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Lucas Franki is an associate editor for MDedge News, and has been with the company since 2014. He has a BA in English from Penn State University and is an Eagle Scout.
The dementia height advantage, and ‘human textile’
Soylent stitches are people!
Ask anyone in advertising and they’ll tell you that branding is everything. Now, there may be a bit of self-promotion involved there. But you can’t deny that naming your product appropriately is important, and we’re going to say with some degree of confidence that “human textile” is not the greatest name in the world.
Now, we don’t want to question the team of French researchers too much. After all, according to their research published in Acta Biomaterialia, they’ve come up with quite the nifty and potentially lifesaving innovation: stitches made from human skin.
By taking sheets of human skin cells (eww) and cutting them into strips, the researchers were able to weave the strips into a sort of yarn, the advantages of which should be obvious. Patients can say goodbye to pesky issues of compatibility and adverse immune response when doctors and surgeons can stitch wounds, sew pouches, and create tubes and valves with yarn crafted from themselves.
We just can’t get past the name they chose. Human textile. The process of making them is gruesome enough already. No need to call to mind some horrific dystopian future in which cotton can no longer grow and we have to recycle humans (alive or dead, depending on how grim you’re feeling) in big industrial textile mills to craft clothing for ourselves.
It’s just too bad Charlton Heston is dead; he’d have made a great spokesperson.
Towering over dementia
Let us take a moment to pity the plight of the shorter brother. Always losing the battle of the boards in fraternal driveway basketball games. Never reaching the Pop-Tarts cruelly stashed high in the pantry by one’s taller, greedier sibling. Always being addressed during family dinners as “Frodo.”
And new research findings add to the burden borne by altitude-impaired brothers everywhere: Being the short one may boost your risk of dementia.
Danish researchers at the University of Copenhagen examined the potential role that height in young adulthood plays later in dementia risk. The planet’s taller-brother Danes (the world’s third-tallest nation) analyzed data from more than 666,000 Danish men, including more than 70,000 brothers.
They found that, for every 6 cm of height in those above average height, the risk of dementia dropped 10%. And that inverse relationship between height and dementia risk held even in the shared environments of families: Being the taller brother delivered relatively more dementia protection. Even being smarter, better educated, and savvier at playing point guard didn’t erase shorter brothers’ dementia/height disadvantage.
Before you take solace in a Coors stubby, littler brothers, let’s remember the advantages shorter siblings still enjoy: Never being called “Ichabod.” Walking tall in low-ceilinged parking garages. Fitting comfortably into 911s and F-18s alike. Draining threes from anywhere in the driveway.
Oh, and clearly being Mom’s favorite.
Swinging for longevity
They say that laughter is the best medicine, but we always assumed that it applied to the people doing the laughing.
That may not be the case, according to a report presented at the American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference in Dallas.
It may be even better to get laughed at, and Adnan Qureshi, MD, of the University of Missouri, Columbia, and associates have data from the Cardiovascular Health Study of adults aged 65 years and older to prove it.
It’s all about the golf. The 384 golfers among the almost 5,900 participants had a death rate of 15.1% over the 10-year follow-up.
As for the nongolfers – the ones who make fun of golfers’ clothes and say that golf is boring, who joke about riding around in carts and hanging around with old people, who laugh because the lowest score wins, who say it’s easy to hit a little white ball that’s not even moving, who think an albatross is just a bird ... um, we seem to have gotten a bit off topic here.
Anyway, the death rate for the nongolfers in the study was a significantly higher 24.6%. So, suck on that, nongolfers, because it looks like the golfers will be having the last laugh. In plaid pants.
Soylent stitches are people!
Ask anyone in advertising and they’ll tell you that branding is everything. Now, there may be a bit of self-promotion involved there. But you can’t deny that naming your product appropriately is important, and we’re going to say with some degree of confidence that “human textile” is not the greatest name in the world.
Now, we don’t want to question the team of French researchers too much. After all, according to their research published in Acta Biomaterialia, they’ve come up with quite the nifty and potentially lifesaving innovation: stitches made from human skin.
By taking sheets of human skin cells (eww) and cutting them into strips, the researchers were able to weave the strips into a sort of yarn, the advantages of which should be obvious. Patients can say goodbye to pesky issues of compatibility and adverse immune response when doctors and surgeons can stitch wounds, sew pouches, and create tubes and valves with yarn crafted from themselves.
We just can’t get past the name they chose. Human textile. The process of making them is gruesome enough already. No need to call to mind some horrific dystopian future in which cotton can no longer grow and we have to recycle humans (alive or dead, depending on how grim you’re feeling) in big industrial textile mills to craft clothing for ourselves.
It’s just too bad Charlton Heston is dead; he’d have made a great spokesperson.
Towering over dementia
Let us take a moment to pity the plight of the shorter brother. Always losing the battle of the boards in fraternal driveway basketball games. Never reaching the Pop-Tarts cruelly stashed high in the pantry by one’s taller, greedier sibling. Always being addressed during family dinners as “Frodo.”
And new research findings add to the burden borne by altitude-impaired brothers everywhere: Being the short one may boost your risk of dementia.
Danish researchers at the University of Copenhagen examined the potential role that height in young adulthood plays later in dementia risk. The planet’s taller-brother Danes (the world’s third-tallest nation) analyzed data from more than 666,000 Danish men, including more than 70,000 brothers.
They found that, for every 6 cm of height in those above average height, the risk of dementia dropped 10%. And that inverse relationship between height and dementia risk held even in the shared environments of families: Being the taller brother delivered relatively more dementia protection. Even being smarter, better educated, and savvier at playing point guard didn’t erase shorter brothers’ dementia/height disadvantage.
Before you take solace in a Coors stubby, littler brothers, let’s remember the advantages shorter siblings still enjoy: Never being called “Ichabod.” Walking tall in low-ceilinged parking garages. Fitting comfortably into 911s and F-18s alike. Draining threes from anywhere in the driveway.
Oh, and clearly being Mom’s favorite.
Swinging for longevity
They say that laughter is the best medicine, but we always assumed that it applied to the people doing the laughing.
That may not be the case, according to a report presented at the American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference in Dallas.
It may be even better to get laughed at, and Adnan Qureshi, MD, of the University of Missouri, Columbia, and associates have data from the Cardiovascular Health Study of adults aged 65 years and older to prove it.
It’s all about the golf. The 384 golfers among the almost 5,900 participants had a death rate of 15.1% over the 10-year follow-up.
As for the nongolfers – the ones who make fun of golfers’ clothes and say that golf is boring, who joke about riding around in carts and hanging around with old people, who laugh because the lowest score wins, who say it’s easy to hit a little white ball that’s not even moving, who think an albatross is just a bird ... um, we seem to have gotten a bit off topic here.
Anyway, the death rate for the nongolfers in the study was a significantly higher 24.6%. So, suck on that, nongolfers, because it looks like the golfers will be having the last laugh. In plaid pants.
Soylent stitches are people!
Ask anyone in advertising and they’ll tell you that branding is everything. Now, there may be a bit of self-promotion involved there. But you can’t deny that naming your product appropriately is important, and we’re going to say with some degree of confidence that “human textile” is not the greatest name in the world.
Now, we don’t want to question the team of French researchers too much. After all, according to their research published in Acta Biomaterialia, they’ve come up with quite the nifty and potentially lifesaving innovation: stitches made from human skin.
By taking sheets of human skin cells (eww) and cutting them into strips, the researchers were able to weave the strips into a sort of yarn, the advantages of which should be obvious. Patients can say goodbye to pesky issues of compatibility and adverse immune response when doctors and surgeons can stitch wounds, sew pouches, and create tubes and valves with yarn crafted from themselves.
We just can’t get past the name they chose. Human textile. The process of making them is gruesome enough already. No need to call to mind some horrific dystopian future in which cotton can no longer grow and we have to recycle humans (alive or dead, depending on how grim you’re feeling) in big industrial textile mills to craft clothing for ourselves.
It’s just too bad Charlton Heston is dead; he’d have made a great spokesperson.
Towering over dementia
Let us take a moment to pity the plight of the shorter brother. Always losing the battle of the boards in fraternal driveway basketball games. Never reaching the Pop-Tarts cruelly stashed high in the pantry by one’s taller, greedier sibling. Always being addressed during family dinners as “Frodo.”
And new research findings add to the burden borne by altitude-impaired brothers everywhere: Being the short one may boost your risk of dementia.
Danish researchers at the University of Copenhagen examined the potential role that height in young adulthood plays later in dementia risk. The planet’s taller-brother Danes (the world’s third-tallest nation) analyzed data from more than 666,000 Danish men, including more than 70,000 brothers.
They found that, for every 6 cm of height in those above average height, the risk of dementia dropped 10%. And that inverse relationship between height and dementia risk held even in the shared environments of families: Being the taller brother delivered relatively more dementia protection. Even being smarter, better educated, and savvier at playing point guard didn’t erase shorter brothers’ dementia/height disadvantage.
Before you take solace in a Coors stubby, littler brothers, let’s remember the advantages shorter siblings still enjoy: Never being called “Ichabod.” Walking tall in low-ceilinged parking garages. Fitting comfortably into 911s and F-18s alike. Draining threes from anywhere in the driveway.
