Hot New Cancer Treatments Offer Tantalizing Hope To Patients But Come With Serious Side Effects
Immunotherapy -- using a patient's own immune system to fight cancer -- is sparking a revolution in cancer treatment. But with it comes a whole load of side effects and complications that even doctors can't predict until patients get them. In other public health news: Alzheimer's, hep C, obesity and diabetes, autism and more.
The Washington Post:
New Cancer Treatments Have Perplexing Side Effects
When Diane Legg began seeing black specks in her right eye, she went to an ophthalmologist near her home in Amesbury, Mass. He said she had a torn retina and needed laser surgery. Legg’s oncologist was skeptical. He was worried that Legg had eye inflammation, called uveitis, that was caused by an immunotherapy drug she had been on for advanced lung cancer. If so, Legg needed to get a far different treatment — and quickly — to avoid vision problems or blindness. (McGinley, 1/2)
NPR:
'Much Better Treatment' For Alzheimer's Is 10 Years Away, Scientist Predicts
British neuroscientist Joseph Jebelli first set out to study Alzheimer's because of his grandfather, who developed the disease when Jebelli was 12. In the years that followed, Jebelli watched as his grandfather's memory started to disappear. But Jebelli points out that although a certain amount of memory loss is a natural part of aging, what happened to his grandfather and to other Alzheimer's patients is different. (Gross, 1/2)
NPR:
Retired Doctor Rejoins The Fight To Cure Hepatitis C
When a hepatitis C treatment called Harvoni was released in 2014, Dr. Ronald Cirillo knew it was big. "It's the reason that dragged me out of retirement!" he says. Cirillo specialized in treating hepatitis C for more than 30 years in Stamford, Conn., before retiring to Bradenton, Fla. During his time in Connecticut, the only available treatment for hepatitis C had terrible side effects and it didn't work very well. It cured the viral infection less than half the time. But the newer drugs Harvoni and Solvaldi cure almost everybody, with few adverse reactions. (Ochoa, 1/2)
The New York Times:
Obesity Is The Main Contributor To Diabetes In Blacks And Whites
Type 2 diabetes is almost twice as common in African-Americans as it is in whites. Obesity, rather than racial factors, is to blame, a new study in JAMA reports. Researchers began with 4,251 black and white men and women ages 18 to 30 who were not diabetic. They then followed up with periodic interviews and health examinations over an average of 25 years. Compared to whites, black men were 67 percent more likely, and black women almost three times as likely, to develop diabetes. (Bakalar, 1/2)
NPR:
Diabetes And Baby Formula: Study Finds No Link With Cow's Milk As Ingredient
Could babies be at higher risk of developing Type 1 diabetes from drinking formula made from cow's milk? That idea has been circulating for some time but the evidence has been scant and contradictory. A study published Tuesday makes it seem less likely. There are two types of diabetes, and both are on the rise. It's clear that a major driving force behind the increase of Type 2 diabetes, which mainly affects adults, is the eating habits that are also driving the rise of obesity. (Harris, 1/2)
Los Angeles Times:
Autism Spectrum Disorders Appear To Have Stabilized Among U.S. Kids And Teens
Researchers have a new reason to believe that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in the U.S. has reached a plateau. The evidence comes from the National Health Interview Survey, which polls American households about a variety of conditions. When a participating family includes children, one of those kids is selected at random to be included in the interview. (Kaplan, 1/2)
NPR:
High-Intensity Interval Training And Group Classes Top Fitness Trends
Enough already with the activity trackers and fitness apps. They're so 2017. If you're tired of tech and of exercising solo and are ready to simplify your routine — maybe even join a group exercise class — you'll be in good company this new year. The latest annual survey of fitness professionals suggests 2018 will find more of us ditching the gadgets and getting back to basics in the way we work out: more resistance training, yoga and jump-ropes; fewer earbuds and iWatches. (Neighmond, 1/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Teens Who Start Vaping Are More Likely To End Up Smoking, UCSF Study Finds
Youths who vape are more likely to light up. That’s the conclusion reached by UCSF researchers, who found that using any form of tobacco — including electronic cigarettes, chewing tobacco, water pipes and snuff — makes a teenager more likely to get hooked on conventional cigarettes. (Rubenstein, 1/2)
