Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Universal MRNA Flu Vaccine In Clinical Trials
NBC News: Universal Flu Vaccine Based On MRNA Tech To Be Tested By National Institutes Of Health
Patients are now enrolling in an early-stage clinical trial to test a universal flu vaccine based on messenger RNA technology, the National Institutes of Health announced Monday. Scientists hope the vaccine will protect against a wide variety of flu strains and provide long-term immunity so people do not have to receive a shot every year. (Kimball, 5/15)
The New York Times: World Health Organization Warns Against Using Artificial Sweeteners
The World Health Organization on Monday warned against using artificial sweeteners to control body weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases, saying that long-term use is not effective and could pose health risks. These alternatives to sugar, when consumed long term, do not serve to reduce body fat in either adults or children, the W.H.O. said in a recommendation, adding that continued consumption could increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mortality in adults. (Rubin, 5/15)
Bloomberg: Philips Says Most Recalled Devices Unlikely To Harm Health
Royal Philips NV said new tests on its recalled sleep apnea products showed the vast majority of the devices are unlikely to cause considerable health damage to patients. The shares jumped. (Koc, 5/16)
CNN: Marijuana Harms Development In First Trimester Of Pregnancy
If you are pregnant and use any form of cannabis product, consider stopping. That’s the takeaway from a new study that found a significant health impact of marijuana use on fetal development as early as the beginning of pregnancy. (LaMotte, 5/16)
The New York Times: Mutation Protected Man From Alzheimer’s Disease, Hinting At Treatment
The man should have gotten Alzheimer’s disease in his early 40s — he had a gene mutation that guaranteed it, or so it seemed. Scans of his brain even revealed severe atrophying and the hallmarks of the disease: rough, hard, amyloid plaques and spaghetti-like tangles of tau proteins. But the fatal brain disease did not appear until the man was 67. Now an intense research effort has discovered why. The man was protected because another mutation in a different gene blocked the disease from entering his entorhinal cortex. (Kolata, 5/15)
KFF Health News: Michael Milken Wants To Speed Up Cures
Years ago, a top chemical biologist pondered ditching his cancer research to take a more lucrative commission growing healthier apples. Michael Milken stopped him. “I told him we could probably eat the same apples for the next 20 years and be OK, but we wouldn’t be OK if he didn’t continue his potential groundbreaking work,” Milken, 76, said. “Then we funded him.” Driven by a family history of disease and his own experience with prostate cancer, Milken, the onetime junk-bond wizard whose spectacular downfall on securities charges led to a 22-month prison term in the 1990s, has spent the last three decades trying to advance medical science so that people “can find cures to life-threatening diseases within their own lifetimes.” (Kreidler, 5/16)
