Declaring a state of public health emergency − and mobilizing resources to address it − is a power of the HHS secretary. Frank Franklin II/AP Photo ~~~~~ The secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, plays a significant role in every American’s access to health care and in the nation’s overall well-being. Under the secretary’s leadership, the multiple agencies that...
Neurologists have grappled with a cluster of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases in France, where a fondness for a toxic wild mushroom may hold the answer The road switches back and forth again and again as it climbs into Montchavin, perched in the French Alps at 4,100 feet above sea level. The once-sleepy mountainside village, developed into a ski resort in the 1970s, is dotted with wooden...
The Injustice Electrical shocks from head to toe. Debilitating fatigue. Embarrassing cognitive impairment. As a result of a severe adverse reaction to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, these are just a few of the symptoms I endure daily. Formally a practicing attorney, instead of defending my clients in the courtroom, I spend much of my days either in a hot bath or in bed, desperately hoping for...
Short sleepers cruise by on four to six hours a night and don’t seem to suffer ill effects. Turns out they’re genetically built to require less sleep than the rest of us. Everyone has heard that it’s vital to get seven to nine hours of sleep a night, a recommendation repeated so often it has become gospel. Get anything less, and you are more likely to suffer from poor health in the short and...
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. For users of breathing machines made by Philips Respironics, recent years have been a nightmare in multiple acts. First came complaints of illnesses and injuries caused by the devices. Then came reports of deaths. Then came a large-scale recall that...
One class of drugs has already found success in treating the painful, disorienting and common attacks. Excitement is building about a slew of additional drug targets. For Cherise Irons, chocolate, red wine and aged cheeses are dangerous. So are certain sounds, perfumes and other strong scents, cold weather and thunderstorms. Stress and lack of sleep, too. She suspects all of these things can...
