Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Undercuts Popular Belief That Rise In Thyroid Cancer Rates Is Due To Unnecessary Diagnoses
The Wall Street Journal: Thyroid Cancer Rates Raise New Concerns
Two new studies show that the high incidence of thyroid cancer may be more dangerous than previously thought. A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) last month raises new questions about why thyroid cancer cases are on the rise. Data from a separate study points to flame retardants as a possible culprit. The research could cause a shift of doctors’ and researchers’ long-held beliefs that the fast-growing rate of thyroid cancer cases is solely due to unnecessary diagnoses involving small tumors that don’t lead to death. (Reddy, 4/10)
The Washington Post: Physician Recommendations About Breast Cancer Screening Vary, Survey Finds
Primary-care physicians and gynecologists continue recommending breast cancer screening for younger and older women despite changes to breast cancer screening guidelines, a study published Monday found. Trust in different guidelines and a physician's specialization affect their screening recommendations, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine. (Naqvi, 4/10)
The New York Times: Why Are So Many People Popping Vitamin D?
There was no reason for the patients to receive vitamin D tests. They did not have osteoporosis; their bones were not cracking from a lack of the vitamin. They did not have diseases that interfere with vitamin D absorption. Yet in a recent sample of 800,000 patients in Maine, nearly one in five had had at least one test for blood levels of the vitamin over a three-year period. (Kolata, 4/10)
NPR: Brain Area May Reveal When We Dream
Most of us have about five dreams each night, though we're not likely to remember any of them. But a team of researchers has found a pattern of brain activity that seems to reveal not only when the brain is generating a dream but something about the content of that dream. "When subjects were having [dream] experiences during sleep, there was a region in the back of the brain that tended to be very active, as if this region was a little bit more awake," says Francesca Siclari, a researcher at the Center for Research and Investigation in Sleep at Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland. (Hamilton, 4/10)
Reuters: Progress Uneven As Global Child Death Rates Fall
Deaths among children and adolescents became less common between 1990 and 2015, but not all countries benefited equally from the improvements, according to a new analysis. Countries with low social and economic statuses shoulder a much larger child and adolescent mortality burden than do countries with better income, education and fertility levels, researchers found. (Seaman, 4/10)
Stat: Stem Cell Technique Morphs Brain Cells To Cure Parkinson's In Mice
Mice that walk straight and fluidly don’t usually make scientists exult, but these did: The lab rodents all had a mouse version of Parkinson’s disease and only weeks before had barely been able to lurch and shuffle around their cages. Using a trick from stem-cell science, researchers managed to restore the kind of brain cells whose death causes Parkinson’s. (Begley, 4/10)
The Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com: Two Recent Deaths Reveal The Dark Side Of Speed Eating
Watching a bunch of people wolfing down as much food as they can as fast as they can may seem funny — until it’s not. Travis Malouff, 42, died April 2 after attempting to down a half-pound glazed doughnut in 80 seconds at the Voodoo Doughnuts shop in Denver, Colo. That same day, college student and sorority member Caitlin Nelson, 20, died after having choked three days before during a charity pancake eating contest at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. Nelson, a resident of Clark, N.J., had lost her father, a Port Authority police officer, to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Giordano, 4/10)
Stat: 5 Weird Things Medical Researchers Collect For Science
Biomedical scientists collect weird stuff. In their hunt for potent new drugs, they often turn to nature, collecting vials of pollen extract and vats of peanut skins and even colonies of vaginal bacteria. Do they find treasures amid the dross? Sometimes. Here, five of the more interesting collections we’ve come across. (Keshavan, 4/11)
Stat: What To Look For When Picking Where To Give Birth? Not What You May Think
When expectant parents tour prospective hospitals and birthing centers, they may be focusing on the wrong things: a comfortable sitting room for family or special perks. But the design of those facilities, often overlooked by prospective parents, could be what really affects the birth experience, and even increase a woman’s likelihood of having a caesarean section, according to recently published research. (Tedeschi, 4/11)
