tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73926255744168038842024-03-12T20:45:45.415-07:00TodaysSeniors Network Senior HealthFeature on healthy aging, health challenges of elderlyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.comBlogger363125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-51192086204060260112017-07-10T15:38:00.000-07:002017-07-10T15:38:08.292-07:00Five Years Before Brain Cancer Diagnosis, Changes Detectable in Blood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wq8Sx9C93Yc/WWQBiacrOBI/AAAAAAAAQnc/SUly4jHqa2cRaLdBbU2Y31xiVBvkt95BgCLcBGAs/s1600/holding%2Bup%2Bbrain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Brain Cancer tumors there before diagnosis" border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="216" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wq8Sx9C93Yc/WWQBiacrOBI/AAAAAAAAQnc/SUly4jHqa2cRaLdBbU2Y31xiVBvkt95BgCLcBGAs/s400/holding%2Bup%2Bbrain.jpg" title="brain tumors" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, July 11, 2017– Changes in immune activity appear
to signal a growing brain tumor five years before symptoms arise, new research
has found.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Interactions among proteins that relay information from one
immune cell to another are weakened in the blood of brain cancer patients
within five years before the cancer is diagnosed, said lead researcher <a href="https://cph.osu.edu/people/jschwartzbaum">Judith Schwartzbaum</a> of
The Ohio State University.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That information could one day lead to earlier diagnosis of
brain cancer, said Schwartzbaum, an associate professor of <a href="https://cph.osu.edu/epi">epidemiology</a> and member of <a href="https://cancer.osu.edu/">Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.017870">The
study</a>, published in the journal <i>PLOS ONE</i>, focused on gliomas,
which make up about 80 percent of brain cancer diagnoses. Average survival time
for the most common type of glioma is 14 months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Symptoms vary and include headaches, memory loss, personality
changes, blurred vision and difficulty speaking. On average, the cancer is
diagnosed three months after the onset of symptoms and when tumors are
typically advanced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It’s important to identify the early stages of tumor
development if we hope to intervene more effectively,” Schwartzbaum said. “If
you understand those early steps, maybe you can design treatments to block
further tumor growth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While widespread blood testing of people without symptoms of
this rare tumor would be impractical, this research could pave the way for
techniques to identify brain cancer earlier and allow for more-effective
treatment, Schwartzbaum said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Schwartzbaum evaluated blood samples from 974 people, half of
whom went on to receive a brain-cancer diagnosis in the years after their blood
was drawn. The samples came from Norway’s Janus Serum Bank.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because of previous research – including her own on the
relationship between allergies and brain cancer – Schwartzbaum was interested
in the role of cytokines, proteins that communicate with one another and with
immune cells to spark immune responses. Schwartzbaum’s previous work found that
allergies appeared to offer protection against brain cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In this study, Schwartzbaum evaluated 277 cytokines in the
blood samples and found less cytokine interaction in the blood of people who
developed cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“There was a clear weakening of those interactions in the
group who developed brain cancer and it’s possible this plays a role in tumor
growth and development,” Schwartzbaum said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cytokine activity in cancer is especially important to
understand because it can play a good-guy role in terms of fighting tumor
development, but it also can play a villain and support a tumor by suppressing
the immune system, she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition to discovering the weakening of cytokine interactions
in the blood of future cancer patients, the researchers found a handful of
cytokines that appear to play an especially important role in glioma
development.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The results of this study must be confirmed and further
evaluated before it could translate to changes in the earlier diagnosis of
brain cancer, but the discovery offers important insights, Schwartzbaum said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It’s possible this could also happen with other tumors – that
this is a general sign of tumor development,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The research was supported by the National Cancer Institute.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-85800721926573286812017-07-10T15:29:00.000-07:002017-07-10T15:29:14.437-07:00Study Provides Guidelines on How to Prioritize Vaccination During Flu Season<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jdbBAd-Cj5I/WWP_VSuzq3I/AAAAAAAAQnM/yLWvajPvs3IHnRJELQQp1kDzzKdntW54wCLcBGAs/s1600/vaccination%252C%2Bflu%2Bshots.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Best way to prioritize flu vaccine for elderly" border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="304" height="251" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jdbBAd-Cj5I/WWP_VSuzq3I/AAAAAAAAQnM/yLWvajPvs3IHnRJELQQp1kDzzKdntW54wCLcBGAs/s400/vaccination%252C%2Bflu%2Bshots.JPG" title="flu vaccination" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, July 10, 2017 — After high-risk individuals,
immunizing children and the elderly will have the greatest overall benefit when
there are limited vaccine resources.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This could save both lives and money, according to a study
published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005521">PLOS
Computational Biology</a> by Nargesalsadat Dorratoltaj of the <a href="http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/">Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary
Medicine</a>, in collaboration with colleagues at the <a href="https://www.bi.vt.edu/">Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When vaccine supplies are limited, public health officials are
often required to prioritize which populations have the greatest need for
immediate immunization. Official recommendations for how this assessment
process should be carried out are often lacking or confusing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To get a more realistic measure of how targeted vaccination
efforts benefit society at large, the Virginia Tech research team developed a
“synthetic population” that works, moves, and mixes with others much like a
real community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The extra level of detail in this simulation allowed
researchers to capture an epidemic’s indirect or social effects, such as how
one person’s vaccination may lower their family and co-workers’ risk of
infection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Previous studies have either focused on the individual
benefits of vaccination or a single metric for measuring the financial and
medical effectiveness of targeted vaccination. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The new model revealed that the overall financial impact of
vaccination is much greater than scientists had previously assumed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Depending upon the severity of influenza, the 'return on
investment' can increase from three to seven times if we factor in how the
immunity of vaccinated individuals indirectly benefits their contacts in the
community by blocking the chain of transmission,” said study co-author <a href="https://www.bi.vt.edu/faculty/Achla-Marathe">Achla Marathe</a>, a
professor at the Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The researchers provide a framework that can be used to study
different vaccine priority orders and different outcome metrics, such as the
total number of infections, total dollars gained, and the risk of death among
children or adults.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Attack rates among the children are higher than among the
adults and seniors during influenza outbreaks, due to their larger social
contact network and homophilous interactions in school,” said senior author of
the study, <a href="http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/people/bios/abbas.asp">Kaja
Abbas</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Based on return on investment and higher attack rates among
children, we recommend prioritizing children and seniors after high-risk
subpopulations for influenza vaccination during times of limited vaccine
supplies.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Looking forward, the research team will apply this modeling
framework to other urban and rural regions to inform policymakers how financial
and medical benefits can be optimized through targeted vaccination strategies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This story was adapted from a release that was
originally written for and distributed by PLOS Computational Biology.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-36898114105866814492017-06-29T11:57:00.001-07:002017-06-29T11:57:32.852-07:00Brain Tumors: Still Devastating, but Treatment Has Come a Long Way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lxkmLV4cFyw/WVVNXuogi9I/AAAAAAAAQeg/ynMFdLM-dpI7klnIH9y68E1ob_2dy6yRQCLcBGAs/s1600/brain%2Bgraphic.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Progress being made on Brain Tumor treatment" border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="502" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lxkmLV4cFyw/WVVNXuogi9I/AAAAAAAAQeg/ynMFdLM-dpI7klnIH9y68E1ob_2dy6yRQCLcBGAs/s400/brain%2Bgraphic.png" title="brain graphic" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, June 29, 2017--</span><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">– A brain tumor was the furthest thing from Kathy
English’s mind that day in 2003 when she walked into a neurologist’s office.
She’d had some uncontrolled sinus issues, so her doctors had ordered a variety
of tests, including an MRI. When she arrived to get the MRI results, the
neurologist said he had not yet had a chance to look at them himself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“He said we’d look at them
together,” English recalled. “As he looked over the scan, he pointed out a
small abnormality, a tumor which he described as a meningioma. Then he saw
another one. And another. By this time, I was getting pretty worried.
Ultimately, he found 12, and now I was really worried.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A meningioma is a usually benign,
slow-growing tumor. While referred to as a brain tumor, it actually does not
grow from brain tissue but rather from the meninges, layers of tissue which
cover the brain. Still, 12 meningiomas are not to be taken lightly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The neurologist immediately referred
English to neurosurgeon James Markert, M.D., an internationally renowned brain
tumor expert at the </span><a href="http://www.uab.edu/home/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">University of Alabama at Birmingham</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Markert, who is professor and chair
of the </span><a href="http://www.uab.edu/medicine/neurosurgery/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Department of Neurosurgery</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> in the </span><a href="http://www.uab.edu/medicine/home/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">UAB
School of Medicine</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, says meningiomas are
relatively rare, but certainly not unheard of. He followed English for several
years, and when one of the tumors began to grow, he surgically removed it,
along with eight others that were easily accessible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Two more were later eliminated
through a gamma knife radiation procedure. Markert continues to monitor the
others. Through it all, English never had any symptoms, other than a
bucket-full of anxiety. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“It was like knowing you have bugs
on your head … ‘Get them off! Get them off!’” she said. “It’s so reassuring to
know that I’m being treated and monitored by some of the top brain tumor people
in the nation.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Her experiences made English
something of a brain tumor expert herself, certainly enough to realize
something was not right when her husband, John, became dizzy and off-balance
after bending over to unplug a computer cord. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">He’d had a couple of bad headaches
in the previous weeks, and that evening in the fall of 2016, there was
something obviously wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“We ruled out stroke pretty quickly,
and our physician ordered an MRI,” English said. “The results came back —
astrocytoma. A brain tumor. We were stunned.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Two days later, John English was in
Markert’s office, and in less than two weeks, had surgery to remove a Grade 2
tumor. His recovery has been robust, and he knows he is lucky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“While we never anticipated having a
second person in the family with a brain tumor, Kathy’s experiences made us
proactive,” John said. “My prognosis is so much better due to the quick
recognition of the tumor, and the quick response by UAB.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Englishes did not consider
themselves prime candidates for brain tumors. Both are pescatarians
(individuals who add fish to a vegetarian diet) who stay fit and keep a close
eye on their health. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“The scientific community still has
much to learn in order to predict the onset of a brain tumor or who is at
risk,” said Markert, who holds the James Garber Galbraith Endowed Chair of
Neurosurgery at UAB and is a senior scientist in the Comprehensive Cancer
Center. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Some, called primary tumors, arise
in the brain. Others are called metastatic tumors, which arise elsewhere in the
body and migrate to the brain.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The good news, Markert says, is that
the landscape for brain tumor therapy is much better now than ever before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“A diagnosis of a malignant brain
tumor is still devastating, but we’ve come a long way,” he said. “The horizon
is very bright for the development of even more impactful treatments in the
very near future.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Markert credits improved imaging
with some of that optimism. Improvements in neuroimaging can now reveal much
more information about the makeup of tumors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“We used to classify tumors based
simply on their microscopic appearance,” Markert said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“We are now able to look at
mutations within tumor cells, and we’ve found that certain sets of mutations
are associated with different tumor types and subtypes. This really is
precision medicine, as we can now tailor therapy based on our better
understanding of the genetic signature of an individual tumor.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A new oral chemotherapy agent called
temozolomide is a good example. It is effective on some tumors, but others are
resistant to the drug. Advances in genetic testing can predict which patients
will respond best to the drug and which will not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Another new agent, aminolevulinic
acid, or 5-ALA, is used in a fluorescence imaging technique. The drug is
absorbed into tumors and causes them to glow when viewed on an MRI. Surgeons
can then better visualize the tumor, especially at its boundaries with healthy
cells. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Those boundaries are usually
indistinct, and the line between tumor and healthy tissue can be blurred. 5-ALA
helps guide surgeons as they attempt to remove as much of a tumor as possible
while leaving healthy tissue intact. 5-ALA is expected to be approved for use
by the FDA in the near future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">New technology will soon be in place
at UAB, such as intraoperative MRI scanning, where surgeons will have the
ability to do real-time MRI scans in the operating room during surgery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Another advance, also based on
improved MRI use, will employ lasers surgically inserted into the tumor to
precisely destroy tumor cells with heat energy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Markert says proton therapy, an
option over traditional radiation technology and coming to UAB in 2019, can be
a valuable tool for pediatric tumors or tumors situated close to delicate
structures such as the brain stem or optic nerve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Another promising therapy has been
under investigation in Markert’s lab for years. In 2001, Markert and his
colleagues published initial results of a first-generation genetically
engineered herpes virus as a therapy to destroy brain tumors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A second generation virus, known as
M032, is currently undergoing clinical trials. The virus infects tumor cells
and replicates, while leaving healthy cells alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The act of viral replication in the
tumor kills the infected tumor cells and causes the tumor cell to act as a
factory to produce new viruses. As the tumor cell dies, progeny viruses are
released from the cell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">These viruses infect other tumor
cells in the vicinity and continue the process of tumor killing. The virus also
causes the patient’s own immune system to attack the tumor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“This process, especially combined
with advances in immunotherapy, presents a very promising approach to treating
tumors,” Markert said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Markert explains that the body’s
immune system is designed to patrol for foreign cells in the body, including
mutated cancer cells. The immune system’s killer T cells have an off-switch,
known as a checkpoint. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The checkpoint is usually turned
off, keeping T cells from attacking healthy cells. It turns on — again, usually
— in the presence of a foreign cell, prompting T cells to attack. But tumor cells
are very good at fooling the checkpoint so it remains in the off position. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors
are under development which would turn the checkpoint on, stimulating the T
cells to attack the tumor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“One approach we are considering now
is a combination of viral and immunotherapy,” Markert said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“The viral therapy using our
modified herpes virus should produce a vibrant immune response, followed by
introduction of the checkpoint inhibitors, which would turn on the checkpoints
and activate individual T cells.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Markert is excited about the future
of brain tumor research and treatment. As a leading academic medical center
home of one of the nation’s </span><a href="http://www3.ccc.uab.edu/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Comprehensive Cancer Centers</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, and the state’s leader in personalized medicine,
UAB is primed to be at the forefront of new discovery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“We have a remarkable array of
talent here, in radiation oncology, hematology/oncology, neurology,
neurosurgery, and other fields,” he said. “We have an outstanding research
enterprise in both adult and pediatric brain tumors. It’s an exciting time to
be in this field.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Brain cancer is not the most
prevalent kind of cancer — breast and lung cancer top the list; but malignant
brain tumors can be particularly devastating. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The National Cancer Institute
predicts 33,800 new cases in 2017. The NCI also estimates that 16,700 Americans
will die of brain cancer this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“We are turning a corner, but there
are still too many people who die from brain tumors each year,” Markert said. “These
patients and their families are very courageous people. We owe it to them to
find better treatments.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Englishes had two firsthand
experiences to convince them to continue to be proactive and involved in their
health care.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Pay attention to your body, and if
something unusual happens, don’t blow it off,” John said. “Be aggressive in
following up. We are two people who paid attention to our medical issues and,
as a result, got the right care to provide us the best possible outcomes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-81221526394682897442017-06-29T11:48:00.000-07:002017-06-29T11:48:07.344-07:00Minimizing the Effects of Radiation Injury<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>New research conducted at the University of Kansas
Medical Center could make treatment for gastrointestinal cancers safer—while
also helping to mitigate the dangers of nuclear accidents and terrorist
attacks</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZygVhSBcyKA/WVVLDlI79sI/AAAAAAAAQeU/rKf3gte4mCMzOmJWv9ra1JDJd4O7ovzGACLcBGAs/s1600/Medical%2BSymbol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="114" data-original-width="108" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZygVhSBcyKA/WVVLDlI79sI/AAAAAAAAQeU/rKf3gte4mCMzOmJWv9ra1JDJd4O7ovzGACLcBGAs/s400/Medical%2BSymbol.jpg" width="378" /></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Newswise, June 29, 2017 — New
research conducted at the University of Kansas Medical Center could make
treatment for gastrointestinal cancers safer—while also helping to mitigate the
dangers of nuclear accidents and terrorist attacks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The research, led by Subhrajit Saha,
Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at KU
Medical Center, began more than five years ago when his team embarked on a
quest to understand the biology behind radiation-induced gastrointestinal
syndrome (RIGS)—a serious risk for people being treated for stomach,
pancreatic, colorectal and other cancers in the abdominal area.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">RIGS prevents the body from
absorbing nutrients and often causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. RIGS occurs
primarily when radiation treatment for these abdominal cancers destroys healthy
tissue in the GI tract, especially the outer layer of the intestines, known as
the epithelium. And when the epithelium is lost, bacteria can spill into the
body and cause sepsis, which can kill a patient. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Because there is no drug treatment
for RIGS, doctors must turn to radiation to treat their patients, which
requires them to use extreme caution up to the point of compromising on the
necessary treatment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This is of specific concern to
cancer patients as more than half of patients treated with abdominal
radiotherapy are affected by RIGS.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">"That's why when the colon is
involved, doctors don't want to treat with radiation," said Saha.
