Health Headlines for Thursday, July 13

Senate Republicans, Preparing New Health Bill, Have No Votes to Spare

New York Times

The likely defection of two Senate Republicans has left their leaders no margin for error as they move on Thursday to unveil another version of their bill to repeal much of the Affordable Care Act — without an assurance that they have the votes even to begin debate next week.

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‘Extreme’ Opioid Use and Doctor Shopping Still Plague Medicare

NPR

In Washington, D.C., a Medicare beneficiary filled prescriptions for 2,330 pills of oxycodone, hydromorphone and morphine in a single month last year – written by just one of the 42 health providers who prescribed the person such drugs.

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F.D.A. Panel Recommends Approval for Gene-Altering Leukemia Treatment

New York Times

A Food and Drug Administration panel opened a new era in medicine on Wednesday, unanimously recommending that the agency approve the first-ever treatment that genetically alters a patient’s own cells to fight cancer, transforming them into what scientists call “a living drug” that powerfully bolsters the immune system to shut down the disease.

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Study of How We Look at Faces May Offer Insight Into Autism

New York Times

How we look at other people’s faces is strongly influenced by our genes, scientists have found in new research that may be especially important for understanding autism because it suggests that people are born with neurological differences that affect how they develop socially.

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U.S. to crack down on opioid treatment programs: Bloomberg

Reuters

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will unveil this week a major crackdown on healthcare fraud involving opioid treatment programs, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

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Dark hair dye and chemical relaxers linked to breast cancer

Reuters

African-American and white women who regularly chemically straightened their hair or dyed it dark brown or black had an elevated risk of breast cancer, recent research suggests.

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