Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Embarrassing' Shortage Of Research On People Who Overcome Depression Stymies Progress On Effective Treatments
The New York Times: What’s Life Like After Depression? Surprisingly, Little Is Known
A generation ago, depression was viewed as an unwanted guest: a gloomy presence that might appear in the wake of a loss or a grave disappointment and was slow to find the door. The people it haunted could acknowledge the poor company — I’ve been a little depressed since my father died — without worrying that they had become chronically ill. (Carey, 10/22)
Stat: Ebola Response Teams Struggling To Track Those Who Need To Be Vaccinated
The Ebola response teams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are having increasing trouble keeping track of where the virus is spreading, a problem that threatens containment efforts and undermines the effectiveness of the vaccination program there. Public health officials had been hopeful that an experimental vaccine could help curb the spread of the outbreak. But, for that to happen, response teams must be able to identify people who have been in contact with Ebola patients. Persistent violence in the outbreak zone has made that hard to do. (Branswell, 10/23)
The New York Times: Microplastics Find Their Way Into Your Gut, A Pilot Study Finds
In the next 60 seconds, people around the world will purchase one million plastic bottles and two million plastic bags. By the end of the year, we will produce enough bubble wrap to encircle the Equator 10 times. Though it will take more than 1,000 years for most of these items to degrade, many will soon break apart into tiny shards known as microplastics, trillions of which have been showing up in the oceans, fish, tap water and even table salt. Now, we can add one more microplastic repository to the list: the human gut. (Quenqua, 10/22)
Los Angeles Times: Can Organic Food Help You Reduce Your Risk Of Cancer? A New Study Suggests The Answer May Be Yes
To reduce your risk of cancer, you know you should quit smoking, exercise regularly, wear sunscreen, and take advantage of screening tests. New research suggests another item might be added to this list: Choose organic foods over conventional ones. A study of nearly 70,000 French adults who were tracked for an average of 4.5 years found that those who ate the most organic foods were less likely to develop certain kinds of cancer than the people who ate the least. (Kaplan, 10/22)
The New York Times: Lavender’s Soothing Scent Could Be More Than Just Folk Medicine
Lavender bath bombs; lavender candles; deodorizing lavender sachets for your shoes, car or underwear drawer; lavender diffusers; lavender essential oils; even lavender chill pills for humans and dogs. And from Pinterest: 370 recipes for lavender desserts. Take a deep breath. Release. (Klein, 10/23)
The Wall Street Journal: Take Two Aspirin—And A Serving Of Kale
Some hospital patients are heading home with a sheaf of prescriptions—and a bag of spinach and spaghetti squash. Invoking the mantra that food is medicine, hospitals across the country are taking measures to prevent and treat illness through diet. To nudge patients into eating well at home, they have opened food pantries that offer nutrition counseling and healthful fare. They are growing their own produce, adding farmers to the payroll and hosting greenmarkets. A few are even tiptoeing into the grocery business. (Lagnado, 10/22)
The New York Times: A Centennial Of Death: The Great Influenza Pandemic Of 1918
Flu season is coming and flu shot season is here. I teach in a journalism institute, and when I was doing my stint as director, welcoming the new graduate students in the fall, I always used to urge they get flu shots: You’ll be wandering all over the city, I would tell them, you’ll be interviewing people, you’ll be using communal keyboards — whatever else you do, get a flu shot. (Klass, 10/22)
North Carolina Health News: Flavors In E-Cigarettes Pose Dangers To Lungs, Duke Researchers Find
Crème brûlée, mango, pumpkin spice. Those aren’t ice cream options, but flavors commonly added to a combination of liquidized nicotine, flavor additives and solvents that e-cigarette users pull into their lungs through devices that heat and vaporize the mixture. (Ovaska-Few, 10/22)
