Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Concerns That Data In Key Alzheimer's Study May Have Been Falsified
The Boston Globe: Key Elements Of Influential Alzheimer’s Study May Have Been Fabricated, Report Says
Now the field of Alzheimer’s research has received another black eye. An investigative report in the journal Science said that an influential paper published in Nature in 2006 allegedly contained fabricated data and that it fueled a popular but unproven theory into the causes of the disease. (Saltzman and Cross, 7/25)
NBC News: Alzheimer's Theory Undermined By Accusations Of Fabricated Research
The findings have thrown skepticism on the work of Sylvain Lesné, a neuroscientist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, and his research, which fueled interest in a specific assembly of proteins as a promising target for treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Lesné didn’t respond to NBC News’ requests for comment, nor did he provide comment to Science magazine. (Bendix and Chow, 7/25)
On covid research developments —
The Atlantic: Could Genetics Be The Key To Never Getting The Coronavirus?
The idea of coronaviral resistance is beguiling enough that scientists around the world are now scouring people’s genomes for any hint that it exists. If it does, they could use that knowledge to understand whom the virus most affects, or leverage it to develop better COVID-taming drugs. For individuals who have yet to catch the contagion—a fast-dwindling proportion of the population—resistance dangles “like a superpower” that people can’t help but think they must have, says Paula Cannon, a geneticist and virologist at the University of Southern California. (Wu, 7/25)
Press Association: Long Covid: Hair Loss, Reduced Sex Drive Among Wider List Of Symptoms In Study
Hair loss and a reduced sex drive are among a wider set of long Covid symptoms than previously thought, new research suggests. The study found that while the most common symptoms include loss of smell, shortness of breath and chest pain, others include amnesia, an inability to perform familiar movements or commands, and hallucinations. (Massey, 7/25)
CIDRAP: Fully Vaccinated COVID-19 Patients Less Likely To Have Heart Attack, Stroke
Fully vaccinated COVID-19 patients in South Korea were less likely than their unvaccinated peers to be hospitalized for a heart attack or ischemic stroke 31 to 120 days after diagnosis, despite being older and having more underlying illnesses, finds a study published late last week in JAMA. (7/25)
CIDRAP: COVID-19 Antivirals May Cut Risk Of Hospitalization, Death
A study today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that use of the oral antiviral drugs molnupiravir and Paxlovid in patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 lowered the risk of hospitalization and death without raising the risk of adverse events. (Van Beusekom, 7/25)
Meanwhile, researchers make progress against the child hepatitis outbreak —
The Wall Street Journal: Mysterious Hepatitis Cases In Children May Have Complex Cause
An international effort to find the cause of mysterious hepatitis cases among children in dozens of countries yielded a new hypothesis on Monday, with research now suggesting that the cases were caused by a pair of viruses working in concert to trigger the liver inflammation in children with a certain genetic susceptibility. (Roland, 7/25)
Reuters: Studies Find More Clues To Potential Cause Of Severe Hepatitis Cases In Children
Studies led by University of Glasgow and Great Ormond Street Hospital in London have suggested that another common virus, adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2), was present in most cases, and is likely involved in the rare but severe liver complications. The studies were posted on pre-print servers ahead of peer review. (Rigby, 7/25)
In news on other research not related to covid —
USA Today: Is Napping Bad For You? Naps Linked To High Blood Pressure, Stroke
Frequent or even usual napping during the day was linked with an elevated risk of developing high blood pressure and having a stroke, according to a new study. The peer-reviewed study, published Monday in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, found that frequent or usual daytime napping in adults “was associated with a 12% higher risk of developing high blood pressure and a 24% high risk of having a stroke compared to never napping,” according to a news release Monday. (Pitofsky, 7/25)
CNN: Highly Potent Weed Creating Marijuana Addicts Worldwide, Study Says
Higher concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC -- the part of the marijuana plant that makes you high -- are causing more people to become addicted in many parts of the world, a new review of studies found. (LaMotte, 7/25)
CIDRAP: VA Intervention Linked To Better Treatment For Asymptomatic Bacteriuria
An antibiotic stewardship intervention for asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) was associated with a reduction in urine cultures and antibiotic use at four Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, researchers reported today in JAMA Network Open. (7/25)
