Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Vocal Anti-Vaccination Doctor Has Now Become A Frequent Expert Witness For Parents Accused Of Abuse
ProPublica: An Anti-Vaxxer’s New Crusade
Over the last decade, Ayoub, who is 59, has become one of the most active expert witnesses in the United States on behalf of accused child abusers. ...Ayoub, though, doesn’t specialize in treating children. He is not a pediatrician or a pediatric radiologist. Much of his knowledge about rickets in infants comes from reading studies and textbooks, he has said on the stand, rather than formal training. (Armstrong, 11/27)
The New York Times: How Pollution Can Hurt The Health Of The Economy
One argument for rolling back environmental regulations — as is occurring under the Trump administration — is that a lighter touch on industry will lift investment and economic growth. But increased pollution can also have long-term negative economic consequences. The effects on health are bad enough on their own, and are well understood. ... Less well understood is how this can affect things like educational and economic outcomes. Many studies, some focused on regions of the United States, others on cities elsewhere, have documented this kind of relationship: It’s harder to perform well at work or school if you don’t feel well. Additionally, if school performance suffers as a result of health problems, that threatens long-term work and earnings prospects. (Frakt, 11/27)
The Wall Street Journal: A Lab Tests Playing To Help Children With Autism
Otis Grimm is squealing with joy as he swings, lying belly-down in a blue net swing, trying to reach the ladder before him. The 7-year-old’s goal: to pull himself up a few rungs and grab a bean bag from the bucket dangling enticingly above him. This isn’t gymnastics class or a playground—it’s a therapy session. Otis is part of a study at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Health System where researchers are testing two autism therapies and how they affect the brain. “The bean bags are all the way up there. How are you going to go up there?” Tim Conly, a senior occupational therapist at Montefiore, asks Otis. (Reddy, 11/26)
The New York Times: Probiotics Do Not Ease Stomach Flu
Probiotics, the beneficial bacteria that live in our digestive tracts, are widely used to treat gastroenteritis or “stomach flu,” an inflammation of the stomach and intestines usually caused by a virus or bacterium. But a randomized clinical trial has found that the treatment is ineffective. Researchers studied 971 children 3 months to 4 years old who arrived in emergency rooms with the typical symptoms of gastroenteritis — nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhea and dehydration, stomach pain and cramps. They were randomly assigned to a five-day course of Lactobacillus rhamnosus, a commonly studied probiotic, or a placebo. (Bakalar, 11/26)
The Washington Post: Your Imagination Could Help Conquer Your Fears
Therapists often use a technique that involves exposing patients to the source of their fears to conquer them, but a new study suggests that guided imagining of the source of fear can be just as effective. The traditional method, called threat extinction, relies on triggering areas of the brain involved in perception, memory, learning and imagination, and the authors of the new study show the same processes occur when the fear source is “simulated” by imagining it. (Carroll, 11/27)
NPR: China Pours Money Into Research, Luring U.S. Scientists And Students
In 2003, Jay Siegel was up for a new challenge. Siegel was a tenured professor of chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, but he took a job at the University of Zurich. "When I first moved, people said, 'Oh, you're crazy to leave San Diego; it's a paradise. Why would you go to Europe? Blah, blah blah,' "recalls Siegel. "And after 10 years people were saying, 'Oh, man, that was the smartest thing you ever did. Zurich is wonderful.' " (Palca, 11/27)
The New York Times: Cancer Pushes New York’s ‘First Girlfriend,’ Sandra Lee, Onto Political Stage
She strolled slowly through the neighborhood, a down-to-earth sprawl of sun-blasted ranch houses, and Sandra Lee was in her element. In contrast to her high-gloss public persona, Ms. Lee wore a simple, loose-fitting dress, no makeup, the only thing adorning her face a pair of oversized sunglasses. Still, she could not contain her inner rah-rah: Whenever a jogger passed, she stopped to cheer them on. And then she resumed the conversation, back to the art of the undersell. (McKinley, 11/27)
Miami Herald: Pfizer Announces ThermaCare Wrap Recall 7 Weeks After Recall
Pfizer recalled six lots of eight-hour Thermacare HeatWraps, used for joint, muscle and menstrual pain, after finding the wraps might leak. ... If this sounds familiar, Publix announced the recall of the lots it sells Oct. 3 after Pfizer told retailers of the recall. (Neal, 11/26)
The Star Tribune: Diabetes Hits Young Adults Harder, State Report Finds
Diabetes is taking a harsher-than-recognized toll on young adults, who struggle with blood sugar control and end up in hospital care more often than older adults with the chronic disease. The finding, reported Monday by the Minnesota Department of Health, didn’t surprise doctors who work daily with young and old patients, but it suggests that health officials may need to rethink the state’s diabetes support programs, which tend to target people 45 or older. (Olson, 11/26)
Kaiser Health News: One Twin’s Difficult Birth Puts A Project Designed To Reduce C-Sections To The Test
The tiny hand and forearm slipped out too early. Babies are not delivered shoulder first. Dr. Terri Marino, an obstetrician in the Boston area who specializes in high-risk deliveries, tucked it back inside the boy’s mother. “He was trying to shake my hand and I was like, ‘I’m not having this — put your hand back in there,'” Marino would say later, after all 5 pounds, 1 ounce of the baby lay wailing under a heating lamp.This is the story of how that baby, Bryce McDougall, tested the best efforts of more than a dozen medical staffers at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Mass., that day last summer. (Bebinger, 11/27)
St. Louis Public Radio: New Rules For Pediatricians Say Light Exercise, Phone Use OK For Children With Concussions
Children with concussions should be able to continue exercising and using electronics, according to new treatment guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics. For years, doctors have recommended children who suffered a concussion stay in a dark room with few distractions with the belief it would speed up healing. The new guidance encourages pediatricians to recommend that children engage in moderate exercise and electronics use. (Fentem, 11/26)
