Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
A Dose Of Upbeat And Inspiring News
NBC News: One Dose Of Experimental Drug Nearly Wipes Out Stealthy Cholesterol In 'Remarkable' Trial
A single dose of an experimental drug dramatically reduced levels of a deadly form of cholesterol, often thought to be untreatable, for up to one year. Lipoprotein(a) is a type of cholesterol that lurks in the body, undetected by routine tests and undeterred by existing drugs, diet or exercise. The findings, cardiologists say, are a critical step toward treating the millions of Americans genetically predisposed to abnormally high levels of lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a). (Edwards, 3/30)
Stat: Gender-Affirming Hormones Protect From HIV, New Data Show
Over a decade ago, psychologist and researcher Jae Sevelius had an idea: The behaviors that might put transgender people at particularly high risk of getting HIV stem from the fact that their gender wasn’t being affirmed as they needed. (Gaffney, 3/27)
CIDRAP: FDA Approves At-Home Test For Sexually Transmitted Infections
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the first at-home, over-the-counter test for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis. The Visby Medical Women's Sexual Health Test is a single-use test intended for women with or without symptoms. The test, which includes a sample collection kit and a powered testing device that communicates testing results to an app, can be bought without a prescription and deliver results within 30 minutes. (Dall, 3/28)
The New York Times: ‘A Tiny Bit Of Math’ Might Improve Your Heart Health, Study Suggests
Many people use a smartwatch to monitor their cardiovascular health, often by counting the number of steps they take over the course of their day, or recording their average daily heart rate. Now, researchers are proposing an enhanced metric, which combines the two using basic math: Divide your average daily heart rate by your daily average number of steps. The resulting ratio — the daily heart rate per step, or DHRPS — provides insight into how efficiently the heart is working, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University and published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association. (Richtel, 3/29)
AP: Boys With Cancer Can Face Infertility As Adults. Can Storing Their Stem Cells Help?
A man who battled childhood cancer has received the first known transplant of sperm-producing stem cells, in a study aimed at restoring the fertility of cancer’s youngest survivors. Jaiwen Hsu was 11 when a leg injury turned out to be bone cancer. Doctors thought grueling chemotherapy could save him but likely leave him infertile. His parents learned researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center were freezing testicular cells of young boys with cancer in hopes of preserving their future fertility — and signed him up. Hsu, now 26, is the first to return as an adult and test if reimplanting those cells might work. (Neergaard, 3/28)
CBS News: Project Gives Families With Babies In NICU A "Lifeline" To Always Have Eyes On Them
The AngelEye CameraSystem allows parents to see their babies remotely through their cellphones or laptops. (Stahl and Nau, 3/24)
