Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
How To Zero In On Your Final, Forever Home While Skirting Disaster
Confronting changing health care needs, fixed incomes and problems created by climate change can be overwhelming when trying to pinpoint that dream location, but taking time and doing research makes it a dream come true, say these seniors. (Janice Lloyd, )
Good morning! A Stanford scientist has joined a coalition of researchers calling for a worldwide moratorium on gene-editing human embryos following controversial work that sent shock waves through the scientific community. Other California experts are more hesitant to put such restrictions on research. More on that below, but first, here are your top California health stories for the day.
California Jury Rules That J&J Must Pay Woman $29M For Cancer That Was Allegedly Linked To Talc Powder: The lawsuit is one of about 13,000 cases across the country that allege Johnson & Johnson’s popular talc powder product was responsible for the plaintiffs’ cancer. The company has insisted that its talc-based products are demonstrably safe and that it’s not possible to conclusively say the plaintiffs weren’t exposed to asbestos from their jobs or other environments, but Superior Court jury in Oakland found that the baby powder was a "substantial contributing factor" in Teresa Leavitt's cancer diagnosis. This verdict is J&J’s seventh trial loss over claims it hid the health risks of its baby powder for 50 years. Last year, a Los Angeles jury awarded $25.7 million to a woman who blamed her cancer on the powder. Read more from The Associated Press and Bloomberg.
‘We Have No Answers’: Scientists Have Little Research On The Toxins Lingering From Wildfires That Burn Through Urban Areas: Researchers have been studying the aftermath of the fire that razed Paradise, California, before burning through other areas where there were toxins such as arsenic, heavy metals, copper, lead, transformer fluid, brake fluid and fire retardant. Experts with the EPA who worked on the Paradise cleanup say removal teams take away whatever contaminants they find, including melted pipes or asbestos-laden construction materials, but protocols are evolving and there are gaps in scientists’ knowledge. “We really need to know how this is going to affect health," said air pollution researcher Keith Bein.
Meanwhile, investigators have found that Southern California Edison power lines sparked a major 2017 blaze, and now communities are pushing utility companies to do more on fire prevention. “Best practices, best available technologies, they are out there,” added state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara). “It’s just that, frankly, PG&E in particular but Edison to some extent have failed to commit to these more protective kinds of infrastructure and I think now they will be required to do so.” Read more from Reuters and CALmatters.
Below, check out the full round-up of California Healthline original stories, state coverage and the best of the rest of the national news for the day.
More News From Across The State
Politico:
Trump 'Not Thrilled' About California Governor's Death Penalty Moratorium
President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to issue a moratorium on executions in the state. “Defying voters, the Governor of California will halt all death penalty executions of 737 stone cold killers,” Trump tweeted. “Friends and families of the always forgotten VICTIMS are not thrilled, and neither am I!” (Galioto, 3/13)
Sacramento Bee:
California Families Denounce Death Penalty Reprieves
Disgusting. Appalling. A punch to the gut. Law enforcement leaders and family members waiting to see their loved ones’ killers put to death reacted with these sentiments and others Wednesday to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement that he was effectively scrapping California’s death penalty and granting reprieves to more than 700 death row inmates. (Stanton, 3/13)
San Francisco Chronicle:
DA: Urgent Care Clinic In Los Gatos Charged Someone $700 For A Pair Of Foam Slippers
It's well known that emergency medical care can be shockingly expensive, but one Los Gatos clinic took things criminally far with a string of fraudulent bills, prosecutors said Wednesday. The owner and manager of the facility, Los Gatos Urgent Care Clinic, have been charged with insurance fraud after billing patients' insurance for a range of egregious expenses, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. (Ioannou, 3/13)
Sacramento Bee:
UC Davis Finds Ways For Blacks, Hispanics To Cut Dementia Risk
UC Davis researchers announced Tuesday that, after studying brain tissue from 423 Americans of Latino, African and non-Hispanic white descent, they have discovered startling variations in the causes of dementia among people of different races and ethnicities. In Latinos, for instance, cerebrovascular disease was much more likely to be a cause of dementia than Alzheimer’s disease. (Anderson, 3/13)
Sacramento Bee:
Moisturizing Skin May Cut Dementia Risk, UC Researchers Say
