11/29/17

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

FDA announces guidelines that could hasten review of regenerative medicine products, such as stem cells

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it was issuing a new policy framework while also stepping up enforcement against products that raise safety concerns.

From: By Michelle Manchir http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/november/fda-announces-guidelines-of-regenerative-medicine-products

Help the ADA Foundation on Giving Tuesday

Nov. 28 is Giving Tuesday, a movement created in 2012 to celebrate and encourage charitable giving, and the ADA Foundation is hoping the dental community will keep it in mind when giving to charitable organizations this year.

From: http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/november/help-the-ada-foundation-on-giving-tuesday

Health Related Behaviors and Academic Achievement: Mayo Clinic Radio

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUOQzc8K9_0

Weight Gain for Women in Mid-life: Mayo Clinic Radio

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8AYEU2JtxU

#DearDiabetes: Michael Eisenstein

Dear Diabetes,

Is that what they call you? My intimate stranger who invades every bit of me. They should call you out, put you on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and turn you into D Dust …

No one really knows you. Is that why you’ve attacked so many? Invaded enough of us so we’ll give you a name? You’re famous now. There have been thousands of studies, trials, journal article after journal article and investigators everywhere. You’re even on TV! But where is Detective Columbo asking the subtle questions to take you down? Where is Holmes, as your White-Walker Baskerville Hounds bay in the pancreatic moors?

The hundreds of millions you’ve taken hostage, as you took my family and I. The hundreds millions more you’re lurking within, that you haven’t taken yet, waiting for you to scrutinize their lives. How dare you?

I’ve called you “The Riddler,” because you are. At 17, my smarty pants internist told me I was hypo – as in glycemic. “Glucose too low,” he said after a gross glucose tolerance test – “It’s telling me you’ll have diabetes when you grow older.”

You were already inside my dad, hurting him. He took these little white pills to keep you at bay, along with other pills for the angina you caused. But that was my dad, not me, and I didn’t connect you to his heart – not yet. Didn’t connect it to me, the way I thought about most things at that live-forever age. I was too smart to get diabetes.

However, Mr. Smarty Pants was right. I got the call about you at work, decades later. My doctor calls and says, “Your fasting sugar this morning was 400. Eat something.” My blood test wasn’t supposed to show that; I thought maybe 85 or 90, or in the 70s like when I was 17. Thunderbolt. It felt like I’d been shot, unprotected by my fancy desk, in my cushy office with my big stupid job and my expensive Brooks Brothers tie. Frozen. I called my wife, who said, “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”

Quickly, I turned to Google. What can I eat? “Low carbs,” the Internet said, and “just meat” and “go vegan.” Some chirped, “Cinnamon!” I began to Google more. Heart disease. What? Amputations! Phantasmagoric. I still played tennis, I was athletic, but suddenly you, a stranger, lurked inside me. Someone please pull your puppet strings and waft away like a frayed kite to the dark galaxy you came from.

I felt fine, but knew I wasn’t. At the follow-up, the doctor said I had high cholesterol and HBP. Three new things to worry about. Stay tuned, more to come. And more did come.

My wife’s obstetrician told her she had you, gestational diabetes, a new name for you. He warned her that the real you, type 2 diabetes, could follow. And you did a few years later, moving quietly into her body, as you did in mine. Both of us now on Metformin, both of us wondering more about the future. Both of us thinking about you every day.

Then you took a liking to our firstborn. You struck early with type 2 when she was 19. Now all of us were popping Metformin, fighting you, hating you, dragging you around all day—an invisible ball and chain. I never imagined my firstborn being hauled into an ambulance with KTA, languishing in the ICU with sacks of IV fluids drip, drip, dripping into her veins.

But I‘m where I belong now, my intimate stranger. Fighting you with my colleagues at the American Diabetes Association, where I was meant to be. There’s science everywhere—journals piling up on my desk, each one brilliantly attacking a piece of you, no matter where you hide. We are determined to strike at you, to find out who you really are, to discover why you’re here, and to put arrows into your heart to finish you off. One scientist told me you were evolutionary, and that nothing can eliminate or remove you from our bodies. Another says with a smile, “That’s so wrong; you’re not really part of us.” We’ll find you, turn off your switches, pull the plug on you, eject you from our bodies, forever.

