Advertisements
WhatsApp +989123496187 arminhamidian@aol.com

Category: Health/Medicine News

Mutations In Father’s Sperm Can Predict Children’s Autism

marketingscoopsLeave a Comment on Mutations In Father’s Sperm Can Predict Children’s Autism

Image result for Genetic Mutations In Father’s Sperm

There’s no question that autism can be traced to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. One genetic contributor in particular has in recent years intrigued scientists studying autism: DNA mutations originating in fathers’ sperm.

Studies have linked autism risk to de novo mutations, or changes in DNA that arise spontaneously in sperm as the germline cell develops, or in the embryo after fertilization. Researchers estimate that such mutations might be involved in anywhere from 10% to 30% of autism cases, and that the older a father is at the time of conception, the higher the chance his sperm will result in de novo mutations that can contribute to autism spectrum disorder. In fact, with every decade of life, the number of de novo mutations in sperm doubles.

In a new study published in Nature Medicine, researchers led by a team at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) set out to determine if they could match specific disease-causing genetic mutations in the DNA of children with autism to the same mutations in their fathers’ sperm.

The team analyzed DNA from eight sets of fathers and children. In the children, they looked for a phenomenon called mosaicism, which are genetic differences even among cells from the same person. Each time a cell divides, the process can generate mutations, or genetic mistakes—some can be harmful (for example, some can lead to cancer), but most are not because they occur outside of important genes in what are known as “DNA deserts.”

The researchers then matched these changes found in the children to those found in their fathers’ sperm. That confirmed that the de novo mutations were indeed playing some role in contributing to autism.

The researchers also determined what percentage of sperm produced by the father contained these de novo mutations. This knowledge, say the study authors, could potentially lead to a test that can help fathers of children with autism to know how likely they are to have another child affected by the condition.

Eventually, the genetic test could also tell parents-to-be if they are at increased risk of having a child with autism. The DNA sequencing technology used is basically the same as used for whole genome sequencing, and the price for that continues to drop, so this wouldn’t be an especially expensive tool.

Inhibitor CocktailsCurrently around 165 genetic mutations have been linked to autism, and conducting a deep analysis of a potential father’s sperm for some of these aberrations could let him know if he is at higher or lower risk of fathering a child who might be affected by autism. (The list of implicated genes continues to grow at a rapid pace, and at the time of the study, the scientists worked with a smaller number of culprit genetic variants).

In some of the eight fathers in the study, up to 10% of their sperm carried mutations; if these men decided to have more children, they would have the option of choosing whether they wanted to take measures to reduce the risk their children would be affected. Some, for example, might use IVF so they could screen their embryos for the mutations.

By Alice Park December 23, 2019

you wouldn't settle for one star products. why settle for a 1 star bank?

Source: Mutations In Father’s Sperm Can Predict Children’s Autism

7.15K subscribers
Part of the joy and challenge of being a parent is making sacrifices so your children can hit traditional milestones: a high school graduation, going off to college, starting a life of their own. But for some parents – like Barbara Rivera, a mother of three with two autistic children – the sacrifices are far greater and the milestones far different than what she expected. (Caregiving; Season 2, Episode 8. Original Air Date: Saturday, December 20, 2014.)

Advertisements

Robotic Prostatectomy Surgery

marketingscoopsLeave a Comment on Robotic Prostatectomy Surgery

Also known as robotic prostatectomy, this minimally invasive procedure is performed with the assistance of advanced surgical technology and an experienced laparoscopic surgery team.

Robotic-assisted radical laparoscopic prostatectomy is accomplished using the da Vinci® Surgical System, a sophisticated robotic surgery system that allows surgeons to operate on the prostate with enhanced vision, control and precision.

Using the advanced surgical system, miniaturized robotic instruments are passed through several small keyhole incisions in the patient’s abdomen to allow the surgeon to remove the prostate and nearby tissues with great precision. This is much less invasive than a conventional radical retropubic prostatectomy, which involves an abdominal incision that extends from the belly button to the pubic bone.

During robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy, a three-dimensional endoscope and image processing equipment are used to provide a magnified view of delicate structures surrounding the prostate gland (e.g., nerves, blood vessels and muscles), allowing optimal preservation of these vital structures. The prostate is eventually removed through one of the keyhole incisions.

For most of the surgery, the surgeon is seated at a computer console and manipulates tiny wristed instruments that offer a range of motion far greater than the human wrist. The surgery is performed without the surgeon’s hands entering the patient’s body cavity.

Benefits of Robotic Surgery

Compared with traditional open surgery, patients who undergo robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy experience:

  • Less blood loss
  • Less pain
  • Shorter hospital stays
  • Faster recovery times (although catheter needs to remain in bladder for same amount of time after robotic or open procedure).

Risks of Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy

The potential risks of robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy include the following:

  • Bleeding
  • Infection at the surgical site
  • Adjacent tissue/organ damage

Side Effects of Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy

The rates of major side effects from robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy are about the same as open surgical approaches. The most common side effects include the following:

  • Urinary incontinence (inability to control urine): Similar to open surgery, urinary incontinence can occur following a robotic prostatectomy. However, this side effect often improves over time.
  • Erectile dysfunction (impotence): The return of erectile function following prostatectomy is based on the patient’s age, degree of preoperative sexual function and whether the nerves were spared during surgery. Unless cancer is suspected in the nerve tissue, surgeons will use nerve-sparing techniques during robotic prostatectomy to minimize the surgical impact on sexual function.

Prostate Cancer: When to Treat Versus When to Watch

Because certain prostate cancers grow very slowly, your doctor might determine that it’s not likely to present a significant threat to you. This is particularly true if a prostate cancer is localized, meaning it hasn’t spread beyond the prostate.

If that’s the case, you and your doctor can discuss getting regularly tested instead of undergoing treatment right away. Doctors call this approach active surveillance. By not rushing into treatment for a cancer that may not cause you any harm, this approach helps many men avoid treatment-related side effects.

