A win for Duchenne patients, a tragic abortion rights mistake, Twitter harassment, and more

June 25, 2023 Check out STAT+

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By Torie Bosch Editor, First Opinion

"My family and I have always known beyond a doubt that this day would come," Hawken Miller, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, writes in a First Opinion celebrating the FDA approval of Sarepta Therapeutics' gene therapy, SRP-9001, on Thursday. "When I was growing up, something like SRP-9001 was for the future. For many boys, it is now the present." Also in First Opinion this busy week: On Saturday, the first anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, sociologist Carole Joffe argued that the OB/GYN community missed a crucial opportunity to enshrine abortion rights back in the 1970s. The authors of a recent study on online harassment of physicians and scientists examine the recent Twitter storm — which bled into the "real" world — attacking vaccine expert Peter Hotez. Medical records are filled with copy-paste errors, leading to actual patient harm, writes cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar. Plus: the real cause of Black maternal health disparities, the high cost of giving birth even with insurance, and more. Do you have opinions on First Opinion? How about an idea for an essay? Email me: first.opinion@statnews.com.

Dr. Edwin P. Ewing, Jr./CDC The FDA's approval of a new gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy won't help me — but it gives me hope If Sarepta's gene therapy SRP-9001 succeeded through this accelerated approval pathway, then many more can as well. By Hawken Miller OB-GYNs could have solidified abortion as health care after Roe. They missed their chance After Roe, abortion provision did not become integrated into routine reproductive health care. That was a major mistake. By Carole Joffe Peter Hotez is not alone: Online harassment of doctors is a public health issue Our recent study shows that doctors and scientists are increasingly facing online and real world attacks for debunking misinformation. By Tricia Pendergrast and Regina Royan and Vineet Arora Adobe Bloated patient records are filled with false information, thanks to copy-paste Today's chart notes, filled with unnecessary and often copied details, are causing physicians to make diagnostic errors. By Sandeep Jauhar STAT+ | Cancer drug shortages should have patients rioting in the streets Cisplatin and carboplatin are the backbone for lung cancer regimens because they work. And now they are largely unavailable. By Kristen Rice Pregnancy-related death, like Tori Bowie's, is a far too common occurrence among Black women Rather than talk about racism, people want to blame Black maternal mortality rates on the social determinants of health. That's a cop-out. By Omare Jimmerson Adobe The staggering financial burden of giving birth — even with insurance We found that having a baby in the past year is associated with a 31% increased risk of having medical debt. By Aaron Birnbaum and Matthew Makansi Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams: Prioritize new antivirals for Covid Without prioritizing more oral antiviral options, we face the possibility of reducing the gains made against Covid-19. By Jerome Adams Listen: How to save PrEP access — and even expand it PrEP has never been available and affordable for everyone who needs it. Here's one way to change that, attorney Richard Hughes IV says. By Torie Bosch

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