Health Thread (nutrition, medical, longevity, etc)

[ccp]

Michael Douglas head and neck cancer he claims was caused by HPV.  I didn't believe it since he is a long time smoker.  I was not aware of the latest data suggesting these cancers (Jamie Diamond) are from HPV.  This article suggests it is the # 16 strain.  The HPV vaccine recommended to all females now males age 9 to 26 should be protective:

http://oralcancerfoundation.org/hpv/

I cannot imagine why anyone would not want the vaccine for their children.

[ccp]

If a person is overweight they should do their best to lose excess weight.  If they are not and their cholesterol is high than a statin drug for those at higher risk.   I rarely advise low cholesterol fat diets otherwise.   Some still will do that.   Exercise is always good.   But I have thought this was long overrated and mostly agree with this "new" recommendation:

New guidelines expected to downplay importance of lowering cholesterol

Posted 8:05 AM, February 17, 2015, by PIX11 Report   

(PIX11/CNN) – In a step that would reverse decades of thinking, a dietary guidelines panel suggests that consumers don’t need to worry about how much cholesterol is in their food.

“Cholesterol is not considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption,” the 40-page report notes.

What nutrients are of concern, according to the panel? Vitamin D, calcium, potassium, fiber and iron – all of which are severely lacking from Americans’ diets. And sodium and saturated fat, which make up too much of Americans’ diets.

The draft was issued in December. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee must send its final recommendation to the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture before they get the final approval.

The American Heart Association classifies cholesterol in two ways: “good” and “bad.” It says too much of one type of cholesterol or not enough of another can put you at risk for coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke.

The agency recommends all adults age 20 or older have their cholesterol checked every four to six years.

[Crafty_Dog]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/arleneweintraub/2015/02/24/brain-altering-devices-may-supplant-drugs-and-pharma-is-ok-with-that/

[Crafty_Dog]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypipes/2015/03/23/obamacare-at-five-years-old-a-disappointment/

contrast this:

http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2015/uninsured_change/ib_uninsured_change.pdf

[ccp]

In Yiddish we call this disease meshugganosis.  I had two people over the years who were convinced beyond comprehension that fibers were coming out of their skin.  They would come into the office and insist that what appeared to be a fiber possibly from a carpet or upholstery of some sort on their hand or finger actually was growing out of their skin.  They would go from doctor to doctor insisting this.
 
I would give them the benefit of the doubt and send to infectious disease or skin specialists etc.  Nothing was ever confirmed.

 I don't know if Joni Mitchell (who I never listened to growing up) did too much LSD or what:

http://news.yahoo.com/joni-mitchells-mysterious-skin-disease-causes-morgellons-203447248.html

[ccp]

Perhaps readers will recall a private held company called Theranos that I posted is a big threat to present entrenched lab companies like Quest and LabCorp.   Well this is LabCorps response:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/the-doctor-is-out-labcorp-to-let-consumers-order-own-tests/ar-AAblxGC

[Crafty_Dog]

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-05/new-technique-uses-bodys-stem-cells-regenerate-teeth

[ccp]

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/05/when-the-last-patient-dies/394163/

[Crafty_Dog]

http://www.delish.com/food/a43162/kale-poison-thallium/

[ccp]

Some of my colleagues I have spoken with also throw up their hands when they hear this back and forth controversy.  Even the experts can't seem to agree.  Which the hell is it?

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2016-02-01/new-blood-pressure-guidelines-a-danger-to-patients-study

[ccp]

This would be a dream come true for those with type 1 diabetes:
https://news.yahoo.com/cure-diabetes-moving-closer-toward-130633800.html

[ccp]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/syphilis-outbreak-plaguing-las-vegas-013800618.html

[Crafty_Dog]

Forwarded to me by someone who follows these things:

http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/06/blood-lipids-and-infectious-disease-part-i/

[ccp]

Do this at your own risk.  To me it sounds like another con job.  Strange brew that can only be obtained from some exotic jungle and cures every possible emotional ailment known to man.  Even migraines.  I suppose seizure claims are next.

