Nobel Prize Winning Economist Develops Kidney Transplant ‘Chains’ That Are Saving Lives
Nobel laureate Alvin Roth deserves much of the credit for coming up with a solution for increasing the number of donors and getting people off dialysis sooner. Other public health news focuses on self-harming images; Duchenne muscular dystrophy; hangover prevention; cocktail safety; living alone; breast implants and more.
PBS NewsHour:
How An Economist’s Idea To Create Kidney Transplant Chains Has Saved Lives
What happens if you need a kidney transplant and don’t know someone who is a biological match? A Nobel prize-winning economist has a solution: transplant chains. Donors agree to give to a stranger in exchange for a kidney for their loved one, but it has to start with someone willing to give without getting anything in return. (Solman, 2/7)
The New York Times:
Instagram Bans Graphic Images Of Self-Harm After Teenager’s Suicide
Instagram announced on Thursday that it would no longer allow graphic images of self-harm, such as cutting, on its platform. The change appears to be in response to public attention to how the social network might have influenced a 14-year-old’s suicide. In a statement explaining the change, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, made a distinction between graphic images about self-harm and nongraphic images, such as photos of healed scars. Those types of images will still be allowed, but Instagram will make them more difficult to find by excluding them from search results, hashtags and recommended content. (Jacobs, 2/7)
Stat:
Solid To Soldier On As Initial Muscular Dystrophy Results Disappoint
Ilan Ganot, the co-founder and chief executive of biotech firm Solid Biosciences, left a career in investment banking to start the company in 2013 in order to search for treatments, and perhaps cures, for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a disease that afflicts his son. It would be nice if, five years later, Ganot could report back stunning results that would have investors rushing to buy Solid’s stock. (Herper, 2/7)
CNN:
'Beer Before Wine, Always Fine'? Not Really, Hungover Study Participants Say
European researchers have bad news for the 76% of Americans who experience hangovers after a drinking session: Try as you may to change up the order of your alcoholic beverages, if you drink too much, you will still be hungover. Determined to find a way to help people have a better day after a night out, the researchers recruited 90 brave souls in Germany between the ages of 19 and 40 to drink beer, wine or both. One group drank 2½ pints of beer, followed by four large glasses of wine. The second group drank the four glasses of wine first, then the 2½ pints of beer. A third group drank only beer or only wine. Everyone was kept under medical supervision overnight. (Bracho-Sanchez, 2/7)
The New York Times:
Before You Sip That Cocktail, A Few Safety Warnings
The phrase “cocktail safety” may sound like an oxymoron, or the punch line of a barroom joke. After all, we’re talking about alcohol, and a brandy Alexander is hardly as harmless as a smoothie. But as modern bartenders dig into their cocktail chemistry sets for new techniques and arcane ingredients, Camper English, a drinks writer in San Francisco, decided it was time to create a website to head off potential disaster: CocktailSafe.org. (Simonson, 2/8)
The New York Times:
Living Alone Can Be Deadly
Living alone may be bad for your health. Danish researchers began studying 3,346 men, average age 63, in 1985, tracking their health for 32 years. Over the period, 89 percent of the men died, 39 percent from cardiovascular diseases. (Bakalar, 2/7)
The Associated Press:
FDA Alerts More Doctors Of Rare Cancer With Breast Implants
U.S. health officials are telling doctors to be on the lookout for a rare cancer linked to breast implants after receiving more reports of the disease. The Food and Drug Administration sent a letter Wednesday to family doctors, nurses and other health professionals warning about the form of lymphoma that affects breast implant patients. In suspected cases, the FDA recommends laboratory testing to confirm or rule out of the disease. It's the first time regulators have issued a direct warning to doctors other than plastic surgeons. (2/7)
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
More Cases Of Lymphoma Caused By Breast Implants, FDA Says
At least 457 women in the United States have been diagnosed with anaplastic large-cell lymphoma since 2010, including nine who died, the FDA said Wednesday. That total has steadily climbed each year since 2011, when the FDA first issued a warning and said it had received 64 reports of the cancer. (McCullough, 2/7)
The New York Times:
U.K. Doctors Call For Caution In Children’s Use Of Screens And Social Media
With even Silicon Valley worrying about the effect of technology exposure on young people, Britain’s top doctors on Thursday issued advice to families about social media and screen use. Their prescriptions: Leave phones outside the bedroom. Screen-free meals are a good idea. When in doubt, don’t upload. And get more exercise. “Technology can be a wonderful thing,” Britain’s chief medical officers, who hold advisory positions similar to that of the surgeon general in America, wrote in a document published on Thursday. (Karasz, 2/7)
