First Edition: April 13, 2018

Kaiser Health News: Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ It’s Nerd Week
The Trump administration this week issued the rules governing next year’s Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces, and they make some potentially large changes that could result in higher premiums and fewer benefits. Meanwhile, states are going different ways in addressing the health insurance markets in their states in response to the federal activity. And House Speaker Paul Ryan announced his retirement — leaving an intellectual void among House Republicans when it comes to health care. (4/12)

Kaiser Health News: PrEP Campaign Aims To Block HIV Infection And Save Lives In D.C.
A big part of Washington, D.C.’s plan to get its HIV rate down is to get more uninfected people on PrEP, a two-medicine combination pill that’s sold under the brand name Truvada. When taken daily by people who are at high risk for contracting HIV via sex or shared needles with someone who is infected, this pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, can cut the risk of HIV infection by 92 percent, studies show. (Simmons-Duffin, 4/13)

California Healthline: Applying Silicon Valley Smarts To Age-Old Diseases
On the second floor of an infectious-disease research facility in this African capital, Dr. Joseph Kamgno, the country’s leading expert on parasitic roundworms, stood at his desk staring down at the black hard-shelled case that had just arrived from a bioengineering lab at the University of California-Berkeley. The case contained what appeared to be three ordinary iPhones. But the California researchers believed these phones could do something extraordinary — help quell river blindness, the second-leading cause of preventable blindness in the world. (Rinker, 4/11)

The New York Times: Overdose Antidote Is Supposed To Be Easy To Get. It’s Not.
In 2015, when they unveiled the city’s plan to battle opioid-related deaths, Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, said that from that day on, New Yorkers would be able to get the overdose-reversing drug naloxone at participating pharmacies without a prescription. “Anyone who fears they will one day find their child, spouse or sibling collapsed on the floor and not breathing now has the power to walk into a neighborhood pharmacy and purchase the medication that can reverse that nightmare,” Ms. McCray said, with the mayor by her side. (Correal, 4/12)

The Washington Post: The Opioid Crisis: Drug Executives To Testify Before Congress About Their Role In Distributing Powerful Painkillers
Current and former executives with the pharmaceutical distributors that are accused of flooding communities with powerful prescription painkillers have been summoned to testify before Congress about their role in the U.S. opioid epidemic. The hearing, scheduled for May 8 before a House Energy and Commerce Committee oversight panel, has the potential to be a defining moment for the pharmaceutical industry, much like when tobacco executives were called to testify before Congress in 1994. The pharmaceutical executives are expected to face tough questions under oath about why their companies pumped so many highly addictive pain pills into West Virginia and other states, fueling what has become the deadliest drug crisis in U.S. history. (Zezima and Higham, 4/12)

The Hill: Opioid Distributors To Testify Before House Committee On Their Role In Epidemic 
Five executives of opioid distribution companies will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in May about how millions of pain pills found their way to small West Virginia towns. “For one year, the entire committee — Republicans and Democrats — have pressed five distributors with a presence in West Virginia, as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for answers as to how tremendous amounts of pills ended up in these small communities,” said Rep. Gregg Harper, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. (Hellmann, 4/12)

The Associated Press: Opioid Trials To Begin In 2019 As Settlement Is Also Pushed
A federal judge with an audacious plan to settle hundreds of lawsuits filed by local governments against the drug industry over the destruction wrought by prescription opioid painkillers has altered his course. Cleveland-based Judge Dan Polster issued an order Wednesday scheduling three Ohio trials for 2019 — a shift from his earlier plan to try to work out settlements without also preparing for trials. (Welsh-Huggins and Mulvihill, 4/12)

The Hill: Judge Schedules Trial In Massive Opioid Lawsuit
Judge Dan Polster on Wednesday set a March 2019 trial date for cases from three of the cities and counties that are suing drug companies. Those cases would be the first of hundreds brought under Polster’s review to see a trial and could serve as “bellwethers” that help both sides test the waters. The cases are being closely watched to see if they produce a settlement that forces changes meant to fight the opioid epidemic. Polster said in January that he wanted to take actions that would stem the tide of the crisis. (Sullivan, 4/12)

