Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Eye Drops That Can Replace Reading Glasses Arrive By Prescription
In news about "forever chemicals" —
Philadelphia Inquirer: Willingboro's Drinking Water Exceeded A ‘Forever Chemical’ Standard And A Well Had To Be Closed
The Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority is notifying residents that drinking water recently exceeded a state level set for PFOS, one of the “forever chemicals” that do not break down in the body or environment. The MUA said PFOS was detected at 15 parts per trillion based on a running annual average. The state allowable maximum is 13 ppt. The agency, which also provides water for neighboring Westampton Township, posted the notice Dec. 8 on its website. Officials for the MUA could not be reached immediately Tuesday for comment. (Kummer, 12/14)
AP: 'Forever Chemicals' Found In Some Central Maine Chicken Eggs
Chicken eggs from two homesteads in central Maine contain elevated levels of toxic industrial compounds that are associated with serious health conditions, the state’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has found. The Bangor Daily News reported the egg contamination on Tuesday, just three weeks after authorities said deer harvested by hunters in the same Fairfield area should not be consumed as food because of elevated levels of the compounds. (12/14)
North Carolina Health News: To Understand PFAS, Residents Submit Blood Samples
Hundreds of Pittsboro residents volunteered hours over one weekend last month to be poked, prodded, weighed and measured in an attempt to learn more about the presence of chemicals in their bodies and, by extension, in their water systems. The effort was the latest iteration in what’s become a long-term study of per- and poly-fluoralkyl substances, a class of thousands of chemicals known collectively as PFAS, in North Carolina residents who’ve been exposed via water and, at times, air pollution. (Hoban, 12/15)
In other public health news —
Stat: New High-Dose Treatments For Opioid Overdoses Raise Questions
At a time when a record number of Americans have died from drug overdoses — with the vast majority involving opioids — the recent approval of two new forms of naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses, would seem to be welcomed. Instead, the medicines are opening a fierce debate over whether they could make matters worse. (Farah, 12/15)
CIDRAP: Nebraska Confirms First Locally Acquired Cases Of Lyme Disease
Nebraska health officials yesterday reported the state's first two locally acquired Lyme disease infections and the first detection of Borellia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes the disease, in Nebraska's black-legged tick populations. In a joint statement with other health departments, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) said the two patients were likely exposed around the same time at nearby sites in Thurston County in northeastern Nebraska. (12/14)
NPR: Ex-NFL Player Phillip Adams Who Killed 6 People Had CTE, Doctors Say
A former NFL player who shot and killed six people and then took his own life in April was suffering from a severe medical condition brought on by repeated head trauma, doctors announced Tuesday. Boston University neuropathologists said Phillip Adams had CTE — or chronic traumatic encephalopathy — a degenerative brain disease found in many former football players. "Phillip Adams had an extraordinary amount of CTE pathology in the frontal lobe, the area of the brain behind the forehead. Frontal lobe damage is associated with violent, impulsive or explosive behavior, a 'short fuse,' and lack of self-control," Dr. Ann McKee, director of the Boston University CTE Center, said in a statement. (Hernandez, 12/14)
Also —
CNN: Rocket Scientists And Brain Surgeons Not Necessarily Smarter Than Public, Study Finds
Brain surgeons and rocket scientists are not necessarily smarter than the general public, researchers reported Monday, as they tried to settle the argument of whether the phrase "it's not brain surgery" or "it's not rocket science" is most deserved. Researchers sought to find out if one profession had intellectual superiority, and found they were pretty much equally matched. (Woodyatt, 12/14)
