Kaitlin Sullivan
@kaitsulliva.bsky.social
Freelance health and science journalist Affinity for reporting on infectious diseases, biopharma and medical black markets Contributor @nbcnews.com • CUNY J-School alumn Bylines in @theguardian.com @npr.org more 🏔Colorado www.kaitsullivan.co
Saleem Al-Ashqar, goalkeeper for Khadamat Khan Younis, was killed in the town of Al-Qarara in southern Gaza He was riding his bicycle to refill a gas cylinder for his home when the area came under heavy fire from an Israeli tank nearby, the Palestinian Football Association told The New Arab.
Statins are one of the most studied drugs in history, but millions of people who could benefit from them don't take them out of fear of rare side effects. www.nbcnews.com/health/heart...
Serious statin side effects on muscles are extremely rare, new research confirms
Scientists created a new tool to help doctors predict a patient’s risk of severe muscle problems from taking a statin.
nbcnews.com
Dr. Abu Safiya has been illegally detained for over 500 days without charge.
'When am I going home?' Prominent Palestinian doctor detained in Israel for nearly 16 months without charges
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a pediatrician from northern Gaza, has been held in Israel since late December 2024 with no formal charges filed or trial held.
abcnews.com
An ACS survey found that half of the people who undergo cancer treatment accrue medical debt, despite 98% of people in the survey having health insurance. Almost half of those in debt owed more than $5000. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...
Cancer Crowdfunding and the Crippling Cost of Care
Faced with high medical bills and other expenses, people with cancer are increasingly turning to crowdfunding campaigns. But how much do these campaigns really help?
medscape.com
The bacteria is likely to remain rare, but will probably show up again. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Rare type of Lyme disease found for the first time in New York
The bacteria, which can cause more severe symptoms, have only been detected in the upper Midwest.
nbcnews.com
The researchers just wrapped up a phase 3 trial, but experts say the five-year phase 2 results are an important milestone. www.nbcnews.com/health/cance...
A personalized vaccine for melanoma cut the risk of cancer returning after five years
If the vaccine is effective in a late-stage trial, it would be “paradigm-shifting,” one expert said.
nbcnews.com
When specialists at the Mayo Clinic analyzed which medications patients with chronic fatigue syndrome were prescribed prior to seeing a specialist, the most commonly prescribed drugs were antidepressants...
GLP-1 drugs may be linked to a lower risk of cancer progression, according to new research that will be presented next week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting.
GLP-1 drugs may reduce the risk of cancer progressing, study suggests
Research from the Cleveland Clinic found that people who started a GLP-1 drug after their diagnosis was less likely to progress to stage 4.
nbcnews.to
Though early, a number of studies have now suggested GLP-1 receptor agonists may help the body fight (or prevent) cancer: www.nbcnews.com/health/cance...
GLP-1 drugs may reduce the risk of cancer progressing, study suggests
Research from the Cleveland Clinic found that people who started a GLP-1 drug after their diagnosis were less likely to progress to stage 4.
nbcnews.com
A clinical trial is testing a condensed TMS treatment for postpartum depression. A seven-week course of TMS is already FDA approved to treat major depressive disorder. The trial only requires new moms to be in-clinic for 5 days. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...
Using Magnetic Pulses to Rewire the Postpartum Brain
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is already FDA approved for major depressive disorder. Researchers think it could offer drug-free relief for moms.
medscape.com
Breaking News: The FDA has blocked publication of research that found widely used Covid-19 and shingles vaccines were safe.
F.D.A. Blocked Publication of Research Finding Covid and Shingles Vaccines Were Safe
The agency’s scientists and data contractors reviewed millions of patient records for studies that were pulled back before release.
nyti.ms
Because we cannot dissect the human brain after giving someone a dose of a psychedelic — as researchers do in rodent studies — it’s been difficult to understand what changes, if any, psilocybin has on the brain. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Science gets closer to understanding how a psychedelic trip changes the brain
The small study found evidence that a single trip may alter pathways between parts of the brain responsible for emotional regulation.
nbcnews.com
We need to normalize people, particularly women, not having children by choice. www.cnn.com/2026/05/02/u...
