Cell Therapy versus Lung Fibrosis
In recent years the research community has made some progress towards the use of cell therapies to treat fibrosis in lung tissue, the basis for a number of ultimately fatal conditions that present cannot be effectively controlled. Fibrosis is a disruption of the structure of tissue, the formation of scar-like structures that degrade tissue function. This line of research may soon be overtaken by the use of senolytic treatments to remove senescent cells, given that senescent cells appear to be a significant cause of the age-related failures in regenerative processes that cause fibrosis. Nonetheless, prior to recent work on ...
Source: Fight Aging! - August 4, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Undoctored: Health Should Be (Almost) Free
Follow the current debate on “healthcare reform”–which has NOTHING to do with healthcare reform, but healthcare insurance reform, by the way–and you will hear comments about the escalating and uncontrolled cost of healthcare and how people need access to it.
What you will NOT hear is that fact that, because the healthcare system fails to deliver genuine health, real health is actually quite easy, straightforward, and inexpensive–nearly free.
We achieve a life of being Undoctored, not becoming a profit source for the healthcare industry, not being subjected to the predatory practices of Big P...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - July 13, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Undoctored Wheat Belly Lifestyle acid reflux anti-aging autoimmune blood sugar bowel flora cholesterol Dr. Davis energy Gliadin gluten gluten-free grain-free grains health healthcare Inflammation joint pain low-carb Source Type: blogs
Live Life the Fullest
Don ' t let anything hold you back in your pursuit to live life to the fullest. You want to experience everything and anything (well except maybe eating insects, flydiving, going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, or other really weird things). Get out there and do as many as many things as you can.I think I want to say that I don ' t think you need to constantly push yourself to do something every minute. Sometimes you need to sit there and appreciate what you just accomplished. You should also share your experiences with others who might benefit from what you have done.Do not let your health hold you back. Okay, if you brea...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - July 5, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: fun living with cancer respect terminal ailments Source Type: blogs
Outbreaks of Non-tuberculous Mycobacterium Infection in the United States
To date, 114 known outbreaks of human infection by non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have been associated with medical / other invasive procedures. 37 of these (32%) have reported from the United States. The following chronology is abstracted from the Gideon e-book series. [1] Primary references are available from the author.
1987 17 cases of Mycobacterium chelonae otitis media in Louisiana caused by contaminated water used by an ENT practice
1988 8 cases of Mycobacterium chelonae infection associated with a contaminated jet injector used in a Podiatry office.
1989 – 1990 16 cases of Myco...
Source: GIDEON blog - June 26, 2017 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Dr. Stephen Berger Tags: General Source Type: blogs
Top Companies in Genomics
From portable genome sequencers until genetic tests revealing distant relations with Thomas Jefferson, genomics represents a fascinatingly innovative area of healthcare. As the price of genome sequencing has been in free fall for years, the start-up scene is bursting from transformative power. Let’s look at some of the most amazing ventures in genomics!
The amazing journey of genome sequencing
Genome sequencing has been on an amazing scientific as well as economic journey for the last three decades. The Human Genome Project began in 1990 with the aim of mapping the whole structure of the human genome and sequencing it. ...
Source: The Medical Futurist - May 30, 2017 Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Genomics Personalized Medicine AI artificial intelligence bioinformatics cancer DNA dna testing DTC gc3 genetic disorders genetics genome sequencing personal genomics precision medicine Source Type: blogs
Patient Advocacy Groups Line Up Against Trumpcare
“There is no substitute for fundamental, unequivocal protections for people with pre-existing conditions.” So reads a statement by eight leading patient groups in response to the U.S. House of Representatives vote on the American Health Care Act (AHCA or “Trumpcare”).
The strongly worded letter was posted to legislators by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, March of Dimes, National Organization for Rare Disorders, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Diseas...
Source: Life with MS - May 11, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis MS and family ms community MS in the news MS Money Matters trevis gleason Source Type: blogs
Hill-Rom ’s New Monarch Battery Powered Airway Clearance System
A number of conditions can cause fluid and mucus to build up in the lungs, causing difficulty breathing and leading to serious complications. Patients with cystic fibrosis are particularly affected, and caretakers have been helping to perform chest physical therapy (CPT) techniques for decades to help dislodge the mucus plugs and excess of secretions from the lungs. These include drumming with palms around the sternum and vibrating the patient, something that can require a proper technique and that gets tiring after a few minutes.
Hill-Rom is releasing its new Monarch airway clearance system, a powered vest that delivers ...
Source: Medgadget - April 27, 2017 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Editors Tags: Medicine Rehab Source Type: blogs
Value Frameworks For Rare Diseases: Should They Be Different?
