Trending News Today: Schizophrenia Drug Reduces Weight Gain in Late-Stage Trial

Alkermes’ investigational schizophrenia treatment met the main goals of a late-stage study, Reuters reported. According to the article, study participants who received the treatment, ALKS 3831, did not gain as much weight as those treated with commonly used antipsychotic drug olanzapine. Weight gain is a common adverse effect of olanzapine, often limiting the drug’s clinical use, Alkermes stated. The company said that it plans to submit the marketing application to the FDA in mid-2019, the article reported.

A recent Georgetown University report found that the number of US children without health insurance rose by 276,000 in 2017, Kaiser Health News reported. According to the article, the number of children without coverage increased to 3.9 million in 2017 from approximately 3.6 million a year earlier. Overall, the uninsured rate for individuals of all ages remained unchanged at 8.8% last year, the article reported.

Three newly-released CDC reports found that life expectancy in the United States dropped last year, Politico reported. According to the article, overall death rates are increasing and mortality from drug addiction and suicide is rising quickly among young adults. More than 70,000 individuals died of a drug overdose in 2017, which is the highest number on record and 9.6% more than the previous year, the article reported.