Families Worried About Alzheimer’s Turn To Expensive PET Scans For Early Diagnosis, But Test Has Downsides, Experts Warn

The New York Times: A Brain Scan May Predict Alzheimer’s. Should You Get One?
Juli Engel was delighted when a neurologist recommended a PET scan to determine whether amyloid — the protein clumps associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease — was accumulating in her mother’s brain. “My internal response was, ‘Yay!’” said Ms. Engel, 65, a geriatric care manager in Austin, Tex., who has been making almost monthly trips to help her mother in Florida. “He’s using every tool to try to determine what’s going on.” (Span, 8/2)

The Washington Post: Racism Has Devastating Effects On Children’s Health, Pediatricians Warn
The nation’s largest group of pediatricians warned this week that racism can have devastating long-term effects on children’s health. A policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics is the first it has issued to its members on the dangers of racism. Doctors involved in the report said the current political and cultural atmosphere makes the work more urgent. (Wan, 8/2)

The New York Times: One In 10 Older Adults Binge Drinks, Study Says
Excessive alcohol consumption is not safe for a person at any age, but it is particularly dangerous for older adults. And according to a study published this week, about one in 10 older adults is considered a binge drinker. “Binge drinking, even episodically or infrequently, may negatively affect other health conditions by exacerbating disease, interacting with prescribed medications and complicating disease management,” said Dr. Benjamin Han, the lead author of the study that was published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. (Rueb, 8/2)

NPR: Public Trust Of Scientists Is On Par With The Military, Poll Finds
In a time of climate change denial and vaccine resistance, scientists worry they are losing public trust. But it's just the opposite, a survey released Friday finds. Public trust of scientists is growing. It's on a par with our trust of the military and far above trust of clergy, politicians and journalists. The survey by the Pew Research Center finds 86% of those surveyed say they have a fair amount or a great deal of faith that scientists act in our best interests. And that's been trending higher — it was 76% in 2016. (Harris, 8/2)

The Washington Post: For People With Disabilities, Finding Stylish Clothing That Works For Them Isn't Easy
After years of seeing her granddaughter in jeans that were too long and too loose, Karen Bowersox searched hard for brands that would work for the girl and others with Down syndrome. None existed. "There was nothing that fit them," said Bowersox, of suburban Cleveland. Convinced that "people with disabilities are a forgotten population in the world," Bowersox, an entrepreneur with "no clue" about the garment industry, spent four years creating Downs Designs pants, "shaped and sized" for children and adults with Down syndrome. (Groer, 8/3)

KCUR: Congress Could Investigate The Deaths Of Young Football Players From Heatstroke 
What began as the tragic death of a young football player at Garden City Community College in western Kansas is now a matter for the United States Congress. The bill filed Friday in the U.S. House would create a commission to prevent "exertional heatstroke deaths among high school and collegiate athletes"— the cause of death for 19-year-old Braeden Bradforth. (Zeff, 8/4)

NPR: Chemical Or Mineral Sunscreen? What To Know About Current Sunscreen Research
When we smear on sunscreen, dermatologist Kanade Shinkai with the University of California San Francisco says, most of us don't think about it getting under our skin. "I think there was an assumption that these are things that we apply to our skin — they don't really get into our bloodstream," Shinkai says. (Neighmond and Neilson, 8/4)

NPR: Pain Relief For Very Sick Kids Is The Focus Of This Quick Response Team
The Benioff Children's Hospital at the University of California, San Francisco is a sleek new building with state-of-the-art facilities — a place where the sickest children go for leading-edge treatments. Which is why it might be surprising to find Robyn Adcock, who practices acupuncture and acupressure walking the halls. (Kodjak, 8/5)

The Washington Post: Today’s Hospitals Discover The Therapeutic Touch Of Art
If the word “hospital” elicits a mental image of sterile rooms and hallways and dreary decor, think again. Modern hospitals have hit on a simple but effective way to foster even more healing: art. It’s a creative approach to an age-old need — and one that’s transforming not just the walls of modern hospitals but the atmosphere in which patients heal. In an engaging feature for Artnet, journalist Menachem Wecker dives into the world of hospital art. (Blakemore, 8/3)

Kaiser Health News: Superstar Athletes Popularize Unproven Stem Cell Procedures
Baseball superstar Max Scherzer — whose back injury has prevented him from pitching for the Washington Nationals since he last played  on July 25 — is the latest in a long list of professional athletes to embrace unproven stem cell injections in an attempt to accelerate their recovery. But many doctors and ethicists worry that pro athletes — who have played a key role in popularizing stem cells — are misleading the public into thinking that the costly, controversial shots are an accepted, approved treatment. (Szabo, 7/5)

Kaiser Health News: Kathy Brandt, A Hospice Expert Who Invited The World Into Her Own Last Days With Cancer, Dies
Kathy Brandt, a hospice industry leader who turned her own terminal cancer diagnosis into a public conversation about choices at the end of life, died Aug. 4. She was 54. Brandt’s death was announced on social media by her wife of nine years, Kimberly Acquaviva, 47, a professor of nursing and author of a book about hospice care for LGBTQ patients and families. “I wanted all of you to know that Kathy had a peaceful death and your love and support is what made that possible,” Acquaviva wrote in comments posted to Facebook. “Our family has felt your love and we can’t begin to tell you how much it’s meant to us.” (Aleccia, 7/5)

The New York Times: Sesame Allergy More Common Than Once Thought, Study Finds
At least one million children and adults in the United States are allergic to sesame, an ingredient used in everything from hummus to snack bars, researchers reported on Friday. The finding indicates that sesame allergy is more prevalent than previously known, although still far less common than peanut allergy. But sesame is not among the allergens that the Food and Drug Administration requires manufacturers to list on food labels. (Athas, 8/2)

The New York Times: Cancer Treatment At The End Of Life
As the elderly man with an incurable cancer lay dying, he told his son he had only one regret. Rather than enjoying his last weeks of life with the people and places he loved, he had squandered them on drug treatments that consumed his days and made him miserable. Perhaps others can benefit from this man’s end-of-life insight. Too often, people with incurable cancers pursue therapy beyond any hope of benefit except perhaps to the pockets of Big Pharma. (Brody, 8/5)