Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study On Mice Shows THC In Cannabis Could Be Beneficial For Alzheimer's Disease
NPR: THC Helped Mice Engineered To Mimic Humans With Alzheimer's
A substance that gives pot its kick appears to reduce the brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease – at least in mice. In mice that had been genetically tweaked to develop symptoms like those of Alzheimer's, animals that received a synthetic form of tetrahydrocannabinol for six weeks performed as well as healthy mice on a memory test, scientists reported Tuesday at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego. (Hamilton, 11/7)
Stat: Experimental Treatment Appears Effective Against Gonorrhea In Small Study
A new oral antibiotic drug currently in development appears to be effective at treating gonorrhea, an infection for which there is a critical need for new therapeutic options, a study published Wednesday suggested. The findings are the result of a Phase 2 trial, a small study done to determine if further, larger studies are warranted. Evidence from larger Phase 3 trials would be needed to persuade the Food and Drug Administration or other regulatory agencies to license the one-dose drug, zoliflodacin. (Branswell, 11/7)
The Associated Press: Vietnam, US Complete Cleanup Of Toxic Chemical From Airport
Vietnam and the United States have finished the cleanup of dioxin contamination at Danang airport caused by the transport and storage of the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The 74 acres of land cleansed of the toxic chemical were handed over to Vietnam at a ceremony Wednesday where Vice Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh praised the U.S. government's involvement in the cleanup. (11/7)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: It’s Flu Season: Here’s What You Need To Know And Where To Get A Flu Shot
Last year was one of the worst flu seasons the United States has experienced in close to four decades—claiming the lives of nearly 80,000 Americans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were an estimated 15,000 hospitalizations and 1,600 deaths related to the flu last year in Louisiana alone, according to data provided by the state’s Department of Health. Normally, the flu causes approximately 500 deaths and nearly 3,000 hospitalizations each year in Louisiana. (Clark, 11/7)
Marketplace: What Your Neighborhood Says About Your Life Expectancy
Two people living in different parts of the same city could have very different life expectancy rates, according to data from the U.S. Small-area Life Expectancy Estimates Project. USLEEP released a comprehensive data set, the first-of-its-kind, tracking these rates at the neighborhood level. (Nguyen, 11/7)
The New York Times: Older Fathers More Likely To Have Babies With Health Problems
Babies of older fathers are at greater risk of premature birth, low birth weight and other neonatal problems, a new study reports. Mothers may also be affected: Those with older partners were more likely to have gestational diabetes, probably because older paternity is associated with changes in the placenta. The study, published in BMJ, used data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on more than 40 million live births between 2007 and 2016. (Bakalar, 11/7)
Kaiser Health News: At Death’s Door, Shedding Light On How To Live
Nothing so alters a person as learning you have a terminal illness. Ronni Bennett, who writes a popular blog about aging, discovered that recently when she heard that cancer had metastasized to her lungs and her peritoneum (a membrane that lines the cavity of the abdomen). There is no cure for your condition, Bennett was told by doctors, who estimated she might have six to eight months of good health before symptoms began to appear. (Graham, 11/8)
The Associated Press: More US Adults And Kids Are Doing Yoga, Meditating
If you can do a downward-facing dog, you're among the increasing numbers of Americans doing yoga. A new report says more adults — and even kids — are practicing yoga and meditation. A government survey conducted last year found 14 percent of adults said they had recently done yoga, and the same percentage had recently meditated. That's up from about 10 percent and 4 percent from a similar survey done five years earlier. (11/8)
