Increasing Number Of HIV Patients Over Age Of 50 Is Shifting Concerns About Care
People who are older when the disease is diagnosed tend to be sicker. Also in public health developments, news reports today focus on electroconvulsive therapy for depression and regulations for restaurant calorie counts.
The Washington Post:
The Graying Of HIV: 1 In 6 New U.S. Cases Are People Older Than 50
Thousands of people 50 and older are diagnosed with HIV each year in the United States, a development that has significant consequences for the health care and social support they need and the doctors, counselors and others who provide it. Older people tend to be sicker when the infection is finally discovered. They usually have other health conditions that accompany aging and often are too embarrassed to reveal their illness to family and friends. (Bernstein, 4/6)
STAT:
Psychiatric Shock Therapy, Long Controversial, May Face Fresh Restrictions
Federal regulators are poised to enact new restrictions on psychiatry’s most controversial treatment, electroconvulsive therapy, which treats people with acute mental illnesses by sending a seizure-inducing jolt of electricity through their brains. A draft rule under consideration at the Food and Drug Administration would reclassify ECT as safe and effective — and only moderately risky — for adults with severe depression who haven’t responded to medication or other therapies. (Graham, 4/6)
The Associated Press:
Subway Posting Calories Nationally As Regulation Lags
Subway is moving ahead and posting calorie counts on menu boards nationally despite another delay in a federal rule requiring the information. The sandwich chain says its new menu boards with calorie counts are already rolling out around the country and should be up in all 27,000 of its U.S. stores by April 11. The decision to forge ahead comes as restaurant chains have awaited the Food and Drug Administration's final guidance and enforcement of a rule requiring food sellers with 20 or more locations to post the information. ... As part of the federal health care overhaul, a rule was passed in 2010 requiring major chains to post calorie counts on menus with the goal of helping Americans make better food choices. (Choi, 4/5)