Oh, and clearly being Mom’s favorite.
Swinging for longevity
They say that laughter is the best medicine, but we always assumed that it applied to the people doing the laughing.
That may not be the case, according to a report presented at the American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference in Dallas.
It may be even better to get laughed at, and Adnan Qureshi, MD, of the University of Missouri, Columbia, and associates have data from the Cardiovascular Health Study of adults aged 65 years and older to prove it.
It’s all about the golf. The 384 golfers among the almost 5,900 participants had a death rate of 15.1% over the 10-year follow-up.
As for the nongolfers – the ones who make fun of golfers’ clothes and say that golf is boring, who joke about riding around in carts and hanging around with old people, who laugh because the lowest score wins, who say it’s easy to hit a little white ball that’s not even moving, who think an albatross is just a bird ... um, we seem to have gotten a bit off topic here.
Anyway, the death rate for the nongolfers in the study was a significantly higher 24.6%. So, suck on that, nongolfers, because it looks like the golfers will be having the last laugh. In plaid pants.
Cardiovascular disease risk higher in patients with schizophrenia, metabolic syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is common among patients with schizophrenia, and those with metabolic syndrome are at significantly higher risk for cardiovascular disease, according to Shadi Naderyan Fe’li of the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd, Iran, and associates.
The cross-sectional study, performed on 100 patients with schizophrenia (83 men, 17 women), was published in the Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran. (men, 21.7%; women, 52.9%); the most common component of metabolic disorder was low HDL cholesterol in males and abdominal adiposity in females.
Based on Framingham Risk Scores, 76% of study participants had a low risk of cardiovascular disease, 16% had intermediate risk, and 8% had high risk. However, patients were almost twice as likely to have intermediate or high risk of cardiovascular disease if they also had metabolic syndrome (P = .042).
“Considering the findings of this study as well as other recent reports, psychiatrists and health care staff should be informed about the potential metabolic side effects of antipsychotics and unhealthy lifestyles among these patients. Furthermore, regular monitoring of metabolic risk factors is suggested. In addition, medical and behavioral interventions should be conducted for patients with [metabolic syndrome],” the investigators concluded.
The investigators reported that they had no conflicts of interest.
SOURCE: Fe’li SN et al. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2019 Sep 16. doi: 10.34171/mjiri.33.97.
Metabolic syndrome is common among patients with schizophrenia, and those with metabolic syndrome are at significantly higher risk for cardiovascular disease, according to Shadi Naderyan Fe’li of the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd, Iran, and associates.
The cross-sectional study, performed on 100 patients with schizophrenia (83 men, 17 women), was published in the Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran. (men, 21.7%; women, 52.9%); the most common component of metabolic disorder was low HDL cholesterol in males and abdominal adiposity in females.
Based on Framingham Risk Scores, 76% of study participants had a low risk of cardiovascular disease, 16% had intermediate risk, and 8% had high risk. However, patients were almost twice as likely to have intermediate or high risk of cardiovascular disease if they also had metabolic syndrome (P = .042).
“Considering the findings of this study as well as other recent reports, psychiatrists and health care staff should be informed about the potential metabolic side effects of antipsychotics and unhealthy lifestyles among these patients. Furthermore, regular monitoring of metabolic risk factors is suggested. In addition, medical and behavioral interventions should be conducted for patients with [metabolic syndrome],” the investigators concluded.
The investigators reported that they had no conflicts of interest.
SOURCE: Fe’li SN et al. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2019 Sep 16. doi: 10.34171/mjiri.33.97.
Metabolic syndrome is common among patients with schizophrenia, and those with metabolic syndrome are at significantly higher risk for cardiovascular disease, according to Shadi Naderyan Fe’li of the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd, Iran, and associates.
The cross-sectional study, performed on 100 patients with schizophrenia (83 men, 17 women), was published in the Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran. (men, 21.7%; women, 52.9%); the most common component of metabolic disorder was low HDL cholesterol in males and abdominal adiposity in females.
Based on Framingham Risk Scores, 76% of study participants had a low risk of cardiovascular disease, 16% had intermediate risk, and 8% had high risk. However, patients were almost twice as likely to have intermediate or high risk of cardiovascular disease if they also had metabolic syndrome (P = .042).
“Considering the findings of this study as well as other recent reports, psychiatrists and health care staff should be informed about the potential metabolic side effects of antipsychotics and unhealthy lifestyles among these patients. Furthermore, regular monitoring of metabolic risk factors is suggested. In addition, medical and behavioral interventions should be conducted for patients with [metabolic syndrome],” the investigators concluded.
The investigators reported that they had no conflicts of interest.
SOURCE: Fe’li SN et al. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2019 Sep 16. doi: 10.34171/mjiri.33.97.
FROM THE MEDICAL JOURNAL OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
The Zzzzzuper Bowl, and 4D needles
HDL 35, LDL 220, hike!
Super Bowl Sunday is, for all intents and purposes, an American national holiday. And if there’s one thing we Americans love to do on our national holidays, it’s eat. And eat. Oh, and also eat.
According to research from LetsGetChecked, about 70% of Americans who watch the Super Bowl overindulge on game day. Actually, the term “overindulge” may not be entirely adequate: On Super Bowl Sunday, the average football fan ate nearly 11,000 calories and 180 g of saturated fat. That’s more than four times the recommended daily calorie intake, and seven times the recommended saturated fat intake.
Naturally, the chief medical officer for LetsGetChecked termed this level of food consumption as potentially dangerous if it becomes a regular occurrence and asked that people “question if they need to be eating quite so much.” Yeah, we think he’s being a party pooper, too.
So, just what did Joe Schmoe eat this past Sunday that has the experts all worried?
LetsGetChecked thoughtfully asked, and the list is something to be proud of: wings, pizza, fries, burgers, hot dogs, ribs, nachos, sausage, ice cream, chocolate, cake. The average fan ate all these, and more. Our personal favorite: the 2.3 portions of salad. Wouldn’t want to be too unhealthy now. Gotta have that salad to balance everything else out.
Strangely, the survey didn’t seem to ask about the presumably prodigious quantities of alcohol the average Super Bowl fan consumed. So, if anything, that 11,000 calories is an underestimation. And it really doesn’t get more American than that.
Zzzzzuper Bowl
Hardly, according to the buzzzzzz-kills [Ed. note: Why so many Zs? Author note: Wait for it ...] at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. In a report with the sleep-inducing title “AASM Sleep Prioritization Survey Monday after the Super Bowl,” the academy pulls the sheets back on America’s somnolent post–Super Bowl secret: We’re sleep deprived.
More than one-third of the 2,003 adults alert enough to answer the AASM survey said they were more tired than usual the day after the Super Bowl. And 12% of respondents admitted that they were “extremely tired.”
Millennials were the generation most likely to meet Monday morning in an extreme stupor, followed by the few Gen X’ers who could even be bothered to cynically answer such an utterly pointless collection of survey questions. Baby boomers had already gone to bed before the academy could poll them.
AASM noted that Cleveland fans were stumped by the survey’s questions about the Super Bowl, given that the Browns are always well rested on the Monday morning after the game.
The gift that keeps on grabbing
Rutgers, you had us at “morph into new shapes.”
We read a lot of press releases here at LOTME world headquarters, but when we saw New Jersey’s state university announcing that a new 4D-printed microneedle array could “morph into new shapes,” we were hooked, so to speak.
Right now, though, you’re probably wondering what 4D printing is. We wondered that, too. It’s like 3D printing, but “with smart materials that are programmed to change shape after printing. Time is the fourth dimension that allows materials to morph into new shapes,” as senior investigator Howon Lee, PhD, and associates explained it.
Microneedles are becoming increasing popular as a replacement for hypodermics, but their “weak adhesion to tissues is a major challenge for controlled drug delivery over the long run,” the investigators noted. To try and solve the adhesion problem, they turned to – that’s right, you guessed it – insects and parasites.
When you think about it, it does make sense. What’s better at holding onto tissue than the barbed stinger of a honeybee or the microhooks of a tapeworm?
The microneedle array that Dr. Lee and his team have come up has backward-facing barbs that interlock with tissue when it is inserted, which improves adhesion. It was those barbs that required the whole 4D-printing approach, they explained in Advanced Functional Materials.
That’s sounds great, you’re probably thinking now – but we need to show you the money, right? Okay.
During testing on chicken muscle tissue, adhesion with the new microneedle was “18 times stronger than with a barbless microneedle,” they reported.
The 4D microneedle’s next stop? Its own commercial during next year’s Super Bowl, according to its new agent.
HDL 35, LDL 220, hike!
Super Bowl Sunday is, for all intents and purposes, an American national holiday. And if there’s one thing we Americans love to do on our national holidays, it’s eat. And eat. Oh, and also eat.
According to research from LetsGetChecked, about 70% of Americans who watch the Super Bowl overindulge on game day. Actually, the term “overindulge” may not be entirely adequate: On Super Bowl Sunday, the average football fan ate nearly 11,000 calories and 180 g of saturated fat. That’s more than four times the recommended daily calorie intake, and seven times the recommended saturated fat intake.
