Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
U.S. Diplomats Pulled Out Of China Had Different Injuries Than Ones From Cuba
Fourteen of 15 U.S. diplomats pulled from China for medical testing this year have been found not to have the same set of injuries as personnel evacuated earlier from Cuba, the State Department said Wednesday. The department said 14 of the 15 brought to the U.S. for medical testing earlier this year did not present the 鈥渃onstellation鈥 of symptoms suffered by more than two dozen diplomats in Cuba that it blames on mysterious health attacks. Results for the 15th were inconclusive, it said. (Lee, 10/24)
How doctors and nurses should screen patients for such intimate partner violence is the subject of updated recommendations issued Tuesday by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The best estimates likely under-represent the true scope and scale of intimate partner violence because victims often are afraid to disclose what has happened to them. (Santhanam, 10/24)
Ashley Goette of West St. Paul, Minn., is being compared to a superhero these days, and not just because she鈥檚 a new mother. (Though her 22 hours of labor alone would qualify.) It鈥檚 because in the span of four days, she not only gave birth to her first child, but also saved her husband鈥檚 life. It all began last Tuesday, around 5 a.m., when Ms. Goette was awakened by her husband, Andrew. He seemed to be snoring. She nudged him and asked him to roll over. He didn鈥檛 respond. (Caron, 10/24)
When the weather is bad, more people have heart attacks, Swedish researchers have found. In a study published in JAMA Cardiology, scientists report that lower temperature, higher wind speeds and less sunshine are all associated with a greater incidence of heart attack. (Bakalar, 10/24)
That first cold spell of the season always feels especially harsh. If you鈥檝e ever wondered, from beneath several layers of clothing, whether you were overreacting to those frigid early fall days, take solace. It may not just be in your head: The human body takes time to acclimate to the cold. (Chokshi, 10/24)
A team of surgeons has repaired the spinal cords of two babies while they were still in their mothers鈥 wombs, the first surgery of its kind in Britain. The operations were carried out over the summer at University College Hospital in London by 30 surgeons to treat spina bifida, a condition in which the spinal column and spinal cord do not develop properly in the womb, causing a gap in the spine. (Yeginsu, 10/24)
A mother鈥檚 recorded voice will wake a child and get him out the room much faster than a standard smoke alarm, a randomized trial has found. Researchers recruited 176 5- to 12-year-olds old to test alarms. They taught the children a simulated escape procedure: Get out of bed at the alarm, walk to the door and leave the room. (Bakalar, 10/25)
Harrowing stories of discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace. It鈥檚 rampant and in some cases, can lead to miscarriage. We鈥檒l take a deep dive into The New York Times investigation. (Chakrabarti, 10/24)