Monday Roundup

David Ermer–Generative AI, NIH, U.S. Healthcare–
Photo by Sven Read on Unsplash

From Washington, DC

  • The FEHBlog travelled back to DC yesterday,
  • Per a Department of Health and Human Services press release,
    • “Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced a combined investment of $15 million over four years through the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (Rural MOMS) Program to improve maternal health in rural communities and a new program focused on strengthening maternal care and reducing disparities in the Delta region (within Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee). HRSA Deputy Administrator Jordan Grossman highlighted these strategic investments today in Flagstaff, AZ, during the third state convening of HRSA’s Enhancing Maternal Health Initiative.”
  • The NIH Director in her blog tells us,
    • The NIH Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative has expanded scientists’ understanding of the human brain in recent years, offering fascinating insights into the ways that individual cells and complex neural circuits interact dynamically to enable us to think, feel, and act. But neuroscientists still have much more to learn about how our brains are put together at the most fundamental, subcellular level.  
    • As a step in that direction, in a new study supported in part by the NIH BRAIN Initiative and reported in the journal Science , researchers have created the most detailed nanoscale resolution map ever produced of a cubic millimeter of brain tissue, about the size of half a grain of rice. * * *
    • While there is plenty still left to uncover, the findings offer proof-of-principle that it’s possible to visualize the brain at this very detailed level. This is crucial groundwork for new research now supported by the BRAIN Initiative Connectivity Across Scales (BRAIN CONNECTS) program. BRAIN CONNECTS will develop and scale up tools to produce an equally detailed map of a complete mouse brain, which is about 1,000 times larger than the human brain fragment. The researchers now hope their 3D map and others like it will be put to work to understand both normal and disordered brain function more fully.

From the public health and medical research front,

  • The AMA News lets us know what doctors wish their patients knew about the measles.
  • NIH announced.
    • “In a proof-of-concept study, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that uses routine clinical data, such as that from a simple blood test, to predict whether someone’s cancer will respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy drug that helps immune cells kill cancer cells. The machine-learning model may help doctors determine if immunotherapy drugs are effective for treating a patient’s cancer. The study, published June 3, 2024, in Nature Cancer, was led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Center for Cancer Research and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health. * * *
    • “The researchers noted that larger prospective studies are needed to further evaluate the AI model in clinical settings. They have made their AI model, called Logistic Regression-Based Immunotherapy-Response Score (LORIS), publicly available at https://loris.ccr.cancer.gov. The tool estimates the likelihood of a patient responding to immune checkpoint inhibitors based on data on the six variables described above.”
  • Health Day tells us,
    • “About one in eight U.S. seniors will be treated for a traumatic brain injury, typically during a fall, a new study finds.” About one in eight U.S. seniors will be treated for a traumatic brain injury, typically during a fall, a new study finds.
    • “Medicare data shows that about 13% of seniors suffered a severe concussion during an average follow-up period of 18 years, researchers report.
    • “Although these injuries can be treated, they increase the risk of serious conditions like dementia, Parkinson’s disease, seizures, heart disease, depression and anxiety, they added.
    • “The number of people 65 and older with TBI is shockingly high,” said senior researcher Dr. Raquel Gardner, a neurologist with the Sheba Medical Center in Israel.”
  • Healio points out,
    • “Statin therapy was tied to a 5-year CVD risk reduction in adults aged 75 years and older.”Statin therapy was tied to a 5-year CVD risk reduction in adults aged 75 years and older.
    • “Statin use did not increase the risk for major adverse events, such as liver dysfunction.”

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

  • Beckers Hospital Review reports,
    • “Nonprofit hospital margins hit 4.3% in April, up 33% year over year, according to Kaufman Hall’s “National Hospital Flash Report” released June 3.”Nonprofit hospital margins hit 4.3% in April, up 33% year over year, according to Kaufman Hall’s “National Hospital Flash Report” released June 3.
    • “Kaufman Hall examined data from 1,300 hospitals in Syntellis Performance Solutions’ database and found that while hospital margins are improving overall, so is the gap between the highest and lowest performing hospitals. The best performing hospitals had a margin of 28.9%, compared to -16.1% for the worst performing hospitals. * * *
    • “Of note, the data revealed:
      • “1. Outpatient revenue increased 10% year over year in April.
      • “2. Average length of stay dropped 4% year over year in April.
      • “3. Emergency department visits increased to hit pre-pandemic levels.”
  • BioPharma Dive informs us,
    • “An experimental GLP-1 pill helped people with obesity lose significantly more weight than a placebo over three months, according to summary results revealed by developer Structure Therapeutics Monday.
    • “Structure’s drug led to an average reduction in body weight of 6.2% over placebo. One-third of those on the drug, dubbed GSBR-1290, lost 10% or more of their body weight, compared to zero of those given placebo.”
  • Per MedTech Dive,
    • “BD has agreed to buy Edward Lifesciences’ critical care group for $4.2 billion in cash, ending Edwards’ plan to spin off the business.
    • “In a Monday announcement, BD highlighted the group’s patient monitoring technologies and artificial intelligence-enabled clinical decision products that will add to BD’s existing businesses. Edwards’ critical care unit grew revenue by 8.5% year over year to $928.1 million in 2023.
    • “RBC Capital Markets analyst Shagun Singh said the deal would streamline Edwards. “Notably, the transaction creates a pure-play structural heart company positioning them for strategic initiatives that could further create shareholder value,” Singh wrote in a note to investors.”