Category Archives: Health

Health Studies: Epidemic Of Physical Inactivity, Processed Foods Results In “Stiffer Hearts” Which Compromises Endurance

From Phys.org online article:

Echocardiogram wikipedia“As a result, today’s epidemic of physical inactivity in conjunction with highly processed, high-sodium diets contributes to thicker, stiffer hearts that compromise the heart’s ability to cope with endurance physical activity, and importantly this may start to occur prior to increases in resting blood pressure,” explains Shave.

The landmark study analyzed 160 humans, 43 chimpanzees and five gorillas to gain an understanding of how the heart responds to different types of physical activity. In collaboration with Harvard University’s Daniel Lieberman and Aaron Baggish, UBC Professor Robert Shave and colleagues compared left ventricle structure and function in chimpanzees and a variety of people, including some who were sedentary but disease-free, highly active Native American subsistence farmers, resistance-trained football linemen and -trained long-distance runners.

To read more: https://phys.org/news/2019-09-evolution-heart.html

Health Studies: Reducing Skin Inflammation With “Topical Emollient” Cream Reduces Chronic Disease

From a Wall Street Journal online article:

nci-vol-4604-150…a new small study in humans suggests that using a barrier-forming cream, such as those with an ingredient called ceramide, to treat and prevent problems associated with aging skin—such as dryness, itching and cracking—may help reduce the low-grade inflammation that occurs in otherwise healthy people as they age. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco Veterans Hospital say reducing age-related inflammation could help slow the progression of age-related disorders associated with chronic inflammation, such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and loss of muscle mass.

Systemic disease usually stems from multiple sources, so skin protection alone is unlikely to be a panacea, experts say. But the hope is that it can help slow the onset or progression of chronic conditions that often crop up in patients with skin disorders such as psoriasis. And the UCSF study, which was published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology in March, provides the first hint in humans that protecting the skin with a barrier cream might benefit otherwise healthy adults whose skin invariably starts to lose its barrier function around middle age.

To read PDF of study, click below:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jdv.15540?referrer_access_token=lXsArqMcf5AHrI-R4oiwg4ta6bR2k8jH0KrdpFOxC67kdqa5-Q_Q8ltT6uQSa3kUEZMm6mEN7_8mvDywkPe9AOCn7aCLNi_CV3iAMck0BQxAu1SyLpdlTkFwF7hXxUCR6TazFFGPRwZ_EfW2P-26dA%3D%3D

To read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/skin-protection-may-offer-surprising-benefits-for-overall-health-11568599320

Health Of The Elderly: Hearing Loss Is Resulting In Severe Loneliness, Depression And Demetia

From an NPR online article:

Untreated hearing loss increases the risks of social isolation, dementia and depression, research finds. NPR - Leren Lu Getty ImagesThere may be no easy fix for the loneliness epidemic plaguing the nation, but helping people cope with hearing loss could be one key to tackling this complex problem. Hearing loss affects 1 of every 5 people and is strongly linked to loneliness: Every decibel drop in perception in people under 70 increases the odds of becoming severely lonely by 7%, one Dutch study showed.

As hearing declines, loneliness can intensify — and set off a cascade of detrimental health effects. Now considered as hazardous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, loneliness vastly raises the risks of depression, dementia and early death.

Yet the vast majority of people who suffer from hearing loss don’t know they have a problem — or don’t want to know. The changes happen gradually, and often earlier than expected.

To read more: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/09/12/760231279/untreated-hearing-loss-linked-to-loneliness-and-isolation-for-seniors?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20190915&utm_campaign=health&utm_id=46633831&orgid=

Long-Term Care: A Highly Contagious, Drug-Resistant “Fatal Fungus” Spreads In Nursing Homes

From a New York Times online article:

Nursing Homes article in New York Times Sept 2019Scientific research on nursing homes and drug resistance is sparse, but some recent studies offer evidence of the problem. A study published in June in the Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases found that patients and residents in long-term care settings have alarmingly high rates of drug-resistant colonization, which means they carry the germs on their skin or in their bodies, usually without knowing it, and can pass them invisibly to staff members, relatives or other patients. Elderly or severely ill people with weakened immune systems who carry the germ are at high risk of becoming infected. 

Maria Davila lay mute in a nursing home bed, an anguished expression fixed to her face, as her husband stroked her withered hand. Ms. Davila, 65, suffers from a long list of ailments — respiratory failure, kidney disease, high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat — and is kept alive by a gently beeping ventilator and a feeding tube.

Doctors recently added another diagnosis to her medical chart: Candida auris, a highly contagious, drug-resistant fungus that has infected nearly 800 people since it arrived in the United States four years ago, with half of patients dying within 90 days.

To read more: www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/health/nursing-homes-fungus.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage

Nutrional Health Studies: Mediterranean Diet Improves Cognitive Function In Older People

From a Nutritional Neuroscience online release:

Nutritional NeuroscienceOur findings suggest that higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with better cognitive performance, and therefore less cognitive decline, in older but not middle-aged individuals.

Over a period of five years, higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with improvements in Global Cognitive Function, Visual-Spatial Organisation and Memory and scanning and tracking in participants ≥70 years.

Adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with higher cognitive function and reduced risk of dementia in Mediterranean populations. However, few studies have investigated the association between Mediterranean diet adherence and cognition in populations outside of the Mediterranean basin.

