NYITCOM-Arkansas Experts Address Pressing Health Topics

Leading national and international media outlets featured insights from the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University (NYITCOM-Arkansas) experts in recent coverage of health issues impacting children and young adults. 

NYITCOM-Arkansas Site Dean Shane Speights, D.O. is quoted in outlets including the BBC and Yahoo discussing kratom (an herb with opioid-like effects). “It’s almost like taking a narcotic,” Speights said of kratom. “At higher doses, it can create more euphoria and give you more of a general high.” Higher doses pose greater risk for adverse side effects, including central nervous system depression, which is “where the deaths come in,” Speights said.

NYITCOM-Arkansas pediatrician and Assistant Professor Adam Hurst, M.D., is featured in MSN coverage about the measles. He notes that the measles vaccine is the best defense against the virus. “The biggest question you need to be asking is to your doctor—to your child’s doctor, ‘Can they be vaccinated? Do they need to be vaccinated?’ And if you have concerns or questions on that, speaking to your medical provider, trusting their answers, trusting their care for your child,” Hurst said.