Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Deep Brain Stimulation Helps Find Four Disorders' Sources
Researchers may have found a new way to target the sources of certain brain disorders. In a study led by scientists at Mass General Brigham, deep brain stimulation (DBS) was able to pinpoint dysfunctions in the brain that are responsible for four cognitive disorders: Parkinson’s disease, dystonia (a muscle disorder condition that causes repetitive or twisting movements), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette's syndrome. The discovery, published in Nature Neuroscience on Feb. 22, could potentially help doctors determine new treatments for these disorders. (Rudy, 3/5)
As colorectal cancer continues to spike among younger patients, doctors are warning of a little-known but widespread condition that greatly increases the risk. Lynch syndrome is a genetic disorder that makes someone more susceptible to many different kinds of cancer. (Rudy, 3/5)
Drinking two liters or more per week of artificially sweetened beverages — the equivalent of a medium-sized fast-food diet soda a day — raised the risk of an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation by 20% when compared to people who drank none, a new study found. (LaMotte, 3/5)
The mortality rate for U.S. women with breast cancer fell an estimated 58 percent from 1975 to 2019, according to research published in JAMA that credits the decline to advances in screening and treatments. Nearly half (47 percent) of the reduction was attributed to earlier and more effective treatment of those with Stage 1, 2 or 3 breast cancer. (With staging, generally the lower the number, the less the cancer has spread.) (Searing, 3/4)
A new smartphone app developed by researchers at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh uses artificial intelligence to accurately diagnose ear infections. ... "We accomplished 94% sensitivity specificity and 94% accuracy in diagnosing an ear infection versus not an ear infection in children, which is quite good and better than most physicians are," said Alejandro Hoberman, director of the Division of General Academic Pediatrics at Pitt's School of Medicine and president of UPMC Children's Community Pediatrics. (Guay and Bartos, 3/4)