DONE.

Michael Eisenstein
SVP, Products, American Diabetes Association

From: American Diabetes Association http://diabetesstopshere.org/2017/11/24/deardiabetes-michael-eisenstein/

Fish oil capsules: Net benefits for the heart are limited

Every day, millions of people swallow fish oil capsules, many of them lured by the promise that the pills will help them cast off heart disease. In fact, the label of one popular brand includes the line, “May reduce coronary heart disease risk.”

Don’t take the bait: these bold marketing claims haven’t caught up with the latest science. Earlier this year, the American Heart Association (AHA) issued an updated advisory about fish oil supplements and their cardiovascular benefits. Their verdict: fish oil supplements may slightly lower the risk of dying of heart failure or after a recent heart attack. But they do not prevent heart disease.

Angling for advice?

“It’s probably not wise for any middle-aged person to start taking fish oil supplements without the advice of a physician,” says Dr. Eric Rimm, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Even for people who do have heart disease, the potential benefits are quite modest, he notes. If you’ve had a heart attack, taking about a gram (1,000 mg) of fish oil per day may lower your risk of sudden cardiac death by about 10%. In people with heart failure, fish oil supplements may reduce death and hospitalizations by about 9%.

The AHA’s earlier recommendation, published in 2002, advised people with known heart disease to consume about a gram per day of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, ideally from eating fatty fish. But people could also consider omega-3 fatty acid supplements in consultation with a physician.

The early evidence for fish oil supplements looked promising. But over the past 15 years, many trials have compared them with placebos. There is no evidence that taking fish oil supplements offers any benefit for people prone to cardiovascular disease, including those with diabetes, atrial fibrillation, or stroke.

Not necessarily risk-free

Even so, some people — including those who aren’t in that small group who might benefit from the supplement — may be tempted to keep taking fish oil. They figure that it can’t hurt and just might help. But that’s not necessarily true, says Dr. Rimm. Although “there’s still good evidence that eating fish twice a week may help lower heart disease risk,” he says, the concentrated oil found in supplements is not entirely without risk.

As is true for all dietary supplements, there is no oversight or regulation regarding the source, quality, or amount of active ingredient in these over-the-counter products. Some studies have detected trace amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in some brands of fish oil supplements. Although these industrial chemicals were banned in 1979 after they were linked to cancer, they’re still found in fish exposed to water contaminated from soil runoff. Other research has revealed that some supplement brands don’t provide the amounts of DHA and EPA advertised on their labels.

It’s also worth noting that fish oil may reduce formation of blood clots. That’s potentially beneficial, but only up to a point. Too much fish oil may increase bleeding risk, particularly in people who also take anticlotting medications, including warfarin (Coumadin) and low-dose aspirin.

Many people take low-dose aspirin for heart attack prevention, Dr. Rimm points out. “Taking fish oil on top of that may not only have no benefit, it may even have some risks that we don’t realize because we haven’t studied them.”

The post Fish oil capsules: Net benefits for the heart are limited appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Julie Corliss https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fish-oil-capsules-heart-benefits-limited-2017112412763

WHO: Opening of the 4th special session of WHO's Executive Board

From: World Health Organization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr_9N3CqQn0

Trump budget cuts could result in millions of new AIDS-related infections, says new report

Just before World AIDS Day, the ONE Campaign released a report on the potential impact of White House proposed cuts to HIV/AIDS efforts

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-budget-cuts-could-result-in-millions-of-new-aids-related-infections-says-new-report/

Mayo Clinic Minute: Advancing technology making Type 1 diabetes management easier

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CAQ0ydXatM

Recall: Chocolate Protein Bar Sold at ALDI

Fit & Active bars were distributed to 21 states.

From: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20171129/recall-chocolate-protein-bar-sold-at-aldi?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Does Marriage Help Preserve Your Brain?

