TCTMD - Two new analyses call into question the cost-effectiveness of adding the PCSK9 inhibitor evolocumab to statin therapy in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Pitt Public Health alumna INMACULADA HERNANDEZ (HPM ’16) noted that the conclusions of the two papers are the same: the drug’s cost “is way above what we usually considered cost-effective in this country.”
NPR - Using claims data from Medicaid patients in Pennsylvania from 2008 to 2013, HPM’s JULIE DONOHUE looked at prescription opioid use and medication-assisted treatment rates before and after overdoses. The study's senior author found that “This is a time when people are vulnerable, potentially frightened by this event that’s just occurred and amenable to advice, referral, and treatment recommendations. It’s safe to characterize it as a missed o...
90.5 WESA - Bigfoot, UFOs, and prehistoric birds. Whether you’re a sceptic or ardent believer, listen to an interview with Seth Breedlove, director and producer of the documentary, “Invasion on Chestnut Ridge,” with stories told by locals who say they have experienced paranormal activity in the region. We know our Pitt Public Health classrooms and labs are safe, but keep your eyes open!
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE - With just a week under his belt at Pitt Public Health, incoming director of the Center for Health Equity, NOBLE A-W MASERU, is to join an AARP-sponsored, 90-minute public panel discussion on 8/22 of how older adults (and younger ones with disabilities) could be affected by changes in federal law and state policies, including how proposals may impact health care and insurance, Medicaid funding, and related programs.
THE MORNING CALL -- After over 30 years at the helm of St. Luke's University Health Network, RICHARD A. ANDERSON (HPM '71) is among a handful of the longest-serving top health care executives nationally. With Anderson at the helm, St. Luke's has grown from a single hospital with an annual budget of $73 million to a diversified health care organization with more than $1 billion in revenues and 9,000 employees, making it the second-biggest employer...
CONSUMER REPORTS - Myth 2: It’s Safer to Space Out Kids’ Vaccines. Truth: No. Epidemiologist WILBERT VAN PANHUIS says that’s unwise. The CDC bases the schedule on disease risks and vaccine effectiveness at specific ages, and the way vaccines may interact with each other. To start mixing this up is complicated and can be dangerous.
The NIH has just announced a five-year award to Y. PETER DI of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) for his group’s research on developing a new class of antibiotics. Di also serves as the director of the Inhalation Exposure Facility and president of theChinese American Lung Association.
HUFF POST - What caused the explosive growth in opioid sales? The FDA and TV advertising. In 1997, the FDA rules governing pharmaceutical advertising changed, allowing TV ads to name both the drug and what was for, while only naming the most significant potential side effects. After that, the number of TV ads exploded. A 2009 NPR story stated “there’s an average of 80 drug ads every hour of every day on American television. And those ads clearly ...
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE - Dozens of potential factors cause the deadliness rate of shootings to vary widely across the city geographically and from year-to-year. BCHS’ RICHARD GARLAND and EPI’s ANTHONY FABIO, who study troubled youth and violence, wish more police data was available to find patterns in the factors influencing fatality rates.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS - ANNE NEWMAN, EPI chair, is co-author of a recent article on the largest, most comprehensive genetic study of lean mass to date. By understanding the genetic contributions to lean mass—an indicator of muscle mass—future treatments may be developed to prevent the loss of lean mass with aging. With age, some people develop a condition called “sarcopenia” where they lose critical amounts of muscle mass, to the point that they ...
THE LANCET - As the demographics of the HIV epidemic in the U.S. shift toward older age, IDM’s Pitt Men’s Study contributed to an article in Lancet on neurocognition in older HIV patients. The longitudinal study, which included more than 5,000 participants enrolled in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, found a greater-than-expected effect of aging on episodic memory and motor function with advanced stages of HIV infection.
READERS DIGEST - As many as one in three women will develop bacterial vaginosis (BV) at some point in their lives, but most will have zero clue that have an infection that can wreak havoc on their fertility and increase their risk of developing HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. “Bacterial vaginosis affects nearly 1-in-3 reproductive-aged women, so there is great need to understand how it can be prevented,” said LISA BODNAR, assist...
Celebrating 20 years of service, BRIDGING THE GAPS PITTSBURGH has focused on promoting health in underserved communities while training future health and social service professionals. More than 350 community health interns have collaborated with 58 community partners to provide over 10,255 days of service in the greater Pittsburgh area.
INDIANA GAZETTE -- A joint project of the PA Department of Health and Pitt Public Health, WalkWorks' mission is to increase physical activity through community walks. Spearheaded locally by Indiana County Office of Planning and Development, volunteers with interests in physical fitness and community history serve as walk leaders and narrators along the new 2.25-mile WalkWorks path in Clymer.
Other WalkWorks paths in Blairsville, Ernest, Glen C...
RNA-SEQ BLOG - Important work by biostatistics and human genetics professor GEORGE TSENG and biostatistics PhD student TIANZHOU MA proposes a full Bayesian hierarchical model for RNA-seq meta-analysis by modelling count data, integrating information across genes and across studies, and modelling potentially heterogeneous differential signals across studies via latent variables.
TRIBUNE-REVIEW - NOBLE A-W MASERU has been named director of the Center for Health Equity and associate dean for diversity at Pitt Public Health. “Dr. Maseru devoted his energies to achieving a healthier Cincinnati ...particularly in vulnerable and underserved populations,” said Donald S. Burke, dean. “We are delighted to have him join our faculty and bring his expertise to Pittsburgh.”
WPXI - "We've got to increase public health awareness of addiction. A lot of people think, 'It's not my family, it's not me, it's not my community,' and we know that it can be anybody." IDM's LINDA FRANK talks to NIGHTTalk about opioid addiction in Pittsburgh and around the country.
NBC TODAY - “Studies have shown that it’s not just being overweight that matters, it’s also where you store the fat,” said co-author SAMAR R. EL KHOUDARY, associate professor of epidemiology. “When the fat is near the heart it can be like a metabolically active organ that can secrete toxic chemicals. And because there is no border between the fat and the heart, it’s much easier for those toxic chemicals to pass into the heart." How much fat accum...
TIFFANY GARY-WEBB, associate professor in BCHS and epidemiology, has been chosen by her peers as chair-elect for the APHA's epidemiology section. Beginning in November, this 6-year commitment consists of 2 years as chair-elect, 2 years as chair, and 2 years as immediate past-chair. Says Gary-Webb, "I see this as an opportunity for GSPH faculty and students who are interested in applied epidemiology to get more connected with the association."
TRIB LIVE - A woman's body shape is uniquely connected to her heart disease risk, particularly in midlife, and different shapes are associated with risks in black women than in white women, according to a new analysis by epidemiologist SAMAR EL KHOUDARY. The study's results strengthen a similar finding from three years ago among black and white men. “Being able to show the same thing here among women kind of highlights the importance of vis...