Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Researchers Find Monthly Shots Do Just As Well At Controlling HIV As Daily Pills, But Cost May Be An Issue
The Associated Press: Monthly Shots Control HIV As Well As Pills In 2 Big Studies
Monthly shots of HIV drugs worked as well as daily pills to control the virus that causes AIDS in two large international tests, researchers reported Thursday. If approved by regulators in the United States and Europe, the shots would be a new option for people with HIV and could help some stay on treatment. Instead of having to remember to take pills, patients instead could get injections from a doctor or nurse each month. (3/7)
The New York Times: The Battle Against One Of The Worst Ebola Epidemics Ever Is In Trouble
The family of a young woman who died from Ebola last month in the Democratic Republic of Congo dressed her body, put makeup on her face and propped her up in a car, hoping to make her look alive so they could drive her through checkpoints set up to prevent spread of the disease. It was dangerous: Corpses are highly infectious. But they wanted to bury her in another town, next to her husband, who also had died of Ebola. Their desperate ploy failed. They were stopped at a checkpoint, according to a report from the country’s Ministry of Health. (Grady, 3/7)
The Associated Press: Judge Orders FDA To Create Graphic Cigarette Warnings
A federal judge in Boston has ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to create graphic health warnings for cigarette packs and related advertising by next year. The Boston Globe reports that the judge ordered Tuesday that the agency must complete a study of the graphic warnings by April 15, submit a rule mandating the warnings for publication by Aug. 15, and have the warnings ready by March 15, 2020. (3/7)
The Associated Press: US Regulators Outline Oversight On Meat Grown In Lab Dishes
Burgers made by growing cow cells in a lab dish have a clearer path to reaching supermarkets as U.S. regulators on Thursday outlined how the emerging food category will be monitored. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said meat from cultured animal cells will have to undergo agency inspection, as with other meat and poultry products. Carmen Rottenberg of the USDA said she expects inspections to be similar to those for other meat-processing plants, but noted that a lot remains unknown since companies haven't yet scaled up to commercial production. (3/7)
NPR: New Approach To Flu Treatment Mimics Antibodies
Compared to most disease-causing viruses, influenza is a particularly hard nut to crack. A two-dose vaccine in childhood protects you from measles for life. Smallpox is similarly preventable with a single vaccine. But to evade the flu virus, we need a different vaccine each year which, even at its most effective, can fail to protect against all strains of the virus. (Lambert, 3/7)
The New York Times: Secondhand Smoke Exposure Tied To Kidney Disease
Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk for chronic kidney disease, a new study has found. Korean researchers studied 131,196 nonsmokers, dividing them into three groups: those who had more than three days a week of exposure to secondhand smoke; those who had less than three days a week; and those with no exposure at all. Their average age was 53, and 75 percent were women. The study is in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. (Bakalar, 3/7)
The New York Times: Statins May Increase Risk Of Diabetes
The link between statin use and the development of Type 2 diabetes may be even stronger than previously believed, a new study suggests. Researchers prospectively studied 8,567 men and women whose average age was 64. All were free of diabetes and not taking statins when the study started. In a follow-up of up to 15 years, about 12 percent of the group started taking statins, most using either Zocor or Lipitor (simvastatin or atorvastatin) and the rest either Pravachol or Lescol (pravastatin or fluvastatin). (Bakalar, 3/7)
NPR: Phenylketonuria Treatment Using Modified E. Coli. Gets Tested
Instead of eating a typical breakfast every day, Jonah Reeder gulps down a special protein shake. "The nutrients in it like to sit at the bottom, so I usually have to shake it up and get all the nutrients from the protein and everything," says Reeder, 21, of Farmington, Utah, as he shakes a big plastic bottle. (Stein, 3/8)
Kaiser Health News: Despite Social Media, Generation Z, Millennials Report Feeling Lonely
Connor Wilton moved here for the music scene. The 24-year-old singer-guitarist “knew zero people in Austin” and felt pretty lonely at first. While this capital city is one of the nation’s buzziest places and ranks at the top of many “best” lists, Wilton wasn’t feeling it. He lived near the University of Texas at Austin but wasn’t a student; he said walking through “the social megaplex that’s UT-Austin” was intimidating, with its almost 52,000 students all seemingly having fun. (Jayson, 3/8)