Active surveillance , or active monitoring, means your doctor will monitor you closely, watching to see how the cancer progresses, if at all. This is primarily for cancers that doctors classify as:

  • Slow-growing
  • Very low risk for causing symptoms

To monitor a low-risk prostate cancer, someone on active surveillance could undergo:

  • Rectal exam : Every six months
  • PSA test : Twice a year. This blood test, commonly used to screen for prostate cancer, measures how much prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is in your blood.
  • Biopsy : Once a year (until and unless your doctor determines a less frequent biopsy is warranted)
  • MRI scan : Necessary in some cases to show more details of a cancer if your doctor has any questions or concerns from your test results

Prostate Cancer Treatment: When Watching May Be Enough

Your doctor will consider many factors before deciding whether this approach is right for you. This includes:

  • Gleason score : This scoring system grades how aggressive a prostate cancer is. It also gives doctors hints as to how likely a cancer is to spread. Gleason scores less than 7 are considered lower risk and might be appropriate for active surveillance.
  • Biopsy results : A prostate biopsy (removing tissue samples from the prostate) is the only definitive way to diagnose prostate cancer today. After a prostate biopsy, your doctor will count how many of the samples contain cancer. For biopsies that show three or fewer samples (or cores) with cancer, your doctor might recommend watching you before starting treatment.
  • PSA results : A PSA test is the standard way doctors assess prostate cancer risk. Doctors use PSA test results along with information about your prostate size to measure your PSA density. If PSA density is less than 0.15, you might not need treatment right away.
  • Physical characteristics : Another way your doctor will assess prostate cancer is through a rectal exam. If he or she can’t feel a cancer (via a hard nodule, for example), that’s another sign that could point to active surveillance as a possible treatment approach.

Source: Robotic Prostatectomy | Johns Hopkins Medicine

94.5K subscribers
This 3d medical animation provides an overview about the anatomy of the male urogenital system, with the main focus on the prostate. Prostate cancer is shown developing in the tubular ducts of the prostate. All of the general steps are then demonstrated in the animation to show how the cancerous prostate will be robotically removed during a minimally invasive procedure.

Category

People & Blogs

What Causes Vertigo and How You Can Treat It

marketingscoopsLeave a Comment on What Causes Vertigo and How You Can Treat It
Woman with vertigo

Lauren Gerlach was in the middle of a workout video, doing leg lifts that required bending over and steadying herself on the back of a chair, when it began: “This wave of nausea hit, and the room began whirling around me,” she recalls. The sensation lasted for about 10 seconds, and because Gerlach, 45, had been prone to bouts of motion sickness in the past, she dismissed the episode. But in the days following her workout, she felt a little dizzy and unsteady on her feet.

Then one night Gerlach awakened from a sound sleep and shot straight up in bed. “I looked across at the TV, which I always leave on when I sleep,” she says. “It was literally spinning in a circle — at least, that’s how I saw it.” She raced to the bathroom and was sick.

That’s vertigo. Almost 40 percent of adults in the U.S. will experience this unsettling sensation at some point in their lives, according to the University of California San Francisco. Defined as “an illusion of motion,” vertigo is a very specific type of dizziness. “If you have an illusion that you’re moving and you’re not, or have an illusion that the world is moving about you when it’s not, you are having vertigo,” says Steven Rauch, a Boston-based ENT-otolaryngologist affiliated with Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

A lot of people assume that vertigo has to be a spinning sensation, says Rauch, but it could be rocking, swaying, tumbling, or a feeling of bouncing up, as if you were on a pogo stick.

Causes

Many things can bring on a bout of vertigo, including inner ear infections, migraines and even some medications, including those used to treat high blood pressure or anxiety. But one of the most common causes, as Gerlach discovered after a doctor visit, is an inner-ear condition with a tongue twister of a name: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). About half of all people over age 65 will suffer an episode of BPPV, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and the Mayo Clinic says women are particularly prone. Along with the “Whoa, what the heck …?” sensation, people may also experience lightheadedness and a wonky sense of balance. Queasiness and vomiting may also be part of the package.

BPPV occurs when tiny calcium carbonate crystals, which normally reside in an inner-ear organ called the utricle and help you keep your balance, break loose and travel into the semicircular canals of the inner ear. This may simply be part of the normal aging process. “BPPV is a degenerative change in the inner ear,” says Rauch. “A degenerative utricle will shed crystals from time to time, like shingles falling off the side of an old house.”

For expert tips to help feel your best, get AARP’s monthly Health newsletter.

Sometimes it’s a bump on the head that dislodges the crystals.

“BPPV is positionally triggered,” says Kim Bell, a San Diego-based doctor of physical therapy who specializes in vestibular rehabilitation. That means when you move your head in certain ways — dropping it forward to pick something up off the floor or attempting a Downward-Facing Dog yoga pose, for instance — you can cause these crystals to move and bring about an attack of vertigo.

It’s often triggered when you’re lying down: You go to bed feeling perfectly fine, then roll over toward your bad ear to get out of bed in the morning, and wham!

The shifting of the crystals sends a faulty signal from your inner ear to your brain about how you’re moving, which leads to that “world is spinning” sensation.

Those dizzy spells typically last for less than a minute but can return anytime you pitch your head and trigger another brief, brisk spin. Some attacks can be merely annoying, says Brian McKinnon, an ENT-otolaryngologist in Philadelphia: “Others can be debilitating and dangerous, making you feel off-balance and putting you at risk for falls.”

Treatment

BPPV usually goes away on its own within weeks of the first episode, though it can last for months or even years. If you want immediate relief from those bouts of spinning, you might consider something called the Epley maneuver. The treatment — typically performed by a vestibular rehabilitation therapist (a specially trained physical therapist), occupational therapist, audiologist or ENT — involves moving the head in a series of precise positions, allowing the crystals to migrate out of the semicircular canals back to the original vestibular organ they came from — the utricle. “It’s kind of like playing one of those small, handheld pinball games,” says Bell, “tipping it right and left, trying to get the silver ball through the maze.”

Typically, BPPV can be eliminated in about 85 to 90 percent of patients with just one or two treatment sessions, though it can recur periodically. “A few of those little crystals get loose and the whole thing starts all over again,” says Rauch. If this happens, your doctor or therapist can teach you how to perform the Epley maneuver on your own at home.

Even after BPPV has been treated, some people have residual symptoms of imbalance or unsteadiness. These can be resolved by working with a vestibular rehabilitation therapist — basically, using specific exercises to help patients regain their stability. It might include walking on different types of surfaces, stepping over thresholds, or maintaining one’s balance in a stationary position.

