Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Scaling Back On Foods, Drinks With Added Sugars Can Reduce Fatty Liver In Millions Of Overweight Children
The New York Times: To Fight Fatty Liver, Avoid Sugary Foods And Drinks
Overweight children with fatty liver disease sharply reduced the amount of fat and inflammation in their livers by cutting soft drinks, fruit juices and foods with added sugars from their diets, a rigorous new study found. The new research, published in JAMA on Tuesday, suggests that limiting sugary foods and drinks may be a promising lifestyle strategy to help alleviate a devastating condition linked to the obesity crisis that is spreading rapidly in adults and children. An estimated 80 million to 100 million Americans have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which causes the liver to swell with dangerous levels of fat. Roughly seven million of those are adolescents and teenagers. (O'Connor, 1/22)
Kaiser Health News: Alcohol-Linked Disease Overtakes Hep C As Top Reason For Liver Transplant
An estimated 17,000 Americans are on the waiting list for a liver transplant, and there’s a strong chance that many of them have alcohol-associated liver disease. ALD now edges out hepatitis C as the No. 1 reason for liver transplants in the United States, according to research published Tuesday in JAMA Internal Medicine. One reason for the shift, researchers said, is that hepatitis C, which used to be the leading cause of liver transplants, has become easier to treat with drugs. (Bluth, 1/22)
The New York Times: What Is Toxic Masculinity?
For decades, we used terms like “macho,” “red-blooded” or “machismo” to describe the kind of hulking masculinity that men were, on some level, expected to aspire to. Now we have “toxic masculinity” — an expression once relegated to women’s studies classrooms that suddenly seems to be everywhere. (Salam, 1/22)
NPR: Multiple Sclerosis: A Misguided Immune Attack On Myelin
As the story goes, nearly 80 years ago on the Faroe Islands — a stark North Atlantic archipelago 200 miles off the coast of Scotland — a neurologic epidemic may have washed, or rather convoyed, ashore. Before 1940 the incidence of multiple sclerosis on the Faroes was near, if not actually, zero, according to the tantalizing lore I recall from medical school. Yet in the years following British occupation of the islands during World War II, the rate of MS rose dramatically, leading many researchers to assume the outbreak was caused by some unknown germ transmitted by the foreign soldiers. (Stetka, 1/21)
PBS NewsHour: Coal Miners Have Been Inhaling Deadly Silica Dust For Decades. Now They’re Dying
For decades, coal miners have been inhaling silica dust on the job. The extremely fine particles, generated when the quartz-rich limestone surrounding coal seams is cut, lodge in the lungs, obstructing respiration. According to a Frontline/NPR report, both the industry and the government understood the hazard for decades but did little to contain it. (Berkes, 1/22)
The New York Times: Even A 20-Second Exercise ‘Snack’ Can Improve Fitness
As little as 20 seconds of brisk stair climbing, done several times a day, might be enough exercise to improve fitness, according to a pragmatic new study of interval-style training. The study finds that people can complete a meaningful series of insta-workouts without leaving their office building or even changing out of their dress shoes, offering hope — and eliminating excuses — for those of us convinced that we have inadequate time, expertise, income or footwear to exercise. (Reynolds, 1/23)
WBUR: Medical Students Push For More LGBT Health Training To Address Disparities
According to a number of studies, medical schools do a poor job of preparing future doctors to understand the LGBT population's unique needs and health risks. And, a 2017 survey of students at Boston University School of Medicine found their knowledge of transgender and intersex health to be lesser than that of LGBT health. (Cohen, 1/20)
Miami Herald: Dengue Immunity May Protect Against Zika
As scientists continue to study the relatively novel Zika virus, researchers have found that children with a history of prior dengue infection had a significantly lower risk of being symptomatic when infected by Zika, according to a study in Nicaragua of more than 3,000 children. Experts had worried that prior dengue infection could worsen Zika disease, but the new findings published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine suggest that prior dengue immunity in children may protect against symptomatic Zika, which can cause fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. (Chang, 1/22)
Stat: With Human Drugs, A Startup Hopes To Deliver Precision Medicine To Dogs
When pet dogs are diagnosed with cancer, they typically get surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation — that is, of course, if their owner opts to treat it. Now, a Silicon Valley startup wants to offer precision medicine instead — by recommending targeted therapies that are normally used to treat humans. For a price tag in the low four figures, depending on the veterinary clinic, the One Health Company will sequence a dog’s tumor and generate a report with recommendations. (Robbins, 1/23)
