Arpita Gandhi, M.D., presents results from a Phase IB clinical trial studying stem cell therapy Orca-T, a type of blood cancer therapy that is made of donor stem and immune cells. The study found promising efficacy and safety outcomes for patients with intermediate to high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome. Gandhi says: “Orca-T demonstrated promising results in this high-risk MDS patient population, including high RFS, low incidence of GVHD and very high OS at one year.

Local media cover testimony by Todd Korthuis, M.D., during a hearing about Measure 110, with a focus on fentanyl, held by the Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response. Korthuis describes how fentanyl works and says, “All of this leads to a much more addictive opioid than we’ve seen before, and that results in longer and more intense withdrawal symptoms and makes it more difficult to stay in recovery.”

OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital is recognized by the Portland Business Journal as its most admired health care company. Danny Jacobs, M.D., says the best thing about doing business in Oregon/SW Washington is the people: "From our dedicated workforce, to our students and our patients, OHSU is a people-first institution. Every day, our more than 25,000 OHSU members demonstrate their outstanding commitment to teaching, healing and discovery."

Jefferson Public Radio speaks with Dan Hoover, M.D., about his recent study that found nearly half of people who used drugs in rural areas across the country had recently been incarcerated, indicating that people could be helped by a greater availability of drug treatment programs while in lockup.

After being infected with the flu, it takes between 1 and 5 days for symptoms to occur, experts told HuffPost. Symptoms could be fever, chills, headache, cough, runny nose and more, said Dr. Marcel Curlin, an associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Oregon Health and Science University’s School of Medicine.

In an article about how soon flu symptoms appear after exposure and what those symptoms look like, Marcel Curlin, M.D., advises getting the flu vaccine and masking or isolating if exposed: “If I were in contact with someone in the community or elsewhere with a flu ... I would probably wear a mask all the time, and be very careful to wash my hands and not get too close to people.”

In a NeurologyToday article about Medicare coverage for the anti-amyloid Alzheimer's disease drug lecanemab, Andrew Natonson, M.D., says he has had no experience with commercial coverage to date: “With (Medicare) Advantage plans, I have had some initial denials of coverage that were quickly approved with a peer to peer, which added at most a day or two to the process.”

OHSU and Legacy Health expect to present a definitive agreement to their boards in early 2024. “A tremendous amount of work has been happening during the due diligence process, including reviewing thousands of contracts and leases, conducting interviews with Legacy leaders and much more,” OHSU says in a statement.

New waves of respiratory illnesses are again headed Oregon’s way, but the impact on most Oregonians and the state’s hospitals is unlikely to be quite as bad as last year, Peter Graven, Ph.D., said.

Local media cover testimony by Todd Korthuis, M.D., during a hearing about Measure 110, with a focus on fentanyl, held by the Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response. Korthuis describes how fentanyl works and says, “All of this leads to a much more addictive opioid than we’ve seen before, and that results in longer and more intense withdrawal symptoms and makes it more difficult to stay in recovery.”