Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Invention To Stop Blood Loss, Born On The Battlefield, Could Save Lives Of Civilians In Trauma Cases
The New York Times: Inspired By War Zones, Balloon Device May Save Civilians From Fatal Blood Loss
A high school senior mowed down by a car with other pedestrians in last month’s Times Square attack was hemorrhaging internally and transfusions could not keep up with the blood loss. Doctors and nurses at NYC Health & Hospitals/Bellevue raced to save the student, Jessica Williams of Dunellen, N.J., who suffered severe injuries to her legs, abdomen and pelvis. But her pulse skyrocketed to 150. Her blood pressure dropped to 40/30. “She was about to go into cardiac arrest,” said Dr. Marko Bukur, a trauma surgeon. (Grady, 6/19)
Stat: Psst, The Human Genome Was Never Completely Sequenced
What insiders know, however, is not well-understood by the rest of us, who take for granted that each A, T, C, and G that makes up the DNA of all 23 pairs of human chromosomes has been completely worked out. When scientists finished the first draft of the human genome, in 2001, and again when they had the final version in 2003, no one lied, exactly. FAQs from the National Institutes of Health refer to the sequence’s “essential completion,” and to the question, “Is the human genome completely sequenced?” they answer, “Yes,” with the caveat — that it’s “as complete as it can be” given available technology. (Begley, 6/20)
Stat: Can Zika Virus Infection Attack The Brains Of Newborns?
Zika infection in the womb can damage a fetal brain. But can the insidious virus also attack the still-developing brains of newborns? The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said Monday that scientists would try to answer that question by carrying out the first large such study to be funded by the agency. Several hundred infants in Guatemala, where Zika is still circulating, will be examined for at least a year and will be compared with another group of children younger than 5. (Branswell, 6/19)
NPR: Back Pain Got You Down? Yoga Is A Good Alternative To Physical Therapy
If you're tired of popping pain medicine for your lower back pain, yoga may be a good alternative. New research finds that a yoga class designed specifically for back pain can be as safe and effective as physical therapy in easing pain. The yoga protocol was developed by researchers at Boston Medical Center with input from yoga teachers, doctors and physical therapists. (Aubrey, 6/20)
San Jose Mercury News: Facebook's High-Stakes Dilemma Over Suicide Videos
Social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter’s Periscope have made videos simpler for people to share online, but now these companies are in a race against time to respond quickly to posts depicting self harm — before they go viral. Balancing the risks of suicide contagion with free speech, newsworthiness and other factors, these companies’ complex decisions to leave a video up or pull it down can mean the difference between life and death for people attempting suicide. (Wong, 6/19)
Health News Florida: Researcher: Election Stress Can Impact Health
The 2016 presidential election generated a lot of stress. But for those in ethnic and religious groups in the middle of the debate, the stress could be affecting their health. David R. Williams is a Harvard professor of public health who recently published an article on the subject in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Ochoa, 6/19)
NPR: 'Scientist-Patient' And Her Husband Race To Find A Cure For Her Rare Brain Disease
In 2010, Sonia Vallabh watched her mom, Kamni Vallabh, die in a really horrible way. First, her mom's memory started to go, then she lost the ability to reason. Sonia says it was like watching someone get unplugged from the world. By the end, it was as if she was stuck between being awake and asleep. She was confused and uncomfortable all the time. "Even when awake, was she fully or was she really? And when asleep, was she really asleep?" says Sonia. The smart, warm, artistic Kamni – just 51 years old — was disappearing into profound dementia. (Bichell, 6/19)
NPR: Half Of People Surveyed Don't Know Where To Find The Defibrillator At Work
Do you know where your workplace's automated external defibrillator is located? About half of all U.S. employees don't, according to the results of an American Heart Association survey. The survey also found that workers in the hospitality and service industry, which includes hotels and restaurants, were less likely to know the location of their workplace's AED. About 66 percent of them didn't know where it was. Workers in schools and other education facilities were the most likely to be able to find it: About 61 percent said they knew the AED's location. (Columbus, 6/19)
The Star Tribune: Meal Sizes, Sugary Drinks Closely Linked To Childhood Obesity
Fulkerson's research started five years ago with a comparison of 160 families, half of whom received training called HOME Plus, which involved 10 monthly family counseling and meal-planning sessions, as well as five telephone calls to help parents set healthy goals... Following up on the study results and figuring out which counseling messages had the greatest impact was critical, Fulkerson said, before some version of the HOME Plus training could be offered clinically to families outside of controlled research. (Olson, 6/19)
Tampa Bay Times: Researchers: Coconut Oil May Not Be As Healthy As You Think
The substance, often lauded to ease digestion, boost metabolism and promote weight loss overall, has been unveiled by a June 15 American Heart Association report to be anything but heart healthy. In the report, the AHA says that coconut oil is almost made entirely of saturated fat — 82 percent, to be exact. (Putterman, 6/19)
The New York Times: The High-Tech Device That’s Like A Bouncer For Mosquitoes
Dotted around Houston, hidden in overgrown backyards and piles of old tires, are what look like 10 tiny models of Hollywood’s iconic Capitol Records building. They are full of recording gear, but not to capture the vocals of Frank Sinatra or the Beastie Boys. These high-tech devices catch mosquitoes — though not in big batches, like typical traps. They catch them one by one, each in its own compartment, after inspecting each mosquito’s wing beats to be sure it’s a species that researchers want. (McNeil, 6/19)
