Harvard Health Content API

More than 2,000 former National Football League (NFL) players are jointly suing the league over safety policies related to concussions. Lawyers and some plaintiffs announced the suit June 7. It brings together 80 suits filed in several federal courts. Now all of the complaints will be heard by a single judge in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. The ex-players say the NFL misled them about the health risks of concussions and did not take enough steps to prevent damage. They cite brain problems that they say were caused by head injuries during games. These include early Alzheimer’s disease, other forms of dementia, depression, and problems with thinking and sleep. The NFL says that it can’t be sued over health and safety issues. It says these issues are covered by the players’ union contract. CNN.com, USA Today and the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote about the suit.

A drug that attacks tuberculosis (TB) in a new way has shown promise in a new study. The new drug is not an antibiotic. More and more TB bacteria resist common antibiotics. The study included 481 people with TB that was resistant to several antibiotics. They were randomly divided into 3 groups. All groups received treatment according to current guidelines for drug-resistant TB. Two groups also received delamanid, in different doses. Delamanid reduces production of mycolic acid, a key part of TB bacteria. Everyone got regular cultures of sputum that they coughed up. After 8 weeks of treatment, sputum tests showed no TB bacteria in 45% of those taking the lower dose of delamanid. Results from a higher dose were similar. About 30% of those on standard treatment were free of TB bacteria.

Daily aspirin probably should be limited to people who have a very high risk of heart disease or stroke, a large new study suggests. The reason is that the risk of bleeding is too high to be worth the risk, researchers said. The new study found bleeding risk to be higher than reported before. The study compared people who were taking low-dose aspirin daily with people who were not taking the drug. Each group included more than 186,000 adults. Low-dose aspirin was defined as 300 milligrams or less. In a 6-year period, more than 6,900 people had a first episode of major bleeding that required a hospital stay. Nearly 4,500 of the bleeding episodes were in the stomach or intestines. Nearly 2,500 were in the brain. Risk of bleeding was about 55% higher in the aspirin group than in the no-aspirin group. And people with diabetes had a higher risk of bleeding than others.

More U.S. hospitals are adding palliative care programs, the Associated Press (AP) reports. Palliative care teams deal with emotional and comfort needs of people with serious illnesses. They help to coordinate care and reduce pain and side effects. They deal with concerns of patients and their families. They are different from hospice programs. People don’t just receive palliative care in the final stage of an illness. They can receive it at the same time they get treatment to extend life. In 2000, about 25% of U.S. hospitals had a palliative care programs, according to the Center to Advance Palliative Care. By 2009, about 63% had these programs. AP wrote about the trend June 3.