Naturally, the chief medical officer for LetsGetChecked termed this level of food consumption as potentially dangerous if it becomes a regular occurrence and asked that people “question if they need to be eating quite so much.” Yeah, we think he’s being a party pooper, too.
So, just what did Joe Schmoe eat this past Sunday that has the experts all worried?
LetsGetChecked thoughtfully asked, and the list is something to be proud of: wings, pizza, fries, burgers, hot dogs, ribs, nachos, sausage, ice cream, chocolate, cake. The average fan ate all these, and more. Our personal favorite: the 2.3 portions of salad. Wouldn’t want to be too unhealthy now. Gotta have that salad to balance everything else out.
Strangely, the survey didn’t seem to ask about the presumably prodigious quantities of alcohol the average Super Bowl fan consumed. So, if anything, that 11,000 calories is an underestimation. And it really doesn’t get more American than that.
Zzzzzuper Bowl
Hardly, according to the buzzzzzz-kills [Ed. note: Why so many Zs? Author note: Wait for it ...] at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. In a report with the sleep-inducing title “AASM Sleep Prioritization Survey Monday after the Super Bowl,” the academy pulls the sheets back on America’s somnolent post–Super Bowl secret: We’re sleep deprived.
More than one-third of the 2,003 adults alert enough to answer the AASM survey said they were more tired than usual the day after the Super Bowl. And 12% of respondents admitted that they were “extremely tired.”
Millennials were the generation most likely to meet Monday morning in an extreme stupor, followed by the few Gen X’ers who could even be bothered to cynically answer such an utterly pointless collection of survey questions. Baby boomers had already gone to bed before the academy could poll them.
AASM noted that Cleveland fans were stumped by the survey’s questions about the Super Bowl, given that the Browns are always well rested on the Monday morning after the game.
The gift that keeps on grabbing
Rutgers, you had us at “morph into new shapes.”
We read a lot of press releases here at LOTME world headquarters, but when we saw New Jersey’s state university announcing that a new 4D-printed microneedle array could “morph into new shapes,” we were hooked, so to speak.
Right now, though, you’re probably wondering what 4D printing is. We wondered that, too. It’s like 3D printing, but “with smart materials that are programmed to change shape after printing. Time is the fourth dimension that allows materials to morph into new shapes,” as senior investigator Howon Lee, PhD, and associates explained it.
Microneedles are becoming increasing popular as a replacement for hypodermics, but their “weak adhesion to tissues is a major challenge for controlled drug delivery over the long run,” the investigators noted. To try and solve the adhesion problem, they turned to – that’s right, you guessed it – insects and parasites.
When you think about it, it does make sense. What’s better at holding onto tissue than the barbed stinger of a honeybee or the microhooks of a tapeworm?
The microneedle array that Dr. Lee and his team have come up has backward-facing barbs that interlock with tissue when it is inserted, which improves adhesion. It was those barbs that required the whole 4D-printing approach, they explained in Advanced Functional Materials.
That’s sounds great, you’re probably thinking now – but we need to show you the money, right? Okay.
During testing on chicken muscle tissue, adhesion with the new microneedle was “18 times stronger than with a barbless microneedle,” they reported.
The 4D microneedle’s next stop? Its own commercial during next year’s Super Bowl, according to its new agent.
HDL 35, LDL 220, hike!
Super Bowl Sunday is, for all intents and purposes, an American national holiday. And if there’s one thing we Americans love to do on our national holidays, it’s eat. And eat. Oh, and also eat.
According to research from LetsGetChecked, about 70% of Americans who watch the Super Bowl overindulge on game day. Actually, the term “overindulge” may not be entirely adequate: On Super Bowl Sunday, the average football fan ate nearly 11,000 calories and 180 g of saturated fat. That’s more than four times the recommended daily calorie intake, and seven times the recommended saturated fat intake.
Naturally, the chief medical officer for LetsGetChecked termed this level of food consumption as potentially dangerous if it becomes a regular occurrence and asked that people “question if they need to be eating quite so much.” Yeah, we think he’s being a party pooper, too.
So, just what did Joe Schmoe eat this past Sunday that has the experts all worried?
LetsGetChecked thoughtfully asked, and the list is something to be proud of: wings, pizza, fries, burgers, hot dogs, ribs, nachos, sausage, ice cream, chocolate, cake. The average fan ate all these, and more. Our personal favorite: the 2.3 portions of salad. Wouldn’t want to be too unhealthy now. Gotta have that salad to balance everything else out.
Strangely, the survey didn’t seem to ask about the presumably prodigious quantities of alcohol the average Super Bowl fan consumed. So, if anything, that 11,000 calories is an underestimation. And it really doesn’t get more American than that.
Zzzzzuper Bowl
Hardly, according to the buzzzzzz-kills [Ed. note: Why so many Zs? Author note: Wait for it ...] at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. In a report with the sleep-inducing title “AASM Sleep Prioritization Survey Monday after the Super Bowl,” the academy pulls the sheets back on America’s somnolent post–Super Bowl secret: We’re sleep deprived.
More than one-third of the 2,003 adults alert enough to answer the AASM survey said they were more tired than usual the day after the Super Bowl. And 12% of respondents admitted that they were “extremely tired.”
Millennials were the generation most likely to meet Monday morning in an extreme stupor, followed by the few Gen X’ers who could even be bothered to cynically answer such an utterly pointless collection of survey questions. Baby boomers had already gone to bed before the academy could poll them.
AASM noted that Cleveland fans were stumped by the survey’s questions about the Super Bowl, given that the Browns are always well rested on the Monday morning after the game.
The gift that keeps on grabbing
Rutgers, you had us at “morph into new shapes.”
We read a lot of press releases here at LOTME world headquarters, but when we saw New Jersey’s state university announcing that a new 4D-printed microneedle array could “morph into new shapes,” we were hooked, so to speak.
Right now, though, you’re probably wondering what 4D printing is. We wondered that, too. It’s like 3D printing, but “with smart materials that are programmed to change shape after printing. Time is the fourth dimension that allows materials to morph into new shapes,” as senior investigator Howon Lee, PhD, and associates explained it.
Microneedles are becoming increasing popular as a replacement for hypodermics, but their “weak adhesion to tissues is a major challenge for controlled drug delivery over the long run,” the investigators noted. To try and solve the adhesion problem, they turned to – that’s right, you guessed it – insects and parasites.
When you think about it, it does make sense. What’s better at holding onto tissue than the barbed stinger of a honeybee or the microhooks of a tapeworm?
The microneedle array that Dr. Lee and his team have come up has backward-facing barbs that interlock with tissue when it is inserted, which improves adhesion. It was those barbs that required the whole 4D-printing approach, they explained in Advanced Functional Materials.
That’s sounds great, you’re probably thinking now – but we need to show you the money, right? Okay.
During testing on chicken muscle tissue, adhesion with the new microneedle was “18 times stronger than with a barbless microneedle,” they reported.
The 4D microneedle’s next stop? Its own commercial during next year’s Super Bowl, according to its new agent.
FDA issues public health warning recommending against cesium salt usage
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a public health alert warning consumers to avoid the use of dietary supplements that contain cesium chloride or any other cesium salt because of significant safety risks.
Cesium salts are sometimes advertised as an alternative treatment for cancer, the FDA said in the announcement, but these salts have never proved to be safe or effective at treating cancer or any other disease. Clinical case reports and nonclinical trials have shown that cesium salts are associated with a variety of adverse events, including cardiac arrhythmias, hypokalemia, seizures, syncope, and death.
The FDA warned health care providers that cesium salts presented a significant safety risk in compounding drugs in July 2018.
Health care providers should not recommend dietary supplements containing cesium salts to their patients, the FDA said, and if a patient experiences an adverse event while taking a supplement containing cesium salt, the event should be reported to the agency.
While there are few dietary supplements on the market that contain cesium salt, consumers should be aware of the risks and avoid these products. The FDA noted that “if claims sound too good to be true, they probably are.”
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a public health alert warning consumers to avoid the use of dietary supplements that contain cesium chloride or any other cesium salt because of significant safety risks.
Cesium salts are sometimes advertised as an alternative treatment for cancer, the FDA said in the announcement, but these salts have never proved to be safe or effective at treating cancer or any other disease. Clinical case reports and nonclinical trials have shown that cesium salts are associated with a variety of adverse events, including cardiac arrhythmias, hypokalemia, seizures, syncope, and death.
The FDA warned health care providers that cesium salts presented a significant safety risk in compounding drugs in July 2018.
Health care providers should not recommend dietary supplements containing cesium salts to their patients, the FDA said, and if a patient experiences an adverse event while taking a supplement containing cesium salt, the event should be reported to the agency.
While there are few dietary supplements on the market that contain cesium salt, consumers should be aware of the risks and avoid these products. The FDA noted that “if claims sound too good to be true, they probably are.”
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a public health alert warning consumers to avoid the use of dietary supplements that contain cesium chloride or any other cesium salt because of significant safety risks.
