Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drug Makers Attempt To Treat Depression By Blocking Inflammation Instead Of Altering Brain Chemistry
One of the world’s largest drug makers is testing a radical new approach to treating depression — by dialing down inflammation in the body, rather than tinkering with chemicals in the brain. (Mullard, 1/28)
Every week, Kevin Davis gives Frank Fisher a shower. Usually it’s Sunday afternoon. When Kevin arrives at the rehabilitation center in Jamaica Plain, Frank recognizes him, but he may not remember exactly why he’s there — one symptom of his dementia. Kevin keeps coming back to help, because 20 years ago, Frank changed his life. (Lantz)
It was just a tiny speck, a single cell that researchers had marked with a fluorescent green dye. But it was the very first cell of what would grow to be a melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Never before had researchers captured a cancer so early. The cell was not a cancer yet. But its state was surprising: It was a cell that had reverted to an embryonic form, when it could have developed into any cell type. As it began to divide, cancer genes took over and the single primitive cell barreled forward into a massive tumor. (Kolata, 1/28)
On autism, KHN reports on a possible link to maternal weight and diabetes while The Tennessean writes about two autistic brothers with vastly different lives —
Juli Liske awaited two letters. One from her older son, Dylan, 26 years old and a heroin addict locked away in a detention center five hours north. The other for her younger son, Ben, an academically advanced student who, at 15 years old, was already anticipating early admission to Vanderbilt University. Two brothers with the same medical diagnosis but vastly different experiences — “a heavenly dream and an unthinkable hell.” (Bliss, 1/28)
While the incidence of autism spectrum disorder has increased in recent years, what’s behind it remains relatively mysterious and even controversial. But a major study could shed new light on some of the maternal health factors that may increase children’s risk of developing the condition. (Luthra, 1/29)
And researchers try to shed new light on why middle-aged white Americans are dying at a higher rate —
Don’t blame suicide and substance abuse entirely for rising death rates among middle-aged white Americans, asserts a new study out Friday. They’re both factors, but the bigger culprit is almost two decades of stalled progress in fighting leading causes of death -- such as heart disease, diabetes and respiratory disease -- according to a Commonwealth Fund analysis of data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Gillespie, 1/29)