The Hill: Senators Call For DOJ To Stop Blocking Medical Marijuana Research 
Bipartisan senators are calling on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to cease efforts by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to slow medical marijuana research. In a letter sent Thursday, Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said they are concerned by reports that the Justice Department is effectively blocking the DEA from taking action on more than two dozen requests to grow marijuana for use in research. (Weixel, 4/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Health Workers’ New Advocate Sees Objection To Abortion As A Civil Right
The Trump administration is pursuing a significant shift toward a more conservative health-care agenda, expanding the use of civil-rights laws to defend health-industry workers who object to medical procedures on religious grounds. Roger Severino, an administration appointee to the Department of Health and Human Services, is heading a new division at the department that will shield health-care workers who object to abortion, assisted suicide, or other procedures they say violate their conscience or deeply held religious beliefs. HHS has proposed rules that would expand the division’s enforcement ability and require many health organizations to inform workers about their federal protections regarding personal faith or convictions. (Armour, 4/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Two Women Spotlight Two Sides Of Abortion Debate
The Trump administration’s push toward a more conservative approach to health policy has sparked a debate over what patients can expect from their health workers, and when health workers can refuse service for reasons of conscience. Both supporters and opponents bolster their arguments with testimonials, such as the two that follow. The first is an example of what conservative activists say is a health worker forced to assist in a procedure that ran counter to her beliefs. The second is an example of what liberal activists say are religious organizations imposing their views on others. (Armour, 4/13)

The Associated Press: Tightest Abortion Law In US On Hold For Several More Months
The most restrictive abortion law in the United States will remain on hold for at least several more months. The Mississippi law bans abortion after 15 weeks. It took effect when Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed it March 19, but the state's only abortion clinic immediately sued and U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves put it on hold the next day. (4/12)

Stat: New Migraine Drugs May Give Insurers A Headache
A pair of long-acting drugs that would be the first used for preventing migraines may cause a different kind of headache. Known as CGRP inhibitors, the injectable drugs work by interfering with a substance involved in modifying nerve signals, and recent studies found that two of the medicines reduce the frequency at which migraines appeared. This may be good news for the estimated 38 million migraine sufferers in the U.S., as well as investors, since the market for such drugs will be worth billions of dollars. (Silverman, 4/12)

Stat: Pfizer Latest To Test Gene Therapy For Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy 
Pfizer (PFE) has begun its first human trials of a gene therapy to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, following two other companies that have launched trials and one treatment for the disease in recent years. The first patient received the experimental therapy, called PF-06939926, on March 22, Pfizer said Thursday. The study is expected to run through 2019 and to enroll about a dozen boys from 5 to 12 years old at four sites. (Cooney, 4/12)

The Associated Press: Canadian Pharmacy To Be Fined Millions For Illegal Imports
An online pharmacy that bills itself as Canada's largest is expected to be fined $34 million Friday for importing counterfeit cancer drugs and other unapproved pharmaceuticals into the United States, a sentence that one advocacy group called too light for such a heinous crime. Canada Drugs has filled millions of prescriptions by offering itself as a safe alternative for patients to save money on expensive drugs, and its founder, Kristian Thorkelson, has been hailed as an industry pioneer for starting the company in 2001. (Volz, 4/13)

The Associated Press: When To Say When: Study Says Limit Alcohol To 1 Drink A Day
Here's some sobering news: A large international study says adults should average no more than one alcoholic drink per day, and that means drinking guidelines in many countries may be far too loose. The study found that people who down more than seven drinks a week can expect to die sooner than those who drink less. (Stobbe, 4/12)

The Washington Post: ‘Moderate’ Drinking Guidelines Are Too Loose, Study Says
Strikingly, the data did not show a significant difference between men and women in the amount of alcohol that can be consumed without a drop in life expectancy. That directly contradicts U.S. government guidelines that define moderate, “low-risk” drinking as two drinks a day for men and one drink for women, with a limit of 14 a week for men and seven for women — with lower levels for people over the age of 65. (Achenbach, 4/12)

The Associated Press: $1 Million Federal Grant Will Help Study Of Transgender Kids
The first large-scale, national study of transgender children, including some as young as 3, is poised to expand thanks to a five-year, $1 million grant awarded Thursday by the National Science Foundation to the professor leading the project. University of Washington psychologist Kristina Olson, 36, was named winner of the NSF's annual Alan T. Waterman Award, the government's highest honor for scientists still in the early phases of their careers. The NSF said the choice was unanimous, and noted that pediatricians are already using her findings to raise awareness about gender diversity. (4/12)

The Associated Press: Red Flag Laws May Prevent More Suicides Than Mass Shootings
Before her brother took his own life, Mary Miller-Strobel said she and her father begged every store in town that sold firearms to turn him away. “’If he comes, call me,’” Miller-Strobel said her dad pleaded while waving her brother’s picture at store managers in Charlotte, Michigan, in 2006. “’Just call me. I will come.’” She said the responses were the same: “’Second amendment, sorry.’” Two months later, her brother, Ben, shot himself with a revolver. (Yin, 4/12)