Cesium salts are sometimes advertised as an alternative treatment for cancer, the FDA said in the announcement, but these salts have never proved to be safe or effective at treating cancer or any other disease. Clinical case reports and nonclinical trials have shown that cesium salts are associated with a variety of adverse events, including cardiac arrhythmias, hypokalemia, seizures, syncope, and death.
The FDA warned health care providers that cesium salts presented a significant safety risk in compounding drugs in July 2018.
Health care providers should not recommend dietary supplements containing cesium salts to their patients, the FDA said, and if a patient experiences an adverse event while taking a supplement containing cesium salt, the event should be reported to the agency.
While there are few dietary supplements on the market that contain cesium salt, consumers should be aware of the risks and avoid these products. The FDA noted that “if claims sound too good to be true, they probably are.”
The scents-less life and the speaking mummy
If I only had a nose
Deaf and blind people get all the attention. Special schools, Braille, sign language, even a pinball-focused rock opera. And it is easy to see why: Those senses are kind of important when it comes to navigating the world. But what if you have to live without one of the less-cool senses? What if the nose doesn’t know?
According to research published in Clinical Otolaryngology, up to 5% of the world’s population has some sort of smell disorder, preventing them from either smelling correctly or smelling anything at all. And the effects of this on everyday life are drastic.
In a survey of 71 people with smell disorders, the researchers found that patients experience a smorgasbord of negative effects – ranging from poor hazard perception and poor sense of personal hygiene, to an inability to enjoy food and an inability to link smell to happy memories. The whiff of gingerbread on Christmas morning, the smoke of a bonfire on a summer evening – the smell-deprived miss out on them all. The negative emotions those people experience read like a recipe for your very own homemade Sith lord: sadness, regret, isolation, anxiety, anger, frustration. A path to the dark side, losing your scent is.
Speaking of fictional bad guys, this nasal-based research really could have benefited one Lord Volde ... fine, You-Know-Who. Just look at that face. That’s a man who can’t smell. You can’t tell us he wouldn’t have turned out better if only Dorothy had picked him up on the yellow brick road instead of some dumb scarecrow.
The sound of hieroglyphics
The Rosetta Stone revealed the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphics and unlocked the ancient language of the Pharaohs for modern humans. But that mute stele said nothing about what those who uttered that ancient tongue sounded like.
Researchers at London’s Royal Holloway College may now know the answer. At least, a monosyllabic one.
The answer comes (indirectly) from Egyptian priest Nesyamun, a former resident of Thebes who worked at the temple of Karnak, but who now calls the Leeds City Museum home. Or, to be precise, Nesyamun’s 3,000-year-old mummified remains live on in Leeds. Nesyamun’s religious duties during his Karnak career likely required a smooth singing style and an accomplished speaking voice.
In a paper published in Scientific Reports, the British scientists say they’ve now heard the sound of the Egyptian priest’s long-silenced liturgical voice.
Working from CT scans of Nesyamun’s relatively well-preserved vocal-tract soft tissue, the scientists used a 3D-printed vocal tract and an electronic larynx to synthesize the actual sound of his voice.
And the result? Did the crooning priest of Karnak utter a Boris Karloffian curse upon those who had disturbed his millennia-long slumber? Did he deliver a rousing hymn of praise to Egypt’s ruler during the turbulent 1070s bce, Ramses XI?
In fact, what emerged from Nesyamun’s synthesized throat was ... “eh.” Maybe “a,” as in “bad.”
Given the state of the priest’s tongue (shrunken) and his soft palate (missing), the researchers say those monosyllabic sounds are the best Nesyamun can muster in his present state. Other experts say actual words from the ancients are likely impossible.
Perhaps one day, science will indeed be able to synthesize whole words or sentences from other well-preserved residents of the distant past. May we all live to hear an unyielding Ramses II himself chew the scenery like his Hollywood doppelganger, Yul Brynner: “So let it be written! So let it be done!”
To beard or not to beard
People are funny, and men, who happen to be people, are no exception.
Men, you see, have these things called beards, and there are definitely more men running around with facial hair these days. A lot of women go through a lot of trouble to get rid of a lot of their hair. But men, well, we grow extra hair. Why?
That’s what Honest Amish, a maker of beard-care products, wanted to know. They commissioned OnePoll to conduct a survey of 2,000 Americans, both men and women, to learn all kinds of things about beards.
So what did they find? Facial hair confidence, that’s what. Three-quarters of men said that a beard made them feel more confident than did a bare face, and 73% said that facial hair makes a man more attractive. That number was a bit lower among women, 63% of whom said that facial hair made a man more attractive.
That doesn’t seem very funny, does it? We’re getting there.
Male respondents also were asked what they would do to get the perfect beard: 40% would be willing to spend a night in jail or give up coffee for a year, and 38% would stand in line at the DMV for an entire day. Somewhat less popular responses included giving up sex for a year (22%) – seems like a waste of all that new-found confidence – and shaving their heads (18%).
And that, we don’t mind saying, is a hair-raising conclusion.
If I only had a nose
Deaf and blind people get all the attention. Special schools, Braille, sign language, even a pinball-focused rock opera. And it is easy to see why: Those senses are kind of important when it comes to navigating the world. But what if you have to live without one of the less-cool senses? What if the nose doesn’t know?
According to research published in Clinical Otolaryngology, up to 5% of the world’s population has some sort of smell disorder, preventing them from either smelling correctly or smelling anything at all. And the effects of this on everyday life are drastic.
In a survey of 71 people with smell disorders, the researchers found that patients experience a smorgasbord of negative effects – ranging from poor hazard perception and poor sense of personal hygiene, to an inability to enjoy food and an inability to link smell to happy memories. The whiff of gingerbread on Christmas morning, the smoke of a bonfire on a summer evening – the smell-deprived miss out on them all. The negative emotions those people experience read like a recipe for your very own homemade Sith lord: sadness, regret, isolation, anxiety, anger, frustration. A path to the dark side, losing your scent is.
Speaking of fictional bad guys, this nasal-based research really could have benefited one Lord Volde ... fine, You-Know-Who. Just look at that face. That’s a man who can’t smell. You can’t tell us he wouldn’t have turned out better if only Dorothy had picked him up on the yellow brick road instead of some dumb scarecrow.
The sound of hieroglyphics
The Rosetta Stone revealed the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphics and unlocked the ancient language of the Pharaohs for modern humans. But that mute stele said nothing about what those who uttered that ancient tongue sounded like.
Researchers at London’s Royal Holloway College may now know the answer. At least, a monosyllabic one.
The answer comes (indirectly) from Egyptian priest Nesyamun, a former resident of Thebes who worked at the temple of Karnak, but who now calls the Leeds City Museum home. Or, to be precise, Nesyamun’s 3,000-year-old mummified remains live on in Leeds. Nesyamun’s religious duties during his Karnak career likely required a smooth singing style and an accomplished speaking voice.
In a paper published in Scientific Reports, the British scientists say they’ve now heard the sound of the Egyptian priest’s long-silenced liturgical voice.
Working from CT scans of Nesyamun’s relatively well-preserved vocal-tract soft tissue, the scientists used a 3D-printed vocal tract and an electronic larynx to synthesize the actual sound of his voice.
And the result? Did the crooning priest of Karnak utter a Boris Karloffian curse upon those who had disturbed his millennia-long slumber? Did he deliver a rousing hymn of praise to Egypt’s ruler during the turbulent 1070s bce, Ramses XI?
In fact, what emerged from Nesyamun’s synthesized throat was ... “eh.” Maybe “a,” as in “bad.”
Given the state of the priest’s tongue (shrunken) and his soft palate (missing), the researchers say those monosyllabic sounds are the best Nesyamun can muster in his present state. Other experts say actual words from the ancients are likely impossible.
Perhaps one day, science will indeed be able to synthesize whole words or sentences from other well-preserved residents of the distant past. May we all live to hear an unyielding Ramses II himself chew the scenery like his Hollywood doppelganger, Yul Brynner: “So let it be written! So let it be done!”
To beard or not to beard
People are funny, and men, who happen to be people, are no exception.
Men, you see, have these things called beards, and there are definitely more men running around with facial hair these days. A lot of women go through a lot of trouble to get rid of a lot of their hair. But men, well, we grow extra hair. Why?
That’s what Honest Amish, a maker of beard-care products, wanted to know. They commissioned OnePoll to conduct a survey of 2,000 Americans, both men and women, to learn all kinds of things about beards.
So what did they find? Facial hair confidence, that’s what. Three-quarters of men said that a beard made them feel more confident than did a bare face, and 73% said that facial hair makes a man more attractive. That number was a bit lower among women, 63% of whom said that facial hair made a man more attractive.
That doesn’t seem very funny, does it? We’re getting there.
Male respondents also were asked what they would do to get the perfect beard: 40% would be willing to spend a night in jail or give up coffee for a year, and 38% would stand in line at the DMV for an entire day. Somewhat less popular responses included giving up sex for a year (22%) – seems like a waste of all that new-found confidence – and shaving their heads (18%).
And that, we don’t mind saying, is a hair-raising conclusion.
