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good morning. Some plans to consider Thursday: Attend STAT’s Breakthrough Summit East. I’m really looking forward to the conversation between reporter Lizzie Lawrence and former FDA Commissioner Rob Califf, which will cap off a successful day. If you’re in New York, it’s not too late to get tickets IRL. If not, you can join online. We also have promo codes for procrastinators.
NIH grant awards delayed (again)
Nearly halfway through the fiscal year, the NIH is significantly behind on spending. As of March 3, NIH spending is 74% less than the 2021-2024 average. According to STAT’s Anil Oza, the deficit is largely due to the department not funding many new awards. Rather, grants funded by the company are typically renewals of existing multi-year projects.
Outside experts have pointed to various explanations for the delay. These included fall closures, staff layoffs, confusing guidance for grant reviewers, and delays in issuing notices of funding opportunities. This time last year, there was a similar shortfall in funding from the NIH, but by the end of the year in September, the agency had found a way to use its entire budget. Researchers still tracking the agency’s spending are working to fully understand the impact of the Trump administration’s policy changes. Read more from Anil about the current situation.
New data on restraint during ventilation
That’s definitely an unpleasant image. A loved one is sick in a hospital bed, with a tube down their throat, hooked up to a ventilator, and their wrists strapped to their sides. This type of hand restraint during mechanical ventilation, aimed at preventing self-harm, is widely used in ICUs around the world, but there are few studies on its effectiveness. A randomized clinical trial of more than 400 people published this morning in JAMA aims to understand whether an aggressive approach to patient restraint or a more conservative approach is better for patient outcomes.
The study found that two weeks after initial intubation, there was no significant difference in the likelihood of patients developing delirium or coma between the group in which doctors took a conservative, individualized restraint approach and the group in which total restraint was applied. There were also no differences in safety outcomes such as unplanned ventilator removal or other actions by agitated patients. This means more cautious suppression strategies can be used safely, the study authors conclude. Especially since, as they also point out, the results do not take into account the stressful experiences among patients and their families, or even the prevalence of mental health problems related to restraint.
How to type with heart
A brain-computer interface has enabled two people with paralysis to type with their heads, according to new research. A brain implant interpreted the movements of your fingers as you tried to type on a virtual keyboard. One of the patients was able to type up to 80% as fast as healthy controls.
“This research is a big step for the field,” says Tyler Singer-Clark, Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. student and BrainGate consortium member, told STAT’s O. Rose Broderick. This is the latest in a series of successful studies into using brain implants to help people with disabilities communicate. Still, as Rose previously reported, significant regulatory hurdles remain to overcome in this area. For now, read more about the latest science.
Federal judge delays major changes to ACIP
A federal judge yesterday stalled a key part of Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign to reshape America’s vaccine policy. Although not final, the preliminary decision states that both President Kennedy’s reconstitution of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the organization’s changes to the childhood vaccination schedule are likely illegal.
“There is a way to know how these decisions have been made historically, and that method is scientific in nature and codified into law through procedural requirements,” Judge Brian E. Murphy wrote in his decision. “Unfortunately, the government ignored these techniques, thereby undermining the integrity of its actions.” Read more about this decision and how it will impact the next ACIP meeting, which was scheduled to start tomorrow.
People want their workplaces to be doing more about mental health
One in four people say they have at least considered quitting their job because of the impact on their mental health, according to a poll released today by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Of more than 2,100 respondents, nearly half said they believed their company was making mental health a priority. Other interesting discoveries include:
- Approximately 80% of respondents would like their workplace to provide training on mental health conditions, including how to identify and respond to crises, managing stress and burnout, and the types of resources provided by employers.
- Less than a third of respondents receive mental health training at work. They report feeling more supported by their managers and leadership than those who don’t. They are also less likely to worry about mental health stigma in the workplace.
- Only 28% of respondents who are managers in their workplaces reported receiving training to support conversations about mental health with their teams.
Possible people are: do not have need to take blood pressure medication
It’s not every day that medical advice shifts toward lowering doses, but that’s exactly what a study published yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine says. An analysis of the 2025 Hypertension Guidelines concluded that 11% of people aged 65 to 79 with stage 1 hypertension (highest level 130-139 mm/Hg, lowest level 80-90 mm/Hg) do not require antihypertensive medication if their risk is low.
This update takes into account not only age, but also risk gathered from the new PREVENT risk calculator. National Health Survey data from 2013 to 2020 shows that non-smokers in their mid-60s with low cardiovascular risk scores are most likely to be ineligible for the medication.
These same PREVENT risk equations are the basis for guidelines published last week that lower the age of initiation of lipid-lowering treatment. Like blood pressure medications, statins are considered underused. When they were first shown to dramatically reduce heart attacks and strokes, some jokingly suggested adding them to water. Decades later, it poses a problem when fluoridated water is under attack.
The momentum is now shifting away from one-size-fits-all. Or, as the researchers wrote, “Our findings for older adults emphasize the shift in guidelines toward individualized, risk-based care.” — elizabeth cooney
what we are reading
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13 years, six doctors and a lawsuit: The path to an endometriosis diagnosis, New York Times
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Influencers promote ‘parasitic extermination’ but doctors tell them to avoid it, NPR
- Opinion: Semaglutide’s patent expires in India. But can those who need it get it? status
- My fitness tracker is my secret weapon against chronic illness, The Verge
- White House steps in on ‘most-favoured-nation’ drug pricing despite Congress’s lukewarm response, STAT
