Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Public Health Roundup: Why Do Cancer Immunotherapies Fail After Success?; Next-Gen Prosthetics Leverage Brain Power
The Washington Post: Here Are Some Ways Cancer Can Thwart The New Immunotherapy Drugs
A new type of cancer drug designed to unleash the immune system is revolutionizing treatment for advanced melanoma, lung cancer and other malignancies. But some patients who initially respond to the therapy relapse, and researchers are anxious to figure out how and why the delayed resistance occurs. "Does the immune system stop working, or does the cancer change so that it's no longer responding to the immune system?" said Antoni Ribas, director of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Tumor Immunology Program at the University of California at Los Angeles. (McGinley, 7/13)
Stat: Next-Generation Prosthetics Aim To Rewire The Brain And The Body
As program manager and chief engineer for the Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, (Michael) McLoughlin helped lead the development of “modular prosthetic limb” technologies, which have helped amputees experience lifelike movement of prosthetic limbs. The initiative has been backed by roughly $120 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, and leverages new neurological sensor technology and robotics. (Tedeschi, 7/13)
Los Angeles Times: A Genetic Link Between Red Hair, Freckles And Skin Cancer
Whether you call them gingers, the devil’s spawn or just-plain sexy, be sure to call redheads out of the sun because along with their fiery tresses comes a powerful propensity to develop melanoma, a particularly deadly form of skin cancer. And now, scientists are beginning to uncover why redheads — and probably the non-gingers who carry a genetic variant common to redheads — may be so vulnerable: For those who carry an allele, or gene variant, associated with red hair and freckles, cancer-causing genetic mutations occur at a rate 42% greater than they do for people who don’t carry that gene variant. (Healy, 7/12)
Stat: The Superbugs Are Winning The Battle Against Us
This is totally sleeper phase right now … you want to get your arms around it before it really wakes up.” That’s Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He’s talking about the scariest new threat in one of the biggest public health problems of our time. The threat: a deadly new superbug that’s just starting to surface. The problem: the rise of antibiotic resistance. Public health officials are warning we could be headed toward a post-antibiotics world, unless we do something, and fast. So where do we start? Inside a cave. (Tirrell and Timmerman, 7/14)
The Columbus Dispatch: Preschoolers Late For Bed May End Up Obese Teens
Here’s another reason to tuck your young children into bed early: It might help lower their risk of obesity during their teenage years. Ohio State University College of Public Health researchers say early bedtimes are an integral part of developing healthy behaviors that can last a lifetime. Sarah Anderson, an associate professor of epidemiology and lead author of the study, said poor sleep, especially not getting enough, is a known risk for obesity. (Fochesato, 7/14)
Graphiq: America's Decreasing Fertility Rate Could Spell Economic Trouble
In the late 1950s, American women could expect to have 3.7 children, on average. By 2014, that number had dropped to 1.9. Women around the world are having fewer children than ever, and this decline in fertility rates could spell trouble for some countries. While those who believe that the world is already overpopulated consider this trend a good thing, countries in which the fertility rate is lower than the replacement rate might struggle economically in the future. (Perrym, 7/13)
Stat: Cut-Rate Tummy Tucks Blamed For An Outbreak Of Nasty Skin Infections
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning Americans about the risks of “medical tourism” after nearly two dozen US residents contracted serious infections related to cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic.The 21 people affected were all women who underwent surgeries including liposuction, tummy tucks, butt implants, and breast reduction at one of five clinics in the Dominican Republic in 2013. In the process, they were infected with rapidly growing mycobacteria, organisms that thrive in dirty water and may enter the body during a procedure in an unsterile environment. (Seervai, 7/13)