UK woman wins right to receive permanent birth control after exposing double standards in health service | CNN
A British woman who was denied permanent birth control through the UK ’s national health service on the grounds she might regret the decision has won her case with the country’s health ombudsman after...
cnn.com
Ibogaine is in the news cycle again and being touted as a miracle cure. It may be, but people ignore the dark side of plant medicine and psychedelics.
Traditional immunotherapies can be very effective, but they only work in about 20% of all cancers, leaving the majority of cancers without immune-based treatments. Pancreatic cancer, which is exceptionally difficult to treat, is the poster child of these cancers. www.nbcnews.com/health/cance...
Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial
Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later.
nbcnews.com
We don't yet have a lot of data on how HPV vaccination affects cancer diagnoses in young men, partly because the vaccines were introduced 20 years ago...
People who eat a lot of UPFs appear to store extra fat in muscles, regardless of the number of calories they eat Or their BMI. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Ultraprocessed foods may hurt muscle health, study finds
People who ate diets that were high in ultraprocessed foods had more fat in between their muscles.
nbcnews.com
Contracting muscles release a protein that boosts cognitive function, generates new neurons and improves connections between neurons, especially in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that converts short-term memory to long-term memory. www.nbcnews.com/health/aging...
These simple lifestyle changes could decrease dementia risk by 25%
New research is the latest to show that people don’t need elaborate or expensive longevity hacks to stay mentally sharp as they age.
nbcnews.com
www.propublica.org/article/usai...
Trump Officials Celebrated With Cake After Slashing Aid. Then People Died of Cholera.
Behind closed doors in Washington, top advisers made a series of decisions that had devastating repercussions for the poorest country on earth. We went to South Sudan and found people who died as a re...
propublica.org
Although this cold and flu season didn’t end up being as bad as experts feared, some viruses are still on the rise in certain states: www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Do you have the new Covid variant, flu or other virus? Look out for these symptoms
Flu and Covid, including a new variant called BA.3.2, nicknamed “cicada,” are still circulating, along with several other respiratory illnesses and a nasty stomach bug.
nbcnews.com
Pediatricians "should be taking detailed pregnancy information, not just what happened to the baby during that pregnancy but to the mother.” www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...
Placental Abruption Linked to Heart Disease in Teens
Cardiovascular disease shows up as early as within the first year of life.
medscape.com
"You have to be comfortable with approximation," one expert told me. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Can you trust calorie counts on food labels? What the nutrition scientists say
Nutrition labels flaunt calorie counts in bold font. But the amount of energy — or calories — we get from food is affected by many different factors.
nbcnews.com
At least 22 states have laws that ban minors from using tanning beds, and others have restrictions, requiring parental consent. But federal law only requires tanning beds to display warning labels. www.nbcnews.com/health/cance...
FDA pulls proposed rule barring teens from using tanning beds
The notice, signed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said the move “does not mean that exposure to UV radiation does not cause skin cancer.”
nbcnews.com
Doctors hope that CAR T, a B cell cancer treatment, could also help people with multiple sclerosis, since rogue B cells also play a major role in MS. But studies are early and it's still unclear how risky the treatment could be for people with MS. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Can a groundbreaking cancer therapy help people with multiple sclerosis?
A handful of small, early-stage clinical trials are investigating whether CAR-T therapy can improve symptoms in multiple sclerosis patients.
nbcnews.com
Growing research suggests that the same mechanism that GLP-1s use to curb apetite and food noise may also lessen cravings for drugs and alcohol. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
GLP-1s could help curb substance use disorders, from alcohol to opioids, study suggests
A growing body of research has looked at GLP-1 drugs for alcohol use disorder. A new study shows the medications could have a broader effect on addiction.
nbcnews.com
The experts I spoke to said ADHD coaching likely has a good place in overall ADHD care, but that there is currently little oversight of the industry, which has boomed sine Covid. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...
The Boom in ADHD Coaching Has Few Rules
Most ADHD coaches do not have behavioral health training, a study finds, but experts say peer support can help people navigate living with the condition.
medscape.com
From Alaska to Colorado to Vermont, state health departments are increasingly diverging from CDC vaccine guidance. Some are introducing bills to keep vaccines available. At least one bill would protect providers from what experts call weaponized lawsuits. www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-...
After CDC vaccine changes, states push to keep childhood shots free, accessible
Proposed legislation raises concern over “fractured” vaccine policies across the U.S.
nbcnews.com
