3D Printed Shields Protect Guts During Radiotherapy
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and MIT have developed 3D printed shields to protect the gastrointestinal tract from the side effects of radiotherapy. Using CT scans, the devices can be custom printed to suit each patient’s anatomy. The materials they’re made of contain high atomic number elements that help to shield tissues from gamma and X-rays.
Radiotherapy can be highly effective at targeting tumors and helping to shrink them. However, it can also have significant consequences for nearby healthy tissues. The side effects can be particularly pronounced in the delicate tissues of the mouth and g...
Source: Medgadget - April 27, 2021 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: GI Materials Radiation Oncology Radiology Source Type: blogs
Can AI Reinvent Radiation Therapy for Cancer Patients?
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 advances in health care artificial intelligence (AI), medical imaging is probably the most remarkable success story. Two prominent examples come to mind: Machine learning has helped improve the screening and diagnosis of retinal disease and is making inroads in skin cancer detection. Given these developments, it ’s not surprising to find researchers and clinicians developing the digital tools to improve radiotherapy, which combines imaging techno...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - April 19, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, March 8th 2021
Conclusion
Coupled with the animal data, and the existing human trial data for safety, the results here suggests that someone should run a formal, controlled trial of flagellin immunization in older people, 65 and over. The goal would be to see whether (a) this sort of outcome holds up in a larger group of people, and (b) there is a meaningful impact on chronic inflammation and other parameters of health that are known to be affected by the aging of the gut microbiome.
The Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Aging is Complex
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2021/03/the-role-of-reactive-oxygen-species-in-a...
Source: Fight Aging! - March 7, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
The SREBP Pathway is a Mechanism by which Cancers Subvert Regulatory T Cells
Cancers subvert the immune system in a variety of ways, such as in order to aid growth, or suppress the immune response normally triggered by the presence of cancerous cells. Regulatory T cells are involved in halting the immune response after it is has done its job, and in preventing autoimmunity, in which the immune system attacks the body. This role is abused in cancerous tissue in order to protect the cancer from the immune system. Researchers here identify some of the controlling biochemistry that makes regulatory T cells behave differently in this scenario. The mechanism appears distinct enough, operating only in can...
Source: Fight Aging! - March 3, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, February 22nd 2021
In conclusion, long term LRIC could decrease blood pressure and ameliorate vascular remodeling via inflammation regulation.
The Damage of a Heart Attack Causes the Immune System to Overreact
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2021/02/the-damage-of-a-heart-attack-causes-the-immune-system-to-overreact/
Researchers here note a mechanism that causes T cells of the adaptive immune system to spur chronic inflammation and tissue damage following a heart attack. As the researchers note, not all inflammation is the same. Some is maladaptive, and this is particularly the case in older individuals. The aged immun...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 21, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Most Core Longevity Industry Venture Investment Vehicles are Companies, Not Funds
The objective of a venture fund is to exist for a set period of time, invest in startups, and return gains to investors at the end of that time. The objective of a business development company is to go public. This difference in objectives tends to steer groups like Juvenescence and Cambrian towards creating a family of owned companies, via founding startups or purchasing controlling majority stakes in existing ventures, and participating actively in the management of those companies. New Big Pharma entities will likely emerge from this approach, as the industry grows, and the first rejuvenation therapies prove their worth...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 16, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Cures for Cerumen Impaction
Cerumen impaction removal may not be considered an emergent procedure in the emergency department, but this omnipresent natural phenomenon will bring patients, from infants to the elderly, to your department at all hours of the day and night because loss of hearing is a foreign and uncomfortable sensation.Cerumen impaction can cause complete hearing loss, pain, dizziness, chronic cough, and even infection. Patients who attempt to remove cerumen at home can end up with otitis externa or otitis media and even tympanic membrane trauma. The cerumen can block visualization of the tympanic membrane so TM rupture or ear infect...
Source: The Procedural Pause - October 1, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Every time you congregate with someone from outside of your home, you are potentially responsible for deaths
My husband and I have always relished being in the thick of it,“in the trenches,” we would say, at our hospital. He is a head and neck cancer surgeon, and I am a pediatric otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat specialist for children). Working at an academic tertiary/quaternary care center in a major city, with […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 23, 2020 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/nina-shapiro" rel="tag" > Nina Shapiro, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions COVID-19 coronavirus Infectious Disease Source Type: blogs
Chemotherapy and hearing loss: Monitoring is essential
Treatment for cancer is a difficult time for patients and their families. While there are significant benefits of chemotherapy in treating and managing many types of cancers, some of the negative side effects may not always be so obvious. One of the potential negative effects of chemotherapy that you may not be aware of is hearing loss. Hearing loss caused by chemotherapy is generally considered a type of sudden hearing loss, so monitoring hearing before and after treatment with hearing tests is important.
