Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Overhaul Of Weight Loss Surgery Rules May Broaden Eligibility
USA Today: Weight Loss Surgery Qualifications May Change Under New Guidelines
Two groups of bariatric surgeons have overhauled weight loss surgery guidelines for the first time in more than 30 years, saying the previous standards are out of date and inadequate to cope with America's growing levels of obesity. The new standards, released early Friday, will vastly increase the number of people eligible for the operations. (Weintraub, 10/21)
In news about heart surgery and heart health —
Houston Chronicle: How Groundbreaking Tech Could Revolutionize Heart Transplants In Houston
On Sept. 24, doctors filed into a bustling Houston Methodist operating room to gaze at the novelty of a heart that appeared to beat on its own. A close look revealed the secret — a waist-high apparatus that looked like an office-style copy machine, housing a bag of blood to supply oxygen through two tubes fastened to key arteries. (Gill, 10/21)
The Boston Globe: Growing Scrutiny Of A Quality Standard That May Influence End-Of-Life Decisions For Heart Surgery Patients
Some surgeons are believed to “game the system to improve their statistical outcomes,” said Dr. Mary Braun, who has worked as a palliative care doctor in New Hampshire. In these cases, “suffering is typically tremendous for frail, near-death patients being subjected to these extreme measures to keep them alive.” (Kowalczyk, Ostriker and Fernandes, 10/22)
Stat: Women And Men Are Different, Cardiovascular Edition
It’s quite the task to photograph someone’s heart while they’re exercising. They have to lie on their back in a pressure-controlled chamber, riding a suspended stationary bike while an ultrasound imager points at their pumping heart — at least that’s how one group of researchers from the University of Calgary and Hong Kong went about it. (Williamson-Lee, 10/24)
In other health and wellness news —
AP: Genes Link Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Once Thought Unrelated
A growing body of research shows that bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and the in-between diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder share common genetic underpinnings as well as overlapping symptoms and signs. “They can be considered as part of a spectrum,” said Dr. Morgan Sheng, who co-directs a psychiatric research center at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. (Ungar, 10/22)
AP: First Lady To Host Roundtable On Breast And Cervical Cancer
First lady Jill Biden will host a roundtable Monday on breast and cervical cancer, part of the administration’s “moonshot” effort to reduce deaths from cancer, the White House said. The event is one of many being launched by the American Cancer Society. Singer Mary J. Blige, an advocate for cancer screening, will participate in the roundtable with Biden. (10/21)
KHN: Listen: How Does Human Composting Work?
California Healthline senior correspondent Bernard J. Wolfson appeared on KMOX, a St. Louis radio station, in mid-October to discuss a new California law that will allow “human composting” as an alternative to burial and cremation. Human composting, also known as “natural organic reduction,” can be appealing to those who worry about the health of the environment. Cremation leaves a big carbon footprint, while the toxic chemicals used to embalm bodies before burial can leach into the soil. (10/24)