If I only had a nose
Deaf and blind people get all the attention. Special schools, Braille, sign language, even a pinball-focused rock opera. And it is easy to see why: Those senses are kind of important when it comes to navigating the world. But what if you have to live without one of the less-cool senses? What if the nose doesn’t know?
According to research published in Clinical Otolaryngology, up to 5% of the world’s population has some sort of smell disorder, preventing them from either smelling correctly or smelling anything at all. And the effects of this on everyday life are drastic.
In a survey of 71 people with smell disorders, the researchers found that patients experience a smorgasbord of negative effects – ranging from poor hazard perception and poor sense of personal hygiene, to an inability to enjoy food and an inability to link smell to happy memories. The whiff of gingerbread on Christmas morning, the smoke of a bonfire on a summer evening – the smell-deprived miss out on them all. The negative emotions those people experience read like a recipe for your very own homemade Sith lord: sadness, regret, isolation, anxiety, anger, frustration. A path to the dark side, losing your scent is.
Speaking of fictional bad guys, this nasal-based research really could have benefited one Lord Volde ... fine, You-Know-Who. Just look at that face. That’s a man who can’t smell. You can’t tell us he wouldn’t have turned out better if only Dorothy had picked him up on the yellow brick road instead of some dumb scarecrow.
The sound of hieroglyphics
The Rosetta Stone revealed the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphics and unlocked the ancient language of the Pharaohs for modern humans. But that mute stele said nothing about what those who uttered that ancient tongue sounded like.
Researchers at London’s Royal Holloway College may now know the answer. At least, a monosyllabic one.
The answer comes (indirectly) from Egyptian priest Nesyamun, a former resident of Thebes who worked at the temple of Karnak, but who now calls the Leeds City Museum home. Or, to be precise, Nesyamun’s 3,000-year-old mummified remains live on in Leeds. Nesyamun’s religious duties during his Karnak career likely required a smooth singing style and an accomplished speaking voice.
In a paper published in Scientific Reports, the British scientists say they’ve now heard the sound of the Egyptian priest’s long-silenced liturgical voice.
Working from CT scans of Nesyamun’s relatively well-preserved vocal-tract soft tissue, the scientists used a 3D-printed vocal tract and an electronic larynx to synthesize the actual sound of his voice.
And the result? Did the crooning priest of Karnak utter a Boris Karloffian curse upon those who had disturbed his millennia-long slumber? Did he deliver a rousing hymn of praise to Egypt’s ruler during the turbulent 1070s bce, Ramses XI?
In fact, what emerged from Nesyamun’s synthesized throat was ... “eh.” Maybe “a,” as in “bad.”
Given the state of the priest’s tongue (shrunken) and his soft palate (missing), the researchers say those monosyllabic sounds are the best Nesyamun can muster in his present state. Other experts say actual words from the ancients are likely impossible.
Perhaps one day, science will indeed be able to synthesize whole words or sentences from other well-preserved residents of the distant past. May we all live to hear an unyielding Ramses II himself chew the scenery like his Hollywood doppelganger, Yul Brynner: “So let it be written! So let it be done!”
To beard or not to beard
People are funny, and men, who happen to be people, are no exception.
Men, you see, have these things called beards, and there are definitely more men running around with facial hair these days. A lot of women go through a lot of trouble to get rid of a lot of their hair. But men, well, we grow extra hair. Why?
That’s what Honest Amish, a maker of beard-care products, wanted to know. They commissioned OnePoll to conduct a survey of 2,000 Americans, both men and women, to learn all kinds of things about beards.
So what did they find? Facial hair confidence, that’s what. Three-quarters of men said that a beard made them feel more confident than did a bare face, and 73% said that facial hair makes a man more attractive. That number was a bit lower among women, 63% of whom said that facial hair made a man more attractive.
That doesn’t seem very funny, does it? We’re getting there.
Male respondents also were asked what they would do to get the perfect beard: 40% would be willing to spend a night in jail or give up coffee for a year, and 38% would stand in line at the DMV for an entire day. Somewhat less popular responses included giving up sex for a year (22%) – seems like a waste of all that new-found confidence – and shaving their heads (18%).
And that, we don’t mind saying, is a hair-raising conclusion.
FDA strengthens warning regarding clozapine, serious bowel complication risk
The Food and Drug Administration is strengthening a previous warning regarding the uncommon risk of serious bowel complications associated with the schizophrenia medication clozapine (Clozaril, FazaClo ODT, Versacloz).
According to the FDA press release, dated Jan. 28, clozapine affects bowel function in a majority of patients, and constipation is a common adverse event associated with clozapine use. This can uncommonly progress to serious bowel complications, including complete bowel blockage, and can result in hospitalization or even death if the constipation is not diagnosed and treated quickly.
Patients should contact their health care clinician if their bowel movements are less frequent, they have a bowel movement less than three times a week, they have hard or dry stool, or they have difficulty passing gas. Urgent care is needed if patients are experiencing nausea, vomiting, belly pain, or bloating, according to the FDA.
In addition, , avoid coprescribing with other anticholinergic medicines, advise and question patients about the risks of clozapine and their bowel movements, monitor patients for complications, and consider prophylactic laxative treatment in patients with a history of constipation or bowel obstruction, the FDA added.
The Food and Drug Administration is strengthening a previous warning regarding the uncommon risk of serious bowel complications associated with the schizophrenia medication clozapine (Clozaril, FazaClo ODT, Versacloz).
According to the FDA press release, dated Jan. 28, clozapine affects bowel function in a majority of patients, and constipation is a common adverse event associated with clozapine use. This can uncommonly progress to serious bowel complications, including complete bowel blockage, and can result in hospitalization or even death if the constipation is not diagnosed and treated quickly.
Patients should contact their health care clinician if their bowel movements are less frequent, they have a bowel movement less than three times a week, they have hard or dry stool, or they have difficulty passing gas. Urgent care is needed if patients are experiencing nausea, vomiting, belly pain, or bloating, according to the FDA.
In addition, , avoid coprescribing with other anticholinergic medicines, advise and question patients about the risks of clozapine and their bowel movements, monitor patients for complications, and consider prophylactic laxative treatment in patients with a history of constipation or bowel obstruction, the FDA added.
The Food and Drug Administration is strengthening a previous warning regarding the uncommon risk of serious bowel complications associated with the schizophrenia medication clozapine (Clozaril, FazaClo ODT, Versacloz).
According to the FDA press release, dated Jan. 28, clozapine affects bowel function in a majority of patients, and constipation is a common adverse event associated with clozapine use. This can uncommonly progress to serious bowel complications, including complete bowel blockage, and can result in hospitalization or even death if the constipation is not diagnosed and treated quickly.
Patients should contact their health care clinician if their bowel movements are less frequent, they have a bowel movement less than three times a week, they have hard or dry stool, or they have difficulty passing gas. Urgent care is needed if patients are experiencing nausea, vomiting, belly pain, or bloating, according to the FDA.
In addition, , avoid coprescribing with other anticholinergic medicines, advise and question patients about the risks of clozapine and their bowel movements, monitor patients for complications, and consider prophylactic laxative treatment in patients with a history of constipation or bowel obstruction, the FDA added.
FDA approves fidaxomicin for treatment of C. difficile–associated diarrhea
The Food and Drug Administration has approved fidaxomicin (Dificid) for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile–associated diarrhea in children aged 6 months and older.
Approval was based on results from SUNSHINE, a phase 3, multicenter, investigator-blind, randomized, parallel-group study in 142 pediatric patients aged between 6 months and 18 years with confirmed C. difficile infection who received either fidaxomicin or vancomycin for 10 days. Clinical response 2 days after the conclusion of treatment was similar in both groups (77.6% for fidaxomicin vs. 70.5% for vancomycin), and fidaxomicin had a superior sustained response 30 days after the conclusion of treatment (68.4% vs. 50.0%).
The safety of fidaxomicin was assessed in a pair of clinical trials involving 136 patients; the most common adverse events were pyrexia, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, increased aminotransferases, and rash. Four patients discontinued fidaxomicin treatment because of adverse events, and four patients died during the trials, though all deaths were in patients aged younger than 2 years and seemed to be related to other comorbidities.
“C. difficile is an important cause of health care– and community-associated diarrheal illness in children, and sustained cure is difficult to achieve in some patients. The fidaxomicin pediatric trial was the first randomized, controlled trial of C. difficile infection treatment in children,” Larry K. Kociolek, MD, associate medical director of infection prevention and control at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, said in the press release from Merck, manufacturer of fidaxomicin.
*This story was updated on 1/27/2020.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved fidaxomicin (Dificid) for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile–associated diarrhea in children aged 6 months and older.
Approval was based on results from SUNSHINE, a phase 3, multicenter, investigator-blind, randomized, parallel-group study in 142 pediatric patients aged between 6 months and 18 years with confirmed C. difficile infection who received either fidaxomicin or vancomycin for 10 days. Clinical response 2 days after the conclusion of treatment was similar in both groups (77.6% for fidaxomicin vs. 70.5% for vancomycin), and fidaxomicin had a superior sustained response 30 days after the conclusion of treatment (68.4% vs. 50.0%).
