Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Performance-Enhancing Drugs May Be Placebos; End Rumors Of Secondhand Fentanyl Overdoses
With Chinese swimmers getting 200 drug tests over 10 days ahead of the Paris Olympics, all eyes are on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Anti-doping is being politicized and some important questions are being asked with this Chinese fiasco. We believe an important question is this: Do performance-enhancing drugs actually work, or are they just placebos? (Jo Morrison and Eric Moore, 8/4)
For the past few years, over 70,000 overdose deaths in the United States have involved synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl and its analogues. Most families grieving these deaths won’t have a doctor in the family to dispute misconceptions perpetuated by law enforcement, funeral homes and others. How many American families are being unnecessarily deprived of a somber, sacred moment based on stigma and rumors? (John Woller, 8/4)
Federally funded research in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) is a crown jewel of American higher education that confers enormous benefits upon the U.S. and the world. The integrity of the processes by which funding decisions are made is critically important to the success of the enterprise and its support by the public who pay for this research. (Jeffrey S. Flier, 8/5)
As I roamed the meeting rooms and halls of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia last week, I kept hearing a word — dementia — I’ve come to loathe as someone with early Alzheimer’s. (Mike Zuendel, 8/5)