A Baltimore doctor helps Black women treat hair loss with a drug typically used to treat other conditions.

Dr. Crystal Aguh, a dermatologist who directs the Ethnic Skin Program at Johns Hopkins Medicine, has begun broad-use testing of a diabetes drug called metformin. For study participants, Aguh identified the similarity between scalp scars and organ scars in diabetic patients. Aguh believes that using metformin may help treat scalp scarring and potentially slow or reverse hair loss.

“Has anyone tried to attack the scar on their scalp?” She he said “We had to give women a better chance to regrow their hair.”

Aguha’s treatment plan addresses central centrifugal scarring alopecia, which is different from alopecia areata without scarring. Her research also shows that up to 15% of black women suffer from this specific type, which can also have a genetic basis.

According to Aguha, low doses of metformin, typically used to regulate insulin levels, will help reduce scarring on the scalp. The relatively inexpensive drug can be secure for long-term use.

Aguh gave her patients the cream in small doses and located improvement in hair loss after six to eight weeks of use. In six patients, hair grew back in some areas. Now it hopes to begin clinical trials to get the drug officially approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“I am a scientist, but above all a human being,” she said. “I want people to be better. If I left the hair clinic because no one was losing their hair, that would be great.”

Meanwhile, Aguh also listed suggestions for stopping and detecting hair loss in Black women. On the Johns Hopkins Aguh website states that This demographic is more susceptible to traction alopecia, often brought on by heat, chemicals, or tight styling that puts stress on the hair root. Aguh noted that looser styles and fewer heat can keep hair healthier for longer.

Aguh also suggests contacting a dermatologist to develop latest treatment plans for people noticing less thickness and more visibility of the scalp.

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Although we expect of Dawn primarily as a dishwashing soap, in case you didn’t know, it is also an on a regular basis soap help save wildlife. If you’ve got watched any ad where they clean ducklings, you will note that this product is used to remove fat and look after aquatic animals by working with a company, International Bird Rescue Operation.

Someone who admires these efforts is EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson. The star, our latest cover star, partnered with the brand because she is an animal lover and loves what they do to avoid wasting wildlife. He also desires to encourage others to get lively and help them get monetary savings (including a $1 discount coupon). In addition to participating in an cute campaign to make this occur, Hudson told us about her love of dishwashing liquid, her memories of growing up, her love of wildlife, and the way she and her son use the product in their home. Here’s what she needed to say.

ESSENCE: How did your collaboration with Dawn come about?

Jennifer Hudson: Well, I mean, I feel like Dawn and I actually have all the time worked together because Dawn has all the time been a component of my home and my upbringing. But seeing what Dawn did for the ducklings at International Bird Rescue and knowing that it was a totally trusted soap that would help the little, delicate feathers of birds and ducklings touched my heart. I’m enthusiastic about animals. I actually have two cats at home. Knowing that there are things that may help wildlife is something I need to advocate for and be a component of. Not to say I now have a 15-year-old son. He is the cook at home and I wash the dishes. So Dawn is there. It just is sensible for my life and his life. I prefer to do real things which are near me and this is one in every of them.

What are your memories of using Dawn dish soap growing up?

Oh my God. I used to be a dishwasher. We all had our responsibilities, and washing the dishes and setting the table for the holidays was my job. It was my department. So I took the dishes and set the table beautifully for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, and New Year’s Eve dinner. I loved doing it. This is my fondest memory of using Dawn soap. And I’m a vacation fanatic, so this is on my mind.

What meal do you like to organize but find cleanup a bit difficult? And what dish would Dawn really use while cooking?

Let’s see. Well, my son and I are making pizza together. Vegetable lasagna is one other dish where the cheese all the time sticks to the pan, so you wish something to interrupt it up. And he’s a cook now. So again I just clean up. So whatever he’s cooking, I just bring out my superpower: Where’s my Dawn? [Laughs]. It’s a part of cooking. My mother used to say, “You know, part of cooking is cleaning up after the meal.” And it’s true.

Why are you a fan of washing dishes by hand?

I like traditional things. I feel it’s relaxing, especially when you’ve got a soothing soap like Dawn. It’s almost like a hand massage at the same time after which I concentrate on myself. It’s like you actually handle your home by washing the dishes. And it’s something that makes me feel like I’m contributing to my home once I can wash dishes as an alternative of putting them in the dishwasher. And that is perhaps a part of it too. But it’s more of a connection. Another thing I really like to do is wash the floor. I do not know what I like more, washing dishes or mopping the floor. I’m so serious.

