Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The Very Real Possibility Of Making Babies From Skin Cells Offers Tantalizing Hope, Ethical Quandaries
The New York Times: Babies From Skin Cells? Prospect Is Unsettling To Some Experts
Nearly 40 years after the world was jolted by the birth of the first test-tube baby, a new revolution in reproductive technology is on the horizon — and it promises to be far more controversial than in vitro fertilization ever was. Within a decade or two, researchers say, scientists will likely be able to create a baby from human skin cells that have been coaxed to grow into eggs and sperm and used to create embryos to implant in a womb. (Lewin, 5/16)
USA Today: Empathy Goes A Long Way For Teens Struggling With Mental Health
The opioid epidemic and recent media attention on suicide have put teen mental health under a spotlight, which raises concerns and questions among parents. The percent of high school students who considered and attempted suicide increased slightly between 2013 and 2015, federal data show, while the percent of high school students reporting symptoms of depression remained the same. Still, the numbers are startling: One in five teens has a mental health condition. (O'Donnell and Barry, 5/15)
The Associated Press: Women In 30s Now Having More Babies Than Younger Moms In US
For the first time, women in their early 30s are having more babies than younger moms in the United States. Health experts say the shift is due to more women waiting longer to have children and the ongoing drop in the teen birth rate. For more than three decades, women in their late 20s had the highest birth rates, but that changed last year, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Stobbe, 5/17)
Los Angeles Times: UCI Doctor’s Plan To Stop Superbugs Is Widely Used. At Her Own Hospital, It Didn’t Work
By the end of December, a lethal bacterium had swept through UC Irvine Medical Center’s intensive care unit, sickening seven infants. Dr. Susan Huang, the hospital’s infection control expert, had a plan. The strategy — which she had promoted so successfully that most U.S. hospitals now use it — included bathing all infants in the ICU with a powerful disinfectant, and swabbing inside their noses with an antibiotic. (Petersen, 5/16)
The New York Times: Steroid Shots Do Little For Knee Pain Of Arthritis
Doctors often prescribe steroid injections for the pain of knee arthritis, but a rigorous trial has found they work no better than a placebo. Researchers randomly assigned 140 men and women over 45 with painful knee osteoarthritis to injections of either a corticosteroid or a saline placebo. The subjects were injected every three months for two years, with neither the patients nor the people who gave the shots knowing who got the placebo. The study is in JAMA. (Bakalar, 5/16)
The New York Times: Yogurt May Be Good For The Bones
Eating yogurt may lead to stronger bones. Researchers tracked 4,310 Irish adults 60 and older, gathering information on diet and lifestyle with questionnaires. They measured bone density and joint deterioration with X-rays and M.R.I., and tested participants’ physical ability. The study is in Osteoporosis International. (Bakalar, 5/16)
The Washington Post: A Teen Chugged A Latte, A Mountain Dew And An Energy Drink. The Caffeine Binge Led To His Death.
Davis Cripe left home April 26 an active and healthy teenage boy, but in art class that afternoon he fell to his knees and told worried classmates that he felt lightheaded. He passed out on the floor and was rushed to a nearby hospital. By 3:30 p.m., around the time the final bell rang at school, he was dead.His sudden death may have remained a medical mystery, the coroner who conducted his autopsy said, if friends hadn't described what Davis ingested during lunch: Enough caffeine to disrupt and ultimately stop his heart. (Wootson, 5/16)
The Star Tribune: State Fair Sunscreen Experiment Reveals People Don't Slather On Enough
A U research team gave away sunscreen at fair information booths in 2015 in an experiment to see if people really protect themselves against sunburn and skin cancer as doctors recommend. In results released Tuesday, they said the answer is often no. (Olson, 5/16)