The US health care system is increasingly focusing on value as a basis for reimbursement of pharmacotherapies and devices, and as a result the use of “value frameworks” for measuring and comparing treatment value has grown in recent years. However, the therapies assessed by most frameworks frequently apply to modest-to-large disease populations, rather than the smaller populations affected by rare diseases, where the factors driving value may differ.
Rare diseases are different from diseases affecting larger populations in several fundamental ways. In the United States, a rare disease is defined as one that affects few...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - April 12, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: Anupam Jena and Darius Lakdawalla Tags: Costs and Spending Drugs and Medical Innovation Quality Orphan Drug Act Precision Medicine rare disease treatment treatment value value frameworks Source Type: blogs
Six Things to Know About DNA and DNA Repair
Deoxyribonucleic acid, better known as DNA, was first identified on a discarded surgical bandage almost 150 years ago. Increasingly sophisticated tools and techniques have allowed scientists to learn more about this chemical compound that includes all the instructions necessary for building a living organism. From among the dozens of fascinating things known about DNA, here are six items touching on the make up of DNA’s double helix, the vast amounts of DNA packed into every human’s cells, common DNA errors and a few ways DNA can repair itself.
1. DNA is in every living thing.
DNA consists of two long, twisted chains...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - April 11, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Anne Oplinger Tags: Genetics DNA DNA repair Source Type: blogs
The Children of Medicaid
This article was originally published on Complex Child.
Compiled by Susan Agrawal
I’ve been continually surprised by how many people think Medicaid is just for poor families on welfare. Those of us who parent children with complex medical needs know that Medicaid is so much more than that. After all, 72% of Medicaid enrollees are children, people with disabilities, and the elderly, and these groups account for 84% of spending.
Medicaid provides vital services for children, including home nursing care and therapies, that are not otherwise covered. In this article, we will share just a few of the children with medical co...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - April 10, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Is U.S. Preeminence in High-Tech Medicine a Myth? The Case of Cystic Fibrosis
U.S. health care has many well-documented shortcomings. However, it is often assumed that—because we invest so heavily in technology and specialists—our health care system performs well for patients who have rare or complex diseases. New research shows that we should be skeptical of that assumption.
(Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog)
Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog - April 4, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: blogs
Health should be FREE
Imagine that you receive a notice in the mail stating “In order to maintain your freedom of speech, you will be billed $10,000 per year.”
You would be—understandably—outraged. Freedom of speech in America is precious, something Americans have fought wars to defend. We view free speech as a basic right, no big check to write in order to maintain it. It should be free and available to everyone regardless of religion, color, political leanings, or income.
I believe that same principle should apply to health.
Being healthy means living free of common chronic health conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood sugars...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - March 31, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Undoctored crowd wisdom health free Healthcare System predatory wheat belly Source Type: blogs
Research and Reviews in the Fastlane 177
This study has some frustrating findings: they looked at 318 patients who got a CTPA within 2 weeks of a negative CTPA and found a 5% positive rate. Is CTPA like a stress test, where we just can’t predict plaque rupture? Are people who get CTPAs people who other docs are also worried about PE? Or are we just ordering too many CTPAs? How many of these were false postives or negatives? Sadly, as with most clinical research on pulmonary embolism, I am let with more questions than answers (but we probably order too many CTPAs).
Recommended by: Seth Trueger
Pediatrics
Luck RP, et al. Cosmetic outcomes of absorbable ver...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - March 30, 2017 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Nudrat Rashid Tags: Clinical Case Education Emergency Medicine Infectious Disease Intensive Care Pediatrics R&R in the FASTLANE Radiology Respiratory Resuscitation critical care research and reviews Source Type: blogs
The Future Of Precision Medicine: Great Promise, Significant Challenges
Editor’s note: This post is part of a series stemming from the Fifth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review event held at Harvard Law School on Monday, January 23rd, 2017. The conference brought together leading experts to review major developments in health law over the previous year, and preview what is to come.
In his 2015 State of the Union address, President Obama launched the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI), which is intended to help move medicine from the traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach where treatments are designed for the “average” patient, to one that “takes into account individual diffe...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - February 28, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: Jonathan Darrow, Aaron Kesselheim and Jessica Lasky-Su Tags: Costs and Spending Featured Quality 21st Century Cures Act cancer moonshot cancerr Precision Medicine Research The Health Law Year in P/Review Source Type: blogs
Analysis Shows Health Care Cost Predictions Grossly Incorrect
This study, once again disproves the misleading claims that pharmacy benefit managers and insurers (among others) make about spending on new innovative medicines. The report found that predictions of health care costs made prior to the introduction of new medicines were often dramatically overstated.
The study points to the example of new cholesterol-lowering medicines, also known as PCSK9 inhibitors. The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) predicted that the one-year cost of the two PCSK9 inhibitors would be $7.2 billion. However, in reality, based on reported sales, the actual cost will be approximately $8...
Source: Policy and Medicine - January 5, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
