Michigan pharmacist sentenced in $6M phantom prescription scheme; new ALS diagnostic blood test; cheese and dementia – Morning Medical Update

Michigan pharmacist gets more than six years for phantom prescriptions

A Michigan pharmacist has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar health care fraud scheme involving prescriptions that were never written or dispensed. Isaiah Okoh, 55, received an 80-month sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud tied to three pharmacies he operated in Michigan. From 2019 through 2022, prosecutors said Okoh and a co-conspirator submitted false claims to Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan using forged prescriptions from physicians, patients had never seen. The scheme caused more than $6 million in losses. In addition to prison time, Okoh was ordered to pay nearly $3.9 million in restitution and forfeit more than $3.2 million, including $1.2 million already seized.

Blood test shows promise for earlier ALS diagnosis

A new blood-based diagnostic test for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may significantly shorten the long and often frustrating path to diagnosis for patients with the fatal neurodegenerative disease. Researchers at the nonprofit Brain Chemistry Labs report that a microRNA (miRNA) assay identified ALS with 97% accuracy in an analysis of 788 blood samples, including nearly 400 patients with ALS and matched healthy controls. Published in Molecular Neurobiology, the study found the test performed equally well in sporadic and familial ALS, addressing a major gap in current diagnostics, particularly for the 90% of patients without a family history.

Cheese tied to modestly lower dementia risk, with caveats

Regular cheese consumption was associated with a small but statistically significant reduction in dementia risk in a new observational study from Japan, adding to ongoing discussion about diet and brain health. In the study of nearly 8,000 adults published in Nutrients, people who reported eating cheese were about 1 percentage point less likely to develop dementia over three years compared with non–cheese eaters. Most participants consumed processed cheese, and overall intake levels were far lower than in Western countries, a key limitation noted by the authors. Researchers emphasized the findings show association, not causation, and may reflect broader lifestyle or socioeconomic factors rather than cheese itself.