Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Scientists Find Cell-Squeezing Is Clue To Lung Damage From Asthma
UK scientists say they have found a new cause behind much of the damage asthma causes. Cells lining the airways are squeezed to destruction during an attack, their research shows. And drugs to prevent this, rather than manage its aftermath, might break the cycle of harm, the Kings College London researchers told the Science journal. (Roberts, 4/4)
Annual worldwide cases of prostate cancer are projected to double by 2040, according to new research from The Lancet Commission on the disease. However, some countries are expected to see a more dramatic increase than others. Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States, the American Cancer Society reports. Roughly one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, with nearly 300,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the U.S. alone. (Dewan, 4/4)
The release of 2022 cancer data gives the latest look into which types of cancer are most prevalent around the world as population growth expects to drive global cases as much as 77% by 2050. There were nearly 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million deaths from cancer in 2022, said the study published Thursday in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, part of the American Cancer Society Journals. (Crowley, 4/4)
The success of the world's first pig kidney transplant could stoke large-scale clinical trials on implanting animal tissues in humans to help ease the organ shortage crisis. Why it matters: Demand for donated organs is vast as transplants have rebounded post-pandemic and the nation's troubled human donor organ system goes through a major overhaul. (Bettelheim, 4/5)
Â鶹ŮÓÅ Health News: More Kids Are Dying Of Drug Overdoses. Could Pediatricians Do More To Help?
A 17-year-old boy with shaggy blond hair stepped onto the scale at Tri-River Family Health Center in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. After he was weighed, he headed for an exam room decorated with decals of planets and cartoon characters. A nurse checked his blood pressure. A pediatrician asked about school, home life, and his friendships. This seemed like a routine teen checkup, the kind that happens in thousands of pediatric practices across the U.S. every day — until the doctor popped his next question. (Bebinger, 4/5)
