Doctors use keratopigmentation to treat people with diseased or injured eyes. It can give patients with cloudy corneas caused by infections or trauma the appearance of an iris. It can also help reduce debilitating glare caused by iris or corneal damage, said Dr. Roberto Pineda, an ophthalmologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear who has performed medical keratopigmentation for almost 30 years. In the 2010s, doctors in Europe began experimenting with the procedure for cosmetic reasons. Many eye specialists say it is irresponsible for doctors to perform keratopigmentation on people with healthy eyes. The benefits might outweigh the risks for patients with diseased corneas, but there isn't enough evidence to say the same for healthy people, critics say.
The future of one of President Joe Biden's key domestic policy achievements — getting Medicare to negotiate drug prices — could either become part of the Biden administration's legacy, get rolled back by the incoming Congress or be weakened by President-elect Donald Trump's administration. Trump has remained relatively mum about the drug pricing provisions of the 2022 reconciliation bill and its future appears even murkier now that Republicans will control both the House and Senate. "The Trump campaign articulated no position on drug price negotiation specifically, but congressional Republicans are not fans of this program and introduced legislation to repeal the IRA in its entirety," said Juliette Cubanski, deputy director of the program on Medicare policy at KFF.
The death of Rick Slayman, the first man to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically engineered pig, was caused by an 'unexpected cardiac event,' and there was no sign his body was rejecting the organ, his transplant surgeon said Wednesday. The disclosure, six months after the 62-year-old Weymouth resident died, was the first public explanation of Slayman's cause of death and the most detailed confirmation that Slayman's new kidney was still viable and doing its job two months after he underwent the historic procedure. In a May press release announcing his death, hospital officials said they had 'no indication' the death was caused by his transplant but provided no additional details.
Some hospitals have begun to embrace programs targeted at spiritual support in addition to direct healthcare ones. Those programs are supported by a growing body of research on the health benefits of spiritual practice. One of those programs is out of Indiana University Health, which connects people being discharged from the hospital with individuals called 'connectors', if the patient doesn't have a community support network of their own.