Category Archives: Health

Health Diagnosis Podcasts: Dysautonomia (Invisible Illness) Affects Up To 3 Million Americans

From a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online article:

This Weekend with Gordon Deal

“Dysautonomia is probably significantly more common than we realize,” says Jeremy Cutsforth-Gregory, a neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “I think it’s significantly underdiagnosed.” In about half of POTS cases, he adds, the patient’s disease grows out of the immune response to an infection. 

Ryan Cooley, a doctor and co-director of the Dysautonomia Center at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, says detecting the disorder is especially challenging because “typically there isn’t a dominant symptom or physical finding.”

Perhaps the most common clue to the disorder is that patients find that when they stand up from a chair their heart races and they feel light-headed.

To read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2019/11/14/invisible-illness-leaves-millions-undiagnosed-barely-functioning/2507547001/

 

 

 

Health Studies: Regular, Brisk Exercise Lowers Inflammatory Cells, Heart Disease Death Risks

From a Science Magazine online article:

Science Magazine Nov 29 2019They found that these physically active mice had fewer inflammatory cells (leukocytes) than sedentary mice, an effect they traced to diminished activity of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). The lower activity of HSPCs was due at least in part to exercise-induced reduction in the levels of leptin, a hormone produced by fat tissue that regulates cells within the hematopoietic bone marrow niche.

Regular physical activity is associated with a lower rate of death from heart disease, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Frodermann et al. examined the effect of exercise on cardiovascular inflammation, a known risk factor for atherosclerosis, by studying mice that voluntarily ran for long distances on exercise wheels.

To read more: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6469/1091.2

 

Medical Perspectives: “Stroke – The Doctor As Patient” (The Lancet)

From a The Lancet online article:

The Lancet NeurologyAs a consultant, I had profoundly failed to appreciate the experience of fatigue and apathy among patients. More than excessive tiredness, the fatigue was overwhelming, turning simple activities into insurmountable, exhausting challenges. It was frustrating and I fell into the trap of overexertion when I did have energy, thus exhausting myself and sabotaging the day’s recovery plan. Had staff not been so adept at encouraging me when I lacked energy and holding me back when I tried to overdo things, I would have squandered much valuable rehabilitation time. 

I was a consultant in neurological rehabilitation for acquired brain injury when, at the age of 62 years, I had a stroke. Running for a train, I experienced pain in the right side of my head and mild weakness and sensory loss in my left limbs. I thought I’d had a stroke, but I was remarkably calm. It was late and my instinct was to get home, where I went to the study. In the morning, I found myself on the floor, half-blind, half-paralysed, and terrified.
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Scans showed a large intracerebral haemorrhage in the area of the right basal ganglia. My symptoms could be explained by the damage to my brain—my medical world was in order, something to hold on to. I discussed my diagnosis and treatment with my colleagues during brief waking periods, grateful that they still saw the person I was before my stroke. Meanwhile, my wife was in the good hands of staff who treated her with sensitivity, giving her plain facts and support.

Technology Podcasts: “The Digitisation Of Healthcare” (Economist)

The Economist Intelligence Unit Digital EconomyThere can be few applications of digital technology more worthwhile than saving lives, but integrating digital technology into healthcare systems is uniquely complex. This episode provides an introduction to some of the challenges that healthcare providers face in their pursuit of digital innovation, and explores some of the paths forward.

Host Pete Swabey is joined by Professor Ann Blandford, deputy director for digital health at the UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering; by Jackie Hunter, chief executive, clinical programmes & strategic relationships at AI-powered drug development firm Benevolent.AI; and by Elizabeth Sukkar, managing editor and global editorial lead for healthcare at The EIU. Sponsored by DXC Technology.

Health Studies: Eating After Exercise Found To Burn “Twice The Fat”

From a New York Times online article:

Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & MetabolismThe riders who had pedaled on an empty stomach, however, had incinerated about twice as much fat during each ride as the men who consumed the shake first. The riders all had burned about the same number of calories while pedaling, but more of those calories came from fat when the men did not eat first.

Those riders also showed greater improvements in insulin sensitivity at the end of the study and had developed higher levels of certain proteins in their muscles that influence how well muscle cells respond to insulin and use blood sugar.

Working out on an empty stomach could amplify the health benefits of the activity, according to a well-timed new study of the interplay of meal timing, metabolic health and moving. The study, which involved sedentary men and moderate cycling, suggests that whether and when we eat may affect how exercise affects us.

To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/well/move/eating-food-exercise-fasting-insulin-weight-loss-fat.html

Health Podcasts: Which Drug Prices Should Medicare Negotiate? (NE Journal Of Medicine)

From a New England Journal of Medicine article:

New England Journal of Medicine podcastMedicare negotiation of prescription-drug prices would bring U.S. government policies in line with those of other high-income countries, and the idea is popular with both the public and policy analysts. But it would represent a sea change for pharmaceutical firms, which will maintain that any threat to their pricing power will slow innovation. 

