Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The Personal Health Toll Of Social Activism
The New York Times: They Push. They Protest. And Many Activists, Privately, Suffer As A Result.
She lay curled in bed for days, paralyzed by the stresses of a life that she felt had chosen her as much as she had chosen it. About three years earlier, the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., had spurred Ashley Yates into activism. She would evolve from street protester in her hometown of St. Louis to Black Lives Matter organizer in Oakland. But Ms. Yates would also feel the pressures of a job that seemed unrelenting: responding repeatedly to the deaths of black residents in communities across America, struggling to win policy reforms that would benefit black people and rallying others to support her causes. (Eligon, 3/26)
The New York Times: Grindr, Popular Gay Sex App, To Offer H.I.V. Test Reminders
In an effort to shrink the global AIDS epidemic, the world’s largest gay dating app is changing its software this week to urge millions of users to get frequent H.I.V. tests. Grindr, which claims to have 3.3 million daily users from every country in the world, will send men who opt into the service a reminder every three to six months, and simultaneously point them to the nearest testing site. It will also let clinics, gay community centers and other testing sites advertise for free. (McNeil, 3/26)
The New York Times: For Many Strokes, There’s An Effective Treatment. Why Aren’t Some Doctors Offering It?
It was one of those findings that would change medicine, Dr. Christopher Lewandowski thought. For years, doctors had tried — and failed — to find a treatment that would preserve the brains of stroke patients. The task was beginning to seem hopeless: Once a clot blocked a blood vessel supplying the brain, its cells quickly began to die. Patients and their families could only pray that the damage would not be too extensive. (Kolata, 3/26)
The Washington Post: Testing For Hepatitis C Lags With Baby Boomers Despite High Infection Rate
Testing for hepatitis C, a major cause of liver cancer, is lagging behind among the group of Americans with the highest rate of infection: baby boomers. A study published Tuesday showed that only about 13 percent of baby boomers were tested in 2015, up just slightly from 12 percent in 2013. U.S. public health authorities recommend all people in that demographic — those born between 1945 and 1965 — be screened for hepatitis C. (McGinley, 3/27)
The Washington Post: Brain Abnormalities Found In 4- And 5-Year-Olds With ADHD, Researchers Say
In the first comprehensive imaging study of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in preschoolers, researchers have found evidence that structural changes in the brain are already recognizable at the age of 4. “One of our big questions was thinking about an early-onset disorder and linking it to early-onset brain anomalies,” said Lisa Jacobson, one of the researchers involved in the study, which appeared Monday in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. The results “tell us that this is not just a behavioral disorder. It is a neurological disorder.” (Nutt, 3/26)
The Washington Post: Losing Weight By Restricting Eating Times Seems To Work, At Least In Mice
This is a story about the importance of good timing. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. This excess weight contributes to a variety of health problems. Despite enormous effort over decades, the problem has proved extremely difficult to solve. Biologist Satchin Panda thinks we’re missing a key variable: Instead of focusing so much on what we eat, he says, we should pay more attention to when we eat. (Kohn, 3/26)
Los Angeles Times: By Going Vegan, America Could Feed An Additional 390 Million People, Study Suggests
More than 41 million Americans find themselves at risk of going hungry at some point during the year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.But it doesn't have to be this way. New research suggests the country could feed all 327 million Americans — plus roughly 390 million more — by focusing on plants. If U.S. farmers took all the land currently devoted to raising cattle, pigs and chickens and used it to grow plants instead, they could sustain more than twice as many people as they do now, according to a report published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Kaplan, 3/26)
WBUR: Scientists In Africa Wonder If There's Bias Against Their Research
Data supporting a Western bias against African research is scarce. That makes it a hard thing to demonstrate. But there are a number of reasons to take the issue seriously. (Jochem, 3/26)
Kaiser Health News: ‘Peanut Butter Cup’ Vape: Is This Dessert Or An E-Cigarette Flavor?
Advertising for traditional cigarettes is strictly regulated: No cowboys looking cool, no cartoons and no bright colors that play up candy-flavored cigarettes that might appeal to kids. Yet these bans don’t apply to e-cigarettes or vapes — increasingly a choice for experimentation by adolescents and young adults. These smoking products use chemical solutions with nicotine flavored with “juices” that have names like “Bubble Pop,” “Strawberry Cotton Candy” and “Peanut Butter Cup.” People inhale these as if they were smoking a traditional cigarette. (Bluth, 3/26)
