Illinois brothers charged in $300M COVID-19 testing fraud; social media use linked to ADHD in teens; FDA clears first cellular therapy for severe aplastic anemia – Morning Medical Update

Brothers charged in $300M COVID-19 testing fraud

Two Illinois brothers face new federal charges alleging they orchestrated a nearly $300 million scheme to defraud Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers by billing for COVID-19 tests that were never performed. Prosecutors say Minhaj Feroz Muhammad, 37, and Sufyan Feroze, 35, controlled multiple laboratories in Illinois and California — sometimes through straw owners — and submitted more than $293 million in false claims, receiving roughly $65 million in reimbursements.

The superseding indictment also accuses them of laundering the proceeds through affiliated businesses and into luxury real estate abroad, gold bars, high-end vehicles and watches. If convicted, the brothers face up to 10 years in prison for each health care fraud count and up to 20 years for money laundering conspiracy, with an additional charge carrying another 10-year maximum for one defendant.

Social media use linked to ADHD in teens

A study of more than 8,000 U.S. children suggests that heavy social media use — not TV viewing or video gaming — is associated with a gradual rise in inattentive symptoms associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) between ages 10 and 14.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Oregon Health & Science University found that the effect was independent of socioeconomic factors and genetic risk for ADHD, and that pre-existing inattention did not drive increased social media use. While individual-level effects were small, investigators note the potential for substantial population-level impact given the sharp rise in screen exposure and ADHD diagnoses. Hyperactivity symptoms did not increase, underscoring a specific link with attention. The study is published in Pediatrics Open Science.

FDA clears first cellular therapy for severe aplastic anemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Omisirge (omidubicel-onlv) as the first cellular stem-cell therapy for patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA), expanding its use to adults and children six and older who lack a suitable donor. The therapy, made from enhanced umbilical cord blood, aims to speed neutrophil recovery and reduce infection risk — long-standing hurdles of cord blood transplants.

In a small study, 12 of 14 patients achieved early, sustained engraftment, with a median recovery time of 11 days. Side effects were mostly infection-related, and autoimmune cytopenias occurred in about a quarter of recipients.