Gracias por SEGUIRNOS, este artículo contiene la edición 1301 de la revista digital de HOUSTON de ¡Que Onda! Magazine Edición Numero 1302.
Del 3 de julio al 10 de julio del 2024.
Fecha de Publicación: Miércoles 3 de julio del 2024.
Thank you for following us! The following file contains ¡Que Onda! Magazine Houston’s Digital – Issue No. 1302 published on Wednesday, July 3rd, 2024.
U.S. officials have approved another Alzheimer’s drug that can modestly slow the disease, providing a new option for patients in the early stages of the incurable, memory-destroying ailment.
The Food and Drug Administrationapproved Eli Lilly’s Kisunla on Tuesday for mild or early cases of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s. It’s only the second drug that’s been convincingly shown to delay cognitive decline in patients, following last year’s approval of a similar drug from Japanese drugmaker Eisai.
The delay seen with both drugs amounts to a matter of months – about seven months, in the case of Lilly’s drug. Patients and their families will have to weigh that benefit against the downsides, including regular IV infusions and potentially dangerous side effects like brain swelling.
Physicians who treat Alzheimer’s say the approval is an important step after decades of failed experimental treatments.
“I’m thrilled to have different options to help my patients,” said Dr. Suzanne Schindler, a neurologist at Washington University in St. Louis. “It’s been difficult as a dementia specialist – I diagnose my patients with Alzheimer’s and then every year I see them get worse and they progress until they die.”
Both Kisunla and the Japanese drug, Leqembi, are laboratory-made antibodies, administered by IV, that target one contributor to Alzheimer’s – sticky amyloid plaque buildup in the brain. Questions remain about which patients should get the drugs and how long they might benefit.
The new drug’s approval was expected after an outside panel of FDA advisors unanimously voted in favor of its benefits at a public meeting last month. That endorsement came despite several questions from FDA reviewers about how Lilly studied the drug, including allowing patients to discontinue treatment after their plaque reached very low levels.
Costs will vary by patient, based on how long they take the drug, Lilly said. The company also said a year’s worth of therapy would cost $32,000 – higher than the $26,500 price of a year’s worth of Leqembi.
The FDA’s prescribing information tells doctors they can consider stopping the drug after confirming via brain scans that patients have minimal plaque.
More than 6 million Americans have Alzheimer’s. Only those with early or mild disease will be eligible for the new drug, and an even smaller subset are likely to undergo the multi-step process needed to get a prescription.
The FDA approved Kisunla, known chemically as donanemab, based on results from an 18-month study in which patients given getting the treatment declined about 22% more slowly in terms of memory and cognitive ability than those who received a dummy infusion.
The main safety issue was brain swelling and bleeding, a problem common to all plaque-targeting drugs. The rates reported in Lilly’s study – including 20% of patients with microbleeds – were slightly higher than those reported with competitor Leqembi. However, the two drugs were tested in slightly different types of patients, which experts say makes it difficult to compare the drugs’ safety.
Kisunla is infused once a month compared to Leqembi’s twice-a-month regimen, which could make things easier for caregivers who bring their loved ones to a hospital or clinic for treatment.
“Certainly getting an infusion once a month is more appealing than getting it every two weeks,” Schindler said.
Lilly’s drug has another potential advantage: Patients can stop taking it if they respond well.
In the company’s study, patients were taken off Kisunla once their brain plaque reached nearly undetectable levels. Almost half of patients reached that point within a year. Discontinuing the drug could reduce the costs and safety risks of long-term use. It’s not yet clear how soon patients might need to resume infusions.
Logistical hurdles, spotty insurance coverage and financial concerns have all slowed the rollout of competitor Leqembi, which Eisai co-markets with U.S. partner Biogen. Many smaller hospitals and health systems aren’t yet setup to prescribe the new plaque-targeting Alzheimer’s drugs.
First, doctors need to confirm that patients with dementia have the brain plaque targeted by the new drugs. Then they need to find a drug infusion center where patients can receive therapy. Meanwhile, nurses and other staff must be trained to perform repeated scans to check for brain swelling or bleeding.
MONTGOMERY, Texas — Entry-resistant safety glass will be installed at Montgomery ISD buildings after the district’s board of trustees unanimously approved the $533,598 purchase on June 25.
About 21,000 square feet of safety glass for exterior windows will be purchased, Brad Mansfield, MISD’s chief facilities & operations officer, said on June 25. The glass is not bulletproof or bullet-resistant, but it is designed to slow the entry of someone trying to break into the building, he said.
“You can’t put enough rounds through (the safety glass) to where you can just shoot the glass out. … It’s still going to be three (to) six minutes of hacking away at one window to get in,” Superintendent Mark Ruffin said.