A new research review suggests there's something about marriage -- or people who get and stay married -- that significantly lowers the risk of mental decline in old age.

From: https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20171129/does-marriage-help-preserve-your-brain?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Comments sought on CAD/CAM-related report

Dental professionals can review and comment on a proposed ADA-developed technical report that offers guidance on the cementation and bonding of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing fabricated restorations.

From: http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/november/comments-sought-on-cadcam-report

Retired admiral on "most shocking call" of his life

The opioid epidemic has taken more than half a million lives since the year 2000

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/opioid-epidemic-retired-admiral-sandy-winnefeld-sons-death/

FDA Warns Biotin Can Distort Lab Tests

The FDA is warning that high doses of the vitamin B7, or biotin, in dietary supplements can interfere with hundreds of common lab tests—including some relied on by ER doctors to diagnose a heart attack.

From: https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/news/20171129/fda-warns-biotin-can-distort-lab-tests?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Electrical Pulses May Ease Pain From 'Slipped' Disc

A new treatment that aims electrical pulses at irritated nerves around the spinal cord appears effective at relieving chronic lower back pain and sciatica, a preliminary study suggests.

From: https://www.webmd.com/back-pain/news/20171129/electrical-pulse-may-ease-pain-from-slipped-disc?src=RSS_PUBLIC

What You Don't Know About Drug Interactions Could Hurt You

Many older Americans take multiple medications -- but only about one-third ever discuss possible interactions between drugs, a new poll finds.

From: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20171129/too-few-seniors-know-risks-of-multiple-medications?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Many NFL Players Found to Have Enlarged Aortas

The aorta, the largest artery in the body, carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body.

From: https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20171129/many-nfl-players-found-to-have-enlarged-aortas?src=RSS_PUBLIC

"Bone treats" blamed for dog deaths, illnesses

The FDA says it has received dozens of reports of pet illnesses, and even deaths, related to commercially-produced “bone treats”

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-bone-treats-causing-dog-deaths-and-illnesses/

Real-life healthy dinners (for real people with real busy lives)

At the end of a long workday, my husband and I will often trade texts figuring out who will pick up the kids at my mother’s, and who will deal with dinner. Thankfully, we’re equal partners in all responsibilities (except spider-killing, which is strictly Hubby’s job) and dietary preferences. We’re both health-conscious foodie types. We want good food that’s good for us.

An unvarnished look at family dinner

The kids, on the other hand… I’m not sure how this happened, but we somehow raised creatures with tastes vastly different from ours, and each other. We’ve never tried to cook an evening family meal that everyone would eat, because such a meal does not exist. Instead, we stock up on parent-approved kids’ faves that they can essentially get for themselves, or that can be prepared with minimal time and fuss, on a moment’s notice. And we try to all eat in the same room, at sort of the same time.

Do our kids eat as healthfully as we do, or we would like them to? No, but they eat healthfully enough, they’re developing well, and that’s fine. On a “good” night, their dinners may consist of: an apple with cinnamon/a yogurt/a bag of pea puffs for my five-year-old daughter, and scrambled eggs with cheddar/pita bread/a fresh peach for my seven-year-old son. On a “bad” night, it may be a warmed-up blueberry pancake with extra blueberries and extra butter for my daughter, and bacon (lots of bacon) for my son. This is entirely okay with us. As a matter of fact, it’s incredibly liberating to let go of the idea that we always need to eat exactly the same thing, and that it has to be perfectly healthy. After all, Hubby and I enjoy pizza and wings sometimes, too!

Here’s a practical approach to striking a balance

What matters is what we all eat most of the time, and most of the time, we’re eating a healthy combo of fruits and veggies (we eat mostly fruits and veggies, all week), lean protein, and healthy fats.

So, dinner.

