Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Critics Slam Stem Cell Clinics As Predatory And Exploitative, But There's Little Being Done To Regulate Them
The Washington Post: Miracle Cures Or Modern Quackery? Stem Cell Clinics Multiply, With Heartbreaking Results For Some Patients.
Doris Tyler lay on the examining table as the doctor stuck a long, thin tube into her belly. The doctor pulled back a plunger, and the syringe quickly filled with yellow blobs tinged with pink. “Look at that beautiful fat coming out. Liquid gold!” one of the clinic’s staff exclaimed in a video of the procedure provided to The Washington Post. Hidden in that fat were stem cells with the amazing power to heal, the Stem Cell Center of Georgia had told Tyler. The clinic is one of hundreds that have popped up across the country, many offering treatments for conditions from Parkinson’s disease to autism to multiple sclerosis. (McGinley and Wan, 4/29)
The Washington Post: Stroke Symptoms And Prevention, In Time For Stroke Awareness Month
How stroke-aware are you? Perhaps you know the warning signs — sudden numbness on one side of the body, trouble speaking, sudden blurred vision, trouble walking — or know someone who has experienced a stroke. There’s never a bad time to brush up on stroke awareness, and May — National Stroke Awareness Month — is a good time to get up to speed. (Blakemore, 4/28)
The Wall Street Journal: Banks, Credit-Card Companies Explore Ways To Monitor Gun Purchases
Banks and credit-card companies are discussing ways to identify purchases of guns in their payment systems, a move that could be a prelude to restricting such transactions, according to people familiar with the talks. The discussions are preliminary but could be deeply controversial. Gun-rights groups have long resisted any effort to monitor which Americans own guns; there are federal laws limiting the government’s use of electronic databases of gun sales. (Andriotis, Demos and Glazer, 4/30)
NPR: Gaps In Emergency Care For Patients With Mental Health Issues
A viral video from Baltimore is drawing attention to a crisis that's unfolding in emergency rooms across the country: Surging numbers of patients with psychiatric conditions aren't receiving the care they need. On a cold night in January, a man walking by a downtown Baltimore hospital saw something that shocked him. He started recording the incident on his phone. Imamu Baraka's video, which has been viewed more than 3 million times, shows security guards walking away from a bus stop next to the emergency room of University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus. (Kennedy, 4/29)
The Washington Post: Is Banking A Newborn's Umbilical Cord Blood A Good Idea?
How should parents decide whether to put their baby’s blood on ice, either for their own family’s future use or as a donation for the greater good? It’s a tricky calculation, one that changes based on a family’s risk threshold, dreams for the future and, of course, money. In 2015, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists put out an opinion that, at this point, the science doesn’t support routine cord blood banking. “The routine storage of umbilical cord blood as ‘biologic insurance’ against future disease is not recommended,” the authors of that opinion write. (Sanders, 4/28)
The Washington Post: Some People Do Better Exercising At A Low-Intensity Pace
Liz Wolfert seemed a picture of health. The Denver-based financial consultant rode her bike to work, climbed “14ers” — mountains that rise more than 14,000 feet above sea level — took kung fu lessons and swam. But in 2015, at age 32, she learned that she had elevated blood glucose levels, a possible sign of pre-diabetes. Wolfert’s first instinct was to work out harder and faster. But she soon learned that she needed to do the opposite: slow down and exercise at a much easier pace. (Loudin, 4/29)
The Washington Post: Tumor On Her Baby's Heart Forced Pregnant Mom To Make Risky Choice
Alysha Kellner was 23 weeks pregnant when she learned last year that her baby had a rare, fast-growing tumor on her heart that might require surgery while still inside the womb. It was earth-shattering news that didn’t stop there. Fetal surgery to remove this type of tumor had been done successfully just three times in the world and had never even been attempted by Kellner’s doctors at Children’s Minnesota. (Sohn, 4/29)
The Washington Post: A Mother Was Diagnosed With A Deadly Rodent-Borne Virus, Family Says. Months Later, She Died.
No one seemed to know what was wrong with Kiley Lane. For weeks, the 27-year-old had been suffering severe pain and swelling in her abdomen, telling doctors, nurses and loved ones that she felt as if she had a seat belt stretched across her stomach. Lane, from Aztec, a small town in New Mexico not far from the Four Corners, went to a nearby emergency room again and again and again. (Bever, 4/27)
San Jose Mercury News: A Push For Mental Health Care At Colleges: Depression And Anxiety ‘Really Eat Up Our Kids’
As the stigma attached to mental health care fades, California students are increasingly clamoring for more on-campus services that can help them cope with anxiety, depression and the stresses of a contentious political climate and rising living expenses. Several bills pending in the California Legislature would set aside resources for mental health care at the state’s public colleges and universities. (Mello, 4/29)
WBUR: Probiotics For Babies And Kids? New Research Explores Good Bacteria
At UC Davis Children's Hospital, all preemies born under a certain birth weight are now given probiotics. It's become a common practice in other countries including Australia, Japan, Sweden and Finland, Underwood says, but in the U.S., giving probiotics to preemies is controversial, with some doctors calling for more research. (Aubrey, 4/30)
