Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Alzheimer鈥檚 Vaccines Enter Clinical Trials
Breakthrough Alzheimer鈥檚 treatments that remove toxic proteins from the brain have revived interest in vaccines to treat the memory-robbing disease, potentially offering a cheaper, easy-to-administer option for millions of people, according to interviews with 10 scientists and company executives. Clinical trials are underway or completed for at least seven Alzheimer鈥檚 vaccines designed to harness the immune system to rid the brain of the disease-related proteins beta amyloid or tau, a review of the U.S. government鈥檚 ClinicalTrials.gov database found. More are on the way. (11/20)
Breakthrough Alzheimer鈥檚 treatments that remove toxic proteins from the brain have revived interest in vaccines to treat the memory-robbing disease, potentially offering a cheaper, easy-to-administer option for millions of people, according to interviews with 10 scientists and company executives. Clinical trials are underway or completed for at least seven Alzheimer鈥檚 vaccines designed to harness the immune system to rid the brain of the disease-related proteins beta amyloid or tau, a review of the U.S. government鈥檚 ClinicalTrials.gov database found. More are on the way. (Steenhuysen, 11/20)
Inflammation from belly fat may be linked to the early stages of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease decades before symptoms begin, new research has found. 鈥淲e鈥檝e known for a while that as the belly size gets larger, the memory centers in the brain get smaller,鈥 said Alzheimer鈥檚 disease researcher Dr. Richard Isaacson, a preventive neurologist at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases of Florida. (LaMotte, 11/20)
The study, published Wednesday in the journal Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, found that friendships in older adults were associated with some instances of better physical health and health behaviors, as well as better mental health across the board. ... While many previous studies have connected having good friends with particular health benefits, this is the largest and most comprehensive study done to date, according to study co-author William Chopik, an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University. (Mertens, 11/20)
We've long said that dogs are man's best friend 鈥 but studies finally back it up. At a time when loneliness has become a serious health concern, recent research suggests there's something special about the way canine buddies boost our mood and longevity. (Mallenbaum, 11/20)
Also, scientists look into cognitive (and heart) risks from lead exposure 鈥
According to a new study in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, an estimated 5.455 million adults worldwide died in 2019 from cardiovascular disease (CVD) attributable to lead exposure 鈥 a toll more than six times higher than a previous estimate. The study goes on to provide what its authors say are the first monetary estimates of the total global cost of these lead-attributable deaths, along with the magnitude and cost of IQ loss in children under 5 years old. (Estvanik Taylor, 11/20)