May 31, 2019 08:11 PM
Man Suffers 9-Day Erection After Bruising Taint in Moped Accident (UK)
https://gizmodo.com/man-suffers-9-day-er...1835153121
EXCERPT: A man’s fall from a moped caused him much stranger trouble than anyone could have imagined. According to his doctors, a bruise near his genitals left him with a days-long erection—one that eventually required a trip to the emergency room to treat. Thankfully, doctors were able to resolve his awkward complication, and the patient had no lasting damage. The bizarre tale was described by the UK doctors who treated the man, in a case study published last month in the journal Case Reports in Urology.
[...] Once at the ER, he was classified as having a Grade IV erection, the highest tally on the Erection Hardness Score, which is a real thing. Even among cases of unwanted stiffness, though, the man’s situation was unusual. [...] Most cases of low-flow priapism are unexplained, but erectile dysfunction drugs and neurological conditions are common causes. The man, however, had high-flow priapism, meaning that blood wouldn’t stop rushing to his genitals... (MORE)
No end in sight to rising drug prices, study finds (USA)
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-ca...s-n1012181
EXCERPT: The cost of many popular prescription drugs has increased substantially in the U.S. in the past six years, and the trend may continue if bold bipartisan action isn’t taken, according to a study published Friday. The study, in the journal JAMA Network Open, found a substantial industry-wide rise in insurer and out-of-pocket costs for top-selling, brand-name prescription drugs, highlighting one of the foremost problems in health care today: unimpeded price increases in the pharmaceutical market.
[...] Given the median annual cost increase of 9.5 percent, our results suggest the costs for popular brand-name drugs would double every 7 to 8 years,” the researchers wrote. What’s more, competition didn’t seem to stymie costs: Popular diabetes drugs like Humalog and Novolog continued to see large price increases despite doctors’ ability to prescribe them interchangeably. And the researchers do not believe that this trend will slow or stop any time soon. “Because most products displayed continual, marked annual increases throughout the observation window, we expect these products to continue along this price escalation course, along with emerging products,” the authors said.
The findings also suggest that prices of brand-name drugs are not largely affected by the availability of generic versions or bio-similar products. [...] “The United States provides drug companies with the strongest patent protections in the world, but legal strategies in the pharmaceutical industry … abuse that liberty,” the researchers wrote. “Reasonable drug costs for consumers must be balanced with incentives in the pharmaceutical industry to produce innovative drugs that improve and save lives.” (MORE)
https://gizmodo.com/man-suffers-9-day-er...1835153121
EXCERPT: A man’s fall from a moped caused him much stranger trouble than anyone could have imagined. According to his doctors, a bruise near his genitals left him with a days-long erection—one that eventually required a trip to the emergency room to treat. Thankfully, doctors were able to resolve his awkward complication, and the patient had no lasting damage. The bizarre tale was described by the UK doctors who treated the man, in a case study published last month in the journal Case Reports in Urology.
[...] Once at the ER, he was classified as having a Grade IV erection, the highest tally on the Erection Hardness Score, which is a real thing. Even among cases of unwanted stiffness, though, the man’s situation was unusual. [...] Most cases of low-flow priapism are unexplained, but erectile dysfunction drugs and neurological conditions are common causes. The man, however, had high-flow priapism, meaning that blood wouldn’t stop rushing to his genitals... (MORE)
No end in sight to rising drug prices, study finds (USA)
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-ca...s-n1012181
EXCERPT: The cost of many popular prescription drugs has increased substantially in the U.S. in the past six years, and the trend may continue if bold bipartisan action isn’t taken, according to a study published Friday. The study, in the journal JAMA Network Open, found a substantial industry-wide rise in insurer and out-of-pocket costs for top-selling, brand-name prescription drugs, highlighting one of the foremost problems in health care today: unimpeded price increases in the pharmaceutical market.
[...] Given the median annual cost increase of 9.5 percent, our results suggest the costs for popular brand-name drugs would double every 7 to 8 years,” the researchers wrote. What’s more, competition didn’t seem to stymie costs: Popular diabetes drugs like Humalog and Novolog continued to see large price increases despite doctors’ ability to prescribe them interchangeably. And the researchers do not believe that this trend will slow or stop any time soon. “Because most products displayed continual, marked annual increases throughout the observation window, we expect these products to continue along this price escalation course, along with emerging products,” the authors said.
The findings also suggest that prices of brand-name drugs are not largely affected by the availability of generic versions or bio-similar products. [...] “The United States provides drug companies with the strongest patent protections in the world, but legal strategies in the pharmaceutical industry … abuse that liberty,” the researchers wrote. “Reasonable drug costs for consumers must be balanced with incentives in the pharmaceutical industry to produce innovative drugs that improve and save lives.” (MORE)