"And often they can't use aggressive doses of radiation even for other
organs in the area because of the sensitivity of the epithelium. They have to
be very, very careful."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">RIGS also occurs when people are
subjected to radiation through a nuclear accident or a nuclear attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> "This is hugely significant—the
government has been investing in research for an effective countermeasure for
terrorism involving radiation," says Saha. "The problem is, it's hard
to treat someone post-radiation because the damage happens so fast, and the
patient typical dies in seven to 10 days."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Macrophages, the Pac-Men for cellular debris, help
intestinal stem cells regenerate</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">While Saha was still at the Albert
Einstein College of Medicine in New York, his research team began with the
knowledge that one reason RIGS is so hard to treat is that the abdominal area
of the body has a high turnover of intestinal stem cells. Cells like these that
divide quickly are especially susceptible to damage from radiation because
their DNA gets more exposed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">To figure out how to get around
that, the researchers needed to know more about the biology of the epithelium,
specifically how intestinal stem cells (ISCs) renew and proliferate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">They published their first discovery
six years ago, after they injected radiation-injured mice with stromal cells, a
mixture of different cell types that make up connective tissue, and found that
they stimulated intestinal stem cell regeneration and lessened the damage done
by RIGS.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Now they knew that ISCs depend on
the stromal niche to reproduce new cells, and of the different types of stromal
cells, the macrophages were critical. Macrophages are white blood cells that
eat up cellular debris, especially infected cells.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> "We knew that macrophages
are the missionaries of the immune system," said Saha. "But we
learned they also assist in organ growth, repair, and regeneration."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The question was how?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Solving the mystery of intestinal stem cell
renewal</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The first question for Saha, who had
by then moved to KU Medical Center, was whether macrophages can help intestinal
stem cells self-renew and multiply. The researchers had read studies showing
that WNT proteins—a family of proteins that regulate the proliferation of
cells, and related signaling—were very important for the intestinal stem cell
renewal and proliferation. Moreover, they have found that macrophages also
release these WNT proteins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">To learn more, the researchers set
up a mouse model to halt the release of all 19 varieties of WNTs specifically
produced by macrophages. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">They found that mice without
macrophage-derived WNT were much more sensitive to radiation and had more
severe intestinal injury from radiation compared to mice who had not been
treated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">"This told me that
macrophage-derived WNT is important for intestinal resistance to
radiation," said Saha.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">For Saha, this discovery made for
one of his best days in the lab, but it also was just the first finding.
Additional studies showed that damage could be repaired in mice treated with macrophages
capable of releasing WNT proteins. The intestinal epithelium was repaired, and
the intestinal stem cells were also rescued.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Multiple subsequent studies have
since reinforced their findings. They have confirmed that WNT release by
macrophages is essential to the regeneration of intestinal stem cells and
repair of epithelial tissue. Interestingly, in mice not exposed to radiation,
WNTs don't seem critical to keeping the intestines healthy. But where there is
a need for regeneration, they become critical.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">"We were very much
surprised," Saha said. "Macrophages are known for immune system
surveillance, but now we know that they can get involved in organ repair."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It's all in the packaging</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Working in collaboration with Andrew
Godwin, Ph.D., deputy director of the University of Kansas Center Center, and
his team, Saha's team also observed that macrophages release the WNTs via
extracellular vesicles, tiny sacs of membrane released from the surface of
cells. "That was not known," said Saha. "Now we know how WNTS
are transported in the system."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Armed with this knowledge,
researchers can begin to think about developing therapies using
macrophage-derived WNT to allow doctors to treat gastrointestinal cancers more
aggressively and lessen the damage done in the event of a nuclear mishap. Their
study was published last year in </span><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13096" target="_blank" title="Nature Communications"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Nature Communications</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Saha's team is currently working to
develop small molecules that can modulate these macrophages to augment their
role in regeneration. "We are confident that we can come up with an answer
for the mitigation of acute radiation syndrome very soon," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-28887394799457431892017-06-29T11:36:00.000-07:002017-06-29T11:36:49.340-07:00Good Nutrition, Physical Training and Mental Exercises Can Reverse Physical Frailty in the Elderly: NUS Study<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UlT5fTSbJ18/WVVHhDhxlLI/AAAAAAAAQeI/hMZfbOtl91kLDXpkCaIOD-46rnASVNfeQCLcBGAs/s1600/road%2Bmap%2Bto%2Blife.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="325" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UlT5fTSbJ18/WVVHhDhxlLI/AAAAAAAAQeI/hMZfbOtl91kLDXpkCaIOD-46rnASVNfeQCLcBGAs/s400/road%2Bmap%2Bto%2Blife.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, June 29, 2017 — Physical
frailty is common among the elderly and is strongly associated with cognitive
impairment, dementia and adverse health outcomes such as disability,
hospitalisation, and mortality. A four-year study conducted by researchers from
the National University of Singapore (NUS) showed that a combination of
nutritional, physical and cognitive interventions can reverse physical frailty
in elderly people.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Associate Professor Ng Tze Pin, who
is from the Department of Psychological Medicine at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School
of Medicine, and the leader of the research team, said that earlier research
findings from the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Studies (SLAS) by his team
showed that physically frail elderly persons compared to their robust
counterparts are eight times as likely to be cognitive impaired at the same
time, and if they are not cognitively impaired, they are more than five times
at risk of becoming cognitively impaired on follow up three years later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“In addition, physically frail
elderly persons are two to 10 times as likely to become functionally disabled
on daily living activities, hospitalised and die earlier than their robust
counterparts. When physical frailty and cognitive impairment are present
together in the same individual, he or she is more than 20 times as likely to
become disabled, hospitalised or die earlier. With such compelling evidence, if
it is possible to reduce or even reverse physical frailty in the elderly, we
could greatly improve their quality of life,” Assoc Prof Ng explained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Assoc Prof Ng and his team conducted
a four-year trial between 2010 and 2013, involving 250 community-living older
persons in Singapore who were 65 years old and above and who showed signs of
frailty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Our study shows that it is feasible
to identify pre-frail and frail older persons in the community and primary care
settings and provide them with lifestyle interventions to reverse frailty. We
found that better nutrition, physical training and mental exercises can reverse
frailty, enhance muscle strength and gait speed, reduce depressive symptoms and
improve cognitive functioning. As such, these interventions can go a long way
to reducing the high prevalence of physical disability, hospitalisation and
mortality in an ageing society like Singapore,” Assoc Prof Ng added.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fighting frailty in
elderly people</span></u><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Participants for the trial were
recruited from October 2009 to August 2012 from various senior activity centres
in Singapore. They were randomly allocated to receive lifestyle interventions
in one of five groups for a period of six months. Three groups of participants
were provided with either physical training, nutritional enhancement or
cognitive training, while the fourth group received a combination of all three
interventions. The last group was a control group which did not receive any
intervention. The trial was conducted in collaboration with Khoo Teck Puat
Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Assessment of the participants’
frailty and other outcomes were made before the start of intervention. During
the six-month trial, the participants’ progress were measured after three
months and six months. A follow-up assessment was also conducted six months
after the trial (i.e. 12 months after the start of intervention).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The NUS researchers found that the
three types of intervention, as well as a combination of all three approaches,
were able to reduce frailty and depressive symptoms, and improve cognitive
functioning of the elderly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Assoc Prof Ng noted, “The important
message from our studies is that frailty is not an inevitable part of ageing.
