Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Mass Violence, Rhetoric Tends To Focus On Mental Health. But Most Perpetrators Aren't Mentally Ill.
The New York Times: Are Mass Murderers Insane? Usually Not, Researchers Say
If what people do is any reflection of who they are, then Devin P. Kelley, who slaughtered 26 churchgoers on Sunday in Texas, surely was a madman. Before the atrocity, he had attempted to sneak weapons onto an Air Force base after making death threats to his superiors, according to a local police report. In 2012, he had escaped from a mental hospital in New Mexico to which he had been sent after assaulting his wife and fracturing his stepson’s skull. (Carey, 11/8)
Stat: Risky Stimulants Turn Up — Again — In Weight Loss And Workout Supplements
Dr. Pieter Cohen, the Harvard internist and noted supplement detective, took the case. He and his collaborators purchased and analyzed six supplements marked as containing one of the mystery ingredients. They expected that, however they were listed, all the ingredients would turn out to be a stimulant known as octodrine, which the Food and Drug Administration approved decades ago, in inhaled form, as a treatment for bronchitis, laryngitis, and other conditions. (Robbins,11/8)
The New York Times: Pesticides Tied To Problems In Assisted Pregnancies
Eating fruits and vegetables high in pesticides may lower the chance of successful birth with assisted reproductive technology, according to a new report. Researchers studied 325 women undergoing fertility treatment in Boston. They collected data on medical and lifestyle factors and had the women fill out food frequency questionnaires. (Bakalar, 11/8)
Stat: New Brain Technologies Pose Threats To Privacy And Autonomy That Are All Too Real, Experts Warn
With Elon Musk aiming to build brain implants so people can communicate telepathically, fMRIs already (approximately) reading minds, under-the-radar companies working on computer chips to control brain activity that generates intentions, and technologies promising to boost brain performance like Bradley Cooper’s in “Limitless,” it might seem like neuroscience has become neurofiction. But the advances, and the threats they pose, are all too real, experts warned on Wednesday. In an essay in Nature, 27 neuroscientists, physicians, ethicists, and artificial intelligence experts argue that these and other powerful “neurotechnologies,” originally conceived to help people who are paralyzed or have other neurological disorders, could “exacerbate social inequalities and offer corporations, hackers, governments or anyone else new ways to exploit and manipulate people.” (Begley, 11/8)
Boston Globe: More Researchers Weigh In On Double-Booked Surgeries
Neurosurgeons can safely run two operations at once without endangering patients, a study from Emory University in Atlanta concluded, part of a growing body of research in response to a Globe Spotlight Team report that found surgeons sometimes do simultaneous surgeries without telling patients. (Saltzman, 11/8)
Modern Healthcare: Overlapping Neurosurgeries Don't Hurt Patient Outcomes
Overlapping surgery, a well-established practice in which a surgeon performs critical parts of a procedure and then departs to perform another procedure just beginning, has received intense scrutiny in recent years by critics who argue the practice is unsafe. But a new JAMA study found outcomes for neurosurgery patients who received overlapping surgery were the same as those of patients who didn't receive such treatment. (Castellucci, 11/8)
Pioneer Press: Sudden Infant Deaths Attributed To Unsafe Sleep Practices, Health Officials Say
For a few days this week, commuters driving past the Lowry Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis will see its lights colored blue, light blue and pink in honor of Infant Safe Sleep Week, an initiative to encourage safe sleep practices for infants. ... According to data released Wednesday from the Minnesota Department of Health, unsafe sleeping environments contribute to almost all sudden infant deaths. According to a page on Mayo Clinic’s website, SIDS is commonly thought to have no explanation, but data from 2015 found that 53 of the 54 sudden infant deaths in Minnesota involved unsafe sleeping conditions. (Johnson, 11/8)
Star Tribune: Infant Deaths Linked To Sleep Positions
Minnesota recorded 54 unexplained infant deaths in 2015 — about the same as prior years — and all but one involved a child in an unsafe sleeping environment, according to an analysis from the Minnesota Department of Health. State health officials used the findings to renew their warnings to parents to place their babies to sleep on their backs and in uncluttered cribs. (Olson, 11/8)
Concord Monitor: Former N.H. Chief Justice Urges Kids To REACT To Mental Illness
John Broderick, a former chief justice on the Supreme Court, has crisscrossed the state for nearly two years, giving speeches and meeting students in an effort to destigmatize mental illness as part of the national Change Direction campaign. He’s given approximately 160 talks and spoken to some 20,000 people. But now there’s a new twist in his now familiar story. Broderick is now asking kids to REACT. The acronym stands for “Recognize” the signs of emotional suffering, “Express” concern and offer support, “Act now” and tell someone you trust, “Care enough” to follow up, and “Text” or call a number for extra support. (Duffort, 11/8)
Kaiser Health News: KHN Discussion On Advance Care Planning: What You Need To Know Now
Planning for end-of-life medical care can be daunting and uncomfortable, which is why so many people put it off — or don’t do it at all. On Wednesday, Nov. 8, Kaiser Health News senior correspondent JoNel Aleccia moderated a discussion of the pressing issues surrounding end-of-life advance care planning. (11/8)