Researchers at UC San Francisco announced this week that age-damaged skin in older adults may be contributing to a wide range of chronic, age-related conditions that include heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Here’s what the dermatological researchers said they learned from their work with the San Francisco Veterans Administration Health System: As aging skin begins to break down, the immune system releases small proteins known as cytokines to signal that there’s inflammation in damaged areas of the skin. (Anderson, 3/14)
Stat:
At A Big Cardiology Meeting, Glitzy Tech Will Collide With Sober Science
Researchers from Stanford will present the results of a study of more than 400,000 patients testing the [Apple Watch's] ability to accurately detect heart rhythm problems, which can lead to strokes and other problems. The Apple-sponsored study will be the first test of whether putting wrist sensors on people to detect heart rhythm changes is a good idea that get them necessary care, or a bad one that is raising false alarms and possibly leading to over-treatment of the worried well. It is also one of the largest heart screening studies ever. (Herper, 3/14)
LAist:
LA County Wants To Keep Homeless People And Their Pets Together
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today took steps to move forward a motion that would require any county-funded housing to allow pets. The motion, authored by Supervisor Hilda L. Solis and co-authored by Supervisor Kathryn Barger, came from the recognition that about 10 percent of homeless people have pets to whom they are deeply bonded — and that if the majority of affordable housing options don't allow animals, those individuals may feel forced to choose between leaving their pet behind and securing housing. (Ogilvie, 3/13)
The New York Times:
F.D.A. Moves To Restrict Flavored E-Cigarette Sales To Teenagers
With a few weeks left in his tenure as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Scott Gottlieb on Wednesday moved to restrict sales of flavored e-cigarettes to try to reduce the soaring rate of teenage vaping. The agency issued a proposal requiring that stores sequester flavored e-cigarettes to areas off limits to anyone under age 18. Retailers, including convenience stores and gas stations, will be expected to verify the age of their customers. (Kaplan, 3/13)
Reuters:
U.S. Proposes Stricter Curbs On E-Cigarette Sales
The proposal would allow traditional retailers such as convenience stores to sell tobacco, mint and menthol e-cigarettes, which the FDA says are more popular among adults than minors. But other flavors could only be sold in stores or online when strong age-verification protocols are in place. In an interview on Wednesday, Gottlieb said the new guidelines give the agency flexibility to further restrict sales if youth use trends continue. (3/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Sets Limits On Retail Sales Of Flavored E-Cigarettes
The FDA will require all e-cigarette makers, including Juul, to submit most flavored products currently on the market to the agency for review by August 2021, a year earlier than its previous deadline. The agency will also ban the sale of all flavored cigars introduced to the market since February 2007. Separately, it is pursuing a plan to prohibit flavored cigars entirely, but the broader ban could take years to implement. (Maloney, 3/13)
The Washington Post:
FDA Rolls Out Vaping Policy To Make It Harder For Minors To Buy Flavored Products
The new policy would not apply to mint, menthol and tobacco flavors unless those products were being sold in a way that targeted minors, the agency said. E-cigarette advocates say those products are most often used by adult smokers trying to quit, but anti-tobacco groups are skeptical of the claim, saying there isn’t data to support it. (McGinley, 3/13)
The Hill:
Outgoing FDA Chief Issues Proposal To Limit Sales Of Flavored E-Cigs
"Evidence shows that youth are especially attracted to flavored e-cigarette products, and that minors are able to access these products from both brick-and-mortar retailers, as well as online, despite federal restrictions on sales to anyone under 18," Gottlieb said in a statement. (Hellmann, 3/13)
Reuters:
Democrats Support Expanding Medicare, With Some Caveats That Could Matter To Voters
After launching his 2020 presidential bid last week, John Hickenlooper took a different stance on establishing a "Medicare-for-all" government health insurance program than many of his Democratic competitors. "I probably would oppose Medicare-for-all just because there are over 150 million people, Americans who have some form of private insurance through their business, and the vast majority of them are happy with that," the former Colorado governor said on MSNBC. He added he supported reaching universal health insurance coverage by another route. (3/13)
The New York Times:
How ‘Medicare For All’ Would Work (Or Not Work)
“Medicare for all” has become a punching bag for Republicans and a rallying cry for many Democrats. But what exactly is it? (3/13)
Reuters:
Experts Call For Halt To Gene Editing That Results In 'Designer Babies'
