3 Deaths Linked to Device; Nurses Strike in 8 Cities; Rare Skin Cancer Mimics Rash

Note that some links may require registration or subscription.

Abiomed flagged a heart pump controlled purge cassette problem associated with three of its products, the FDA alerted. The company sent a letter to customers recommending all automated Impella controllers be removed from where they’re used or sold; to date, 37 serious injuries and three deaths have been associated with this issue.

The World Health Organization declared Uganda’s Ebola outbreak over, while deaths surpassed 2,700 and more than 5,600 cases were confirmed in neighboring Congo. (Reuters via Yahoo!)

An infant was one of two unvaccinated individuals who recently died of measles in Pennsylvania, according to state health officials. (NBC News)

A cyberattack on medical device maker Boston Scientific disrupted the company’s global operations. (CBS News)

National Nurses United, the nation’s largest nurses union, is slated to protest data analytics company Palantir across eight cities today. (Becker’s Healthcare)

Australian bioengineers developed cyborg cockroaches equipped with cameras and mini medical injectors for search-and-rescue missions in major disasters. (The Guardian)

The National Football League (NFL) and NFL Players Association are launching a behavioral health network to streamline confidential mental health support for players. (AP)

Americans continue to seek unregulated psychedelic treatment abroad despite reports of severe health complications and fatalities. (New York Times)

Extramammary Paget’s disease, a slow-growing skin cancer, is often mistaken for an itchy rash. (Washington Post)

The Trump administration plans to announce a new series of drug-pricing agreements with midsize biotech firms. (Bloomberg)

AstraZeneca and Amgen announced the monoclonal antibody Tezspire (tezepelumab) met both co-primary and all key secondary endpoints in a phase III trial for eosinophilic esophagitis.

CVS and Walgreens have each filled roughly 100,000 prescriptions for $50-a-month obesity medications under Medicare’s Bridge program. (NPR)

In high metabolic risk pregnancies, metformin was linked to increased gestational age at delivery but failed to reduce gestational diabetes, a meta-analysis found. (NEJM Evidence)

Norway’s King Harald, who has hemolytic anemia, is in very serious condition following a bacterial blood infection. (AP)

A Virginia gastroenterologist went viral on social media after revealing she woke up to find a bat trying to enter her mouth. (WRAL News)

A retired cardiologist said volunteering at a community clinic gave him an entirely new medical education. (STAT)

Actress Busy Philipps revealed she underwent two surgeries to remove a grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a rare, slow-growing brain tumor, that was discovered on a Prenuvo scan. (People)

Actor Tim Curry died at age 80; USA Today detailed his health struggles prior to his death, including a major stroke in 2012.