Diabetes Meets Machine Learning, Part 1
John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.Of all the disorders that have responded well to artificial intelligence and machine learning, diabetes mellitus probably tops the list. The evidence supporting a role for Machine Learning (ML)-enhanced algorithms in managing the disease is persuasive and applies to several components of patient care, including screening, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.Let ' s start with screening: As most clinicians know, there ' s a difference between screening for dis...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - February 22, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs
The Art of Prescribing (Or Not)
By HANS DUVEFELT
I have learned a few things about prescribing medications during my 42 years as a physician. Some are old lessons, and some are more recent. I thought I’d share some random examples.
First: I don’t like to have to use medications, but when they seem necessary, I choose, present and prescribe them with great care.
CHOOSING MEDICATIONS
Medications are like people. They have personalities. With so many choices for any given diagnosis or symptom, I consider their mechanism of action, possible beneficial additional effects and their risk of unwanted side effects when selecting which one to presc...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 1, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Medical Practice Patients Physicians Primary Care Hans Duvefelt Source Type: blogs
How does sleep affect your heart rate?
Even if you don’t wear a smartwatch or fitness band to track your heart rate, you can often sense your pulse fluctuating throughout the day. During your waking hours, the number of heartbeats per minute when you’re just sitting quietly is known as your resting heart rate. In most adults, resting heart rates range between 60 and 100 beats per minute.
Once you stand up and move around, your heart rate goes up. And exercise boosts it further still. Even intense emotions — fear, anger, or surprise — can cause your heart rate to spike. But what happens when you lie down to sleep? The answer differs depending on the phas...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 29, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Julie Corliss Tags: Exercise and Fitness Health Heart Health Sleep Source Type: blogs
Wellens' syndrome: to stent or not? IVUS negative, Symptoms persist, Stress Testing, Instantaneous Wave Free Ratio, and Fractional Flow Reserve.
A 55 y.o. male with no cardiac PMHX presented for 2 weeks of exertional chest pain, worsened on the day prior to presentation. On the day of presentation, the chest discomfort was particularly intense, and associated with diaphoresis and nausea. It was resolved (pain free) when the ECG was recorded:This ECG was read as " nonspecific " by the providers. What do you think?These is classic Wellens ' pattern A (biphasic, terminal T-wave inversion), and it isWellens 'syndrome (Angina, resolved -- pain free -- with preserved R-waves and Wellens ' pattern A T-waves). The morphology of these T-wav...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - January 28, 2021 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, January 25th 2021
In conclusion, our studies highlight the important role of the tyrosine degradation pathway and position TAT as a link between neuromediator production, dysfunctional mitochondria, and aging. (Source: Fight Aging!)
Source: Fight Aging! - January 24, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
The Mitochondrial Transition Pore in Aging
A few papers in recent years have reviewed what is known of the role of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in aging. Mitochondria are the power plants of the cell, and mitochondrial function is vital to cell and tissue function. Unfortunately, mitochondria become dysfunctional with age, for a variety of reasons that have yet to be firmly traced back to specific root causes. Researchers are engaged in the exploration of proximate causes, such as changing mitochondrial dynamics and loss of mitophagy, the quality control mechanism responsible for removing worn and damaged mitochondria. Changes in the activity of m...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 18, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, January 18th 2021
In this study, Desferal, deferoxamine mesylate for injection, which is approved for the treatment of acute iron intoxication and chronic iron overload, was used to explore the beneficial effects on preventing aging-induced bone loss and mitigating dysfunction of aged BMSCs. High-dose Desferal significantly prevented bone loss in aged rats. Compared with controls, the ex vivo experiments showed that short-term Desferal administration could promote the potential of BMSC growth and improve the rebalance of osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation, as well as rejuvenate senescent BMSCs and revise the expression of stemness/se...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 17, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
A Continued Focus on Metformin, a Demonstrably Poor Approach to Treating Aging
Metformin is a poster child for the way in which much of the aging research community is focused on approaches to aging that cannot possibly achieve more than a very modest slowing of degeneration, and where the existing evidence strongly suggests that those tiny positive outcomes will be unreliable at best. Metformin is a way to tinker with the operation of a damaged metabolism, not a way to repair that damage. As a calorie restriction mimetic, the animal data shows that it compares very poorly to calorie restriction itself. We know that calorie restriction doesn't do anywhere near enough for human longevity. This is not ...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 14, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, January 11th 2021
This study demonstrates the potential of a natural (o-Vanillin) and a synthetic (RG-7112) senolytic compounds to remove senescent IVD cells, decrease SASP factors release, reduce the inflammatory environment and enhance the IVD matrix production. Removal of senescent cells, using senolytics drugs, could lead to improved therapeutic interventions and ultimately decrease pain and a provide a better quality of life of patients living with intervertebral disc degeneration and low back pain.
