Expanding the definition of infertility, Apple Watch as Parkinson's navigator, & efficacy of dementia villages

"There are multiple reasons why patients may need medical intervention in order to build their families," ASRM's Sean Tipton said.

October 24, 2023 Check out STAT+

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By Elizabeth Cooney Reporter, Morning Rounds Writer

Good morning. I invite you to read about infertility's new definition, take a new look at dementia villages, and catch up to the Apple Watch as a way to navigate Parkinson's disease.

reproductive health 'Infertility' has a new definition in the U.S.  Until recently, the official diagnosis of infertility was the inability of heterosexual couples to conceive a child after trying for a year while having intercourse without protection. Now the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has expanded its official definition of the condition to encompass "the need for medical intervention, including, but not limited to, the use of donor gametes or donor embryos in order to achieve a successful pregnancy either as an individual or with a partner." Read: Infertility affects same-sex couples and single individuals, too. "What we're really trying to do is to acknowledge the reality that there are multiple reasons why patients may need medical intervention in order to build their families," said ASRM's Sean Tipton. "It also could be that someone is single or is partnered with someone who is of the same sex as they are, and those people deserve access every bit as much as anybody else." STAT's Annalisa Merelli has more, including how the change could impact insurance coverage. aging Opinion: Dementia villages sound great, but are they? Dementia villages sound like a great idea. Maybe I've been swayed by the sunny reports from the original Dutch village known as the Hogeweyk, where a small community shares housing, minor medical care, and psychosocial support in a neighborhood setting. A guiding principle is autonomy and community engagement, now replicated in nine other countries. Residents can roam about, whether going shopping or dining at a restaurant. All this stands in contrast to large-scale nursing homes and memory units within smaller facilities in the U.S. But today's STAT First Opinion strikes a note of caution: "There isn't any evidence yet proving that this care model is effective in providing better health and social outcomes than traditional memory care facilities," Kristina Carvalho of the Boston University School of Public Health writes. Read more. COVID-19 Maternal Covid vaccination during pregnancy lowered risks for infants up to six months Infants whose mothers were vaccinated against Covid-19 were less likely than other babies to become seriously ill, need neonatal intensive care, or die in the first month after birth, with protection against the virus lasting until they were six months old, a new study in JAMA Pediatrics reports. Severe Covid during pregnancy has been tied to pregnancy complications, so the researchers suspected vaccination would provide protection. They also acknowledge that pregnant persons who get vaccinated might be different in other ways related to better outcomes in infants, including higher levels of education and better socioeconomic factors. The large study fits with other research showing maternal vaccination against flu; tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap); and now RSV are good for both mother and child. "I'm hoping that patients will … recognize the importance of protecting their baby by getting the Covid-19 vaccine," Sonja Rasmussen, co-author of a companion editorial, told STAT's Deborah Balthazar. Read more.

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closer look Navigating Parkinson's disease could be the newest frontier for the Apple Watch Mike Reddy for STAT  It's an understatement to say Parkinson's is a complicated disease. The movement disorder's symptoms can vary from person to person and change over time for the individual. Now the Apple Watch is emerging as a viable tool for patients to navigate the disease day to day, much like a continuous glucose monitor helps people with diabetes manage their daily lives. After nearly a decade of research — since the watch debuted in 2014 — the FDA has cleared three apps from independent developers to track symptoms and potentially help patients and their doctors decide on treatment. STAT's Mario Aguilar talked with current and former Apple employees, leading neurologists, entrepreneurs developing Parkinson's apps, and people with the disease to understand both the progress and the challenges. "I still don't think we've even scratched a fraction of what the potential could be," Ray Dorsey, a neurologist and researcher at the University of Rochester, told Mario. Read his special report. mental health Kids with and without mental health diagnoses are heading to emergency rooms for help Just the background is jarring before you see what's new in today's CDC report comparing visits to emergency departments for mental health reasons by kids and adolescents with and without diagnosed disorders. To set the stage, the authors remind us that visits for mental health reasons in this age group, including suicide attempts and suicides, jumped 60% from 2007 to 2016. In the pandemic's first eight months, mental health-related ED visits rose by 24% for ages 5 to 11 and 31% for ages 12 to 17, compared with 2019 ED visits.  The new report, covering 2018 to 2021, found these differences: Visit rates related to diagnosed disorders were higher for adolescents than for kids under 12, and visit rates without a diagnosis were higher among younger children. Visit rates related to mental health disorders were higher for girls than boys, and for Black children of all ages than for Hispanic or white children. One common factor: Medicaid was the top source of payment. cancer From Madrid, the latest on a lung cancer drug candidate and a prostate cancer therapy Andrew Joseph/STAT STAT's Europe correspondent Andrew Joseph shares this image from the Madrid Metro as an example of public health messaging encouraging target groups to get vaccinated against Covid and flu. He's in town for ESMO, the large cancer conference, and these are his most recent dispatches: Data on AstraZeneca cancer drug allay safety concerns but treatment still faces questions Results on Novartis prostate cancer therapy could expand its use

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Thanks for reading! More tomorrow,

elizabeth.cooney@statnews.com

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