chronic disease
One guinea pig step closer to a vaccine for Lyme disease
BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images
How do you solve a problem like a tick bite? As the tiny creature is sucking out a person's blood, it's also doling out proteins to keep that blood flowing, painlessly, while hampering any immune response. That's when it can pass along the bacteria that leads to Lyme disease and other conditions.
But some people, along with other mammals like guinea pigs, can develop resistance to ticks after enough exposure. A new study, published yesterday in Science Translational Medicine, examined how the immune system reacts differently when that resistance is there. Read the story from STAT's Isabella Cueto for a detailed explanation of the science. But essentially: Researchers found that tick antigens were trying to suppress histamine, which triggers allergic reactions. Then, they used those antigens to create an mRNA vaccine for guinea pigs. It worked, but there's a lot more to be done before there's a vaccine for people. Read more.
one big number
2.9 million
That's the high end of an estimated range for how many additional HIV-related deaths could occur in low-and-middle income countries between 2025 and 2030 if the U.S. and other wealthy nations follow through with proposed international aid reductions. Five countries — the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, and the Netherlands — provide almost all international HIV funding. All of them have recently announced plans to significantly cut foreign aid.
Researchers conducted a modelling analysis, published yesterday in The Lancet HIV, which calculated there could be between 4.4 and 10.8 million additional HIV infections and between 770,000 and 2.9 million related deaths in low-and-middle-income countries by 2030.
first opinion
The repercussions of slashing the SAMHSA budget
About a year ago, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration requested more than $8.1 billion for its 2025 budget. It was a substantial increase from the $7.5 billion they'd received less than two years before. But the country is facing both a mental health crisis and an overdose epidemic. More than one in five people is estimated to experience mental illness, and suicide rates still haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Under the Trump administration, SAMHSA faces massive cuts, with reports that its 900 employees could soon be reduced by half. In a new First Opinion essay, attorney and former public servant Patrick Wildes argues that the federal government needs to supplement SAMHSA's efforts, not undercut them. Read more about what the future of mental health could look like if SAMHSA shrinks.
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