Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Experimental Gene-Editing Treatment Could Prevent Heart Disease In One Infusion
The New York Times: One-And-Done Heart Disease Prevention? Scientists Show It May Be Possible
In a small, preliminary study, an experimental gene-editing treatment dramatically lowered cholesterol levels, perhaps permanently, after just one infusion, scientists reported on Monday. If confirmed in larger studies, researchers hope the findings may lead to a one-and-done way to prevent heart disease in large numbers of people. Most gene therapies target rare diseases, but cardiovascular disease kills nearly 800,000 Americans a year. (Kolata, 5/25)
On treatments for gonorrhea and alcohol withdrawal —
San Francisco Chronicle: California’s ‘Plan B For STIs’ Is Working — With One Exception
A drug meant to prevent sexually transmitted infections if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex appears to be working well against syphilis and chlamydia, but within a year of making the therapy widely available in California, it no longer protects against gonorrhea, according to a new Kaiser study. DoxyPEP, a dose of antibiotics sometimes framed as Plan B for STIs, cut the risk of getting syphilis or chlamydia by up to 60%, according to the Kaiser study, which looked at roughly 25,000 members in Southern California. But it had no effect against gonorrhea, and there are signs that doxyPEP may be contributing to drug resistance in the bacteria. (Allday, 5/25)
Fox News: Alzheimer's Drug Could Reduce Alcohol Withdrawal Damage, Researchers Say
An investigational dementia drug may also ease alcohol withdrawal by calming the brain inflammation linked to addiction and relapse. That’s according to researchers at the University of Kentucky, who studied an experimental medication called MW150 that targets a brain inflammation pathway known as p38α MAPK. The drug, which has not yet been approved, is designed to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. (Rudy, 5/25)
On weight loss drugs —
The Washington Post: Weight-Loss Compounder Hims & Hers Is Shifting To Wellness And Longevity
The next phase of Andrew Dudum’s quest to change how Americans get their health care is taking shape behind the walls of a nondescript factory, tucked off a side street in Silicon Valley. As co-founder and CEO of telehealth company Hims & Hers, Dudum has helped lead the tech industry’s encroachment on traditional medicine, using social media to sell popular prescription drugs over the internet. (Rowland, 5/24)
The Washington Post: Weight-Loss Drugs Pose Dangers To People With Eating Disorders
Stevee Williams, a restaurant manager in Houston, was preparing for her sister’s wedding when anxieties bubbled up about how she would look in her bridesmaid dress. She was diagnosed with anorexia when she was 17 and her struggle with eating never left. This time, at 27, she turned to a new tool to control her appetite, one of the GLP-1 drugs fueling a national weight-loss craze. On an online site promising easy prescriptions, she typed that she was 150 pounds (she wasn’t) and indicated she did not “feel well enough to get up and move around” (which also wasn’t true). Then she entered her credit card information. (Rowland and Eunjung Cha, 5/23)
The Hill: GLP-1 Usage Has Displaced Bariatric Surgery For Weight-Loss Treatment, Researchers Say
Increased use of GLP-1 drugs to treat obesity appears to be significantly reducing the number of surgeries that were once the primary option for dramatic weight loss. A new study published in JAMA Surgery examined trends in the use of metabolic and bariatric surgery in the U.S. between 2022 and 2024. As use of GLP-1 drugs increased by 140.4 percent during that period, bariatric surgery rates fell by 34 percent, researchers found after analyzing data from 11.7 million patients diagnosed with obesity or diabetes. The findings align with a separate recent study from Loyola University Chicago, which found the number of metabolic and bariatric surgeries in the U.S. dropped below 200,000 in 2024 for the first time since 2020. (Ramsey, 5/25)
In research on cancer and tumors —
Boise State Public Radio News: Largest Study Of Firefighting-Related Cancer Nears 50K Enrollees
The largest study of firefighter-related cancer is expected to soon top 50,000 volunteer enrollees. Growth has been strong over the last year despite a great deal of uncertainty last spring over the future of the ambitious effort. In April 2025, the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer (NFR) was shut down indefinitely in the wake of massive Trump administration layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services. (Woodhouse, 5/25)
The Washington Post: How Scientists Found A Weakness In One Of The Deadliest ‘Undruggable’ Cancers
For decades, one of the deadliest cancers had an Achilles’ heel lying in plain sight. Pancreatic cancer is an exquisitely cruel diagnosis, leaving only 13 percent of people alive after five years. But in the early 1980s, scientists discovered a weakness — a mutated protein called KRAS — that spurred the aggressive growth and spread an array of tumors. In pancreatic cancer, it would turn out to be a key driver of nearly every case. There was just one problem. The KRAS protein they needed to block was flat and smooth, without the crevices and cracks, pockets and sockets that a drug needs to get a toehold. (Johnson, 5/24)
WUFT: Waka, Waka, Waka, Waka: Scientists Trick Bacteria Into Eating Tumors
Canadian researchers have figured out a way to engineer bacteria into chewing up tumors. The little microbes eat and eat until they grow big enough to take over the unwanted mass. (Hagmajer, 5/26)