Unsettling symptoms aside, BPPV isn’t life-threatening. “If your symptoms are centered exclusively around the ear, and you want to wait it out, there’s probably no big danger in doing that,” says Rauch. However, he notes, there are times when dizziness can point to more serious disorders, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, brain tumors or multiple sclerosis. If you have symptoms in any other part of your body — say, your vision has changed, or you have numbness, weakness, confusion or slurred speech — it’s worth taking a trip to the ER and getting it checked out by a doctor.

More on Health

Source: What Causes Vertigo and How You Can Treat It

55.7K subscribers
Vertigo can make you feel as though you’re moving when you’re not. In this video, expert otolaryngologist Mr Richard Irving outlines the different conditions that can cause vertigo and what treatment for each condition looks like. Book a consultation wth Mr Irving: https://www.topdoctors.co.uk/doctor/r…

CBD Oil for Parkinson’s Disease

marketingscoopsLeave a Comment on CBD Oil for Parkinson’s Disease

Every year in the United States, approximately 60,000 individuals are newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease according to the Parkinson’s Foundation (PF).[1]

The PF adds that, by the year 2020, the number of people living with this medical condition is expected to near one million in total, making it more prevalent than multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and Lou Gehrig’s disease combined.

What is Parkinson’s disease?

The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) defines Parkinson’s as “a type of movement disorder that can affect the ability to perform common, daily activities.”[2]

Unlike other movement disorders, Parkinson’s disease is characterized by a loss of brain cells, specifically those in the substantia nigra region. This lowers dopamine levels which causes issues related to movement regulation, thus impacting the patients’ quality of life.

Parkinson’s disease is both chronic and progressive, making this movement disorder one that is long-lasting, while also worsening as time progresses.

Also, though it typically appears after the age of 50, roughly one in ten Parkinson’s disease patients are diagnosed at a younger age. This is called Early Onset Parkinson’s.

Symptoms of Parkinson’s tend to vary from person to person and fall into one of two categories: motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms.

The APDA shares that it is the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s that typically make these typical daily movements more difficult, some of which include experiencing tremors, having stiff or rigid muscles, walking difficulties, slowness of movement (also known as bradykinesia), and postural instability.

Another motor symptom Parkinson’s disease patients tend to notice is a change in their voice. Changes in volume are common in the early stages, whereas speaking fast, crowding words, and stuttering are more prevalent in advanced stages of this disease.

Parkinson’s symptoms that don’t involve movement and are therefore sometimes missed, include:

  • Reduced sensitivity to smells
  • Trouble staying asleep
  • Increased depression and anxiety
  • Psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions
  • Fatigue
  • Weight loss
  • Excessive sweating
  • Difficulty multi-tasking
  • Harder time with organization
  • Constipation
  • Increase in urinary frequency and urgency
  • Lightheadedness
  • Reduced libido
  • Slower blinking and dry eyes

Currently, there is no cure for Parkinson’s. However, patients do have a few treatment options that can help manage this particular medical condition.

One is taking a medication to help better manage motor function. Two well-known options include Levodopa and Carbidopa, both of which can be prescribed in varying strengths and formulations.

Another common Parkinson’s treatment is therapy. For instance, physical therapy may be pursued to aid in walking and occupational therapy can help enhance fine motor skills. Speech therapy may also be required to assist with vocal issues.

Deep brain stimulation is an option as well. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) several years ago, this treatment method is a form of surgical therapy in which an electrode is implanted in the brain, then stimulated via a device that is placed in the chest area under the skin.

The APDA further indicates that complementary medicine such as yoga and massage can also provide relief from symptoms of PD as well. Research is also finding that CBD oil can potentially help too.

CBD is short for cannabidiol, a chemical compound found within the cannabis plant that binds to cannabinoid receptors located in the body’s endocannabinoid system.[3]

CBD is different than other cannabinoids found in the marijuana plant that are known for producing the high commonly associated with medical marijuana use. This includes tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and a similar cannabinoid, tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV). Both THC and THCV can produce this high effect, whereas CBD does not.[4]

Additionally, our bodies do produce some cannabinoids on its own. These are called endogenous cannabinoids because they are so similar to cannabis plant compounds. CBD works by mimicking and augmenting these natural cannabinoids, providing a more therapeutic effect.

Admittedly, information in this field is still emerging, primarily because the endocannabinoid system is a relatively new finding due to the first endocannabinoid not being discovered until 1992.[5]

After the second one was identified three years later, researchers began to realize that the human body has an entire endocannabinoid system that offers positive effects related to bone density and diabetes prevention.

Since that time, research has also connected CBD with providing benefits for Parkinson’s disease.

For instance, one 2018 study published by Frontiers in Pharmacology shares that CBD helps by increasing levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide, an agonist of cannabinoid receptors.[6] It is also thought to aid in other processes found helpful for Parkinson’s patients, such as those related to serotonin receptors like 5-HT1A, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, and more.

Other studies shared by the National Institute of Health (NIH) have found similar results. Specifically, they indicate that the study of CBD in relation to Parkinson’s disease is especially interesting because of the direct relationship between endocannabinoids, cannabinoid receptors, and the neurons associated with this neurodegenerative disease that impacts the central nervous system.[7]

Another piece of research, this one published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, indicates that many clinical trials have been conducted in this area. [8] Though some have been inconclusive or controversial, others have found that CBD has positive effects on some of Parkinson’s motor symptoms.

One such study looked at 22 patients who engaged in the medical use of cannabis, which contains CBD.[9] In this case, improvements were noted in regard to tremor, rigidity, and bradykinesia 30 minutes after using medical marijuana.

Other pieces of Parkinson’s research have found that CBD can also help relieve non-motor symptoms. For instance, an open-label study—meaning that there is no placebo group, so the subjects know that they’re receiving active treatment—found that, after being taken for four weeks, CBD helped reduce psychotic symptoms.[10]

Another double-blind trial involved 119 Parkinson’s patients who were treated with either 75 mg of CBD per day, 300 mg CBD daily, or a placebo. Although researchers could not establish a statistically significant difference in motor and general symptoms scores, there were significantly different means in relation to their well-being and quality of life.[11]

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research adds that research in this area is somewhat limited due to governmental regulations, with interpretation of results also impacted due to no standardization of CBD doses or use of products containing CBD and THC combined.[12] Therefore, it can be difficult to determine the specific effect CBD can provide to Parkinson’s patients.

