Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
San Francisco Wages Quiet Battle Against Hep C With Patched-Together Budget, Determination
Stat: With Cures In Hand, A Major City Tries To Eliminate Hepatitis C — And Build A Model For Others
Just a few years after the introduction of a reliable cure for hepatitis C, this city has launched a campaign built on shoe leather and shrewd epidemiology to eliminate the virus. Health workers are expanding testing and searching the streets for homeless patients who don’t pick up their medication. Clinicians are training more doctors to treat infections. Patients can store their medications at a syringe exchange. (Joseph, 11/14)
The New York Times: Under New Guidelines, Millions More Americans Will Need To Lower Blood Pressure
The nation’s leading heart experts on Monday issued new guidelines for high blood pressure that mean tens of millions more Americans will meet the criteria for the condition, and will need to change their lifestyles or take medicines to treat it. Under the guidelines, formulated by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, the number of men under age 45 with a diagnosis of high blood pressure will triple, and the prevalence among women under age 45 will double. (Kolata, 11/13)
The Washington Post: Blood Pressure Of 130 Is The New ‘High,’ According To First Update Of Guidelines In 14 Years
Leading heart health experts tightened the guidelines for high blood pressure Monday, a change that will sharply increase the number of U.S. adults considered hypertensive in the hope that they, and their doctors, will address the deadly condition sooner. The American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and nine other groups redefined high blood pressure as a reading of 130 over 80, down from 140 over 90. The change, the first in 14 years, means that 46 percent of U.S. adults, many of them under the age of 45, now will be considered hypertensive. Under the previous guideline, 32 percent of U.S. adults had high blood pressure. (Bernstein and Cha, 11/13)
Stat: Finding A Way For The ‘Right’ Microbiome To Help Cancer Immunotherapy Work
Could tweaking the microbiome optimize the way immunotherapy works in cancer patients? A recent study from MD Anderson Cancer Center found that a microbiome padded with specific “good bacteria” could improve the efficacy of certain immunotherapies. (Keshavan, 11/14)
The Associated Press: A Study Suggests Women Are Less Likely To Get CPR From Bystanders
Women are less likely than men to get CPR from a bystander and more likely to die, a new study suggests, and researchers think reluctance to touch a woman’s chest might be one reason. Only 39 percent of women suffering cardiac arrest in a public place were given CPR versus 45 percent of men, and men were 23 percent more likely to survive, the study found. (11/13)
The Washington Post: These Scientists Say You’ll Probably Never Have Heart-Stopping Sex
Heart patients have worried that they may die suddenly from having sex, but a new study suggests they probably won’t. Researchers found that less than 1 percent of people who experienced sudden cardiac arrest were having, or just had, sex. Now Sumeet Chugh, one of the study’s authors, has some “happy news” to tell his nervous patients. (Silverman, 11/13)
Stat: With Genetic Engineering And Hubris, These Biology Olympians Compete To Improve On Nature
If there is one point of agreement among the 300 teams from 42 countries that participated in this year’s synthetic biology Olympics in Boston, it is probably this: The microbes that nature made are a good starting point, but we can do better. Begun as an independent study course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003, the iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machines) Jamboree is now a global competition that culminates a year or more of experiments by teams of high schoolers, undergraduates, and graduate students aimed at producing such “machines.” (Begley, 11/14)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Soda Tax Or No, Americans Aren't Drinking As Many Sugary Beverages, Study Finds
Philadelphia has drawn national attention for its sweetened-drinks tax and how it is cutting into sales of the beverages. But a new study finds that all across the nation, people have been drinking less soda and sugary beverages for years, a change that could be helping some manage their weight. (Schaefer, 11/13)
