More details emerge in billionaire Thomas Lee death

 In the wake of billionaire financier Thomas Lee being found dead Thursday, additional information has been reported.

The New York Post reported Friday the person who found Lee dead in his New York City office was his female assistant. People hadn’t heard from him, prompting her search, according to the outlet, which cited anonymous law enforcement sources.

The billionaire had a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was discovered in his office’s bathroom, according to the New York Post. A Smith & Weston revolver belonging to him was also reportedly located nearby.

New York City financier Thomas H Lee was reportedly found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  (Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

His death was reportedly declared at the scene. Lee was 78 years old.

Citing NYPD sources, FOX Business Network’s Charles Gasparino reported police are looking into whether Lee’s suspected suicide was potentially "related to some business-related issue." Sources said no note was left, Gasparino also reported.

"The family is extremely saddened by Tom’s death," Michael Sitrick, a family friend and spokesperson, said Thursday in a news release. "While the world knew him as one of the pioneers in the private equity business and a successful businessman, we knew him as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, sibling, friend and philanthropist who always put others’ needs before his own. Our hearts are broken."

Lee was known for leveraged buyout transactions, among other things. He notably conducted a $1.7 billion sale of beverage company Snapple in 1994, two years after purchasing it. 

He was "responsible for investing over $15 billion of capital in hundreds of transactions" over more than four decades, according to Lee’s biography on the website of Lee Equity Partners, a firm he formed and served as chairman.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/more-details-emerge-billionaire-thomas-lee-suicide

Jazz Pharma ruling clears U.S. roadblock for rival Avadel narcolepsy drug

 A U.S. appeals court ordered Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc on Friday to de-list a patent related to its blockbuster narcolepsy drug Xyrem from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's register of approved medications, in a win for rival drugmaker Avadel CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit removes an obstacle for Avadel to sell its own narcolepsy drug Lumryz. Avadel stock was up 4.2% Friday afternoon following the ruling, and Jazz stock was down 1.4%.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission had backed Avadel in the case, telling the Federal Circuit that allowing the listing in the FDA's so-called Orange Book would harm customers and stifle competition.

The Orange Book lists all patents that cover an approved drug and methods for using it. Avadel argued successfully that Jazz's patent should be de-listed because it relates to distributing Xyrem, not the drug itself or how it is used.

The Federal Circuit said the inclusion of the patent was preventing the FDA from approving Lumryz until June 2023.

The FTC declined to comment on the decision. Representatives for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Avadel said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday that it intends to seek final FDA approval for Lumryz after Jazz complies with the order.

Jazz sold over $1.8 billion of Xyrem in 2021, according to a company report. Both Lumryz and Xyrem use the same active ingredient, though Lumryz is meant to be taken once per night, and Xyrem is taken twice nightly.

The patent at the center of the case covers aspects of Jazz's distribution system, which controls access to narcolepsy drugs with a central pharmacy and computer database. It relates to a risk-mitigation strategy that the FDA required before approving Xyrem, whose active ingredient GHB can be misused as a date-rape drug.

Jazz sued Avadel for infringing the patent and others in Delaware federal court in 2021, in a lawsuit that is still ongoing.

The case is Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc v. Avadel CNS Pharmaceuticals LLC, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 23-1186.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jazz-pharma-ruling-clears-u-205147902.html

Daily cannabis users more likely to develop heart disease: Stanford doc

 Using marijuana every day increases the risk of developing heart disease, a study presented by the American College of Cardiology found.

People who used marijuana on a daily basis were found to be about one-third more likely to develop coronary artery disease versus those who had never used cannabis.

“We found that cannabis use is linked to CAD, and there seems to be a dose-response relationship in that more frequent cannabis use is associated with a higher risk of CAD,” lead author Ishan Paranjpe, MD, a resident physician at Stanford University, said.

“In terms of the public health message, it shows that there are probably certain harms of cannabis use that weren’t recognized before, and people should take that into account.”

Researchers analyzed data from a cohort of 175,000 people, comparing those who use cannabis regularly against those who don’t, to determine the connection between the frequency of use and rates of CAD. Their datasets were adjusted to account for other major cardiovascular risk factors, such as tobacco and alcohol use, but did not differentiate between modes of drug use, whether smoked or consumed in edibles.

They found that daily cannabis users were 34% more likely to develop CAD than those who have never used marijuana.

