View this email in your browser<http://mailchi.mp/statnews/isyuoki1g1-578769?e=4aad33fd68> [STAT]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=96b479caa0&e=4aad33fd68> Thursday, December 7, 2017 [Morning Rounds by Megan Thielking] Sponsored by [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f8609630ae206654824f897b6/images/6e28d606-79f2-459d-8083-f6271a60c9f9.png] <https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=1b75e8b7ad&e=4aad33fd68> Good morning, folks! Here's what you need to know to get ahead of the day's health news. The growing toll of Alzheimer's disease in America Six million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment due to the condition — and that number will continue to rise, according to a new report<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=4cce708cf5&e=4aad33fd68> out this morning. Researchers looked at people who’ve been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but also factored in people with biomarkers of preclinical dementia. Their prediction: More than 9 million people in the U.S. will have Alzheimer’s disease by 2060, and another 5.7 million people will have mild cognitive impairment due to the disease. The researchers estimate that more than 40 percent of those living with Alzheimer’s in 2060 will need intensive care like what’s provided in a nursing home. It's possible the new model could be used to get an idea of how potential drug or lifestyle interventions might make an impact on the rates of the disease. Drug spending growth slowed last year New data <https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=2dd035a248&e=4aad33fd68> from CMS show that spending on prescription drugs didn’t grow very quickly last year, a finding that gives us some interesting insights into the health care system. Bear with me on the numbers: Retail spending on prescription drugs grew just 1.3 percent in 2016, compared to 12.4 percent growth in 2015. What caused the sudden slowdown? We spent less last year on two pricey drugs to treat hepatitis C that were introduced a few years ago. There were also fewer new drugs on the market, and prices didn’t climb as quickly for brand-name or generic drugs as they did in 2015. Inside STAT<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=858d9c5dff&e=4aad33fd68>: The surgeon general and his family's painful reckoning with addiction [87396691-e5ca-4560-8a09-e04a5b7a5bdb.png]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=a9ee20b253&e=4aad33fd68> School photos of Jerome Adams, left, and his brother, Phillip. Text is from a 2009 letter by Phillip. (dominic smith / stat) As Dr. Jerome Adams’s career has taken flight — as he’s won scholarships for college and medical school, taken charge of a state health department, and ascended to become the U.S. surgeon general — his brother Phillip’s has been diverted as he’s struggled with substance use disorders, which his family believes is due to an untreated mental health issue. “One of the most frustrating things is being surgeon general of the United States and feeling like you can’t help your own brother,” Adams told STAT in his first extensive interview about his brother. Phillip has cycled in and out of incarceration for years — a living emblem of the reach of the public health crisis confronting his brother. “I’m very tired of the road I have been on with my drug use,” Phillip wrote last month in a letter to STAT. Andrew Joseph has the story — read here<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=dc0cb110c3&e=4aad33fd68>. Sponsor content by STAT Madness Think your school is the MVP of biomedical innovation? Innovation often starts with academic research and we think the next big breakthrough may come from you. This March, STAT is hosting a bracket from top research institutions in the United States. We’ll ask our readers to vote for the winner of each match-up and crown a STAT Madness champion. Submit your innovation today!<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=4193e472fd&e=4aad33fd68> South Africa is getting a sugary drink tax South Africa has voted to start taxing sugary drinks, joining a growing number of countries trying to use the approach to curb rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes. South Africa’s tax, which will be introduced in April 2018, will increase the price of a can of pop by roughly 11 percent. More than two dozen countries have proposed or implemented a sugary drink tax in recent years, and more are considering the idea. The WHO recommends the taxes as a way to cut down on excess sugar consumption; in many countries the funds go toward public health initiatives. The U.S. doesn’t have a special tax on sweet drinks, but several cities have passed their own taxes. Risky procedure to bust blood clots doesn't always pay off Patients at risk of post-thrombotic syndrome — a debilitating complication from a blood clot that can cause pain and swelling — often have their initial clot treated with a specialized procedure. Physicians thread a tube all the way to the blood clot, release a drug, and then suck out the remaining clot. It's an expensive procedure that often requires a hospital stay. But a new trial<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=2ce5ea46b2&e=4aad33fd68> of patients with blood clots in their legs found that the procedure didn’t reduce their risk of post-thrombotic syndrome. And while the procedure did reduce the severity of symptoms in patients who developed the condition, major bleeds were much more common. The study’s authors say that risk doesn't outweigh the benefits to most patients. A temporary superglue to seal eye injuries Scientists have created<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=6182e7eee7&e=4aad33fd68> a glue that's activated by body heat to seal up eye injuries until they can be fixed surgically. There are millions of eye injuries in the U.S. every year, and some of the most serious injuries can lead to permanent vision loss if they’re not treated quickly. So engineers developed a polymer glue that can temporarily seal eye injuries. It solidifies with body heat, and can be removed or repositioned with a little splash of cold water. In a rabbit model, the sealant helped to keep pressure levels inside the eye more stable after an injury. If it works the same way in people, the glue could be a good stopgap measure in emergencies. What to read around the web today § Hospitals find asthma hot spots more profitable to neglect than fix. Kaiser Health News<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=b9395612ac&e=4aad33fd68> § Teaching hairdressers to spot melanoma. NPR<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=8aef6e08fc&e=4aad33fd68> § I use a wheelchair. And yes, I'm your doctor. New York Times<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=a8aaec39d4&e=4aad33fd68> More reads from STAT § Sexual harassment allegations<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=6dae8ddc77&e=4aad33fd68> against Sam Isaly ripple through finance world. § The day my wife miscarried, I went back to work at the hospital. I still regret that<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=fe9076c0d5&e=4aad33fd68>. The latest from STAT Plus § Spark gene therapy nearly eliminates bleeding episodes<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=b66a210e42&e=4aad33fd68> in hemophilia B patients. § Australia consumer watchdog sues Glaxo and Novartis over misleading marketing<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=8946e6b7fa&e=4aad33fd68>. Thanks for reading! More tomorrow, [Megan] [Facebook]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=b9146aaf97&e=4aad33fd68> [Twitter]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=2636e254f5&e=4aad33fd68> [STAT]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=b47fe055c5&e=4aad33fd68>