11Apr 2023 by Janice Holland
FDA Approves First Shot to Prevent HIV

FDA Approves First Shot to Prevent HIV

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Even though people at high risk for developing HIV have long been able to take daily pills to prevent infection, many of them don’t do it because of perceived stigma or challenges with accessing healthcare, paying for prescriptions, or consistently sticking with the medication regimen.Now, there’s a new option that can prevent HIV without the need for daily pills: On December 20, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Apretude (cabotegravir extended-release), a shot injected every two months to prevent HIV in at-risk adults and adolescents who weigh at least 77 pounds. The drug’s developer, ViiV Healthcare, said in a December 2021 statement that it would begin shipping the shot to U.S. distributors in early 2022.New Delivery Method May Mean More Compliance, Depending on Availability, Other Factors “This has…
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11Apr 2023 by Janice Holland
Black Americans, Men, and People Living in the South Have Higher Premature Heart Attack Death Rate

Black Americans, Men, and People Living in the South Have Higher Premature Heart Attack Death Rate

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Men, Black adults, and people living in rural areas have significantly higher premature heart attack death rates (defined as a heart attack before the age of 65) compared with women, white adults, and people living in urban counties, according to a study published December 22 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.Heart disease is the leading cause of death, and accounts for about 1 in 4 deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Death due to acute myocardial infarction, more commonly known as a heart attack, is a major contributor to that, said lead author Safi U. Khan, MD, a cardiology fellow at the DeBakey Heart and Vascular Institute at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, in an American Heart Association (AHA)…
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