Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Experts Skeptical About Much-Hyped Baby Boxes Promising To Reduce SIDS
USA Today: Baby Boxes Are All The Buzz, But Are They Bunk?
If all goes to plan, more than 300,000 infants in the United States will sleep in cardboard boxes before year’s end. That’s according to a Los Angeles-based business called Baby Box Co., which is working with health organizations nationwide to give away thousands of boxes for parents to use as baby beds. It’s part of an educational model aimed at reducing sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, in the United States. But that idea doesn’t rest well with prominent doctors, researchers and organizations focused on SIDS, who characterize the boxes as untested and unregulated for infants. (Hafner, 3/30)
The New York Times: Do DHA Supplements Make Babies Smarter?
Peruse the infant formula aisle, or check out the options for prenatal nutritional supplements, and you’ll find that nearly all these products boast a “brain nourishing” omega-3 fatty acid called DHA. But despite decades of research, it’s still not clear that DHA in formula boosts brain health in babies, or that mothers need to go out of their way to take DHA supplements. (Callahan, 3/30)
The New York Times: Hepatitis Tied To Parkinson’s Risk
Hepatitis infection may increase the risk for Parkinson’s disease, though the reasons for the link remain unknown. British investigators used records of 100,390 patients hospitalized with various forms of hepatitis or H.I.V. from 1999 to 2011. They compared Parkinson’s incidence in these patients with incidence in more than six million people admitted for medical or surgical conditions like cataracts, knee replacement or varicose veins. (Bakalar, 3/30)
NPR: Sepsis Treatment Still Lacks Rigorous Proof, Skeptics Say
The astronomer Carl Sagan said that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Last week, a physician made the extraordinary claim that he had an effective treatment for sepsis, sometimes known as blood poisoning. Sepsis is a bodywide inflammation, usually triggered by infection, and the leading cause of death in hospitals, taking 300,000 lives a year. So, even a 15 percent improvement in survival would save 40,000 lives — the number of Americans who die on the highway each year, or from breast cancer. (Harris, 3/30)
CNN: Study Finds 'Staggering' Rise In Mastectomies In These States
For many, the Fourth of July evokes jovial memories of backyard cookouts and fireworks, but for Amberlea Childs, the summer holiday conjures a haunting memory that changed her life. Childs was diagnosed with breast cancer a day before July Fourth weekend in 2010. She was 36, newly engaged, and had a lump the size of a large walnut in her right breast. She visited a radiologist to get it checked. (Howard, 3/31)
The CT Mirror: ‘Early Intervention Is The Key:’ Identifying Trauma In Young Children
Sometimes, Marjorie Sostak’s son apologizes to her. “Mom, I’m so sorry that you got me for a son and not somebody better,” he’ll tell her. She tells him she wouldn’t trade him or his sister for anything. But she wishes she’d gotten him help sooner. (Becker, 3/30)
WBUR: Transforming Spinach Leaves Into Heart Tissue
You knew that spinach was good for your heart. But researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are now taking spinach leaves and transform them into human heart tissue ... that beats. Scientists used the delicate structure of a spinach leaf as scaffolding to grow a new vascular system, in a marriage of human and plant that, researchers say, could one day be implanted into a damaged human heart. (O'Keefe and Chakrabarti, 3/30)
Iowa Public Radio: Fluorescent Dye, Mouse Brains May Lead Researchers To Better Understanding Of Neurological Diseases
An Iowa State neuroscience lab has discovered a way to study the early stages of protein-misfolding diseases like Parkinson’s or Chronic Wasting Disease, and this may aid the development of new treatments. These diseases are tricky to detect in incubation period. For example if someone has Alzheimer’s, it won’t be apparent that person is sick until they start exhibiting symptoms. (Boden, 3/29)
The New York Times: Soda Or Bear Claw? Panera To Post Added Sugar In Drinks It Sells
Panera Bread appears to be the first major restaurant chain to offer its customers information about the amount of added sugar in the beverages it sells. “We’re going to help you understand that you can have a soft drink, but please know that when you drink it, you may be drinking well in excess of the federal government’s daily recommended allowance of sugar,” said Ron Shaich, the founder and chief executive of Panera. (Strom, 3/31)
