Your health in digits

This could be you!

I've long believed that one answer to our healthcare mess is digital health records. I look at my family doctor's office, and I see mounds of paper, a half dozen clerks frantically shuffling them, and a wall of manilla folders holding the health histories of hundreds of people.

Above all this is a fire sprinkler. Not at all reassuring.

Last year I went to an eye surgeon who was introducing digital records to his practice. As I watched from the chair, he and his assistant labored at a laptop to enter my data into the many fields of my record.

Right there we see the problems. There's not a lot of money lying around in family practices. Given the absence of standards, why should my doctor invest in something that may be outdated next year? And given all the upcoming changes in the government's role, how could anyone make a rational decision? And as my eye surgeon demonstrated, it's not as simple as it seems.

Digitalization makes a lot of sense. Each year there are tens of thousands of phone calls from pharmacists to physicians to clarify prescriptions. I've experience this. Throw out the little paper pads, type it into a gizmo hanging on your belt and off it goes to the pharmacy. Plus, the gizmo could warn both about drug interactions and the like.

The government has got it in its head (oxymoron alert!) that it's going to push everyone to a digital world.

In the 2009 economic recovery package, the administration and Congress allocated billions — the current estimate is $27 billion — in incentives for doctors and hospitals to adopt electronic records. 

Late last year, the administration, working with health professionals and the technology industry, set out a roadmap for what digital records should include and how they should be used, for doctors to qualify for incentive payments, typically up to $44,000. The program begins this year, and the requirements for using the records to report and share health information increase in stages through 2015. After that, penalty payments from Medicare and Medicaid kick in for doctors who don’t meet the use and reporting rules.

Carrot and stick. We'll see how that works out.

What's up, Doc?

Eat this, live forever.

News from the world of medicine:

Physical activity in the present may prevent weight gain many years into the future, according to a study. Researchers who followed 3,554 people over two decades found that men who stayed highly active gained six pounds less on average after 20 years than their low-activity counterparts did. For women, the difference was a whopping 13 pounds. 

Analyzing data from nearly 400,000 men and women ages 50 to 71, researchers found that those who consumed the most fiber were 22 percent less likely to die from any cause during the nine years they were studied.

People who speak more than two languages during their lifetime may be at reduced risk of developing memory problems as they age, new research indicates.

A study of more than 3,000 children shows that low vitamin D levels are associated with increased likelihood that children will develop allergies.

New research lends support to the idea that exposure to a wide range of microbes explains why farm kids have lower asthma rates than city kids.

Taking a pomegranate pill a day may help slow the progression of prostate cancer, preliminary research suggests. The study is the latest to demonstrate pomegranate's promising antitumor effects,

This is your brain on electricity

"Yes, Midge, I'm dying."

Whether cell phones hurt our brains -- and I'm not talking about the effects of chatting with your idiotic friends or having your boss find you on Saturday -- has been debated for years. A new study adds to the clamor:

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health have found that less than an hour of cellphone use can speed up brain activity in the area closest to the phone antenna, raising new questions about the health effects of low levels of radiation emitted from cellphones. 

The researchers urged caution in interpreting the findings, because it is not known whether the changes, which were seen in brain scans, have any meaningful effect on a person’s overall health.

As with the health effects of coffee, I urge you to remain calm: pour a cup and call a friend to talk this over.

The leader of the research, Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said:

“Unfortunately this particular study does not enlighten us in terms of whether this is detrimental or if it could even be beneficial. It just tells us that even though these are weak signals, the human brain is activated by them."

Dr. Volkow said future research may even show that the electromagnetic waves emitted from cellphones could be used to stimulate the brain for therapeutic reasons.

She said the research should not set off alarms about cellphone use because simple precautions like using a headset or earpiece can alleviate any concern. 

“It does not in any way preclude or decrease my cellphone utilization,” she said.

Never trust headlines: you have to read to the end of the New York Times article to get that.

"Hey, I have an idea!"

Meantime, we get this:

New scientific research suggests that by stimulating parts of their brains electrically, people can be induced to think more creatively than they normally do.  

The researchers took 60 normal, healthy, right-handed volunteers and asked them to try to solve a task that required clever insight. All of them were told they'd be receiving some kind of brain stimulation. But just 20% of the control group (who received no stimulation) could solve the task. That's compared with 60% of the volunteers who received electrical jolts to their brain--cathode stimulation of the left ATL (anterior temporal lobe) to suppress activity and anodal stimulation of the right ATL to increase activity.

Shocking.

Exciting new ways to eat

Don't wanna get on her bad side.

The departments of Agriculture and of Health and Human Services have issued new Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Health writer Jane Brody sums them up:

• Eat lots more vegetables and fruits, filling half your plate with them.
• Choose lean meats and poultry, and replace some of them with seafood.
• Consume mainly nonfat or low-fat milk and other dairy products.
• Choose low-sodium products and use less salt and salty ingredients in food preparation.
• Eat more fiber-rich foods; replace most refined grains and grain-based foods with whole-grain versions.
• Use vegetable oils like olive and canola oil instead of solid fats like butter and margarine, but remember that all fats have lots of calories.
• Eat out less; cook at home more often.
• Drink water, calorie-free beverages like coffee and tea, and 100 percent fruit juice instead of regular sodas, fruit drinks and energy drinks; limit alcoholic drinks to one a day for women, two for men.
• Eat less and exercise more to achieve a better balance of caloric intake and output. 

