Ebola, MDMA therapy, the latest in healthcare

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I’m working on a playlist for an upcoming road trip. Do you have any song suggestions for driving through vast landscapes? Email me: [email protected]

I have the latest single from my favorite band, Wild Pink, and a lot the war on drugs (not related to the war on opioids and recovery).

Speaking of which, don’t miss my colleague Lev Facher’s story on Purdue Pharma’s controversial approval of overdose drugs.

Another Ebola outbreak?

From STAT’s Helen Branswell: The Democratic Republic of Congo could be facing a new Ebola outbreak. The World Health Organization told STAT it has been notified of seven suspected cases in Bas-Uélé, in a remote and difficult-to-reach province in northern Democratic Republic of Congo, along the border with the Central African Republic. Of the seven, five have died. If confirmed as Ebola, it would be the country’s 16th outbreak and the 10th in the past decade.

Samples from three of the suspected cases tested negative for the Zaire Ebola virus – the Ebola type that has caused most outbreaks in the DRC. But the samples were apparently of poor quality and the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa recommended that additional samples be collected and submitted. Tests should also be done to rule out other Ebola strains and Marburg, a related virus that causes a similar disease. The DRC was the site of the first confirmed Ebola outbreak in 1976 and has recorded more outbreaks than any other country.

More deaths are due to chronic diseases

A report from the National Center for Health Statistics brings us good news: Overall, US deaths in 2023 were 6.1% lower than in 2022.

Although deaths from Covid-19 fell by 68.9%, moving from the fourth leading cause of death to tenth (it still caused or contributed to 76,446 deaths last year), deaths from chronic diseases are increasing: deaths from stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, kidney disease and liver disease all increased last year.

Experts attributed this to the failure of primary care and chronic disease management. In the absence of a better system for delivering care, says Asaf Bitton, a general practitioner and executive director of Ariadne Labs, “we will see the recurrence of these nasty chronic conditions take their terrible toll, in an inequitable way. And we’re basically leaving a lot of preventable deaths on the table.”

Read more, including how drugs and alcohol have contributed to the third leading cause of death, from STAT’s Liz Cooney.

Disadvantaged communities are exposed to more air pollution

Breathing air pollution, including particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, can be bad for your health. But air pollution maps are typically based on low-resolution data sources, such as annual measurements or sensors that are few and far between. Only one new study in Science Advances collects data from various sources, including Google Earth, to model air pollution in California on a daily basis, block by neighborhood.

This high-resolution model allowed researchers to see that from 2012 to 2019, although air pollution decreased overall, underserved communities experienced higher levels of air pollution. Manufacturing plants, major roadways and industrial facilities are likely to be located near underserved communities, which also have fewer parks and green spaces to capture pollutants.

To learn more about how where you live affects your health, read STAT reporter Angus Chen’s recent story on how your neighborhood affects tumor biology.

Susannah’s cure offers hope for n-of-1 ultra-rare diseases

Thanks to Luke Rosen

It’s hard to believe that it would be good news if your child had 30 seizures a week… unless she used to have more than 100 seizures a day.

Susannah Rosen, now 10 years old, has rare mutations in a gene called KIF1A, which is associated with intellectual disability, spastic limbs and atrophy of nerve cells in the brain and eyes. At age 8, she received individualized treatment that limited her seizures and falls, allowed her to walk more often, and nearly eliminated the tremors that previously made it difficult for her to hold a fork or chalk.

That treatment came from a nonprofit called n-Lorem, an organization founded by former Ionis CEO Stanley Crooke. Using the technology behind Ionis’ commercial gene therapy Spinraza, a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, Crooke hopes to create free, tailor-made treatments for patients with ultra-rare diseases. To date, the organization has treated ten patients. But how can these treatments possibly be extended to all patients living with devastating, ultra-rare diseases? Read more in Jonathan Wosen’s story.

FTC shuts down AI app based on genital images

Earlier this year, STAT’s Lizzy Lawrence brought us news of a disturbing pair of apps: HeHealth and Calmara, intended to identify sexually transmitted diseases based on photos of users’ genitals (in the case of HeHealth) or of users’ partners ( in the case of Calmara). However, there was little evidence that the tool actually worked, giving users a false sense of security, or – as it can also be – panic.

The app was allowed because it fell into the FDA’s gray zone, claiming to be a “lifestyle product” rather than a diagnostic medical device.

However, the FTC got to the apps before the FDA. In June, the FTC began investigating the company’s exaggerated marketing, and in July it got the company to agree to shut down the apps and delete personal user information, saying the company didn’t have enough evidence to back up its health claims.

Read more about the penis-scanning AI company here, and more from Lizzy about shutting down the apps here.

How ecstasy (could) become a therapeutic drug

The FDA is expected to decide Sunday whether MDMA, in combination with therapy, can be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. The road to approval of the psychedelic drug has been long, full of questions and setbacks.

In June, an FDA advisory panel voted against recommending approving the drug, questioning the strength of the studies showing it worked. Bystanders are concerned that the survey data did not accurately reflect participants’ suicidal thoughts. Former employees of Lykos, the company seeking FDA approval, said the hype surrounding the drug sometimes disrupted the scientific process in drug trials.

“If we get approval, there is still work to be done. If the FDA delays its decision, there is work to be done. Regardless of the outcome, we are still moving forward,” Lykos Chief Communications Officer Blair Clark-Schoeb told STAT this week.

Ahead of the decision, STAT’s Olivia Goldhill and Meghana Keshavan answer frequently asked questions about how MDMA works, its risks and the arguments for and against its approval.

What we read

• Doctors can now save very premature babies. Most hospitals don’t try Wall Street Journal
• No hands please: we are Dutch, New York Times
• How experiencing famine in the womb can affect people’s health as adults STAT
• How an anti-abortion doctor joined the Texas Maternal Death Commission Texas Tribune
• Africa’s new power in genomics, Science
• Medicine needs fiction, especially now STAT