The purchase goes above what the Texas Education Agency requires of school districts via House Bill 3, Mansfield said. As previously reported by Community Impact, HB 3:
MISD already meets HB 3’s requirements of at least one armed security officer at all district campuses, Ruffin said in February.
Hurricane Beryl is still a power, category 4 hurricane Wednesday morning with winds of 145 mph and gusts up to 175 mph. There are a few important things to note in the morning update from the National Hurricane Center. To start, Beryl has not weakened that much overnight even when impacted by wind shear, a factor that typically weakens tropical systems. The other updates are with the latest track of the storm.
First, Beryl might not make a direct hit with Jamaica, though the island will still feel the brunt of hurricane-force winds today. If the storm stays south of the island, the storm might not weaken as much as initially expected. This means the storm could stay a major hurricane, either a category 3 or 4, as it racks west towards the Yucatan Peninsula this week. Then Beryl could make landfall along the Yucatan as either a category 2 or even 3 hurricane depending on how quickly it moves and if wind shear across the Caribbean will weaken the storm.
Finally, the hurricane center now has Beryl strengthening once again when it moves into the Bay of Campeche. Beryl will likely weaken while over land in the Yucatan to a tropical storm, but then could strengthen to a category one hurricane as it makes it’s northern turn towards the Mexican and Texas Coast this weekend. Southeast Texas specifically is still not within the cone of uncertainty, but we need to stay alert as there is growing consistency that Beryl will take that northerly jog once it’s in the Gulf and could intensify too.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M Health Services officials announced Monday that the Beutel Student Health Center will no longer offer gender-affirming services, including hormone replacement therapy, to students.
The notification, sent through the student health portal, was addressed by Senior Director of Primary & Specialty Medical Care, Dr. Tiffany Skaggs. “We understand that this news may come as a disappointment to students who have relied on our practice for these services. Please know that this decision was made after a thorough assessment of our resources, capabilities, and patient needs,” said Dr. Skaggs.
The cessation of these services, which are utilized by transgender students, will take effect on August 1, 2024. “We are committed to supporting all our patients in their healthcare journey. Our team can assist you in finding alternative gender-affirming care from compassionate providers with expertise in this area,” Dr. Skaggs added.
In 2023, at least 44 students received gender-related healthcare from Texas A&M University Health, according to school data.
NEW YORK (AP) — Hunter Biden accused Fox News in a lawsuit of unlawfully publishing explicit images of him as part of a streaming series.
The president’s son filed the lawsuit Sunday in state court in Manhattan over images in “The Trial of Hunter Biden,” which debuted on the streaming service Fox Nation in 2022. The series features a “mock trial” of Hunter Biden on charges he has not faced and it includes images of Biden in the nude and engaged in sex acts, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims the dissemination of intimate images without his consent violated New York’s so-called revenge porn law.
“Fox published and disseminated these Intimate Images to its vast audience of millions as part of an entertainment program in order to humiliate, harass, annoy and alarm Mr. Biden and to tarnish his reputation,” according to the lawsuit.
A Fox News spokesperson called it an “entirely politically motivated lawsuit” that was “devoid of merit” in an emailed statement. The statement noted that attorneys for Biden sent them a letter demanding its removal from streaming platforms in April 2024.
“The program was removed within days of the letter, in an abundance of caution, but Hunter Biden is a public figure who has been the subject of multiple investigations and is now a convicted felon. Consistent with the First Amendment, Fox News has accurately covered the newsworthy events of Mr. Biden’s own making, and we look forward to vindicating our rights in court,” according to the emailed statement.
Hunter Biden was convicted last month of three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
The mock trial in the series involved charges of bribery and improper financial dealings with foreign governments, charges that have not been brought against Hunter Biden, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and an order directing Fox to remove any copies of the explicit images.
The lawsuit claims promotional materials have not been entirely removed by Fox and that the program is still available on some third-party streaming platforms.
The stock market defied expectations with a strong performance over the first half of 2024. But the success poses a key question for investors: Is there room for stocks to go even higher?
The S&P 500 climbed nearly 15% over the first six months of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed about 4% over that period, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared roughly 18%.
Analysts who spoke to ABC News attributed the strong gains to enthusiasm about artificial intelligence as well as resilient economic growth and expectations that interest rates would ease.
But, experts predicted, the stock market will likely struggle to sustain its breakneck growth over the remainder of the year as investors turn away from increasingly high prices and weather uncertainty centered on the economic outlook and the November election.
“It has been a very impressive start to the year,” Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, told ABC news. “But as we look toward the second half, on a short term basis, we think the market is overbought.”
Despite straining under the weight of the highest interest rates in two decades, the U.S. economy has sustained solid growth. Meanwhile, U.S job gains have remained robust, exceeding expectations and driving significant wage increases.
