West Newsmagazine 5-22-19

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42 I HEALTH I May 22, 2019 WEST NEWSMAGAZINE @WESTNEWSMAG WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM Send mosquitoes packing for the summer. Locally owned and operated, Mosquito Joe makes outside fun again. Barrier spray to eliminate mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks for up to 21 days. All natural treatment options. Special event treatments. Senior, Veteran and Neighborhood discounts available. $39 .95 FIRST TREATMENT New customers only. Valid up to 1/2 acre. Cannot combine with other offers. Expires 6/15/19 Coupon code: WEST Courtyard Cafe Salon Veteran’s Benefits Thursday, June 6 11:00 am Experts from Levesque Elder Law, LLC will discuss how to avoid the devastating costs of long term care by pre-planning for Veterans’ Benefits. RSVP by June 3rd 636-587-3737 Chef prepared meal to be served after seminar MosquitoJoe.com • 314.628.0055 Gardens Victorian Resort Style Living • Spacious Luxury Apartments • Chef Prepared Meals Health and Wellness Programs • Staff Led Exercises • Water Aerobics Fun Filled Activities • Complimentary Transportation Immediate Openings With Great Specials Going On Now! Lock In Rent for 2 Years! Call About Specials www.victorian-gardens.com Indoor Swimming Pool Movie Theatre Downsizing 101 Thursday, June 20 11:00 am Learn key principles of organization, decluttering or just beautifying your current living space. Presented by move mangement experts, Goldilocks Solutions, LLC. RSVP by June 17th 636-587-3737 Chef prepared meal to be served after seminar Be thankful for your life, spend time in nature, breathe deeply, let go of your worries, forgive yourself and others, and build your life around what you love. 15 Hilltop Village Center Dr. • Eureka MO 63025 • 636-587-3737 As Facebook continues to expand worldwide, the number of deceased users may overtake living ones, a new analysis found. health capsules By LISA RUSSELL Will the dead soon outnumber the living on Facebook? If the world’s largest social network continues to expand at its current rate, the number of deceased Facebook users may be greater than living ones by as early as 2070, according to a new analysis conducted at the Oxford Internet Institute [OII]. This disturbing trend has important implications for how we treat our “digital heritage” in the future, both individually and as a society, said Carl Öhman and David Watson, doctoral students at the institute and authors of the analysis. Their analysis predicts that, based on 2018 user levels with no further expansion, at least 1.4 billion Facebook users will die before 2100. If, however, Facebook continues to grow at current rates around the world, the number of deceased users could reach as high as 4.9 billion before the end of the century. The actual number will probably fall somewhere in between, they said. “These statistics give rise to new and difficult questions around who has the right to all this data … On a societal level, we have just begun asking these questions and we have a long way to go. The management of our digital remains will eventually affect everyone who uses social media, since all of us will one day pass away and leave our data behind,” Öhman explained. “Never before in history has such a vast archive of human behavior and culture been assembled in one place. Controlling this archive will, in a sense, be to control our history. It is therefore important that we ensure that access to these historical data is not limited to a single for-profit firm,” Watson added. As the largest of several social media platforms with growing membership globally, Facebook should invite historians, archivists, archaeologists and ethicists to participate in the process of managing the “vast volume” of data left behind when users pass away, they said. ‘Black box’ warning issued for some sleep medicines The FDA will soon require a new boxed warning – the agency’s highest-level warning – on certain prescription insomnia drugs following several reports of serious injuries and some deaths of people taking them. The new warning will be required for eszopiclone [Lunesta], zaleplon [Sonata] and zolpidem [Ambien, Edluar, Intermezzo and Zolpimist]. Some of the so-called “complex sleep behaviors” the drugs can cause, which precipitated the new warning requirement, have included sleepwalking, driving while asleep and engaging in dangerous activities while not fully awake, such as unsafely using a stove. Although few in number [less than 50], reports of non-fatal serious injuries have included accidental overdoses, falls, burns, near-drowning, exposure to extreme cold temperatures leading to loss of a limb, and self-injuries such as gunshot wounds. The 20 reported deaths were due to carbon monoxide poisoning, drowning, fatal falls, hypothermia, fatal motor vehicle collisions with the patient driving, and apparent suicide. “We recognize that millions of Americans suffer from insomnia and rely on these drugs to help them sleep better at night. While these incidents are rare, they are serious and it’s important that patients and health care professionals are aware of the risk,” said Dr. Ned Sharpless, the FDA’s acting commissioner. “These incidents can occur after the first dose of these sleep medicines or after a longer period of See HEALTH, page 44