I only know like all the other gimmicks is that it is making some people money:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/is-perus-psychedelic-potion-a-cure-or-a-curse-1461944415

BTW, PTSD is being over diagnosed as is ADHD.

[Crafty_Dog]

Though there may well be exploitation, IMHO it may not be all BS.  There are Native Americans of the American southwest/Mexican northwest who have psychedelic induced religious experiences.

[ccp]

Peyote yes.  It was used by some when I was in college.

Didn't seem to help Tony Soprano.  Just kidding.

It is possible there may be a real therapeutic effect but the reports are anecdotal and some of these things IMHO also seem  to have some sort of placebo effect.

I just don't know.  Look at all the massive expenditures the drug companies make to research risk rewards of psychoactive drugs and then compare that to reports of people swearing by the life altering benefits of this unstudied drug on the human mind. 

[ccp]

Wow.  Lets keep our fingers crossed:

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/05/scientists-find-cure-for-type-2-diabetes-in-rodents-dont-know-how-it-works/

[DougMacG]

Wow.  Lets keep our fingers crossed:
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/05/scientists-find-cure-for-type-2-diabetes-in-rodents-dont-know-how-it-works/

I didn't know Type 2 Diabetes in rats was a major issue. 

Let's hope our speedy, streamlined, patient health oriented FDA makes this available to humans as well!

[G M]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0O_VYcsIk8

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0O_VYcsIk8[/youtube]

 

[ccp]

"I didn't know Type 2 Diabetes in rats was a major issue.  wink

Let's hope our speedy, streamlined, patient health oriented FDA makes this available to humans as well!"


I propose we test the application in liberals and progressives to see if it works in humans as well as rats.   

[ccp]

Don't know much about the technology yet or the company or the stock but if this is true this could be a big advance.  I should check with some of my oncologist friends:

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/worlds-richest-doctor-wants-revolutionize-141948699.html

[ccp]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-possible-ebola-hollywood-20160606-snap-story.html

 

[ccp]

https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/08/telemedicine-the-21st-centurys-answer-to-long-wait-times

[Crafty_Dog]

Has merit; especially with the dramatic increase in recent decades in information available to patients to prepare them for interactions with their doctors.

[ccp]

I notice the main culprits in its' spread are noticeably not mentioned but this is the WP after all:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/09/21/threat-of-untreatable-gonorrhea-is-increasing-new-data-show/

older forms of treatment:

http://www.antimicrobe.org/h04c.files/history/Gonorrhea.asp

[Crafty_Dog]

 

Please post here as well.

http://dogbrothers.com/phpBB2/index.php?topic=1148.100

This forum's interest in this issue is longstanding.

[Crafty_Dog]

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/08/is-elysium-healths-basis-the-fountain-of-youth.html?utm_source=facebookNYMag&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2%25LaLJune2016AllNFAutobidNYMag&utm_content=Paid+Content&GA=attribution

[ccp]

This was on reason why Katherine would never get an insulin pump:

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/exclusive-j-j-warns-diabetic-123046807.html

[ccp]

The Surgeon General recently came out with a rather critical summary of E cigs requesting more or less they start being treated like regular cigarettes.

https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/documents/2016_SGR_Exec_Summ_508.pdf

Here is one response to the Surgeon General's opinion report:

https://www.aei.org/publication/dear-surgeon-general-and-public-health-agencies-anti-vaping-polices-are-bad-for-public-health/

As a doctor I think E cigarettes are good if used as intended!  As a *temporary* means for people to wean off of tobacco products.  But for how long does one substitute one for the other?
I suppose if one "vapes" for many years instead of smoking or chewing tobacco that is still great progress because we know the E cigarettes are not nearly as dangerous as tobacco cigarettes.
So in these regards  I am for it. 

But the Surgeon General's report brings to my attention something I was not thinking of:

Youth taking up E cigarettes instead of tobacco products. 

I am definitely NOT for that.  Why in the world would I want children taking up nicotine addiction even if it is from an overall health perspective far less dangerous?  It is still nicotine addiction.
This is NOt what I had in mind when I was thinking about E cigarettes and patients ask me about them.  I will have to adjust my position on them.

