General Interest
New Dutch Law to Make all Adults Organ Donors Unless they Opt Out
16 Feb, 2018 | 02:08h | UTCNew Dutch law to make all adults organ donors unless they opt out – CNN (free) AND Every Adult in This Country Is Now an Organ Donor Unless They Opt Out – TIME (free) AND Dutch law to make everyone organ donors unless they opt out – ABC News (free)
Research: Mortality in single fathers compared with single mothers and partnered parents
16 Feb, 2018 | 01:40h | UTCCommentaries: Premature mortality in single fathers – The Lancet Public Health (free) AND Single fathers have highest risk of early death – OnMedica (free) AND Single Fathers Are More Likely to Die Early, Study Says – TIME (free)
Japan faces its old age with robots and virtual reality
16 Feb, 2018 | 01:15h | UTCWatch: Japan faces its old age with robots and virtual reality – STAT (free)
This Startup Makes End-Of-Life Planning A Piece Of Cake
16 Feb, 2018 | 00:41h | UTCThis Startup Makes End-Of-Life Planning A Piece Of Cake – Forbes (free)
Big tobacco’s offer: $1 billion for research. Should scientists take it?
15 Feb, 2018 | 11:28h | UTCBig tobacco’s offer: $1 billion for research. Should scientists take it? – Science (free)
What Could Amazon’s Approach to Health Care Look Like?
15 Feb, 2018 | 11:30h | UTCWhat Could Amazon’s Approach to Health Care Look Like? – Harvard Business Review (free)
The Famine Ended 70 Years Ago, but Dutch Genes Still Bear Scars
15 Feb, 2018 | 11:11h | UTCThe Famine Ended 70 Years Ago, but Dutch Genes Still Bear Scars – The New York Times (free)
Here’s How Amazon Could Disrupt Health Care
15 Feb, 2018 | 10:46h | UTC– Here’s How Amazon Could Disrupt Health Care (Part 1) – Forbes (free)
– Here’s How Amazon Could Disrupt Health Care (Part 2) – Forbes (free)
– Here’s How Amazon Could Disrupt Health Care (Part 3) – Forbes (free)
The CDC Is About to Fall Off a Funding Cliff
15 Feb, 2018 | 10:42h | UTCThe CDC Is About to Fall Off a Funding Cliff – The Atlantic (free)
“It’s already planning to pull back on work that protects the world from pandemics”.
Research: Polygenic Contribution in Individuals With Early-Onset Coronary Artery Disease
15 Feb, 2018 | 10:39h | UTCCommentary: Genetic Risk Score May Best FH Variant for Predicting Early-Onset CAD – Medscape (free registration required)
“Another study suggests CAD will soon be predicted not by 1 gene (like FH) but groups of genes that can be combined into risk scores” (via @drjohnm see Tweet)
How Fake Surgery Exposes Useless Treatments
9 Feb, 2018 | 12:45h | UTCHow Fake Surgery Exposes Useless Treatments – Scientific American (free)
Related: Sham surgeries: A tale of medical reversals & the role of the media – HealthNewsReview (free)
Opinion: This flu season, physicians need to scrap the ‘martyr culture’ of working while sick
9 Feb, 2018 | 12:43h | UTCThis flu season, physicians need to scrap the ‘martyr culture’ of working while sick – STAT (free) (via @CMichaelGibson)
Related study: Working with influenza-like illness: Presenteeism among US health care personnel during the 2014-2015 influenza season – American Journal of Infection Control (link to abstract – $ for full-text) AND Commentaries: Working while sick – ACP Internist (free) AND Health worker survey reveals many work during flu illness – CIDRAP (free)
New Cellphone and Health Studies Don’t Eliminate Uncertainty
9 Feb, 2018 | 12:22h | UTCNew cellphone and health studies don’t eliminate uncertainty – Science (free)
Other commentaries: Largest Animal Study of Cell Phone Radiation and Cancer Risk – Medscape (free registration required) AND High doses of cellphone radiation linked to some cancers in rats – STAT (free) AND Cell phone radiation: Could high exposure cause tumors? – Medical News Today (free)
Research: Use of social media is associated with short sleep duration in students aged 11 to 20 years
9 Feb, 2018 | 11:57h | UTCUse of social media is associated with short sleep duration in a dose–response manner in students aged 11 to 20 years – Acta Paediatrica (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Social media use linked to lack of sleep in students – Wiley, via EurekAlert (free)
See also a recent Pediatrics supplement: Children, Adolescents and Screens: What We Know and What We Need To Learn (series of free articles) and related articles on Social Media and Mental Health