However, monthly marijuana use did not seem to have a link to CAD diagnoses.

Researchers at the American College of Cardiology found a causal link between using marijuana daily and developing coronary artery disease (CAD).

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Experts are now warning that marijuana use does not come without health risks and strongly recommend that those who partake inform their doctors so they may better monitor their heart health.

Researchers hypothesized that the interplay between the plant’s psychoactive ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, and receptors in the heart and blood vessels may promote inflammation and the buildup of plaque.

CAD is the most common type of heart disease in the United States, but the risk of developing the disease can be reduced with lifestyle changes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Experts are calling for more research into marijuana and its health effects as it’s becoming legalized across the country in recent years.

Stephen Yang

Marijuana became legalized in New York in 2021 and began being sold for recreational purposes in 2022.

Housing Works Cannabis Co., became the first state-licensed shop to sell recreational weed when it opened in Greenwich Village on Dec. 29. The storefront sells edible gummies as well as “flower” and pre-rolled joints with names such as “La Bomba” and “Wedding Cake” for easy smoking.

New York’s second state-licensed cannabis shop opened last month on Bleecker Street in the Village.

Despite there now being a legal process to sell marijuana in the state of New York, an astounding 1,400 shops have popped up around New York City selling the drug illegally.

Many states are following in New York’s footsteps and legalizing marijuana, which further exemplifies the need to conduct more research and understand the health effects of the drug.

California recently reported a surge in the number of senior citizens visiting the ER because of marijuana use. Experts found that the rise in ER visits was partly due to the older generations being surprised by how strong the flowers are today.

https://nypost.com/2023/02/24/daily-pot-users-more-likely-to-develop-heart-disease-study/

Congress Prepares To Investigate COVID-19 Vaccines

 by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Members of Congress are preparing to probe COVID-19 vaccine development and other issues related to the shots.

The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is planning to investigate how possible side effects are being studied, the regulatory process of authorizing and approving the vaccines, and why the vaccines were mandated, members told The Epoch Times.

One goal of the committee is making sure the United States is prepared for future pandemics, “and that includes perfecting our vaccine development,” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) told The Epoch Times via email. “In order to do so, we must have complete transparency in vaccine research, clinical trials and adverse reactions, and manufacturing.”

“I expect our oversight hearings will shed light on the FDA approval process, the potential for side effects, and ultimately the success rate and safety of the vaccine—each of which will help us to navigate future global health emergencies,” she added.

Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), another member, said the panel “will be performing a comprehensive review of how the vaccines were developed, approved, and mandated.”

McCormick, a doctor, is concerned about how data on possible side effects has been collected. He also wants to look into how children as young as 6 months old have been encouraged to get a primary series and at least one booster, “given the lack of scientific evidence for a benefit, coupled with real concerns about possible harm for an otherwise immune person.”

Children are at the least risk from COVID-19. Vaccines were cleared for kids for prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 based on immunogenicity data, or antibody production. Real-world data shows the vaccines provide transient protection against symptomatic infection. Children and others who have recovered from COVID-19 enjoy shielding against the disease, especially against severe illness, and some research has found that after recovery, people have a higher risk of vaccine side effects.

“People do deserve to know about the long term safety and efficacy of the vaccine. A lot of the things that were told to us, like ‘they prevent transmission’ and all of that, was not true. So people will have concerns and those concerns should be addressed,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), another member of the subcommittee, told The Epoch Times.

Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which clears vaccines, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which decides whether to recommend vaccines, increasingly bypassed their expert advisory panels during the pandemic after the panels pushed back against decisions like advocating for boosters before a review of trial data was complete. Two top FDA officials, including one who wanted more time to examine data on Pfizer’s vaccine, resigned in 2021.

“We need to know who made the decision to bypass the standard vaccine approval processes,” Lesko, a subcommittee member, told The Epoch Times via email.

Lesko said she also hopes the panel will investigate why mandates were imposed and what effects the mandates had.

“The COVID-19 vaccine mandates were a clear abuse of government authority, and we need to know who made the formal decision to implement these mandates. Additionally, I believe we need answers on the data from the COVID-19 clinical trials, given the significant disparity between the trials and real-world effects from these vaccines,” Lesko said. “I hope we can get to the bottom of these issues, and I am proud to work with my colleagues to get the long-overdue answers the American people deserve.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/congress-prepares-investigate-covid-19-vaccines

Inflammation could be the cause of your depression

 A new way to treat depression may be on the horizon.

