JUPITER, Fla. – Researchers with the University of Florida are finding promise in a potential drug against Parkinson’s Disease.
The team at the Herbert Wertheim U.F. Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology looked at ways to change the course of the disease.
Specifically, they focused on a toxic protein called alpha synuclein.
“We know that this toxic protein gets triggered in these patients and we figured out a way to cut up the recipe for making it so a cell cannot make it,” said chemist Dr. Matthew Disney.
The scientists are doing that with a specific compound.
The next step is to optimize the compound to make it more potent and demonstrate its safety in humans.
IVERMECTIN LAWSUIT SETTLED
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has finally settled a long-running lawsuit that started during the pandemic era.
The suit stems from social media posts on Twitter and Instagram in 2021 about the anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin.
The FDA was accused of discouraging people from using the drug to prevent or treat COVID-19.
Ivermectin is prescribed to treat neglected tropical diseases in humans like scabies and can help deworm animals such as horses and cows.
In 2021, the FDA posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Serious, y’all. Stop it.”
That post got nearly 106,000 likes.
The FDA said in part, it chose to resolve the lawsuit without admitting any violation or wrongdoing.
The suit was filed in 2022 by a group of doctors.
SHORT-TERM HEALTHCARE PLANS CURTAILED
The Biden Administration announced its curtailing short-term health insurance plans which officials called “junk insurance.”
They said the plans often leave patients contending with big medical bills.
According to the new rule, new sales of the insurance plans have to be limited to three months with the option of renewal for a maximum of four months total.
Previously, the policy duration was about a year, but patients could renew up to 36 months.
The new rule also requires the plans to provide customers with clear explanations of their benefits and show them how to find more comprehensive coverage.
Consumers who currently have short-term plans will not see changes in their policies.