Red Cross Asks For Blood Donations As It Declares A Severe Shortage
The American Red Cross says hospital demand is outpacing donor blood supply, which is impacted by factors including inclement weather and the flu season. Other public health news is on cancer research, mental health, and gun violence.
ABC News:
Red Cross Announces Severe Emergency Blood Shortage, Calls On Americans To Donate
The American Red Cross declared a severe emergency blood shortage on Monday and called on people to donate. The humanitarian organization, which says it's the largest supplier of blood products for hospitals and for patient need in the U.S., said the demand from hospitals has outpaced the available supply of blood. Dr. Courtney Lawrence, divisional chief medical officer at American Red Cross, told ABC News that almost one-third of the organization's blood stores across the country have been depleted due to hospital need. (Kekatos, 1/20)
In cancer research —
The Washington Post:
MRNA-Based Cancer Therapy Shows Promise In Treating Melanoma, Study Shows
An experimental drug custom-made to target the genetic mutations of individual tumors showed promise in treating aggressive skin cancer, according to new results from a clinical trial announced Tuesday. The personalized cancer drug is based on the same technology as the leading coronavirus vaccines that helped end the pandemic: sending instructions to the immune system using doses of messenger RNA. (Gilbert, 1/20)
Fox News:
Vitamin A Byproduct Weakens Immune System Against Cancer, Study Finds
A substance the body makes from vitamin A can make the immune system less effective at fighting cancer, a new study reveals. Vitamin A itself is an essential nutrient, but one of its byproducts can accidentally "turn off" parts of the immune response against cancer, according to new research published in Nature Immunology. (Quill, 1/20)
In mental health news —
The New York Times:
Snap Settles Lawsuit On Social Media Addiction, Avoiding A Landmark Trial
Snap reached an agreement on Tuesday to settle a tech addiction lawsuit, ahead of a landmark trial in a case that claims the social media giants engineered products to hook an entire generation of young users. The case is the first of several social media addiction lawsuits that are set to go to trial this year against Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube. ... They argue that features like infinite scroll, auto video play and algorithmic recommendations have led to compulsive social media use and caused depression, eating disorders and self-harm. (Kang, 1/20)
MedPage Today:
Air Pollution Tied To Greater ALS Risk, Worse Outcomes
Prolonged exposure to air pollution was associated with a higher risk of motor neuron disease, a group of neurodegenerative disorders mainly involving amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in a nested case-control study. (George, 1/20)
The New York Times:
Will ‘Psychiatry’s Bible’ Add A Postpartum Psychosis Diagnosis?
Emily Sliwinski got home from the hospital after giving birth to her first child three years ago, and almost immediately began spiraling. Her thoughts raced; she was unable to sleep; she began hallucinating that her dog was speaking to her. She became obsessed with solving the national shortage of infant formula, covering a corkboard with notes and ideas. About a week later, Ms. Sliwinski, of Greensboro, N.C., went to a hospital emergency room, thinking she would be given medication to help her sleep, she said. She had no history of mental health issues. (Barry and Belluck, 1/20)
On the gun violence epidemic —
The Washington Post:
Walmart Sold A Gun To An Employee Who Shot Himself. Is The Company Liable?
A federal civil trial turns on what managers at a Walmart in Maryland knew about the struggles of a worker who killed himself with a gun the store sold him. (Morse, 1/21)
Politico:
Race Looms Large In Gun-Rights Arguments At Supreme Court
As the Supreme Court debated the constitutionality Tuesday of a Hawaii law that restricts people from carrying guns in some public places, the subject turned again and again to race — specifically, laws passed just after the Civil War aimed at preventing newly freed Black Americans from possessing firearms. The justices traded thinly-veiled accusations of hypocrisy over the relevance of the 19th Century “Black codes” to the current fight over the constitutionality of a law that makes it illegal to take a gun into a business without the owner’s consent. (Gerstein, 1/20)