Sure if one cannot quit cigarettes by any other means then go ahead and vape .  At least you will not likely have the exponential risk of dying of cancer or heart disease prematurely.

On the other hand I am totally against children taking this up to be cool or for social acceptance . 

[ccp]

Suppose this should happen to a bacteria that is as easily spread as bubonic plague -

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6601a7.htm?s_cid=mm6601a7_e

[Crafty_Dog]

http://www.sciencealert.com/new-alzheimer-s-treatment-fully-restores-memory-function

[ccp]

very interesting concept.

whether it really works and is safe will take a decade to find out.  Lets hope....

[G M]

http://nypost.com/2017/04/28/drinking-coffee-basically-keeps-you-alive/

Yes!

[ccp]

I usually recommended naproxen (aleve) when I prescribe a nonsteroidal medicine for pain.  First it is twice a day vs 3 times a day like ibuprofen (motrin) and it is the only one of that class that is NOT assoicated with heart attacks:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/3520232/taking-ibuprofen-to-treat-pain-increases-your-risk-of-heart-attack-after-just-one-week/

PS aleve can still cause bleeding ulcers and injure kidneys and raise blood pressure so talk to your doctor 0))   

[ccp]

I drink an energy drink daily .   The caffeine content is 160 mg caffeine.  A single starbucks coffee can have close to that.  This is equivalent to about 2 cups of normal coffee.  Not excessive.  Back in the 90's when thinking about opening a coffee bar I recall reading a book on the health effects of caffeine and it reviewed all the research up to that time.  There was no evidence of any danger to up to about 2 cups a day or It think about 200 mg / day.  The main risk to more then that is not dropping dead but withdrawal symptoms like headaches and fatigue, maybe mood swings, and insomnia.

There was some danger to the older way of making or brewing coffee that was last still done in some Scandinavian countries (then at least - maybe no longer) where they would drink unfiltered coffee and thus one would also consume unsaturated fats.  (from what I recall)

This young fellow who passed away drank a lot of caffeine in a short amount of time. He must have had some cardiac predisposition that made him sensitive to the affects .  The other question I would have would be about the unknown about other ingredients in the energy drinks.  Such as taurine.  The last I read about it was that there is little information about the health effects of that in larger quantities:

https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/teen-dies-drinking-much-coffee-soda-energy-drink-010804115.html

[ccp]

For the sake of of context , in over 30 yrs in medicine I have never seen an article that explains how to care for diabetics during Jewish fasting holidays of during Christmas or Easter:

http://www.mdedge.com/ccjm/article/136661/diabetes/diabetes-control-during-ramadan-fasting

[DougMacG]

For the sake of of context , in over 30 yrs in medicine I have never seen an article that explains how to care for diabetics during Jewish fasting holidays of during Christmas or Easter:

http://www.mdedge.com/ccjm/article/136661/diabetes/diabetes-control-during-ramadan-fasting

"A diabetic patient who develops signs or symptoms of hypoglycemia during Ramadan fasting should break the fast to avoid serious complications."

If we can ease the rules of Islam, maybe we can also relax the call to kill all infidels.

[G M]

For the sake of of context , in over 30 yrs in medicine I have never seen an article that explains how to care for diabetics during Jewish fasting holidays of during Christmas or Easter:

http://www.mdedge.com/ccjm/article/136661/diabetes/diabetes-control-during-ramadan-fasting

"A diabetic patient who develops signs or symptoms of hypoglycemia during Ramadan fasting should break the fast to avoid serious complications."

If we can ease the rules of Islam, maybe we can also relax the call to kill all infidels.

Yes, getting muslims to value human life above religion. That would be nice.

Don't hold your breath.

[ccp]

to worry about......

I've read that some scientists have been able to come up with genetic engineered means by which they could wipe mosquitos off the face of the Earth.  Of course that may not be all good.  I am not sure I would mind if they could do the same for the plague of ticks .  Do ticks serve any good purpose?