The safety of fidaxomicin was assessed in a pair of clinical trials involving 136 patients; the most common adverse events were pyrexia, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, increased aminotransferases, and rash. Four patients discontinued fidaxomicin treatment because of adverse events, and four patients died during the trials, though all deaths were in patients aged younger than 2 years and seemed to be related to other comorbidities.
“C. difficile is an important cause of health care– and community-associated diarrheal illness in children, and sustained cure is difficult to achieve in some patients. The fidaxomicin pediatric trial was the first randomized, controlled trial of C. difficile infection treatment in children,” Larry K. Kociolek, MD, associate medical director of infection prevention and control at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, said in the press release from Merck, manufacturer of fidaxomicin.
*This story was updated on 1/27/2020.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved fidaxomicin (Dificid) for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile–associated diarrhea in children aged 6 months and older.
Approval was based on results from SUNSHINE, a phase 3, multicenter, investigator-blind, randomized, parallel-group study in 142 pediatric patients aged between 6 months and 18 years with confirmed C. difficile infection who received either fidaxomicin or vancomycin for 10 days. Clinical response 2 days after the conclusion of treatment was similar in both groups (77.6% for fidaxomicin vs. 70.5% for vancomycin), and fidaxomicin had a superior sustained response 30 days after the conclusion of treatment (68.4% vs. 50.0%).
The safety of fidaxomicin was assessed in a pair of clinical trials involving 136 patients; the most common adverse events were pyrexia, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, increased aminotransferases, and rash. Four patients discontinued fidaxomicin treatment because of adverse events, and four patients died during the trials, though all deaths were in patients aged younger than 2 years and seemed to be related to other comorbidities.
“C. difficile is an important cause of health care– and community-associated diarrheal illness in children, and sustained cure is difficult to achieve in some patients. The fidaxomicin pediatric trial was the first randomized, controlled trial of C. difficile infection treatment in children,” Larry K. Kociolek, MD, associate medical director of infection prevention and control at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, said in the press release from Merck, manufacturer of fidaxomicin.
*This story was updated on 1/27/2020.
FDA: Cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified in GE Healthcare monitoring devices
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning that certain GE Healthcare Clinical Information Central Stations and Telemetry Servers have cybersecurity vulnerabilities that may introduce risk to monitored patients.
silence alarms, generate false alarms, and interfere with alarms of patient monitors connected to these devices, according to an “Urgent Medical Device Correction” letter issued by GE Healthcare in November 2019.
The affected devices are the ApexPro Telemetry Server and CARESCAPE Telemetry Server, the CARESCAPE Central Station (CSCS) version 1, and the CIC Pro Clinical Information Center Central Station version 1. These devices are used in health care facilities for displaying information, such as the patient’s physiological parameters, and for monitoring patient status from a central location in a facility.
No adverse events related to the vulnerabilities have been reported to the FDA. Health care facility staff should update their devices when GE Healthcare issues a software patch that addresses the vulnerability, separate the network connecting patient monitors using affected devices from the rest of the hospital, and use firewalls and other means to minimize the risk of remote or local network attacks.
“The FDA takes reports of cybersecurity vulnerabilities in medical devices seriously and will continue to work with GE Healthcare as the firm develops software patches to correct these vulnerabilities as soon as possible. The FDA will continue to assess new information concerning the vulnerabilities and will keep the public informed if significant new information becomes available,” the FDA said in the Safety Communication.
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning that certain GE Healthcare Clinical Information Central Stations and Telemetry Servers have cybersecurity vulnerabilities that may introduce risk to monitored patients.
silence alarms, generate false alarms, and interfere with alarms of patient monitors connected to these devices, according to an “Urgent Medical Device Correction” letter issued by GE Healthcare in November 2019.
The affected devices are the ApexPro Telemetry Server and CARESCAPE Telemetry Server, the CARESCAPE Central Station (CSCS) version 1, and the CIC Pro Clinical Information Center Central Station version 1. These devices are used in health care facilities for displaying information, such as the patient’s physiological parameters, and for monitoring patient status from a central location in a facility.
No adverse events related to the vulnerabilities have been reported to the FDA. Health care facility staff should update their devices when GE Healthcare issues a software patch that addresses the vulnerability, separate the network connecting patient monitors using affected devices from the rest of the hospital, and use firewalls and other means to minimize the risk of remote or local network attacks.
“The FDA takes reports of cybersecurity vulnerabilities in medical devices seriously and will continue to work with GE Healthcare as the firm develops software patches to correct these vulnerabilities as soon as possible. The FDA will continue to assess new information concerning the vulnerabilities and will keep the public informed if significant new information becomes available,” the FDA said in the Safety Communication.
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning that certain GE Healthcare Clinical Information Central Stations and Telemetry Servers have cybersecurity vulnerabilities that may introduce risk to monitored patients.
silence alarms, generate false alarms, and interfere with alarms of patient monitors connected to these devices, according to an “Urgent Medical Device Correction” letter issued by GE Healthcare in November 2019.
The affected devices are the ApexPro Telemetry Server and CARESCAPE Telemetry Server, the CARESCAPE Central Station (CSCS) version 1, and the CIC Pro Clinical Information Center Central Station version 1. These devices are used in health care facilities for displaying information, such as the patient’s physiological parameters, and for monitoring patient status from a central location in a facility.
No adverse events related to the vulnerabilities have been reported to the FDA. Health care facility staff should update their devices when GE Healthcare issues a software patch that addresses the vulnerability, separate the network connecting patient monitors using affected devices from the rest of the hospital, and use firewalls and other means to minimize the risk of remote or local network attacks.
“The FDA takes reports of cybersecurity vulnerabilities in medical devices seriously and will continue to work with GE Healthcare as the firm develops software patches to correct these vulnerabilities as soon as possible. The FDA will continue to assess new information concerning the vulnerabilities and will keep the public informed if significant new information becomes available,” the FDA said in the Safety Communication.
The age of maximum misery, and why Marcus Welby was gray
A year to forget
47.2. Just another number, right? Nothing too special about it. But this innocent number is hiding a deep, dark secret. It is the number of misery.
More specifically, 47.2 is the age when human misery hits its peak, according to a study distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The data, collected from 132 countries, show that human happiness is actually U-shaped. We all start out pretty happy, you know, being infants and all. Sadly, life takes a pretty sharp downhill turn when we’re born, and that slide doesn’t abate until the magic age of 47.2. That’s the point in our lives when we’re at our most unhappy.
We do have some good news if you happen to have been born in early November 1972 and you’re having a rough time of things lately. That U-shaped curve will be your friend from now on, as your happiness will, according to the data at least, grow constantly from this point forward. Once you get past 70, at least in the United States, you’ll be as happy as you’ve ever been in your adult life.
Of course, that’s not much comfort for those of us who’ve yet to hit that magic number. So if you thought the daily existential crises were bad now, just wait: Apparently, they’ll only get worse. Won’t that be fun?
Why Marcus Welby was gray
Stress is a key ingredient in the Bureau of LOTME’s recipe for success. The deadlines. The office coffee. The serial commas. And what do we get for all that stress? Other than fan mail (thanks, Mom) and cease-and-desist orders?
Gray hair.
Is the correlation coefficient between stress and our silvering LOTME coifs truly zero? We think not. And now science agrees: Stress may indeed be gray hair’s follicular fertilizer.
Harvard University scientists say they’ve mapped the path from after-hours EHR data entry to premature silver fox status. Specifically, like a pharma rep with a new drug to detail, stress wears on nerves, which help spew norepinephrine and deplete the stem cells that regenerate your hair follicles’ pigment cells. Presto! You’ve got gray hair and a med closet bursting with more drug samples.
More accurately, the Harvard researchers found that stress damages the color-restorative function in the hair of mice. Which means 92-year-old Mickey Mouse is clearly hiding a dye job. (Ed. note: C’mon, people – another Disney cease-and-desist letter?)
We know no one knows stress as intimately as physicians. That’s why we’re planning a complete line of hair coloring products we call “Just for Docs,” featuring colors like “Pre-Auth Platinum Blonde,” “MOC Magenta,” and “EHR Red.” And, of course, “Burnout Brunette.”
Mr. Bedbug goes to Washington
You’ve heard it a million times: The old good news/bad news delivery.
Well, make that a million and one, because it’s time to play “Good news is bad news!”
Good news: Baltimore is no longer the bedbug capital of the United States. Bad news: It only dropped from first to second place on Orkin’s Top 50 Bed Bug Cities list. More bad news: Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, is now the bedbug capital as well. [Insert joke about Congress here.]
Good news: Kids in England are getting less sugar and salt in their packed school lunches than they did a decade ago. Bad news: They are also getting less vitamin A, vitamin C, and fruit, according to a study in BMJ Open.
Good news: Drinking skim or 1% milk instead of 2% can add more than 4 years to your life, and the reduction in lifespan is even greater for whole milk. Bad news: “Children who drink whole milk are actually 40% less likely to be obese or overweight than kids drinking reduced-fat milk,” Study Finds reported.
