Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Is DNA Testing For Health Adults Actually A Good Idea? These Scientists Don't Think So
Stat: Genome Sequencing Raises Alarms While Offering Patients Few Benefits
For all the promises of genomics ushering in a new era in medicine, with scientists regularly urging people to get their DNA sequenced, it appears that the revolution will be postponed: A first-of-its-kind study published Monday found that most of the adults who underwent genome sequencing and were told they had a disease-causing DNA variant did not in fact have that disease. And few of them got information that improved their health. (Begley, 6/26)
NPR: Whole Genome Tests' Risks And Benefits
Advances in technology have made it much easier, faster and less expensive to do whole genome sequencing — to spell out all three billion letters in a person's genetic code. Falling costs have given rise to speculation that it could soon become a routine part of medical care, perhaps as routine as checking your blood pressure. But will such tests, which can be done for as little as $1,000, prove useful, or needlessly scary? (Stein, 6/26)
The New York Times: The Lab Says It’s Cancer. But Sometimes The Lab Is Wrong.
It was the sort of bad news every patient fears. Merlin Erickson, a 69-year-old retired engineer in Abingdon, Md., was told last year that a biopsy of his prostate was positive for cancer. Mr. Erickson, worried, began investigating the options: whether to have his prostate removed, or perhaps to have radiation treatment. But a few days later, the doctor called again. (Kolata, 6/26)
The New York Times: Unauthorized Immigrants Steer Clear Of Medical Care
Dr. Luke Smith drove slowly through the unlit streets of a neighborhood filled with immigrants, searching for an address among small houses with windows ribbed by iron bars. Pharmacy bags lay at his feet.His mission: to deliver medication to patients too frightened to pick up their prescriptions. (Hoffman, 6/26)
Bloomberg: How Baking Soda Could Help Fight Deadly Superbugs
A big hurdle to developing new treatments is that there can be a big gap between a drug’s effectiveness in the laboratory, compared with the complexity of the human body. Several research labs have recently uncovered ways bacteria can elude the standard test, making invulnerable microbes appear susceptible to treatment. But in a new study in mice, scientists at the University of California-Santa Barbara may have hit on a way to make the test more accurate, and it involves using the most pedestrian of household items. They took the standard antibiotic susceptibility test and added sodium bicarbonate, a chemical better known as baking soda. In addition to that small box containing it in the back of your refrigerator, it’s also found in human tissue—so researchers hypothesized that using it to test superbugs would better simulate how they behave in humans. (Tozzi, 6/27)
NPR: More Health Problems Reported With Skin And Hair Products
We rub, pour, sprinkle and spray them all over our bodies, so you'd hope cosmetics would undergo serious safety oversight before they get into our hands. But in fact, the cosmetics industry is largely self-regulated, with no requirements for approval before going on the market. And once on the market, there are few systems in place to monitor the safety of personal care products. (Higa, 6/26)
The New York Times: U.S. Malaria Donations Saved Almost 2 Million African Children
Over the last decade, American donations to fight malaria in Africa have saved the lives of nearly two million children, according to a new analysis of mortality rates in 32 countries there. The study, published by PLOS Medicine this month, looked at the long-term effects of the President’s Malaria Initiative, a program started by President George W. Bush in 2005 that has spent over $500 million a year since 2010. (McNeil, 6/26)
The Washington Post: Teenagers Are As Sedentary As 60-Year-Olds By Age 19
The adolescent years are when people's bodies are supposed to start the ascent to their physical peak. Teenagers are growing like beanstalks. Their hormones are raging. They're eager for new experiences. By all accounts, this should be among the most active periods in a person's lifetime. Except it turns out it's not. (Cha, 6/26)
