‘That’s the Source of the Promise and Potential Risk’: What We Heard This Week

“The mind is put in a temporary state with increased flexibility. That’s the source of the promise and potential risk.” — Matthew Johnson, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, on brain plasticity during psychedelic treatment, following a promising study on psilocybin as a smoking cessation tool.

“This can’t go on.” — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), vowing to investigate the FDA’s rejections of biologics and gene therapies for rare life-threatening diseases.

“It’s like before you had hammers. What are you going to do with a nail? You could try to push it into the wall, but it’s a lot harder than when you get a hammer.” — Juliette Cubanski, PhD, MPH, deputy director of KFF’s Program on Medicare Policy, discussing the advantage that new artificial intelligence tools give the Trump administration when investigating Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

“The interventional echocardiographers are at a particularly high risk.” — David McNamara, MD, MPH, of Corewell Health West in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on research showing that the use of suspended lead suits can shield echocardiographers from radiation to the head during heart procedures.

“HPV testing alone provides essentially the same reassurance as cotesting.” — Anna Gottschlich, PhD, of Wayne State University in Detroit, on her group’s cohort study suggesting little added benefit to including cytology for cervical cancer screening when a human papillomavirus (HPV) test is already being performed.

“It’s telling that all of these cohort studies, that are designed as well as they can be, don’t get to a causal relationship.” — Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, MD, of the University of California San Diego Health, on the persistent lack of an association between maternal acetaminophen use and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder or autism in offspring.

“Maintaining the ability to think clearly, remember details, and stay mentally engaged during treatment is essential to preserving independence.” — Lindsay Peterson, MD, of Washington University in St. Louis, discussing research on the potential for exercise to help stave off cancer-related cognitive impairment.

“A major limitation is we don’t actually know causes of death.” — Daniel Drucker, MD, of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, commenting on a study that found lower all-cause mortality if cancer patients with both brain metastases and type 2 diabetes were taking GLP-1 agents.