You mentioned that your son cooks. Does your son, who has just turned 15, also work as a dishwasher?

Yes, but boys don’t love washing dishes that much. It’s interesting because not only do I actually have a son, but I often have him and his cousins ​​who’re all boys and all have responsibilities. They need to contribute to the house. And I said, OK, “So who washes the dishes?” And I’m telling you, it is so quiet. And it’s like, what’s the cope with the dishes? You didn’t make them? It won’t wash itself. Someone has to clean it. Some people prefer to take out the trash, fix the beds and sweep the floor, but the dishes… But I need to do it when it’s just me and my baby. Like I said, I wash the dishes and he cooks. This is teamwork.

You and David are very close. How do you prefer to spend time with him indoors and outdoors?

Love it. First, I’m interested in all the pieces my child is interested in. As my mother used to say, “As long as it makes you happy, it doesn’t hurt anyone, and it makes you happy, I’m all for it.” So whatever he’s into, I’m into it too. Basketball is one in every of those things. And I’m a basketball mom. So we get in the automobile, they put me in the backseat, after which the boys go to the gym and play football. For me, this is one method to connect.

I watch a number of the sports that they watch, which is basketball. We had just met and my summer dream was to go to a baseball game, so I talked them into going to 2 games with me and so they loved it. So now we would like to play baseball. So we get entangled in things that interest them, and he’s crazy into music now, so we’ve a number of bond through music. One day he said, “Mom, I want to play you something,” and the best method to take heed to music is to get in the automobile. And we love our sounds. So we drove around for hours, just listening to music together. This is how we connect. And then with the animals and us he loves animals, and this teaches him character, in addition to compassion and responsibility, things in life that also apply to animals. How to be gentle and compassionate.

How do you balance a successful talk show, filmmaking and all the pieces else you’ve got in your plate with parenting?

Oh, baby. Teamwork. Teamwork, teamwork. Finding that balance. I like to satisfy where I’m and find the best way there. Lots happens in at some point. I rise up in the morning, I take my kid to highschool, then I am going to work, after which I could have a faculty meeting, or I actually have to go to a basketball game, or I could show up. So all the pieces must be interchangeable so I can adapt to anything. Sometimes I fly in from work and need to go straight to the game and my parents are like, “Oh wow, I love the way you’re wearing your practice shoes, you look smart.” But that is because I actually have to go to a gathering right after that, so I would like to have the ability to alter it and move on to the next thing. Finding these interchangeable things helps me with my lifestyle and helps me get through it.

Is there anything you want to to inform ESSENCE readers about your collaboration with Dawn?

I’m really looking forward to working with Dawn. I feel what they’re doing is amazing and I just need to proceed to make people aware that they may help Dawn save the geese. And I need them to assist Dawn save the geese. I’m sure in the event that they turn around, they’ll see Dawn sitting on the kitchen counter and so they’ll realize how much of a component of their lives their homes are and the way traditional it is, and so they’ll know that I’m doing amazing things and may contribute to it. And that is the point. So we may help Dawn save the geese. I wish they’d proceed to do it and I need to be a component of it.

More details about her campaign with Dove could be found at dawnducks.com.

AND battle between private hospitals and private health insurers plays out in society.

The bottom line is how much insurers pay hospitals for his or her services and whether that’s enough for private hospitals to remain profitable.

Concerns about the viability of the private health care system caught the attention of the federal government, which launched the program review to private hospitals which have not yet been made public.

But are private hospitals really in trouble? And if that’s the case, will more public funding be the solution?

Private hospitals vs private health insurers

Many private hospital operators have reported significant pressure since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, including: staff shortages.

Inflationary pressures have increased the costs of supplies and equipment, raising costs providing hospital care.

Now private hospitals have publicized their difficult contract negotiations with private insurers in an attempt to gain support and help in their case.

Healthscope, which operates 38 for-profit private hospitals in Australia dangerous end contracts with private health insurers.

St Vincent’s, which operates ten private not-for-profit hospitals, announced this might terminate the contract with Nib (certainly one of Australia’s largest for-profit health insurers), but then reached an agreement.

UnitingCare Queensland, which runs 4 private hospitals, announced it might terminate its contract with the Australian Health Service Alliance, which represents greater than 20 small and medium-sized, not-for-profit private health insurers. Since then, each side have been doing in order well I kissed and made up.

Why should we care?

There are three explanation why the profitability of the private health sector affects all of us, whether we’ve got private medical health insurance or use private hospitals.

