Microbiome topic of the day: radiation therapy and the microbiome
Just saw this interesting story in the Observer: Cancer scientists to classify gut bacteria to prevent the side-effects of radiotherapy | Science | The Observer. It discusses an effort to give more consideration to protecting and / or repopulating the microbiome in relation to radiation therapy. I think this is critically important. I want to note - people should give some credit to DARPA for being ahead of their time on this issue. I went to a workshop in 2004 organized by Brett Giroir and Manley Heather. The topic was "Radiation Protection" and one of the points of discussion was the gu...
Source: The Tree of Life - March 23, 2014 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Jonathan Eisen Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, March 21, 2014
From MedPage Today:
More of the Bugs Kids Get Are Resistant. The rate of antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections in children is increasing in inpatient and outpatient settings.
Salt, Obesity May Prematurely Age Young Cells. High sodium intake and obesity may act synergistically to accelerate cellular aging in adolescents, according to new research.
Breast-Sparing Tops Mastectomy in New Analysis. Breast-conserving surgery led to improved cancer-specific survival in early breast cancer as compared with mastectomy, with or without radiation therapy.
BMI Loss Lasting With 3 Bariatric Surgery Options. Three co...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 21, 2014 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Cancer Infectious disease Obesity Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
It Helps To Know What Watchful Waiting Really Means In Prostate Cancer Treatment
News reports covering a prostate cancer study this week in the New England Journal of Medicine have all pretty much come out with the same message: men diagnosed with prostate cancer who had radical surgery did much better than men who were assigned to "watchful waiting" after they were diagnosed.
But guess what? There's a critical fact that seemed to be missing in much of the coverage I saw. And that fact is this: the men who were given the "watchful waiting" as described in the study never received any curative treatment. Let me repeat: No curative treatment. That is a much different approach to watchful waiting than we ...
Source: Dr. Len's Cancer Blog - March 6, 2014 Category: Cancer Authors: Dr. Len Tags: Cancer Care Early detection Medications Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy Research Screening Survivors Treatment Source Type: blogs
Feasible, safe to limit radiation in order to major salivary glands in head and neck cancer patients
Avoiding the particular contralateral submandibular gland during radiation therapy is feasible and safe with advanced stage, node positive head and neck cancers and base of tongue skin lesions, according to research presented today in the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Conference, seminar.
Related Posts:Important advance in the fight against skin cancerNew nanopharmaceutical may help overcome resistance to…Cleveland Clinic’s preventive breast cancer vaccine…Fox Chase trial tests promising therapy in early breast…New blood test could help millions of patients with…The post Feas...
Source: My Irritable Bowel Syndrome Story - February 20, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Ken Tags: IBS News Source Type: blogs
Decreasing RT dose to bilateral IB lymph nodes results in better patient-reported salivary function
For head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, a reduction in the amount of radiation treatment volume to the submandibular (level IB) lymph nodes resulted in better patient-reported salivary function, according to research presented nowadays at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. The study results also found substantial reductions in radiation dose towards the salivary organs, and good local regional control.
Related Posts:Feasible, safe to limit radiation in order to major salivaryImportant advance in the fight against skin cancerAnalysis tackles liver transplant failureNew nanopha...
Source: My Irritable Bowel Syndrome Story - February 20, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Ken Tags: IBS News Source Type: blogs
Medical sources of electromagnetic interference (EMI) to pacemakers / ICD
(implantable cardiovert-defibrillator) include:
a) Electrocautery: Interference can be reduced placing the indifferent electrode as far away from the pacemaker and better still by using bipolar cautery instead of unipolar cautery.
b) Radio-frequency ablation
c) Radiation therapy
d) Electrical nerve and muscle stimulators
e) Dental instruments
f) Spinal cord and deep brain stimulators
g) Defibrillators
h) Capsule endoscopy
i) Electroconvulsive therapy
j) Magnetic resonance imaging (Source: Cardiophile MD)
Source: Cardiophile MD - December 28, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Johnson Francis Tags: Electrophysiology Source Type: blogs
A Constricting Diagnosis
The heart, vasculature, and blood (pump, pipes, and fluid) work together to meet the metabolic demands of the body. End organs and tissue are not adequately perfused when the system fails, leading to injury and deranged physiology. Understanding the hemodynamic relations in normal cardiovascular physiology and how it changes in pathologic conditions helps us make the correct diagnosis and implement the right treatment.
Physical examination can provide indirect clues to hemodynamics, though invasive evaluation has been the traditional gold standard. This can include arterial and central venous pressure measurements, ca...
Source: Spontaneous Circulation - December 12, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
A Constricting Diagnosis
The heart, vasculature, and blood (pump, pipes, and fluid) work together to meet the metabolic demands of the body. End organs and tissue are not adequately perfused when the system fails, leading to injury and deranged physiology. Understanding the hemodynamic relations in normal cardiovascular physiology and how it changes in pathologic conditions helps us make the correct diagnosis and implement the right treatment.
