Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Points To Brain Regions For Future Chronic Pain Treatments
The Wall Street Journal: In The Brain, Scientists Find New Clues To Treating Chronic Pain
Electrodes embedded in the brains of four people have captured a detailed and precise portrait of chronic pain. The new work, published Monday in the journal Nature Neuroscience, points to brain regions that could be targets for future treatments, neuroscientists say, while adding to our understanding of why some people develop persistent, unyielding chronic pain. (Subbaraman, 5/22)
In other health and wellness news —
AP: From Birth To Death, Legacy Of Racism Lays Foundation For Black Americans' Health Disparities
The AP spent the past year exploring how the legacy of racism in America has laid the foundation for the health inequities that Black people face. (Stafford, 5/23)
The Washington Post: Over 36,000 Older People In The U.S. Died In Falls In 2020
In 2020, the deaths of 36,508 U.S. residents 65 and older were related to falls, representing 86 percent of all fatal falls that year, according to research published in the journal JAMA. Based on death certificate data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the research found that fatal falls in this age group had increased from 10,097 in 1999, and at a rate that more than doubled in about two decades — from 29 deaths per 100,000 people to 69 deaths per 100,000 people. (Searing, 5/22)
Stat: Study: Routine Screening For Kidney Disease Would Be Cost-Effective
In 2012, the United States Preventive Services Task Force convened to determine whether it should recommend kidney disease screening for all Americans. Advocates had been pushing for it, citing ballooning rates of chronic kidney disease. But at the time, the group found there wasn’t enough evidence to say if screening was a net good. That paradigm has since shifted, says Marika Cusick, a Ph.D. candidate in health policy at Stanford. (Cueto, 5/22)
Reuters: Judge Tosses Out Some Claims In Abbott Baby Formula Litigation
Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) persuaded a federal judge to dismiss some claims in nationwide litigation over recalled baby formula. In a decision on Monday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago dismissed claims by parents pursuing only "economic loss" claims related to Similac and other formula that they said had a "substantial risk" of bacteria contamination. (Stempel, 5/22)
CIDRAP: Ticks May Be Able To Indirectly Spread Chronic Wasting Disease
A study that involved feeding ticks blood spiked with chronic wasting disease (CWD) prions and testing ticks and ear samples taken from infected wild white-tailed deer suggests that the parasites can indirectly transmit the disease. (Van Beusekom, 5/22)
In mental health news —
Stat: US Surgeon General Warns Of Dangers Of Social Media For Youth
Amid what he called the worst youth mental health crisis in recent memory, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory Tuesday warning about social media’s impact on developing young brains. “Through the last two and a half years I’ve been in office, I’ve been hearing concerns from kids and parents,” Murthy told STAT. “Parents are asking ‘Is social media safe for my kids?’ Based on our review of the data, there isn’t enough evidence that it is safe for our kids.” (Fitzgerald, 5/23)
AP: The U.S. Surgeon General Has Some Tips For Parents And Teens On Social Media Use
So what can parents and young people do now? The surgeon general has some tips. (Ortutay, 5/23)
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