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Subject:	FW:STAT: Morning Rounds _ Lesotho curbs its HIV crisis, early-career scientists score funding, & Bangladesh cares for refugees
From:	Kemile A Jackson <[log in to unmask]>
Date:	Tue, 19 Sep 2017 15:14:40 +0000
Content-Type:	multipart/alternative
Parts/Attachments:	text/plain (11 kB) , text/html (68 kB)

View this email in your browser<http://mailchi.mp/statnews/isyuoki1g1-576701?e=4aad33fd68>

[STAT]<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=bb328a696d&e=4aad33fd68>

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

[Morning Rounds by Megan Thielking]

Sponsored by

[https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f8609630ae206654824f897b6/images/34a984b4-4a23-44ac-b5a7-16e7b44c864b.png] <http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=3533ec429f&e=4aad33fd68>

Good morning! Welcome to Tuesday, and welcome to Morning Rounds. Here's today's news.

Lesotho reports big progress in curbing its HIV crisis

There’s been significant progress in reining in the HIV crisis in the south African nation of Lesotho. Data released today<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=f270628ed4&e=4aad33fd68> by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR — a U.S. initiative launched in 2003 — suggests that expansion of HIV prevention and treatment programs has made an impact. Viral load suppression, an indication of effective HIV treatment, has topped 67 percent among adults with HIV between ages 15 and 59. The news comes on the heels of similar positive results in Malawi, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, which are also supported by PEPFAR.

Early-career researchers get a $1.4 million boost

This morning, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute announced its inaugural class of Hanna Gray Fellows — an award for 15 early-career researchers that comes with up to $1.4 million in funding per fellow over the next eight years. One of the program’s primary goals is to recruit and retain up-and-coming scientists who are from gender, racial, socioeconomic, and ethnic groups that have long been underrepresented in science. I’ve got a peek at three of the fellows, but you can find the full list here<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=e7a8a238eb&e=4aad33fd68>.

§ Chantel Evans of the University of Pennsylvania is studying how neurons get rid of damaged mitochondria. Problems with that cleanup process have been tied to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurodegenerative diseases.

§ James Nuñez, a biologist at the California Institute of Technology, is working to develop a CRISPR-based technology that enables researchers to manipulate the activity of several genes at the same time.

§ Wendy Yue of the University of California is zeroing in on the nerve cells that are thought to cause debilitating migraines when they go awry. Her work will activate, shut down, and genetically modify those neurons in mice to better understand their role.

Bangladesh rushes to meet health needs of Rohingya refugees

Bangladesh is facing an influx of ethnic Rohingya, a Muslim minority group targeted by a violent military campaign in nearby Myanmar. Now officials are working to provide health services to those refugees with the help of global aid organizations. Bangladesh is planning to build a massive settlement camp to provide shelter to 400,000 refugees who’ve fled Myanmar in the past month. Last week, health officials launched a vaccination campaign to immunize more than 150,000 children against measles and polio.

The World Health Organization has distributed emergency medical kits, water purification tablets, and cholera kits in the region. There’s still serious concern about the refugees’ ability to access food and clean water. To help care for them, health officials have beefed up the capabilities of existing health care facilities where refugees have settled and are screening kids for malnutrition.

Sponsor content by Nokia Health Solutions

Learn about the new technology-fueled hypertension intervention

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Inside STAT<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=75dc007e62&e=4aad33fd68>: What the exhibit hall of an addiction medicine conference looks like

[87396691-e5ca-4560-8a09-e04a5b7a5bdb.png]<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=46741a61dd&e=4aad33fd68>

A lucky recipient receives a $300 cash giveaway inside the exhibitors hall at the Cape Cod Symposium on Addictive Disorders. (evan allen / The Boston globe)

More than 1,000 people attended a national conference for addiction treatment this weekend. Attendees sported blue lanyards promoting Sovereign Health, a treatment center chain that financially supported the event — and recently, was raided by federal agents. It created an awkward juxtaposition at the Cape Cod Symposium on Addiction Disorders, one of the largest and most influential addiction treatment meetings. Conference attendees listen to addiction medicine seminars and gain educational credits to maintain their medical licenses. And dozens of exhibitors and sponsors are there to get their attention, pulling attendees in with giveaways for money, electronics, and gift cards. STAT's David Armstrong and the Boston Globe's Evan Allen have the story — read here<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=b68e31313a&e=4aad33fd68>.

