Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Researchers Link Brain Inflammation To High-Fat Diet, Weight Gain
Newsweek: Scientists Discover Link Between Brain And Weight Gain
How does a high-fat diet affect your brain? Researchers from Canada's Memorial University have identified an inflammatory pathway in the brain linking high-fat diets to the activation of appetite-promoting neurons. "Scientists have known for a while that high-fat foods cause a low-intensity inflammation in the brain," Lisa Fang, the study's first author, told Newsweek. (Dewan, 7/17)
CIDRAP: Study Finds Kids' Obesity Increased During COVID-19
A new study based the body mass indexes (BMIs) of the residents of Monroe County, Indiana, shows the pandemic was tied to increased rates of severe obesity for children, with the greatest increase among those ages 5 to 11. The study is published in JAMA Network Open. (Soucheray, 7/17)
In news on other scientific developments —
CIDRAP: COVID-19 Vaccine Tied To Reduced Deaths In Seniors With Dementia
For the first time, researchers have calculated excess deaths among US dementia patients during the pandemic, and they found a reduction in excess mortality among long-term care residents after COVID-19 vaccines were made available. The study was published today in JAMA Neurology. (Soucheray, 7/17)
CIDRAP: COVID Vaccine In Pregnancy Yields Antibody Responses In Moms, Babies For 6 Months
mRNA COVID-19 vaccines induced an antibody response in both mothers and babies for at least 6 months after birth, with no adverse outcomes, according to a single-center study published late last week in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 7/17)
CIDRAP: Only 1 In 5 US Nursing Home Residents Given Monoclonal Antibodies, Antivirals For COVID
A new study published in JAMA finds that fewer than one in five US nursing home residents received evidenced-based treatment with monoclonal antibodies or oral antiviral drugs for COVID-19, despite being at high risk for poor outcomes. The rate had improved to one in four by late 2022. Researchers from the University of Rochester and Harvard used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) National Healthcare Safety Network Nursing Home COVID-19 database to determine rates of monoclonal antibodies and oral antivirals among residents of all Medicare-certified nursing homes from May 31, 2021, to December 25, 2022. (Van Beusekom, 7/17)
CIDRAP: Trial Supports Use Of Direct Oral Challenge For Penicillin Allergy
A randomized clinical trial found that direct oral penicillin challenge in patients with a low-risk penicillin allergy was non-inferior to the standard-of-care skin test, investigators reported today in JAMA Internal Medicine. (Dall, 7/17)
Stat: Study: Hearing Aids May Slow Cognitive Decline In Those At Risk
Doctors have long suspected that hearing loss in older adults hastens dementia, the cognitive decline associated with aging. A new study published in The Lancet on Tuesday probes the link between the two conditions further in what could be the first randomized controlled trial of its kind. More than 55 million people have dementia worldwide; a number that continues to grow as more people live longer. Hearing loss has emerged as one of the likely risk factors for dementia for several reasons. (Lawrence, 7/18)
Houston Chronicle: Rice Students Are Using Data To Help Health Care Nonprofits
Growing up in South Korea, Rice University student Alex Han used to love it when his great-grandmother told him stories about what it was like to live through the Korean War. Those stories stopped when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease when Han was 15 years old. “There was no more of that history and those talks about the Korean War,” he said. “I didn’t really understand what it was at that time. I just knew ‘that’s because of Alzheimer’s.’” (MacDonald, 7/17)
On technology and health care —
The Boston Globe: New App Allows People With Disabilities To Report And Respond To Abuse
A team at the University of Rhode Island has developed a new, free app that helps teach adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities how to recognize abuse and report it. R3: Recognize, Report and Respond is the brainchild of Krishna Venkatasubramanian, a computer science professor at the URI. It’s available through Apple and Amazon app stores for smartphones and tablets. (Gagosz, 7/17)
Stat: Google And Epic Fight Stronger Regulation Of AI In Health Care
Big businesses poised to profit from the advance of artificial intelligence in health care are pushing back against newly proposed federal rules meant to increase oversight and fairness of AI tools used to help make decisions about patient care. (Ross, 7/17)