There is much that older people can do for themselves to avoid becoming frail
and disabled, so it is vital that they pay attention to good quality diet and
nutrition, engage in physical exercise, and participate in socially and
cognitively stimulating activities.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Intervention programmes
to benefit the elderly</span></u><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Following the encouraging findings
from the trial, the research team is working with the Geriatric Education and
Research Institute (GERI) and social service organisations to develop and implement
pilot frailty screening and multi-domain lifestyle intervention community
programmes. They hope that such programmes when successfully scaled up for mass
intervention can help improve the physical, psychological and cognitive
well-being of large numbers of senior citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-35512666084644848302017-06-29T07:24:00.000-07:002017-06-29T07:24:13.567-07:00I Can Hear You Now: Clinic Provides Free Hearing AIDS for Low-Income Adults<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3BF7OhyQmyk/WVUNCnZotrI/AAAAAAAAQdk/MvOBaF1WWDQkgWG7ke8TJnA9ipByvsM0ACLcBGAs/s1600/hearing%2Baids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3BF7OhyQmyk/WVUNCnZotrI/AAAAAAAAQdk/MvOBaF1WWDQkgWG7ke8TJnA9ipByvsM0ACLcBGAs/s1600/hearing%2Baids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3BF7OhyQmyk/WVUNCnZotrI/AAAAAAAAQdk/MvOBaF1WWDQkgWG7ke8TJnA9ipByvsM0ACLcBGAs/s1600/hearing%2Baids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="502" height="223" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3BF7OhyQmyk/WVUNCnZotrI/AAAAAAAAQdk/MvOBaF1WWDQkgWG7ke8TJnA9ipByvsM0ACLcBGAs/s400/hearing%2Baids.jpg" width="400" /></a>U</div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">University of Michigan Photo</span></i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">How a new Ann Arbor program helps
those with hearing loss — and provides a blueprint other academic medical
centers may follow</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">New Ann Arbor program helps those
with hearing loss — and provides a blueprint other academic medical centers may
follow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Newswise, June 29, 2017 — Low-income
people dealing with hearing loss just got a little hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Doctors from Michigan Medicine’s </span><a href="https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/otolaryngology" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Department of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> partnered with the Hope Clinic to create Hope for
Hearing, a program that provides free hearing aids to uninsured adults.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The partnership between the free
independent clinic and University of Michigan started in 2010 to provide Hope
Clinic patients with access to specialty care.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“We saw there was a need for hearing
aids,” says Aileen P. Wertz, M.D., a fifth-year resident in otolaryngology who
also sees patients at the Hope Clinic. “Over half of the patients referred to
us with ear complaints had hearing loss and could simply benefit from a hearing
aid.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">After recognizing the need, Wertz
and her colleagues looked to design a self-sufficient subspecialty program
within the clinic that could act as a model for similar projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">They began by soliciting hearing aid
donations and a hearing aid verification system and securing a $5,000 grant for
a computer enabled with audiological software and other equipment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Primary care providers then referred
adults with hearing complaints to the program.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Patients went through an initial
assessment that included a formal audiogram and screening evaluation. If the
audiometric test suggested a significant hearing loss and the otolaryngologist
determined that a patient was medically cleared for hearing aids, the patient
was referred to audiologists for hearing aid counseling and fitting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In a study published in </span><a href="http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2632255?utm_source=Silverchair_Information_Systems&utm_campaign=FTM_06132017&utm_content=news_releases&cmp=1&utm_medium=email" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">JAMA Otolaryngology—Head & Neck
Surgery</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, Wertz and her
colleagues examined the feasibility and outcomes of the program.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“During the study period — September
2013 through March 2016 — we garnered 84 hearing aids, and most of them were
donated,” says Wertz. “Thirty-four patients were determined to be eligible for
the free program and were offered hearing aid services. Of them, 20 patients
(59 percent) have been fitted or are being fitted with free hearing aids.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The cost of hearing aids<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Most people who need hearing aids
are surprised that neither Medicare nor most commercial insurance plans cover
the cost. As a result, there is no price negotiation or consumer benefit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Wertz says the average Hope for
Hearing patient would pay about $2,260 to obtain equivalent equipment
themselves or pay $1,210 for the most basic hearing aid available at U-M.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The only costs for Hope for Hearing
patients are batteries for the hearing aid and transportation to and from their
clinic visits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What’s ahead<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Deemed a success with room to grow,
Wertz says the Hope for Hearing program is looking for ongoing funding to cover
the costs of ear mold and hearing aid supplements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Wertz attributes some of the success
to date to the strong relationship between the Hope Clinic and U-M.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“This hearing aid program began with
an established, successful academic center-community program partnership,” she
says. “That was an important factor because enthusiastic audiologists and
otolaryngologists were already invested and volunteering regularly at clinics.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Wertz suggests that other
institutions considering similar programs think about the target population’s
cultural needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Many patients in this program have
required an interpreter to get through the audiologic evaluation and hearing
aid fitting,” says Wertz. “Our program has been fortunate that a family member
or friend with bilingual abilities has been able to serve as an interpreter for
appointments.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-18298317380152436162017-06-06T08:05:00.003-07:002017-06-06T08:05:42.317-07:00Stem Cell Treatment May Restore Vision to Patients with Damaged Corneas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_gKMMsXQ7-4/WTbEsZ5ntcI/AAAAAAAAPvI/MfjMlKxaDdEdLhiMgScsOBa5T55GzQykgCLcB/s1600/eye%2Bexam%252C%2Bblindness.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="320" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_gKMMsXQ7-4/WTbEsZ5ntcI/AAAAAAAAPvI/MfjMlKxaDdEdLhiMgScsOBa5T55GzQykgCLcB/s400/eye%2Bexam%252C%2Bblindness.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, June 6, 2017 — Researchers working as part of the
University of Georgia’s Regenerative Bioscience Center have developed a new way
to identify and sort stem cells that may one day allow clinicians to restore
vision to people with damaged corneas using the patient’s own eye tissue. They
published their findings in </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Biophysical Journa</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The cornea is a transparent layer of tissue covering the front
of the eye, and its health is maintained by a group of cells called limbal stem
cells. But when these cells are damaged by trauma or disease, the cornea loses
its ability to self-repair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Damage to the limbus, which is where the clear part of the
eye meets the white part of the eye, can cause the cornea to break down very
rapidly,” said James Lauderdale, an associate professor of cellular biology in
UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and paper co-author. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The only way to repair the cornea right now is do a limbal
cell transplant from donated tissue.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In their study, researchers used a new type of highly
sensitive atomic force microscopy, or AFM, to analyze eye cell cultures.
Created by Todd Sulchek, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at
Georgia Tech, the technique allowed researchers to probe and exert force on
individual cells to learn more about the cell’s overall health and its ability
to turn into different types of mature cells.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They found that limbal stem cells were softer and more pliable
than other cells, meaning they could use this simple measure as a rapid and
cost-effective way to identify cells from a patient’s own tissue that are
suitable for transplantation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Todd’s technology is unique in the tiniest and most sensitive
detection to change,” said Lauderdale. “Just think about trying to gently
dimple or prod the top of an individual cell without killing it; with
conventional AFM it’s close to impossible.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Building on their findings related to cell softness, the
research team also developed a microfluidic cell sorting device capable of
filtering out specific cells from a tissue sample.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With this device, the team can collect the patient’s own
tissue, sort and culture the cells and then place them back into the patient
all in one day, said Lauderdale. It can take weeks to perform this task using
conventional methods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The researchers are quick to caution that more tests must be
done before this technique is used in human patients, but it may one day serve
as a viable treatment for the more than 1 million Americans that lose their
vision to damaged corneas every year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The group first started this research with the hope of helping
children with aniridia, an inherited malformation of the eye that leads to
breakdown of the cornea at an early age.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because aniridia affects only one in 60,000 children, few
organizations are willing to commit the resources necessary to combat the
disease, Lauderdale said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Our first goal in working with such a rare disease was to
help this small population of children, because we feel a close connection to
all of them,” says Lauderdale, who has worked with aniridia patients for many
years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“However, at the end of the day this technology could help
hundreds of thousands of people, like the military who are also interested in
corneal damage, common in desert conditions.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Steven Stice, a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, who
plays an important role in fostering cross-interdisciplinary collaboration as
director of the RBC, initially brought the researchers together and encouraged
a seed grant application through the center for Regenerative Engineering and
Medicine, or REM, a joint collaboration between Emory University, Georgia Tech
and UGA. “A culture is developing around seed funding that is all about
interdisciplinary collaboration, sharing of resources, and coming together to
make things happen,” said Stice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Government funding agencies place a high premium on combining
skills and disciplines. We can no longer afford to work in an isolated
laboratory using a singular approach.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The REM seed funding program is intended to stimulate new,
unconventional collaborative research and requires equal partnership of faculty
from two of the participating institutions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We tend to get siloed experimentally,” says Lauderdale. “To a
biologist like me, all cells are very different and all atomic force
microscopes are the same. To an engineer like Todd it’s just the opposite.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The study, “Cellular Stiffness as a Novel Stemness Marker in
the Corneal Limbus,” is available at </span><a href="http://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(16)30771-8" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(16)30771-8</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Funding was provided by an NIH NIGMS Biotechnology Training
Grant on Cell and Tissue Engineering, the Knights Templar Eye Foundation, the
Center for Regenerative Engineering and Medicine, the Sharon Stewart Aniridia
Research Trust and the NSF CMMI division.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-66307423183382253832017-06-06T07:59:00.001-07:002017-06-06T07:59:47.586-07:00Assessing the Impact of Stress in Age-Related Macular Degeneration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MgG9ZrzPMLo/WTbDTrjIaPI/AAAAAAAAPu8/roY7z2Zi25Q9sBIFhDREcbpef-3-n6W-QCLcB/s1600/eye%2Bcloseup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="284" height="309" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MgG9ZrzPMLo/WTbDTrjIaPI/AAAAAAAAPu8/roY7z2Zi25Q9sBIFhDREcbpef-3-n6W-QCLcB/s400/eye%2Bcloseup.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, June 6, 2017</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">–
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss among
older adults in the United States, is often associated with psychological
stress. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A simple stress rating scale (the Perceived Stress Scale) is a valid
and useful way to evaluate the connection between stress and progressive vision
loss from AMD, according to a study in the March issue of </span><a href="http://optvissci.com/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Optometry and Vision Science</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, the official journal of the </span><a href="http://www.aaopt.org/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">American Academy of Optometry</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">. The journal is published by </span><a href="http://www.wolterskluwer.com/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wolters Kluwer</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Because AMD is an inflammatory disease, we are studying
the link between inflammation, stress, and AMD treatment outcomes,"
reported Bradley E. Dougherty, OD, PhD, of The Ohio State University College of
Optometry. "In the end, we hope to better understand how general
well-being influences disease outcomes."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Measuring Stress May Aid in Assessing the Life
Impact and Progression of AMD--</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Patients with vision loss in AMD
experience high rates of stress, anxiety, and other problems, including
depression. Less is known about the relationship between the stress that AMD
patients experience and the severity of their disease—for example, whether
stress can cause AMD to worsen or not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a well-established stress
rating scale that can predict objective biological markers of stress, as well
as the risk of stress-related diseases. In previous studies, the PSS has been
shown to be predictive of general markers of inflammation, including C-reactive
proteins. In the new study, Dr. Dougherty and colleagues extend the use of this
survey to determine how well it measures perceived stress in patients with
vision loss due to AMD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One hundred thirty-seven patients with AMD, average age 82
years, completed the ten-question PSS. Using a technique called Rasch analysis,
Dr. Dougherty and colleagues evaluated the PSS's performance as a stress
measure in AMD. About half of the patients filled out the stress questionnaire
on a day when they received injections of anti-VEGF antibodies—a relatively new
treatment that can slow the progression of the "wet" form of AMD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nine of the ten questions normally used with the PSS performed
well with the patient group studied. These nine items were also able to
separate between patients with higher versus lower levels of perceived stress.
For some PSS items, responses differed according to patient age and visual
acuity level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, the overall PSS score was not significantly related
to the patients' visual acuity level. Average visual acuity in the better eye for
this group of AMD patients was 20/50, with a range from near normal to very low
vision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"A psychometrically sound, easy-to-administer
questionnaire such as the PSS is important for use with patients with AMD,
given the evidence for increased rates of psychological symptoms in the
population," Dr. Dougherty and coauthors write. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They note that stress-reduction approaches—for example,
"mindfulness" interventions—have led to improved outcomes in patients
with various health conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dr. Dougherty and colleagues also note that stress may be
associated with increased inflammation and that AMD is an inflammatory
disease—raising the possibility that stress may contribute to disease
progression. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Future studies using repeated assessments with the PSS and
measurement of inflammatory markers might provide evidence on how perceived
stress levels affect the risk of AMD progression and worsening vision loss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://journals.lww.com/optvissci/Fulltext/2017/03000/Measurement_of_Perceived_Stress_in_Age_Related.3.aspx"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Click
here to read “Measurement of Perceived Stress in Age-Related Macular
Degeneration.”</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-69779585875991256472017-06-06T07:52:00.000-07:002017-06-06T08:35:59.688-07:00 Slow the Signs of Aging With Sun Protection<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IHHlfIYHpBw/WTbL0kz1i1I/AAAAAAAAPvs/5VQU5oNBrBMJjo1LYItOcAKu-uqacd_OwCLcB/s1600/grain%252C%2Bsunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="524" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IHHlfIYHpBw/WTbL0kz1i1I/AAAAAAAAPvs/5VQU5oNBrBMJjo1LYItOcAKu-uqacd_OwCLcB/s400/grain%252C%2Bsunset.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dermatologist offers advice for spring breakers,
staycationers and everyone in between<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">June 6, 2017— As the winter temperatures begin to thaw, many
may be dreaming of a sun-drenched spring and summer, and some may be hoping to
show off a tan. While these individuals may believe tanning makes them more
beautiful, this habit can actually damage their skin in the long run.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Ultraviolet radiation from the sun and indoor tanning beds
not only can increase your risk of skin cancer but also can contribute to skin
aging,” says board-certified dermatologist Arianne Shadi Kourosh, MD, MPH,
FAAD, director of community health and co-director of the multiethnic skin
clinic in the department of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital in
Boston.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> “Moreover, other forms
of radiation, such as heat and visible light, can negatively impact the skin,
as can pollution, so protecting your skin from the environment can benefit both
your health and appearance.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to Dr. Kourosh, environmental factors can damage the
skin in multiple ways, from UVB rays causing sunburns and uneven pigmentation
to UVA and infrared radiation penetrating more deeply into the skin to damage
existing collagen and reduce collagen production, resulting in wrinkles and
sagging skin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Habitual UV exposure can cause blood vessels to become more
prominent, causing skin redness, she says, while visible light and pollution
can cause uneven skin tone, especially in darker skin types.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Although there have been some impressive strides in
anti-aging treatments, no one product or procedure can completely reverse the
long-term effects of poor skin care decisions, and protective measures are the
cornerstone of good skin care,” Dr. Kourosh says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> “Fortunately, there are
many sunscreen options available to help you protect yourself, including
cosmetic products with SPF. The best sunscreen for each person will depend on
many factors, including genetic makeup, environment and lifestyle
considerations. A board-certified dermatologist can evaluate the unique needs
of your skin and help you develop an appropriate sun protection plan.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since both types of UV rays can damage the skin, Dr. Kourosh
says, it’s important to use a broad-spectrum sunscreen that provides both UVA
and UVB protection, with an SPF of 30 or higher. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She recommends sunscreens containing the active ingredients
zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as a good source of broad-spectrum protection
suitable for sensitive skin. She also says formulations containing antioxidants
may provide some protection against uneven skin tone and aging caused by free
radical damage from infrared light, visible light and pollution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dr. Kourosh recommends utilizing protective clothing like hats
and sunglasses, and she reminds those who will be spending an extended amount
of time in the sun to reapply sunscreen every two hours, or after swimming or
sweating. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While it’s especially important to be vigilant near sand,
water and snow, which can reflect the sun’s rays, sun protection is necessary
regardless of weather or location, as 80 percent of the sun’s UV rays can
penetrate the skin even on cloudy days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition to practicing sun protection, it’s important to
avoid indoor tanning, which exposes users to harmful UV rays that can increase
skin cancer risk and accelerate skin aging. Those who wish to look tan may want
to consider a self-tanning product but should continue using sunscreen with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Whether you’re on a beach vacation or your daily commute,
it’s crucial to protect yourself from exposure to harmful UV rays on a regular
basis,” Dr. Kourosh says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> “If you want healthy,
younger-looking skin, it’s better to prevent now than try to correct later. If
you have questions about sun protection, talk to a board-certified
dermatologist.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-92137831636129578552017-06-06T07:46:00.002-07:002017-06-06T07:46:38.710-07:00Attitude, Lifestyle May Contribute to Skin Cancer Risk Among Latinos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-12of4B8Wo4c/WTbAMrKhnCI/AAAAAAAAPus/VKgccUU1NdoyYZCE51lsrlQkAJ88coihwCLcB/s1600/Sun%2Bfigure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1050" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-12of4B8Wo4c/WTbAMrKhnCI/AAAAAAAAPus/VKgccUU1NdoyYZCE51lsrlQkAJ88coihwCLcB/s400/Sun%2Bfigure.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Dermatologist advises Hispanic patients to be aware
of their risk and take steps toward prevention, detection<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Newswise, June 6, 2017<b>—</b> As the Hispanic population
in the United States continues to grow, the incidence of skin cancer among this
population is growing too. Moreover, Hispanic patients are more likely to be
diagnosed with the disease in its more advanced stages, when it’s more
difficult to treat.<sup>1<o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many Latinos, however, don’t believe they’re at risk,
according to board-certified dermatologist Maritza I. Perez, MD, FAAD, a
clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount
Sinai in New York. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The belief that Hispanic people don’t have to worry about
skin cancer has existed among Latinos for generations,” she says. “They hear it
from their parents and grandparents, and then they pass this belief on to their
children.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and indoor
tanning beds is the most preventable skin cancer risk factor. Many Hispanic
people, however, believe they’re protected from the sun because they have
darker skin tones, Dr. Perez says, and those who get sunburned don’t realize
that the damage to their skin is increasing their skin cancer risk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a result, Dr. Perez says, many Latinos don’t take steps to
protect themselves from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Furthermore, she says, some
Hispanic people go indoor tanning before spending time in the sun, under the
false belief that a “base tan” will protect them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She advises all her patients, regardless of skin color, to
stay out of indoor tanning beds and protect themselves from the sun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because skin cancer is most treatable when detected early and
Latinos are more likely to be diagnosed with the disease in its advanced
stages, Dr. Perez says, it’s also important for this population to perform
regular self-exams to look for new, changing or suspicious spots on their skin.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">People with skin of color are prone to skin cancer in unusual
areas — like on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, under the
nails, and inside the mouth — so she recommends that Hispanic patients be
especially vigilant in performing skin self-exams.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is detected
and treated before it reaches the lymph nodes, the five-year survival rate is
98 percent.<sup>2</sup> “Early detection is vital for skin cancer
survival,” Dr. Perez says. “And if you don’t look for changes on your skin, you
won’t find them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While the Hispanic population’s attitude toward skin cancer
plays a large role in the disease’s incidence among that population, this
group’s access to dermatologic care is also an important factor, according to Dr.