Healthline reports that CBD oil has a number of scientifically-proven benefits that extend beyond those related to Parkinson’s.[13] Among them are:

One of the major concerns patients have with the use of CBD oil is whether or not it is legal. Psychology Today stresses that, while many people think that the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill legalized CBD federally, this isn’t exactly the case.[14]

Instead, the Farm Bill only legalized hemp, which is the fibrous stalk of the marijuana plant. Technically, all other parts of the plant are still illegal under the Controlled Substances Act.

What confuses the issue even more is that each state has set its own statutes regarding hemp, medical marijuana, and CBD. For instance, in New York, patients can smoke cannabis, but they aren’t banned from accessing it as a dried flower. However, if you live in Colorado, not only can individuals use medical cannabis, but children can even legally possess it on school campuses if they have status as a medical cannabis patient.[15]

Because of these variations, it is always recommended that Parkinson’s patients check the legality of cannabis use or CBD oil in their individual states before utilizing this option for treatment purposes.

[1] “Statistics.” Parkinson’s Foundation. https://parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Statistics

[2] “What is Parkinson’s Disease?” American Parkinson Disease Association. https://www.apdaparkinson.org/what-is-parkinsons/

[3] “What is CBD?” Project CBD. https://www.projectcbd.org/about/what-is-cbd

[4] Rahn, B. “What is THCV and What Are the Benefits of This Cannabinoid?” Leafly. Feb 03, 2015. https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/what-is-thcv-and-what-are-the-benefits-of-this-cannabinoid

[5] “A History of Endocannabinoids and Cannabis.” UTT BioPharma. https://www.uttbio.com/a-history-of-endocannabinoids-and-cannabis/

[6] Peres, F.F. et al. “Cannabidiol as a Promising Strategy to Treat and Prevent Movement Disorders?” Frontiers in Pharmacology. May 2018; 9:482. Doi:10.3389/fphar.2018.00482. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5958190/

[7] Fernandez-Ruiz, J et al. “Endocannabinoids and Basal Ganglia Functionality.” Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids. Feb-Mar 2002; 66(2-3):257-67. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12052041

[8] Stampanoni Bassi, M et al. “Cannabinoids in Parkinson’s Disease.” Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research. Feb 2017; 2(1):21-29. Doi: 10.1089/can.2017.0002. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5436333/

[9] Lotan, I et al. “Cannabis (medical marijuana) treatment for motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson disease: an open-label observational study.” Clinical Neuropharmacology. Mar-Apr 2014; 37(2):41-4. Doi: 10.1097.WNF.0000000000000016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24614667

[10] Zuardi A.W. et al. “Cannabidiol for the Treatment of Psychosis in Parkinson’s Disease.” Journal of Psychopharmacology. Nov 2009; 23(8):979-83. Doi: 10.1177/0269881108096519. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18801821

[11] Chagas M.H. et al. “Effects of Cannabidiol in the Treatment of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: An Exploratory Double-Blind Trial.” Journal of Psychopharmacology. Nov 2014; 28(11):1088-98. Doi: 10.1177/0269881114550355. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25237116

[12] Dolhun, R. “Ask the MD: Medical Marijuana and Parkinson’s Disease.” The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. May 02, 2018. https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/news-detail.php?ask-the-md-medical-marijuana-and-parkinson-disease-a

[13] Kubala, J. “7 Benefits and Uses of CBD Oil (Plus Side Effects).” Healthline. Feb 26, 2018. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cbd-oil-benefits

[14] Pierre, J. “Now that Hemp is Legal, Is Cannabidiol (CBD) Legal Too?” Psychology Today. Jan 02, 2019. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psych-unseen/201901/now-hemp-is-legal-is-cannabidiol-cbd-legal-too

[15] “Legal Information By State & Federal Law.” Americans for Safe Access. https://www.safeaccessnow.org/state_and_federal_law

Dr. Andrew Colucci

By: Dr. Andrew Colucci

Doctor of Medicine (M.D. cum laude) from Boston University School of Medicine in 2012 – Dr. Colucci is currently a radiologist in MA

Source: CBD Oil for Parkinson’s Disease

19.5K subscribers
Does medical marijuana help Parkinson’s symptoms? Rachel Dolhun, MD, movement disorder specialist and vice president of medical communications at The Michael J. Fox Foundation, answers this and other common questions about medical marijuana and Parkinson’s disease. The “Ask the MD” series is intended as an educational resource for people with Parkinson’s and their loved ones. Please consult with your personal healthcare provider to address individual medical questions. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s today. https://www.michaeljfox.org We gratefully acknowledge the Steering Committee members of our Patient Disease Education Consortium in conjunction with The Albert B. Glickman Parkinson’s Disease Education Program and Charles B. Moss Jr. and family, whose sponsorship allows us to create and distribute materials, while preserving our track record of efficiency in stewarding donor-raised contributions for maximum impact on Parkinson’s drug development. Sponsorship support does not influence MJFF’s content perspective or panelist selection. Note: Tap cc in the lower right corner of the player to enable auto-generated captions for the video.

Fifty-Two Public Health Groups Demand Facebook Remove Latest Round of ‘Frightening’ HIV Ads

marketingscoopsLeave a Comment on Fifty-Two Public Health Groups Demand Facebook Remove Latest Round of ‘Frightening’ HIV Ads

Fifty-two public health companies and LGBTQ organizations wrote a public letter to Facebook Monday demanding it remove misleading advertisements about HIV prevention medicine.

The posts imply that HIV-negative people could suffer health complications from prevention pills only seen in a shrinking group of HIV-positive people, thus deterring them from treatment, the letter claims.

Advocacy groups say that they’re not able to spend a comparable sum on counteradvertising and that Facebook should consider the real-world implications of the ads, which in effect make HIV transmissions more widespread.

Facebook told The Washington Post that its third-party fact-checkers didn’t find falsehoods in the campaign, which is largely pushed by private injury attorneys.

Indeed, a component of Truvada, the only Food and Drug Administration–approved prevention medicine for HIV, has been shown to cause kidney failure and bone density problems in people with HIV treated between 2001 and 2015. The ads don’t include these details and instead reference Truvada more broadly.

