Ex-Gov. May Face Charges Over COVID; Autism Dx Up 175%; Can Fasting Help Kidneys?

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The Republican-led House COVID panel referred former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to the Justice Department for potential criminal charges, alleging he lied to Congress with a report that underestimated nursing home deaths early in the pandemic. (CNN)

Medical-themed Halloween haikus from KFF Health News.

Onions served on Quarter Pounders and other menu items at McDonald’s were the likely source of the E. coli outbreak that now includes 90 cases and 27 hospitalizations, the CDC said.

All doses of semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) are now listed as available again, according to an update on the FDA’s drug shortage database. (CNBC)

Here’s what a geriatric physician thinks of former president Donald Trump’s executive functioning. (STAT)

Amid statewide bans on transgender medical care for youth, researchers found that police have access to testosterone prescribing data in nearly half of U.S. states. (JAMA)

In related news, Texas sued a second doctor over accusations of providing transgender medical care to minors. (NBC News)

AstraZeneca’s president in China is under investigation by authorities there, the company announced.

Rates of firearm deaths in some U.S. states rival those of conflict zones, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund.

Autism spectrum disorder diagnoses increased 175% from 2011 to 2022, and is becoming more prevalent in young adults. (JAMA Network Open)

That expired COVID test on your shelf is probably still fine. (CNN)

The FDA granted marketing authorization to AutoChamber, an AI-powered tool that can detect asymptomatic heart disease on routine chest CT scans, maker HeartLung Technologies announced.

And the agency approved Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 2 and 3 continuous glucose monitoring systems for use during medical imaging.

In other agency news, the FDA warned people not to buy or use Skin-Cap aerosol spray products as they may contain undisclosed steroids.

From 1998 to 2023, the triplet and higher-order multiple birth rate in the U.S. declined from 193.5 to 73.8 births per 100,000 total births, CDC data showed.

Low-calorie diets involving fasting may help regenerate damaged kidneys, according to a pilot trial of 13 people with chronic kidney disease. (Science Translational Medicine)

Are neurologists on the same page when it comes to prescribing new antiamyloid drugs for Alzheimer’s disease? (Science)

Some 988 crisis hotline counselors are being targeted by sexually abusive callers. (NPR)

Nebraska’s state health department sent doctors an alert regarding “misleading information” in radio and TV ads about the state’s two abortion-related ballot measures. (NBC News)

Locally acquired dengue cases in Los Angeles County rose to 11 this year, doubling the number since the beginning of the month. (ABC News)

The U.K. announced an imported case of the clade Ib strain of mpox.