Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
BRCA Testing For Women Skyrocketed After Angelina Jolie's Testimony, But What About Its Benefits For Men?
Modern Healthcare: Without The 'Angelina Jolie Effect,' Genetic Testing For Prostate Cancer Languishes
Thanks to actress Angelina Jolie's public announcement about her breast cancer treatment five years ago, there is broad public awareness about the value of gene testing to identify breast cancer risk associated with mutations in the BRCA genes. Since then, demand for BRCA genetic testing among women has increased. Now researchers are finding growing evidence of strong links between prostate cancer in men and mutations in the BRCA 1, BRCA 2 and other genes. A groundbreaking study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2016 found mutations in those DNA-repair genes in 11.8% of men with metastatic prostate cancer, compared with 2.7% of men without a known cancer diagnosis. (Meyer, 3/10)
The Washington Post: Dentists Keep Dying Of This Lung Disease. The CDC Can’t Figure Out Why.
Seven of the patients were dead, and two more were dying of a rare chronic, progressive lung disease that can be treated but not cured. It’s estimated that about 200,000 people in the United States have Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis at any one time. But the common denominator of a small group of patients at a Virginia clinic over a 15-year period is worrying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Eight were dentists; a ninth was a dental technician. (Wootson, 3/10)
Stat: How An Inconspicuous Slaughterhouse Keeps The World’s Premature Babies Alive
It’s a substance that most meat processing plants hardly think about: Just another fluid in the fluid-filled business of turning an animal into a side of beef. But Taylor would panic if he saw any spill on the slaughterhouse floor — those lost drops could have saved babies’ lives. This small firm had carefully courted slaughterhouses so that its workers could be allowed inside to suck this off-white foam out of cow lungs. Then, they purified the hell out of it, and shipped vials of it across Canada, and to India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Ecuador, and Iran, where it was shot into the lungs of struggling premature infants. (Boodman, 3/12)
The Associated Press: Study: Cholesterol Drug Lowers Risk Of Death, Heart Attack
A newer cholesterol drug, used with older statin medicines, modestly lowered heart risks and deaths in a big study of heart attack survivors that might persuade insurers to cover the pricey treatment more often. Results on the drug, Praluent, were announced Saturday at an American College of Cardiology conference in Florida. It's the first time a cholesterol-lowering drug has reduced deaths since statins such as Lipitor and Crestor came out decades ago. (3/10)
NPR: Exercise To Renew A Middle-Aged Heart
Eventually it happens to everyone. As we age, even if we're healthy, the heart becomes less flexible, more stiff and just isn't as efficient in processing oxygen as it used to be. In most people the first signs show up in the 50s or early 60s. And among people who don't exercise, the underlying changes can start even sooner. "The heart gets smaller — stiffer," says Dr. Ben Levine, a sports cardiologist at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, in Dallas. (Neighmond, 3/12)
The Washington Post: MRI Fear And Claustrophobia Mean Finding Ways To Cope
The thought of an MRI scanner, a coffinlike, hard-plastic tube with a ceiling just inches above the patient’s eyes, has long filled Patrice Mitchell with dread. The 64-year-old freelance editor and former journalist from Rochester, N.Y., has never been afraid of small spaces such as elevators. But she gets intensely claustrophobic when pulling anything — a sweater, for example — over her face and it gets caught. “If it gets stuck momentarily,” she says, “I immediately start to feel quite panicky and feel like I may have trouble breathing.” (Pianin, 3/11)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Infant Heart Surgery Is Just The Start Of Lifelong Issues. Doctors Are Developing New Ways To Cope
Mac was born with a cluster of heart abnormalities called tetralogy of Fallot, the same condition that was diagnosed last year in the infant son of talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel. ...Physicians are increasingly coming up with strategies to help delay or even avoid surgery, such as the valve implant that Mac received. But some patients — especially older ones — never got the message that they need to keep careful tabs on their heart health, said Paula Miller, senior education manager at the Philadelphia-based Adult Congenital Heart Association. (Avril, 3/9)
Boston Globe: Nearly Half Of Patriots On First 3 Super Bowl-Winning Teams Report Brain Injuries
Some 42 of about 100 Patriots who were members of New England’s first three Super Bowl title teams have alleged in a landmark class-action concussion suit against the NFL and the helmet maker Riddell that they have experienced symptoms of brain injuries caused by the repetitive head impacts they absorbed in games and practices. (Hohler, 3/10)
NPR: Drone Delivery For Medical Supplies, Lab Samples And Blood
One shred of solace that surfaced as hurricanes and tropical storms pummeled Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico last fall was the opportunity to see drones realize some of their life-saving potential. During those disasters unmanned aircraft surveyed wrecked roads, bridges and rail lines. They spotted oil and gas leaks. They inspected damaged cell towers that had left thousands unable to call for help. "Drones became a literal lifeline," former Federal Aviation Administration chief Michael Huerta told the agency's drone advisory committee in November. (Landhuis, 3/10)
Kaiser Health News: New Technologies Help Seniors Age In Place — And Not Feel Alone
Nancy Delano, 80, of Denver has no plans to slow down anytime soon. She still drives to movies, plays and dinners out with friends. A retired elder care nurse who lives alone, she also knows that “when you reach a certain age, emergencies can happen fast.” So, when her son, Tom Rogers, talked to her about installing a remote monitoring system, she didn’t hesitate. With motion sensors placed throughout the house, Rogers can see if his mom is moving around, if she’s sleeping (or not), if she forgot to lock the door and, based on a sophisticated algorithm that detects behavioral patterns, whether her activity level or eating habits have changed significantly, for instance. (Redford, 3/12)
NPR: Vanishing Bone: Plastic Was Weakness Of Hip Implants
It all began with a single X-ray. It was 1974, and surgeons had been doing total hip replacements for a dozen years. "Total hip replacement is an absolutely magnificent operation," says Dr. William H. Harris, "and we were able to do remarkable things to restore mobility and relief of pain and the joy of life to countless individuals." (Goldberg, 3/11)