To read more: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1028415X.2019.1655201

Medical Innovations: BioLife4D Creates First 3D “Bioprinted” Human Heart From Cardiac Tissue

From an InterestingEngineering.com online article:

BioLife4D Logo“We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished, from the ability to 3D bioprint human cardiac tissue last summer to a mini heart with full structure now. These milestones are a testament to the hard work of our team and the proprietary process we have developed that enables this type of scientific achievement,” said Birla in a press release.  “We believe we are at the forefront of whole heart bioengineering, a field that has matured quickly over the last year, and well-positioned to continue our rapid scientific advancement.”

BIOLIFE4D, the biotech company based out of Chicago, announced it has successfully demonstrated the ability to 3D bioprint a mini human heart, a big step in someday printing out a full-sized human heart that can be used for a transplant.

To read more: https://interestingengineering.com/a-company-creates-the-first-3d-printed-mini-heart?_source=newsletter&_campaign=EVmJjW5YyX1pq&_uid=46dBBxnxd7&_h=0c209d493fa27bb2c39469a873cbbd733289c833&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=mailing&utm_campaign=Newsletter-10-09-2019

Medical Reviews: “Unnecessary” Leg Stent Surgery Can Make Vascular Disease Worse

From a Wall Street Jouranl online article:

The Price We Pay - Marty Makary MDDr. Makary examines the practice of performing unnecessary vascular procedures in a chapter of his new book, “The Price We Pay,” published Sept. 10. In it, he describes what seems to be the “predatory” practice of some doctors seeking out patients at health screenings in churches.

Dr. Hicks says performing unnecessary leg procedures like stenting can make vascular disease worse, creating blockage in narrow arteries or causing an artery to rupture. She says patients with early leg pain have a 1% to 2% risk of limb loss after five years. But aggressive procedures increase that risk to 5% to 10%.

Some physicians are stenting leg arteries and removing plaque at alarming rates, these doctors say. The often-avoidable procedures could put patients at risk of complications and worsening disease.

Johns Hopkins researchers published a study in June in the Journal of Vascular Surgery analyzing national data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that administers the Medicare program. The research identified 320 physicians whose rates for conducting such procedures in patients newly diagnosed with leg pain were 14% or higher. The mean rate of all 5,664 physicians was 3.5%.

To read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/doctors-sound-an-alarm-over-leg-stent-surgery-11568127286?mod=cx_immersive&cx_navSource=cx_immersive&cx_tag=poptarget&cx_artPos=1#cxrecs_s

Medical Innovations: Researchers Successfully “Supercool” Human Livers For Later Transplant

From an MIT Technology Review online article:

Doctors have put human livers in suspended animation - MIT Technology ReviewResearchers say they’ve successfully plunged human livers to subzero temperatures and then warmed them back up.

The “supercooled” organs were still in good shape after 27 hours, adding nearly a day to how long livers can last outside the body.

The supply of donor hearts, kidneys, and livers from accident victims is sharply limited. In the US, a nationwide system of registries and transplant centers coordinates to move them around by air in coolers for what are invariably emergency surgeries.

The research is part of a wider effort to learn how to keep organs operational outside the body for longer periods of time. 

To read more: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614283/doctors-have-put-human-livers-in-suspended-animation/?utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=76642352&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_y-4VMsKkIwnBGtCLujBv0huOO8iZmVLSHmpZKga1LGyMuwA7smhGhHb-93ZZm9yIU9jR1xGWj9jujn8i-r8U3O0NAOA&_hsmi=76642352

Future Of Health Care: “Vim” Aims To Pair Patients And Top Health Providers With Online Platform

From a VentureBeat.com online news release:

Vim Healthcare NetworkVim’s solution curates top providers and pairs patients with those providers, leveraging a combination of online booking and referral coordination. On the provider side, it algorithmically analyzes referral patterns to bring to light trends without disrupting workflows, ultimately toward the goal of guiding patients to value-based health solutions in virtual networks.

Vim Healthcare Network DataVim says it has access to 10,000,000 patient profiles and 150,000 providers through major U.S.-based health plan partners. In the next 12 months, it loftily intends to “meaningfully reduce” the $1 trillion of excess cost in health care in the U.S. by targeting inconsistencies in treatment.

https://getvim.com/

To read more: https://venturebeat.com/2019/09/09/vim-raises-24-million-to-match-patients-with-top-health-care-providers/

Health Technology: First Successful Tele-Robotic Heart Surgery Performed

From an InterestingEngineering.com online article:

CorPath GRX robot“Remote procedures have the potential to transform how we deliver care when treating the most time-sensitive illnesses such as heart attack and stroke. The success of this study paves the way for large-scale, long-distance telerobotic platforms across the globe, and its publication in Lancet’s EClinicalMedicine demonstrates the transformative nature of telerobotics,” said in a press statement Mark Toland, President and Chief Executive Officer of Corindus Vascular Robotics.

A surgeon in India has performed a series of five percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures on patients who were on operating tables 32 kilometers (20 miles) away from him. The event marks the first long-distance heart surgery.

The operation was performed in patients who have atherosclerosis, a condition where plaque builds up in the blood vessels and restricts blood flow. In this special remote procedure, a robot called the CorPath GRX robot and controlled by the surgeon inserted a small instrument called a stent in order to open blood vessels in the heart.

To read more: https://interestingengineering.com/first-long-distance-heart-surgery-performed-through-a-robot?_source=newsletter&_campaign=JerqNzW7B80q5&_uid=46dBBxnxd7&_h=0c209d493fa27bb2c39469a873cbbd733289c833&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=mailing&utm_campaign=Newsletter-07-09-2019