Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Behind-The-Scenes Look At How A Drugmaker Is Causing 'Insanely High' Drug Levels In Nation's Waterways
Stat: ‘Dump It Down The Drain’: How Contaminants From Prescription-Drug Factories Pollute Waterways
The drug-tainted wastewater streamed through underground pipes to a municipal treatment plant, but some of the medicine likely passed through unhindered and out to the Monongahela River. Typically, wastewater treatment plants are not equipped to remove pharmaceuticals, so when scientists from the United States Geological Survey tested effluent from the Morgantown, W.Va., plant several years ago, along with the discharges from six other treatment plants, it detected very high levels of some drugs. (Gilbert, 12/11)
The Baltimore Sun: University Of Maryland Researchers Testing Potential Vaccine For E. Coli, Shigella
Researchers at the University of Maryland’s medical school are testing a potential vaccine for E. coli and other diarrheal diseases. In a news release, the university wrote that Dr. Wilburn Chen and Dr. Eileen Barry will test a vaccine developed at the School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health. The testing is being funded by a $4.5 million agreement with Emergent Biosolutions, “a global life sciences company focused on addressing public health threats, including travel health diseases,” the university wrote. (Davis, 12/10)
The New York Times: Marathon Running May Be Good For Your Knees
Could it be that marathon training and racing are actually good for our knees? A myth-toppling new study of novice, middle-aged runners suggests that the answer is a qualified yes. The study finds that taking up distance running rebuilds the health of certain essential components of middle-aged knees, even if the joints start off somewhat tattered and worn. (Reynolds, 12/11)
Kaiser Health News: When Teens Abuse Parents, Shame And Secrecy Make It Hard To Seek Help
Nothing Jenn and Jason learned in parenting class prepared them for the challenges they’ve faced raising a child prone to violent outbursts. The couple are parents to two siblings. They first fostered the children as toddlers and later adopted them. (KHN has agreed not to use the children’s names or the couple’s last names because of the sensitive nature of the family’s story.) In some ways, the family seems like many others. Jenn and Jason’s 12-year-old daughter is into pop star Taylor Swift and loves playing outside with her older brother. (Herman, 12/11)
Kaiser Health News: Among U.S. States, New York’s Suicide Rate Is The Lowest. How’s That?
“I just snapped” is how Jessica Lioy describes her attempt in April to kill herself. After a tough year in which she’d moved back to her parents’ Syracuse, N.Y., home and changed colleges, the crumbling of her relationship with her boyfriend pushed the 22-year-old over the edge. She impulsively swallowed a handful of sleeping pills. Her mom happened to walk into her bedroom, saw the pills scattered on the floor and called 911. (Andrews, 12/11)
