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Tuesday, August 29, 2017





[Morning Rounds by Megan Thielking]





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Good morning, folks! This is Max Blau filling in with your Tuesday Morning Rounds, bringing you today's health and medicine news:





Officials urge Texans to get tetanus shots after Harvey



In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Texas health officials are urging residents to consider getting a tetanus shot. Texas Department of State Health Services spokesman Chris Van Deusen told NPR<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=7778c2d22d&e=4aad33fd68> that Texans should especially consider one if they waded through floodwater in recent days, which may have been contaminated with chemicals from houses or industrial facilities. “Look ahead,” Texas U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions told CNN<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=5a1945c943&e=4aad33fd68>. “Look where people are actually going to need to make sure they have their tetanus shots.” President Trump, who is heading to Texas this morning, pledged "100 percent support" for Harvey victims but didn't delve into specifics.





Elder abuse unreported despite reporting requirements



The abuse of nursing home patients nationwide remains widely unreported even though a federal law mandates immediate notification of such incidents. The Department of Health and Human Services inspector general’s office reported yesterday that police never learned about more than a quarter of potential sexual and physical abuse cases in nursing homes nationwide from 2015 to 2016. One federal auditor, citing a failure in Medicare protocols, told the Associated Press<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=94d152b3aa&e=4aad33fd68> that they released initial findings to "stop this from happening to anybody else.” The state with the most unreported incidents: Illinois.





The most expensive city to smoke cigarettes in will be...



It’ll soon cost you $13 a pack, including taxes, to buy a pack of cigarettes in New York City. Signing the legislation at Kings County Hospital, Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted tobacco companies, saying<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=4602176f3a&e=4aad33fd68> “these major international corporations…clearly know better but to make a buck they're looking to hook a whole new generation of young people on tobacco products and we have to stop them." The measure, which increases the minimum price from $10.50, goes into effect on June 1, 2018.





Inside STAT<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=52db3ea3f4&e=4aad33fd68>: Why are more women opting for double mastectomies?



[87396691-e5ca-4560-8a09-e04a5b7a5bdb.png]



MOLLY FERGUSON FOR STAT



Between 2002 and 2012, the number of American women who had cancer in one breast yet chose to get a double mastectomy tripled. Now scientists are eager to learn why women are choosing this surgery option at a time when other kinds of procedures are becoming shorter and less invasive. “My number one concern is them living, and if I can't say it's living longer, then why would I say that they should do it?” said Dr. Mehra Golshan, a breast cancer surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The answer includes a complex set of financial, emotional, and practical considerations that are changing the way women choose to treat their breast cancer. STAT reporter Catherine Caruso explains<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=8b2db45c41&e=4aad33fd68> why in her latest story.





Trying to spot skin cancer? Keep an eye on new moles



You’re more likely to get melanoma from a new mole than an existing one. That’s according to a team of dermatologists who looked at more than 20,000 cases from dozens of past studies. Their research, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, found that 71 percent of those melanoma diagnoses were related to new moles. The remainder, melanoma from existing moles, tended to be smaller in size, and patients with those cancers fared better. “We call it the ugly duckling sign,” Dr. Darrell Rigel, former president of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, told me. “If you see a spot that’s brand new and growing — and looks different than its neighbors — have your dermatologist look at it."





Fertility therapy's potential heart risk to women



Does fertility therapy increase long-term cardiovascular risk for the woman undergoing it? Past studies have more or less found no increased risks; however, the findings were limited by the studies' small size. That prompted researchers to reviewed six of the largest ones. They've concluded<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=92bdf1b2c6&e=4aad33fd68> in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that more definitive research is needed. “Although these processes offer obvious short-term benefits with regard to fertility,” Drs. Carl Pepine and Ki Park write in an accompanying editorial<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=e8264c372d&e=4aad33fd68>, “concerns exist regarding the potential to increase long-term maternal cardiovascular risk.” Both doctors call for medical organizations to push for the creation of registries to capture better data that could inform future research.





What to read around the web today

§  The way you walk could someday predict if you're likely to get dementia. WSJ<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=620cd0a6eb&e=4aad33fd68>

§  As insurers exit Obamacare, sick patients fear switching plans. Kaiser Health News<http://statnews.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=c549cbc072&e=4aad33fd68>

§  Why are parents of autistic children sharing stories full of junk science? Buzzfeed<http://statnews.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=0ea1945f73&e=4aad33fd68>





More reads from STAT

§  Feds seize<http://statnews.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=ca16217b89&e=4aad33fd68> unauthorized smallpox vaccine, signal crackdown on stem cell clinics.

§  Harvey forces<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=7cb5eba9ae&e=4aad33fd68> MD Anderson Cancer Center to cancel treatments for days.

§  Aetna faces<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=8a2e9b166b&e=4aad33fd68> class-action lawsuit over HIV disclosures.





The latest from STAT Plus

§  These TV shows are attracting<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=ec77701604&e=4aad33fd68> the most drug advertising.

§  Four questions<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=c1cba8cf1f&e=4aad33fd68> for Gilead and the biotech sector after the $12 billion Kite takeout.









Thanks for reading!

[Megan]















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