A pop-up restaurant raises Alzheimer's awareness

A new pop-up restaurant in Tokyo has been raising awareness about Alzheimer’s disease with an interesting strategy — each of the restaurant’s 17 servers suffer from dementia. Reuters reports<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=54b9ce2f89&e=4aad33fd68> the restaurant, which wrapped up a three-day stint last night, was organized by television director Shiro Oguni, a dementia care facility, and others. The organizers wanted to foster empathy and public awareness about the condition, which affects more than 4.6 million people in the country. Diners signed up ahead of time and chefs prepared the food, giving members of the public the chance to interact with the wait staff in a safe environment.

Smoking takes a significant toll on HIV patients

People with HIV who stick to their drug regimen but still smoke cigarettes are much more likely to die from lung cancer than HIV itself, according to a new study in JAMA Internal Medicine<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=1fc164c17a&e=4aad33fd68>. The smoking rate is disproportionately high among patients with HIV — more than 40 percent of people in the U.S. with HIV smoke, compared to just 15 percent of the general adult population. Both smoking and HIV increase the risk of lung cancer.

Researchers used a computer simulation to estimate the risk of lung cancer among people with HIV. They broke the data down by former, current, or never smokers, and whether the patients consistently take antiviral medications for their HIV. They found that nearly 25 percent of people who adhere to their anti-HIV medications but keep smoking regularly will die from lung cancer. Their advice: Incorporate cessation programs into HIV care.

Pakistan launches massive polio vaccination push

Pakistan is aiming to vaccinate more than 37 million kids against polio this week in a nationwide campaign. Pakistan is one of just three countries with a polio epidemic (both Nigeria and Afghanistan also have epidemics). Vaccination workers have been targeted and killed by the Taliban in past campaigns, but health officials say<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=2fe3dbd0de&e=4aad33fd68> recent vaccination efforts have significantly cut down on polio cases in the country. There have been just four cases this year, down from 306 cases in 2014.

What to read around the web today

§ Without price breaks, rural hospitals struggle to stock costly, life-saving drugs. Kaiser Health News<http://People%20with%20HIV%20who%20stick%20to%20their%20drug%20regimen%20but%20still%20smoke%20cigarettes%20are%20much%20more%20likely%20to%20die%20from%20lung%20cancer%20than%20HIV%20itself,%20according%20to%20a%20new%20study%20in%20JAMA%20Internal%20Medicine.%20%20Smoking%20is%20disproportionately%20high%20among%20patients%20with%20HIV%20—%20more%20than%2040%20percent%20of%20people%20in%20the%20U.S.%20with%20HIV%20smoke,%20compared%20to%20just%2015%20percent%20of%20the%20general%20adult%20population.%20Both%20smoking%20and%20HIV%20increase%20the%20risk%20of%20lung%20cancer.%20Researchers%20used%20a%20computer%20simulation%20to%20estimate%20the%20risk%20of%20lung%20cancer%20among%20people%20with%20HIV.%20They%20broke%20the%20data%20down%20by%20former,%20current,%20or%20never%20smokers,%20and%20whether%20the%20patients%20consistently%20take%20antiviral%20medications%20for%20their%20HIV.%20They%20found%20that%20nearly%2025%20percent%20of%20people%20who%20adhere%20to%20their%20anti-HIV%20medications%20but%20keep%20smoking%20regularly%20will%20die%20from%20lung%20cancer.%20Their%20advice:%20Incorporate%20programs%20to%20help%20patients%20quit%20smoking%20into%20HIV%20care.>

§ Blind patients to test bionic eye brain implants. MIT Technology Review<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=76cabd3d75&e=4aad33fd68>