Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mozart Sonata Helps Treat Epilepsy; Pufferfish Toxin May Help Lazy Eye
Stat: New Study Revives A Mozart Sonata As A Potential Epilepsy Therapy
Could this be the return of the “Mozart effect”? In 1993, researchers reported that after college students listened to a particular Mozart piano sonata for 10 minutes, they showed better spatial reasoning skills than they did after listening to relaxation instructions designed to lower blood pressure — or to nothing at all. And their IQ scores jumped by 8 or 9 points in what became known as the Mozart effect. Even though the benefits were hard to reproduce (and wore off within minutes), the fad of Mozart for babies’ brain development was born. (Cooney, 9/16)
NPR: Pufferfish Toxin Holds Clues To Treating 'Lazy Eye' In Adults
A treatment that simulates the loss of an eye may help adults with the vision impairment known as amblyopia or "lazy eye." Studies in mice and cats suggest that the approach allows the brain to rewire in a way that restores normal vision, a team reports this week in the journal eLife. "It's as if you've turned back the clock to a period of early development," says Mark Bear, Picower professor of neuroscience at MIT, and coauthor of the study. The result is likely to make other scientists "start to rethink what sort of visual experience can retrain the visual system in adulthood," says Steven Grieco, a postdoctoral fellow in anatomy and neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine. (Hamilton, 9/15)
AP: Body Composting A 'Green' Alternative To Burial, Cremation
In a suburban Denver warehouse tucked between an auto repair shop and a computer recycling business, Seth Viddal is dealing with life and death. He and one of his employees have built a “vessel” they hope will usher in a more environmentally friendly era of mortuary science that includes the natural organic reduction of human remains, also known as body composting. (Peipert, 9/16)
USA Today: Only 9 Childhood Diseases Get More Than Half Of NIH Funding For Research, Study Shows: 'There's A Real Imbalance'
The ongoing COVID-19 vaccine trials in children has showed research in adults cannot be directly translated to kids, and the concept applies to other conditions and treatments in the pediatric field. “If there's one thing that the pediatricians banged into my head, it’s that children are not little adults,” Food and Drug Administration’s Dr. Peter Marks told USA TODAY last week. That’s why health experts are calling for more funding of pediatric diseases, especially after a study found the money going toward these conditions may not be allocated appropriately. (Rodriguez, 9/17)
