Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Celebrities Advocating For Questionable Medicine Plagues Health Professionals
The Associated Press: Medical Community Is Fighting A New Germ: Celebrities
When celebrity and science collide, harmful side effects may occur. The latest case happened last weekend when the Tribeca Film Festival pulled a documentary from its program by a discredited former doctor whose research into the connection between vaccines and autism has been debunked. After festival co-founder Robert De Niro initially defended the film's inclusion, Tribeca -- facing an uproar from doctors and experts -- pulled it. ... The episode is only the latest instance of the medical community being forced to combat the influence of a celebrity promoting questionable science. It has particularly bedeviled questions over vaccinations, beginning with the anti-vaccination advocacy of TV personality Jenny McCarthy. (Coyle, 3/30)
NPR: Possible Heart Benefits Of Taking Estrogen Get Another Look
In the 1980s and '90s, many doctors told women going through menopause that they should take female hormones — estrogen and progestin — to alleviate symptoms like hot flashes and sleep problems. The hormone therapy was thought to have other benefits, too, like preventing broken bones, colon cancer and heart attacks. But in 2002, a bombshell hit. The Women's Health Initiative, a long-term health study with thousands of participants, showed that not only did the hormone therapy not ease those serious health problems but likely did some harm — putting women at a higher risk of heart disease, stroke and breast cancer. (Bichell, 3/30)
NPR: Study: Prolonged Antibiotic Treatment Gave No Relief For Lasting Lyme Symptoms
For some people with Lyme disease, the illness seems to take a lasting toll. Years after a standard two-week course of antibiotics against Borrellia burgdorferi or closely related organisms that cause the disease, these patients remain exhausted and foggy-headed. They suffer from chronic aches and pains and poor sleep. In the last decade and a half, medical societies and some patient groups have fought over how to treat these people and also over the reasons why they don't get better. (Chen, 3/30)
