Category Archives: Health

Medical Technology: “TeleNeurology” Remote Consultations Are As Effective As Office Visits

From a Becker’s Hospital Review online release:

Neurology Journal December 2019Telemedicine extends care accessibility to people with epilepsy, who may be unable to drive to appointments, as well as people with mobility issues stemming from neurologic disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Virtual care also helps address geographic barriers by allowing patients in rural areas to see a neurologist through telemedicine technology instead of having to travel hours for in-person care, said lead author Jaime Hatcher-Martin, MD, PhD, a member of AAN, according to the news release.

Teleneurology is Neurology Dec 4 2019

The studies’ analysis found that patients and their caregivers were equally satisfied with virtual physician visits and in-person appointments. Some studies showed that the use of telemedicine is as effective as in-person care to make accurate diagnoses. However, the researchers noted that there have been few randomized, controlled studies on telemedicine for neurology apart from stroke care.

To read more: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/telehealth/telemedicine-may-be-as-effective-for-neurological-disorders-as-in-person-office-visits-analysis-finds.html

Health Studies: Aspirin Use 3+ Times Per Week Reduces “All-Cause” Cancers In Older Adults (JAMA)

From a JAMA Open Network online release:

JAMAThis cohort study included 146 152 individuals from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial and found that aspirin use 3 or more times per week was associated with reduced risk of all-cause, cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, and colorectal cancer mortality.

Importance  Aspirin use has been associated with reduced risk of cancer mortality, particularly of the colorectum. However, aspirin efficacy may be influenced by biological characteristics, such as obesity and age. With the increasing prevalence of obesity and conflicting data regarding the effect of aspirin in older adults, understanding the potential association of aspirin use with cancer mortality according to body mass index (BMI) and age is imperative.

Objectives  To investigate the association of aspirin use with risk of all-cause, any cancer, gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, and colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality among older adults and to perform an exploratory analysis of the association of aspirin use with mortality stratified by BMI.

Design, Setting, Participants  This cohort study evaluated aspirin use among participants aged 65 years and older in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial at baseline (November 8, 1993, to July 2, 2001) and follow-up (2006-2008). Analysis began in late 2018 and was completed in September 2019.

To read more: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2756258

Healthcare Studies: High Level Of Depression Symptoms In Physicians Linked To Medical Errors

From a JAMA Network online release:

JAMAThis systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 studies involving 21 517 physicians demonstrated an association between physician depressive symptoms and an increased risk for perceived medical errors (RR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.63-2.33). We also found that the magnitude of the associations of physician depressive symptoms and perceived medical errors were relatively consistent across studies that assessed training and practicing physicians, providing additional evidence that physician depression has implications for the quality of care delivered by physicians at different career stages.

Medical errors are a major source of patient harm. Studies estimate that, in the United States, as many as 98 000 to 251 000 hospitalized patients die each year as result of a preventable adverse event.1–4 In addition, medical errors are a major source of morbidity5 and account for billions of dollars in financial losses to health care systems every year.6–9

Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent among physicians,10,11 and several studies have investigated the associations between physician depressive symptoms and medical errors.12–16 Although most studies on physician depressive symptoms and medical errors have identified a substantial association, their results are not unanimous, and questions regarding the direction of these associations remain open in recent literature.17

To read more: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2755851?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=112719

Health Study: Death From Heart Disease Four Times Higher In Women With “Poor Exercise Capacity”

From a European Society of Cardiology online release:

European Society of Cardiology ESCThe annual rate of death from cardiovascular disease was nearly four times higher in women with poor, compared to good, exercise capacity (2.2% versus 0.6%). Annual cancer deaths were doubled in patients with poor, compared to good, exercise capacity (0.9% versus 0.4%). The annual rate of death from other causes was more than four times higher in those with poor, compared to good, exercise capacity (1.4% vs. 0.3%).

Women who can exercise vigorously are at significantly lower risk of dying from heart disease, cancer and other causes. The research is presented today at EuroEcho 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

During a median follow-up of 4.6 years there were 345 cardiovascular deaths, 164 cancer deaths, and 203 deaths from other causes. After adjusting for factors that could influence the relationship, METs were significantly associated with lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other causes.

To read more: https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/Women-exercise-and-longevity

Healthcare Podcasts: Analysis Of Health Spending & Pending Legislation In The U.S.

