Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Wegovy Shown To Reduce Heart Failure Symptoms For Obese Patients
Bloomberg: Wegovy Weight-Loss Drug Improves Obese Patients’ Heart Failure Symptoms
Wegovy, the blockbuster weight-loss medication from Novo Nordisk A/S, alleviated heart failure symptoms in patients with obesity, according to a late-stage trial that adds to the drug’s potential benefits. A weekly dose reduced patients’ ills that can include shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling in the legs and irregular heartbeat, according to findings published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Muller and Kresge, 8/25)
The Press Association: Researchers Call On Governments To Raise Legal Smoking Age To 22
Young people should be banned from buying tobacco products until they are 22, researchers have suggested after a study found those who start smoking before the age of 20 find it more difficult to quit. Scientists said a rise in the minimum age by governments across the world could reduce nicotine dependence. (Newton, 8/25)
Reuters: Charles River Lab Signs Joint Agreement For Protection Of Crabs Used In Medical Tests
Charles River Laboratories has signed a joint agreement with four entities to enhance protections in South Carolina for horseshoe crabs and a bird that feeds on their eggs, they said on Thursday. The crabs, prized for their milky-blue blood that is used to detect bacterial contamination in intravenous drugs or implants, have been listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (8/24)
In obituaries —
The Washington Post: Sliman Bensmaia, Who Added Sensations Of Touch To Prosthetics, Dies At 49
Simon Bensmaia, a trailblazing neuroscientist working on brain computer interfaces allowing amputees and paralyzed patients to control prosthetic and robotic limbs while simultaneously feeling the natural sensations of touch, died Aug. 11 at his home in Chicago. He was 49.The University of Chicago, where Dr. Bensmaia was a professor of organismal biology and anatomy, announced his death but did not cite a cause. (Rosenwald, 8/24)
