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Good morning. Some plans to consider for Thursday: Attending STAT’s Breakthrough Summit East. I’m really looking forward to the conversation between reporter Lizzy Lawrence and former FDA Commissioner Rob Califf, which will close a packed day. If you’re in New York, it’s not too late to get IRL tickets. If not, you can join me online. We even have a procrastinator’s promo code for you.
NIH grant awards are lagging (again)
Nearly halfway through the fiscal year, the NIH is far behind on spending its budget: As of March 3, the agency had spent 74% less than the average from 2021-2024. That deficit, STAT’s Anil Oza reports, largely stems from the agency not funding many new awards. Rather, the grants it has funded have typically been renewals of existing multiyear projects.
Outside experts point to a variety of explanations for the lag. There was the shutdown in the fall, staff layoffs, confusing guidance for grant reviewers, and delays getting out the notices for funding opportunities. At this time last year, there was a similarly huge shortfall in grant funding from NIH, though by the end of the fiscal year in September, the agency found a way to spend its whole budget. Today, researchers and others tracking the agency’s spending are still trying to understand the full impact of the Trump administration’s policy changes. Read more from Anil on where things stand.
New data on restraints during ventilation
It’s an undoubtedly uncomfortable image: A loved one sick in a hospital bed, a tube down their throat connecting them to a ventilator, their wrists strapped to their sides. This type of hand restraint during mechanical ventilation, meant to prevent self-injury, is used widely in ICUs around the world, though there’s been little research on the effectiveness. A randomized clinical trial of more than 400 people, published this morning in JAMA, aims to understand whether an aggressive or more conservative approach to patient restraint is better for patient outcomes.
The study found that, two weeks after the initial intubation, there was no significant difference in patients’ chances of delirium or entering a coma between the group whose doctors took a conservative, tailored approach to restraint and the group restrained across the board. There was also no difference in safety outcomes, such as unplanned removal of a ventilator or other action from agitated patients. This means that a more cautious restraint strategy can be safely used, the study authors conclude. Especially since, as they also note, the results didn’t even take into account the prevalence of stressful experiences or mental health problems related to restraint among patients and their families.
How to type with your mind
A brain-computer interface allowed two people with paralysis to type with their minds, according to a new study. The brain implant interpreted attempted finger movements to type on a virtual keyboard. One of the patients typed up to 80% as quickly as an able-bodied person.
“This study marks a big step for the field,” Tyler Singer-Clark, a biomedical engineering Ph.D. student and member of the BrainGate consortium, told STAT’s O. Rose Broderick. It’s the latest in a string of successful studies on using brain implants to help people with disabilities communicate. Still, as Rose has previously reported, significant regulatory hurdles remain for the field to overcome. For now, read more on the latest science.
Federal judge stalled major ACIP changes
A federal judge yesterday stalled major parts of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign to remake American vaccine policy. The preliminary decision, while not final, says that Kennedy’s reconstitution of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and that group’s changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, were both likely illegal.
“There is a method to how these decisions historically have been made — a method scientific in nature and codified into law through procedural requirements,” Judge Brian E. Murphy wrote in the decision. “Unfortunately, the government has disregarded those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions.” Read more about the decision and how it will affect the next ACIP meeting, which was scheduled to start tomorrow.
People want workplaces to do more on mental health
One in four people say they’ve at least considered quitting their job due to its impact on their mental health, according to a poll released today by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Out of more than 2,100 respondents, about half said they believe their company makes their mental health a priority. Some other interesting findings include:
About 80% of respondents would like their workplace to offer training on mental health conditions, including on how to identify and respond to a crisis, managing stress and burnout, and what sort of resources the employer offers.
Less than a third of the respondents receive mental health training at work. Those who do report feeling more supported by their manager and leadership than those who don’t. They’re also less likely to be worried about mental health stigma at work.
Among respondents who are managers at their jobs, only 28% report that they received training to support conversations about mental health with their team.
Here’s who might not need to take blood pressure meds
It’s not every day that medical advice shifts toward less medication, but a research letter out yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine says just that. An analysis of 2025 hypertension guidelines concludes that 11% of people 65 to 79 years old with stage 1 hypertension (130-139 mm/Hg for the top number or 80-90mm/Hg for the bottom) don’t need blood pressure pills if their risk is otherwise low.
The update considers not just age, but also risk gleaned from the new PREVENT risk calculator. National health survey data from 2013 to 2020 revealed the people who would no longer qualify for medication were typically female nonsmokers in their mid‑60s with otherwise low cardiovascular risk scores.
Those same PREVENT risk equations are the cornerstone of guidelines issued last week lowering the age when lipid-lowering treatment might start. Like blood pressure medications, statins are considered underused. When they were first shown to drastically reduce heart attacks and strokes, some jokingly suggested adding them to the water. Decades later, when fluoridated water is under attack, that’s a non-starter.
Now momentum has shifted away from one-size-fits-all. Or, as the researchers wrote, “Our findings among older adults underscore the guideline shift toward personalized, risk-based care.” — Elizabeth Cooney
What we’re reading
13 years, 6 doctors and a lawsuit: The road to an endometriosis diagnosis, New York Times
Influencers push ‘parasite cleanses’ but doctors say to steer clear, NPR
Opinion: Semaglutide is going off-patent in India. But will people who need it be able to get it? STAT
My fitness tracker is a secret weapon against my chronic illness, The Verge
White House digs in on ‘most-favored nation’ drug pricing despite Congress’ cool reception, STAT