Physical examination can provide indirect clues to hemodynamics, though invasive evaluation has been the traditional gold standard. This can include arterial and central venous pressure measurements, card...
Source: Spontaneous Circulation - December 12, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Healthcare Update Satellite — 11-14-2013
See more news from around the web over at my other blog at DrWhitecoat.com
An example of the downside to government-run health care. Patients in Venezuela can’t get proper medical care. 300 cancer patients were just sent home when supply shortages and “overtaxed equipment” made it “impossible … to perform non-emergency surgeries.” 70% of the radiation therapy machines are inoperable. Basic supplies such as needles, syringes, medications, operating room equipment, X-ray film, and blood needed for transfusions are all in short supply. There is no anesthesia for elective surgery. Patients can no longer get organ d...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - November 15, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Healthcare Update Source Type: blogs
A physician expert witness speaks out
I have been actively engaged in the clinical practice of radiation oncology for the last 40 years, and over the last 10 years have been asked to participate as a radiation oncology expert witness in a variety of medical malpractice cases. Radiation therapy, together with surgery and chemotherapy, is one of the major cancer treatment methods. It is estimated that 50-60% of all cancer patients seen in the USA receive treatment with radiation at some point in their disease trajectory. For 2012, the American Cancer Society estimated 1.6 million new cases of cancer, and that translates to upwards of more than 800,000 patients...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 2, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Physician Malpractice Radiology Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 38-year-old woman with increasing fatigue and weight gain
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 38-year-old woman reports a 3-month history of increasing fatigue and weight gain. She underwent transsphenoidal surgery 4 years ago to remove a nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma, followed 4 months later by radiation therapy because of residual tumor. She started taking hydrocortisone 14 months ago after adrenal insufficiency was diagnosed. The patient developed amenorrhea 1 year ago and began taking an oral contraceptive. Medications are hydrocortisone, norethindrone with ethinyl estradiol, and a multivita...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 2, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Conditions Endocrinology Source Type: blogs
Radiation Dose Linked To Cardiac Risk In Breast Cancer Patients
In the past, cardiovascular risk has been linked to the radiation dose received by breast cancer patients. Now, a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine attempts to calculate the cardiac risk of breast cancer patients today undergoing current radiotherapy protocols. David J. Brenner and colleagues calculated the excess cardiac risk for 48 patients who received radiotherapy at New York University. They estimated the 20-year cardiac risk based on baseline risk and patient-specific mean cardiac radiation dose. Cardiac dose was significantly higher in patients with left-sided radiotherapy. These...
Source: CardioBrief - October 28, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Larry Husten Tags: Policy & Ethics Prevention, Epidemiology & Outcomes health Radiation therapy Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, October 28, 2013
From MedPage Today:
Obesity Linked to C. Diff Risk. Obesity might be a risk factor for community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).
Self-Referral for Radiation Tx Skyrockets. Efforts to close the self-referral loophole for certain in-office services gained ammunition this week as more research showed a dramatic increase in prostate cancer radiation therapy for providers who self-refer.
Red Meat Tied to Cancer Risk in Some People. Red and processed meat consumption was significantly associated with colorectal cancer risk in patients who had a common gene mutation.
Paying Kidney Donors Can Save $$, Help Patien...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 28, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Cancer GI Nephrology Obesity Source Type: blogs
New nanopharmaceutical may help overcome resistance to specific anticancer drugs
Conclusions: Results generated through this translational research plan suggest that CRLX101 can overcome HIF-1α-mediated acquired resistance to antiangiogenic drugs, assisting the use of CRLX101 in combination with antiangiogenic medicines as an exciting new paradigm for the treatment of cancer.
Related Posts:Cleveland Clinic’s preventive breast cancer vaccine…Harvard Stem Cell Institute publishes initial clinical trialImportant advance in the fight against skin cancerNew IBS treatment shows possible in Phase 2 researchNew blood test could help millions of patients with&hellip...
Source: My Irritable Bowel Syndrome Story - October 21, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Ken Tags: IBS News Source Type: blogs
Personalized Medicine Revolution Will Require Revolutionary Changes In How We Care For Cancer Patients
I attended a meeting in Washington this past Wednesday that got me to thinking about the fact that as we revolutionize cancer research and treatment, we are also going to have to revolutionize cancer care. And that may prove to be an even more daunting task than finding new treatments for the disease itself.
The meeting was sponsored by a collaboration called "Turning The Tide Against Cancer". The organizers brought together experts from a variety of disciplines ranging from insurance companies and economists to advocacy groups and highly regarded cancer specialists to discuss policy solutions to support innovation i...
Source: Dr. Len's Cancer Blog - October 18, 2013 Category: Cancer Authors: Dr. Len Tags: Access to care Cancer Care Early detection Medications Prevention Research Screening Survivors Treatment Source Type: blogs