Wait a second. That’s not exactly bad news, is it? Maybe for those who are drinking low-fat milk to add a few years to their lives. They will live longer, but they’ll be overweight while they’re doing it.
Thank you for watching “Good news is bad news.” Remember, if you’re not confused, you haven’t been paying attention.
A year to forget
47.2. Just another number, right? Nothing too special about it. But this innocent number is hiding a deep, dark secret. It is the number of misery.
More specifically, 47.2 is the age when human misery hits its peak, according to a study distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The data, collected from 132 countries, show that human happiness is actually U-shaped. We all start out pretty happy, you know, being infants and all. Sadly, life takes a pretty sharp downhill turn when we’re born, and that slide doesn’t abate until the magic age of 47.2. That’s the point in our lives when we’re at our most unhappy.
We do have some good news if you happen to have been born in early November 1972 and you’re having a rough time of things lately. That U-shaped curve will be your friend from now on, as your happiness will, according to the data at least, grow constantly from this point forward. Once you get past 70, at least in the United States, you’ll be as happy as you’ve ever been in your adult life.
Of course, that’s not much comfort for those of us who’ve yet to hit that magic number. So if you thought the daily existential crises were bad now, just wait: Apparently, they’ll only get worse. Won’t that be fun?
Why Marcus Welby was gray
Stress is a key ingredient in the Bureau of LOTME’s recipe for success. The deadlines. The office coffee. The serial commas. And what do we get for all that stress? Other than fan mail (thanks, Mom) and cease-and-desist orders?
Gray hair.
Is the correlation coefficient between stress and our silvering LOTME coifs truly zero? We think not. And now science agrees: Stress may indeed be gray hair’s follicular fertilizer.
Harvard University scientists say they’ve mapped the path from after-hours EHR data entry to premature silver fox status. Specifically, like a pharma rep with a new drug to detail, stress wears on nerves, which help spew norepinephrine and deplete the stem cells that regenerate your hair follicles’ pigment cells. Presto! You’ve got gray hair and a med closet bursting with more drug samples.
More accurately, the Harvard researchers found that stress damages the color-restorative function in the hair of mice. Which means 92-year-old Mickey Mouse is clearly hiding a dye job. (Ed. note: C’mon, people – another Disney cease-and-desist letter?)
We know no one knows stress as intimately as physicians. That’s why we’re planning a complete line of hair coloring products we call “Just for Docs,” featuring colors like “Pre-Auth Platinum Blonde,” “MOC Magenta,” and “EHR Red.” And, of course, “Burnout Brunette.”
Mr. Bedbug goes to Washington
You’ve heard it a million times: The old good news/bad news delivery.
Well, make that a million and one, because it’s time to play “Good news is bad news!”
Good news: Baltimore is no longer the bedbug capital of the United States. Bad news: It only dropped from first to second place on Orkin’s Top 50 Bed Bug Cities list. More bad news: Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, is now the bedbug capital as well. [Insert joke about Congress here.]
Good news: Kids in England are getting less sugar and salt in their packed school lunches than they did a decade ago. Bad news: They are also getting less vitamin A, vitamin C, and fruit, according to a study in BMJ Open.
Good news: Drinking skim or 1% milk instead of 2% can add more than 4 years to your life, and the reduction in lifespan is even greater for whole milk. Bad news: “Children who drink whole milk are actually 40% less likely to be obese or overweight than kids drinking reduced-fat milk,” Study Finds reported.
Wait a second. That’s not exactly bad news, is it? Maybe for those who are drinking low-fat milk to add a few years to their lives. They will live longer, but they’ll be overweight while they’re doing it.
Thank you for watching “Good news is bad news.” Remember, if you’re not confused, you haven’t been paying attention.
A year to forget
47.2. Just another number, right? Nothing too special about it. But this innocent number is hiding a deep, dark secret. It is the number of misery.
More specifically, 47.2 is the age when human misery hits its peak, according to a study distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The data, collected from 132 countries, show that human happiness is actually U-shaped. We all start out pretty happy, you know, being infants and all. Sadly, life takes a pretty sharp downhill turn when we’re born, and that slide doesn’t abate until the magic age of 47.2. That’s the point in our lives when we’re at our most unhappy.
We do have some good news if you happen to have been born in early November 1972 and you’re having a rough time of things lately. That U-shaped curve will be your friend from now on, as your happiness will, according to the data at least, grow constantly from this point forward. Once you get past 70, at least in the United States, you’ll be as happy as you’ve ever been in your adult life.
Of course, that’s not much comfort for those of us who’ve yet to hit that magic number. So if you thought the daily existential crises were bad now, just wait: Apparently, they’ll only get worse. Won’t that be fun?
Why Marcus Welby was gray
Stress is a key ingredient in the Bureau of LOTME’s recipe for success. The deadlines. The office coffee. The serial commas. And what do we get for all that stress? Other than fan mail (thanks, Mom) and cease-and-desist orders?
Gray hair.
Is the correlation coefficient between stress and our silvering LOTME coifs truly zero? We think not. And now science agrees: Stress may indeed be gray hair’s follicular fertilizer.
Harvard University scientists say they’ve mapped the path from after-hours EHR data entry to premature silver fox status. Specifically, like a pharma rep with a new drug to detail, stress wears on nerves, which help spew norepinephrine and deplete the stem cells that regenerate your hair follicles’ pigment cells. Presto! You’ve got gray hair and a med closet bursting with more drug samples.
More accurately, the Harvard researchers found that stress damages the color-restorative function in the hair of mice. Which means 92-year-old Mickey Mouse is clearly hiding a dye job. (Ed. note: C’mon, people – another Disney cease-and-desist letter?)
We know no one knows stress as intimately as physicians. That’s why we’re planning a complete line of hair coloring products we call “Just for Docs,” featuring colors like “Pre-Auth Platinum Blonde,” “MOC Magenta,” and “EHR Red.” And, of course, “Burnout Brunette.”
Mr. Bedbug goes to Washington
You’ve heard it a million times: The old good news/bad news delivery.
Well, make that a million and one, because it’s time to play “Good news is bad news!”
Good news: Baltimore is no longer the bedbug capital of the United States. Bad news: It only dropped from first to second place on Orkin’s Top 50 Bed Bug Cities list. More bad news: Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, is now the bedbug capital as well. [Insert joke about Congress here.]
Good news: Kids in England are getting less sugar and salt in their packed school lunches than they did a decade ago. Bad news: They are also getting less vitamin A, vitamin C, and fruit, according to a study in BMJ Open.
Good news: Drinking skim or 1% milk instead of 2% can add more than 4 years to your life, and the reduction in lifespan is even greater for whole milk. Bad news: “Children who drink whole milk are actually 40% less likely to be obese or overweight than kids drinking reduced-fat milk,” Study Finds reported.
Wait a second. That’s not exactly bad news, is it? Maybe for those who are drinking low-fat milk to add a few years to their lives. They will live longer, but they’ll be overweight while they’re doing it.
Thank you for watching “Good news is bad news.” Remember, if you’re not confused, you haven’t been paying attention.
Sleep apnea’s got your tongue, and singin’ in the kerosene rain
On the tip of my tongue
The greatest risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea is obesity, and unsurprisingly, people who are obese and have sleep apnea very often improve their breathing when they lose weight.
But what if you’re secretly a hobbit named Peregrin Took, and you absolutely have to have both first and second breakfast? Is there any way to ease your sleep apnea?
According to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, weight loss in and of itself isn’t what improves sleep apnea symptoms. No, it’s something more targeted.
The secret to improving sleep apnea is ... tongue fat.
The patients in the study lost about 10% of their body weight over 6 months, and experienced a 31% improvement in sleep apnea scores. MRIs done before and after the intervention showed that, while reductions in pterygoid and pharyngeal lateral wall volumes helped, the reduction of tongue fat volume was the primary link between weight loss and sleep apnea improvement.
The Livin’ on the MDedge team eagerly awaits the dawning of the tongue weight-loss industry, thanks to this new research. Tongue diets. Tongue exercise. Pretty soon you’ll be able to buy “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” DVDs featuring tongues in bad ’80s Spandex flopping all over the place. Have your cake and eat it too – just don’t let your tongue know.
The rain falls mainly from the plane
Why does rain inspire music? Gene Kelly sang in it. Prince crooned about its purple hue. The Weather Girls gave vocal thanks for a downpour of men. And kids will joyfully create a symphony of mud in a summer shower.
But what if it rains on the playground? On a sunny day? Kids will definitely sing the blues, right?
Especially when the shower’s not water.
Shortly after takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport this week, Delta Air Lines Flight 89 to Shanghai developed engine problems. Which sent Flight 89 right back to LAX. Not wanting to land a distressed Boeing 777 with wings full of explosive aviation fuel, the pilot began dumping his Jet A-1 kerosene as he circled back to the airport.
Which fell to earth as a mist ... that blanketed five elementary schools in the middle of the school day.
The plane rain led to minor lung and skin irritation in 56 kids and adults below. But the Los Angeles County Fire Department said injuries were minor, and the drizzling jet fuel evaporated quickly.
