A Look at the Damage Done by Senescent T Cells in the Aged Immune System
Cells become senescent and cease replication in response to damage, a toxic environment, or reaching the Hayflick limit. Such cells near all self-destruct or are destroyed by the immune system. In later life, however, they begin to linger and accumulate. This is an issue, as the secretions of senescent cells are quite harmful when sustained over the long term, producing chronic inflammation and disruption of tissue structure and function. The cells of the immune system are no less subject to the burden of cellular senescence than is the case for any other cell type, in fact arguably more so given that infection results in ...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 26, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Does lupus or arthritis affect your prognosis if you get COVID-19?
Soon after the coronavirus pandemic began, we learned that older adults and people with certain chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, are at increased risk for severe COVID-19. One condition on that list is an immunocompromised state (a weakened immune system). This can be due to a number of conditions, including having had an organ transplant, having HIV, or taking medications that suppress the immune system.
If you have an autoimmune condition such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus (also called systemic lupus erythematosus), you may wonder how this affects your risk. It’s thought that these condit...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 9, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Autoimmune diseases Bones and joints Coronavirus and COVID-19 Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, October 19th 2020
In conclusion, we found that regardless of the presence of multimorbidity, engaging in a healthier lifestyle was associated with up to 6.3 years longer life for men and 7.6 years for women; however, not all lifestyle risk factors equally correlated with life expectancy, with smoking being significantly worse than others.
A Hydrogel Scaffold to Encourage Peripheral Nerve Regeneration
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2020/10/a-hydrogel-scaffold-to-encourage-peripheral-nerve-regeneration/
The nervous system of mammals is poorly regenerative at best. The use of implantable scaffold materials is one of th...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 18, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Stopping osteoarthritis: Could recent heart research provide a clue?
Here’s a recent headline that I found confusing: Could the first drug that slows arthritis be here?
It’s confusing because it depends on which of the more than 100 types of arthritis we’re discussing. We’ve had drugs that slow rheumatoid arthritis for decades. In fact, more than a dozen FDA-approved drugs can reduce, or even halt, joint damage in people with rheumatoid arthritis. We also have effective medications to slow or stop gout, another common type of arthritis.
But the headline refers to osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis. And currently, no medications can safely and reliably slow the pace of...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 15, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Arthritis Health Inflammation Source Type: blogs
A Conservative View on Osteoarthritis, Failing to Mention Senescent Cells
This open access paper provides a conservative view on the state of research and development of osteoarthritis treatments. Some time is spent on the puzzling nature of inflammation in osteoarthritis, and the failure of immunosuppressive therapies used for other conditions to produce meaningful benefits in this case. Yet senescent cells - and their inflammatory signaling, shown in a number of animal studies to contribute to and even directly cause osteoarthritis - are not mentioned at all. This gives some idea of the mindset in evidence here: lines of research arising in the past five to ten years, and that have not yet pro...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 14, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
New Technologies Drive Cost Growth Over Time
By KEN TERRY
(This is the eighth and final installment in a series of excerpts from Terry’s new book, Physician-Led Healthcare Reform: a New Approach to Medicare for All, published by the American Association for Physician Leadership.)
Medical technologies include drugs, devices, tests, and procedures. Considered as a whole, these technologies are the key driver of growth in health costs, according to Georgetown University professor Gregg Bloche and his associates.
Bloche, et al., view insurance coverage as the chief enabler of these technological innovations. In a 2017 Health Affairs Blog post, they said, ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 5, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Health Policy Ken Terry Source Type: blogs
Unmasking inequality: the power of community organization during COVID-19
In medical school, I was charged with caring for Ms. R, a 47-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and rheumatoid arthritis. She had been flagged as a high priority patient through the student-run free clinic (SRFC) and assigned to me for long-term follow-up. This signified seeing her during monthly check-ups, scheduling her appointments 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 - October 2, 2020 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/aishwarya-raja-and-inginia-genao" rel="tag" > Aishwarya Raja and Inginia Genao, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions COVID-19 coronavirus Infectious Disease Source Type: blogs
FDA Determined Convalescent Plasma Is Safe, Leaves Decisions on Efficacy up to Clinicians/ Patients. That’s the Way It Should Always Be
Jeffrey A. SingerYesterday the Food and Drug Administration released a clinical memorandum giving Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma (CCP) therapy, a previously unapproved biological product. Forseveral months clinicians treating severely ill COVID-19 patients have transfused plasma donated by convalescing COVID-19 patients, rich with the antibodies to the virus produced by their immune system, hoping that these same antibodies can help patients suffering from active infection. Early results have been promising but, as somecritics of the FDA decision have stated, more data is needed befo...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - August 24, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, August 24th 2020
We report that electrical stimulation (ES) stimulation of post-stroke aged rats led to an improved functional recovery of spatial long-term memory (T-maze), but not on the rotating pole or the inclined plane, both tests requiring complex sensorimotor skills. Surprisingly, ES had a detrimental effect on the asymmetric sensorimotor deficit.
