Artificial Intelligence Can Improve Breast Cancer Detection By 20%

Politico: AI Improves Breast Cancer Detection Rate By 20 Percent 
Artificial intelligence is able to accurately detect 20 percent more breast cancers from mammograms than traditional screening by radiologists, according to early results from a Swedish trial published overnight. The study is the first randomized controlled trial to look at using AI in breast cancer screening and comes amid a dramatically shifting landscape for the technology and how it’s regulated. (Furlong, 8/2)

In other health and wellness news —

Stat: High Incidence Of Prostate And Breast Cancer Among Those With African Ancestry Is The Focus Of New Study
For almost 44 years, Willie Bell never missed his appointment to check for prostate cancer. But then the pandemic hit. The doctor’s office was closed. Three months passed before he was able to be screened in January 2021. “So the doctor kept putting it off and I call him and say, ‘listen I get my PSA level checked every year. I would hate for you to tell me that you backed me off for a year, then you find cancer, because I’ll be pissed off,’” said Bell, a 66-year-old retired police officer who lives in Miami. When Bell’s doctor finally came back to him, the doctor had bad news. Bell was pissed. (Balthazar, 8/1)

The Washington Post: Infant Peanut Exposure Can Prevent Allergies, But Parents Worry
Exposing infants to peanuts between 4 and 6 months of age can potentially prevent peanut allergies, yet many parents remain anxious about the prospect and aren’t aware that it’s safe, new research shows. ... When more than 3,000 parents and caregivers of infants and young children were asked about the practice, nearly 9 in 10 weren’t aware of the new guidelines. (Camero, 8/1)

Stat: Adults Seen As Increasingly Susceptible To Measles
Simon Matthews made three trips this spring to the emergency room of his local hospital in Eastbourne, on England’s southeast coast, before doctors managed to figure out what was making him so ill. He had a fever of 104 Fahrenheit, uncommonly high for an adult. On his first foray to the hospital — in an ambulance — it was feared he had meningitis. Cleared of that, Matthews, 62, was sent home with a vague diagnosis; doctors believed he had an unidentified viral infection. (Branswell, 8/2)

CIDRAP: Experimental Study Suggests Bed Bugs Could Be Vector For MRSA Spread
The results of an experimental study suggest bed bugs may be able to acquire and transmit methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), researchers reported yesterday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. (Dall, 8/1)

CNN: What Is Gianotti-Crosti Syndrome, The Condition Affecting Mandy Moore’s Son? Experts Explain
Actor Mandy Moore’s son recently woke up to a startling rash covering his body, according to her Instagram posts. It took trips to urgent care, the pediatrician, a dermatologist and a pediatric dermatologist to figure out what was causing him to itch all over his arms, legs and feet. The cause? Gianotti-Crosti syndrome. (Holcombe, 8/1)

AP: 3 US Marines Died Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning In A Car. Vehicle Experts Explain How That Can Happen 
The seemingly accidental deaths of three U.S. Marines who suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in a parked car at a North Carolina gas station have raised questions about how the situation could have occurred outdoors. Deputies from the Pender County Sheriff’s Office had found the men unresponsive in a privately owned Lexus sedan in the coastal community of Hampstead. (Schoenbaum, 8/1)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’ 
This week on the KFF Health News Minute, we look at how airplane regulations add hurdles to lifesaving organ donation and the cancer risks associated with chemical hair straighteners. (8/1)