Public Health Roundup: Superbug Finding Ways To Evade Antibiotics; Meet Existing Commission On Vaccines
The latest stories on public health matters relate to blood pressure guidelines, physician aid in dying, organ transplant rates, warding off dementia and Alzheimer's, and more.
Stat:
Dangerous Superbug Appears To Be Spreading Stealthily In US Hospitals
A dangerous type of superbug has more tricks up its sleeves than we may be giving it credit for, a new study suggests. The researchers found that this class of bacteria, CREs — that’s short for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae — has more ways to evade antibiotics than have been currently identified, and that these bugs share their tricks readily across the families of bacteria that make up this grouping. Further, the authors suggest these bacteria may be spreading more stealthily than existing surveillance can detect. (Branswell, 1/16)
The Washington Post:
The United States Already Has A Vaccine Safety Commission. And It Works Really Well, Experts Say.
This week, President-elect Donald Trump met with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leading proponent of a scientifically discredited conspiracy theory that vaccines cause autism. Afterward, Kennedy said that he and Trump had discussed creating a commission on vaccines, which Kennedy would chair. The United States already has a commission on vaccines. A top U.S. public health official said Friday that it relies on an array of medical, scientific and community experts to set policy on vaccines, and does so in an open and deliberative process. (Sun, 1/13)
Stat:
Loosened Blood Pressure Guidelines Stir Immediate Controversy
In the latest pendulum swing on what blood pressure older adults should aim for, two of the nation’s leading medical groups issued guidelines on Monday recommending that people 60 and older get their systolic blood pressure (the first number) below 150. That target is a departure from the 140 (or lower) that many physicians, particularly cardiologists, believe appropriate as a way to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attacks, and premature death due to hypertension. The difference reflects continuing debate within the medical community about the best balance of benefits and risks from treating hypertension. (Begley, 1/16)
The New York Times:
Physician Aid In Dying Gains Acceptance In The U.S.
Historically, aid in dying has generated fierce resistance from the Catholic Church, from certain disability-rights activists, and from others who cite religious or moral objections. Even the terminology — aid in dying? assisted suicide? death with dignity? — creates controversy. But the concept has long drawn broad support in public opinion polls. (Span, 1/16)
Richmond Times Dispatch:
U.S. Organ Transplants Rise For 4th Straight Year, Helped By Opioid Death Toll
Organ transplants in the U.S. reached a record high in 2016 — an unexpected consequence of the national opioid epidemic’s rising death toll. The Richmond-based United Network for Organ Sharing — or UNOS — reported that 33,606 transplants took place last year, marking an 8.5 percent increase over 2015 and a 19.8 percent increase over 2012. (Demeria, 1/15)
Sacramento Bee:
Brain Food That Can Help Ward Off Demention, Alzheimer's
UC Davis nutrition expert Liz Applegate wants us to think about exactly what we’re shoveling down our throats. Not just to lose weight but to protect our brains. "Brain food is real and it really does matter,” said Applegate, an author, professor and director of sports nutrition at UC Davis. She’s an advocate of the MIND diet, a combination of two long-studied diets that have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. (Buck, 1/16)
NPR:
The Brain Scrambles Names Of People You Love
When Samantha Deffler was young, her mother would often call her by her siblings' names — even the dog's name. "Rebecca, Jesse, Molly, Tucker, Samantha," she says. A lot of people mix up children's names or friends' names, but Deffler is a cognitive scientist at Rollins College, in Winter Park, Fla., and she wanted to find out why it happens. So she did a survey of 1,700 men and women of different ages, and she found that naming mistakes are very common. Most everyone sometimes mixes up the names of family and friends. ... It's not related to a bad memory or to aging, but rather to how the brain categorizes names. (Trudeau, 1/16)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Testing Wearable Sensors As ‘Check Engine’ Light For Health
Wearable gadgets gave a Stanford University professor an early warning that he was getting sick before he ever felt any symptoms of Lyme disease. Geneticist Michael Snyder never had Lyme’s characteristic bull’s-eye rash. But a smartwatch and other sensors charted changes in Snyder’s heart rate and oxygen levels during a family vacation. Eventually a fever struck that led to his diagnosis. (Neergaard, 1/14)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Chin Up: Being Fit And Working Out – With Cancer
We knew that exercise and good nutrition can help cancer survivors avoid reoccurrence. But now we know that being strong and fit also puts us in a better position to endure chemotherapy. (Nickel, 1/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Psychedelic Drugs Now Used In Human Studies
After decades of political suppression, studies on psychedelics are now experiencing what top researchers have dubbed a renaissance. Here are four drugs that made recent breakthroughs in psychedelic science. (Short, 1/13)
