Cheaper and Easier To Find Than Opioids, Meth Is Making A Comeback
Drugs tend to go in cycles, and although meth may seem like a thing of the past, it turns out it was only on hiatus. In other public health news: antibiotics, ovarian cancer, fertility, autism, high blood sugar and memory, the science of love, and more.
The New York Times:
Meth, The Forgotten Killer, Is Back. And It’s Everywhere.
They huddled against the biting wind, pacing from one corner to another hoping to score heroin or pills. But a different drug was far more likely to be on offer outside the train station downtown, where homeless drug users live in tents pitched on the sidewalk. “Everybody has meth around here — everybody,” said Sean, a 27-year-old heroin user who hangs out downtown and gave only his first name. “It’s the easiest to find.” (Robles, 2/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
Scientists Unearth Hope For New Antibiotics
In a bag of backyard dirt, scientists have discovered a powerful new group of antibiotics they say can wipe out many infections in lab and animal tests, including some microbes that are resistant to most traditional antibiotics. Researchers at Rockefeller University in New York reported the discovery of the new antibiotics, called malacidins, on Monday in the journal Nature Microbiology. (Hotz, 2/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
Ovarian Cancer Doesn’t Begin In The Ovaries, Researchers Say
A growing body of evidence suggests that ovarian cancer begins in the fallopian tubes and not the ovaries, giving researchers hope for developing better strategies to prevent and detect the deadly cancer. Among women with cancer, ovarian cancer is the fifth-leading cause of death, killing 14,000 American women a year. With no real way to screen for it, it usually isn’t diagnosed until it has spread and is in the later stages. (Reddy, 2/12)
The New York Times:
American Fertility Is Falling Short Of What Women Want
America’s fertility is in precipitous decline. Our team of forecasters at Demographic Intelligence projects 3.84 million births in 2017, down from about 3.95 million in 2016. And it’s likely to fall further — far short of what women themselves say they want for their family size. (Stone, 2/13)
CNN:
Ultrasound Exams Associated With Autism In Study, Others Say No
Ultrasound exams during pregnancy are common. And researchers have now looked at whether a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder is more likely among children exposed to this technology in the womb. There is no association between the number or duration of prenatal ultrasounds and a later diagnosis of autism in the child, according to a new study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. (Scutti, 2/12)
The New York Times:
High Blood Sugar Levels Tied To Memory Decline
Increasing blood sugar levels are associated with cognitive decline, a long-term study has found. Researchers assessed cognitive function in 5,189 people, average age 66, and tested their blood sugar using HbA1c, a test that accurately measures blood glucose levels over a period of weeks or months. (The finger-prick blood test, in contrast, gives a reading only at a given moment in time.) They followed the group for up to 10 years, tracking blood glucose levels and periodically testing cognitive ability. The study is in the journal Diabetologia. (Bakalar, 2/12)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Caregivers Struggle To Find Time For Balance, Health In Their Own Lives
What happens to those to who care for others? How do people find balance if they have jobs, children and now aging parents to look after as well? It’s pretty easy to put their own health and wellness needs lower and lower on their list of priorities as the external demands get greater and greater. (Nickel, 2/12)
NPR:
A Song Explains Love's Science
Love is complicated, scientifically speaking. There's no single, specific "love chemical" that surges through our bodies when we see our beloved, and we can't point to a specific corner of the brain where love resides. Still, scientists have measured real changes in our bodies when we fall in love: an ebb and flow of signaling molecules. In that early lustful phase, sex hormones like testosterone fuel the libido (in both men and women). The dopamine highs of new attraction have been compared by some scientists to the effects of cocaine use. (Cole and Kellman, 2/13)
CNN:
Parents Want Court To Prevent Transgender Teen Having Hormone Treatment
An Ohio court will decide the fate of a transgender teen who is in what the judge describes as a "gut-wrenching situation." The 17-year-old identifies as a boy. Neither he nor his family can be named, according to court instructions. The teen's parents want court authority to stop their child from getting the treatment and therapy that was recommended by his medical team in what it characterizes as a possible life-or-death situation. (Christensen, 2/13)
The Washington Post:
Foreign Accent Syndrome: American Woman Says She Woke Up Sounding British
Michelle Myers's accent is global, but she has never left the country. The Arizona woman says she has gone to bed with extreme headaches in the past and woke up speaking with what sounds like a foreign accent. At various points, Australian and Irish accents have inexplicably flowed from her mouth for about two weeks, then disappeared, Myers says. (Horton, 2/12)
The Washington Post:
This Woman Is First Human Infected With Rare Eye Worm
Abby Beckley thought her left eye was irritated because of a stray eyelash. She rubbed her eye, flushed it with water, but when the discomfort remained, she peered into the mirror. She thought she saw a piece of clear fuzz. She pinched it with her fingers and pulled it out. It was a worm. About half-inch long, translucent and threadlike. “It was alive and squiggling around,” she recalled. (Sun, 2/12)