Misleading HIV campaigns are nothing new, according to Rich Ferraro, a spokesperson for GLAAD, the national LGBTQ advocacy group that helped spearhead the letter’s demands. He said GLAAD, formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, was founded in the 1980s because of the “misinformation and disgusting coverage of HIV” at the time.

“Since GLAAD’s founding almost 35 years ago, we have worked together with other leaders in the HIV and AIDS activism community fighting back against misinformation, factual inaccuracies and stigmatizing ads,” Ferraro added.

More broadly, today’s HIV campaigns are also noteworthy for what they don’t include—the fact that people with HIV are living very long and healthy lives when taking the proper medications, Ferraro said. “That has been a proactive push that has yet to catch on in mainstream media,” he said.

In 2013, the National Library of Medicine launched a traveling exhibit examining the “confusing and at-times counterproductive” response in the 1980s to the HIV epidemic. In its digital gallery, posters, comic books and postcards offer a range of warnings about HIV transmission.

Some have withstood the test of time, like one campaign by the New York State Department of Health that clarifies that HIV “does not discriminate.” Rather, anyone, male or female, straight or gay, can pick up the virus from shared needles or unprotected sex.

But some warned that AIDS causes blindness or endorsed masturbation in lieu of having sex with strangers. Others associated sex with death more directly, like one poster by AID Atlanta that depicts a handsome young man above a caption that reads: “This man killed 17 women and loved every minute of it,” implying he passed HIV to women during intercourse.

Advertisements abroad could be even more sinister. One featured a grim reaper, meant to represent the deadly HIV virus, that came after men, women and children in a bowling alley. Commissioned by the Australian government with that country’s National Advisory Committee on AIDS, it was pulled in 1987 amid a backlash.

While less dramatic than ads from decades past, the “frightening” Facebook campaigns are doing more damage, according to Peter Staley, a co-founder of PrEP4All Collaboration and longtime AIDS activist. “I must say, this is in a class of its own. This example, we think, is directly spreading HIV,” he said.

The campaigns also target LGBTQ communities and people of color because of their higher rates of HIV infection, according to Raniyah Copeland, president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute. These groups already have more medical distrust than their white or straight counterparts, Copeland said.

One such post features a person of color with a somber look on his face. It lists side effects from “taking an HIV drug,” such as “kidney disorders,” and claims “the manufacturers had a safer drug & kept it secret.” Another features a young white man with his eyes closed and hands clasped. It reads: “Truvada & other TDF drugs prescribed to prevent or treat HIV may harm kidneys and bones.”

Both feature links to law firms or ongoing lawsuits.

In the letter, the advocacy groups asked Facebook to remove the ads and commit to a review of current policies meant to prevent false public health statements from reaching users.

Facebook relies on its independent fact-checkers, including those from the Associated Press and conservative website the Daily Caller, to vet dubious claims, the Post reported.

Asked whether HIV advertisements should be treated with stricter standards, a Facebook spokesperson told Newsweek that its fact-checkers were all certified by the International Fact-Checking Network, which maintains a commitment to nonpartisanship and fairness in its code of principles.

“Since we don’t think it’s appropriate for us to be the arbiters of truth, we rely on the International Fact-Checking Network to set guidelines for these high standards,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

By

Source: Fifty-Two Public Health Groups Demand Facebook Remove Latest Round of ‘Frightening’ HIV Ads

These Brands May Be to Blame for Vaping-Related Illnesses

marketingscoopsLeave a Comment on These Brands May Be to Blame for Vaping-Related Illnesses
Man smokes an electronic cigarette in town .

Dank Vapes seem to be associated with many cases of e-cigarette and vaping-product associated lung injury (EVALI) popping up across the country, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Friday.

The CDC has already pointed to products containing the marijuana compound THC—particularly those tainted by the additive vitamin E acetate—as a likely cause of many of the nearly 2,300 EVALI cases and 48 deaths reported during the outbreak. Now, for the first time, the agency has released national data about specific brands used by individuals before they got sick.

More than half the 482 hospitalized EVALI patients who provided specific product information to the CDC reported using products from Dank Vapes, which the CDC calls “a class of largely counterfeit THC-containing products of unknown origin.” An Inverse investigation found that Dank Vapes is not a legitimate company, but rather a label often affixed to counterfeit products produced by unknown makers. “They act like a cannabis company, but they actually don’t exist. They’re in the packaging industry,” a cannabis industry entrepreneur told Inverse.

Health advocates are encouraging Donald Trump to move forward with a federal ban on thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes. The CDC’s investigation points to the nebulous network’s reach. Patients in every region said they had used Dank Vapes products, though they were used a bit more often in the Midwest, Northeast and South than the West. The CDC has already reported evidence that Dank Vapes products were associated with illnesses in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Other vaping brands used by patients in the CDC’s report include TKO, Rove, Smart Cart, Kingpen and Cookie, many of which were used by more people in the West than anywhere else. TIME could not immediately reach any of the companies for comment.

Though the data helps advance the CDC’s investigation, there are still many unanswered questions. The nearly 500 patients included in the latest report said they had used 152 different products in all, making it difficult to nail down which ones are the possible sources of illnesses—especially since some patients use e-cigarettes from multiple brands.

It’s also not totally clear whether THC-containing products are to blame for all cases of EVALI. Eighty percent of the 1,782 hospitalized EVALI patients for whom the CDC has information about product use said they had vaped THC in the three months before symptoms (35% exclusively), but 54% also said they had used nicotine (13% exclusively). Smaller numbers also reported additionally or exclusively using products containing CBD, a non-psychoactive marijuana compound.

There was some good news in the report, however. The CDC says the number of EVALI diagnoses has declined each week since mid-September, suggesting that the outbreak may be approaching its end.

By : Jamie Ducharme

Source: These Brands May Be to Blame for Vaping-Related Illnesses

 

A Measles Outbreak in Samoa Has Killed 53 People and Infected 2% of the Population

marketingscoopsLeave a Comment on A Measles Outbreak in Samoa Has Killed 53 People and Infected 2% of the Population

s the measles virus continues to spread worldwide, Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi announced Monday that Samoa will take the dramatic step of closing its government for two days this week to assist with a public vaccination campaign.

