Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
HealthDay: Sharper Brains May Face Higher Depression Relapse Risk, Study Finds
The relationship between depression and age-related brain decline might depend on a person’s history with the mood disorder, a new study says. Researchers had thought that people experiencing “brain fog” from aging might be more apt to relapse into depression. But they found the opposite was true – people with sharper brains were more likely to fall back into depression, according to findings published May 6 in the journal BMJ Mental Health. (Thompson, 5/11)
MedPage Today: Pregnant Physician Trainees Given Parental Support Had Less Burnout
A parental support package targeting perinatal stressors significantly mitigated burnout among pregnant and postpartum physician trainees, a randomized controlled trial showed. (Firth, 5/13)
MedPage Today: COVID Antiviral Can Prevent Household Contacts From Catching Virus
Risk of getting sick from a household contact with COVID-19 dropped by more than half among those who took the antiviral ensitrelvir compared with placebo, a randomized trial showed. (Rudd, 5/13)
CIDRAP: 1 In 4 US Kids With Travel-Acquired Malaria Face Delayed Diagnosis, Raising Risk Of Severe Disease
Delayed diagnosis of travel-acquired malaria was common among children treated at US hospitals and was linked to a higher risk of severe disease, according to a new study published late last week in Pediatrics. A team led by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) reviewed 171 pediatric malaria cases across nine US hospitals from 2016 through 2023. Approximately one-third of children developed severe malaria, though no deaths occurred. (Bergeson, 5/13)
CIDRAP: Public Health Alerts: Intramuscular Immunoglobulin For Measles Postexposure Prophylaxis
A Public Health Alerts report today details successful administration of intramuscular immunoglobulin (IMIG) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP, for prevention) to 11 babies exposed to measles in Utah last year. IMIG is an option for preventing measles in infants after exposure to a person with the disease, wrote the authors, from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and elsewhere in Utah. Typical dose is 0.5 milliliters (mL) per kilogram (kg), but no clear PEP guidelines exist. (Wappes, 5/13)