Perez. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many Latino families are uninsured or underinsured, she says,
so they may be less likely to see a dermatologist for a skin cancer evaluation.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Further, when Hispanic patients do visit the doctor, she says,
skin cancer may not be top of mind during the visit, since the belief that
these patients are not at risk for the disease is so pervasive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To help combat these issues, the American Academy of
Dermatology works to raise skin cancer awareness among the underserved Latino
population through its </span><a href="https://www.aad.org/public/spot-skin-cancer/programs/screenings/in-the-community/latino-outreach" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Latino Outreach Program</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition to providing free skin cancer screenings, this
program aims to educate low-income Latino outdoor workers about skin cancer
prevention and detection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The AAD recommends that everyone stay out of indoor tanning
beds and protect themselves from the sun’s harmful UV rays by seeking shade,
wearing protective clothing, and using a broad-spectrum, water-resistant
sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The AAD also encourages everyone to perform regular self-exams
to check themselves for signs of skin cancer and ask a partner to help them
examine hard-to-see areas. Those who notice anything changing, itching or
bleeding on their skin should visit a board-certified dermatologist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While these recommendations apply to all patients, Dr. Perez
says, it’s especially important for Latino patients to understand their skin
cancer risk, take steps to protect themselves and conduct regular skin
self-exams. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Everyone — no matter their skin color — is at risk for skin
cancer,” she says, “so everyone should learn how to protect themselves from the
sun and how to check their skin for suspicious spots.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To learn more about skin cancer prevention and detection, or
to find a free SPOTme® skin cancer screening in your area, visit </span><a href="https://www.aad.org/public/spot-skin-cancer" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">SPOTSkinCancer.org</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-27404509574430205722017-06-06T07:28:00.001-07:002017-06-06T07:29:53.563-07:00Colon Cancer: Early Detection Can Save Your Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pGcH_Jq2DT0/WTa8EM3q_II/AAAAAAAAPuQ/IqV3n3HwqfoXM7-EgVMW3ZCcoLjDdq43wCLcB/s1600/colon%2Bcancer%2Bearly%2Bcheckup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pGcH_Jq2DT0/WTa8EM3q_II/AAAAAAAAPuQ/IqV3n3HwqfoXM7-EgVMW3ZCcoLjDdq43wCLcB/s400/colon%2Bcancer%2Bearly%2Bcheckup.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, June 6, 2017 — Colorectal cancer is the second
leading cause of cancer death for men and women in the United States according
to the American Cancer Society (ACS).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> In fact, the ACS
estimates that 134,490 people in the United States were diagnosed with
colorectal cancer in 2016, including 70,820 men and 63,670 women. In addition,
the ACS estimates that 49,190 people, 26,020 men and 23,170 women, died from
colorectal cancer in 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to Mitchell Rubinoff, M.D., Chair, Gastroenterology,
Valley Medical Group, “In order to reduce the mortality rate of this disease,
it is crucial for individuals to be aware of the signs of colon cancer—and not
hesitate to have any cause for concern checked out as soon as possible. Early
detection saves lives!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What is Colon Cancer?</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Often referred to together as colorectal cancer, colon cancer
is cancer of the large intestine (colon), and rectal cancer is cancer of the
last few inches of the colon. It most often begins as precancerous polyps on
the inside lining of the colon. Colon polyps, as defined by the National
Institutes of Health, are growths on the lining of your colon or rectum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who is At Risk?</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Both men and women are at risk for developing colorectal cancer,
even if they do not have any of the identifiable risk factors such as:• A
family history of colorectal cancer• Being over age 50• Colorectal polyps•
Genetic changes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Early Detection Through Screening Tests</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It is best to catch colorectal cancer before you become
symptomatic. Doctors can actually prevent cancers from ever developing by
removing polyps and they can cure more patients by diagnosing cancer at an
early stage,” explains Dr. Rubinoff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Possible screening tests for colorectal cancer include stool
tests, colonoscopy, or virtual colonoscopy. A colonoscopy is an outpatient
procedure that is used to try to detect colon polyps and remove them before
they can become cancerous. Your doctor will work with you to decide which test
is appropriate for your individual history and symptoms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is also important for individuals who are not showing any
symptoms of colorectal cancer to go for routine screenings. The CDC states that
“The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that adults age 50 to 75 be
screened for colorectal cancer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The decision to be screened after age 75 should be made on an
individual basis. If you are older than 75, ask your doctor if you should be
screened. People at higher risk of developing colorectal cancer should begin
screening at a younger age, and may need to be tested more frequently.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Signs and Symptoms</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are many potential symptoms of colon cancer and it is
important to note that there is a great deal of overlap between colon cancer’s
symptoms and symptoms of other illnesses. And, while it is possible that your
symptoms may be caused by something else, you should still be aware of what to
look out for and make sure to see your doctor right away if you experience any
of the following symptoms:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">• A change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation, or
narrowing of the stool, that lasts for more than a few days• A feeling that you
need to have a bowel movement that is not relieved by doing so• Rectal
bleeding• Dark stools, or blood in the stool (often, though, the stool will
look normal)• Cramping or abdominal (belly) pain• Weakness and fatigue•
Unintended weight loss<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Recognizing these symptoms, which are outlined by the American
Cancer Society, is the first step to early detection. Once you alert your
doctor to these symptoms, you may be sent for screening tests to confirm a
diagnosis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Prevention</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You can help to prevent cancer by exercising, eating fresh
fruits and vegetables, and maintaining a healthy weight. Be proactive and take
charge of your health!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-37083902586163888342017-06-03T09:36:00.000-07:002017-06-03T09:36:39.495-07:00Old Cells That Refuse to Die May Lead to Treatments for Age-Related Diseases<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TROKanNcI4g/WTLlYzekPyI/AAAAAAAAPss/K1BFKRqgGtAutYxeFKzEQhgnKgLNydWLACLcB/s1600/dna%252C%2Bgenetics.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="223" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TROKanNcI4g/WTLlYzekPyI/AAAAAAAAPss/K1BFKRqgGtAutYxeFKzEQhgnKgLNydWLACLcB/s400/dna%252C%2Bgenetics.JPG" width="278" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, June 3, 2017 — One of the things that happens to our
bodies as we age is that certain cells start to accumulate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So-called senescent cells – cells that “retire” and stop
dividing but refuse to die – are always present, and they even serve some
important functions, such as in wound repair. But in aging organs, these cells
don’t get cleared away as they should, and they can clutter up the place. Dr.
Valery Krizhanovsky of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of
Molecular Cell Biology is revealing just how these cells are tied to disorders
of aging and why they refuse to go away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His work is not only opening new windows onto the aging
process, but is pointing to new directions in treatments for many of these
disorders and diseases.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Research into cellular senescence has taken off in recent
years, due to findings that show that clearing these cells from various parts
of the body can reverse certain aspects of aging and disease processes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pharmaceutical industries have taken note, as well, of
research that could lead to the development of drugs that might target
senescent cells in specific organs or tissues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In basic research conducted on human cell cultures and on
mice, Dr. Krizhanovsky and his team asked, “what, exactly, ties senescent cells
to aging?” Are they, for example, a primary cause of age-related disease, or a
side effect? And why don’t these cells die, despite being damaged, making the
“clean-up crews” of the immune system clear them away?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The researchers hypothesized that the answer to the second
question might lie in a family of cellular proteins that regulate a type of
cell suicide known as apoptosis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They identified two proteins in this family that prevent
apoptosis and which were overproduced in the senescent cells. When they
injected mice that had an extra supply of senescent cells with molecules that
inhibit these two proteins, the cells underwent apoptosis and were then
eliminated, and there were signs of improvement in the tissue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“In small amounts, these cells can prevent tumors from
growing, help wounds clot, and start the healing process,” says Dr.
Krizhanovsky. “But as they amass, they trigger inflammation and even cancer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Certain common age-related diseases have been shown to be
associated with this buildup of senescent cells – for example, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease<i> (</i>COPD) – and Dr. Krizhanovsky is
hoping to apply these findings to research into treatments for such diseases. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The trick, he says, will be to target the offensive cells
without causing undue side effects. He has been developing mouse models of COPD
and asking whether clearing senescent cells from just the lungs can prevent or
ease the disease. Yeda Research and Development, Co., Ltd., the Weizmann
Institute’s technology transfer arm, is working with Dr. Krizhanovsky to patent
and license his discoveries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-43017205584903920812017-06-03T09:27:00.000-07:002017-06-03T09:27:14.086-07:00Another Reason to Exercise: Burning Bone Fat – a Key to Better Bone Health UNC School of Medicine researchers use new imaging methods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lNUHw0nKs34/WTLjPm59VII/AAAAAAAAPso/SGHKI4dmT4sD3MmsWtsuaeHuKBOFTT_ZACLcB/s1600/Exercise%252C%2Bbreak.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="325" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lNUHw0nKs34/WTLjPm59VII/AAAAAAAAPso/SGHKI4dmT4sD3MmsWtsuaeHuKBOFTT_ZACLcB/s400/Exercise%252C%2Bbreak.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, June 3, 2017 – It’s a fat-burning secret anyone
interested in bone health should know. For the first time, UNC School of
Medicine researchers show that exercising burns the fat found within bone
marrow and offers evidence that this process improves bone quality and the
amount of bone in a matter of weeks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The study, published in the <i>Journal of Bone and
Mineral Research,</i> also suggests obese individuals – who often have
worse bone quality – may derive even greater bone health benefits from
exercising than their lean counterparts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“One of the main clinical implications of this research is
that exercise is not just good, but amazing for bone health,” said lead author
Maya Styner, MD, a physician and assistant professor of endocrinology and
metabolism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“In just a very short period of time, we saw that running was
building bone significantly in mice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Although research in mice is not directly translatable to the
human condition, the kinds of stem cells that produce bone and fat in mice are
the same kind that produce bone and fat in humans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition to its implications for obesity and bone health,
Styner said the research also could help illuminate some of the factors behind
bone degradation associated with conditions like diabetes, arthritis, anorexia,
and the use of steroid medications.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In her patients, Styner is all too familiar with the chronic
toll of osteoporosis and fractures. This new evidence shows it’s possible to
use exercise to reverse some of the effects on bones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I see a lot of patients with poor bone health, and I always
talk to them about what a dramatic effect exercise can have on bones,
regardless of what the cause of their bone condition is,” said Styner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“With obesity, it seems that you get even more bone formation
from exercise. Our studies of bone biomechanics show that the quality and the
strength of the bone is significantly increased with exercise and even more so
in the obese exercisers” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Getting to the marrow of the matter</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bone and marrow are more dynamic than you might think. Marrow,
in particular, is a hub of activity, coordinating the formation of bone and
cartilage while simultaneously churning out blood cells, immune cells, and
cancerous cells.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Marrow also produces fat, which has a lot to do with its
vaunted status in cuisines around the world. But the physiological role of bone
marrow fat in the body – and even whether it is beneficial or harmful for one’s
health – has remained somewhat mysterious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Generally, marrow fat has been thought to comprise a special
fat reserve that is not used to fuel energy during exercise in the same way
other fat stores are used throughout the body during exercise. The new study
offers evidence to the contrary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Styner’s work also offers fundamental insights on how marrow
fat forms and the impact it has on bone health. Previous studies have suggested
that a higher amount of marrow fat increases the risk of fractures and other
problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“There’s been intense interest in marrow fat because it’s
highly associated with states of low bone density, but scientists still haven’t
understood its physiologic purpose,” said Styner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We know that exercise has a profound effect on fat elsewhere
in the body, and we wanted to use exercise as a tool to understand the fat in
the marrow.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Vanishing fat cells</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The researchers performed their experiments in two groups of
mice. One group was fed a normal diet (lean mice) and the other received a
high-fat diet (obese mice) starting a month after birth. When they were four
months old, half the mice in each group were given a running wheel to use
whenever they liked for the next six weeks. Because mice like to run, the group
with access to a wheel tended to spend a lot of time exercising.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The researchers analyzed the animals’ body composition, marrow
fat and bone quantity at various points. Predictably, the obese mice started
with more fat cells and larger fat cells in their marrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> After exercising for
six weeks, both obese and lean mice showed a significant reduction in the
overall size of fat cells and the overall amount fat in the marrow. In these
respects, the marrow fat of exercising obese mice looked virtually identical to
the marrow fat of lean mice, even those that exercised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps more surprising was the dramatic difference in the
number of fat cells present in the marrow, which showed no change in lean mice
but dropped by more than half in obese mice that exercised compared to obese
mice that were sedentary. The tests also revealed that exercise improved the
thickness of bone, and that this effect was particularly pronounced in obese
mice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to Styner, all of this points to the conclusion that
marrow fat can be burned off through exercise and that this process is good for
bones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Obesity appears to increase a fat depot in the bone, and this
depot behaves very much like abdominal and other fat depots,” said Styner.
