Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Peptide Push Is Lowering The Bar For Patient Safety, Scientists Fear
NBC News: FDA Peptide Votes Could Open The Door To More Unproven Drugs: ‘Pandora’s Box’
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on Friday recommended allowing two more unproven peptides to be compounded, capping a two-day meeting that raised questions about whether the agency was weakening the guardrails designed to keep untested drugs from reaching patients. (Lovelace Jr., 7/24)
Stat: Medical Schools Adapting To Kennedy Push To Add Nutrition Training
When students return to McGovern Medical School at UT Health Houston this year, they will get to participate in hands-on nutrition experiences, including cooking demonstrations in the teaching kitchen, tours of the campus “holistic garden,” and the opportunity to take a culinary-medicine-focused elective. (Chan, 7/27)
Fox News: Surgeon General Warns Screen Time Harms Kids' Attention And Memory
As screens compete for families' attention, children's development is paying the price, top federal health officials warn. Early and excessive screen time can trigger severe neurocognitive delays in young children, impacting attention spans, memory and language skills, according to Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos, interim surgeon general and principal deputy assistant secretary of health. (Quill, 7/26)
The Washington Post: 67 Boat Strikes. 221 Dead. The Cocaine Hasn’t Slowed, Officials Report.
The Trump administration’s deadly military strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats have not reduced the amount of cocaine entering the United States, but they’re prompting criminal organizations to develop new strategies and tactics and undermining traditional investigative methods, according to a previously unreported assessment by the Drug Enforcement Administration, a closed-door congressional briefing and interviews with current and former U.S. and foreign officials. (Horton, McCoy, Schmidt and Moriarty, 7/27)
On traumatic brain injuries in veterans —
Military.com: National Defense Authorization Act Officially Funds New Blast Overpressure Task Force To Advance TBI Research
Active-duty U.S. military personnel and veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and other related ailments could benefit from new federal research programs after the House authorized the creation of the so-called Blast Overpressure Task Force in its annual defense policy bill. ... If approved, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will appoint health experts to the task force who are "involved in research regarding the mitigation and treatment of blast overpressure or blast exposure." (Plummer, 7/24)
On former President Joe Biden's health —
The Washington Post: Illness Has Transformed Biden's Post-Presidential Life
Joe Biden’s world has grown smaller. Eighteen months after leaving the White House, the 83-year-old former president moves within a narrowed circle of relatives, old friends and longtime aides as he undergoes treatment for metastatic cancer. The treatment appears to be working, according to five former aides and others close to Biden, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss his health and private life. But the disease — and the toll of treating it — has left him visibly frail. (Wootson Jr., 7/26)
