Pharmacist in San Juan working to get medication to people in shelters

For Hurricane Maria's victims in Puerto Rico, medicine is in short supply, in addition to food and water. CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook reports on the work to aid the medical crisis in San Juan.

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/pharmacist-in-san-juan-working-to-get-medication-to-people-in-shelters/

Mayo Clinic Minute: 'HALT' before you grab a snack

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DFp4MgycWs

HHS Secretary Tom Price Resigns

Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus Has Breast Cancer Hugh Hefner Dead at 91

From: http://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/news/20170929/health-highlights-sept-29-2017?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Ways to boost bone health as you age

Dr. Joshua Grahlman shares strategies to help build bone strength and prevent fractures

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bones-healthy-retirement-gsk/

Members of Congress ask HHS to remove burdensome regulations to help providers, patients

Washington — Members of Congress are asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to remove regulations that “specifically and adversely impact dentists and their patients.”

From: http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/september/members-of-congress-ask-hhs-to-remove-burdensome-regulations-to-help-providers-patients

Women Lack 'High Quality' Guidance Post-Mastectomy

Fewer than half of patients made decisions that were best for their own preferred outcome.

From: http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20170929/women-lack-high-quality-guidance-post-mastectomy?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Flu Season: Vaccine Crucial to Avoiding Illness

Officials won't predict severity of the flu season, but say the best way to protect yourself and others is to get a flu shot.

From: http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20170929/flu-season-vaccine-crucial-to-avoiding-illness?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Health services must stop leaving older people behind

Health services must stop leaving older people behind

From: http://www.who.int/entity/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/health-older-people/en/index.html

FDA approves first blood sugar monitor without finger prick

The device, approved for adults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes​, should be available in pharmacies within months

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-approves-first-blood-sugar-monitor-without-finger-prick/

After eye tattoo goes wrong, model issues warning on social media

Model warns others after botched eye tattoo may leave her completely blind in one eye

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sclera-tattoo-gone-wrong-warning-model-catt-gallinger/

Study Questions Practice of Placenta Eating

It may be potentially dangerous, researchers say

From: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20170929/study-questions-practice-of-placenta?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Researchers Find Gender Has Role in Autism Risk

When oldest female child has the disorder, risk is raised for younger siblings, especially boys: study

From: http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20170929/researchers-find-gender-has-role-in-autism-risk?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Respiratory Disease Death Rates Have Soared

More than 3.9 million Americans died from COPD over last 35 years, new data shows

From: http://www.webmd.com/lung/copd/news/20170929/respiratory-disease-death-rates-have-soared?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Study Questions Practice of Placenta Eating

It may be potentially dangerous, researchers say

From: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20170929/study-questions-practice-of-placenta?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Respiratory Disease Death Rates Have Soared

More than 3.9 million Americans died from COPD over last 35 years, new data shows

From: http://www.webmd.com/lung/copd/news/20170929/respiratory-disease-death-rates-have-soared?src=RSS_PUBLIC

After eye tattoo goes wrong, model issues warning on social media

Model warns others after botched eye tattoo may leave her completely blind in one eye

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sclera-tattoo-gone-wrong-warning-model-catt-gallinger/

Time to rethink the debate on PSA testing

For most of us, whether to screen for cancer is a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want a simple test to prevent cancer or identify it at an earlier, more treatable stage? However, as with many things, the screening decision is more complex than it may appear. For example, the test may not be particularly “simple,” such as undergoing screening colonoscopy. For prostate cancer, even after 30-plus years of using a screening blood test called the prostate specific antigen, or PSA, it still isn’t clear how well it prevents prostate cancer deaths. This has led to conflicting and changing recommendations about whether to screen or not. Earlier this year, I commented on revised recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) — a group that advises primary care physician such as myself about a wide range of topics including cancer screening.

A new look at old studies

The PSA test was used for many years without any clear evidence for or against it, and without the USPSTF providing a specific recommendation. This changed in 2009 after the publication of two large trials, one from the US and the other from Europe. Unfortunately, they showed conflicting results — no benefit in the US trial versus a small benefit in the European one. This led the USPSTF to recommend against PSA screening based on the negative results from the US trial, as well as evidence of potential harms of PSA testing from overdiagnosis and treatment of small, benign-appearing cancers unlikely to spread or lead to death. Earlier this year, the USPSTF proposed changing its recommendations to say that health care providers should now discuss the pros and cons of the test with eligible male patients to help them decide whether to have the test or not, using a process called shared decision making.

If all this wasn’t confusing enough, a new study recently re-examined these two (now old) trials and concluded that they really aren’t as different as we thought. The authors of the new study did new analyses showing that PSA testing decreased prostate cancer deaths similarly in these trials. So, what’s going on, and will the USPSTF again change its recommendation?

In brief, the new study used original data from these two trials and computer modeling to control for important differences. These differences included lower rates of prostate cancer overall and more control patients getting a PSA test done (who shouldn’t have) in the US trial. The European trial performed PSA screening less frequently but called the test result abnormal at a lower value than the US trial. After accounting for all these differences, the new study reported that men in both trials who underwent screening as recommended had lower rates of death due to prostate cancer.

What now?

Though this new study may explain why these two trial results differed, I don’t expect the USPSTF will change its recommendation. Personally, I have long favored shared decision making with my patients, and think the USPSTF finally got it right. Why? First, despite all the fancy modeling in this study, it sought to examine the benefit of the PSA test under ideal circumstances, rather than what actually took place. Moreover, the benefit of PSA testing seems large in relative terms (20-30%), but is small in absolute terms. I’d have to screen over 1,000 men with the PSA test to prevent one prostate cancer death. Moreover, decades of using the test have also uncovered real harms — many men are being diagnosed and treated for prostate cancers that otherwise never would have been detected or caused harm. Finally, prostate cancer therapies for those with serious disease needing treatment have improved a great deal since these trials were done, lowering the value of earlier detection.

I support calls to move on from the overly simplistic debate of PSA test: yes or no. Rather, it is time to figure out how to better inform all eligible men about the benefits and harms of PSA testing. For those who elect to have the test, we need to do a better job figuring out who needs treatment when prostate cancer is found, and how to make sure we avoid harming those without such disease — harm that can be both psychologic in terms of worry and physical in terms of side effects from treatment.

The post Time to rethink the debate on PSA testing appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Steven J. Atlas, MD, MPH https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/time-to-rethink-the-psa-to-test-or-not-to-test-debate-2017092912463

WHO recommends large-scale deworming to improve children’s health and nutrition

Four species of intestinal worms affect almost a quarter of the world’s poorest and mostly marginalized people. They disrupt people’s ability to absorb nutrients, and impede the growth and physical development of millions of children. Periodic deworming programmes with a single-tablet treatment can drastically reduce the suffering of those infected and protect the 1.5 billion people currently estimated to be at risk.

From: http://www.who.int/entity/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/large-scale-deworming/en/index.html