************Another Tick-Borne Disease In NJ — With Potentially Strange Side Effects************
Another tick-borne disease has spread to New Jersey, and it may produce some strange side effects that could impact the way people eat.

By Tom Davis (Patch Staff) - May 18, 2017 10:50 am ET
ShareTweetGoogle PlusRedditEmailComments2
Another Tick-Borne Disease In NJ — With Potentially Strange Side Effects
A tick that produces a rash similar to that of Lyme disease has spread to New Jersey, and it may produce some strange side effects that could impact your diet.

The lone star tick produces southern tick-associated rash illness, or STARI, that can lead to fatigue, fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But there's another potential symptom that you may not have expected: an allergic reaction to red meat.

Thomas Platts-Mills, the director of the University of Virginia School of Medicine’s allergy division, told nj.com that research shows that people who have been bitten by the tick have suffered a meat allergy called alpha-gal.

"If you're allergic to shrimp, well, most people don't eat shrimp every day. So if you have a reaction to shrimp, you know it. People come in and tell us they're allergic to shrimp, and they're usually right," Platts-Mills told nj.com.

The publication cited one victim, Jerry Dotoli of Ocean County, who had gone to Florida for the winter and was beset by frequent hives accompanied by a ferocious itching "four times worse than poison ivy." Dotoli got a blood test and was told he had become allergic to meat, pork and dairy, with the possible culprit being a lone star tick.

The N.J. Department of Health says it does not keep statistics on how many people have been bitten by the lone star tick because the rash too closely resembles Lyme disease. But the Freehold Health Department estimates that up to 9 percent of the state's tick-bite cases involve the lone star.***********

[Crafty_Dog]

Whoa , , ,

[DougMacG]

Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event.

No. 2 cause of accidental death in children, ages 15 and under

“Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.

Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.

Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.

From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs."
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/family/2013/06/rescuing_drowning_children_how_to_know_when_someone_is_in_trouble_in_the.html

[DougMacG]

The World Health Organization's cancer agency says a common weedkiller is "probably carcinogenic." The scientist leading that review knew of fresh data showing no cancer link - but he never mentioned it and the agency did not take it into account.

http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/glyphosate-cancer-data/

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/06/another-left-wing-science-scandal.php

[ccp]

If works this could be the real deal:

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20170630/SCT-scientists-develop-Neo-Islet-technology-for-treating-insulin-dependent-diabetes.aspx

[G M]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3602846/Pictured-Melbourne-university-lecturer-34-died-altitude-sickness-Mount-Everest-taking-climb-husband-prove-vegans-anything.html

Pictured: Vegan lecturer, 34, who attempted to climb Mount Everest to prove 'vegans can do anything'... only to die from altitude sickness

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3602846/Pictured-Melbourne-university-lecturer-34-died-altitude-sickness-Mount-Everest-taking-climb-husband-prove-vegans-anything.html

[Crafty_Dog]

http://www.jordantimes.com/news/region/egypt-once-top-hepotitis-c-sufferer-draws-cure-seekers

[ccp]

interesting article
but the drug itself is not described which is very curious.

I don't suppose it is a pirated copy of a drug in US that costs many thousands of dollar here.

[ccp]

Flu season has started so you or your loved ones may want to get the flu vaccine if haven't yet.

[ccp]

In my opinion air travel from this country should be banned unless passengers are screened ala ebola

This is MORE contagious then Ebola because it is airborne though it can be cured with antibiotics if given soon enough and before the patient dies:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5043497/Deadly-airborne-plague-cases-rocket-40.html

[ccp]

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/660006/black-death-plague-madagascar-get-worse-antibiotics

IN this article that keeps posting on Drudge it calls plague a virus

It is not .  It is a bacteria

From what I have read it is not resistant to the standard antibiotics - at least yet

In pre antibiotic history most died since there were no antibiotics but now less would live if treated early or prophylactically

That said it is extremely contagious especially in the lung for of disease

and could kill untold numbers of people due to the rapidity of spread

And of course resistance could develop at any time

[ccp]

https://mail.yahoo.com/d/folders/1/messages/ABbxbcJupuTfWuCHmA1SKOi5QRc