Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'The Field Is Confused, Disoriented, And Completely Devastated': Alzheimer's Researchers Forced Back To Drawing Board
Stat: Alzheimer’s Scientists Return To Square One — And Outside Ideas Are Let In
At this year’s largest conference on Alzheimer’s disease, there was no big reveal. There were no major companies presenting late-stage data on promising therapies. There was little in the way of groundbreaking research. Instead, there was a sense from many researchers in the field that, after a string of high-profile clinical trial failures, there is nowhere to go but back to the drawing board. (Keshavan, 7/22)
The Washington Post: More People Died In Car Crashes This Century Than In Both World Wars
Since the turn of the century, more Americans have died in car crashes than did in both World Wars, and the overwhelming majority of the wrecks were caused by speeding, drunk or distracted drivers, according to government data. “Where’s the social outrage? There should be social outrage,” said Robert L. Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. (Halsey, 7/21)
The Washington Post: Nurses Are Teaching Doctors How To Treat Anti-Vaccine Fears And Myths
It’s late on a Tuesday night during the worst measles outbreak in decades, and doctors, nurses and other health-care providers are gathered at a medical center to learn better ways of talking to parents who are reluctant to vaccinate their children. Blima Marcus, an oncology nurse practitioner, leads the two-hour session on how to do a better job listening to and responding to parents’ questions — and, in the process, cultivating their trust. The key, she says, is hearing people’s questions about the science behind vaccines and addressing those directly. (Sun, 7/21)
The New York Times: A Layered Approach To Preventing Drowning
Levi Hughes was 3 years old, on vacation with his family and five other families, when he slipped off the couch one evening last summer while the group was waiting for it to get dark enough for their annual crab hunt. The family was renting a vacation home in Alabama with a group of friends stretching back to Levi’s father’s residency in cardiothoracic anesthesia. “Our son drowned when there were six physicians in the room, 12 adults, 17 kids,” said his mother, Nicole Hughes, a writing teacher and literacy coach in Bristol, Tenn., who now works extensively in drowning prevention, including with the American Academy of Pediatrics. (Klass, 7/22)
The Associated Press: New Standards Aim To Improve Surgery For The Oldest Patients
The 92-year-old had a painful tumor on his tongue, and major surgery was his best chance. Doctors called a timeout when he said he lived alone, in a rural farmhouse, and wanted to keep doing so. "It was ultimately not clear we could get him back there" after such a big operation, said Dr. Tom Robinson, chief of surgery at the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System. (7/19)
The Washington Post: Medial Meniscus Root Knee Injuries Can Be Hard To Diagnose.
Dorothy Beckett has been a runner for decades and knows her body well, so the 61-year-old biochemistry professor was puzzled when her knee hobbled for no apparent reason after a routine run. Beckett took two weeks off to let it rest and then tried an easy run. She was met with excruciating pain and decided it was time to visit a doctor. What Beckett never expected was that she was about to begin a long, seemingly endless journey to figure out and properly treat her injury. (Loudin, 7/21)
NPR: Reversing Type 2 Diabetes With Diet And Exercise Takes Community Support
Chains, saws and old logging equipment litter the back field of Wendy Norris' family farm, near the county seat of Altamont, Tenn. Norris used to be part of the local timber industry, and the rusted tools are relics from a time when health woes didn't hold her back from felling hardwoods. "I was nine months pregnant," Norris says. "Me and my husband stayed about 10 or 15 miles in the middle of nowhere, in a tent, for a long time." (Farmer, 7/22)
The Washington Post: How The Dust In Your Home May Affect Your Health
You vacuum it, sweep it and wipe it off your furniture. But do you know what it actually is — and how it may affect your health? Don’t feel bad if you’re clueless about your dust. Scientists are not that far ahead of you in terms of understanding the sources and health risks of indoor air and particles. That’s an issue, because people spend a lot of time indoors. Indeed, the average American stays within four walls for almost 90 percent of their day. (Filippelli, 7/20)
NPR: How Microexpressions Can Make Moods Contagious
It's a common experience for family members or groups of friends: One person's mood can bring the whole group's energy down— or up. But why are we so easily influenced? In 1962, the reality television show Candid Camera offered a remarkable glimpse into a psychological phenomenon that helps explain how emotions spread. They did it through a now famous comedy stunt called "Face the Rear." It goes like this: We see an unsuspecting man walk into an elevator that has been secretly rigged with cameras. Two more people walk in after him. But weirdly, they turn to face towards the back wall of the elevator. (Simstrom, 7/21)
The Washington Post: What’s The Best Time Of Day To Exercise, Morning Or Evening?
Some people are morning exercisers. For them, an early run or swim is as much a part of their wake-up ritual as that first cup of coffee. Others can’t abide the idea. They need a nighttime workout to rid themselves of the day’s stresses. Does it make a difference? Several recent studies suggest that it does. But it’s complicated. One recent paper indicates that morning exercise may activate certain genes in the muscle cells, boosting their ability to metabolize sugar and fat. While scientists say this finding requires further study, they think it ultimately might help those who are overweight or suffering from Type 2 diabetes. (Cimons, 7/21)
The New York Times: The Downside Of Having A Sweet Tooth
Sweet dreams, sweet spot, sweet as pie, sweet young thing: All have a positive connotation. But what about sweet tooth, which Americans seem to have cultivated to great excess? The health effects of this obsession with everything sweet are anything but positive. In fact, recent reports have found that regular consumption of sugary drinks heightens the risk not only of tooth decay, obesity, fatty liver disease and Type 2 diabetes, but also of heart disease and premature death, even in people free of other risk factors. (Brody, 7/22)
