Brooklyn banker guilty in $8M transnational Medicare fraud; new blood test may spot pancreatic cancer earlier; NIH opens Ohio office to study train derailment health effects – Morning Medical Update

Brooklyn banker guilty in $8M Medicare fraud involving a transnational criminal organization

A former relationship manager at a U.S. bank branch in Sheepshead Bay, New York, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering after prosecutors said he helped move more than $8 million in health care fraud proceeds for a transnational criminal organization. The Justice Department says Renat Abramov, 36, of Brooklyn, used his role to open accounts for sham medical equipment companies that were used to deposit Medicare-related checks and move the funds offshore and into cryptocurrency; he faces up to 20 years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing April 20. The case is part of “Operation Gold Rush,” tied to $14.6B in alleged fraudulent Medicare claims.

New blood test may spot pancreatic cancer earlier

National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported researchers reported a new four-marker blood test that could help detect pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma earlier, when treatment is more likely to work. In Clinical Cancer Research, investigators from the University of Pennsylvania and Mayo Clinic said adding two newer markers — ANPEP and PIGR — to CA19-9 and THBS2 improved performance, correctly distinguishing pancreatic cancer from non-cases 91.9% of the time overall and identifying 87.5% of stage I/II cases at a 5% false-positive rate.

“By adding ANPEP and PIGR to the existing markers, we've significantly improved our ability to detect this cancer when it's most treatable,” said the study’s lead investigator, Kenneth Zaret, Ph.D., from the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.

NIH opens Ohio research office to track health fallout from 2023 train derailment

The NIH has opened a health research program office in East Palestine, Ohio, launching a five-year, $10 million initiative to study long-term health outcomes tied to the 2023 train derailment and chemical release. Federal experts will work on-site to coordinate studies and enroll residents, with NIH citing community-reported symptoms and concerns about potential longer-term respiratory, cardiovascular, immune, maternal-child and mental health effects.