Progress, however, in the fight against inflation has largely stalled. Even so, the Fed has indicated that an additional rate increase is unlikely, instead forecasting one rate cut by the end of 2024.
“The markets have welcomed the fact that we’re likely to see rate cuts,” Turnquist said.
Those wider economic trends have coincided with a burst of investor appetite for tech firms leading the adoption of AI. Major stock indexes drew a bump from investors optimistic about the potential benefits of products like ChatGPT.
Those gains were concentrated primarily in a handful of tech giants, known as the magnificent seven: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Tesla and Nvidia. Even within that group, the gains were enjoyed primarily by a select few.
The stock price of Nvidia — the maker of many computer chips driving AI advances — has climbed nearly 150% since the outset of 2024. Microsoft, which owns a major stake in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, has seen its shares soar more than 20% this year.
“The AI effect has helped market sentiment and deservedly so,” Mike Loukas, CEO of TrueMark Investments, told ABC News. “But a handful of concentrated stocks seem to carry the market at any given time.”
In light of the gangbusters performance at the outset of this year, experts warned that the stock market would likely struggle to sustain the returns. At a basic level, the rise in stock prices that stretches back to last year will eventually reach a point where traders become reluctant to pour in funds at an elevated price tag, the analysts said.
“There needs to be a reset button from these overbought conditions,” Turnquist said.
Even more, the positive trends in the economy face a number of threats. Most notably, the ongoing combination of high interest rates and stubborn inflation could weigh on corporate profits and wear investor patience thin.
“The whole dance — rate cuts or no rate cuts; inflation or no inflation — I think that continues,” Loukas said. “We’re still pretty sensitive as a whole to macroeconomic factors.”
Such economic uncertainty is compounded by a wide range of possible outcomes in the November election, Loukas added.
“The election is going to be a wild variable,” Loukas said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty in what’s happening and the market is still trying to price that in.”
Loukas forecasted growth in the stock market over the remainder of 2024, but he said the pace would fall short of the surge experienced over the first half.
Turnquist, of LPL Financial, echoed that view. The stock market could rise slightly by the end of the year, he said, but companies will weather a more challenging environment.
“There’s still a risk that the battle isn’t over with the Fed,” he added.
Still, Turquist noted, the outlook for the market beyond this year remains favorable. “We’re still in a long-term uptrend,” he said.
Six Flags and Cedar Fair finalized their merger on Monday, creating a massive company valued at around $8 billion. This new entity boasts 42 theme parks, water parks, and resort properties across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, making it the largest amusement park operator in North America.
Key Details of the Merger
Corporate Name Change The merged entity will operate under the name Six Flags Entertainment Corporation.
Impact on Guests The merger is set to enhance financial flexibility, allowing the company to invest in new rides, attractions, food and beverage options, and advanced consumer technologies. This ensures continuous improvement and innovation for an even more exciting and memorable park visit.
Leadership Structure Richard Zimmerman, the current Cedar Fair President and CEO, will lead the new company as President and CEO. Selim Bassoul, the current Six Flags President and CEO, will become the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Six Flags Locations Prior to Merger
Cedar Fair Locations Prior to Merger
Cedar Fair also offered 11 different accommodation options in the U.S., ranging from RV sites to hotels.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — We’re in for more near-triple-digit heat Tuesday as we keep a watchful on the future path of Hurricane Beryl. Heat Advisories have been extended until 7 p.m. Tuesday for parts of Southeast Texas, so continue to take your hot weather precautions while outside.
Temperatures Tuesday morning will start off around 80 degrees then rocket up toward 100 by the late afternoon. Heat index values will make it to between 108 to 112 degrees at times.
There is a small 20% chance you’ll encounter an isolated afternoon shower, but most of us will stay dry.
More heat, more humidity! The high humidity will be good enough for a 10% chance of an Independence Day rain shower or thunderstorm. Otherwise, temperatures will be above average around the holiday with high temperatures in the upper 90s, so Heat Advisories could be warranted on the Fourth and for the days around it.
Possibly, but you’ll have to wait until the weekend. The heat dome overhead will shift eastward toward Florida by then, opening the door for a weak front to push into Texas and start increasing our rain chances while also lowering our highs into the mid 90s. That also means we will lose the protection from hurricanes that heat domes over Texas bring us, so we’ll need to keep a watchful eye on Hurricane Beryl.
It’s too soon to say whether or not Texas will be impacted by the hurricane, but a pathway toward Texas remains open at this time. If we’re to be impacted by Beryl, it would likely be in the Sunday through Tuesday window early next week. For more information on Beryl and other tropical systems, head to our Daily Tropical Weather Update page.