Aside from 2019, Samoa has reported almost no cases of measles to the World Health Organization (WHO) in recent years. But vaccine coverage in the small nation is lacking, partially attributable to public concern following two vaccine-related deaths that occurred in 2018 due to faulty formulas, the WHO reports. As of 2018, only 31% of children had received one of two doses of the measles vaccine, allowing the virus to spread rapidly. A total of 3,728 people, nearly 2% of Samoa’s population, have contracted measles during the current outbreak, including nearly 200 in the past day alone, according to a government statement on Dec. 1. Fifty-three people have died from measles, and the outbreak was declared an emergency on Nov. 15.

While the measles outbreak in Samoa is particularly dramatic, countries around the globe are experiencing a resurgence of the virus, which starts with minor symptoms like a runny nose and skin rash but can progress to include complications such as brain damage and predispose sufferers to other infections. In 2018, about 350,000 cases of measles were reported globally, more than double the number in 2017, according to UNICEF. And according to provisional WHO data, about 413,000 cases had been reported worldwide as of November 2019.

The WHO has blamed a dangerous rise in vaccine skepticism for the uptick, saying earlier this year that vaccine hesitancy is one of the 10 largest threats to global health. Developed countries, such as the U.S. and France, seem to show the most hesitation toward vaccination, in part due to a widely discredited belief that vaccines can cause autism.

That thinking has become so pervasive in the U.S. that the country came perilously close to losing its measles elimination status this year. The disease was declared eliminated domestically in 2000, but more than 1,200 people have been diagnosed with the virus in 2019—the most in 25 years—leading to emergency declarations in places including New York City and New York’s Rockland County.

To help slow that rapid spread, all schools have been indefinitely closed since Nov. 17, and children have been barred from public gatherings. The country is also coordinating a mass vaccination campaign, with the help of about $72,000 in aid funding from the Red Cross’ Asia Pacific chapter. All government employees, except those who work in water or electric supply, will help orchestrate the campaign on Dec. 5 and 6, CNN reports. More than 58,000 Samoan people have already been vaccinated.

By Jamie Ducharme

December 2, 2019

Source: A Measles Outbreak in Samoa Has Killed 53 People and Infected 2% of the Population

30.7K subscribers
#WATCH The death toll continues to rise in Samoa as the measles epidemic ravages the country. According to the latest reports from Samoa, 20 people have died so far, most of them children. A state of emergency has been declared and vaccinations made compulsory. Children up to the age of 19 have now been banned from public gatherings and schools have been shut down to stop the disease spreading. This week New Zealand increased its medical support, but locals fear it could get worse before it gets any better. We bring you the latest on the measles outbreak…

Category

Entertainment

Study: Women With Dense Breast Tissue May Benefit From Regular MRIs

marketingscoopsLeave a Comment on Study: Women With Dense Breast Tissue May Benefit From Regular MRIs
Breast cancer. Coloured sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of a breast of a 39- year-old woman with breast cancer. The cancer (orange) has been highlighted by the injection of a gadolinium contrast medium, a contrast medium suitable for use in MRI scans. The front of the breast is at left in each scan, in these views from the side. The cancer is a ductal carcinoma, a carcinoma of the ducts that channel milk to the nipple. Ductal carcinoma is a common form of breast cancer. Breast cancer, the most common cancer in women, can be treated by surgical removal of the affected breast, often combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

While there has been some controversy over when women should start getting mammograms, all experts agree that screening is an important first step in detecting breast cancers and treating them early. But for some women, that’s not enough. For the approximately 40% of women with dense breast tissue, and especially the 10% with extremely dense tissue, cancer cells are harder to detect, since the denser tissue can mask small growths. In addition, dense breast tissue itself is also a risk factor for developing cancer.

There’s been debate among experts over whether these women should have additional screening, on top of mammograms. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine provides the strongest data yet to support adding MRI screening to mammograms for women with extremely dense breast tissue.

Previous studies have compared rates of breast cancer in women getting mammograms alone to rates in those getting mammograms and MRI, but it hasn’t been clear that the “cancers” identified in these data sets were actually cancer. That’s because some breast cancers are what experts consider a pre-cancerous stage, known as ductal carcinoma in situ, meaning they may not grow or progress into disease.

That’s led some doctors to worry over potential over-diagnosis of breast cancer, which can lead to over-treatment of lesions that may never develop into tumors. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which attempts to find answers to controversial health questions, has concluded that there is not enough evidence to advise women about the benefits or harms of adding other breast-cancer testing on top of mammograms.

In the new study, Carla van Gils, professor of clinical epidemiology of cancer at the University Medical Center Utrecht, attempted to address this concern by focusing on how many actual cancers the combination of mammogram and MRI can help to detect in women with dense breast tissue. Taking advantage of the fact that the Netherlands has a national cancer registry that includes about 99% of all diagnoses in the country, she and her team studied more than 40,000 women with extremely dense breast tissue, who were randomly assigned to screening with mammography alone or both mammography and MRI.

Each woman in the study was screened once in the two year study period (following the Netherlands’ screening guidelines that call for mammograms every other year for women over 50). Van Gils and her team analyzed how many invasive cancers were detected in between screenings, which serves as a measure for how effective the MRI was in detecting what the researchers call interval cancers—those diagnosed after a negative mammogram, and before the next mammogram was scheduled.

“If we can prevent those, we know at least we are preventing clinically relevant tumors,” says van Gils, “and not just over diagnosing.” They found that the rate of such cancers in women getting both types of imaging was 2.5 per 1,000 screenings, compared to 5 in 1,000 for women just getting mammograms.

The idea is that supplementing mammograms with MRI in the initial screening led to earlier detection of tumors that the mammograms missed which in turn contributed to lower cancer rates during a second screening, because presumably the women are seeing their doctors when suspicious growths are found and getting them treated.

The data do not confirm that combining mammograms and MRIs can lead to fewer deaths from breast cancer; that’s something van Gils will study in coming years. But documenting the reduction in cancer detected in between screenings is an important first step in showing the value of supplemental MRI for women with extremely dense breast tissue.

It also supports the reasoning behind a law passed earlier this year in the U.S. requiring that mammogram reports include an assessment of the density of women’s breast tissue, along with an explanation for why that might make mammogram results more difficult to interpret.

Van Gils notes that the results of her study aren’t robust enough yet to recommend that all women with dense breast tissue (even those with extremely dense breast tissue) should get MRIs on top of their regular mammogram screenings. For one, lowering the rates of false positives for MRIs is still a challenge; training radiologists to become more adept are reading images of dense breast tissue could help, as could applying machine learning technology to pick up subtle changes that even the best-trained human eyes cannot.