FACEBOOK.COM/WESTNEWSMAGAZINE WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM What’s at the root of the insulin cost crisis? May 22, 2019 WEST NEWSMAGAZINE I HEALTH I 43 By LISA RUSSELL For the 7.4 million American children and adults with diabetes who use it, insulin is as essential to their survival as food and water. Although this lifesaving drug has been in use for 100 years – almost all of that time at a low cost to diabetes patients – the price of insulin has tripled over the past decade alone. For people with high-deductible insurance plans, no insurance at all, or who are facing a coverage gap through Medicare, out-of-pocket costs of $400 or more per month have become common. High insulin costs have led to life-threatening choices for many. According to a recent study by Yale University, one in four people with diabetes in America have cut back on their insulin use, either reducing or skipping doses because of affordability issues. Some patients have had to decide between paying for insulin or paying for basic needs like food and housing; some have died after attempting to ration their doses. Patients and politicians alike are demanding that immediate action be taken to solve this crisis. But the solutions are still the subject of debate between drugmakers, lawmakers and insurance companies. Dr. William Cefalu, the American Diabetes Association’s chief scientific, medical and mission officer, has cited a lack of transparency as a root cause of the problem. “The system is dysfunctional. There are issues at each level, at each stakeholder in the insulin supply chain,” Cefalu said. “We can’t point the finger at one particular entity.” Another central problem is the nature of insulin itself, and the way it has traditionally been regulated. Unlike chemical drugs, which can simply be copied, insulin is a biologic drug, made of proteins from living cells. Despite its differences, however, insulin has long been classified and regulated like a chemical drug. The three companies which control 90% of the U.S. insulin market – Novo Nordisk, Sanofi Aventis and Eli Lilly – each make insulins that are slightly different. Under current regulations, no generic or unbranded versions of their products can be marketed without accessing those companies’ patented materials and processes. In December of 2018, the FDA announced that the agency would reclassify insulin as a “biological product” by Insulin is a lifesaving drug for millions, but its skyrocketing costs over the past decade have left diabetes patients struggling. 2020, in what then- FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called a “watershed moment for insulin.” After that time, other biologic medicines will have an easier path to approval, promoting the development of competing products that are “biosimilar to, or interchangeable with” existing insulin drugs, according to the FDA. In April, just prior to his resignation as commissioner, Gottlieb issued a statement regarding the FDA’s continued commitment to making affordable insulin available to everyone who needs it. “While the regulatory transition of insulin products nears, we’re cognizant of the fact that it won’t be soon enough for the millions of Americans who struggle to pay for their insulin today,” Gottlieb said. “Helping to ensure patients have access to the critical drugs is a responsibility shared by all stakeholders, including manufacturers and health plans. We all need to do our part. “American patients who rely on insulin to live deserve to have high-quality, affordable options… We hope our industry partners will join us in doing all we can to help people who need access to the life-saving medicines, now.” Some companies are beginning to take steps to respond to the crisis. Major health insurer Cigna and its pharmacy arm, Express Scripts, announced in April that its insured members will pay no more than $25 for a 30-day supply of insulin beginning later this year, even before they meet their annual deductibles. These discounts could benefit about 700,000 of its patients who use insulin. Drugmaker Sanofi also announced this spring that it will offer its insulin products at $99 per month for uninsured patients, and Eli Lilly announced its plans to release a half-price alternative to Humalog, its most popular short-acting insulin product. BESEDA FLOORING & M O R E www.besedaflooring.com • 636.926.9989 ON SALE NOW starting at $1.99 s.f.* *MATERIAL ONLY (NOW UNTIL 6/28/19) 5773 Westwood Drive | St. Charles | (636) 926-9989 | www.besedaflooring.com Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. • Saturday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Free In Home Estimates!
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Page 5 and 6: St.Louis County greek fest MEMORIAL
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West Newsmagazine 5-22-19

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