Hubby and I rely heavily on frozen foods. Not pre-prepared, store-bought frozen meals, but rather frozen veggies galore, veggie burgers, and tofu “chik’n.” The pantry is stocked with quick-cooking quinoa and brown rice, canned and bottled accompaniments for different-themed meals (like Kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, and hearts of palm for a Greek salad; sliced water chestnuts and baby corn for a stir-fry; salsa for a southwestern meal). We always keep various nuts and seeds on hand (cashews, almonds, pine nuts, pepitas, sesame and sunflower seeds, for example), as these can be added to a salad or stir-fry for extra healthy fiber/protein/fat. We make sure we’re always stocked up on condiments like sesame oil, soy sauce, ground ginger and cilantro, olive oil, various vinegars, broths, and wines for cooking. In the fridge, there’s almost always romaine lettuce, onions, peppers, lemons, limes, and cherry tomatoes (all of which last awhile and can be used in many types of recipes). And of course, tons and tons of fruit, yogurts, and cheeses of all kinds.

Thus prepared, we always have ingredients for our go-to, quick and easy dinner repertoire.

Here are some basic healthy dinners we really do eat on a regular basis

So-Quick Southwestern Salad

Two or three black-bean veggie burgers (there are several brands, usually in the frozen foods aisle)
A heart or two of romaine lettuce
Tomatoes (a bunch of cherry tomatoes, or a regular tomato or two)
A lemon and/or a lime
Salt/pepper to taste
Olive oil
Pepitas (toasted, or not), a good handful or two

How we do it: Get home from work, drop various and sundry backpacks and bags, ask kids to feed cats. Grab veggie burgers from freezer and throw in toaster oven to bake or broil. Wash lettuce and tomatoes, shred/cut, and throw in a salad bowl. Juice lemon/lime over the mix. Then sprinkle olive oil, salt and pepper, and pepitas over, and toss. Tell partner to set table and get drinks (water, wine, whatever). Help the kids get their dinners together and move salad bowl, kids, and all food to table. Pull burgers out of toaster oven (don’t forget to turn it off, as we have) and either serve mixed in, alongside, or on top of salad.

You can obviously vary this as much as you like. You can top with some salsa, shredded cheddar, and plain Greek yogurt if you want, too. The point is, this meal is fast (we can get this prepared and on the table in under 10 minutes) and it hits all the high points: vegetables, healthy protein, healthy fats, no processed carbs.

Here’s another idea to try:

Really Fast Asian Stir-Fry

A bag of soy-based chik’n (many forms and brands, usually found in the frozen foods aisle)
A bag or two of frozen veggies of your choice
A can or two of Asian-style veggies like sliced water chestnuts
Sesame oil
Soy sauce
Ground ginger if you have it
Cashews or sesame seeds

Directions: See above about getting home and getting kids together. Pull out a wok or a large frying pan, set on stove, and turn on heat. Let it heat while you get other ingredients out. When hot, add about a tablespoon or two of sesame oil, then soy chik’n. Cook and stir until hot and browned, then dump your veggies right on top, soy sauce (a teaspoon or two), ginger (a teaspoon or so), stir it all up, and cover. Let it heat up for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. When hot, throw in cashews or sesame seeds (a handful or so, toasted or not), and serve.

Again, you can vary this to suit your taste. You can always use fresh veggies. You can add spicy sriracha sauce or teriyaki sauce. If you like rice with your stir-fry, there is microwave brown rice that is very fast. (Pro tip: we will often simply reheat brown rice that we’ve made earlier and frozen.) The point is, again, that this is a recipe that’s fast as well as healthful. Make extra and have it the next night, or take it to work for lunch!

The post Real-life healthy dinners (for real people with real busy lives) appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Monique Tello, MD, MPH https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/real-healthy-dinners-busy-people-2017112912794

Retired Adm. Winnefeld on son's opioid-overdose death

In our ongoing series Issues That Matter, we take a closer look at the opioid epidemic. It has taken more than 500,000 lives since the year 2000. For retired Navy admiral and CBS News military and homeland security analyst Sandy Winnefeld, the epidemic is personal. He lost his 19-year-old son, Jonathan, in September to a fentanyl-laced batch of heroin. Winnefeld joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss how his family is dedicating themselves to studying the problem and saving other families from the same heartache.

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/retired-adm-winnefeld-on-sons-opioid-overdose-death/

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