policy
Everything you need to know about two major health policy leaders
Today at STAT we have two stories focused on major health leaders in Washington. You can't get this stuff anywhere else!
First, we have a Q&A with Jeanne (pronounced "Jeannie") Marrazzo. A year ago, Marrazzo became the first new director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in almost four decades after the departure of Anthony Fauci. She usually stays out of the spotlight, but last week she sat for an interview with STAT's Helen Branswell to discuss the U.S. outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in cows (and what's going on with those health workers in Missouri), mpox outbreaks in Africa, and her hopes for NIAID. Read the interview.
And second, STAT's Mohana Ravindranath writes about Micky Tripathi, the top HHS official overseeing much of President Biden's agenda for regulating how artificial intelligence is used in health care. How successful Tripathi is — or isn't — at his job right now could have a huge impact on how this technology is adopted across the health care system. And when you combine AI's propensity to hallucinate and cause harm with the government's typically slow, bureaucratic pace? The stakes are high. Read more from Mohana about how Tripathi may have the hardest job in Washington right now.
disability
We're one step closer to having a brain-computer interface on the market
Synchron announced Monday that implanting its brain-computer interface did not produce dangerous side effects after a year. Researchers implanted the Stentrode device, which allows users to control personal devices using their thoughts, in six patients with neurodegenerative diseases. While a few participants initially reported mild headaches, nobody had a serious event such as stroke. The signal from the implant did not weaken over twelve months, nor did it migrate from its initial position in the brain, a problem that has plagued competitor Neuralink.
The news is the latest positive result for a startup that has blazed through the healthtech world over the last decade with its endovascular interface that does not require invasive brain surgery. The next step? Turn this feasibility study into a trial that proves the technology's clinical significance to the FDA. The company also recently demonstrated that people with its implant can connect with consumer technologies such as Amazon's Alexa, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Apple's mixed-reality headset.
— Timmy Broderick
moving & snoozing
How much sleep and exercise kids get around the world
Fewer than 1 in 6 children around the world are meeting the WHO's guidelines for physical activity, screen time, and sleep, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics. The WHO recommends that three- to four-year olds get at least at 180 minutes of activity each day, no more than one hour of sedentary screen time, and 10-13 hours of good quality snoozing.
The researchers, which looked at pooled analysis data on more than 7,000 children in 33 countries, didn't find clear geographical or socioeconomic patterns. Low- and lower-middle-income countries had 16.6% of children meeting overall guidelines, whereas just 12% did in upper-middle income countries and 14.4% in high-income countries. Regionally, 24% of kids met the guidelines in Africa, but just 7.7% did in North and South America.
It's hard to draw conclusions from the data, especially since most of the papers the new study drew from took place before the pandemic. But it's important to implement culturally relevant local programming and policies to improve health in young children, the authors wrote.
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