“Exercise is able to reduce the size of this fat depot and burn it for fuel and
at the same time build stronger, larger bones.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Setting the stage</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The research leaves a few lingering mysteries. A big one is
figuring out the exact relationship between burning marrow fat and building
better bone. It could be that when fat cells are burned during exercise, the
marrow uses the released energy to make more bone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Or, because both fat and bone cells come from parent cells
known as mesenchymal stem cells, it could be that exercise somehow stimulates
these stem cells to churn out more bone cells and less fat cells.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">More research will be needed to parse this out. “What we <i>can</i> say
is there’s a lot of evidence suggesting that marrow fat is being used as fuel
to make more bone, rather than there being an increase in the diversion of stem
cells into bone,” said Styner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But marrow fat, being encased in bone, isn’t easy to study.
The team’s new research represents a leap forward not only in understanding
bone marrow fat but also in the tools to study it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The group’s </span><a href="http://news.unchealthcare.org/news/2014/june/fat-of-the-bone"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">previous
work</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> relied
on micro CT imaging, which requires the use of a toxic tracer to measure marrow
fat. In the new study, they took advantage of UNC’s 9.4 TMRI, a sophisticated
MRI machine of which there are only a few around the country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Using MRI to assess marrow fat eliminates the need for the
toxic tracer and allows highly detailed imaging of living organisms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“If we want to take this technique to the human level, we
could study marrow fat in humans in a much more reliable fashion now,” said
Styner. “And our work shows this is possible.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The team also developed techniques to perform a much more
detailed assessment of the number and size of fat cells within the marrow, and
even examined some of the key proteins involved in the formation and reduction
of bone marrow fat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Styner is now working with collaborators to adapt these
methods for studying the bone marrow dynamics that might be at work in other
conditions, including anorexia and post-menopausal osteoporosis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-65055933558444804332017-06-03T09:15:00.001-07:002017-06-03T09:15:28.988-07:00Better Self-Management Improving VA Outcomes for Chronic Pain Care<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fLfwet-keY4/WTLggnFA3bI/AAAAAAAAPsg/nLrDdjsudAcESOdaaKo_WxMjc20ztOyWQCLcB/s1600/stress%2Bcausing%2Bpain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="209" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fLfwet-keY4/WTLggnFA3bI/AAAAAAAAPsg/nLrDdjsudAcESOdaaKo_WxMjc20ztOyWQCLcB/s400/stress%2Bcausing%2Bpain.JPG" width="269" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Newswise, June 3, 2017– Self-management programs are teaching
veterans with chronic pain to become more active, manage symptoms, reduce
stigma and frustration, and minimize depression and other mood disorders,
according to a VA researcher speaking today at the American Pain Society Annual
Scientific Conference, </span><a href="http://www.americanpainsociety.org/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">www.americanpainsociety.org</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Robert Kerns, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, neurology and
psychology at Yale University, spent 38 years practicing in VA healthcare, most
recently the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He reported in a plenary session presentation that the VA’s
applications of cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) and other approaches are
helping veterans better manage their pain through standardized pain
assessments, alternative therapies, patient education and self-care. The
VA also is succeeding in reducing drug use. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The proportion of VA patients receiving high doses of opioids
has decreased significantly in the last four years concurrent with greater use
of non-drug alternative pain therapies,” said Kerns. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Several trials have shown that when patients are engaged in
their own care they have less pain, less depression, and are more physically
active.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The VA estimated in one study that 44 percent of soldiers in
an Army infantry brigade reported chronic pain three months after returning
from tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq – double the rate among
civilians. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Spinal disorders have increased by 300 percent in the last 50
years and now rank as the number-one cause of disability in the United States
and in the military.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kerns added the National Pain Strategy’s strong advocacy of
self-care will provide more educational resources and greater incentives to
help physicians empower their patients to become more proficient at managing
and coping with their pain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The National Pain Strategy, released last year by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, places strong emphasis on
self-management and patient education as critical pathways for improving
treatment of chronic pain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kerns added that the VA is funding several research projects
to evaluate the efficacy self-management interventions for persistent pain,
including novel approaches that employ advanced communication technologies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Specifically for pain management, self-care programs involve
gaining knowledge about pain and building skills and confidence to prevent,
cope with and reduce pain,” said Kerns. The overall objective is to
promote adoption of an effective approach to pain self-management, similar to
models for treating chronic illnesses.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kerns added that in re-conceptualizing pain as a chronic
disease, it is imperative to understand that pain management is not a cure,
realistic therapy goals must be established, and the overall focus should be
placed on achieving optimal functioning, well-being and quality of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Elements for successful self-management of chronic pain
therefore include:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Empowering
persons with pain through reassurance, encouragement and education<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Conservative
use of analgesics and adjuvant medications<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Promotion
of regular exercise and healthy and active lifestyles<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Development
of adaptive strategies for managing pain. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kerns described the role communication technology is playing
in helping the VA to promote access and engagement in pain
self-management. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Attendance at sessions is the key variable governing
treatment outcomes,” said Kerns. “Technology is making it easier for more
vets to participate in cognitive-behavioral therapy through real-time video
conferencing, apps for smartphones, phone-based interactive voice response and
web-based CBT interventions for pain and co-prevalent mental and behavioral
health problems.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Outcomes for the VA program were published in JAMA Internal
Medicine this year and showed that patients accessing CBT remotely did just as
well as patients receiving in-person therapy. Patient surveys provided
additional verifications. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On a seven to 10 scale, the average response of 22 patients
was 7.75 in answering the question: “How confident are you that this treatment
successfully helped you with your pain?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">About the American Pain Society</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Based in Chicago, the American Pain Society (APS) is a
multidisciplinary community that brings together a diverse group of scientists,
clinicians and other professionals to increase the knowledge of pain and
transform public policy and clinical practice to reduce pain-related
suffering. APS is the professional home for investigators involved in all
aspects of pain research including basic, translational, clinical and health
services research to obtain the support and inspiration they need to flourish
professionally. APS strongly advocates expansion of highquality pain
research to help advance science to achieve effective and responsible pain
relief. For more information on APS, visit </span><a href="http://www.americanpainsociety.org/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">www.americanpainsociety.org</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-79863177434019236702017-05-20T09:58:00.002-07:002017-05-20T10:02:26.403-07:00Antibody Helps Detect Protein Implicated in Alzheimer’s, Other Diseases<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">May lead to novel ways to diagnose, monitor brain
injury</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--jZo8ot0hVU/WSB2k_HKNRI/AAAAAAAAPoY/2iK4TZke84IaoE3NDG2H0r_t6Qf9JHt8gCLcB/s1600/alzheimer%2527s%2Binformational%2Bchart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--jZo8ot0hVU/WSB2k_HKNRI/AAAAAAAAPoY/2iK4TZke84IaoE3NDG2H0r_t6Qf9JHt8gCLcB/s320/alzheimer%2527s%2Binformational%2Bchart.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Damaging tangles of the protein tau dot the brains
of people with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and boxer’s
dementia, and lead to memory loss, confusion and, in some, aggressive behavior.
But there is no easy way to determine whether people’s symptoms are linked to
tau tangles in their brains. Now, a team led by scientists at Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found a way to measure tau
levels in the blood. The method accurately reflects levels of tau in the brain
that are of interest to scientists because they correlate with neurological
damage. The study, in mice and a small group of people, could be the first step
towards a non-invasive test for tau.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, May 20, 2017 — Damaging tangles of the protein tau
dot the brains of people with Alzheimer’s and many other neurodegenerative
diseases, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which plagues
professional boxers and football players.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Such tau-based diseases can lead to memory loss, confusion
and, in some, aggressive behavior. But there is no easy way to determine
whether people’s symptoms are linked to tau tangles in their brains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, however, a team led by scientists at Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found a way to measure tau
levels in the blood. The method accurately reflects levels of tau in the brain
that are of interest to scientists because they correlate with neurological
damage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The study, in mice and a small group of people, could be the
first step toward a noninvasive test for tau.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While further evaluation in people is necessary, such a test
potentially could be used to quickly screen for tau-based diseases, monitor
disease progression and measure the effectiveness of treatments designed to
target tau.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The research is published April 19 in <i>Science
Translational Medicine</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We showed that you can measure tau in the blood, and it
provides insight into the status of tau in the fluid surrounding cells in
brain,” said senior author David Holtzman, MD, the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones
Professor and head of the Department of Neurology at Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tau is a normal brain protein involved in maintaining the
structure of neurons. But when tau forms tangles, it damages and kills nearby
neurons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“People with tau diseases have a wide range of symptoms
because basically, wherever tau is aggregating, those parts of the brain are
degenerating,” Holtzman said. “So if it’s in a memory area, you get memory
problems. If it’s in a motor area, you get problems with movement.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A blood-based screening test, likely years away, would be a
relatively easy way to identify people whose symptoms may be due to problems
with tau, without subjecting them to potentially invasive, expensive or
complicated tests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We have no test that accurately reflects the status of tau in
the brain that is quick and easy for patients,” Holtzman said. “There are brain
scans to measure tau tangles, but they are not approved for use with patients
yet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tau levels can be measured in the cerebrospinal fluid that
surrounds the brain and spinal cord, but in order to get to that fluid, you
have to do a spinal tap, which is invasive.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the brain, most tau proteins are inside cells, some are in
tangles, and the remainder float in the fluid between cells. Such fluid
constantly is being washed out of the brain into the blood, and tau comes with
it. However, the protein is cleared from the blood almost as soon as it gets
there, so the levels, while detectable, typically remain very low.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Holtzman, postdoctoral researcher Kiran Yanamandra, PhD, and
MD/PhD student Tirth Patel, along with colleagues from C<sub>2</sub>N
Diagnostics, AbbVie, the University of California, San Francisco, and Texas
Health Presbyterian Hospital, reasoned that if they could keep tau in the blood
longer, the protein would accumulate to measurable levels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Allowing the protein to
accumulate before measuring its levels would magnify – but not distort –
differences between individuals, in the same way that enlarging a picture of a
grain of sand alongside a grain of rice does not change the relative size of
the two, but does make it easier to measure the difference between them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The researchers injected a known amount of tau protein
directly into the veins of mice and monitored how quickly the protein
disappeared from the blood. The researchers showed that half the protein
normally disappears in less than nine minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When they added an antibody that binds to tau, the half-life
of tau was extended to 24 hours. The antibody was developed in the laboratories
of Holtzman and Marc Diamond, MD, of the University of Texas Southwestern
Medical Center, and is currently licensed to C2N Diagnostics, which is
collaborating with the pharmaceutical company AbbVie in developing the
technology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To determine whether the antibody could amplify tau levels in
an animal’s blood high enough to be measured easily, they injected the antibody
into mice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Within two days, tau levels in the mice’s blood went up into
the easily detectable range. The antibody acted like a magnifying glass,
amplifying tau levels so that differences between individuals could be seen
more easily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tau levels in people’s blood also rose dramatically in the
presence of the antibody. The researchers administered the antibody to four people
with a tau disease known as progressive supranuclear palsy. Their blood levels
of tau rose 50- to 100-fold within 48 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It’s like a stress test,” Holtzman said. “We appear to be
bringing out the ability to see what’s coming from the brain because the
antibody amplifies differences by prolonging the time the protein stays in the
blood.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Measuring tau levels in the blood is only useful if it
reflects tau levels in the brain, where the protein does its damage, the
researchers said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Both high and low levels of tau in the fluid that surrounds
the brain could be a danger sign. Alzheimer’s and chronic traumatic
encephalopathy both are associated with high levels of soluble tau, whereas
progressive supranuclear palsy and other genetic tau diseases are thought to be
associated with low levels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To see whether elevated brain tau is reflected in the blood,
the researchers treated mice with a chemical that injures neurons. The chemical
causes tau to be released from the dying neurons, thereby raising tau levels in
the fluid surrounding the cells. The scientists saw a corresponding increase of
tau in the blood in the presence of the anti-tau antibody.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To lower tau levels, the researchers turned to genetically
modified mice that, as they age, have less and less tau floating in their
cerebrospinal fluid. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Such mice at 9 months old had significantly lower tau levels
in their blood than 3-month-old mice with the same genetic modification, again
demonstrating the antibody’s ability to reflect levels of tau in the brain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It will be helpful in future studies to see if the
measurement of tau in the blood following antibody treatment in humans reflects
the state of tau in the brain,” Holtzman said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-77651734909188214532017-05-20T09:53:00.001-07:002017-05-20T09:53:21.603-07:00May Is Melanoma Awareness Month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0uhj8rPgUwo/WSB0bDvBfVI/AAAAAAAAPoM/BN2jB0vcV0cpVwCwM4OEN0Gz7ax6m9n7gCLcB/s1600/skin%2Bcancer%2Bbasal%2Bcell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0uhj8rPgUwo/WSB0bDvBfVI/AAAAAAAAPoM/BN2jB0vcV0cpVwCwM4OEN0Gz7ax6m9n7gCLcB/s400/skin%2Bcancer%2Bbasal%2Bcell.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">May 20, 2017— Melanoma is the deadliest
form of skin cancer and is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of
pigment-producing cells. Melanoma may appear on the skin suddenly without
warning but also can develop from an existing mole. Sun exposure is the most
preventable risk factor for all skin cancers, including melanoma. Melanoma and
other skin cancers are highly treatable, if detected early.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Current
estimates are that 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer during their
lifetime.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Melanoma
