McCain to return to Senate for key health care vote

Arizona Republican's attendance in upper chamber Tuesday could be key in determining fate of GOP's Obamacare repeal efforts

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-mccain-to-return-senate-health-care-vote-tuesday/

Mayo Clinic Minute: 4 myths about fibroids

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf8AfJSDJGU

As overdoses rise, pioneering police effort evolves

"We're in a position to get people into treatment, but the sad part is the drug that they're taking, in all probability, is going to put them into overdose"

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gloucester-massachusetts-opioid-overdoses-rise-pioneering-police-effort-evolves/

Spike in poison control calls over dietary supplements

The rate of calls increased by almost 50 percent from 2005 to 2012, researchers found, and many victims are children

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/spike-in-calls-to-poison-control-centers-over-dietary-supplements/

Obese Teens Face Higher Colon Cancer Risk Later

Concerns are growing about weight's impact on development of chronic disease, researchers say

From: http://www.webmd.com/colorectal-cancer/news/20170724/obese-teens-face-higher-colon-cancer-risk-later?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Just a Few Vaccine Refusers Could Endanger Many

A 5 percent drop in coverage could trigger a tripling of measles cases in young kids, study finds

From: http://www.webmd.com/children/vaccines/news/20170724/just-a-few-vaccine-refusers-could-endanger-many?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Treating ADHD May Help Curb Addiction Problems

For people with the disorder, meds like Ritalin linked to lower rates of alcohol, drug abuse, study finds

From: http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/news/20170724/treating-adhd-may-help-curb-addiction-problems?src=RSS_PUBLIC

One stroke may raise risk for another, even years later

Patients are at greatest risk the first three months after a stroke, but poor lifestyle habits can greatly increase risk over time, new research finds

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-stroke-could-raise-risk-for-another-even-years-later/

Boy's HIV Enters Remission Without Drugs

African Boy Achieves HIV Remission Without Drugs

From: http://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/news/20170724/boys-hiv-enters-remission-without-drugs?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Girl born with HIV is virtually virus-free, doctors report

The case provides more evidence that early treatment can occasionally bring about a long remission, raising hopes of cure

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/girls-hiv-infection-seems-under-control-without-aids-drugs/

Salmonella outbreak tied to yellow papayas

Dozens of people have been sickened, including one in New York City who later died

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/salmonella-outbreak-yellow-maradol-papayas/

Popular Brand of Baked Beans Recalled

A popular brand of baked beans has been recalled due to concerns about problems with its can.

From: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20170724/popular-baked-beans-recalled?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Infectious Diseases A-Z: E. coli 101

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHU9XpSgZAk

Most U.S. Men, And Many Women, Are ‘Overfat’

Most women and a lot of kids also appear to have excessive fat, study of developed nations reports

From: http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/news/20170724/most-u.s.-men-and-many-women-are-overfat?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Major twist in legal battle over critically ill baby Charlie Gard

Parents in U.K. have withdrawn request to fly him to U.S. for experimental treatment for rare genetic condition

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/charlie-gard-parents-withdraw-request-fly-baby-genetic-condition-us-treatment/

Type 2 diabetes: Value of home blood sugar monitoring unclear

Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling

It’s a central tenet of diabetes treatment: monitor the blood sugar closely, then adjust your diet, exercise, and medications to keep it in a good range. And that makes sense. Poorly controlled blood sugar is a major risk factor for diabetic complications, including kidney disease, vision loss, and nerve damage.

While efforts to carefully monitor and control the blood sugar in diabetes are worthwhile, “tight control” is not always helpful — and it may even cause harm. For example, in studies of people with longstanding type 2 diabetes, the type that usually begins in adulthood and is highly linked with obesity, those with the tightest control either had no benefit or had higher rates of cardiovascular disease and death. Meanwhile, studies of people with type 1 diabetes — the type that tends to start during childhood due to an immune attack against the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas — suggest that tight control may help protect against cardiovascular disease. So, it seems the benefits and risks of tight control depend on the situation.

Home blood sugar monitoring for type 2 diabetes

People with diabetes are often advised to check their blood sugar levels at home by pricking a finger and testing the blood with a glucose meter. They can review the results with their doctors over the phone, online, or at the next office appointment. The value of this for people with type 2 diabetes is uncertain.

In a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers enrolled 450 people with Type 2 diabetes, none of whom were taking insulin. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups:

• no self-monitoring of blood sugar
• once daily self-monitoring of blood sugar
• once-daily self-monitoring of blood sugar with “enhanced feedback” from their blood glucose meters with messages intended to educate and motivate the study volunteers.

After one year these researchers found that, compared with those not self-monitoring blood sugar, those who self-monitored had no improvement in the control of their blood sugar, and had no improvement in measures of quality of life.

So what?

The impact of this study could be enormous. Of the enrolled study subjects, three-quarters routinely checked blood sugar at home. If that’s typical of people with type 2 diabetes, these findings could allow thousands of people to stop sticking themselves and save money on monitoring equipment, with no ill effects on their health.

But even if these findings are confirmed, there may be situations when home monitoring is still useful and important. For example, home monitoring might be a good idea when people like those in this study:

• develop an infection
• change the dose of their diabetes medications
• add or stop taking one of their medications
• gain or lose a significant amount of weight
• begin taking insulin.

This study did not examine these situations and so could not draw conclusions about them. It’s also worth noting this study lasted only one year. It may take longer to see a benefit from home monitoring. Finally, this study did not include individuals with type 1 diabetes, so the results do not apply to them.

The bottom line

This new study suggests that doctors treating people with type 2 diabetes may not need to recommend routine self-monitoring of blood sugar. However, while that may be true for the average person with type 2 diabetes who is not taking insulin, we’ll need more studies and longer-term studies to identify which people with type 2 diabetes will benefit most from home monitoring and when it’s just not worth the effort.

The post Type 2 diabetes: Value of home blood sugar monitoring unclear appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Robert H. Shmerling, MD http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/type-2-diabetes-value-home-blood-sugar-monitoring-unclear-2017072411989

Most Us Men, And Many Women, Are ‘Overfat’

Most women and a lot of kids also appear to have excessive fat, study of developed nations reports

From: http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/news/20170724/most-us-men-and-many-women-are-overfat?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Monthly Injection Might Revolutionize HIV Care

If findings replicated, a shot every month or two could replace daily pills, scientists say

From: http://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/news/20170724/monthly-injection-might-revolutionize-hiv-care?src=RSS_PUBLIC

The Relationship Between Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8eJToqTsi8

Mayo Clinic Minute: How 3D imaging helps doctors and patients

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzwx3LTSLvU

One Stroke, More Strokes: Risk remains years later

Ongoing care is essential to prevent recurrence, experts say

From: http://www.webmd.com/stroke/news/20170724/one-stroke-more-strokes-risk-remains-years-later?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Could diet help slow symptoms of multiple sclerosis?

In our morning rounds, a new approach to fight multiple sclerosis -- a disease where the body attacks its own central nervous system. MS affects about 400,000 people in the United States. It is two to three times more common among women. Current treatments may have severe side effects, and there is no cure. Dr. Tara Narula joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss a cutting edge, but low-tech attempt to slow the symptoms.

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/could-diet-help-slow-symptoms-of-multiple-sclerosis/

Using diet to counter the effects of multiple sclerosis

A new study of MS patients examines how a strict Mediterranean-style diet may ease the symptoms of the disease affecting the central nervous system

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/multiple-sclerosis-mediterranean-diet-to-counter-effects-study/