health disparities

The prevalence of synthetic drugs is undercutting a previously effective and widely embraced treatment tactic. Now, the model pioneered in Vermont a decade ago and adopted nationwide is being forced to evolve.

A clinical trial is recruiting volunteers to try to figure out if 3D mammograms are better than standard 2D imaging for catching advanced cancers. The trial includes a large number of Black women who face disparities in breast cancer death rates.

"We won't heal until we make sense of the crack epidemic," Donovan X. Ramsey says. His book, When Crack Was King, examines the drug's destructive path through the Black community.

Minorities tend to be diagnosed at later stages of the disease, which would exclude them from use of Leqembi. Few Black people were included in the main trial of the drug.

Some medical professionals are concerned the decision could have implications for the diversity of medical students, the practice of medicine, and patient care.

As many as 40% more Black male patients in the study might have been diagnosed with breathing problems if current diagnosis-assisting computer software was changed, the study said.

Despite medical advances, disparities are expected to worsen in the coming decades. The expansion of the aging population and rising numbers of people with conditions that put them at risk are expected to contribute to this alarming scenario.

With little or no income, disability applicants are seeking Social Security early retirement benefits even though it could cost them tens of thousands of dollars in future income, lawyers say.

An EEG can help diagnose conditions like epilepsy, sleep disorders and brain tumors. But a design flaw and outdated Eurocentric practices make the test less effective on thicker, denser and curly hair types.

The World Health Organization registry holds 11 million data points — key to addressing global health inequality. Yet health officials stress how much information is still missing.