View this email in your browser<http://mailchi.mp/statnews/tk-580581?e=4aad33fd68> [STAT]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=a37cf3496b&e=4aad33fd68> Monday, March 5, 2018 [Morning Rounds by Megan Thielking] Follow STAT on Facebook<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=1255e99c32&e=4aad33fd68> and Twitter<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=23b4855711&e=4aad33fd68>, and visit us at statnews.com<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=9879adee87&e=4aad33fd68> Good morning, and happy Monday! STAT reporter Andrew Joseph here filling in for Megan for a couple days. To the health and medicine news we go: Superbug gene found in new bacteria More bad news on the superbug front: Researchers in China have identified <https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=00ac91c971&e=4aad33fd68> a gene that makes bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotics in a new strain of bacteria, one that is found widely in the developing world and is a leading cause of diarrhea globally. The gene, mcr-1<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=6125755d15&e=4aad33fd68>, was found in a strain of Shigella flexneri isolated from pig feces in China. (The stool sample was actually from 2009, but researchers just reported their findings.) Mcr-1 is so feared because it confers resistance to an antibiotic called colistin, which is used to treat infections that are already resistant to other antibiotics. Plus, mcr-1 is contained in mobile pieces of DNA called plasmids, so it can be transferred easily to other bacteria. The gene has already been found in other types of bacteria, including E. coli, but this is the first documentation of it in S. flexneri. Azar makes the rounds New HHS Secretary Alex Azar continues his introductory circuit this week, with addresses planned at the policy conferences of the Federation of American Hospitals today and America’s Health Insurance Plans on Thursday. Look for him to lay out his and the Trump administration’s agenda around such issues as pricing and squeezing value out of the health care system. E-cigs may expose users to toxic compounds As researchers and regulators try to tease out the potential health risks of e-cigarettes, scientists this morning<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=79162afbc1&e=4aad33fd68> reported in the journal Pediatrics that teenagers who used e-cigarettes had significantly higher levels of some carcinogenic compounds in their urine than teenagers who didn’t use any form of cigarette. (Teenagers who both smoked cigarettes and used e-cigarettes had even higher levels of the compounds.) The researchers said that while e-cigarette vapor is less harmful than tobacco smoke, their study challenges suggestions that e-cigarettes are safe. They also said that teenagers should be warned about the potential risks of using e-cigarettes. Inside STAT<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=5b51c1942f&e=4aad33fd68>: The challenges of a universal flu vaccine [87396691-e5ca-4560-8a09-e04a5b7a5bdb.png] Dom smith/stat There’s plenty of hype around the idea of a universal flu vaccine, but here’s a reality check: Don’t start rolling up your sleeve yet. Despite a new strategic plan from federal scientists for such a vaccine, researchers say we’re a long way from getting there, and that improvements to existing vaccines are likely to come first — something the plan itself acknowledges. One question experts first need to answer: why vaccines in some years, including this one, don’t provide great protection. STAT’s Helen Branswell has the story<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=d6319a3c4a&e=4aad33fd68>. Meanwhile, flu data released Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that this year’s bad flu season is waning, with fewer people going to the doctor with flu symptoms. Even as cases drop, though, there’s still widespread flu reported in 45 states. Mixed results in asthma dosing trials Glucocorticoids are a type of steroid that are widely used to treat asthma, but researchers haven't known whether ramping up doses can improve flare ups of symptoms. Two studies in the New England Journal of Medicine take aim at that question, testing whether cranking up inhaled glucocorticoids can prevent patients with mild symptoms from suffering severe exacerbations of their conditions. In one trial<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=27daedbc6b&e=4aad33fd68>, researchers found that quintupling the dose of inhaled glucocorticoids was not more effective than a standard dose in children. But in a second trial<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=f8a11f0530&e=4aad33fd68> with adults and adolescents, those who received a quadrupled dose did have fewer severe exacerbations. So what conclusion to draw? In an editorial<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=101e2daaca&e=4aad33fd68>, outside researchers noted that the two trials had different designs and patient populations. Still, they were skeptical of the findings of the second trial, which only found a small benefit in the higher dose group and had other limitations. “Evidence indicates that substantial escalation of regularly used inhaled glucocorticoids, even by a factor of 4 or 5, fails to prevent most asthma exacerbations,” the editorial concludes. Number of children hospitalized for opioids doubles New data<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=f106e2634e&e=4aad33fd68> show just how far-reaching the opioid epidemic is, with the number of children admitted to pediatric intensive care units because of opioid ingestion doubling from 2004 to 2015. Of the 3,650 children admitted to PICUs over that time frame, more than one-third had to be put on a ventilator. Most of the children hospitalized were teenagers, but children under 6 accounted for one-third of the hospitalizations. The study’s authors said the data indicate that more needs to be done to prevent children from being exposed to opioids. What to read around the web today § Trump swaps his beloved burgers for salad and soup in new diet. Bloomberg<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=6bcda8fe00&e=4aad33fd68> § Wounds from military-style rifles? 'A ghastly thing to see.' New York Times<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=9fd2ee9321&e=4aad33fd68> § Texas judge weighs whether father who treated autistic daughter with marijuana is fit to be her guardian. Dallas Morning News<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=5f9660492b&e=4aad33fd68> More reads from STAT § CRISPR 'gone wild' has made stocks swoon, but studies show<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=0ded75b799&e=4aad33fd68> how to limit off-target editing § FDA's updated standards remove an unnecessary barrier<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=bc780a2bdf&e=4aad33fd68> to testing Alzheimer's drugs The latest from STAT Plus § In tussle over 'right to try,' court presses FDA<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=c4ff290619&e=4aad33fd68> to shed light on Ebola drug decisions § A biotech seeking IPO riches limited disclosure of patient deaths<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=a55cdbb75b&e=4aad33fd68> tied to immunotherapy § Advocates protest Novartis ‘bullying tactics<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=eb9ebbcc33&e=4aad33fd68>’ over access to medicines in poor countries Thanks for reading! More tomorrow, [Megan] [Facebook]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=3f81b709f3&e=4aad33fd68> [Twitter]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=6bc63d328e&e=4aad33fd68> [STAT]<https://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=34271d620a&e=4aad33fd68>