1. Taxpayers subsidize private health care

Australian taxpayers contributed to private medical health insurance premiums, including: AUD 6.3 billion
(in premium rebates) in 2021-22. Most of them go to private hospitals. Medicare also subsidized fees for medical services provided to private patients in private and public hospitals in the amount of approx $3.81 billion in 2023–24.

But when the going gets tough, the private healthcare sector (each hospitals and health insurers) turns to the government for more information materials.

That’s why we must always worry about value what we’re currently getting from our public investment in the private healthcare system and whether further public investment is justified.

2. The closure of private hospitals may affect public hospitals

Calls for greater government support for private healthcare have long argued that a bigger private hospital sector would help reduce pressure on the public system.

Indeed, this was the justification for the series incentives introduced in the late Nineties to support private medical health insurance in Australia.

However, the extent of this phenomenon is hotly debated. Last evidence shows that higher levels of private medical health insurance lead to only a really small reduction in waiting times in public hospitals.

While it’s possible that the closure of a couple of private hospitals could prompt some patients to seek care in public hospitals, the change might not be that big and won’t increase wait times much.

3. Fewer private beds, but is that a nasty thing?

If unprofitable private hospitals are closed or merged, we expect the total variety of beds in private hospitals to decrease.

Fewer beds in private hospitals doesn’t necessarily mean bad news. In particular, mergers of small private day hospitals could increase their efficiency and reduce costs, which in turn would lower medical health insurance premiums.

We might have fewer private beds. This is due to policies attempting to move health care from hospitals to the community or the use of hospital-at-home programs (in which patients receive hospital-type care at home with the support of visiting medical staff and/or telehealth). ). Private health insurers support each.

The closure of several small private hospitals will mean the market adapts to the lower demand for hospital care. Some of the closures were in maternity wards, but with falling birth ratethis also looks like an appropriate market correction.

What will we know?

There is all objective data on what is going on in the private hospital sector scarce. This is principally because the Australian Bureau of Statistics suspended the mandatory examination all private hospitals. The most up-to-date data we’ve got is from 2016–2017.

Health insurers are the largest payer of private hospitals and subsequently have considerable bargaining power. In 2016–17, almost 80% Private hospitals’ revenues got here from private health insurers. Health insurers are also increasingly becoming “active” purchasers of health care – they don’t just passively pay insurance claims, but want to strike a great cope with private hospitals in order that their members can keep premiums (and costs) low and profits high.

Hospital reports close ignore hospitals which can be open at the same time. However, as of 2016–2017, there isn’t any publicly available data on the total variety of private hospitals in Australia or changes over time.

The latest data we’re talking about half All hospitals in Australia are private hospitals, including: 62% are for-profit and the rest are run by non-profit organizations (reminiscent of St Vincent’s).

The predominant for-profit providers are Ramsay Health Care and Healthscope. They each operate overseas and have been there troubles before the Covid pandemic.

Fast forward to 2024 and up to date contract negotiation problems suggest that the financial health of private for-profit hospitals may not have improved. This may subsequently reflect a long-term problem with the sustainability of the private hospital sector.

What are the options?

The private healthcare system already receives large public subsidies. So the crux of the current debate is whether or not the government should intervene to support the private sector. Here are some options:

• do nothing and let it play out Closing and merging private hospitals could also be a great solution if smaller hospitals and wards are not any longer needed and patients produce other alternatives

• introduce more regulations Negotiations between small private hospital groups and really large, dominant private health insurers might not be effective. If insurers have significant market power, they’ll force small private hospital groups into submission. Some private hospital groups could also be negotiating with many various health insurers at the same time, which may be expensive. Regulating exactly how these negotiations are conducted could increase the efficiency of the process and create a more level playing field

• change the way private hospitals are paid Public hospitals receive essentially the same national price for every procedure they perform. This provides incentives for efficiency because the price is fixed, so if costs are lower than price, they’ll generate a surplus. Private hospitals may be financed in this fashion, which could eliminate much of the cost of contract negotiations with private hospitals. Instead, private hospitals could deal with other issues, reminiscent of the number and quality of procedures and the provision of high-quality health care.

What’s next?

A revisit of price regulation and contract negotiations between private hospitals and private health insurers could potentially help the private hospital sector turn into more efficient.

Private health insurers are rightly trying to encourage such efficiency, but the tools at their disposal to achieve this through contract negotiations are quite blunt.

While waiting for the results of the review of the private hospital sector, the most significant thing is value for money for taxpayers. We all subsidize the private hospital sector.