Trending News Today: Senate Passes Bipartisan Package to Fight Opioid Crisis

Roche’s investigational influenza drug baloxavir marboxil significantly sped the time to improvement in symptoms for patients highly vulnerable to serious complications in a late-stage trial, Reuters reported. According to the article, the CAPSTONE-2 phase 3 trial showed the median time-to-relief versus placebo dropped to 73.2 hours from 102.3 hours for at-risk patients, including patients aged 65 years or older and those with asthma, chronic lung disease, morbid obesity, or heart disease. If approved, the drug would be the first new treatment for influenza in nearly 2 decades, the article reported.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan legislation package aimed at fighting the opioid epidemic on Wednesday, The Hill reported. According to the article, the 660-page bill includes a range of measures to combat opioid addiction, such as allowing Medicaid to pay for care at addiction treatment facilities. The bill was passed by a vote of 98-1 and will now go to President Donald Trump for final approval, the article reported.

A new study has found that older patients who undergo chemotherapy for breast cancer do not experience cognition problems in the first 2 years after diagnosis and treatment, Reuters reported. According to the article, the researchers followed 344 newly diagnosed patients with early-stage breast cancer and 347 healthy women for 2 years. Most of the patients showed no evidence of cognitive decline compared with the control group, but a small subset of women did suffer from declines in attention, mental processing speed, and decision-making, the article reported.