How are chemotherapy and hearing loss connected?
Hearing loss as a potential side effect of chemotherapy is more likel...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 13, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: James Naples, MD Tags: Cancer Ear, nose, and throat Hearing Loss Source Type: blogs
‘Not Just Dots On a Map’: SLPs Speak Their Truth From the COVID-19 Battlefront
Tuesday, March 10. Speech-language pathologist Fatima Warren was grocery shopping with her grandmother when she first noticed the painful body aches. Chalking it up to the rainy day and an earlier workout, she ran a hot bath.
Wednesday, March 11. Warren woke up with chills, fever, and worsening aches. She drove straight to the closest ER in her hometown of Lexington, Kentucky. There, staff ran numerous tests, but not for COVID-19. The 45-year-old didn’t qualify because she hadn’t traveled outside the country and couldn’t name a contact with the virus.
Thursday, March 12. Worried about infecting her 13-year-old son an...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - April 1, 2020 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Bridget Murray Law Tags: Slider Speech-Language Pathology Uncategorized acute care Cognitive Rehabilitation Dysphagia FEES Health Care MBSS personal protective equipment skilled nursing facilities Swallowing Disorders Source Type: blogs
Is your cell phone dangerous to your health?
This study may be the first to provide details regarding the relationship between cell phone use and head and neck injuries. However, it had some significant limitations. Keep in mind that the study focused on head and neck injuries. People with multiple injuries or more serious injuries (such as a heart attack or an ankle fracture) might not have been included in the count. Individuals who sought care at their doctor’s office or urgent care centers would also be excluded from this study.
In addition, information about the circumstances of an injury can be incomplete. Embarrassment or concerns about legal liability might...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 21, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Health Source Type: blogs
The Dangers of Alcohol
The dangers of alcohol begin at the first sip of the first drink. Although most responsible drinking habits shouldn’t be cause for major concern, everyone who drinks runs the risk of encountering the negative effects of alcohol.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans defines moderate drinking as up to 1 drink per day for women and up to 2 drinks per day for men. A single drink is considered as:
12 ounces of beer (5% alcohol content)
8 ounces of malt liquor (7% alcohol content)
5 ounces of wine (12% alcohol content)
1.5 ounces of 80-proof (40% alcohol content) distilled spirits or liquor (e.g., gin, rum, vodka, whiskey)...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - December 27, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Alcoholism alcohol abuse alcohol dependence alcohol dependency alcohol detox alcohol treatment alcohol treatment center alcohol treatment facility Alcoholics Anonymous Source Type: blogs
Why this physician wanted to be a head and neck surgeon
Head and neck cancer surgeons know when “the questions” are coming. A casual conversation eventually turns to, “What do you do for a career?” The pleasant exchange is replaced with talk of disfigurement and life-threatening illness. The person’s brow furrows. “How can you deal with that day after day? Isn’t it depressing? Wh y didn’t you […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 12, 2019 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/bruce-campbell" rel="tag" > Bruce Campbell, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Surgery Source Type: blogs
Hyperspectral Surgical Microscope to See Cancer Cells in Real Time
Since internal cancerous tumors usually look exactly like the healthy tissues around them, frozen section analysis is used during and after surgeries to confirm that the entirety of a tumor has been removed. This is a slow process that often leads to patients requiring follow-up procedures.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have developed a hyperspectral surgical microscope that may be able to spot cancer cells in real-time during surgeries. It not only images across nearly the entire optical spectrum, from UV to infrared, but it also uses machine learning techniques to analyze the images it produces and...
Source: Medgadget - October 2, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Neurosurgery Ob/Gyn Oncology Pathology Radiology Source Type: blogs
Tackling side effects in head and neck cancer treatment – the end of the road for hyperbaric oxygen?
Related items fromOnMedica Hundreds of lung cancer patients' lives cut short due to treatment variations NICE updates lung cancer guidance Cancer patients using complementary meds die sooner Sentinel node biopsy first to check spread of oral cancer Blood cancer patients feel ‘let down’ by NHS (Source: OnMedica Blogs)
Source: OnMedica Blogs - June 2, 2019 Category: General Medicine Source Type: blogs
