Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Researchers Find Genetic Defects Linked To ALS
Stat: Scientists Take Key Step Toward Unraveling The Genetic Roots Of ALS
If you shrunk down for a “Magic School Bus”-style journey into an ALS patient’s neurons, you’d see the same thing nearly every time — a key protein knotted into clumps and missing from its usual post in the cell’s nucleus. It’s a telltale sign of the devastating neurological disease, and its effects have been a longtime subject of fascination for scientists. Now, a pair of studies published Wednesday help unravel the mystery. (Wosen, 2/23)
CIDRAP: ECDC Reports Increase In Extensively Drug-Resistant Shigella In UK, Europe
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is reporting an increase in extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella sonnei infections in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe. In a rapid risk assessment published today, the ECDC said the increase was first noted by the UK Health Security Agency in late January, when it reported 47 cases of XDR S sonnei from September 2021 through Jan 10, 2022—up from 16 in the previous 4-month period. The UK outbreak strain showed non-susceptibility to penicillins, third-generation cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, sulfonamide, quinolones, and azithromycin. (2/23)
CIDRAP: Study Finds Increased Risk Of C Difficile From Contaminated Hospital Rooms
A study conducted at five acute care hospitals adds further evidence of the role the hospital environment plays in Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), researchers reported today in the American Journal of Infection Control. An estimated 236,000 healthcare-associated CDI cases occur each year in the United States, and even with thorough cleaning efforts, C difficile spores can persist in hospital rooms for months, posing colonization and infection risks to patients. To examine the risk posed by a previous room occupant with CDI on subsequent room occupants, a team led by researchers from Johns Hopkins University examined all adult inpatients admitted to five acute care hospitals in Maryland and Washington, DC, from July 2016 through December 2018. (2/23)
ScienceDaily: 'E-Nose' Could Someday Diagnose Parkinson's Disease By 'Smelling' Skin
Scientists have been trying to build devices that could diagnose Parkinson's disease (PD) through odor compounds on the skin. Now, researchers have developed a portable, artificially intelligent olfactory system, or 'e-nose,' that could someday diagnose the disease in a doctor's office. (American Chemical Society, 2/23)
CIDRAP: MIS-C Rare In COVID-Vaccinated Teens, Study Finds
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is rare among 12- to 20-year-olds who have received COVID-19 vaccination, a study yesterday in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health suggests. The study was based on 9 months of follow-up data on US children and young adults ages 12 to 20 who had received at least one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine from Dec 14, 2020, to Aug 31, 2021. Only 21 cases out of more than 21 million vaccinated adolescents developed the rare disorder, which mimics Kawasaki's, during the follow-up period. Fifteen of the 21 were diagnosed as having COVID-19 despite vaccination, while 6 developed MIS-C for unknown reasons. (Soucheray, 2/23)
