Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Now That Hep C Is Curable, Surgeons Want To Use Organs That Otherwise Would Have Been Thrown Out
Stat: Surgeons Plan To Use Hepatitis-Infected Hearts To Slash Wait For A Transplant
As many as 1,000 such infected kidneys are thrown away each year in the United States, but new medications have made hepatitis C curable — and made it possible to consider using infected organs for transplants. That could cut down on the wait time not just for kidneys but also other organs, especially hearts...In 2016, there were 14,501 kidneys made available for transplantation in the US, while roughly 100,000 people waited for a new kidney, [Dr. Richard N. Formica Jr.] said. The same year, there were 3,208 heart transplants, Formica said, and nearly 4,000 people waited for one. (Weintraub, 5/12)
The Associated Press: A Suicide At Age 8? Very Rare, But Not Inconceivable
The death was startling even to the coroner: a boy only 8 years old apparently killing himself in his Cincinnati bedroom. Now Gabriel Taye’s January death is being re-examined, after it emerged that he was bullied and knocked unconscious at school two days before he died. (Peltz, 5/14)
Reuters: ADHD Treatment Tied To Lower Car Crash Risk
People with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are at increased risk of motor-vehicle accidents, but it is significantly reduced when they are taking ADHD medication, a 10-year study finds. The researchers estimate that 1 in 5 of the accidents among more than 2 million people with ADHD during the study period could have been avoided if these individuals had been receiving medication the entire time. (5/12)
The Associated Press: More States Allow Sunscreen At Schools Without Doctor’s OK
Susan Grenon makes sure her son is lathered with sunscreen before he leaves for school in the morning, but the fair-skinned 10-year-old can’t bring a bottle to reapply it without a doctor’s note. Many school systems categorize sunscreen as an over-the-counter medication requiring special paperwork, but several states have been pushing to loosen restrictions to make it easier for kids to protect themselves from skin cancer. (O'Brien, 5/14)
NPR: Yawning May Promote Social Bonding Even Between Dogs And Humans
Bears do it; bats do it. So do guinea pigs, dogs and humans. They all yawn. It's a common animal behavior, but one that is something of a mystery. There's still no consensus on the purpose of a yawn, says Robert Provine, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Provine has studied what he calls "yawn science" since the early 1980s, and he's published dozens of research articles on it. He says the simple yawn is not so simple. (Trudeau and Greenhalgh, 5/15)
The Baltimore Sun: University Of Maryland Team Uses Amish To Study Ill Effects Of Secondhand Smoke
In bucolic Lancaster County, Pa., the Amish grow their own tobacco. In keeping with traditional gender roles, the men smoke the tobacco in cigars, pipes or cigarettes, while the women largely tend to abstain. A recent study of the Old Order Amish community by University of Maryland researchers has nonetheless found the women to be just as susceptible to the health problems related to exposure to secondhand smoke. (Wells, 5/14)
The Washington Post: Trump Thinks That Exercising Too Much Uses Up The Body’s ‘Finite’ Energy
President Trump reportedly eschews exercise because he believes it drains the body’s “finite” energy resources, but experts say this argument is flawed because the human body actually becomes stronger with exercise. Trump’s views on exercise were mentioned in a New Yorker article this month and in “Trump Revealed,” The Washington Post’s 2016 biography of the president, which noted that Trump mostly gave up athletics after college because he “believed the human body was like a battery, with a finite amount of energy, which exercise only depleted.” (Rachael Rettner, 5/14)
NPR: High School Students Try Nap Pods To Reduce Stress
When 18-year-old Hannah Vanderkooy feels extremely tired or anxious, she heads to a space-like capsule for a nap — during school. Like many teens struggling to get good grades and maybe even a college scholarship, Vanderkooy doesn't get enough sleep. And she's not alone. Various studies indicate that chronically sleepy and stressed-out teenagers might be the new normal among U.S. adolescents who are competing for grades, colleges and, eventually, jobs. (Neighmond, 5/15)