Stat: One Reason Why Melanoma Might Not Respond To Cancer Drugs
Scientists have discovered a potential reason why melanoma doesn’t always respond to certain drugs. For some advanced melanoma patients, immune checkpoint inhibitors — a kind of immunotherapy that pushes the immune system to attack tumors — can lead to long-term remission. But for many patients, the drugs don’t work. Now, scientists at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne studying a mouse model of melanoma have discovered that “bad immune cells” might be limiting how well the drugs work. Their findings were published this week in Science Translational Medicine. (Thielking, 4/12)

Stat: Health Officials Open New Door For Promising Stem Cell Therapies
When someone experiences a severe head injury, it’s not just the initial blow that batters the brain. The body’s immune response can go haywire, overwhelming and sometimes continuing to damage the brain for months. Surgeons at Houston’s Memorial Hermann Hospital believe they might have a novel way to prevent that ongoing harm: by drawing bone marrow cells, including stem cells, from patients and infusing them back into their bodies. (Joseph, 4/13)

The Washington Post: Bathroom Hand Dryers May Leave Your Hands Dirtier Than Before, Gross New Study Says
Hand dryers may leave your hands significantly more dirty than before, according to a new study. The study, the results of which were published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, found that plates exposed to 30 seconds of a bathroom hand dryer gained at least 18 to 60 colonies of bacteria, while plates exposed to bathroom air for two minutes had fewer than one. The authors concluded that the “results indicate that many kinds of bacteria, including potential pathogens and spores, can be deposited on hands exposed to bathroom hand dryers, and that spores could be dispersed throughout buildings and deposited on hands by hand dryers.” (Rosenberg, 4/12)

Los Angeles Times: A Personalized Vaccine Helps Patients Fight Back Against Ovarian Cancer
In early research that extends the possibilities of immunotherapy to a killer feared by women, a personalized vaccine helped patients with ovarian cancer mount a stronger defense against their tumors and substantially improved their survival rate. The vaccine was tested in a preliminary clinical trial and used along with standard chemotherapy and an immune-boosting agent. (Healy, 4/12)

The New York Times: A Better Body In A Pill? Experts Urge Caution On SARMs
Many athletes and gym-goers are turning to a popular but potentially dangerous new pill to help them build muscle and gain strength: a steroid alternative known as SARMs. The pills are widely marketed online as “legal steroids” that provide the muscle-building benefits of anabolic steroids without the troubling side effects. And while the products are legal — at least so far — their spread has alarmed health authorities, who say they are not necessarily safe. (O'Connor, 4/12)

The New York Times: Air Pollution May Pose Serious Risks To Young Children
Air pollution, even of short duration, increases the number of lower respiratory infections, a new study reports, and the effects may be particularly serious in young children. Acute respiratory infection of the lungs and airways, usually caused by viruses, are a leading cause of illness and death in young children. (Bakalar, 4/13)

The New York Times: Scientist Behind Dolly The Sheep, A Key To Parkinson’s Research, Has The Disease Himself
Two decades after creating the clone Dolly the sheep and paving the way for new research into Parkinson’s, Dr. Ian Wilmut revealed on Wednesday that he has the disease himself. The 73-year-old professor, who lives in Scotland, announced on World Parkinson’s Day that he learned four months ago that he had the disease, and that he would participate in a major research program to test new types of treatments intended to slow the disease’s progression. (Yeginsu, 4/12)

The Associated Press: Lawsuit Alleges Michigan Illegally Obtains Newborns' Blood
A group of Michigan parents have filed a lawsuit alleging that the state didn't obtain proper consent to draw or store their newborns' blood for medical research. Philip Ellison filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of the parents, saying Michigan's practice of drawing infant blood is unconstitutional, MLive.com reported. The lawsuit also alleges that there aren't protections in place to stop police or others from accessing information that can be derived from the stored blood samples. (4/12)

Bloomberg: McDonald's Hepatitis Case Probed By Officials In Kentucky 
A McDonald’s Corp. employee in Kentucky could have potentially spread hepatitis A to customers, according to local health officials, igniting a new health scare for the fast-food giant. Officials at the Madison County health department are warning people that they may have been infected by the food handler, who was working at a restaurant in the town of Berea, south of Lexington, on March 23. McDonald’s is fully cooperating with local and state agencies on the investigation, the health department said on its website. (Patton, 4/12)