Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: Covid; Diabetes; Alzheimer's; Mental Health; More
American Academy Of Pediatrics: Risk Factors For Severe COVID-19 In Children
Results identify children at potentially higher risk of severe COVID-19 who may benefit from prevention efforts, including vaccination. Rates establish a baseline for monitoring changes in pediatric illness severity after increased availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the emergence of new variants. (Woodruff et al, 12/23)
CIDRAP: COVID Patients With Disability Prone To Longer Hospital Stay, Readmission
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients with a disability were more likely than peers without a disability to have a longer hospital stay and be readmitted—but were no more likely to die in the hospital or be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), finds a retrospective study today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). (Van Beusekom, 1/31)
CIDRAP: Medicare Patient Care-Seeking For Severe Mental Illness Down In COVID-19
Significantly fewer adult Medicare beneficiaries with schizophrenia or bipolar 1 disorders had mental health-related outpatient, emergency department (ED), and hospital visits, as well as fills for antipsychotics and mood-stabilizing drugs in the first 8 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings, published late last week in JAMA Network Open, suggest that people with serious mental illness experienced substantial disruptions in care amid the pandemic, especially among the disadvantaged, the researchers said. (1/31)
The Lancet: High-Dose Immunoglobulins From Convalescent Donors For Patients Hospitalised With COVID-19
Many studies investigating hIVIG for COVID-19 are ongoing. The few published studies vary substantially in their setup, such as the characteristics of the studied intervention being non-human in origin (eg, horse or swine IgG)10, 11 or human-derived hIVIG.12, 13 Studies so far have been small—ranging from 18 to 245 participants—making interpretation of their results challenging. Although the studied interventions were cautiously deemed safe, there is currently not enough evidence to support the use of these passive immunisation strategies for COVID-19. (So-Osman and Valk, 1/27)
Also —
ScienceDaily: First Virus Infection Linked With Infections Later In Life
Asymptomatic viral infections in the first days and weeks of a baby's life are associated with an increased risk of respiratory infections later in life, research suggests. (University of Edinburgh, 2/1)
ScienceDaily: Paternal Alcohol Use Increases Frequency Of Fetal Development Issues
Prenatal visits have traditionally focused almost exclusively on the behavior of mothers, but new research continues to suggest that science should be looking more closely at the fathers' behavior as well. (Texas A&M University, 2/1)
ScienceDaily: Scientists Unveil Promising New Approach To Diabetes Prevention
A team of scientists has conducted promising early tests of a new strategy that might one day be used to prevent or treat type 2 diabetes. The scientists tested an experimental compound called IXA4 in obese mice. They showed that the compound activates a natural signaling pathway that protects the animals from harmful, obesity-driven metabolic changes that would normally lead to diabetes. (Scripps Research Institute, 2/1)
ScienceDaily: Instability Of Brain Activity During Sleep And Anesthesia Underlies The Pathobiology Of Alzheimer's Disease, Study Finds
A new study revealed a pathological brain activity that precedes the onset of Alzheimer's first symptoms by many years: increased activity in the hippocampus during anesthesia and sleep, resulting from failure in the mechanism that stabilizes the neural network. The researchers believe that the discovery of this abnormal activity during specific brain states may enable early diagnosis of Alzheimer's, eventually leading to a more effective treatment of a disease that still lacks effective therapies. (Tel-Aviv University, 2/1)
