View this email in your browser<http://mailchi.mp/statnews/isyuoki1g1-576293?e=4aad33fd68> [STAT]<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=e5cffee649&e=4aad33fd68> Friday, September 1, 2017 [Morning Rounds by Megan Thielking] Follow STAT on Facebook<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=f178314221&e=4aad33fd68> and Twitter<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=5b8425d5bf&e=4aad33fd68>, and visit us at statnews.com<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=8a6af3e4c2&e=4aad33fd68> Welcome to September, folks! Quick note: There won't be a newsletter on Labor Day this Monday. In the meantime, test your knowledge of this week's health news with our quiz<http://statnews.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=8c687750db&e=4aad33fd68> and let me know how you did on Twitter: @meggophone<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=fd4e7de3e8&e=4aad33fd68>. HHS slashes Obamacare advertising budget The Trump administration is slashing the advertising budget for the 2018 ACA enrollment period by 90 percent. HHS officials told reporters<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=4271377544&e=4aad33fd68> yesterday that the agency is allocating just $10 million for 2018 enrollment advertising, down from $100 million last year. The agency is also cutting the funding for "navigators," who help consumers enroll in health insurance, by nearly half. HHS officials say advertising and the navigator program haven't paid off, but critics are calling it a move to undermine the ACA. Health care hurdles continue after Hurricane Harvery Hospitals and health centers in Texas and Louisiana are continuing to grapple with the immediate impact of Hurricane Harvey. Experts say it might be a month<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=88e2a9e0dc&e=4aad33fd68> before hospitals affected by Harvey are back to normal. In shelters, health officials are working to help people harmed by the flood and those with pre-existing conditions that need care, including patients on dialysis, individuals with cancer, and those with severe mental illnesses. Some are turning to telemedicine <http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=a48de67c25&e=4aad33fd68> to fill in the gaps. Meanwhile, officials are concerned that chemical blasts <http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=abece38374&e=4aad33fd68> from a plant damaged by flooding might pose a risk to public health. As the hurricane dumped feet of rain on Houston Monday, oncologist Dr. Adi Diab walked three miles through flooded streets to get to MD Anderson Cancer Center to perform a high-stakes procedure on his patient with stage 4 cancer. STAT’s Max Blau has the story — read here<http://statnews.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=4e33926d43&e=4aad33fd68>. Lab Chat: Glia help build fly's eyes and brains [87396691-e5ca-4560-8a09-e04a5b7a5bdb.png] Green Glia infiltrate part of the optic lobe. (Vilaiwan Fernandes / NYU) Glia — the brain cells that are often seen as merely the supporting cast to neurons — are finally getting credit for their role in the brain’s development. Here’s what Vilaiwan Fernandes of New York University told me about the research in fruit fly brains, published in Science<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=2164b9c0ea&e=4aad33fd68>. What did you set out to study? We were studying the coordination between the development of the retina and the development of the first set of neurons that the eye’s photoreceptors target. This was the problem that was thought to be solved. The model was that as photoreceptors grow, they send signals to create those neurons they’re eventually going to target. But there was this peculiarity that couldn’t be explained in the order that these target neurons were developed. How does your discovery explain that discrepancy? We found there’s this population of glia that people tended to ignore, and what actually was the case was that the photoreceptors weren’t sending cues to neurons or precursors but to these glia. And those glia were directing those precursors to differentiate into those neurons. How fentanyl has changed drug death rates [87396691-e5ca-4560-8a09-e04a5b7a5bdb.png] (cdc / morbiditiy and mortality weekly report) Deaths involving both heroin and synthetic opioids spiked nationwide after 2013 as more illicit fentanyl flooded the heroin market, according to a new report<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=cda897f3d3&e=4aad33fd68> from the CDC. And in large parts of the country, deaths involving synthetic opioids alone are increasing at a faster rate than heroin deaths are rising. One possible reason deaths involving synthetic opioids aren’t rising in the West like they are elsewhere: The primary form of heroin sold west of the Mississippi River, black tar heroin, is difficult to mix with fentanyl. Inside STAT<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=0bfeb8de8f&e=4aad33fd68>: Immunotherapy impacts end-of-life care There’s been widespread praise for a new generation of immune-boosting therapies<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=baec1fdfdc&e=4aad33fd68> that can shrink tumors and extend lives. Some doctors are nudging late-stage cancer patients to give immunotherapy a try when they don’t have any more options. But experts say that doctors who suggest immunotherapy are now sometimes postponing conversations with those patients about palliative care and end-of-life wishes. STAT’s Bob Tedeschi has the story — read here<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=056839e2e2&e=4aad33fd68>. Homeopathic bracelet blamed in baby's lead poisoning The CDC is out with a concerning new case report<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=fa6e2533df&e=4aad33fd68> about a Connecticut baby with elevated blood lead levels. The culprit: A homeopathic healing bracelet. The 9-month-old had been given the magnetic bracelet, purchased at a local fair, to wear as a way to ease teething pain, though her parents reported that she also sometimes chewed on the bracelet. Some of the bracelet’s beads tested positive for lead. Health officials say the case serves as a reminder that products not intended for children don’t have to follow lead restrictions — and that giving babies anything with small beads also poses a choking risk. The next question in the battle over workplace wellness programs A week after its legal victory<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=f8a74a4003&e=4aad33fd68> against workplace wellness programs that penalize employees for not participating, AARP asked U.S. District Court Judge John Bates to go further to protect employees. Workplace wellness programs currently can require employees to disclose medical information like their cholesterol levels only if it's “voluntary," and a 2016 federal rule says programs in which workers stand to lose thousands of dollars by opting out qualify as "voluntary" programs. Bates disagreed ruling that the penalties made the programs involuntary and therefore illegal. But allowed employers to keep the programs in place for now to avoid disruption during the current insurance plan year. Now, AARP is asking Bates to disallow wellness programs that come with stiff penalties starting on January 1, 2018, when new insurance plans typically kick in. What to read around the web today § Federal judge blocks Texas anti-abortion law. NPR<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=64abc59765&e=4aad33fd68> § Research into marijuana benefits for vets with PTSD in danger of shutdown. Military Times<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=6f10b48a4c&e=4aad33fd68> § One in three U.S. adults are beyond overweight. AP<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=ba5411f66c&e=4aad33fd68> More reads from STAT § Proove Biosciences, which sold dubious DNA tests to predict addiction risk, sells off assets<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=f6e2b5e5eb&e=4aad33fd68> as CEO departs amid criminal probe. § Medical education needs to adapt to students’ learning style<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=a9e805fe8f&e=4aad33fd68>s. The latest from STAT Plus § FDA is urged to withdraw ‘ultra’ high-dose opioids<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=26cb310f3a&e=4aad33fd68> over risks. § Plumbing the mystery of how antidepressants work, scientists peer into specialized neurons<http://statnews.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=c0e772c692&e=4aad33fd68>. Thanks so much for reading. Enjoy your holiday weekend! Back bright and early Tuesday morning, [Megan] [Facebook]<http://statnews.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=710186f8de&e=4aad33fd68> [Twitter]<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=5e486ba1ac&e=4aad33fd68> [STAT]<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=9203054e09&e=4aad33fd68>