Top scientists and ethicists from seven countries on Wednesday called for a global moratorium on gene editing of human eggs, sperm or embryos that would result in genetically-altered babies after a rogue Chinese researcher last year announced the birth of the world's first gene-edited twins. News of their birth prompted global condemnation of the work, raising the ethical specter of so-called designer babies in which embryos could be genetically modified to produce children with desirable traits. (3/13)
The Mercury News:
Stanford Scientist Calls For Moratorium On Gene-Edited Babies
Stanford Nobel Prize winner Paul Berg and many of the world’s leading CRISPR scientists and bioethicists on Wednesday called for a global moratorium on genetically modified babies. In the most direct opposition yet to the new gene-editing technique in embryos, Berg joined with 18 other researchers from seven nations to urge a five-year pause on its use to allow time for deeper discussion of its societal and medical implications. (Krieger, 3/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
Scientists Call For Moratorium To Block Gene-Edited Babies
Dr. Doudna, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said she opposes implanting edited embryos in humans for now, but supports research into it. When asked to sign onto the Nature comment, she said she decided against it because, “I feel it is a bit late to be calling for a moratorium.” She also said there were probably more effective ways to stop rogue scientists. Gene-editing technology and the Crispr tool, in particular, have been racing ahead even as scientists still try to sort out the ethical issues around its use. Discovered in 2012, Crispr allows scientists to cut, edit and insert new DNA. The Broad and a group that includes Dr. Charpentier and UC Berkeley are involved in a legal dispute over the rights to the technology. (Dockser Marcus, 3/13)
The New York Times:
Pentagon Pushes For Weaker Standards On Chemicals Contaminating Drinking Water
Facing billions of dollars in cleanup costs, the Pentagon is pushing the Trump administration to adopt a weaker standard for groundwater pollution caused by chemicals that have commonly been used at military bases and that contaminate drinking water consumed by millions of Americans. The Pentagon’s position pits it against the Environmental Protection Agency, which is seeking White House signoff for standards that would most likely require expensive cleanup programs at scores of military bases, as well as at NASA launch sites, airports and some manufacturing facilities. (Lipton and Turkewitz, 3/14)
The Associated Press:
No Dental Insurance? Discount Plans Can Provide Savings
No dental insurance? You're not alone. Roughly 1 in 4 Americans don't have dental coverage, according to industry figures. Employers are by far the biggest provider of dental benefits in the U.S., accounting for nearly half of all enrollees, followed by the government's Medicaid plan for low-income people. Researchers have shown that costs are a bigger obstacle to dental care in the U.S. than all other forms of health care. (3/13)
The Hill:
Divisions Emerge Over House Drug Price Bills
Divisions are emerging in the House over what lawmakers hoped would be a bipartisan push to lower drug prices. Drug pricing is a rare area where members of both parties think there is a chance for a deal this year. But as House Democrats took the first step on Wednesday to begin moving legislation forward, it was clear that even relatively small-scale drug pricing bills may not have a smooth path ahead. (Sullivan, 3/13)
Reuters:
Special Report: Online Activists Are Silencing Us, Scientists Say
The emails, tweets and blog posts in the "abuse" folder that Michael Sharpe keeps on his computer continue to pile up. Eight years after he published results of a clinical trial that found some patients with chronic fatigue syndrome can get a little better with the right talking and exercise therapies, the Oxford University professor is subjected to almost daily, often anonymous, intimidation. (3/13)
Stat:
How Ned Sharpless, Biotech Veteran, Vaulted To The Top Of The FDA
Almost immediately after beginning his Bethesda day job as the nation’s top cancer researcher, Ned Sharpless built a roughly 7-mile detour into his weekly routine: a sojourn to the Food and Drug Administration campus for a pickup basketball game. Whether or not the networking was intentional, Sharpless will soon be spending far more time with the FDA oncologists who once broke his finger. When Scott Gottlieb steps down after a nearly two-year tenure next month, Sharpless will take the helm of that agency, at least in the short term. (Facher and Sheridan, 3/14)
The New York Times:
Amazon Pulls 2 Books That Promote Unscientific Autism ‘Cures’
Amazon has removed the online listings for two books that claim to contain cures for autism, a move that follows recent efforts by several social media sites to limit the availability of anti-vaccination and other pseudoscientific material. The books, “Healing the Symptoms Known as Autism” and “Fight Autism and Win,” which had previously been listed for sale in Amazon’s marketplace, were not available on Wednesday. The company confirmed that the listings had been removed, but declined to discuss why or whether similar books would be taken down in the future. (Hsu, 3/13)