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When Google Glass launched during my college years, it was quickly labeled as awkward and impractical, leading to its decline. In contrast, Meta’s AI glasses might not share the same destiny. These glasses, capable of discreetly recording audio and video, have already been stirring controversy.
Have you noticed these Ray-Bans in use in medical settings? Reach out to me at: [email protected].
Can less aggressive prostate cancer therapy improve on standard care?
Prostate cancer treatment has traditionally been extreme, often involving complete gland removal to minimize mortality risk. This approach might be evolving.
Interest is growing in focal therapy, a milder option, as some researchers argue it offers comparable advantages to standard surgery or radiation while avoiding side effects like incontinence and erectile dysfunction. This method targets visible lesions on MRI scans using heat, cold, electricity, and other means to eradicate cancerous cells.
However, opinions are divided. Urologic oncologists are not in agreement about the benefits of focal therapy, despite a recent study showing that a decade post-treatment, only 0.1% of patients who underwent focal therapy had succumbed to prostate cancer. Although in practice since the 1990s, professional guidelines still classify it as experimental.
What’s causing the delay? Explore further one of urology’s most debated topics with STAT’s Annalisa Merelli.
Meta’s AI-powered smart glasses are becoming increasingly difficult to overlook. Incidents include bullying in schools, harassment of retail staff, and reports of a doctor misusing the glasses during consultations.
Many of these incidents, shared on social media, are offensive and gender-biased. Critics have labeled them as “pervert glasses.” Yet, they pose significant risks in healthcare environments beyond inappropriate use, such as potential privacy violations when handling patient data or diagnoses, as noted by experts.
These glasses are already banned in courts across England and Wales due to privacy issues. Will medical facilities adopt similar restrictions? Not all feedback is negative; some researchers believe their hands-free recording capability could enhance surgical training.
Are these Ray-Bans being utilized? I’m eager to hear from patients, healthcare professionals, and privacy experts. Contact me at [email protected], or on Signal at rosebroderick.11.
Scientists deploy Merck’s Ebola vaccine in DRC
As the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo rapidly escalates, scientists are taking extraordinary measures to find solutions.
As previously noted by STAT, there is interest in assessing whether Merck’s Ervebo vaccine, which targets a different Ebola virus strain, might reduce transmission or improve survival rates. Recently, the international body overseeing Ervebo’s global reserves authorized the release of 70,000 doses for use in the DRC — 20,000 for clinical trials and 50,000 for frontline workers.
Simultaneously, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is supporting various studies to examine blood samples from individuals previously vaccinated against Ebola or the related Marburg virus. These studies aim to uncover potential cross-protection. Vaccines targeting the Bundibugyo Ebola strain responsible for the DRC outbreak are under development but could take months to become available.
As of August 18, there have been at least 5,200 confirmed cases, with 2,476 fatalities. — Helen Branswell
Queer adults are 12% of U.S. population
As the saying goes: We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it.
In the United States, over 25 million adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or gender diverse, based on a Human Rights Coalition analysis of Census Bureau data. This accounts for 12% of the population, a group almost as large as Black Americans, yet with distinct health disparities.
Despite this, the Trump administration has spent the last two years undermining queer people’s healthcare, research, and data systems. Initiatives have included shutting down a crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, removing CDC data on gender and sexual orientation, and persistently opposing gender-affirming care for trans children, a demographic that may represent only 2.34% of the population if youth numbers match adult figures.
The report further details demographics, including city and state rankings for queer populations. (The state with the fifth-highest queer population might surprise you.)
Speaking of queer people …
… progress toward an HIV cure has been remarkable. The FDA has approved a potent drug that, while not a vaccine, is nearly equivalent.
With these and other potential treatments on the horizon, policymakers must consider the social and administrative implications of a cure. A group of researchers asks, “What happens to the benefits and services on which many people with HIV still depend?”
Many individuals with HIV rely on a range of programs for support, including Medicaid, Medicare, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program services, disability income, and housing assistance. In 2024, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program alone assisted over 600,000 people with HIV, more than half of the diagnosed individuals in the U.S.
Discover more from these researchers, who aim to ensure that benefits programs don’t solely depend on HIV diagnoses as a measure of need.
What we’re reading
- Opinion: Lil Nas X’s bipolar diagnosis and the paradox of treatment, STAT
- Why abortion opponents are turning their attention to banning surrogacy, The 19th
- ‘Mom, are we OK?’ Children worry their families can’t afford food after Trump’s SNAP cuts, NBC News
- Opinion: I helped develop the rotavirus vaccine. Trump’s overhaul makes me sick, Washington Post
- CBO analysis suggests $1 trillion in Medicare Advantage overpayments, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
