Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Are Smartphones Behind The Birth Rate Decline?; Lilly's New GLP-1 Could Be Game-Changer For Those With Severely High BMI
The Washington Post: A Suspicious Decline In Birth Rates Points To A New Culprit
The infinite scroll could contribute to lower fertility rates and smaller graduating classes. (Megan McArdle, 5/24)
The Washington Post: GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs Keep Growing More Promising
Eli Lilly's latest GLP-1 drug could be yet another powerful weapon in the fight against obesity. (5/24)
Stat: Stop The State Department From Dismantling PEPFAR
On Sunday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to be a public health emergency. This outbreak is deadly, with hundreds of cases across at least two countries, including, by report, one American who was working in the area. (William Roper, Jeffrey Koplan, Richard Besser, Tom Frieden, Anne Schuchat, Robert Redfield, Rochelle Walensky and Mandy Cohen, 5/26)
CNN: Sepsis: What People Misunderstand About This Diagnosis
The death of NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, whose family said he had severe pneumonia that progressed to sepsis, has renewed questions about a condition many people have heard of but few fully understand. Sepsis is more common and more unpredictable than most people realize. As a urologist, I frequently care for patients who arrive in the emergency room with infected kidney stones. The symptoms often started days earlier: flank pain, fevers, chills, nausea or a general feeling that something was not right. By the time they get to the emergency room, some look visibly ill: heart rate up, blood pressure low, tired and sometimes confused. This is no longer just an infection. This is sepsis, the body’s extreme response to infection. (Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, 5/24)
The Boston Globe: Psychedelic Therapy Could Save Veterans’ Lives
The moment for using psychedelics in medicine has arrived. (Marcus Capone, Amber Capone, Peter Palandjian and Eliza Dushku Palandjian, 5/25)