What The Health KHNHealth spending in the U.S. grew to $3.6 trillion in 2018, according to a new report from the federal government. The rate of growth — 4.6% — was up slightly from 2017’s 4.2%, despite the fact that nearly a million more Americans lacked insurance.

Meanwhile, Congress has less than two weeks to finish a year’s worth of work, including the spending bills required to keep the government running and promised legislation to address “surprise” medical bills and prescription drug prices.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News.

Diet Studies: “10-Hour Time -Restricted Eating” (TRE) Lowers Weight, Visceral Fat & Blood Pressure

From a Cell Metabolism online study release:

Cell Metabolism December 2019Ten-hour time-restricted eating (TRE) limits daily dietary intake to a consistent 10-h window, creating a 14-h nightly fast. Researchers studied whether TRE for 12 weeks in people with metabolic syndrome receiving standard medical care (including medications to lower cholesterol and blood pressure) improves markers of health. TRE led to weight loss, healthier body composition (including decreased waist circumference), lower blood pressure and levels of cardiovascular disease-promoting lipids (i.e., “bad cholesterol” levels), and more restful sleep. TRE could be an effective dietary intervention to help those with metabolic syndrome.

10 Hour Time Restricted Eating (TRE) Benefits

Time-restricted eating (TRE) is an emerging dietary intervention that aims to maintain a consistent daily cycle of feeding and fasting to support robust circadian rhythms (Panda, 2016). Circadian regulation of the endocrine system, autonomic nervous system, and nutrient metabolism contributes to metabolic and physiological homeostasis (Asher and Sassone-Corsi, 2015,Panda, 2016). Both erratic eating patterns and eating over an extended period of time during the 24-h day can disrupt circadian rhythms.

To read entire study: https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(19)30611-4

Aging: “The Modern Epidemic Of Loneliness” (UC San Diego Video)

loneliness-epidemic.jpgAs societal stresses have increased, loneliness and social isolation have become silent killers. Dilip Jeste, MD, a geriatric neuropsychiatrist who specializes in successful aging, explains how loneliness has become an epidemic, the risk factors, helpful interventions, and how we can harness wisdom for compassion, self regulation, and more.

Website: https://www.uctv.tv/shows/35226

Health: Caltech Scientists Develop “Wearable Sweat Sensor” To Detect Gout, Disease-Based Compounds

From a Caltech online news release:

Nature Biotechnolgy“Such wearable sweat sensors have the potential to rapidly, continuously, and noninvasively capture changes in health at molecular levels,” Gao says. “They could enable personalized monitoring, early diagnosis, and timely intervention.”

The development of such sensors would allow doctors to continuously monitor the condition of patients with illnesses like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or kidney disease, all of which result in abnormal levels of nutrients or metabolites in the bloodstream. Patients would benefit from having their physician better informed of their condition, while also avoiding invasive and painful encounters with hypodermic needles.

Caltech logoGao’s work is focused on developing devices based on microfluidics, a name for technologies that manipulate tiny amounts of liquids, usually through channels less than a quarter of a millimeter in width. Microfluidics are ideal for an application of this sort because they minimize the influence of sweat evaporation and skin contamination on the sensing accuracy. As freshly supplied sweat flows through the microchannels, the device can make more accurate measurements of sweat and can capture temporal changes in concentrations.

To read more: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/wearable-sweat-sensor-detects-gout-causing-compounds

 

Health Studies: Lifelong Exercise Promotes “Anti-Inflammation” In Skeletal Muscle (Physiology.org)

From a Journal of Applied Physiology online abstract:

Journal of Applied PhysiologyThus, while aging led to a pro-inflammatory profile within blood and muscle, lifelong exercise partially prevented this and generally preserved the acute inflammatory response to exercise seen in young exercising men. Lifelong exercise may positively impact muscle health throughout aging by promoting anti-inflammation in skeletal muscle.

To read abstract: https://www.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/japplphysiol.00495.2019?journalCode=jappl

From a New York Times article review of study:

Taken as a whole, these results suggest that long-term exercise may help aging muscles remain healthy in part by readying them to dissipate inflammation, Dr. Trappe says. But on the flip side, sedentary living seems to set up muscles to overreact to strain and remain inflamed, potentially leading to fewer muscular gains when someone does exercise.

To read NY Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/well/move/exercise-aging-inflammation-muscles-age-seniors-elderly-older.html?te=1&nl=well&emc=edit_hh_20191205?campaign_id=18&instance_id=14271&segment_id=19300&user_id=415092ec82728104b9ca7bbb44eeb7d3&regi_id=7441254120191205