Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Dementia Now Affecting 10% Of Americans Over 65
The Washington Post: One In 10 Older Adults In U.S. Has Dementia, Research Suggests
One in 10 U.S. adults over 65 has dementia, a study suggests, while 1 in 5 has cognitive difficulties. Published Oct. 24 in JAMA Neurology, the research updates 20-year-old estimates of the number of older Americans with dementia and mild cognitive impairment. (Blakemore, 10/31)
The Wall Street Journal: Pig’s Heart Took Longer To Generate A Beat In Transplant Patient
A genetically modified pig heart transplanted into a severely ill person took longer to generate a heartbeat than those of typical pig or human hearts, research showed, another potential challenge for doctors aiming to conduct clinical trials of pig-organ transplants. (Dockser Marcus, 10/31)
The New York Times: Cholera Outbreaks Surge Worldwide As Vaccine Supply Drains
A record number of cholera outbreaks around the globe, driven by droughts, floods and armed conflicts, has sickened hundreds of thousands of people and so severely strained the supply of cholera vaccines that global health agencies are rationing doses. (Nolen, 10/31)
The Washington Post: A New Tool To Help Prevent Malaria Shows Promise: Antibody Drugs
A single dose of an antibody drug provided strong protection against malaria infections during the six-month rainy season in Mali, an international team of researchers announced Monday. The promising result, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, lays the groundwork for a new tool to help defeat a parasitic disease that last year killed more than 600,000 people — mostly children. (Johnson, 10/31)
Axios: Experts: Anesthesia Use Disparities Could Negatively Impact Black Maternal Health
New research showing racial disparities in regional anesthesia use has major implications for Black women — especially in pregnancy and childbirth, medical experts and reproductive health advocates tell Axios. Black women have a long history of experiencing medical maltreatment, the legacy of which remains today in implicit biases and systemic inequities that worsen health outcomes. They are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications compared to white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Chen, 11/1)
CNN: Drinking Caffeine While Pregnant Impacts Child's Height: Study
Starting the day with a hot cup of caffeinated coffee or tea may sound divine to some, but it could have negative impacts for the children of people who are pregnant, according to a new study. Children who were exposed to small amounts of caffeine before birth were found on average to be shorter than the children of people who did not consume caffeine while pregnant, according to the study published Monday in JAMA Network Open. (Holcombe, 10/31)
