Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Rhode Island Expands Stem Cell Therapy For Cancer Patients With New Approval
The Boston Globe: Lifespan Cancer Institute Secures Key Approval For Stem-Cell Therapy For Cancer Patients
The state’s largest health care system received approval to operate an autologous stem-cell therapy program at the Lifespan Cancer Institute at Rhode Island Hospital. The approval, which was granted by the state Health Services Council in an unanimous vote on June 16, will allow patients from the institute who need cancer treatments, such as stem-cell therapy which provides bone marrow transplants for patients undergoing chemotherapy, to receive care with their regular medical team. Rhode Island Hospital is only the second in the state to offer stem-cell therapy. The only other facility providing this treatment is at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence. Rhode Islanders were often also referred to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. (Gagosz, 6/21)
More on stem cell research —
Reuters: Years After Harvard Scandal, U.S. Pours Millions Into Tainted Field
Mario Ricciardi, a young Italian molecular biologist, was thrilled when he was selected to work with one of Harvard Medical School’s most successful stem cell researchers. His new boss, Dr. Piero Anversa, had become famous within the field for his bold findings in 2001 that adult stem cells had special abilities to regenerate hearts or even cure heart disease, the leading cause of U.S. deaths. Millions in U.S. government grants poured into Anversa’s lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Top journals published his papers. And the American Heart Association (AHA) proclaimed him a “research pioneer.” “He was like a god,” recalled Ricciardi, now 39, one of several scientists to speak out for the first time about their experiences in Anversa’s lab. Within a year of Ricciardi’s arrival in 2011, they grew suspicious, the scientists recalled. (Taylor and Heath, 6/21)
In other pharmaceutical and research news —
Axios: Cancer Treatment Tool Gets Major Boost In Funding
A tool used to analyze cancerous tumors based on algorithms built to map distant galaxies is getting a major influx of funding. The imaging platform — called AstroPath — is able to pinpoint how certain tumor cells interact with the body's tissues, allowing doctors to potentially learn more about who might respond well to various treatments. (Kramer and Snyder, 6/21)
The Boston Globe: Startup Will Target Cystic Fibrosis With A New Twist On Gene Therapy
Gene therapy developers rely on hollowed-out viruses to shuttle DNA into the body, where it can treat or potentially even cure a genetic disease. But most of the dozens of companies in the field use just two kinds of viruses for their DNA delivery. Carbon Biosciences hopes to expand that toolbox. The Lexington, Mass., startup launched Tuesday with $38 million in series A financing to create a new class of gene therapies based on parvoviruses — a large family of viruses best known for infecting dogs, but comprised of many little-studied viruses that can infect humans and other animals, too. (Cross, 6/21)
Axios: What Scientists Can Learn From Tracking Disease Outbreaks From Space
Scientists are tracking diseases from space and getting a new view of human health. The proliferation of easy-to-use, relatively cheap and more comprehensive satellite data is allowing researchers to get a holistic view of what's happening on Earth during disease outbreaks and possibly learn how to predict the next one. By keeping an eye from above on changes to vegetation and other ecosystem factors that can lead to outbreaks, researchers are starting to piece together correlations between habitat loss and urbanization, among other factors, and infectious disease. (Kramer, 6/21)
Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Researchers Study Prenatal Care. Here's What They Found
One mother, worried about being perceived as "an angry Black woman," felt she had to "watch my tone," even while in the pain of giving birth. Another, under anesthesia at the time of birth, didn't know who delivered her baby. One woman asked for help after suffering with a cesarean section incision. She was told nothing was wrong and accused of just seeking pain medication. Later, once it got bad enough that she couldn't walk or hold her child, it was discovered her incision was very infected. Louisville researchers were told these and other stories while speaking with recent parents who accessed prenatal care or gave birth in the city. (Ladd, 6/22)