Opinion: Doctors and Patients Heading in Opposite Directions
9 Feb, 2018 | 11:48h | UTCRichard Smith: Doctors and patients heading in opposite directions – The BMJ Opinion (free)
“Patients increasingly have multiple conditions, while doctors continue remorseless specialisation and subspecialisation. What are the consequences of this divergence?” (via @bmj_latest see Tweet)
Research: High performance plasma amyloid-β biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease
5 Feb, 2018 | 16:48h | UTCHigh performance plasma amyloid-β biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease – Nature (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Expert reaction to biomarkers for amyloid-beta in Alzheimer’s disease – Science Media Centre (free) AND A Big Step toward a Blood Test for Alzheimer’s – Scientific American (free) AND Simple blood test spots dementia protein – Nature News (free) AND Alzheimer’s hope as scientists unveil blood test for early signs – The Guardian (free)
AHA Scientific Statement: Cardiovascular Disease and Breast Cancer
5 Feb, 2018 | 16:49h | UTCCommentaries: Breast cancer treatments may increase the risk of heart disease – AHA / ASA Newsroom (free) AND Heart group warns of cardiovascular risks after treatment for breast cancer – STAT (free)
Research: Effects of Preschool in Educational Attainment at 35 Years of Age
5 Feb, 2018 | 16:45h | UTCCommentaries: Longer Early Childhood Intervention Linked To Greater Post-Secondary Attainment – MedicalResearch.com (free) AND Does Preschool Make a Long-Term Difference? – MedPage Today (free) AND Graduates of early childhood program show greater educational gains as adults – EurekAlert (free)
A Revolution in Health Care is Coming
5 Feb, 2018 | 16:27h | UTCA revolution in health care is coming – The Economist (a few articles per month are free) (via @equitylist)
“Welcome to Doctor You”
New Document for Patients: Advanced Health Directive for Dementia
5 Feb, 2018 | 16:26h | UTCOne Day Your Mind May Fade. At Least You’ll Have a Plan – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Free download: Health Directive for Dementia (free PDF) from Advanced Directive for Dementia
Source: New document allows advance planning for dementia – Univadis (free registration required)
“A Simple Way to Document the Medical Care You Would Want If You Had Dementia”
Meta-analysis: Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements Don’t Reduce Cardiovascular Risk
5 Feb, 2018 | 16:18h | UTCCommentary: Omega-3 Supplements Don’t Protect Against Heart Disease – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Omega-3 fatty acids did not prevent fatal or nonfatal coronary heart disease or any major vascular events.
Research: Traumatic Brain Injury and the Risk of Dementia Diagnosis
5 Feb, 2018 | 16:16h | UTCTraumatic brain injury and the risk of dementia diagnosis: A nationwide cohort study – PLOS One (free)
Commentaries: TBI is associated with increased dementia risk for decades after injury – PLOS, via ScienceDaily (free) AND More evidence traumatic brain injuries raise later dementia risk – Reuters (free)
“Using longitudinal, case-control, and sibling-matched analyses of nationwide data from Sweden, Peter Nordström & Anna Nordström describe the association between TBI and dementia, its time course, and the influence of familial factors”. (via @PLOSMedicine see Tweet)
World Cancer Day (4 February 2018)
5 Feb, 2018 | 16:19h | UTCWorld Cancer Day (4 February 2018) – World Health Organization (free)
New Document: Guide to cancer early diagnosis – World Health Organization (free)
News Release: Guide to Cancer Early Diagnosis (free)
See other key cancer documents by WHO
Pro/Con Debate – two doctors with opposite views on physician-assisted death
5 Feb, 2018 | 16:15h | UTCPro: I’m a doctor with end-stage cancer. I support medical aid in dying – STAT (free)
Con: Physician-assisted suicide won’t atone for medicine’s ‘original sin’ – STAT (free)
Opinion: Pay for performance: a dangerous health policy fad that won’t die – STAT
5 Feb, 2018 | 16:09h | UTCPay for performance: a dangerous health policy fad that won’t die – STAT (free)
See related articles and commentaries on recent studies with disappointing results of P4P Programs