Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Public Health Roundup: Discarded Organs; Elevated Cancer Risks; And Superbugs From Pets
Stat: Organ Donation Groups Speak Out Against Denying Transplants
Concerned about rising rates of discarded kidneys, the nation’s most influential renal health organization is undertaking an effort to put more organs to use and increase access to lifesaving transplants. The National Kidney Foundation said it has convened a panel of experts who will develop recommendations for reforming practices that caused hospitals to throw away more than 3,100 donated donated kidneys in 2015. (Ross, 8/16)
CNN: How Much A Decade Of Obesity Raises Your Cancer Risk
The longer a woman is overweight or obese, the more her risk of cancer may increase along with the time. A new longitudinal study on postmenopausal women, published in the journal PLOS Medicine on Tuesday, reveals that the duration of having a high body mass index is linked to a higher risk of developing several types of cancer, from breast to endometrial. (Howard, 8/16)
Houston Chronicle: Firefighters Have Elevated Risk For PTSD, Cancer, New Study Finds
Firefighters experience post-traumatic stress disorder at rates similar to what's seen among combat veterans, according to a new report released Tuesday by the International Association of Fire Fighters. While firefighters aren't exposed to the same type of trauma soldiers see in a theater of war, elements of their daily job can be traumatic with the sheer volume of calls, the nature of the job and the possibility of losing a colleague in the line of duty. (Rahman, 8/16)
KQED: Precision Medicine: Little Benefit So Far, But Lots Of Hope
When doctors tailor treatments based on the genetics, environment and lifestyle of individual patients, they are attempting what is now known as “precision medicine.” The concept grows out of a longstanding frustration in tackling disease: Some patients just do not respond to a treatment that normally works. Not only does this failure necessitate a different remedy, it also puts someone who is ill through a costly and often painful process for no benefit. So being able to choose the right treatment from the start would be an enormous advance. (Venton, 8/16)
NBC News: Now Your Pets Might Infect You With Superbugs
Pets might be a source of drug-resistant superbugs, Chinese researchers reported Tuesday. They found a pet shop worker infected with a much-feared antibiotic resistant strain of E. coli may have been infected by dogs at his store that carried the same strain. The 50-year-old man with a kidney inflammation had an infection with E. coli bacteria carrying the dreaded mcr-1 gene — a little cassette of DNA that provides resistance to an important group of antibiotics, which other bacteria can pass around like a tray of snacks. (Fox, 8/16)
The Washington Post: New Virtual Reality Fitness Apps Aim To Make Exercise Less Tedious
This year, high-end virtual reality headsets such as HTC Vive and Oculus Rift have finally hit the market, putting immersive multimedia in the hands of consumers. While the industry has focused primarily on gaming and entertainment, a handful of start-ups are choosing a different route: fitness and medical applications of VR. This month, the Virtual Reality LA Summer Expo 2016 boasted more than 6,000 attendees who crowded the halls of the downtown Los Angeles Convention Center throughout the two-day convention. (Kim, 8/16)
CNN: Strollers, Car Carriers Send Thousands Of Kids To ERs
Every hour, two children 5 or younger are treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to strollers or car carriers, according to researchers. Nearly 361,000 toddlers were treated in hospitals for injuries caused by falls or tip-overs during the 21-year period ending in 2010, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Academic Pediatrics. Most often, children suffered head injuries (nearly 62% of the total incidents) and face injuries (nearly 25%). (Scutti, 8/17)