13 ALERT RADAR MAPS:
Montgomery/Walker/San Jacinto/Polk/Grimes Counties
As the pandemic’s babies, toddlers, and preschoolers transition into school-age, the developmental and academic challenges they face are becoming increasingly evident. Many of these children are exhibiting signs of lagging behind their peers in crucial developmental milestones.
Interviews with over two dozen teachers, pediatricians, and early childhood experts reveal that many young children today lack age-appropriate skills such as holding a pencil, communicating needs, identifying shapes and letters, managing emotions, and solving problems with peers.
Scientific studies support these observations, indicating that the pandemic has indeed impacted early childhood development. Research shows that boys have been more affected than girls.
Dr. Jaime Peterson, a pediatrician at Oregon Health and Science University specializing in kindergarten readiness, noted, “Children born during the pandemic have faced unique developmental challenges. The lack of interactions due to mask-wearing, limited exposure to adults, and restricted playtime with peers have significantly impacted their growth.”
While the pandemic’s impact on older children, who lost ground in math and reading due to school closures, is well-documented, the effect on the youngest children is more surprising. These children were not in formal school when the pandemic began and typically spent much of their time at home.
However, early childhood is a critical period for brain development. Researchers highlight that factors such as parental stress, reduced social interactions, lower preschool attendance, increased screen time, and decreased playtime have all played a role in hindering young children’s development.
Despite these challenges, experts believe that young children have a strong capacity to catch up due to their rapidly developing brains. Joel Ryan, associated with a network of Head Start and state preschool centers in Washington state, described these children as a “pandemic tsunami” approaching the American education system, noting increases in speech delays and behavioral issues.
Not all children are showing delays, though. Data from Curriculum Associates, which will be released soon, indicates that children in schools predominantly serving Black, Hispanic, or low-income families are the most behind. Conversely, students from higher-income families are more in line with historical trends.
Kristen Huff, vice president for assessment and research at Curriculum Associates, stated, “Most, if not all, young students were impacted academically to some degree.”
Experts assert that recovery is possible, although young children have not been the primary focus of the $122 billion in federal aid allocated to help students recover. Catherine Monk, a clinical psychologist and professor at Columbia University, emphasized the need for equitable distribution of services to support recovery.
The differences in developmental progress are stark. Brook Allen, a kindergarten teacher in Martin, Tennessee, reported unprecedented challenges such as students with limited speech, toilet training issues, and undeveloped fine motor skills. Michaela Frederick, a pre-K teacher for students with learning delays, noted a decline in imaginative play and social interactions among children.
Lissa O’Rourke, a preschool teacher in St. Augustine, Florida, observed significant emotional regulation issues among her students, with behaviors such as knocking over chairs and hitting peers and teachers becoming more common.
Curriculum Associates’ data show that children who recently completed second grade, having been as young as 3 or 4 when the pandemic began, are still behind their pre-pandemic peers, particularly in math. The most concerning finding is that the students who are furthest behind are making the least progress in catching up.
Cincinnati Public Schools’ data reflect this trend, with only 28% of kindergarten students starting the school year prepared, down from 36% before the pandemic.
Childhood development experts attribute young children’s struggles partly to parental stress during the pandemic. Increased stress can lead to heightened brain activity in areas focusing on fear and aggression, leaving less energy for language, exploration, and learning.
During lockdowns, children had fewer opportunities to overhear adult interactions and play with peers, further hindering their development. Preschool attendance, crucial for kindergarten readiness, remains below pre-pandemic levels in many states, particularly among low-income families.
The increase in screen time during the pandemic, as parents balanced work and childcare, has also been linked to developmental delays. Heidi Tringali, a pediatric occupational therapist, noted an increase in issues such as visual problems, social skills deficits, and reduced core strength among children.
Despite these challenges, researchers remain optimistic about the potential for young children to catch up, emphasizing the importance of early intervention. Dr. Dani Dumitriu, a pediatrician and neuroscientist, stated, “It is absolutely possible to catch up if we catch things early.”
Some areas have initiated programs to support young children, such as a Tennessee district doubling the number of teaching assistants in kindergarten and adding a preschool class for students needing extra support. Oregon has also used federal aid to start a kindergarten preparation program.
Preschool teacher Sarrah Hovis from Roseville, Michigan, has witnessed both the challenges and progress in her classroom. While some children struggle with basic tasks like opening a bag of chips, others are showing significant academic progress by the end of the school year.
The key, Hovis said, is consistent attendance: “If the kids come to school, they do learn.”
This story was originally published at nytimes.com. Read it here.
Houston’s premier Hispanic news network, dedicated to keeping you informed with the latest updates on local and national breaking news, community events, entertainment, chisme, and much more. We strive to be your trusted source for engaging and timely content that connects with our vibrant community and celebrates the culture and stories that matter most to you.
Contact us: contact@queondamagazine.com
© Copyright - Que Onda Magazine 2024
