Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Personalized Therapies For Diabetics To Be Tested By Boston-Area Collaboration
Stat: Stem Cell Factory Opens Door For Trials Of Personalized Diabetes Treatment
In a step that could lead to a new diabetes treatment, several Boston-area hospitals have teamed up with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and biotech Semma Therapeutics to make personalized cell-based therapies and organize clinical trials. It is one of several initiatives around the country aimed at manufacturing cell-derived treatments, as the hope for such therapies creates a demand for the production of the cells. (Joseph, 6/16)
Reuters: With Diabetes, Losing Weight Lowers Heart Risks, Even If You Regain It
A large weight loss, even if regained, may help overweight people with type 2 diabetes improve their blood sugar control and cholesterol and lower high blood pressure long-term, a new study suggests. Over four years, even those who regained all of a large weight loss had greater improvements in blood sugar than their counterparts who lost no weight or initially lost a smaller amount. (Doyle, 6/15)
And in other public health news —
Reuters: Colon Cancer Screening Saves Lives, Experts Reaffirm
U.S. adults should choose the type of colon cancer screening they feel most comfortable with, the government-backed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now advises. The updated recommendation, directed at people aged 50 to 75, is a departure from the influential panel's 2008 guidance, which said people in that age group should be screened on a specific time table using one of four tests. (6/15)
The Associated Press: Hints That Antibiotics, C-Sections May Affect Baby Guts
Wednesday's studies closely tracked infants through toddlerhood and concluded that the first two to three years of life are a critical period for budding microbiomes. Still, "what happens when you don't have the right bugs at the right age during that critical period? We don't know the answer," cautioned Dr. Martin Blaser of New York University, who led one of the studies. (Neergard, 6/15)
Fox News: Therapy Helps Girl Diagnosed With Rare Syndrome Overcome Debilitating Pain
Doctors ran a battery of tests and scans but could find nothing physically wrong with her leg. They were baffled as to what was causing such excruciating pain until a physical therapist recommended that Gena take her daughter to Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey. At the hospital, Dr. Katherine Bentley, the director of the chronic pain program, diagnosed Dinicola with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). (Ramsadeen, 6/15)
