Axios

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) single-handedly raised the stakes of the 2024 elections on Tuesday, revealing he'd consider carving out rare exceptions to allow votes on protecting voting and abortion rights.

Why it matters: It's the most aggressive plan outlined by a Democratic leader on how the party would codify Roe v. Wade. But Schumer will need to avoid losing the Senate majority for the idea to pay off.

The first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday was punctuated by powerful reminders of the election's stakes after several women took the stage to share how abortion bans had impacted their lives.

Why it matters: Abortion has consistently been a winning issue for Democrats in midterm and state elections since the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz disclosed new details about the family's fertility story this week, clarifying that they did not use in-vitro fertilization, as previous comments had implied.

Why it matters: As both governor and the vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz has leaned into his personal experience to make a political argument about the need to protect IVF and access to reproductive health care.

Check on your communication friends and colleagues, because half of them have considered quitting their job due to burnout, according to a new report from media insights platform, Muck Rack.

Why it matters: The demands of the job — like the project workload, "always on" mentality and tight deadlines — have caused 44% of PR professionals to quit this year.

More than 200 National Football League players have been using shock-absorbing helmets aimed at reducing concussions during the preseason — a trend that's reduced head injuries and could continue into the regular season.

Why it matters: Millions of kids and young adults play high-contact sports, and what the pros do will trickle down.

Hospitals are in an increasingly vulnerable position as Medicare Advantage enrollment surges and the federal government looks to take a harder line on health plans, S&P Global warns in a new report.

Why it matters: Financial pressures have already prompted providers like Scripps Health to terminate contracts with MA plans, leaving patients looking for new coverage arrangements or doctors.

For a third year, back-to-school preparations will include a scramble to find popular drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Why it matters: Despite signs from the Food and Drug Administration that manufacturers were catching up to outsized demand, the stimulants remain hard to track down with pharmacies out of stock and the Drug Enforcement Administration taking a harder line policing them.

An implant that responds to brain signals in real time was shown to ease symptoms of Parkinson's disease instantaneously in a limited trial of whether "closed loop" technology can help patients as they go about their daily lives.

Why it matters: It's an example of how deep brain stimulation combined with artificial intelligence can track a patient's brain activity for tremors, limb stiffness and other features of a condition that's diagnosed in almost 90,000 people in the U.S. each year.

The Democratic National Committee released its 2024 platform on the eve of the party's convention kicking off Monday in Chicago.

The big picture: The platform was written by the DNC's Platform Committee before President Biden bowed out of the 2024 race, and the document repeatedly references his successes and goals for a second term.

💉 Pfizer's stumble on a combination flu and COVID shot is a plus for Moderna. (Barrons)

🧠 The CEO overseeing a closely watched psychedelic therapy spoke after her company was turned down by the FDA and had three published papers retracted. (Endpoints News)

📉 A data analytics firm that helps health insurers reduce reimbursements for medical bills is facing growing scrutiny from investors and in the courts. (NYT)

The odds of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease can vary widely depend on where you live, a new study finds.

Why it matters: Awareness of geographic variations is important for connecting patients with the services and care they need — and identifying possible shortcomings in diagnostic processes, researchers wrote in Alzheimer's & Dementia.

What they found: The University of Michigan-led study examined Medicare fee-for-service claims for roughly 4.8 million Americans who were 66 or older beginning in 2019.

• Researchers identified 419,646 beneficiaries with a dementia diagnoses, including 143,029 with a new diagnosis in 2019, and estimated "diagnosis intensity" — a ratio of expected cases compared to actual diagnoses — based on hospital referral regions.
• The highest difference between what was expected and diagnosed was in the South.
• Prior research showed the prevalence of dementia mirroring an area stretching from the Southeast to the Midwest known as the "stroke belt" where the population has higher cardiovascular risk factors and a greater proportion of Black residents.
• But adjusting for other factors, researchers found the South isn't a uniform risk zone and that there still are substantial geographic differences in Alzheimer's diagnoses.
• The variation in diagnosing intensity was especially pronounced among Medicare beneficiaries 66-74 years old and those who are Black and Hispanic.

The big picture: The number of Americans with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias is expected to jump from 6.7 million in 2023 to 13 million by 2060.

• Up to 60% of those living with dementia haven't been diagnosed, a problem that may be attributed to stigma or a belief that symptoms are part of normal aging.
• Variations in diagnoses partly hinge on the skill of clinicians making or communicating the diagnoses, the authors said.

Bottom line: Improving the ability to diagnose the disease early can provide more patients the opportunity for advance care planning, care coordination and access to new treatments.

Women who received uterus transplants have delivered more than 70 infants worldwide since the first successful transplant in 2011, with 20 cases at a Texas medical center showing about the same success rate as with natural wombs, per new research in JAMA.

Why it matters: Uterine infertility affects about 1 in 500 women, typically leaving them with few options other than adoption or surrogacy where legally available.

Authorities in Europe and China are stepping up screening for the deadly new strain of mpox that's spread through parts of Africa and is showing signs of reaching beyond the continent.

Why it matters: Supplies of vaccines and tests could be quickly squeezed if there's a major outbreak, prompting appeals for donations — and for researchers to look for new countermeasures.