Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Public Health Roundup: New Orleans Heart Attacks Triple Since Katrina; Heroin Users Ask To Be Locked Up
Ten years after Hurricane Katrina, patients were three times as likely to be admitted to Tulane Medical Center for heart attacks than they were in the years before the storm, according to a new study by Tulane University researchers. The study, released this week during the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2016 in New Orleans, also found that patients were more likely to have risk factors for heart attack in the years after the hurricane....In addition to the risks for heart attack, the researchers also noted a rise in the rates of substance abuse and psychiatric disorders after the storm. Among the post-Katrina group, unemployment and lack of health insurance were also more pronounced than they had been previously. (Lipinski, 11/15)
Inpatient treatment programs for heroin and opioid dependence can be so difficult to get into in some parts of the country that drug users who want to quit are voluntarily asking judges to lock them up — just to guarantee they'll get help. (Brown, 11/15)
Mantis shrimp, a group of aggressive, reef-dwelling crustaceans, take more than one first-place ribbon in the animal kingdom. Outwardly, they resemble their lobster cousins, but their colorful shells contain an impressive set of superpowers. Now, scientists are finding that one of those abilities — incredible eyesight — has potential life-saving implications for people with cancer. (Kennerson and Boyle, 11/15)
Every three minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency department, according to estimates... In response, entrepreneurs from the Boston-area and across the nation — many with serious allergies themselves — are launching new startups and technologies to help allergy sufferers cope. (Zimmerman, 11/16)
As many as 25% of those infected with the Ebola virus during the recent four-year outbreak in West Africa may have experienced few if any symptoms and lived on without ill effects, new research suggests. Indeed, the immune systems of these people — the telltale sign of their infection — would allow them to withstand reinfection with the Ebola virus. (Healy, 11/15)
The Obama administration was the first to significantly raise the profile of food policy, championing laws and pushing through regulation to make food safer, more nutritious and better labeled. A look at some of those policies, and what may happen to them in a Trump administration. (11/15)
