Friday, May 24, 2024 – KFF Health News

New York Times: A horrifying tale of violence in a house of psychiatry

The annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association is a dignified and collective event, full of scholarly exchanges, polite laughter, and courteous applause. So it was a shock to those taking their seats in Room 1E08 of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan when they saw a robust 32-year-old man weeping as he told them he had been slammed to the floor in a psychiatric unit and tied to a stretcher. Since the man, Matthew Tuleja, was a Division I football player, he had a certain way of describing the circle of bodies surrounding him, the grabs and grapples, and the sensation of being dominated, pinned, and helpless. (Barry, 5/21)

AP: Can pink noise improve sleep and memory? Early research sparked buzz about colored noise

You may have heard of white noise used to mask background sounds. Now, it has colorful competition. There’s growing buzz about pink noise, brown noise, green noise — a rainbow of soothing sounds — and their theoretical effects on sleep, concentration, and the relaxation response. This science is new and has only a few small studies behind it, but that hasn’t stopped thousands of people from listening to hours of these noises on YouTube and meditation apps that offer a palette of colorful noises with paid subscriptions. (Johnson, 5/20)

Washington Post: Rising water levels pose pollution and health risks in septic tanks

Rising sea levels along the Southeast and Gulf Coast pose problems for septic systems, which can cause environmental damage and increase health risks if they fail. (Dennis, Crowe & Muyskens, 5/22)

Wall Street Journal: The EPA police officer who became a crusader for ‘Forever Chemicals’

As a young toxicologist at the Environmental Protection Agency in the 1980s, Michael Dourson played a central role in figuring out how to determine whether chemicals were harmful to humans, and at what levels. “Mike was a young and up-and-coming guy,” said Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, a former senior EPA official who once worked under Dourson as a risk assessor. “He was at the forefront of helping develop guidelines for risk assessment at the agency” — work that is still cited favorably by environmentalists today. Now 72, Dourson has become one of the EPA’s most strident critics. (Pulliam, 5/22)

NBC News: Science says body lice spread the plague more than thought

Scientists have long debated whether human body lice may have helped spread the bacteria responsible for the deadly plague in the Middle Ages known as the Black Death. It’s clear that rat fleas played a major role, but some population studies have suggested that those flea bites may not have been enough to spread the plague, which killed hundreds of millions of people in Europe, Asia and elsewhere in the 14th century. (Carroll, 5/21)

The Wall Street Journal: ‘A Fatal Inheritance’ review: The legacy of cancer

Over time, scientists discovered that cancer may have a genetic component. Some families proved tragically cursed. (Shaywitz, 5/19)

The Washington Post: After a Maryland teen’s suicide, could his prep school be held responsible?

Charlie Schnell committed suicide after his parents say Landon school ignored warning signs and accused him of drawing racist pictures. Now they’re suing. (Morse, 5/23)

Politico: Infected blood: Britain faces its worst health scandal

It has been called the worst treatment disaster in the history of the National Health Service. Thousands of people in the U.K. died – and many more fell ill – after being treated with unsafe blood products between 1970 and 1991. But, decades after being let down by the state, British victims of the worldwide infected blood scandal are still waiting for compensation. On Monday, the official inquiry finally reported on what went wrong. And families hope it will help them. (Bloom and Honeycombe-Foster, 5/20)