January 5th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Opinion, Research
Tags: Cardiology, Cell Biology, Cervical Cancer, Cloning, Diabetes, Dr. Toni Brayer, Endocrinology, Everything Health, First Human Cell Line, Gene Mapping, Genetics, Heart Disease, HeLa Cells, In Vitro Fertilization, Infectious Disease, IVF, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Medical Research, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Neurology, Oncology, Polio Vaccine, Rebecca Skloot, Science In Medicine, The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
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If you like science, true history, and an engaging story, pick up the new book by journalist Rebecca Skloot, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” and prepare for a great read. I knew nothing about the young black woman whose cells were taken back in 1951 by a scientist at Johns Hopkins Hospital and how those cells have revolutionized modern cell biology and research.
The HeLa (named after HEnrietta LAcks) cells were taken as she lay dying on the “colored” ward at Johns Hopkins Hospital of aggressive cervical cancer at age 30. Everyone who studies basic cell biology has heard of HeLa cells because they were the first human cell line to be successfully grown in culture and they are alive today. HeLa cells were sent to researchers all across the globe and have been used to develop the polio vaccine, viruses, cloning, gene mapping and in-vitro fertilization. Billions of the same immortal HeLa cells are used by researchers fighting cancer, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and diabetes. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
January 5th, 2011 by AnthonyKomaroffMD in Opinion, Research
Tags: acesulfame, Artificial Sweetener, Aspartame, Calories, Diet, FDA, Harvard Health Letter, Healthy Eating, Healthy Lifestyle, neotame, Saccharin, Stevia, Sucralose, Sugar, Weight Gain
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When sugar-free beverages first became available, I was skeptical that they could really taste as good as “the real thing.” I quickly changed my mind. In fact, it seemed to me that the sugar-free versions actually tasted better than “the real thing.”
It seemed like a no-brainer. Sugar-free beverages had no calories and tasted better—maybe there is such a thing as a free lunch. Obviously, many people who also wanted to lose weight made the same switch. Were we right about artificial sweeteners?
Although short-term studies suggest that switching from sugar to no-calorie sweeteners can help, other research suggests it may actually promote weight gain. Writing in the December 2011 Harvard Health Letter, noted obesity researcher Dr. David Ludwig explores the possible connection between sugar substitutes and weight gain.
The FDA has approved six calorie-free sweeteners: acesulfame, aspartame, neotame, saccharin, Stevia, and sucralose. They are Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
January 5th, 2011 by AnneHansonMD in Better Health Network, Humor, News, Research
Tags: Aggressive Patients, Breast Cancer, Breath Acetone Detection, breath test, Canine Scent Detection, Diabetes, Diagnosis and Scent, Dogs Sniffing Out Cancer, Dr. Anne Hanson, Endocrinology, fMRI, Lie Detection, Lung Cancer, Medical Humor, Mental Health, Mental Illness, My Three Shrinks, Oncology, Patient Violence, Pheromone, Psychiatry and Psychology, Sense Of Smell, Shrink Rap, Smelling Schizophrenia, The Nadjik Pheromone
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I was surfing around the Net one day and I found this article about scientists who are creating a machine that will detect acetone in someone’s breath. Acetone can be a sign that someone suffers from diabetes, so in theory this machine could use scent to diagnose this disease.
That story brought to mind other stories I’ve heard about people using dogs to sniff out cancer in people. According to this article:
“The results of the study showed that dogs can detect breast and lung cancer with sensitivity and specificity between 88% and 97%. The high accuracy persisted even after results were adjusted to take into account whether the lung cancer patients were currently smokers. Moreover, the study also confirmed that the trained dogs could even detect the early stages of lung cancer, as well as early breast cancer.”
People have even tried “smelling” schizophrenia. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*
January 4th, 2011 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: Blind, Blindness, Bluetooth, Braille, Electro-Tactile Grid, Engadget, Eyesight, Fingertip Camera, Health and Smartphones, Medgadget, Medical Technology, Smartphones and Medical Apps, Thimble, Touch-Screen Smartphones, University of Washington, Visually Impaired
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While Braille can give the blind the ability to read, much of the text one encounters is not available in Braille (and our increasing dependence on touch-screen smartphones isn’t helping.) Two students at the University of Washington hope to solve this problem with their concept device, which they have termed the “Thimble.” The Thimble contains a fingertip camera and an electro-tactile grid which can read text and convert it to touch-sensitive Braille. The device can also interface with a user’s smartphone via Bluetooth for reading online content.
Source: “Thimble”: Another smartphone-enabled concept for the visually impaired
(Hat Tip: Engadget)
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
January 4th, 2011 by AndrewSchorr in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion, Research
Tags: "One Size Fits All" Healthcare, Andrew Schorr, Empowered Patients, General Medicine, Patient Advocacy, Patient Advocate, Patient Empowerment, Patient Power, Personalized Health, Personalized Healthcare, Personalized Medicine, Self-Care
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You are an individual right? To your mom and dad you are/were like no other. Hopefully your family and friends continue to see you as one-of-a-kind. Had you considered your doctor should see you that way too? Not as yet another one with diabetes, or heart disease, or cancer, but as a singular human being with biology that may be different from even the next person through the door with the same diagnosis.
This is the age of “personalized medicine” and it will accelerate in 2011. It is our responsibility as patients to ensure the power of this concept is leveraged for us each time we interact with the healthcare system. This is especially true as we manage a serious chronic condition or a cancer.
Now, in research and in clinical practice there are refined tests to determine what our specific version of a disease is and there are tests to see how a targeted therapy is working in our bodies. In other words, there’s the opportunity to see which therapy might be right for us that might be different than what is right for another person, and then there is the opportunity to monitor the therapy early on to see if it is doing its job. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*
