Author: Emma Yasinski

Emma Yasinski

I am a freelance science and medical journalist, fascinated by how the scientific process leads to incredible discoveries, but also can lead to publication bias leaning toward positive findings and minimizing negatives. With a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Lafayette College and a Master’s in Science and Medical Journalism from Boston University, I’ve written about clinical trial transparency, organ donation, and basic molecular biology for publications like The Scientist, The Atlantic, Undark.org, Kaiser Health News, and more. At MedShadow, I research and write about the sometimes unexpected ways that medicines can affect us, and what we can do if and when it does.

The Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) outbreak in the US hit its peak in August of 2022, and has declined from causes about 400 illnesses a day to just one, but that doesn’t mean the danger is completely gone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explained in a teleconference on May 18, 2023. In May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the global health emergency. While cases are fewer, breakouts are still happening. Between mid April 2023 and early May, experts identified an outbreak of 21 men with Mpox in the Chicago area. “All have…

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A few months into the pandemic, researchers learned that some patients were reporting that some of their Covid symptoms,  like shortness of breath, brain fog, diabetes, and heart problems, persisted long after they’d tested negative for COVID-19. A doctor in Italy was the first to use the term, “long Covid” when she described  the disease as cyclical, progressive, and multiphasic. When COVID-19 first emerged, doctors identified it only as a respiratory virus—one that primarily affects the nose, throat, and lungs, causing coughing and shortness of breath. Over time, physicians found that the virus seemed to produce many other symptoms not…

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Morgan’s parents weren’t too concerned in August of 2021, when her daughter had a fever. After all, she’d recovered from COVID-19 just a few weeks before. Her parents figured it was just a cold. But within a few days, the 8-year-old was admitted to the hospital with a high fever, rash, aches, and stomach pain. Her heart rate skyrocketed while her blood pressure dropped. She stayed in the hospital for about two weeks, where doctors gave her corticosteroids to ease the inflammation rioting through her body.    Her COVID-19 infection weeks before had triggered an immune response that went haywire and…

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[Editor’s note January 2023: Evusheld is no longer authorized for COVID-19 prevention, since it does not appear to be effective against the newest variants.] None of the COVID-19 vaccinations guarantee immunocompromised people much protection from the disease, but now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an antibody engineered to protect you from getting COVID-19.  Only 27% of transplant recipients, for example, who are severely immunocompromised,  mounted a sufficient antibody response after two doses of an mRNA vaccine, made by Moderna and Pfizer. The immunocompromised state is due to drugs prescribed to prevent their immune systems from rejecting a…

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When Pat (now 71) was in her 40s, her vaginal dryness became so severe that the vaginal tissue would flare with even a gentle wipe. She’d been exposed to a drug called DES (diethylstilbestrol) when she was in utero, which caused myriad health issues as she grew up, and was likely behind the dryness. For her, coconut oil made a huge difference. “If only I had known I was not alone with this personal issue,” she says. Vaginal dryness is likely more common than you think. It can affect women of any age, but is especially prevalent among those who…

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Shingles is not your average rash. The painful, itchy red stripe caused by shingles can last up to 10 days, while long-term nerve pain, a common complication, can persist for months or years. In the rare event that the outbreak appears on your face, it can even cause blindness. Luckily, there’s a two-dose vaccine, Shingrix (zoster vaccine recombinant, adjuvanted), that can prevent the disease. It’s recommended for people 50 years and older, even if you’ve already had shingles, and those 19 and older who are immunosuppressed. Shingles is a unique disease in that it’s not caused by a new infection.…

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On May 10, 2021 Pfizer announced that its COVID-19 vaccine had been granted emergency-use authorization for kids ages 12 to 15. Since then, lower doses of the shot have been authorized for children aged 6-11. Many children have received the vaccinations, but a large population of children without the shots remains, as officials report a new variant could cause a small, but noticeable new wave of cases soon. With the FDA reviewing data from Moderna’s trials and Pfizer extending its trial to include a third shot in hopes of coaxing a more robust immune response in children 6 months to…

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Angela Ridgel, PhD, an exercise physiologist at Kent State University, usually helps patients exercise at the gym, while studying how it might improve their cognition and brain health. But many exercise routines on land, such as aerobic or stretching ones, for example, can be challenging for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), she says. “When you’re doing exercise [on] land, which is what we mostly do in my lab, that would have a tendency to make MS patients overheat and then exacerbate their symptoms,” she adds. So she teamed up with a doctor who specializes in working with MS patients to…

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When Lily was diagnosed with cervical cancer at age 27, she blamed herself. “Why hadn’t I taken care of myself properly?” she thought. She had regularly skipped her annual Pap smears—a common procedure, in which the doctor collects cells from the vagina wall to test for signs of cervical cancer. “I didn’t think I needed to go,” she said. But when she started bleeding and experiencing daily pelvic pain, she finally visited her OB/GYN and found out that she had cervical cancer. She’s been treated, but regrets having postponed screening because the disease left her infertile. Lily is now an…

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