is the most common form of cancer for young adults age 25-29 and is the
second most common form of cancer for adolescents and young adults age
15-29.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Melanoma
is increasing faster in females 15-29 years old than males in the same age
group. In females 15-29 years old, the torso is the most common location
for developing melanoma, which may be due to high-risk tanning behaviors.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You
have a substantially increased risk of developing melanoma if you have
many moles, large moles or atypical (unusual) moles.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Your
risk is increased if a blood relative (e.g., your parents, children,
siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles) has had melanoma.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If
you are a Caucasian with fair skin, your risk is higher than a Caucasian
with olive skin.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Redheads
and blonds have a higher risk of developing melanoma. Blue or green eyes
also increase your risk.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Your
chances increase significantly if you’ve already had a previous melanoma
or if you have had basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, the
more common forms of skin cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What are Pennsylvania Dermatologists and
Physicians doing about it?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Pennsylvania Academy of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery (PAD) in
conjunction with the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) strongly support
skin cancer awareness and encourage all Pennsylvanians to be
screened. <b>PAD dermatologists will offer free skin cancer
screenings and instruction on self-skin examinations on Wednesday, May 10<sup>th</sup> in
the Capitol Rotunda at the Harrisburg Capitol.</b><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
PAD and PAMED are particularly focused on sun protection for children and
youth. This includes increasing access to sunscreen and sun protective
clothing in schools as well as educating teenagers about the dangers of
indoor tanning and that Pennsylvania law bans minors under 17 years of age
from using tanning salons.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Pennsylvania Academy of Dermatology and
Dermatologic Surgery is the only statewide medical organization solely
representing the interests and concerns of all dermatologists and their
patients in Pennsylvania. Visit us at </span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.padermatology.org/">www.padermatology.org</a><i>.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-38841164102494258102017-05-20T08:15:00.000-07:002017-05-20T08:15:14.500-07:00Tired? Try Walking Up Stairs Instead of Caffeine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5eLGTLOobZE/WSBdZeMRGOI/AAAAAAAAPns/wRTD-C5aJCsiQkoH1pPWqbM_y93srRiPwCLcB/s1600/en%2Bwood%2Bwork%2B1%2Bstairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5eLGTLOobZE/WSBdZeMRGOI/AAAAAAAAPns/wRTD-C5aJCsiQkoH1pPWqbM_y93srRiPwCLcB/s400/en%2Bwood%2Bwork%2B1%2Bstairs.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">May 20, 2017—
A midday jolt of caffeine isn't as powerful as walking up and down some stairs,
according to new research from the University of Georgia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In a new study published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938416310666">Physiology
and Behavior</a>, researchers in the UGA College of Education found that 10
minutes of walking up and down stairs at a regular pace was more likely to make
participants feel energized than ingesting 50 milligrams of caffeine-about the
equivalent to the amount in a can of soda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"We found, in both the caffeine and the placebo
conditions, that there was not much change in how they felt," said Patrick
J. O'Connor, a professor in the department of kinesiology who co-authored the
study with former graduate student Derek Randolph. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"But with exercise they did feel more energetic and
vigorous. It was a temporary feeling, felt immediately after the exercise, but
with the 50 milligrams of caffeine, we didn't get as big an effect."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The study aimed to simulate the hurdles faced in a typical
office setting, where workers spend hours sitting and staring at computer
screens and don't have time for a longer bout of exercise during the day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For the study, participants on separate days either ingested
capsules containing caffeine or a placebo, or spent 10 minutes walking up and
down stairs-about 30 floors total-at a low-intensity pace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">O'Connor wanted to compare an exercise that could be achieved
by people in an office setting, where they have access to stairs and a little
time to be active, but not enough time to change into workout gear, shower and
change back into work clothes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Office workers can go outside and walk, but weather can
be less than ideal. It has never rained on me while walking the stairs,"
said O'Connor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> "And a lot of
people working in office buildings have access to stairs, so it's an option to
keep some fitness while taking a short break from work."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Study participants were female college students who described
themselves as chronically sleep deprived-getting less than 6½ hours per night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To test the effects of caffeine versus the exercise, each
group took some verbal and computer-based tests to gauge how they felt and how
well they performed certain cognitive tasks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Neither caffeine nor exercise caused large improvements in
attention or memory, but stair walking was associated with a small increase in
motivation for work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">O'Connor added that there is still much research to be done on
the specific benefits of exercising on the stairs, especially for just 10
minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But even a brief bout of stair walking can enhance feelings of
energy without reducing cognitive function. "You may not have time to go
for a swim, but you might have 10 minutes to walk up and down the stairs."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-88249597645801241782017-05-20T08:08:00.000-07:002017-05-20T08:08:04.013-07:00Researchers Suggest New Theory for How Parkinson’s Disease Develops<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J3ZkxywQQww/WSBbs3Q9xmI/AAAAAAAAPnc/ZGtgfP6UOd4dcNdcJkkiDOzkcQByIaOqgCLcB/s1600/brain%2Bscan%2Bparkinson%2527s%2Bdisease%2Bmysteries%2Bof%2Bmovement%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J3ZkxywQQww/WSBbs3Q9xmI/AAAAAAAAPnc/ZGtgfP6UOd4dcNdcJkkiDOzkcQByIaOqgCLcB/s400/brain%2Bscan%2Bparkinson%2527s%2Bdisease%2Bmysteries%2Bof%2Bmovement%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, May 20, 2017— The toxic
protein behind Parkinson’s disease may not spread like an infection from nerve
cell to nerve, according to a new theory by Technion and Harvard University
scientists. Instead, the protein, called alpha-synuclein, may simultaneously
affect all parts of the nervous system inside and outside of the brain. Their
findings could change how Parkinson’s is treated, the researchers say.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Associate Professor Simone
Engelender of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and her colleague Ole
Isacson at Harvard Medical School describe this “threshold theory” of
Parkinson’s for the first time in a report published in the January issue
of <i>Trends in Neuroscience</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Instead of studying how proteins
move from one neuron to another and searching for compounds that prevent the
‘spread’ of aggregated α-synuclein, we need to study why α-synuclein
accumulates within neurons and how these neurons die in the disease, and search
for compounds that prevent the general neuronal dysfunction,” said Professor
Engelender.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Parkinson’s disease destroys nerve
cells throughout the body, especially key neurons in the brain that produce a
compound called dopamine that helps to control movement and posture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The disease grows worse over time,
and there is no known cure. More than one million people in the United States
have the disorder, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The disease is caused by
accumulation of α-synuclein, which overwhelms and destroys nerve cells. The
most commonly-held theory about the disease suggests that patients get
progressively worse as clumps of α-synuclein spread between neurons, almost
like an infection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But Engelender and Isacson think the
scientific evidence points to a different model of the disease. Instead of
spreading from neuron to neuron, they say, aggregations of α-synuclein develop
throughout the body at the same time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Different parts of the nervous
system vary in how much of this toxic protein they can tolerate, depending on
how well the cells in that part of the system work together to compensate for
any destroyed cells.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The researchers say their theory
fits better with patients’ symptoms than the infection-style theory. Engelender
and Isacson’s theory may help explain, for example, why some of the earliest
signs of the disease appear in places like the gastrointestinal tract that have
no neurons to compensate for a dysfunction and therefore have a lower threshold
of tolerance for α-synuclein toxicity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The new theory may also affect how
the disease is treated. For instance, some scientists have recommended a
procedure that severs part of the vagus nerve, which runs outside the brain, to
prevent the spread of α-synuclein from the body to the brain. The threshold
theory, Engelender said, suggests that this operation would be unnecessary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“The only specific treatment that is
and will continue to be beneficial is the replenishment of dopamine in the
brain, through the intake of the supplement L-Dopa, to improve the motor
symptoms,” said Engelender. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“This has been done for several
decades and should be continued to be done since it can at least alleviate the
motor symptoms for a few years, even if does not cure and does not prevent the
progression of the disease.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Nevertheless, I believe that the
search for compounds that specifically decrease α-synuclein levels are the only
hope to provide a real and more effective treatment for the disease,”
Engelender added.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.technion.ac.il/en" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology</span></a> is
a major source of the innovation and brainpower that drives the Israeli
economy, and a key to Israel’s renown as the world’s “Start-Up Nation.” Its
three Nobel Prize winners exemplify academic excellence. Technion people, ideas
and inventions make immeasurable contributions to the world including
life-saving medicine, sustainable energy, computer science, water conservation
and nanotechnology. The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute is a
vital component of Cornell Tech, and a model for graduate applied science
education that is expected to transform New York City’s economy. <a href="http://www.ats.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">American Technion Society (ATS)</span></a> donors
provide critical support for the Technion—more than $2 billion since its
inception in 1940. Based in New York City, the ATS and its network of
supporters across the U.S. provide funds for scholarships, fellowships, faculty
recruitment and chairs, research, buildings, laboratories, classrooms and
dormitories, and more.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-38018574711499691082017-05-18T12:13:00.000-07:002017-05-18T12:13:34.411-07:00 Study Shows U.S. Workers Without Paid Sick Leave Are More Likely to Forgo Preventive Health Care<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Paid Sick Leave Key for Using Preventive Care
Services; Workers without Paid Sick Leave 1.6 Times Less Likely to Get a Flu
Shot</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AAHcslkKtg8/WR3x867uU8I/AAAAAAAAPmc/OslbtjsjDlAhJBX1C3yY2d5SBvOni6tmACLcB/s1600/blood%2Bpessure%2Bsick%2Bleave%2Bstory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AAHcslkKtg8/WR3x867uU8I/AAAAAAAAPmc/OslbtjsjDlAhJBX1C3yY2d5SBvOni6tmACLcB/s400/blood%2Bpessure%2Bsick%2Bleave%2Bstory.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Credit: Florida Atlantic University</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><i>Regardless of sociodemographic
factors, workers who lack paid sick leave were significantly less likely to
have received preventive health care screenings in the last 12 months, even
among those previously told that they have a condition such as diabetes or
cardiovascular disease that places them at higher medical risk.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Newswise, May 18, 2017 — More than
20 million Americans have gained health insurance coverage through the
Affordable Care Act (ACA) and do not have to pay for 15 preventive screenings
recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Yet, despite this advantage, many
are not utilizing these lifesaving screenings and are contributing to this
nation’s soaring health care costs, which reached a whopping $3 trillion in
2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Researchers from Florida Atlantic
University and Cleveland State University are the first to use data after the
implementation of the ACA to get to the root of what factors are contributing
to the low rates of preventive care use in this country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Results of their study, published in
the current issue of the journal Preventive Medicine, illuminate the importance
of the role paid sick leave benefits plays in the lives of employees and
ultimately in public health.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Compared to 22 similarly developed
countries, the United States is the only one that does not mandate employers to
provide paid sick leave benefits or include paid sick leave in a universal
social insurance plan,” said LeaAnne DeRigne, Ph.D., lead author and an
associate professor in the School of Social Work within FAU’s College for
Design and Social Inquiry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">For the study, DeRigne and
collaborators used cross-sectional data from a sample of 13,545 adults aged
18-64 with current paid employment from the 2015 National Health Interview
Survey (NHIS). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">They examined the relationship
between having paid sick leave and obtaining eight preventive care services:
blood pressure check; cholesterol check; fasting blood sugar check; getting a
flu shot; being seen by a medical doctor or health care provider; getting a Pap
test (females only); getting a mammogram (females only); and getting tested for
colon cancer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The analysis controlled for
demographic and other important predictor variables including gender, marital
status, education, race/ethnicity, full time work, insurance coverage, health
status, limiting health conditions, family income, age, and family size.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Regardless of sociodemographic
factors, the researchers found that workers who lack paid sick leave were
significantly less likely to have received preventive health care screenings in
the last 12 months, even among those previously told that they have a condition
such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease that places them at higher medical
risk. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">They also found that workers without
paid sick leave are 1.6 times less likely to have received a flu shot in the
past 12 months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Key findings from the study reveal
that American workers without paid sick leave had odds that were:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">• 30 percent less likely to have had
a blood pressure check in the last 12 months• 40 percent less likely to have
had a cholesterol check in the last 12 months • 24 percent less likely to have
had a fasting blood sugar check in the last 12 months• 61 percent less likely
to have had a flu shot in the last 12 months • 19 percent less likely to have
seen or talked to a physician or health care provider in the last 12 months •
23 percent less likely to have had a Pap test in the last 12 months<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Paid sick leave was not, however, a
significant factor in having undergone two cancer-related screenings in the
last 12 months: testing for colon cancer or a mammogram. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The researchers speculate that
because mammography services are more widely available to workers because of
mobile screening units and other innovative services, getting a mammogram might
not require paid sick leave. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">They note that because colon cancer
screenings are recommended every 10 years, respondents may not have had the
test within the past 12 months when they answered that question.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Our findings demonstrate that even
when insured adults are provided with free preventive screenings, paid sick
leave is a significant factor associated with actually using the screenings,”
said DeRigne. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“American workers risk foregoing
preventive health care, which could lead to the need for medical care at later
stages of disease progression and at a higher cost for workers and the American
health care system as a whole.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The two most common ways to offer
paid sick leave is by mandating employer-funded benefits or through a universal
social insurance program funded through taxes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Healthy Families Act, introduced
in Congress in 2015, uses the employer-funded model and would allow workers to
earn up to seven days of paid sick leave if their employer has more than 15
employees and seven unpaid days for employers who have less than 15 employees. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The bill has not yet been introduced
in the current Congressional session. “Our data can be used by health care
professionals, policy makers and others to consider the expansion of access to
evening and weekend hours as well as mobile, community-based, and workplace
health and wellness services,” said Patricia Stoddard-Dare, Ph.D., co-author
and an associate professor of social work at Cleveland State. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“When workers forgo essential
preventive health care such as flu shots, the public health implications are immense.
