The FDA has by three months. Drugmaker Genentech says it's for review of additional data on the drug's manufacturing process, not concerns about safety or efficacy. (Press Release)
Many mothers will argue that "pregnancy brain" is real -- and a new study finds a loss of grey matter in brain regions involved in social cognition, specifically those dealing with the ability to register how other people perceive things. But the authors of the Nature Neuroscience paper suggest that brain volume loss in this case is . It may actually represent pruning or other cellular adaptation that is helpful for raising a child: for instance, streamlining certain brain areas to be more efficient at "mothering" skills such as nurturing and teaching. (New York Times)
More women are using marijuana during pregnancy now than they were a decade ago (rising from about 2% to 4% for past-month use), most likely to ease nausea. Commenting on the findings, NIDA chief Nora Volkow warned that the fetal endocannabinoid system forms about 2 weeks into pregnancy, and substances that interact with it could affect fetal brain neurodevelopment. (鶹ý)
Opioid overdose deaths rose for yet another year, topping 33,000 in 2015, according to the latest CDC data. Findings from a follow-up found similar increases, and both studies revealed big jumps in deaths due to fentanyl -- mostly illicitly made stuff, not prescriptions, federal researchers suggested. (鶹ý, LiveScience)
Wholesalers flooded the state of West Virginia with over a six-year period -- enough to give every man, woman, and child 433 pills. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
Meanwhile, Purdue is still trying to push its products -- now on a . A network of companies owned by the Sackler family is moving rapidly into Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, advocating the use of its painkillers in places that aren't prepared to handle an epidemic of opioid abuse and addiction. (Los Angeles Times)
The FDA said quit-smoking drugs varenicline (Chantix) and bupropion (Zyban) can drop their black-box warnings about serious neuropsychiatric risks. (鶹ý)
An early finds a "favorable safety profile and excellent immunogenicity" for an anti-tau vaccine, AADvac1. More information is needed on CSF tau and other Alzheimer's biomarkers, as well as a signal of brain atrophy, . (Lancet Neurology)
A large observational study generated emphatic headlines that statins may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's, but this warns why the association is likely just that.
Nurse anesthetists won't be able to administer anesthesia by themselves under a new rule from the Department of Veterans Affairs. (鶹ý)
FDA has granted to neridronic acid for the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), the first of its kind in the disease, said manufacturer Gruenenthal.
Celgene is wading into the , signing a deal with Evotec for a discovery program aimed at a wide range of neurodegenerative conditions. (Endpoints News)