NIH Yanks Alcohol Study That Was Mired In Controversy Because Scientists Courted Industry To Fund It
“Many people who have seen this working-group report were frankly shocked to see so many lines crossed,” said NIH Director Francis Collins, calling the staff interaction with the alcohol industry “far out of bounds.”
The New York Times:
Major Study Of Drinking Will Be Shut Down
The extensive government trial was intended to settle an age-old question about alcohol and diet: Does a daily cocktail or beer really protect against heart attacks and stroke? To find out, the National Institutes of Health gave scientists $100 million to fund a global study comparing people who drink with those who don’t. Its conclusions could have enshrined alcohol as part of a healthy diet. (Rabin, 6/15)
The Associated Press:
NIH Ends Alcohol Study, Citing Funding, Credibility Problems
The National Institutes of Health used money from the alcohol industry to help pay for a study that ultimately was expected to cost $100 million. It's legal for NIH to use industry money in addition to taxpayer dollars for research as long as certain rules are followed. The problem: An NIH investigation concluded Friday that a small number of its employees had close contact with industry officials that crossed those lines. Some of those interactions "appear to intentionally bias" the study so that it would have a better chance of showing a benefit from moderate alcohol consumption, said NIH Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak. (6/15)
Los Angeles Times:
Ties Between Researchers And Alcohol Producers Prompt NIH To Shut Down Study Of Moderate Drinking
The plan was to enroll 7,800 people ages 50 and up who did not have diabetes. Some of them would be randomly assigned to consume about 15 grams of alcohol per day. The others would be asked to abstain from drinking. Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, along with colleagues in the United States, Nigeria, Denmark and the Netherlands, would then follow these volunteers for about six years to see whether the moderate drinkers developed fewer cases of cardiovascular disease and diabetes compared to their teetotaling counterparts. (Kaplan, 6/15)
In other national health care news —
Stat:
Drug Maker's Donations Of Overdose Antidote Were Close To Expiring
But STAT found that the auto-injectors donated to some police agencies through the Kaleo Cares program were just months away from expiration. One police department in Massachusetts threw away scores of expired injectors because it couldn’t use them fast enough. An agency in a medium-sized North Carolina city donated expired product to a local nonprofit willing to accept them. In interviews with officers at more than a dozen law enforcement agencies, nine said they had received naloxone anywhere from four to 11 months away from expiration. Fresh off the production line, naloxone typically has a shelf life of two years. Kaleo, for its part, says patients prescribed Evzio can expect to receive auto-injectors with a shelf life of over a year. (Blau, 6/18)
Stat:
Exactly Who Is Coordinating The White House Drug Policy?
For at least six months, staffers in the Office of National Drug Control Policy — often political appointees in their 20s — have crossed 17th Street, entered the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and sat through weekly meetings of an “opioids cabinet” chaired by Kellyanne Conway. Then they have returned to their desks and reported back to veteran career staff — who have listened, often with disappointment, to the ideas proposed by Conway and Katy Talento, a domestic policy adviser. (Facher, 6/18)
Politico:
Republicans Give Up On Medicare Overhaul
Republicans on Capitol Hill are giving up on what might be their last best chance to overhaul Medicare, just as they’re losing their leading champion on the issue, House Speaker Paul Ryan. The quiet surrender on a subject that’s energized GOP fiscal hawks for the better part of a decade comes as new projections show Medicare’s trust fund in its worst shape since the recession, partly because of Republicans’ other chief obsession: their sweeping tax cuts. (Cancryn and Ferris, 6/15)
USA Today:
Millions Of U.S. Kids Are Growing Up Without A Father In Their Lives
Father’s Day is different when there’s no father around."What do these days mean to children like me who had to grow up without one parent in their lives?" asks Louis Steptoe, 18, who just graduated from high school here. Instead, he celebrates what he calls "Father Figure Day" and honors his godfather, William Ford, who "was always present." Kaylynn Tobin, 12, of Rockville, Maryland, met her father only once, years ago, and barely remembers him. Her sister Aras, 10, has a different father and sometimes gets gifts from him. But she doesn’t have a good relationship with her father. (O'Donnell and Lewter, 6/15)
The New York Times:
A Family In Transition
Paetyn, an impish 1-year-old, has two fathers. One of them gave birth to her. As traditional notions of gender shift and blur, parents and children like these are redefining the concept of family. Paetyn’s father Tanner, 25, is a trans man: He was born female but began transitioning to male in his teens, and takes the male hormone testosterone. "I was born a man in a female body,” he said. (Grady, 6/16)
The New York Times:
Video Game Addiction Tries To Move From Basement To Doctor’s Office
Video games work hard to hook players. Designers use predictive algorithms and principles of behavioral economics to keep fans engaged. When new games are reviewed, the most flattering accolade might be “I can’t put it down.” Now, the World Health Organization is saying players can actually become addicted. (Hsu, 6/17)
The New York Times:
Are Genetic Testing Sites The New Social Networks?
Three years ago Dyan deNapoli, a 57-year-old author and TED speaker who specializes in penguins, was given a 23andMe genetic testing kit for her birthday. Intrigued, she spit in the tube and sent the results to a lab in Burlington, N.C. About two months later she received a pie chart breaking down where her ancestors lived (99.4 percent of them were from Europe). What she was most giddy about, however, was a 41-page list of all the people who had done the test and were genetically related to her: 1,200 in all. (Customers can choose whether their information is shared with others.) (6/16)
USA Today:
Therapy Apps: As Suicide Rates Rise, Do Apps Damage Or Deliver?
Following the birth of her third child, Kristin Rulon took a birth-control shot that triggered a wave of depression and anxiety. The 32-year-old suburban Kansas City, Missouri, mother and writer explored natural remedies before joining the millions of Americans who’ve turned to mobile-device apps that offer therapy via text messages. A therapist from the BetterHelp app in early 2016 typically exchanged three to four daily texts with Rulon from morning to bedtime. The access was great, Rulon said, but the $28 weekly charge for unlimited texting not covered by health insurance became too expensive. And Rulon worried that texts could not convey everything she wanted to share. (Alltucker, Connor and O'Donnell, 6/15)