Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
MedPage Today: Women's Disadvantage On Lung Transplant Waitlists May Be A More Global Problem
Women are less likely than men to get a needed lung transplant and spend an average of 6 weeks longer waiting for one, but they do better with the transplant, a French study found. (Phend, 1/8)
ScienceDaily: Study Advances Possible Blood Test For Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease
Six million Americans, most over the age of 65 and predominantly women, are currently estimated to have some form of Alzheimer's disease. (NYU Langone Health/NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 1/8)
ScienceDaily: Using AI To Predict The Outcome Of Aggressive Skin Cancers
Research demonstrates that AI can determine the course and severity of aggressive skin cancers, such as Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), to enhance clinical decision making by generating personalized predictions of treatment specific outcomes for patients and their doctors. (Newcastle University, 1/8)
CIDRAP: Study: COVID-19 Hospital Cases, Deaths In Nursing Homes Fell Sharply After Widespread Vaccination
A study today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology of more than 44,000 COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County nursing homes reveals that hospitalizations and deaths per 100 residents fell from 31 and 24, respectively, prior to widespread vaccination to 11 and 7, respectively, afterward from March 2020 to April 2022. (Soucheray, 1/7)
CIDRAP: Early-Life Infection Burden Continues Throughout Childhood, New Data Reveal
New data from researchers in Denmark suggest that children who have a lot of common infections early in life have higher risk of moderate to severe infections and antibiotic use throughout childhood. (Dall, 1/6)
MedPage Today: Gabapentin May Not Raise The Risk Of Falling After All
New use of gabapentin (Neurontin) was not associated with greater risk of falls in older adults with neuropathy or fibromyalgia compared with new use of duloxetine (Cymbalta), a commercial claims analysis suggested. ... "Gabapentin has been labeled a 'bad' medication and has gotten a lot of negative press in the past couple of years," Alexander Chaitoff, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, told MedPage Today. "But all medications can be 'good' or 'bad' depending on whether they are given to the right person, for the right indication, at the right time, in the right form." (George, 1/6)