This is particularly relevant for service related employees, food preparation
workers and others who have low access to paid sick leave coverage.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The article also was co-authored by
Cyleste C. Collins, Ph.D., assistant professor at Cleveland State University,
and Linda Quinn, Ph.D., college associate lecturer in the Department of
Mathematics at Cleveland State University.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-50189026922216156622017-05-18T11:58:00.000-07:002017-05-18T11:58:18.471-07:00The Three Questions That Can Help Ensure the Success of Treatment for Depression<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OQwRDkZexZM/WR3taGiwWCI/AAAAAAAAPmI/fq7g24-FRyoqfgltz9Wn-pUbNl6_b2lHgCLcB/s1600/elderly%2Bdepression.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OQwRDkZexZM/WR3taGiwWCI/AAAAAAAAPmI/fq7g24-FRyoqfgltz9Wn-pUbNl6_b2lHgCLcB/s400/elderly%2Bdepression.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, May 18, 2017— The
probability that people suffering from depression will complete treatment can
be increased significantly by asking them three questions before beginning
therapy, according to a new study undertaken at the University of Haifa.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Asking these three questions will
save a lot of time in identifying the most appropriate treatment for the
patient. The answers will help solve a dilemma that many patients face in
choosing the best type of treatment,” explains Prof. Sigal Zilcha-Mano, who
undertook the study.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">One in five patients with depression
drops out of treatment before it is completed, and most of these patients
return to their pre-treatment condition. Prof. Zilcha-Mano notes that many
people suffering from depression find it difficult to decide to seek treatment.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">When they do make this decision, it
is based on a recommendation from a friend or a name they happen to encounter,
without examining whether the form of treatment is necessary suitable for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The present study was undertaken by
Prof. Zilcha-Mano in cooperation with the research student Avinadav Rubin from
the Department of Psychology at the University of Haifa and a team of
researchers from the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania
and Adelphi University in New York.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In light of the high proportion of
patients who ultimately drop out of treatment, the researchers sought to
examine whether any traits or characteristics that can be identified prior to
treatment can predict the type of treatment that will minimize dropout. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">To this end, 156 patients diagnosed
as suffering from clinical depression were divided into three treatment groups
on a random basis. The first group (51 patients) underwent psychotherapy; the
second group (55 patients) received 50-200 mg of an SSRI-type antidepressant;
and the third group (50 patients) were given a placebo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Before beginning treatment, all the
participants were asked various questions about different characteristics, some
related to the treatment and others unrelated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Many of the characteristics were
found to have no predictive significance, including the patient’s gender,
whether they avoid intimate relationships, their education, and their
expectations regarding the success of treatment, the study identified three
questions that can predict which treatment will be most effective: the
patient’s expectations regarding the relationship with the therapist (“alliance
expectations,”) their level of vindictiveness, and their age.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The findings showed that the more an
individual expects a positive relationship with the therapist, the greater
their chances of completely psychotherapy and the lower their chances of
completing medication. It was also found that people who show a high level of
vindictiveness in their interpersonal relationships are at higher risk of dropping
out from medication. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Lastly, it was found that people
over the age of 45 have a higher chance of completing medication, whereas those
below that age have a better chance of completing treatment if they opt for
psychotherapy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">For the researchers, the
ramifications are clear: before beginning treatment, therapists should ask the
patient to state their age, their level of vindictiveness (in an appropriate
professional way, of course), and above all – their expectations on the
personal level regarding the therapist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Accordingly to the answers, the therapist can
determine whether the patient should undergo psychotherapy or be referred to a
psychiatrist who can prescribe medication. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Within the hopelessness that forms
a key part of depression, people try to find the strength to turn to
treatment,” Prof. Zilcha-Mano commented. “When they manage to do so, they
sometimes find themselves in therapy that isn’t suitable for them, and
accordingly they soon drop out, thereby become even more pessimistic about the
chances of overcoming depression. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Accordingly, this study has
enormous potential to identify the most appropriate treatment for each patient,
so that when people find the strength in their depression to seek treatment,
they can truly benefit from it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-13355811158220336672017-05-18T10:59:00.001-07:002017-05-18T10:59:41.150-07:00The New Face of Colon Cancer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zC9xfltFIIM/WR3g-1Dc9NI/AAAAAAAAPkw/PWuBedU_yo0rZ0Pitgs1COltlhWmxaTuACLcB/s1600/colon%2Bcancer%2Binforgraphic.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zC9xfltFIIM/WR3g-1Dc9NI/AAAAAAAAPkw/PWuBedU_yo0rZ0Pitgs1COltlhWmxaTuACLcB/s400/colon%2Bcancer%2Binforgraphic.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">WASHINGTON</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, May
18, 2017 - Matt Wixon is not the typical colon cancer patient. He has none of
the risk factors sometimes associated with the cancer — he is active and fit,
eats healthy and smoked only for a very short time. But, most unusual of all,
Wixon is young — he was 39 when he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon
cancer last December.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">However, Wixon and patients like him
are the new faces of colon cancer. A <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article/3053481/Colorectal">study</a> published February 28
in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jnci">Journal of the National Cancer Institute</a> found that
colorectal cancer rates are rising in people under age 50, who will make up one
in ten of the 135,500 new cases of colorectal cancer expected to be diagnosed
in 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">That means that people born in 1990
have double the risk of colon cancer and quadruple the risk of rectal cancer
compared to people born in 1950.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Of the 1,000 GI cancer patients seen
at his clinic last year, nearly half were under age 50, says John L. Marshall,
MD, director of the <a href="https://ruesch.georgetown.edu/">Ruesch Center for the Cure of
Gastrointestinal Cancers</a> at <a href="http://lombardi.georgetown.edu/">Georgetown
Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center</a> and chief of hematology
and oncology at <a href="https://www.medstargeorgetown.org/#q={}">MedStar Georgetown University Hospital</a>.
Many are in their 20s and 30s; one was just 17.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“This has been a trend that has
become an alarming issue in the last decade,” he says. “Treatment of colorectal
cancer in patients over 50 has improved — there is less cancer and lower
mortality — but we seem to be trading that good news for this really disturbing
trend that people in the prime of life are getting a diagnosis no one was
expecting.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">FINDING THE SILVER LINING<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">That was certainly true for Wixon, a
patient at the Ruesch Center, who owns a moving company. When he received his
news, he and his wife were anticipating the birth of their first child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“This is a grave diagnosis that came
as a shock, an existential threat,” says Wixon. “This was two weeks before
Christmas and my wife was seven months pregnant with a boy. All the plans I had
for our son— the books I would read to him, the vacations we would take, the
joy we would have — just vanished.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Wixon had noticed some changes in
his bowel habits, but they weren’t severe and hadn’t been going on for long.
Still, when he met with his gastroenterologist, who suggested he might have
hemorrhoids, Wixon insisted on a colonoscopy. Knowing that the test would not
be covered by insurance, he was concerned enough that he was ready to pay for
the test out of pocket.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Now he is on three different drugs,
several of which require infusions every two weeks. Wixon makes the most of
these events. “I bring friends, read books, joke around a lot with the really
extraordinary nurses and staff at Georgetown.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Wixon tries to find the silver
lining in the cloud hanging over his head. He knows his youth is a benefit and
sometimes he finds it hard to believe he is as sick as he is. He is active on
“Colontown,” a Facebook group that Marshall told him about, where he has found
“hope and solace.” He is planning for the day when he is healthy enough
to have surgery that can remove the tumors that have metastasized in his liver.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LOTS OF THEORIES<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Marshall doesn’t know why this trend
is happening, nor do other colorectal experts. “I did not sign up to be a
cancer doctor for young people,” he says. “Most of my young patients are
marathon running, cardboard eating people.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But he suspects one player may be an
altered microbiome, the galaxy of symbiotic bacteria that live in the human gut
to aid digestion. “There is a beautiful coral reef of bacteria in the colon,
but the reef may be dying or altered in some people due to modern habits — too
much use of antibiotics and antibacterial hand wash, for example, that could
reduce the known effectiveness of bacteria in protecting against cancer,” he
says. But Marshall is the first to say there are many theories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Mohamed Salem, MD, a
gastrointestinal oncologist and researcher at Georgetown Lombardi, is among a
team of investigators studying the foundations of young onset colon cancer. He
is exploring whether colon cancer in these patients is more aggressive, and, if
so, why, and where it occurs, whether on the left side or right, which matters
in terms of outcome and drug treatment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Then there is the question of
diagnosis. No one imagines giving every person younger than 50 a colonoscopy,
Marshall says. And for those with some symptoms, there are less invasive and
cheaper screening tools than a colonoscopy. But it is important that frontline
health care providers, such as primary care doctors, know about the real risk
of colon cancer in young people, and “that they take it seriously,” he says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“All I can say is that people really
need to pay attention to their bodies, and if there is something real going on,
they should not hesitate to be assertive with their doctors,” Wixon says. “So
many people are afraid of bad news. But it will only get worse if you wait.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-66548129008918260902017-05-04T08:29:00.003-07:002017-05-04T08:31:17.375-07:00Helistroke Service: Flying the Physician to the Stroke Patient Works<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JodRdLKBEQ8/WQtIqXoxBeI/AAAAAAAAPdU/evuS_2GX7VUc1uNYDwAMTi03M4O5a9_bQCLcB/s1600/medical%2Bhelicopter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Flying physicians to stroke victim" border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JodRdLKBEQ8/WQtIqXoxBeI/AAAAAAAAPdU/evuS_2GX7VUc1uNYDwAMTi03M4O5a9_bQCLcB/s400/medical%2Bhelicopter.jpg" title="medical helicopter" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Newswise, May 4, 2017— Flying a
stroke specialist by helicopter to a nearby stroke patient for emergency care
is feasible, saves money and, most importantly, gets critical care to patients
faster than transporting the patient to a hospital first, according to a single-patient,
proof-of-concept study by a Johns Hopkins Medicine research team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Although the study was not designed
to show whether “helistroke service” would improve outcomes for patients,
previous research has amply demonstrated that stroke victims do best when they
are treated as quickly as possible — ideally in 100 minutes or less.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A report of the findings, published
in the <i>Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery</i> on May 3,
details what is believed to be the first test of transporting a physician by
helicopter to perform a standard intervention for a stroke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“With the development of effective
treatments, the most limiting factor to treating acute stroke is infrastructure
— we have to keep evolving our systems to get therapy to as many appropriate
patients as possible,” says <a href="http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/profiles/results/directory/profile/10003130/ferdinand-hui">Ferdinand K. Hui, M.D.</a>,
associate professor of radiology and radiological science at the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine. Hui, the report’s first author, is the physician
who was transported via helicopter for the study.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the traditional model of care,
people experiencing an acute ischemic stroke (a cutoff of blood supply in a
blood vessel to the brain) are taken to a hospital with a specialized center
capable of performing a minimally invasive therapy in which a physician inserts
a catheter into the groin and threads it up through blood vessels to the blood
clot in the brain causing the stroke. Once the catheter is in place, the
physician delivers drugs that break up the clot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Patient transport time, however, can
be significant and, in many cases, stroke victims are first taken to a nearby
community hospital, then transported to the specialized center, often further
delaying time to treatment and lowering the odds of recovery or reduced
disability.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In a recent study analyzing the
results of a global, multicenter trial, data show a 91 percent probability of
favorable stroke outcome if patients’ blood flow was restored within 150
minutes of stroke. The next 60 minutes of delay, researchers found, resulted in
a 10 percent reduction of good outcome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An additional 60 minutes resulted in
an additional 20 percent reduction of good outcome. For the best chance of a
favorable outcome, preintervention time was calculated to be less than 100
minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To test the feasibility of a
physician-to-patient model that could potentially improve outcomes for a
time-sensitive procedure, investigators designed a study to fly Hui by Johns
Hopkins Lifeline from Baltimore to a National Institutes of Health Stroke
Center at Suburban Hospital in Washington, D.C. —39.4 miles away — to
treat a stroke victim. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Suburban, part of the Johns Hopkins
Health System, has radiologists and the necessary equipment to image blood
vessels but no neurointerventional experts on hand to provide immediate,
catheter-based treatment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A patient was eligible for treatment
in the pilot study if he or she had a large vessel blockage and a National
Institutes of Health Stroke Scale rating greater than eight, which is
considered a severe stroke. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The stroke scale is a 15-item
neurologic examination used to evaluate the potential damage of stroke as soon
as possible after it occurs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In January 2017, such a patient was
identified at Suburban at 11:12 a.m. Scans to view the patient’s blood vessels
and brain tissue were initiated at 11:46 a.m. and completed at 11:58 a.m.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hui, who was at The Johns Hopkins
Hospital in Baltimore, was alerted at 12:07 p.m. Johns Hopkins Lifeline, which
provides critical care transportation, was called at 12:13 p.m. Weather
clearance for helicopter takeoff was obtained at 12:24 p.m., and the helicopter
flight from The Johns Hopkins Hospital to Suburban Hospital took 19 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hui inserted the catheter into the
patient at 1:07 p.m. and completed treatment at 1:41 p.m. Total time between
decision-to-treat and groin puncture was 43 minutes, and between
decision-to-treat and groin closure was 77 minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These times are comparable with time
to treatment in one institution without transfer. The patient received tissue
Plasminogen Activator, a clot-dissolving drug, and improved clinically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hui says the helistroke service
model not only has the potential to reduce transport time and improve patient
outcomes, but also could expand ideal standards of care to rural and other
populations, where specialized care is limited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Up until now, the model has been
that the ‘right place’ was a central location, like a tertiary facility such as
The Johns Hopkins Hospital,” says Jim Scheulen, M.B.A., chief administrative
officer of emergency medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“But what we have demonstrated here
is that bringing the right resources in the right time to the patient may
actually be a better approach than always moving the patient.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hui cautions that the helistroke
service is not always the right or best choice: weather restrictions,
specialist availability and transportation costs limit the use of the model.
