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.

Diabetes is one of the biggest challenges of our generation, and I’m at heightened risk for developing it. As some MedShadow readers might already know, I am one of the many women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS.) That condition puts me at a substantially higher risk than the average woman for developing diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4.8% of people between the ages of 18 and 40 (with or without PCOS), and 18.9% of those aged 45 to 64, in the U.S. have diabetes. But by the time they’re 40 years old, more than…

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At MedShadow, we regularly interview patients about their experiences with medications. Time and time again, we have patients tell us that shortly after starting a new regimen, they gained weight. They don’t always know whether the drug directly caused their weight gain, but the timing is often suspect. Weight gain around your midsection is often associated with something called “insulin resistance,” a condition that researchers are finding more and more to be a side effect of drugs. Take Masonia Traylor, for example, who told MedShadow she gained 40 pounds after she switched to a new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) medication.…

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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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People on dialysis for kidney disease are 100 time more likely than others to get staph dangerous hospital- acquired infections in their blood. Nearly 15,000 dialysis patients got blood stream infections in 2020, a third of which were staph (infections of a bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus). While the number of infections has decreased since 2014, the risk remains, and disparities are prevalent. Black and Hispanic patients are more likely than their white counterparts on dialysis to get a staph in their bloodstream, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published February 6, 2023. You’ve been admitted…

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Wegovy (semaglutide), a popular diabetes drug, has gotten a lot more popular over the last 18 months. In June 2021, it was approved for a new indication—weight loss for patients with obesity, even if they didn’t have diabetes. While it’s only indicated for those with obesity, celebrities with seemingly healthy weights have claimed to be giving themselves the at-home injections in hopes of fitting into particularly form-fitting outfits for special events. If you Google “wegovy” even once, you’ll likely start seeing ads on social media for telehealth companies that help manage weight, and of course, have doctors ready to prescribe…

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​Early in Dee Mangin’s career as a primary-care physician, she noticed that many people, especially older adults, were prescribed large numbers and doses of drugs, which, in some cases, might actually be detracting from their health rather than improving it. Then, she realized that even when polypharmacy (being prescribed five or more medications simultaneously) was recognized as a problem, there wasn’t any systematic way to help patients and healthcare providers assess which medicines might be most effective in a lower dose or discontinued altogether.  Mangin is an MBChB (the New Zealand equivalent of an MD) and DPH (doctor of public…

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Uterine fibroids, non-cancerous tumors that grow on the uterus, are common in women of child-bearing age. In fact, they may affect up to 25% of all women, and between 30% and 40% or those in the perimenopausal age range [as young as 30 and to age 44], according to E.A. Stewart in the 2015 article “Uterine Fibroids,” in the New England Journal of Medicine.  Many times, the fibroids have no symptoms at all. However, as they grow, they can put pressure on your organs, causing pain and other symptoms. Sometimes, they can make it difficult for you to get pregnant…

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When personal trainer and nutrition coach Erik was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), he says he felt almost betrayed: “The foods I consider paramount to my physical success are now turning against my body.” He says medicines haven’t helped much either, so he’s been experimenting with different foods and testing out an anti-inflammatory diet. None of those attempts have yet managed to end his first months-long IBS flare-ups. What Is IBS? IBS is “chronic abdominal pain with altered bowel movements in the absence of an identifiable cause,” says Aniruddh Setya, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Kidz Medical Service in Hollywood,…

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✅ This article was reviewed and approved by Shamard Charles, member of our MedShadow Medical Advisory Board. Vickie Hadge wasn’t diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) until more than 10 years after her first symptoms appeared. For that first decade, when she knew something was wrong and she didn’t know what, she took her health into her own hands, adopted a vegetarian diet and took up yoga and meditation. When she was finally diagnosed with MS in 2017, she was prescribed a disease-modifying medication, Copaxone (glatiramer acetate). Since the diagnosis, she says, she has remained relapse-free. For that, she credits both…

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