Tag Archives: Health

Health: Growing Concern Over “The Obesity-Cancer Link” (The Lancet)

From a The Lancet online editorial (Feb 3, 2020):

The Lancet Endocrine and DiabetesPrevention represents the most cost-effective, long-term strategy for reducing the cancer burden and associated mortality. If provided with adequate information and support to adopt a healthy lifestyle, individuals can reduce their exposure to behavioural and dietary cancer risk factors by quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy BMI, cutting down on alcohol consumption, exercising more, and eating a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables. 

Although smoking is currently the major cause of preventable cancer cases and accounts for 22% of cancer deaths, a 2018 report from Cancer Research UK estimated that high BMI (overweight and obesity) now causes more cases of four common cancers (bowel, kidney, ovarian, and liver) in the UK than does smoking, and could overtake smoking as the biggest cause of cancer in women in the UK by 2043. According to WHO, in 2016, 1·9 billion adults around the world were overweight, of whom 650 million had obesity—triple the number in 1975. State-level projections for the USA paint an even bleaker picture going forward: by 2030, 48·9% of adults will have obesity; 24·2% of adults will have severe obesity; and severe obesity will be the most common BMI category among women, non-Hispanic black adults, and low-income adults. With such shocking statistics, the knock-on effect of the obesity epidemic for cancer prevention and control cannot be underestimated.

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Medical Podcasts: “2020 U.S. Influenza Epidemic” – Very Serious Year-To-Date

JAMA Clinical Reviews logoAlthough coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) dominates the news in early 2020, it affects few people in the US. In contrast, at the same time the US is experiencing a severe influenza epidemic, which has caused an estimated 250 000 hospitalizations and 14 000 deaths. 

Timothy Uyeki, MD, lead for the CDC’s 2019 novel coronavirus response team and Chief Medical Officer of CDC’s influenza division, discusses influenza in the US, how it compares to coronavirus, and what both patients and clinicians should know about this year’s flu season.

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Health: New “Digital AI Device” Helps Identify Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (Mayo Clinic)

Mayo Clinic LogoThis small device may change how doctors identify and manage patients with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that increases risk of stroke.

And the past. The device uses artificial intelligence, or AI, to not only determine if a person is in the midst of an episode of atrial fibrillation, but also it can reveal if they’ve had the irregular rhythm before or will have it in the future.

Dr. Paul Friedman and his team trained the device to detect subtle changes in the heart’s electrical signals. Then in a study, they found it can identify patients with episodic atrial fibrillation. Even when they record the heart while the rhythm is normal – something no current wearable heart monitor can do.

That’s because a heart monitor won’t detect atrial fibrillation unless you have an episode while wearing it. But in a matter of moments, the AI device can identify people with atrial fibrillation, even if their heart is in normal rhythm. Then they can get on the right treatment to help prevent life-threatening strokes from happening.

Diet: “Skeptical” NY Times Health Writer Endorses Numerous Health Benefits Of 16+ Hour Fasting

From a New York Times article by Jane E. Brody (Feb 17, 2020):

“It takes 10 to 12 hours to use up the calories in the liver before a metabolic shift occurs to using stored fat,” Dr. Mattson told me. After meals, glucose is used for energy and fat is stored in fat tissue, but during fasts, once glucose is depleted, fat is broken down and used for energy.

The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting Jane E Brody New York Times February 17 2020I was skeptical, but it turns out there is something to be said for practicing a rather prolonged diurnal fast, preferably one lasting at least 16 hours. Mark P. Mattson, neuroscientist at the National Institute on Aging and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, explained that the liver stores glucose, which the body uses preferentially for energy before it turns to burning body fat.

For example, human studies of intermittent fasting found that it improved such disease indicators as insulin resistance, blood fat abnormalities, high blood pressure and inflammation, even independently of weight loss. In patients with multiple sclerosis, intermittent fasting reduced symptoms in just two months, a research team in Baltimore reported in 2018.

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Health: Medical Experts Explain “Coronavirus” & Its Transmission (BMJ)

The emergent corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in China is fast changing, just this week reported cases of the disease covid-19 jumped as new data became available. In this video Wendy Burns, and Peter Openshaw from Imperial College London explain what we know about the basic structure of the virus, it’s mode of transmission, the symptoms and pathogenesis of the diease, what we currently know about treatment, and how the virus may adapt in the future.

To read more about corona virus, all The BMJ’s resources are being made freely available at https://www.bmj.com/coronavirus

Health Infographics: “Women’s Heart Attack Symptoms” (Scripps)

Heart disease is the number one cause of death among women in the United States. It takes the lives of nearly twice as many women as all forms of cancer combined, yet many women know very little about their heart health.Women's Heart Attack Symptoms Scripps InfographicHeart attack symptoms in women

Women tend to have subtler symptoms, and they may begin up to a month before the heart attack. Symptoms include:

  • Fatigue or weakness
  • Unusual tiredness
  • Pressure, or tightness in the center of the chest
  • Pain that spreads to the upper body, neck or jaw
  • Unusual sweating, nausea or vomiting
  • Sudden dizziness
  • Shortness of breath
  • Problems sleeping

Because many of these symptoms can be associated with common illnesses such as the flu, women are more likely to brush them off or assume something less serious is going on — and that can be a serious or even fatal mistake. If you experience these symptoms, don’t ignore them. Play it safe and call 911. The sooner you get treatment, the greater the chances of recovery.

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Health Studies: High Milk & Dairy Consumption Not Related To Lower Heart Disease, Diabetes (NEJM)

From the New England Journal of Medicine (February 13, 2020):

Milk and Dairy Product Health NEJMIn our opinion, the current recommendation to greatly increase consumption of dairy foods to 3 or more servings per day does not appear to be justified…When consumption of milk is low, the two nutrients of primary concern, calcium and vitamin D (which is of particular concern at higher latitudes), be obtained from other foods or supplements without the potential negative consequences of dairy foods.

For calcium, alternative dietary sources include kale, broccoli, tofu, nuts, beans, and fortified orange juice for vitamin D, supplements can provide adequate intake at far lower cost than fortified milk. Pending additional research, guidelines for milk and equivalent dairy foods ideally should designate an acceptable intake (such as 0 to 2 servings per day for adults), deemphasize reduced-fat milk as preferable to whole milk, and discourage consumption of sugar-sweetened dairy foods in populations with high rates of overweight and obesity.

For adults, the overall evidence does not support high dairy consumption for reduction of fractures, which has been a primary justification for current U.S. recommendations. Moreover, total dairy consumption has not been clearly related to weight control or to risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. High consumption of dairy foods is likely to increase the risks of prostate cancer and possibly endometrial cancer but reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.

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Healthcare: “Open Heart Surgery – Inside The OR” (Northwestern Medicine)

Tough to beat! Head #InsideTheOR with S. Christopher Malaisrie, MD, and witness open heart surgery by one of the best cardiology and heart surgery programs in the nation as ranked by US News and World Report.