‘The Body Treats Loneliness as a State of Threat’: What We Heard This Week

“The body treats loneliness as a state of threat.” — Steve Cole, PhD, of the University of California Los Angeles, on how lonely older adults, otherwise free of risk factors, saw triple the dementia incidence.

“The biggest misconception is that it’s really complicated.” — Justin Brandt, MD, of Rutgers University in New Jersey, on ob/gyns creating gender-affirming environments for patients in their practice.

“We tend to think, ‘Oh, this is a problem, but not in my world.'” — Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, on a new survey finding that nearly 70% of oncologists reported incidents of sexual harassment within the past year.

“Adequate sleep duration could be a game-changer in our battle with the obesity epidemic as a society.” — Esra Tasali, MD, of the University of Chicago, on an intervention in sleep-deprived overweight young adults that helped curb caloric intake.

“The point is that these policies must not just exist on paper.” — Bobby Mukkamala, MD, of the American Medical Association Task Force on the Overdose Epidemic, discussing the organization’s new State Toolkit to End the Nation’s Drug Overdose Epidemic.

“Having the processes in place is great, having the people is the challenge right now.” — Cheryl Bushnell, MD, of Wake Forest Baptist Health in North Carolina, highlighting the growing need for stroke experts now that nearly all Americans live within an hour of emergency care for acute stroke.

“This is everyone’s opportunity to read this draft document, consider it in the context of our country’s current situation, learn from past policy mistakes, and then offer feedback.” — Sean Mackey, MD, PhD, of Stanford University in California, on CDC’s new proposed guidance for opioid prescribing.

“The study shows that long COVID-19 brain fog may be a form of Alzheimer’s disease.” — Andrew Marks, MD, of Columbia University in New York City, on an autopsy-based study looking at brain patterns of 10 people who died with COVID-19.