Histologically, there was a robust increase in the number of doublecortin-positive cells in the dentate gyrus and SVZ of the infarcted hemisphere and the presence of a considerable number of neurons expressing tubulin beta III in the infarcted area. Among the genes that were unique...
Source: Fight Aging! - August 23, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Immune System Aging as an Important Contributing Factor in the Progression of Many Age-Related Diseases
The immune system influences the function of tissues throughout the body. Immune cells are involved in tissue maintenance and wound healing, in the necessary day to day clearance of senescent cells, in the removal of cell debris and molecular waste. In some organs they have even more vital functions, such as assisting in the maintenance of synaptic connections in the brain. Further, immune cells produce inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signals that influence the behavior of other cells in numerous ways. Thus when the immune system runs awry and falters with age, the downstream consequences are pervasive and consequential...
Source: Fight Aging! - August 19, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
I ’ve Kept an Expressive Writing Journal for 4 Decades — Here’s Why
This week, at the end of an online poetry class, our on-screen instructor asked, “Why do you write?” Then, she added: “In writing, what is your greater purpose?”
Now, I’ve been writing for myself and for publication since the mid 1970s. And, over the years, as I teach or lead narrative writing workshops, I’m sure I’ve posed that why-do-you-write question to my own writing students. But, shame on me, I had never really posed the question to myself.
Truthfully, for the rest of that day, as I tended to my usual work and deadlines, the instructor’s question niggled at me. Then, next morning, instead of penn...
Source: World of Psychology - July 23, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Aine Greaney Tags: Creativity Habits Personal Self-Help benefits of writing Journaling Source Type: blogs
Autoimmune lung disease: Early recognition and treatment helps
A man who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) five years ago sees his rheumatologist for a follow-up visit. Fortunately, his arthritis is well controlled through medication. He can walk and do all his daily activities without pain. But over the past six months, he’s been feeling short of breath when climbing stairs. He has an annoying dry cough, too. COVID-19? That’s ruled out quickly. But a CT scan of his chest reveals early fibrosis (scarring) of the lungs, most likely related to rheumatoid arthritis. “I can finally walk normally, and now I can’t breathe when I walk!” says the frustrated patient, whose...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 24, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Paul F. Dellaripa, MD Tags: Arthritis Autoimmune diseases Health Inflammation Lung disease Source Type: blogs
What ’s a diagnosis about? COVID-19 and beyond
By MICHEL ACCAD
Last month marked the 400th anniversary of the birth of John Graunt, commonly regarded as the father of epidemiology. His major published work, Natural and Political Observations Made upon the Bills of Mortality, called attention to the death statistics published weekly in London beginning in the late 16th century. Graunt was skeptical of how causes of death were ascribed, especially in times of plagues. Evidently, 400 years of scientific advances have done little to lessen his doubts!
A few days ago, Fox News reported that Colorado governor Jared Polis had “pushed back against recen...
Source: The Health Care Blog - May 28, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: COVID-19 Medical Practice Physicians Diagnosis MICHEL ACCAD Source Type: blogs
What COVID-19 Tells Us About AI Inventors
Rachel ChiuScholars have associated artificial intelligence ( “AI”) with many words over the years: overhyped, underdeveloped, and even science fiction. But COVID-19 demonstrates that despite the skepticism and hysteria there is a place for AI in society, even if that space is still legally undefined. Since AI inventorship is not suitably addressed in U.S . patent law, the advancement of AI presents practical and conceptual challenges for the aging patent system.AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence performed on machines that can imitate cognition and evaluate autonomously. Expertise in pattern recognition...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - May 19, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Rachel Chiu Source Type: blogs
Harvard Health AdWatch: An arthritis ad in 4 parts
Perhaps you’ve grown as weary as I have of repeated arthritis ads. They appear in frequent rotation on television, online, and in magazines, promoting Enbrel, Humira, Otezla, Xeljanz, and others.
If you’ve actually read or listened to these ads, you might have felt perplexed at certain points. Here’s a quick rundown on what they’re saying — and not saying — in one of those ads.
“The clock is ticking”
Part 1: A teakettle whistles on the stove and a disembodied voice speaks as this ad for Humira opens. “This is your wakeup call. If you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, month after month the cloc...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 29, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Arthritis Bones and joints Health Inflammation Source Type: blogs
