Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hairy Skin Moles Could Hint At Route To Baldness Treatment: Study
NBC News: Skin Moles That Grow Hair May Offer Treatment For Baldness, Study Suggests
Unsightly skin moles may offer a possible avenue to treat hair loss, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature. For nearly a decade, scientists at the University of California, Irvine have been studying skin moles to understand why they produce such long hairs. Their new paper shows that such moles contain particular molecules that promote hair growth. (Bendix, 6/24)
On race and health —
NBC News: Black Veterans Are Denied VA Health Benefits More Often Than White Veterans, New Data Shows
Black veterans who ask the Department of Veterans Affairs for physical or mental health benefits are less likely to get them than their white counterparts, according to new data compiled by the VA. In fiscal year 2023, 84.8% of all Black veterans who applied for physical or mental health benefits were given assistance by the VA, compared to 89.4% of their white counterparts who applied. The VA data includes information dating back to fiscal year 2017, which shows that white veterans have had a higher grant rate than their Black counterparts every year. (Kube, 6/23)
KFF Health News: ‘We’re Not Doing That’: Why A Black Couple Wouldn’t Crowdfund To Pay Off Medical Debts
When Kristie Fields was undergoing treatment for breast cancer nine years ago, she got some unsolicited advice at the hospital: Share your story on the local news, a nurse told her. Viewers would surely send money. Fields, a Navy veteran and former shipyard worker, was 37 and had four kids at home. The food processing plant where her husband worked had just closed. And Fields’ medical care had left the family thousands of dollars in debt. (Levey, 6/26)
In other health and wellness news —
USA Today: Wake-Up Call: Reduce Cholesterol To Prevent Heart Attack And Stroke In People At High Risk
A new study reinforces the importance of lowering cholesterol in people at risk for, but who haven't had a heart attack or stroke. The study looked at a statin alternative, called bempedoic acid, and found that as it reduced levels of LDL cholesterol, it also lowered the risk for heart attack, stroke and death. Researchers are quick to say bempedoic acid shouldn't be used instead of statins. (Weintraub, 6/24)
Stat: ‘I Felt Like I Was Dying’: How Women With Postpartum Depression Fall Through The Cracks Of U.S. Health Care
Five and a half months after Kristina Dulaney had her second daughter, she developed postpartum psychosis. One day, she spontaneously quit her job as a nurse — which she doesn’t remember doing. Soon after, she began to quote scripture, grabbed her kids, and begged God to save them all. Then she passed out, and her husband called 911. Dulaney spent two nights in a behavioral health emergency room before being sent to a general inpatient unit that had both men and women in Greensboro, N.C. There, she had a round-the-clock sitter with her to keep her safe. She wasn’t allowed off the floor at all. For two weeks, she didn’t see her kids or go outside. (Gammon, 6/26)
KFF Health News: E-Cigs Are Still Flooding The US, Addicting Teens With Higher Nicotine Doses
When the FDA first asserted the authority to regulate e-cigarettes in 2016, many people assumed the agency would quickly get rid of vapes with flavors like cotton candy, gummy bears, and Froot Loops that appeal to kids. Instead, the FDA allowed all e-cigarettes already on the market to stay while their manufacturers applied for the OK to market them. Seven years later, vaping has ballooned into an $8.2 billion industry, and manufacturers are flooding the market with thousands of products — most sold illegally and without FDA permission — that can be far more addictive. (Szabo, 6/26)
Reuters: Get Cancer Checks, UK's Sarah Ferguson Urges After Revealing Own Surgery
Britain's Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has urged people to make sure they have checks for cancer after disclosing she has undergone surgery herself for the disease. Ferguson, 63, the ex-wife of King Charles' brother Prince Andrew, had successful surgery after breast cancer showed up in a routine mammogram screening, her spokesman said on Sunday, with her prognosis said to be good. (6/26)
