The investigation comes as peptides grow in popularity, thanks in part to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s promotion of the amino acid chains as a way to fight aging and chronic disease. Since becoming Health and Human Services secretary, Kennedy has vowed to end the Food and Drug Administration’s “war on peptides” and other alternative health therapies. Kent Holtorf, the doctor overseeing the booth where the women became ill, also has called for less regulation of alternative therapies and has criticized the FDA for blocking compounds he sees as lifesaving.

Holtorf told ProPublica he is cooperating with the investigation. “Of course, I want to get to the bottom of it. But almost assuredly it will come out that it was not the peptides.”

He said he became convinced the peptides weren’t the cause of the severe reactions after plugging everything he knows about the incident into an artificial intelligence app, which he said gave him a 57-page report that “basically says that it is impossible it was the peptides.” He refused to comment on what the report attributed the illnesses to.

Experts say that if the new drug gets approved, it may lead to a big shift in how we treat the condition.

For decades, the primary treatment for sleep apnea has been continuous positive airway pressure (or CPAP). Before bed, those with the condition put on a face mask that is connected to a CPAP machine, which keeps the airway open by forcing air into it. The machines are effective, but many find them so noisy, cumbersome or uncomfortable that they end up abandoning them.

Now, a more appealing option may be on the way, according to a news release from Apnimed, a pharmaceutical company focused on treating sleep apnea. On Wednesday, the company announced a second round of positive Phase 3 clinical trial results for a first-of-its-kind oral pill that can be taken just before bedtime to help keep a person’s airway open.

The substance, 7-OH, is found naturally in kratom, an unregulated dietary supplement made from the leaves of a tropical evergreen tree.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday recommended classifying 7-OH, a compound with opioid-like effects found in unregulated tablets, gummies and drink mixes sold in gas stations and convenience stores, as an illicit substance.

Such a move by the Justice Department would restrict or prohibit access to the products, which are also currently sold online.

The chemical, formally known as 7-hydroxymitragynine, is often marketed as a way to help people relax, relieve pain or improve their mood or focus. But studies suggest it’s more potent than morphine, and the FDA has warned it could damage the heart or liver and potentially lead to seizures, digestive issues, shallow breathing, withdrawal symptoms or even death.

EPA administrator Lee Zeldin announced plans to revoke key scientific finding that allows for US climate regulation

Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday proposed revoking a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for US action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.

The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule rescinds a 2009 declaration that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare.

The “endangerment finding” is the legal underpinning of a host of climate regulations under the Clean Air Act for motor vehicles, power plants and other pollution sources that are heating the planet.

TIL that crunches and situps are bad for your spine. And sitting for long periods of time.

Obesity-related liver cancers are the fastest-growing cause of the disease.

At least 60% of liver cancers could be preventable, according to an analysis published Monday in The Lancet.

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the world, with around 870,000 cases in 2022. That’s projected to increase to 1.52 million cases in 2050, the new report found, if no changes are made.

The leading cause of liver cancer is viral infections, including the hepatitis B and C viruses. Hepatitis B infections — which are preventable with a vaccine — accounted for 39% of liver cancers in 2022. That’s expected to fall slightly, to 36.9%, by 2025. Hepatitis C accounted for 29.1% of liver cancers in 2022 and is also projected to fall, to 25.9%, by 2050.

The proportions of alcohol- and obesity-related liver cancers, however, are projected to rise in the next 25 years. Alcohol accounted for 18.8% of liver cancers in 2022, and that is expected to increase to 21.1% in 2050. The share of liver cancers caused by obesity-related disease is projected to increase from 8% to 10.8% by 2050 due to increasing rates of obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol and other metabolic risk factors.

American Medical Association writes to health secretary after reports he aims to overhaul taskforce for being ‘woke’

A top US medical body has expressed “deep concern” to Robert F Kennedy Jr over news reports that the health secretary plans to overhaul a panel that determines which preventive health measures including cancer screenings should be covered by insurance companies.

The letter from the the American Medical Association comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Kennedy plans to overhaul the 40-year old US Preventive Services Task Force because he regards them as too “woke”, according to sources familiar with the matter.

During his second term, Donald Trump has frequently raged against organizations and government departments that he considers too liberal – often without any evidence. The US president, and his cabinet members such as Kennedy, have also overseen huge cuts and job losses across the US government.

Industry group says treatments may need to be restricted to the most overweight

Demand for weight loss drugs is becoming so “unsustainable” that demand may soon outstrip supply, pharmacists have warned.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said supply problems could encourage people to turn to unregulated online sources, despite the risks involved.

The drugs might need to be reserved for those in greatest need because they are so overweight instead of being given to the “worried well”, it added.

Microplastics have been found in the placentas of unborn babies, the depths of the Mariana Trench, the summit of Everest and the organs of Antarctic penguins. But how do they travel through the world, and what do they do to the creatures that carry them? Here is the story of how plastic contaminates entire ecosystems – and even the food we eat

A joint investigation by KFF Health News and NBC News found that cosmetic surgery chains have been the target of scores of medical malpractice and negligence lawsuits, including 12 wrongful death cases.

A few days after a harrowing cosmetic surgery procedure, Erin Schaeffer says she woke up with fluid leaking from an open wound in her stomach.

Schaeffer went on to spend a week in a Florida hospital battling a severe infection after a type of tummy tuck and liposuction at the Jacksonville branch of Sono Bello, a national cosmetic surgery chain.

More than a year later, scars remain on her lower body — and in a lawsuit she is accusing Sono Bello of using an inadequately trained obstetrician-gynecologist to remove her excess skin and fat, a procedure she says caused excruciating pain.

High temperatures and humidity across north-eastern coast increase risk of heat exhaustion, illnesses and death

More than a 100 million people in the US will face dangerous conditions over the weekend as a heat dome that has scorched much of the center of the country nudges eastward.

Heat advisories were in place on Friday all across the north-eastern coast from Portland, Maine, to Wilmington, North Carolina, with the daytime heat index temperatures 10 to 15F above average in some places.

Overnight temperatures will also be very warm and oppressively muggy, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).