Welcome to the latest edition of our research roundup, which highlights some of the best research reports in health care each week.
Journal revamps whistleblower policy after Alzheimer’s debacle
Whistleblowers who raise concerns about the integrity of journal publications are asked to disclose potential conflicts of interest when making their allegations, according to the Journal. Nature.
Last year, four whistleblowers JCIMore Other journals about what they said falsified images and data from a number of published papers, including Cassava Science, Inc.’s experimental drug for Alzheimer’s, Symphyram. There were some.
Editorial, JCIMore Editor-in-chief Elizabeth McNally, M.D., wrote that what she didn’t know at the time was that a whistleblower was shorting cassava stock. Later, the authors claimed to have profited when the stock price of cassava fell by 55%. JCIMorefiled a petition with the FDA.
The whistleblower “denies wrongdoing and supports their allegations, saying the three made relatively small profits from trading cassava stocks,” the whistleblower said. Nature.
The journal has retracted at least five papers on these concerns. Nature Two of the three papers that enhanced simufilam were included. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating this matter.
Maternity services cut where they are needed most
Already resource-strained hospitals continue to close maternity departments, raising concerns in the wake of abortion restrictions and rising pregnancy-related deaths. Axios.
With hospitals recently closing maternity services in states such as Illinois, Connecticut and Florida, providers and advocates say the existing “maternity desert” is a bigger problem in states where abortion is now prohibited. expresses concern about
The closures are being driven by low Medicaid reimbursement rates, staffing shortages, and declining birth rates. Axios report. The worst cuts to rural hospitals actually predated the pandemic, from 2014 to 2018.
Axios Peiyin Hung, Ph.D., a professor at the University of South Carolina, said women in rural areas already have to travel 24 miles to the nearest maternity unit, and if one were to close, the distance they would have to travel to get pregnant. said it could double. care.
“There is no single policy that can really solve this,” Hung said, because Medicaid is unlikely to increase reimbursement rates, and states that have not expanded their programs are not expected to do so.
Tobacco makers fend off California flavor ban
Camel and Newport cigarette manufacturer RJ Reynolds is finding new ways to circumvent California’s tobacco regulations with a new marketing campaign that hints at menthol flavors rather than actually selling them. new york times report.
Ah new law The law, which took effect in December, bans “discernible flavors or flavors” in tobacco products other than tobacco itself.
However, RJ Reynolds mailed customers flyers that read, “California, we’ve got you covered.”The company will carry a non-menthol version of the product, which they say has a “new fresh twist” and “a taste that satisfies the senses.” new york times Called WS-3, the “synthetic coolant” is odorless, tasteless, and has unknown health effects.
“If you squint at an ad, you know this is a flavorful product, whether it’s said or not,” said Pamela Lynn, M.D., director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco. Let’s go,” he said. ,Said new york times“The color, the packaging, what your brain associates with the look and feel overrides the text that this is not menthol.”
Critics have called the advertising campaign outrageous and warned that tobacco companies will again avoid the consequences of ignoring government regulations meant to strengthen public health. It says it’s in line with the “racist and predatory marketing” of menthol products that have traditionally targeted black people.
Robert Jakler, M.D., a professor of medicine at Stanford, said: new york times“The thing that surprises me is the lack of camouflage in the ad.” I have.”