From Ying Ann Chiao of Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation: Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a central role in aging and cardiovasc...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 10, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Nanomaterials for the Clearance of Senescent Cells
Senescent cell accumulation is a contributing cause of aging, and targeted destruction of senescent cells with senolytic therapies produces meaningful rejuvenation and reversal of age-related disease in animal models. First generation senolytics are largely repurposed small molecules. Second generation senolytics will include a range of more carefully designed strategies, including the nanoparticles allowing for selective delivery of therapeutics to senescent cells that are the topic of this open access paper. Such nanoparticles can be used as the basis for both detection of senescent cells and their destruction, a promisi...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 7, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, December 28th 2020
In conclusion, our study demonstrated that the molecular processes of aging are relatively subtle in their progress, and the aging process of every tissue depends on the tissue's specialized function and environment. Hence, individual gene or process alone cannot be described as the key of aging in the whole organism.
Mouse Age Matters: How Age Affects the Murine Plasma Metabolome
A large part of metabolomics research relies on experiments involving mouse models, which are usually 6 to 20 weeks of age. However, in this age range mice undergo dramatic developmental changes. Even small age differences may l...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 27, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Lipid Nanoparticles Carrying Calcium Phosphate and Citrate are Selectively Toxic to Cancer Cells
Researchers here note an approach to destructively destabilizing the metabolism of cancer cells via lipid nanoparticle delivery of calcium phosphate and citrate. The precise details of the mechanisms by which cancer cells are specifically vulnerable to this mode of delivery, while normal cells essentially reject the nanoparticles, are presently unknown. That will likely limit the further development of this approach to therapy until there is a greater understanding of how exactly it works, even given the promising initial results in mice.
Researchers have developed a novel type of nanoparticle that efficiently and...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 25, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
ST Depression Maximal in V1-V4 and Angio shows 3 Vessel Disease. Is it posterior? Which is the culprit?
A 70-something woman had acute chest pain.The ECG was texted to me with the words: " Acute chest pain. Could this be posterior MI? What do you make of the ST depression in V4-V6? "What do you think?My response: " The ST depression is maximal in V1-V4. This is most consistent with a posterior MI. If it sounds clinically like acute MI then this is good for activating the cath lab. "Her response: " Yeah, I did activate. But the cardiology fellow told me he was sure it would not be a posterior MI because of diffuse ST depression. He suggested that we should have consulted cardiology rather than activati...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - December 23, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs
Bradycardia, Crushing Chest pain, and Pulseless VT Arrest
A 50-something woman with h/o hypertension and hyperaldostonism presented with severe crushing chest pain and bradycardia. EMS found the patient with a decreased level of consciousness. En route to the ED, the heart rate was 30-60 with systolic BP in the 150s and the patient was talking and answering questions. They recorded a prehospital ECG:What do you think?The patient arrived awake and had another ECG recorded:What do you think?The ED physicians correctly identified hyperkalemia and pseudoSTEMI (bradycardia, STE in V1 and V2, very peaked T-waves with a narrow bse and very flat (even downsloping) ...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - December 21, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, December 21st 2020
In this study, we have found that administration of a specific Sgk1 inhibitor significantly reduces the dysregulated form of tau protein that is a pathological hallmark of AD, restores prefrontal cortical synaptic function, and mitigates memory deficits in an AD model. These results have identified Sgk1 as a potential key target for therapeutic intervention of AD, which may have specific and precise effects."
Targeting histone K4 trimethylation for treatment of cognitive and synaptic deficits in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease
Epigenetic aberration is implicated in aging and neurodegeneration. Using p...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 20, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
