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good morning. My colleagues and friends Isabella Cueto and Lev Fascher have been talking about alcohol for years. As STAT’s chronic disease and addiction reporters, respectively, we sit at the very intersection of these issues, which are rarely addressed as public health issues. I’m excited to share that all of their conversations have turned into a report and now a great series. The first part has already been completed. Scroll down or go ahead and start reading.
Supreme Court extends mifepristone deadline
The Supreme Court needs three more days to rule on restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone. The current case, Louisiana v. FDA, came to the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court decision reinstated the requirement for health care providers to dispense drugs directly. The drug will now be available at pharmacies by mail or after telehealth appointments, at least through the end of Thursday. AP has the latest.
Such short-term extensions are not entirely unprecedented. The Supreme Court took a similar step several years ago when considering another challenge to mifepristone, then ultimately allowed mail-order sales to continue as the case progressed. “The fundamental question is: Who can regulate mifepristone?” Laurie Sobel, KFF’s associate director of women’s health policy, told me last week.
Goodbye PCOS, hello PMOS
Experts have wanted to change the name of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) for more than a decade. In a paper published this morning in The Lancet, they finally did it. This endocrine disorder is a major cause of infertility associated with problems such as high androgen levels, insulin resistance, and enlarged ovaries, and will come to be known as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS).
Although this change may seem small, it required a massive scientific effort. STAT’s Annalisa Merelli, who reported last month on the effort to create a new name, details how PMOS was ultimately chosen. read more.
Inside the Battle of Sepsis Algorithms
More than 40% of hospitals nationwide use Epic’s electronic health records system. So even though the first version of the company’s sepsis algorithm was a “technical failure,” as STAT’s Katie Palmer puts it, the company says it’s used in more than 700 hospitals. “Epic is easy to buy, but easy to blame,” said AI researcher Shamim Nemati. But competition for Epic is increasing as more startups test their own sepsis models in health systems. Today, Bayesian Health announced that its sepsis flag device has received FDA clearance. This is something you don’t get with Epic or Oracle Health’s algorithms.
While you might imagine that a health system would select the best sepsis algorithm available, experts told Katie that decision is actually driven by more practical realities and market forces. In part 2 of the series Paying for AI, Katie explains why performance doesn’t guarantee adoption and what that means for the future. Read more. If you missed part 1 about algorithms that allow you to review CT scans for cardiac risk, catch up here.
STAT investigates America’s hidden alcohol epidemic
Alcohol kills nearly 500 Americans every day, more than all infectious diseases combined. This is our most popular and most harmful mind-altering substance, yet it has not been treated as a public health emergency since the Prohibition era. Political leaders tend to ignore it. Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign, Obama’s “21st Century Drug Policy” and, more recently, the MAHA movement aligned with Trump, all focus on the harm caused by other substances.
In a new investigative series, “The Deadliest Drug,” STAT’s Isabella Cueto and Lev Fatcher expose how a lack of public oversight combines with powerful special interests to prevent those in power from acting in the nation’s best interests when it comes to alcohol. They interviewed more than 100 researchers, public health experts, doctors, patients, industry officials, and lawmakers. They considered disclosures of scientific literature, treatment protocols, public health guidelines, and lobbying efforts from alcohol companies and industry groups.
“The more we reported on this issue, the more it became clear that ignoring the harms of binge drinking and binge drinking will have a major impact on public health for decades to come,” Isa told me. Numbers are hard to forget. “I started thinking more deeply and seriously about my drinking,” she added.
The first two stories were published today. The first sets the stakes by mapping existing data on the 178,000 alcohol deaths that occur each year and explaining how the Trump administration is wasting a valuable opportunity to tackle the epidemic. The second story, which Isa wrote with STAT editor Amanda Erickson, focuses on an exam room where doctors still struggle to talk to patients about drinking. Inconsistent screening can lead to worse outcomes at the individual and broader population level, but some health systems are finding workable solutions.
Read part 1 and part 2 now. Bookmark this page to find future articles.
Trump administration takes new approach to vaping, kratom
Regarding other substances, there are two pieces of quick news.
On Friday, the FDA handed the tobacco industry another victory with what one expert called a “get-out-of-jail-free card” against some manufacturers of illegally selling e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. Essentially, the FDA said it would not pursue illegal sales of e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches as long as manufacturers meet two simple conditions. For more information and expert reaction, read Sarah Todd’s article at STAT.
And yesterday, President Trump made comments that appear to contradict his administration’s previous actions on 7-OH, an opioid derived from the naturally occurring kratom plant. “We’re looking at natural 7-OH very seriously and we’re trying to get it approved,” President Trump said. But just last year, authorities moved to schedule the compound under the Controlled Substances Act, warning that it could cause poisoning and death. Read more from Lev
what we are reading
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Six takeaways from STAT’s study on the U.S. alcohol epidemic, STAT
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President Kennedy pushes for major vaccine study despite public silence, New York Times
- Patients vie for exemption from Medicaid’s new work requirement STAT
- The fate of 21 brothers in Los Angeles, The New Yorker
- Marketers claim that NAD+ tablets and IV drips may extend lifespan. What is the evidence? NPR
What word? Test your knowledge with today’s STAT Mini crossword.
