monkeypox Outbreaks Spur Drug Research for the Neglected Disease

In 2018, physicians in the UK administered an investigational smallpox drug called brincidofovir to 3 patients with monkeypox virus infections stemming from a large outbreak in Nigeria. Before then, monkeypox had never been encountered in Europe.

JAMA Medical News

Data irregularities surface for study of microRNAs in autism

Duplicated images and fabricated data plague a paper claiming that a microRNA treatment can decrease autism-like traits in mice, according to research integrity analysts.

Spectrum