Given the absence of serious injuries, it’s clear the Los Angeles students heeded at least one public health message during the kerosene shower: Nobody was engaged in outdoor underage smoking.
And the Inventing Oscar goes to ...
For many people, the new year means the announcement of the Oscar nominations.
We here at LOTME have been waiting for an announcement that comes at the beginning of each year, but it has nothing to do with who got snubbed by the Academy. We’re talking about something really big: the National Inventors Hall of Fame class of 2020.
As usual, we were not disappointed. The world of health care was well represented among this year’s inductees.
At the head of the class, at least alphabetically, is R. Rox Anderson, who developed groundbreaking laser technology (patent number 5,595,568) used in medical treatments and procedures. Then there’s James McEwen, who invented the first microprocessor-controlled automatic surgical tourniquet system (patent number 4,469,099).
Posthumous NIHF nominations went to Stewart Adams and John Nicholson, the codevelopers of 2-(4-isobutylphenyl) propionic acid, which we know as ibuprofen (patent number 3,228,831). Adams, a pharmacologist, and Nicholson, an organic chemist, worked for Boots Pure Drug Co. in England during the 1950s and 1960s while they collaborated on the drug’s creation.
Several other nominees have somewhat-less-direct medical connections. Edward W. Bullard invented the hard hat (patent number 1,699,133), which has undoubtedly saved lives and prevented injuries. Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller, and Polly Smith invented the sports bra (patent number 4,174,717), which “has enabled women’s participation in athletic activities and advanced women’s health and well-being,” the NIHF said in a written statement.
And finally – for those of you who thought this would never end – there’s Floyd Smith, the trapeze artist turned aviator who invented the modern parachute (patent numbers 1,340,423 and 1,462,456) and kept many sky divers out of the emergency department.
On the tip of my tongue
The greatest risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea is obesity, and unsurprisingly, people who are obese and have sleep apnea very often improve their breathing when they lose weight.
But what if you’re secretly a hobbit named Peregrin Took, and you absolutely have to have both first and second breakfast? Is there any way to ease your sleep apnea?
According to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, weight loss in and of itself isn’t what improves sleep apnea symptoms. No, it’s something more targeted.
The secret to improving sleep apnea is ... tongue fat.
The patients in the study lost about 10% of their body weight over 6 months, and experienced a 31% improvement in sleep apnea scores. MRIs done before and after the intervention showed that, while reductions in pterygoid and pharyngeal lateral wall volumes helped, the reduction of tongue fat volume was the primary link between weight loss and sleep apnea improvement.
The Livin’ on the MDedge team eagerly awaits the dawning of the tongue weight-loss industry, thanks to this new research. Tongue diets. Tongue exercise. Pretty soon you’ll be able to buy “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” DVDs featuring tongues in bad ’80s Spandex flopping all over the place. Have your cake and eat it too – just don’t let your tongue know.
The rain falls mainly from the plane
Why does rain inspire music? Gene Kelly sang in it. Prince crooned about its purple hue. The Weather Girls gave vocal thanks for a downpour of men. And kids will joyfully create a symphony of mud in a summer shower.
But what if it rains on the playground? On a sunny day? Kids will definitely sing the blues, right?
Especially when the shower’s not water.
Shortly after takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport this week, Delta Air Lines Flight 89 to Shanghai developed engine problems. Which sent Flight 89 right back to LAX. Not wanting to land a distressed Boeing 777 with wings full of explosive aviation fuel, the pilot began dumping his Jet A-1 kerosene as he circled back to the airport.
Which fell to earth as a mist ... that blanketed five elementary schools in the middle of the school day.
The plane rain led to minor lung and skin irritation in 56 kids and adults below. But the Los Angeles County Fire Department said injuries were minor, and the drizzling jet fuel evaporated quickly.
Given the absence of serious injuries, it’s clear the Los Angeles students heeded at least one public health message during the kerosene shower: Nobody was engaged in outdoor underage smoking.
And the Inventing Oscar goes to ...
For many people, the new year means the announcement of the Oscar nominations.
We here at LOTME have been waiting for an announcement that comes at the beginning of each year, but it has nothing to do with who got snubbed by the Academy. We’re talking about something really big: the National Inventors Hall of Fame class of 2020.
As usual, we were not disappointed. The world of health care was well represented among this year’s inductees.
At the head of the class, at least alphabetically, is R. Rox Anderson, who developed groundbreaking laser technology (patent number 5,595,568) used in medical treatments and procedures. Then there’s James McEwen, who invented the first microprocessor-controlled automatic surgical tourniquet system (patent number 4,469,099).
Posthumous NIHF nominations went to Stewart Adams and John Nicholson, the codevelopers of 2-(4-isobutylphenyl) propionic acid, which we know as ibuprofen (patent number 3,228,831). Adams, a pharmacologist, and Nicholson, an organic chemist, worked for Boots Pure Drug Co. in England during the 1950s and 1960s while they collaborated on the drug’s creation.
Several other nominees have somewhat-less-direct medical connections. Edward W. Bullard invented the hard hat (patent number 1,699,133), which has undoubtedly saved lives and prevented injuries. Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller, and Polly Smith invented the sports bra (patent number 4,174,717), which “has enabled women’s participation in athletic activities and advanced women’s health and well-being,” the NIHF said in a written statement.
And finally – for those of you who thought this would never end – there’s Floyd Smith, the trapeze artist turned aviator who invented the modern parachute (patent numbers 1,340,423 and 1,462,456) and kept many sky divers out of the emergency department.
On the tip of my tongue
The greatest risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea is obesity, and unsurprisingly, people who are obese and have sleep apnea very often improve their breathing when they lose weight.
But what if you’re secretly a hobbit named Peregrin Took, and you absolutely have to have both first and second breakfast? Is there any way to ease your sleep apnea?
According to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, weight loss in and of itself isn’t what improves sleep apnea symptoms. No, it’s something more targeted.
The secret to improving sleep apnea is ... tongue fat.
The patients in the study lost about 10% of their body weight over 6 months, and experienced a 31% improvement in sleep apnea scores. MRIs done before and after the intervention showed that, while reductions in pterygoid and pharyngeal lateral wall volumes helped, the reduction of tongue fat volume was the primary link between weight loss and sleep apnea improvement.
The Livin’ on the MDedge team eagerly awaits the dawning of the tongue weight-loss industry, thanks to this new research. Tongue diets. Tongue exercise. Pretty soon you’ll be able to buy “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” DVDs featuring tongues in bad ’80s Spandex flopping all over the place. Have your cake and eat it too – just don’t let your tongue know.
The rain falls mainly from the plane
Why does rain inspire music? Gene Kelly sang in it. Prince crooned about its purple hue. The Weather Girls gave vocal thanks for a downpour of men. And kids will joyfully create a symphony of mud in a summer shower.
But what if it rains on the playground? On a sunny day? Kids will definitely sing the blues, right?
Especially when the shower’s not water.
Shortly after takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport this week, Delta Air Lines Flight 89 to Shanghai developed engine problems. Which sent Flight 89 right back to LAX. Not wanting to land a distressed Boeing 777 with wings full of explosive aviation fuel, the pilot began dumping his Jet A-1 kerosene as he circled back to the airport.
Which fell to earth as a mist ... that blanketed five elementary schools in the middle of the school day.
The plane rain led to minor lung and skin irritation in 56 kids and adults below. But the Los Angeles County Fire Department said injuries were minor, and the drizzling jet fuel evaporated quickly.
Given the absence of serious injuries, it’s clear the Los Angeles students heeded at least one public health message during the kerosene shower: Nobody was engaged in outdoor underage smoking.
And the Inventing Oscar goes to ...
For many people, the new year means the announcement of the Oscar nominations.
We here at LOTME have been waiting for an announcement that comes at the beginning of each year, but it has nothing to do with who got snubbed by the Academy. We’re talking about something really big: the National Inventors Hall of Fame class of 2020.
As usual, we were not disappointed. The world of health care was well represented among this year’s inductees.
At the head of the class, at least alphabetically, is R. Rox Anderson, who developed groundbreaking laser technology (patent number 5,595,568) used in medical treatments and procedures. Then there’s James McEwen, who invented the first microprocessor-controlled automatic surgical tourniquet system (patent number 4,469,099).
Posthumous NIHF nominations went to Stewart Adams and John Nicholson, the codevelopers of 2-(4-isobutylphenyl) propionic acid, which we know as ibuprofen (patent number 3,228,831). Adams, a pharmacologist, and Nicholson, an organic chemist, worked for Boots Pure Drug Co. in England during the 1950s and 1960s while they collaborated on the drug’s creation.
Several other nominees have somewhat-less-direct medical connections. Edward W. Bullard invented the hard hat (patent number 1,699,133), which has undoubtedly saved lives and prevented injuries. Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller, and Polly Smith invented the sports bra (patent number 4,174,717), which “has enabled women’s participation in athletic activities and advanced women’s health and well-being,” the NIHF said in a written statement.
And finally – for those of you who thought this would never end – there’s Floyd Smith, the trapeze artist turned aviator who invented the modern parachute (patent numbers 1,340,423 and 1,462,456) and kept many sky divers out of the emergency department.