How Scientists Decide When A Vaccine’s Risks Outweigh The Number Of People It Will Help

Stat: How Vaccine Experts Weigh Benefits For Many Against Risks For A Few
Vaccines protect huge numbers of people, generally children, from serious diseases, but in rare cases, certain vaccines can tragically cause harm. How do those scientists figure out which to value more? This dilemma was at the center of last week’s decision by an expert committee advising the World Health Organization to sharply scale back use of a controversial vaccine called Dengvaxia, the first to protect against dengue infection. (Branswell, 4/23)

The New York Times: Ethicists Call For More Scrutiny Of ‘Human-Challenge’ Trials
Members of a government ethics panel have renewed their criticisms of a controversial study in which volunteers are to be deliberately infected with the Zika virus. In an article published this month in the journal Science, panel members called for the establishment of ethics committees to review the design of such human-challenge studies, which are sometimes used to test vaccines. (Baumgaertner, 4/20)

Los Angeles Times: Decoding Your Baby's DNA: It Can Be Done. But Should It Be?
Maverick Coltrin entered the world a seemingly healthy 8-pound boy. But within a week, he was having seizures that doctors could neither explain nor control. They warned that he would probably die within a few months.“I remember my world just came crashing down,” said his mother, Kara Coltrin, 24. In October, Coltrin and her husband, Michael, began taking hundreds of photos of their son, hooked up to tubes and his skin purplish gray. Family rushed to San Diego from across the country to meet him before he died. (Karlamangla, 4/22)

Modern Healthcare: Home Healthcare Providers' Infection Prevention Efforts Hampered By Dearth Of Data, Tools 
Bayada Home Health Care had to go it alone when it developed infection control and prevention protocols for its clinicians. Unlike the numerous infection prevention resources available to hospitals and nursing homes, there isn't much published guidance for home health providers on how to best protect patients from infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn't published infection control guidelines specific to the home health industry even though such resources are available for acute-care and long-term care providers. (Castellucci, 4/21)

NPR: Teens Cyberbully Themselves As A New Type Of Self-Harm
During the stressful teen years, most adolescents experience emotional highs and lows, but for more than 20 percent of teenagers, their worries and sad feelings turn into something more serious, like anxiety or depression. Studies show that 13 percent to 18 percent of distressed teens physically injure themselves via cutting, burning or other forms of self-harm as a way to cope with their pain. Recent research and clinical psychologists now suggest that some adolescents are engaging in a newer form of self-aggression — digital self-harm. They're anonymously posting mean and derogatory comments about themselves on social media. (Fraga, 4/21)

The New York Times: Infinitesimal Odds: A Scientist Finds Her Child’s Rare Illness Stems From The Gene She Studies
By the time her mother received the doctor’s email, Yuna Lee was already 2 years old, a child with a frightening medical mystery. Plagued with body-rattling seizures and inconsolable crying, she could not speak, walk or stand. “Why is she suffering so much?” her mother, Soo-Kyung Lee, anguished. Brain scans, genetic tests and neurological exams yielded no answers. But when an email popped up suggesting that Yuna might have a mutation on a gene called FOXG1, Soo-Kyung froze. (Belluck, 4/23)

The Washington Post: Playing Is Good For Grown-Up Brain And Body
Want to feel better, smarter and healthier? It might be time to get serious about play. TED’s list of talks about the importance of play is a good place to start. It includes nine talks that might persuade you to take a more lighthearted approach to life — and help you reap the health benefits of your new attitude. The free videos offered by TED have a reputation for tackling serious subjects — topics such as work, technology, psychology. This collection is a bit different. Each expert approaches play with TED’s signature smarts but keeps the focus on fun. (Blakemore, 4/21)

The Wall Street Journal: Philip Morris Shares Suffer Biggest Daily Fall In A Decade On Declining Cigarette Volume
Shares of tobacco companies tumbled after Philip Morris International Inc. said cigarette shipments fell more than expected and sales for its cigarette alternative started to stall in a key market—raising wider alarm about the health of the entire tobacco industry.Shares in the New York-listed, Switzerland-based tobacco giant ended down 16%. That was its biggest one-day slide since becoming a public company in March 2008. The disappointing first-quarter results dragged down shares of other giants, like Altria Group Inc., British American Tobacco PLC and Imperial Brands PLC. (Chaudhuri, 4/19)

The Washington Post: How To Understand Survival Odds
“So how long do I have to live?” A reader with cancer recently sent me a letter with this question, which on its face seems simple enough: “My oncologist told me that the five-year survival rate for my cancer is 45 percent. What does this actually mean for me? ”I am familiar with this question from my own cancer diagnosis three decades ago, when a doctor gave me 10-year survival odds that were dismal. The first two questions racing through someone’s mind after getting a cancer diagnosis are “Is this terminal?” and “How long do I have?” (Petrow, 4/21)

NPR: Cannabis Extract's Popularity Gets Ahead Of The Science
As more states legalize marijuana, there's growing interest in a cannabis extract — cannabidiol, also known as CBD. It's marketed as a compound that can help relieve anxiety — and, perhaps, help ease aches and pains, too. Part of the appeal, at least for people who don't want to get high, is that CBD doesn't have the same mind-altering effects as marijuana, since it does not contain THC, the psychoactive component of the plant. (Aubrey, 4/23)