Eric Fombonne, M.D., shares insight on recent CDC language suggesting a link between infant vaccination and autism. He says, “These sort of claims have been repeatedly debunked by good science and multiple independent replications of negative studies, and for years no scientist has opined that more research is needed.”

On OPB Think Out Loud, Honora Englander, M.D., discusses evidence-based approaches to addiction treatment. She says, “We have decades of evidence supporting that medications, methadone and buprenorphine, are the most effective treatments and really the cornerstone of treatment for opioid use disorder. There is evidence that shows that they reduce rates of HIV and hepatitis C. They allow people to really reclaim portions of their lives, reconnect with loved ones, resume work, reduce criminal activity, and these are lifesaving medications. People are less likely to overdose. They’re less likely to die, and they’re less likely also to die of other medical causes that are treatable.”

A story by The Oregonian about a shortage of dentists willing to care for low-income children cites an OHSU-OHA study that found a broad lack of access to oral health care for children and adults on the Oregon Health Plan: 32 of the state’s 36 counties have too few dental care providers who accept the public insurance to adequately serve everyone who is enrolled.

OHSU is among Oregon universities that have not been contacted by the federal administration about signing a higher education compact.

A study led by Marie Boller, M.D., evaluates more than 30 million births and finds an increased risk for cesarean births for Black individuals compared with other racial and ethnic groups; she says: “There are many reasons why someone might come into a labor and delivery unit and need a cesarean delivery — it’s a critically important, life-saving procedure — but race is not one of them. These findings are cause for concern, because we know these disparities have no biological basis and are rooted in structural racism.”

Rep. Annessa Hartmann announced this week she has been diagnosed with state 3 cervical cancer and is receiving a combination of targeted radiation, chemotherapy and immunotherapy at OHSU.

Rep. Annessa Hartmann announced this week she has been diagnosed with state 3 cervical cancer and is receiving a combination of targeted radiation, chemotherapy and immunotherapy at OHSU.

Local media report on a tentative agreement with the Advanced Practice Provider Union, which represents 700 clinicians at OHSU, and the strike authorization vote by AFSCME Local 328, with represents more than 8,000 OHSU members.

Local media report on a tentative agreement with the Advanced Practice Provider Union, which represents 700 clinicians at OHSU, and the strike authorization vote by AFSCME Local 328, with represents more than 8,000 OHSU members.

The mother of a boy with a rare genetic disorder called PKAN, or pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration, is working with OHSU researchers and a private foundation to find a cure for the debilitating, life-limiting condition.