Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
Stat: 'Impressive' Trial Results For Experimental Gene Therapy For Deafness
Three years after researchers first injected deaf children with a treatment designed to give them hearing, an early scientific consensus is emerging: This gene therapy works. (Broderick, 4/22)
CIDRAP: Study Supports Amoxicillin As First Choice For Sinusitis
An observational study of more than half a million adults suggests amoxicillin may be the preferred first-line treatment for uncomplicated sinusitis in adults, researchers reported late last week in JAMA. (Dall, 4/21)
Fox News: High-Salt Diet May Trigger Immune System To Age Blood Vessels, Study Finds
Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels. A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay. (Quill, 4/21)
CIDRAP: Study Finds No Increased Risk With Same-Day Flu, Pertussis Vaccination For Pregnant Women
Giving influenza and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccines on the same day during pregnancy was not associated with higher rates of adverse pregnancy, birth, or newborn outcomes, according to a new population-based cohort study published late last week in JAMA Network Open. (Bergeson, 4/22)
CIDRAP: Researchers Detail Rare Case Of Adrenal Crisis Triggered By Flu-Related Encephalopathy In Teen
A case report today in Pediatrics describes a previously healthy 17-year-old girl with significant encephalopathy later diagnosed as having primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI; Addison disease) as a complication of influenza infection. PAI, which can be caused by an autoimmune process, is suspected in pediatric patients displaying poor growth, poor weight gain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and skin hyperpigmentation. Ill or stressed patients with untreated or undertreated adrenal insufficiency are at risk for adrenal crisis, which can lead to hypotensive shock, lethargy, confusion, coma, and death. (Van Beusekom, 4/22)