A growing body of research points to an unlikely cause of the affliction — inflammation — that could lead to more targeted solutions for those suffering from the disorder, the Washington Post reported.

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to illness or injury. The body signals the immune system to dispatch inflammatory cells to fight disease or help heal.

However, if the cells are sent when the body doesn’t actually need them, this may spur chronic inflammation, which is known to be a symptom of several diseases, including Alzheimer’s.

An inflammatory response within the brain — called neuroinflammation — may change neural circuits, and may be causing, or intensifying depression. The research suggests that around 30% of depressed patients have elevated inflammation.

How depression, which is said to affect nearly one in 10 Americans, manifests varies from person to person.

“It’s not that depression is sort of this generic disorder that is the same for all people,” Andrew Miller, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine, told the Washington Post. “It’s quite different depending on who it is and what they’re experiencing.”

Antidepressants are commonly prescribed, but according to the publication, only 30% of patients on them are able to beat depression.

A controversial study from University College London last year cast doubt on the efficacy of antidepressants.

For the group of depressed patients that have elevated inflammation, this information may help to create a personalized treatment, such as taking anti-inflammatory drugs.

“We’ve come to the tipping point,” Miller said. “And we know enough at this point to begin to target the immune system and its downstream effects on the brain to treat depression. We are there.”

https://nypost.com/2023/02/24/research-reveals-a-surprising-cause-behind-depression/

Head trauma could put people at higher risk of brain cancer

 Multiple bumps to your noggin might put you at risk of brain cancer later in life, a new study reports.

Researchers from the University College London Cancer Institute determined that head trauma could put patients at four times more of a risk of glioma, a rare but aggressive type of brain tumor.

According to Johns Hopkins, gliomas comprise about 33% of brain tumors. There are different kinds of gliomas that often occur in adults, but they are also referred to as intra-axial brain tumors due to the growth within the “substance of the brain” mixing in with normal tissue.

Astrocytes, a mature type of brain cell, have been thought to be less likely to produce tumors, but UCL researchers investigated whether head injuries could prompt the cells to mutate.

The study found that inflammation at the injury site worsened over time and could potentially cause cellular changes.

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“Our research suggests that a brain trauma may contribute to an increased risk of developing brain cancer in later life,” professor Simona Parrinello, who led the research, said in a statement.

The study’s results coincide with the American Cancer Society‘s prediction that there will be 24,810 malignant, or cancerous, brain or spinal cord tumors reported in 2023.

The UCL team used adult mice to determine possible human outcomes in the study, published in Current Biology, by injecting the rodents with brain injuries with a substance that labeled astrocytes red. The injection additionally halted the p53 gene that is responsible for suppressing cancers.

After studying multiple groups of mice, researchers then compared the data of human patients with head injuries to those without, analyzing the presence of brain tumors.

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Researchers also deactivated the p53 gene in mice with no head injuries, while also leaving the gene intact for a control group.

Astrocytes “take their name from stars,” Parrinello explained. They appear with multiple branches that extend outward. Researchers found that “without p53 and only after an injury,” those brain cells “retracted their branches and became more rounded.”

“They weren’t quite stem cell-like, but something had changed,” she said. “So we let the mice age, then looked at the cells again and saw that they had completely reverted to a stem-like state with markers of early glioma cells that could divide.”

Compared to those without known head injuries, patients with injuries were four times more likely to develop a brain tumor.

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Their findings suggested that gene mutation could occur with brain inflammation as a result of injury, increasing over time due to the aging process.

In an attempt to support their hypothesis on a human level, they worked with UCL’s Institute of Health Informatics to dig up records of more than 20,000 patients who suffered head injuries. They looked at cancer rates between those with head trauma to those without, discovering that those with head injuries were nearly four times more likely to develop brain cancer down the line.

“We know that normal tissues carry many mutations which seem to just sit there and not have any major effects,” Parrinello said. “Our findings suggest that if on top of those mutations, an injury occurs, it creates a synergistic effect.”

Researchers also found that in younger brains with injury, the inflammation was still relatively low, despite any injury; however, aging appeared to worsen inflammation over time, especially at an injury site as seen in the mice studied.

“This may reach a certain threshold after which the mutation now begins to manifest itself,” she added.

https://nypost.com/2023/02/24/head-trauma-could-put-people-at-higher-risk-of-brain-cancer/