Next-generation weight loss drugs such as Ozempic (originally developed to treat diabetes) are in high demand. Until, perhaps, people see the price tag. A new study suggests that even if people have health insurance coverage, high copays can deter them from staying on such drugs.

In the study, conducted before Ozempic was approved to treat obesity, insured patients with Type 2 diabetes and heart failure who faced copays of $50 or more were 50% less likely to keep taking Ozempic and Trulicity (a similar drug) than people whose copays were $10 or less.

Currently, Medicare doesn't cover weight loss drugs and private insurance coverage is spotty.

Contrarily, a STAT-Harris poll found that nearly half of respondents said they would pay $100 a month for weight loss drugs; one-quarter said they'd pay $250 a month and 17% said they were OK with $500 a month.

Moral: Money is no issue if you look good dying.

Location, Location, Location

A child who develops pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer, has a good chance of being cured — if they live in a high-income country with access to experts.

For example, more than 80% of children with (low- and high-risk) ALL treated at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego survive, but 20 miles to the south in Tijuana, Mexico, and other low- and middle-income countries, survival odds range from 10% to 60%.

Since 2008, Rady has partnered with Hospital General Tijuana to share training, expertise, research and other resources. It's paid off. Survival for standard-risk ALL in Tijuana went from 73% before 2012 to 100% by 2017; for high-risk ALL, from 48% to 55%.

Body of Knowledge

Almost half of all humans (45%) have brown eyes, followed by blue (27%), hazel (shades of brown and green — 18%) and green (9%). The remaining 1% have eyes of another color.

Get Me That, Stat!

It's projected that the number of people with Type 2 diabetes worldwide will more than double to 1.3 billion by 2050. By that time, about 1 in 10 people can be expected to have the disease. Currently, diabetes is the direct cause of roughly 1.5 million deaths annually worldwide.

Counts

32 million — Number of Americans with bone and joint damage caused by osteoarthritis, a condition most common among women and highly prevalent among Black and Hispanic people

Source: STAT

Doc Talk

Achromat — a person who is completely colorblind

Phobia of the Week

Gelotophobia — fear of being laughed at (fatal if you're a stand-up comedian)

Never Say 'Diet'

The Major League Eating record for brats is 101 sausages (2.3 ounces) in 10 minutes, held by Carmen Cincotti. Every other contestant in the contest did wurst.

Best Medicine

Personal trainer: You're pretty quick and nimble.

Spiderman: Yep.

Trainer: With great reflexes come great response ability.

Observation

"Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it." — Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

Medical History

This week in 2004, thimerosal-containing influenza vaccines were banned from use in California by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was reacting more to public advocacy groups than the weight of medical opinion. Thimerosal, containing minute quantities of an ethyl mercury compound to prevent life-threatening bacterial contamination, had long been used in vaccines (since 1930s). A 2004 report by the Immunization Safety Review Committee of the Institute of Medicine stated that the benefits of vaccination are proven and the hypothesis of susceptible populations was speculative and, moreover, associations between vaccines and autism were false.

Subsequent studies reaffirmed the committee's findings. Nonetheless, thimerosal is no longer used in childhood vaccines, but is still used as a preservative in other types of vaccines and medicines, such as ophthalmic solutions.

Med School

Q: Why does hydrogen peroxide come in brown bottles?

A: It's due to hydrogen peroxide's chemical formulation of two hydrogen atoms combined with two oxygen atoms, or H2O2. Water, of course, is H2O (one oxygen atom). Hydrogen peroxide is, in fact, mostly water. The usual formulation of 3% hydrogen peroxide means 3% hydrogen peroxide and 97% water.

But the added oxygen atom in every hydrogen peroxide molecule means it's more vulnerable to losing that atom when exposed to light or heat. Over time, that inevitably happens, and all you've got left is water.

Curtain Calls

The French playwright Molière suffered a pulmonary hemorrhage, caused by a chronic case of tuberculosis, while playing the part of a hypochondriac in his own play "Le Malade imaginaire." He disguised his convulsions as part of his performance and finished out the show, which ends with his character dead in a chair. After the show, Moliere was carried in the chair to his house, where he died at the age of 51.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: i yunmai at Unsplash