But flying a specialist to a patient may also eliminate some costs of nursing
care, monitoring equipment, and the costs of ambulance services to one or more
hospitals, as well as potentially fewer days of hospitalization and
rehabilitation for stroke patients, he says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Although costs vary among regions
and hospital networks, the cost of transferring a physician in this case was
roughly 20 percent ($2,000–$3,000) of the average patient helicopter transfer
cost ($6,500–$8,000) for the hospital network<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Other authors on this paper include
Amgad El Mekabaty, Kelvin Hong, Karen Horton, Victor Urrutia and Shawn Brast of
Johns Hopkins Medicine; Jacky Schultz of Suburban Hospital; and Imama Naqvi,
John K. Lynch and Zurab Nadareishvili of the National Institutes of Health.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-91846729320170204112017-05-04T08:00:00.001-07:002017-05-04T08:00:50.654-07:00Surprising Link Between Blood Sugar and Brain Cancer Found<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_HwsmETqCFo/WQtB-X45uaI/AAAAAAAAPdE/AngaPzZe2jEsRimW4Xyf3S7A8Uy6OSpFQCLcB/s1600/holding%2Bup%2Bbrain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_HwsmETqCFo/WQtB-X45uaI/AAAAAAAAPdE/AngaPzZe2jEsRimW4Xyf3S7A8Uy6OSpFQCLcB/s400/holding%2Bup%2Bbrain.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Diabetes raises risk for many cancers, but not most
common malignant brain tumor</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, May 3, 2017—New research
further illuminates the surprising relationship between blood sugar and brain
tumors and could begin to shed light on how certain cancers develop.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">While many cancers are more common
among those with diabetes, cancerous brain tumors called gliomas are less
common among those with elevated blood sugar and diabetes, a study from The
Ohio State University has found. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The discovery builds on previous
Ohio State research showing that high blood sugar appears to reduce a person’s
risk of a noncancerous brain tumor called meningioma. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Both studies were led by <a href="https://cph.osu.edu/people/jschwartzbaum">Judith Schwartzbaum</a>, an associate professor of epidemiology
and a researcher in <a href="https://cancer.osu.edu/">Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center</a>.
The <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-01553-2">new glioma study</a> appears in
the journal <i>Scientific Reports.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Diabetes and elevated blood sugar <i>increase</i> the
risk of cancer at several sites including the colon, breast and bladder. But in
this case, these rare malignant brain tumors are more common among people who
have normal levels of blood glucose than those with high blood sugar or
diabetes,” Schwartzbaum said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Our research raises questions that,
when answered, will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved
in glioma development,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Glioma is one of the most common
types of cancerous tumors originating in the brain. It begins in the cells that
surround nerve cells and help them function. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The disease is typically diagnosed
in middle age. At present, there is no treatment that ensures long-term
survival, but several potential options are being studied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The <i>Scientific Reports</i> paper
included data from two large long-term studies. One, called AMORIS, included
528,580 Swedes. The second, Me-Can, consisted of 269,365 Austrians and Swedes.
In all, 812 participants developed gliomas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Schwartzbaum and her collaborators
evaluated blood sugar and diabetes data and its relationship to subsequent
development of brain cancer and found that those with elevated blood sugar and
diabetes had a lower risk of developing glioma. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“This really prompts the question,
‘Why is the association between blood glucose levels and brain cancer the
opposite of that for several other cancerous tumors?” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The researchers found that this
relationship was strongest within a year of cancer diagnosis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“This may suggest that the tumor
itself affects blood glucose levels or that elevated blood sugar or diabetes
may paradoxically be associated with a protective factor that reduces brain
tumor risk,” Schwartzbaum said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“For example, insulin-like growth
factor is associated with glioma recurrence and is found in lower levels in
people with diabetes than those who don’t have the disease.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The brain accounts for only about 2
percent of body weight, but consumes about 20 percent of the body’s available
glucose, Schwartzbaum said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The body of research on restrictive
diets and their effect on brain cancer development has shown mixed results and
more work is needed to determine if there’s something about the sugar/tumor
relationship that can be modified in a way that’s beneficial to brain cancer
patients, she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The research was supported by the
National Cancer Institute.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Schwartzbaum’s collaborators
included co-lead author Michael Edlinger of the Medical University of Innsbruck
in Austria and Grzegorz Rempala of Ohio State’s College of Public Health.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-48014758848389204332017-05-02T08:41:00.001-07:002017-05-02T08:41:42.522-07:00Few Heart Attack Survivors Get Recommended Physical Activity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XrC3WrJ479g/WQioc65M9RI/AAAAAAAAPcE/xXSqwUjjJx44qVN06tBPjageE0o6zp3HwCLcB/s1600/exercise%2Blegs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Few Heart Attack survivors get proper exercise " border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XrC3WrJ479g/WQioc65M9RI/AAAAAAAAPcE/xXSqwUjjJx44qVN06tBPjageE0o6zp3HwCLcB/s400/exercise%2Blegs.JPG" title="Exercise on walker" width="399" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newswise, May 2, 2017—Only 16
percent of heart attack survivors get the recommended amount of physical
activity in the weeks after hospitalization, according to a study by
researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and
NewYork-Presbyterian.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The study was published online
earlier this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Exercise has been proven to lower
the risk of having another heart attack in patients with acute coronary
syndrome (ACS), which includes heart attack and unstable angina (chest pain). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Current guidelines strongly
recommend that ACS patients get at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic
activity, such as brisk walking, at least five days per week in the first two
weeks after hospital discharge. Previous studies, which relied on self-reporting,
have been unable to provide a reliable estimate of how many patients achieve
this goal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In this study, the researchers
measured the amount and intensity of physical activity with a wearable activity
monitor in 620 heart attack survivors. Participants were instructed to wear the
device for 10 hours, or more, at least three days per week during the first
month after hospitalization.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“In prior decades, heart attack
survivors were counseled to remain in bed for many weeks,” said Ian M. Kronish,
MD, MPH, Florence Irving Assistant Professor of Medicine at CUMC, assistant
professor of medicine in Columbia’s Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular
Health, cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia and lead author of the
paper. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Despite current evidence to the
contrary, many ACS patients fear that straining their heart through exertion
will cause chest pain or another heart attack.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Clinician-supervised exercise
programs for heart attack survivors have been shown to counteract patients’
fears and encourage more physical activity. However, participation in these
programs remains poor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Researchers and clinicians need to
find ways of getting more people to participate in such supervised exercise
programs,” Dr. Kronish said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Nowadays, there are several
consumer products that can be used to track physical activity at home. Perhaps
the future holds ways to remotely monitor patients and to provide positive
feedback and counseling outside of a hospital setting.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The paper is titled, “Objectively
Measured Adherence to Physical Activity Guidelines after Acute Coronary
Syndrome.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Additional authors included Keith M.
Diaz (Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY), Jeff Goldsmith
(Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health), Nathalie Moise (CUMC),
and Joseph E. Schwartz (Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook,
NY).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14189094284251598454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7392625574416803884.post-17648337184688930792017-05-02T08:31:00.002-07:002017-05-02T08:32:45.653-07:00“BE FAST” When It Comes to Stroke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zbVEf6ZSU-I/WQimKDpXHaI/AAAAAAAAPbw/NeO8YR3l8rI_wtvk9jhc_j3cDtFVXdE3QCLcB/s1600/heart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zbVEf6ZSU-I/WQimKDpXHaI/AAAAAAAAPbw/NeO8YR3l8rI_wtvk9jhc_j3cDtFVXdE3QCLcB/s400/heart.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During National Stroke Awareness Month,
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s Stroke Experts Offer Tips on How to Recognize
and Prevent Strokes</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Newswise, May 2, 2017<b>--</b>In the
United States, someone has a stroke every 40 seconds. Strokes – 80 percent of
which are caused by a blood clot that blocks blood flow to the brain – are
medical emergencies that require immediate attention. The earlier a stroke is
recognized and treated, the greater the chance of recovery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> In recognition of Stroke Awareness Month,
NewYork-Presbyterian is sharing information on stroke risk and prevention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nearly two million brain cells die
each minute a stroke goes untreated. Remembering the acronym <b>BE</b> <b>FAST</b> is
an easy way to learn how to recognize a stroke and act quickly to minimize its
long-term damaging effects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As part of its commitment to
advancing stroke care, NewYork-Presbyterian now operates a Mobile Stroke
Treatment Unit (MSTU). The MSTU is an emergency vehicle specially designed to
provide immediate, specialized care to patients who may be having a stroke. The
vehicle is equipped with stroke care specialists, a computed tomography (CT)
scanner and medications for treating stroke patients on-site.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The most effective method in saving
a stroke victim’s life is to diagnose and treat immediately after a stroke
occurs,” says Dr. Matthew Fink, neurologist-in-chief and chief of the Division
of Stroke and Critical Care Neurology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
Medical Center and the Louis and Gertrude Feil Professor and chairman of the
Department of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine. “The MSTU rapidly brings a
neurologist and advanced technologies of an emergency room directly to the
patient, offering state-of-the-art care that is only moments away.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Stroke Prevention Tips</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Taking the time to make a few simple
lifestyle adjustments can save thousands of lives each year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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“Stroke statistics are alarming. It’s the fifth leading cause of death in the
United States and the leading cause of serious adult disabilities,” says Dr.
Randolph Marshall, chief of the Stroke Division at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia
University Medical Center. “Strokes kill nearly 133,000 people a year. The good
news is that approximately 80 percent of strokes can be prevented.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Several lifestyle changes can
greatly reduce the risk of stroke:<br />
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<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reduce
salt intake.</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> High blood
pressure is one of the leading causes of stroke. Cutting back on salt is
one of the most significant steps to maintaining or lowering blood
pressure to a healthy level of 120/80 or below. Try flavoring your food
with a variety of spices that may be healthier than salt.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Eat
a heart-healthy diet. </span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Maintaining
a healthy balance between your good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol
(LDL) is the best way to prevent high cholesterol, heart disease and the
increased risk of stroke. Cholesterol levels should remain at 200 mg/dl or
below.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Stop
smoking.</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Smoking is
bad not only for your lungs, but your brain as well. A smoker is at twice
the risk of having a stroke because smoking damages blood vessels, raises
blood pressure and speeds up the clogging of arteries.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Exercise. </span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you are obese or overweight, your risk for
high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes increases and so does
your risk for stroke. Extra weight places an added strain on your entire
circulatory system, but aerobic exercise helps reduce stroke risk and can
be a good way to lose those extra pounds and substantially improve your
health.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Certain populations are at a higher
risk of having a stroke even after making the proper lifestyle changes. These
include adults 55 years of age or older, African-Americans and Hispanics, those
with a family history of stroke, and people who have already had a stroke or a
transient ischemic attack (mini stroke). In addition, women are more likely to
die from a stroke than men, although attacks are more common in men.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital treats
one of the highest volumes of stroke and cerebrovascular disease patients in
the world and the highest in New York City. The hospital is certified by the
Joint Commission as a Comprehensive Stroke Center—the highest level of <i>stroke</i> certification
a <i>hospital</i> can receive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition, NewYork-Presbyterian’s
Stroke Centers have been awarded the Gold Plus award from American Heart
Association and American Stroke Association for exceeding quality measures
related to stroke treatment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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