That said, if longer-term studies—enabling doctors to compare MRI readings over time to track the growth of lesions—also confirm that supplementing mammograms with MRI can lower death rates from breast cancer, it could push experts to change guidelines and give women firmer advice on how best to manage their cancer risk.

By Alice Park

November 27, 2019

Source: Study: Women With Dense Breast Tissue May Benefit From Regular MRIs | Time

351K subscribers
Dr. Amy Degnim, surgeon at Mayo Clinic, explains what dense breast tissue is and different types of imaging that may be recommended for breast cancer screening. To learn more about breast cancer screening, visit: https://mayocl.in/31AZAoC To request an appointment at Mayo Clinic, visit: https://mayocl.in/2QwVBoc Dense breast tissue makes breast cancer screening more difficult due to its appearance on a mammogram. Other imaging used for screening includes 3D mammogram, breast MRI, breast ultrasound and molecular breast imaging (MBI). More health and medical news on the Mayo Clinic News Network. https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/

The Technologies Driving Tomorrow’s Healthcare Solutions

marketingscoopsLeave a Comment on The Technologies Driving Tomorrow’s Healthcare Solutions

Robots performing surgeries? New hip joints “printed” on command? “House calls” made from hundreds, even thousands of miles away? What seemed like science fiction just a few years ago has become an everyday reality as technology is revolutionizing the way healthcare is delivered.

Innovation changes health care for the better

Back in 2010, a video of a surgical robot sewing a split grape back together seemed so improbable, it went viral, garnering more than 5 million views [“Suturing a Grape,” YouTube clips (various uploads).] Fast forward to today, and robot-assisted surgery is firmly in the mainstream, used for gallbladder, prostate, gynecologic and kidney surgeries. The benefits of this minimally invasive technique are significant, including faster recovery times, shorter hospital stays, and less patient down time.

3D printing, still in its relative infancy, is already making massive contributions in healthcare. 3D-printed joint components have been used in more than 100,000 hip replacement surgeries over the past decade, according to a GE Report from March of 2018. The next evolution for 3D printing will be even more spectacular, promising the ability to print artificial organs, blood vessels, and even synthetic ovaries.

At a time when there is a shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas, telehealth is becoming a viable alternative to an in-office visit.

Virtual medical providers enable doctors to treat millions of Americans each year through internet and telephone consultations. That’s based on estimates from a recent J.D. Power study from July 2019, which found 9.6% of the adult population has used telemedicine in the past year. More than 75 percent of hospitals use telehealth services, too, as noted by the American Hospital Association Fact Sheet dated February 2019. Patients can consult with a doctor via phone or video, and receive diagnoses and prescriptions. Some employers use telehealth to provide virtual health clinics for employees.

Managing the cost

While such health innovations are exciting, they come at a cost. That’s where supplemental insurance can play a key role, enabling employers to offer a benefits option that provides added financial security over and above traditional health insurance. Beyond financial security, supplemental insurance also offers employees peace of mind.

“Employees are increasingly shouldering the high cost of medical care, especially when it comes to new medical solutions,” says Teresa White, president of Aflac U.S. In fact, 85 percent of employees see the need for supplemental insurance benefits to cover such costs, according to the Aflac WorkForces Report.

Adding to the challenge is the complexity of what’s covered and what isn’t under traditional health insurance.

“Health care today isn’t simple,” says Virgil Miller, Aflac EVP and chief operating officer. “Some consumers are confused by their benefit options and what their health care plans cost and cover. Our annual Aflac WorkForces Report found that just 39 percent of employees have a full understanding of their health insurance policies.

“And with medical debt being the most common reason people fall behind on bills, supplemental benefits such as Aflac’s should be a priority on every smart preparation checklist. Aflac helps cover the expenses health insurance doesn’t.”

Innovations improve insurance, too

Customer concerns like these led Aflac to create online tools like its easy-to-use critical illness calculator. “The calculator makes it easier for consumers to understand typical out-of-pocket heath care expenses and how Aflac’s critical illness coverage can help cover the costs health insurance doesn’t cover,” Miller says.

Aflac sees technological innovation as essential in serving its policyholders. To provide good customer service, Aflac worked with several industry experts on a technique called journey mapping to understand the various touch points and pain points customers have. “Through journey mapping, our customer experience teams created reliable road maps of where we needed to take our technology in the future,” adds Keith Farley, vice president of innovation for Aflac.

One byproduct of this research is an advanced mobile app called MyAflac. With the MyAflac mobile app, policyholders can handle myriad healthcare-related tasks, ranging from filing a claim to signing up for direct deposit of their insurance payments, right from their phones. Combined with Aflac’s One Day PaySM initiative, it helps get payments into the hands of policyholders faster than ever. “Our goal is to help policyholders worry less about finances and focus more on recovery, which can lead to better health outcomes,” adds Miller.

Innovation is woven into every level of Aflac’s culture. Farley points to My Special Aflac Duck as a perfect example of this. “This isn’t just a toy, it is a high-tech robot that interacts with children, helping provide them with comfort as they move through their cancer treatment. As a company, we have been blown away by the response,” Farley says.

The company has invested millions of dollars into this program including donating to cancer research, developing the duck and giving away more than 5,000 of them to pediatric cancer patients at more than 220 hospitals in 47 states.

Innovation is also at the heart of how Aflac designs its benefits policies. Aflac’s cancer policy, for example, helps policyholders take greater advantage of cutting-edge medical techniques. “Genetic testing helps identify potential health risks and help people understand and prepare for potential risks. Screenings can also save lives. Aflac’s cancer policy is designed to reflect the evolution of patient needs and challenges, and it helps cover modern approaches to prevention, early detection and diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care,” White says.

At Aflac, innovation is more than saving money and improving efficiencies. It is part of its mission to help employers support their employees to lead healthier and happier lives. At the end of the day, it’s about growing consumer trust and satisfaction, Miller says.

One Day PaySM is available for certain individual claims submitted online through the Aflac SmartClaim process. Claims may be eligible for One Day Pay processing if submitted online through Aflac SmartClaim, including all required documentation, by 3 p.m. ET. Documentation requirements vary by type of claim; please review requirements for your claim(s) carefully. Aflac SmartClaim is available for claims on most individual Accident, Cancer, Hospital, Specified Health, and Intensive Care policies. Processing time is based on business days after all required documentation needed to render a decision is received and no further validation and/or research is required. Individual Company Statistic, 2019.

Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York. WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999

By Anita CampbellCEO, Small Business Trends

@smallbiztrends

Source: The Technologies Driving Tomorrow’s Healthcare Solutions

28.8K subscribers
https://www.job-applications.com/afla… An Aflac benefits consultant talks about the interview process, interview questions, how to get a job and what its like to work for Aflac.

Category

Howto & Style

This Inexpensive Action Lowers Hospital Infections And Protects Against Flu Season

marketingscoopsLeave a Comment on This Inexpensive Action Lowers Hospital Infections And Protects Against Flu Season

Harvard Medical School graduate and lecturer, Stephanie Taylor, is something of an Indiana Jones of medicine. She’s a determined scientist who can’t seem to sit still. Along with a resume full of accolades and publications, she’s a skydiver with 1,200 jumps. She solves haunting medical mysteries. “Anything that seems scary, I say I need to learn more about that,” she explained in a recent interview

While practicing pediatric oncology at a major teaching hospital, Taylor wondered why so many of her young patients came down with infections and the flu, despite the hospital’s herculean efforts at prevention. Her hunch: the design and infrastructure of the building contributed somehow.

Dr. Taylor embarked on a quest to find out if she was right. First, the skydiving doctor made a career jump: She went back to school for a master’s in architecture, and then began research on the impact of the built environment on human health and infection. Ultimately, she found a lost ark.

She and colleagues studied 370 patients in one unit of a hospital to try to isolate the factors associated with patient infections. They tested and retested 8 million data points controlling for every variable they could think of to explain the likelihood of infection. Was it hand hygiene, fragility of the patients, or room cleaning procedures? Taylor thought it might have something to do with the number of visitors to the patient’s room.

While all those factors had modest influence, one factor stood out above them all, and it shocked the research team. The one factor most associated with infection was (drum roll): dry air. At low relative humidity, indoor air was strongly associated with higher infection rates. “When we dry the air out, droplets and skin flakes carrying viruses and bacteria are launched into the air, traveling far and over long periods of time. The microbes that survive this launching tend to be the ones that cause healthcare-associated infections,” said Taylor. “Even worse, in addition to this increased exposure to infectious particles, the dry air also harms our natural immune barriers which protect us from infections.”

Since that study was published, there is now more research in peer-reviewed literature observing a link between dry air and viral infections, such as the flu, colds and measles, as well as many bacterial infections, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding more research. Taylor finds one of the most interesting studies from a team at the Mayo Clinic, which humidified half of the classrooms in a preschool and left the other half alone over three months during the winter. Influenza-related absenteeism in the humidified classrooms was two-thirds lower than in the standard classrooms—a dramatic difference. Taylor says this study is important because its design included a control group: the half of classrooms without humidity-related intervention.

Scientists attribute the influence of dry air to a new understanding about the behavior of airborne particles, or “infectious aerosol transmissions.” They used to assume the microbes in desiccated droplets were dead, but advances in the past several years changed that thinking. “With new genetic analysis tools, we are finding out that most of the microbes are not dead at all. They are simply dormant while waiting for a source of rehydration,” Taylor explained. “Humans are an ideal source of hydration, since we are basically 60% water. When a tiny infectious particle lands on or in a patient, the pathogen rehydrates and begins the infectious cycle all over again.”

These findings are especially important for hospitals and other health settings, because dry air is also associated with antibiotic resistance, which can devastate whole patient populations. Scientists now believe resistant organisms do not develop only along the Darwinian trajectory, where mutated bacteria produce a new generation of similarly mutated offspring that can survive existing antibiotics. Resistant pathogens in infectious aerosols do not need to wait for the next generation, they can instantly share their resistant genes directly through a process called horizontal gene transfer.

According to her research, and subsequent studies in the medical literature, the “sweet spot” for indoor air is between 40% and 60% relative humidity. An instrument called a hygrometer, available for about $10, will measure it. Every hospital, school, and home should have them, according to Taylor, along with a humidifier to adjust room hydration to the sweet spot.

Operating rooms, Taylor notes, are often kept cooler than other rooms to keep gown-wearing surgical staff comfortable. Cool air holds less water vapor than warm air, so condensation can more easily occur on cold, uninsulated surfaces. Consequently, building managers often turn humidifiers off instead of insulating cold surfaces. This quick fix can result in dry air, and Taylor urges hospitals to bring the operating room’s relative humidity up, even when it is necessary, to maintain a lower temperature. Taylor’s research suggests this reduces surgical site infections.

Taylor travels the country speaking with health care and business groups to urge adoption of the 40%–60% relative humidity standard. And she practices what she preaches. “My husband has ongoing respiratory problems and had at least one serious illness each winter. Ever since we started monitoring our indoor relative humidity and keeping it around 40%, even when using our wood stove, he has not been sick. Our dogs also love it because they do not get static electricity shocks when being petted in the wintertime!”

The bad news is that it takes on average of 17 years for scientific evidence to be put into medical practice, according to a classic study. The good news is that Taylor is on the case, and she’s on a crusade against the destruction of bacteria and viruses. She’s not waiting 17 years. Jock, start the engine.

Follow me on Twitter. Check out my website.

Leah Binder

I run an organization called The Leapfrog Group with a membership of highly impatient business leaders fed up with problems with injuries, accidents, and errors in hospitals. I can’t stand the sight of blood but I’ve worked in healthcare over 20 years, including a rural hospital system, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s health policy office, and the National League for Nursing. Follow me on twitter: @leahbinder.

Source: This Inexpensive Action Lowers Hospital Infections And Protects Against Flu Season

326K subscribers
The flu season in the U.S. has already claimed a number of lives in what the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) has called one of most severe flu seasons in nearly a decade. “People often forget that tens of thousands of Americans will die each year from influenza infection; the vast majority of those who die are those who have underlying medical comorbidities,” says Dr. Pritish Tosh, an infectious diseases specialist at Mayo Clinic. “They have heart disease or lung disease, and influenza tips them over and they end up dying from their underlying medical comorbidity, or chronic illness.” More health and medical news on the Mayo Clinic News Network http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/

%d bloggers like this:
Skip to toolbar