Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Public Health Roundup: Janet Reno's Parkinson's Journey; Dangers Of Planned Early Births?
The New York Times: Janet Reno Refused To Let Parkinson’s Define Her
Janet Reno sat in a wheelchair with a blanket over her knees, her fingers curled inward so she could not shake hands. She was skinny — very skinny — almost unrecognizable as the prosecutor who had shot to fame as President Bill Clinton’s attorney general, the first woman to hold that position. Her family had consented to let us meet Ms. Reno this summer for an article about a Parkinson’s fund-raising event she has long participated in. They agreed because one of us, Marilyn, also has Parkinson’s, and the article was to be as much about her journey coming face to face with what her health is likely to look like a few decades from now as it would be about Ms. Reno. (Garateix and Robles, 11/7)
Reuters: Planned Early Births Tied To Developmental Problems In Kids
Children born in deliveries planned just a week before the end of a typical pregnancy may be more likely to experience health, learning and behavior issues by the time they're ready for school than kids born at full term, a study suggests. Plenty of previous research has found premature infants often have difficulty breathing and digesting food. Some preemies also encounter longer-term challenges such as impaired vision, hearing, and cognitive skills as well as social and behavioral problems. (11/7)
The Wall Street Journal: The Doctors Who Solve Medical Mysteries
When patients have a disease that can’t be diagnosed, they get sent to Wendy Chung. Dr. Chung heads the Discover program at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, which uses genetics to diagnose rare and complex diseases that have eluded traditional doctors and specialists. (Reddy, 11/7)
Stat: Why Poison Ivy Is So Itchy — And How Science Might Fix That
Scientists have finally scratched the surface about why, exactly, poison ivy makes people so itchy. About 10 million Americans suffer from an allergic reaction to poison ivy every year. It’s a serious threat to firefighters, farmers, and others who work outdoors; poison ivy is to blame for 10 percent of the US Forest Service’s lost-time injuries. Now, researchers looking for clues about how poison ivy causes allergic reactions have stumbled upon a key chemical that offers some answers — and points to a potential treatment. (Thielking, 11/7)
The Associated Press: Young Brains And Anesthesia: Big Study Suggests Minimal Risks
Anesthesia during early childhood surgery poses little risk for intelligence and academics later on, the largest study of its kind suggests. The results were found in research on nearly 200,000 Swedish teens. School grades were only marginally lower in kids who'd had one or more common surgeries with anesthesia before age 4, compared with those who'd had no anesthesia during those early years. (11/7)
Stat: Teaching A Martian To Make A Sandwich Helps Catch Medical Errors
Certificate and master’s degree programs in patient safety have sprung up over the past decade, and the first PhD track specifically focusing on patient safety and quality of care was launched in 2012 at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Its first graduate completed the program this summer. The programs target clinicians and hospital administrators who want to learn more about how to improve patient safety. While medical residents nowadays are learning more about patient safety than their predecessors, older doctors have to play catch-up. (Swetlitz, 11/7)
MPR: The Condition That Can Make Sleep Dangerous
When Patrick Geagan goes to sleep, his wife Sue knows he can change dramatically after drifting off. Patrick has REM sleep behavior disorder, a condition in which the body refuses to go into lockdown while the brain is creating physically active dreams. (11/7)