Negotiating prices of 10 too-little drugs and 10 too-late drugs to levels currently paid in the United Kingdom would produce about $26.8 billion in savings in 2019 alone, most of which ($25.9 billion) would come from savings on drugs in the latter category. Over time, the drugs included could change. For instance, in 2020 this category might include Revlimid (lenalidomide), which generated $6.5 billion in 2018 U.S. sales; its price in the United Kingdom is 32% of that in the United States.

Americans all along the political spectrum favor allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices it pays for prescription drugs.1 In September, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) introduced what is now called the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019 (H.R. 3), and the bill would have Medicare do just that.

Although there are draft pieces of legislation and regulation that take aim at the rising cost of drugs, H.R. 3 is the legislative tip of the spear for price negotiation. If it became law, Medicare would target drugs that claim the largest share of the health care budget and that face limited competition from generics or biosimilars. I propose an alternative set of drugs for price negotiation: those that have too little evidence to support full approval or are too late in their life cycle to justify continued high prices.

To read more: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1912736?query=recirc_inIssue_bottom_article

Health Care: Amazon Alexa “Medicine Tracker” Reminds People To Take And Refill Prescriptions

From a Becker’s Hospital review news release:

Amazon Alexa Medicine TrackerAny customer with an active prescription and an Alexa-enabled device will be able to access the medication management skill on the device, a Giant Eagle spokesperson told CNBC. Rachel Jiang, who leads the Amazon Alexa health and wellness team, said the company began developing the skill after noticing that customers were using the devices to create medication reminders.

Beyond a simple reminder, the skill also offers more information about medication regimens and can be used to order refills. When the skill is installed, Alexa, which was confirmed earlier this year to be HIPAA-compliant, will prompt users to set up a profile and passcode, which must be delivered each time Alexa is asked a question about a medication.

Amazon and Pittsburgh-based supermarket and pharmacy chain Giant Eagle have formed a partnership that will allow Amazon Echo devices to offer Giant Eagle pharmacy patients medication reminders, CNBC reports.

To read more: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/amazon-alexa-will-now-remind-giant-eagle-pharmacy-patients-to-take-medication.html?oly_enc_id=9129H5611090H0N

 

 

Research: Omega-3 Fatty Acids In Diet Promotes Health By Limiting Large Fat Cell Accumulation

From a Stanford Medicine online news release:

stanford-medicine.png“What you want is more, small fat cells rather than fewer, large fat cells,” Jackson said.  “A large fat cell is not a healthy fat cell. The center is farther away from an oxygen supply, it sends out bad signals and it can burst and release toxic contents.” Large fat cells are associated with insulin resistance, diabetes and inflammation, he added.

Jackson and his colleagues found that when omega-3 fatty acids bind to a receptor called FFAR4 on the cilia of fat stem cells, it prompts the fat stem cells to divide, leading to the creation of more fat cells. This provides the body with more fat cells with which to store energy, something that is healthier than storing too much fat in existing fat cells. 

For years, researchers have known that defects in an ancient cellular antenna called the primary cilium are linked with obesity and insulin resistance. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that the strange little cellular appendage is sensing omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, and that this signal is directly affecting how stem cells in fat tissue divide and turn into fat cells.

To read more: http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2019/11/omega-3-fatty-acids-health-benefit-linked-to-stem-cell-control.html

Health: UnitedHealthcare To Open Medicare Centers In Walgreens In 2020

From a Becker’s Hospital Review online release:

UnitedHealthcare Medicare WalgreensThe purpose of the centers is to increase customers’ understanding of Medicare, match them with people who can talk with them about their benefits or new plans to enroll in, and access in-store annual wellness visits.

In addition, Walgreens and UnitedHealthcare are partnering for a new AARP Medicare Advantage Walgreens health plan. The health plan aims to deliver lower prescription drug costs to members, as many of the plans have $0 premiums and $0 copays on primary care visits, preventive care and some generic drugs. The 46 plans will be sold across 24 states.

 

Under a multiyear agreement, UnitedHealthcare will open 14 Medicare service centers in Walgreens stores across the U.S., the organizations said Nov. 25.

UnitedHealthcare, the health insurance arm of UnitedHealth Group, will operate Medicare service centers in Walgreens stores across five cities: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Cleveland, Denver and Memphis, Tenn. The centers are slated to open in January 2020.

To read more: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/payer-issues/unitedhealth-to-open-medicare-centers-in-walgreens-stores.html?oly_enc_id=9129H5611090H0N

Health Infographics: Harnessing “Innate Immunity” To Treat Cancer

Cisbio-Harnessing Innate Immunity to Treat Cancer-page-0

Website: https://go.technologynetworks.com/harnessing-innate-immunity-to-treat-cancer?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=79929068&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–ty7bQqqE59QchUxLDf8dobyKGn6xuBbMimHky4x8fwAR2VD9njUGTWl6rnVLXsO2r9f6QeP9n6X4TiEvSEgMxvfCrUw&_hsmi=79929068