Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Legal, Ethical Questions Arise Over Patients Who Stop Eating, Drinking To Speed Death
The New York Times: The VSED Exit: A Way To Speed Up Dying, Without Asking Permission
At 91, Ms. Greenfield told her family she was ready to die. ... Then her son-in-law, a family physician who had written such prescriptions for other patients, explained the somewhat involved process: oral and written requests, a waiting period, two physicians’ assent. “I don’t have time for that,” Ms. Greenfield objected. “I’m just going to stop eating and drinking.” In end-of-life circles, this option is called VSED, for voluntarily stopping eating and drinking. It causes death by dehydration, usually within seven to 14 days. (Span, 10/21)
The Washington Post: ‘Like Something Out Of A Horror Movie’: Flesh-Eating Bacteria Infection Kills Man In Four Days
About 80,000 people get some form of vibriosis every year, usually from eating raw or undercooked shellfish, according to the Centers for Disease Control. For most, the worst symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting. Michael Funk was one of the unlucky ones. (Wootson, 10/23)
The New York Times: Should You Let Your Dog Lick Your Face?
It seems harmless enough. You get nose to nose with your dog and talk to it as it laps at your mouth and cheeks with its tongue, or you come home from work and bring your lips to your dog’s in a greeting to say hello. It may feel like the ultimate display of affection, but when it comes to such kisses, experts caution: Beware of dogs. (Mele, 10/21)
Kaiser Health News: Skeptics Question The Value Of Hydration Therapy For The Healthy
Yana Shapiro is a partner at a Philadelphia law firm with an exhausting travel schedule and two boys, ages 9 and 4. When she feels run-down from juggling everything and feels a cold coming on, she books an appointment for an intravenous infusion of water, vitamins and minerals.“ Anything to avoid antibiotics or being out of commission,” the 37-year-old said. After getting a 100-milliliter drip of a liquid the clinic calls immune protection pumped directly into her bloodstream via a needle in her arm, Shapiro said she feels like “a new person.” (English, 10/24)
The Augusta Chronicle: AU Team Tries To Alter Genes To Fight Disease
The AU team has a five-year, $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to build a multi-step process in mice that they hope will correct a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive muscle-destroying disease. The muscles deteriorate because they lack a key element called dystrophin. Scientists located the gene and the mutation that causes it nearly 30 years ago but have been unable to exploit that until very recently, said Dr. Mark Hamrick, Regents' professor of cellular biology and anatomy. The Food and Drug Administration last month approved the first drug to treat muscular dystrophy, but the drug applies only to a particular form of the disease that affects about 13 percent of the patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the agency said. (Corwin, 10/23)
Miami Herald: Zika Virus: Pregnant Couples In Miami-Dade Deal With Danger In Different Ways
In Miami, where the Zika virus continues to be transmitted by mosquitoes, pregnant women are taking all sorts of measures to deal with the potential threat. Some barricade themselves inside, others leave town and a few, like [Sloane] Borr, take other precautions.When she took the photo in September, Borr was trying to be a little light-hearted with her worry about the virus, which can cause microcephaly in fetuses, leaving infants with severe physical and mental disabilities... She fled to Boston to be with family and was tested for Zika by an obstetrician there. The test showed she was Zika-free. (Harris, 10/21)
