ACP awards obesity study grants; removing public records stewards at HHS; poisoning bugs through blood — Morning Medical Update

Grant awards for obesity care research

The American College of Physicians is awarding $260,000 in grants for 13 regional programs that address equity challenges in obesity care. The project will center on combating misinformation and heightening clinical capacity to manage care for patients with obesity. “Obesity is a critical public health issue and presents a significant health equity challenge” ACP President Isaac O. Opole, MBChB, PhD, MACP, said in a news release. “This grant initiative is an effort to leverage the creativity and innovation of internal medicine physicians and other clinicians across the country to fill knowledge gaps and inspire advancements in care for those with obesity. We congratulate the recipients of this grant and look forward to their efforts to advance equitable obesity care.” Read ACP’s announcement here, and be sure to check out www.medicaleconomics.com and sister publication www.patientcareonline.com for coverage of this month’s ACP Internal Medicine Meeting 2025.

‘The best of disinfectants’

“Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman,” said Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis. He was referring to any number of “social and industrial diseases,” and that quote has been adopted by governments and watchdogs alike to label “sunshine” laws allowing public access to government records. That access could get cloudier at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as that government agency restructures partly by removing workers who handle public records requests, according to this KFF report.

Take that, bloodsuckers

As the weather warms up, skeeter season will soon be upon residents in the northern United States. For many warmer parts of the world, it never ends, and the constant life cycle of mosquitos brings the constant threat of malaria to people who live there. Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have found that nitisinone, a drug for a rare disease, will make human blood deadly to the bugs. It’s even better than ivermectin, the antiparasitic used against malaria, that became better known during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here.