CNN (1/3, Dillinger) reports the FDA “is evaluating reports of side effects such as hair loss and suicidal thoughts in people taking” weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy. The agency “is ‘evaluating the need for regulatory action’ after its FDA Adverse Event Reporting System or FAERS received reports of alopecia, or hair loss; aspiration, or accidentally breathing in things like food or liquid; and suicidal ideation in people using these medications.”

The article notes that “some research has linked GLP-1 agonists to serious digestive problems such as stomach paralysis, pancreatitis and bowel obstructions, although the risks of these events appear to be rare.”

Related Links:

— “FDA looking into reports of hair loss, suicidal thoughts in people using popular drugs for diabetes and weight loss,” Katherine Dillinger, CNN, January 4, 2024

CNN (1/3, McPhillips ) reports, “People who have more interrupted sleep in their 30s and 40s are more than twice as likely to have memory and thinking problems a decade later, according to a…study.” Investigators found that “overall, people experiencing more sleep fragmentation, or with greater share of their sleeping hours spent moving, were more likely to receive poor cognitive scores on all of the tests more than a decade later.”

The study indicated that “of the 175 people with the most disrupted sleep, 44 had poor cognitive performance 10 years later, compared with 10 of the 176 people with the least disrupted sleep.” The findingswere published in Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Sleep disruptions in 30s and 40s linked to cognitive decline a decade later, study finds,” Deidre McPhillips, CNN, January 4, 2024

Kaiser Health News (1/3, Peace , Prator) reports that media coverage of a national Adderall shortage “has focused primarily on the harms to people with ADHD,” however “for those with sleep disorders … the effects may be even more consequential.” That’s because “basic tasks – like driving – become dangerous or impossible without medication,” while “job and school performances are threatened by the onset of sudden sleep and sometimes even paralysis.”

Related Links:

— “Patients with narcolepsy face a dual nightmare of medication shortages and stigma,” Lauren Peace and Jack Prator, Kaiser Health News, January 3, 2024

MedPage Today (1/3, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Unsupervised, at-home use of transcranial direct current stimulation was no better than a sham control for treating a major depressive episode, a randomized trial showed.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (1/2, Belluck) reports, “Tens of thousands of women who are not pregnant are ordering abortion pills just in case they might need them someday, especially in states where access is threatened, according to a study published on Tuesday.” The practice, which is known as advance provision, “has increased significantly since the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn the national right to abortion.” The findingswere published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The AP (1/2, Ungar) reports that researchers looked at requests for mifepristone and misoprostol “from people who weren’t pregnant and sought them through Aid Access, a European online telemedicine service that prescribes them for future and immediate use.” Notably, “requests were highest right after news leaked in May 2022 that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade – but before the formal announcement that June.”

Related Links:

— “US women are stocking up on abortion pills, especially when there is news about restrictions,” Laura Ungar, Associated Press, January 2, 2024