She also offers some practical advice for getting there.

Adult ADHD: the good, the bad, the ugly

I happened to talk with several creative type friends the other day about Attention Deficit Disorder -- one has been diagnosed, the other thinks he has it. Just over 4 percent of adults do.

Research has found a correlation between ADHD and creativity.

Previous research has suggested that adults with ADHD perform better on some measures of creativity than non-ADHD adults. The present study replicated this: Adults with ADHD showed higher levels of original creative thinking on verbal tasks  and higher levels of real-world creative achievement, compared to adults without ADHD.

So I looked up the symptoms. Here are a few:

• “zoning out” without realizing it, even in the middle of a conversation.
• extreme distractibility; wandering attention makes it hard to stay on track.
• difficulty paying attention or focusing, such as when reading or listening to others.
• struggling to complete tasks, even ones that seem simple.
• tendency to procrastinate.

There are many more, but I picked those because I'm sometimes like that. I think we all exhibit some of these some of the time. I've seen young people get a formal evaluation from a psychologist and then respond quite well to medication. I don't think I would be diagnosed.

It's important to understand the burden on someone with ADD. As two counselors write:

Most adults with AD/HD were not diagnosed until they were adults. Throughout their lives, they have suffered a great deal of pain. Many have had to develop coping mechanisms to help them survive. Over time, the constant pressure of trying to cope with their problems brought on by their new ways to cope can bring about stress. As a result, some adults become overwhelmed, depressed, anxious and lose confidence.

Here's another look at what it's like from the perspective of someone with ADD.

Can zinc really cure a common cold?

Well, it might lessen the symptoms and duration.

A sweeping new review of the medical research on zinc shows that sniffing, sneezing, coughing and stuffy-headed cold sufferers finally have a better option than just tissue and chicken soup. When taken within 24 hours of the first runny nose or sore throat, zinc lozenges, tablets or syrups can cut colds short by an average of a day or more and sharply reduce the severity of symptoms, according to the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, a respected medical clearinghouse.

The authors didn't recommend any particular formulation. The studies used various forms and doses of zinc, including zinc gluconate or zinc acetate lozenges and zinc sulfate syrup, and the dose ranged from 30 to 160 milligrams a day.

Zinc experts say that many over-the-counter zinc products may not be as effective as those studied by researchers because commercial lozenges and syrups often are made with different formulations of zinc and various flavors and binders that can alter the effectiveness of the treatment.

“A lot of preparations have added so many things that they aren’t releasing zinc properly,” said Dr. Ananda Prasad, professor in the department of oncology at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit and an early pioneer of research into zinc as an essential mineral. “The public is confused because people have used the wrong dose, they have used the wrong sort of zinc or they have not started the treatment within 24 hours of onset.”

Is zinc now a precious metal?

Nature's creepy crawly little healers

You never know where they'll find the next big thing.

A "smart community" of Paenibacillus vortex bacteria.

Tel Aviv University has developed a "Social-IQ score" for bacteria -- and it may lead to new antibiotics and powerful bacteria-based "green" pesticides for the agricultural industry. The research shows just how "smart" bacteria can really be. Second, it demonstrates bacteria's high level of social intelligence -- how bacteria work together to communicate and grow. And finally, the work points out some potentially significant applications in medicine and agriculture.

Despite advances in genetic science showing that the Ras oncogene is mutated in virtually all pancreatic cancers, scientists have been frustrated by the complexity of the signaling pathways in humans, which make it difficult to pinpoint potential therapeutic targets. Now scientists have taken a step back to a simpler organism -- a common roundworm -- and made a discovery about how the Ras oncogene chooses a signaling pathway and how the consequences of that choice play out in cellular development -- a key issue in cancer, which is characterized by uncontrolled cell growth.

The enzyme that makes fireflies glow is lighting up the scientific path toward a long-sought new medical imaging agent to better monitor treatment with heparin, the blood thinner that millions of people take to prevent or treat blood clots, scientists are reporting.

The FDA recently approved the drug Halaven for treating late-stage breast cancer. Halaven derives from halichondrin B, a substance identified in a black sponge that lives off the coast of Japan. Studies showed it has a powerful effect on tumors, blocking cell division in a way that scientists hadn't previously thought of.

Smart salamander.

By tracking individual cells in genetically modified salamanders, researchers have found an unexpected explanation for their seemingly magical ability to regrow lost limbs.
Rather than having their cellular clocks fully reset and reverting to an embryonic state, cells in the salamanders’ stumps became slightly less mature versions of the cells they’d been before. The findings could inspire research into human tissue regeneration.

Many moose have arthritis. And scientists believe their condition’s origin can help explain human osteoarthritis, affecting one of every seven adults 25 and older and becoming increasingly prevalent. The arthritic Bullwinkles got that way because of poor nutrition early in life, an extraordinary 50-year research project has discovered. That could mean that some people’s arthritis can be linked in part to nutritional deficits, in the womb and possibly throughout childhood.

Miracles and wonders: breakthroughs in medical research

The real story in health care is not what's happening in Washington but what's happening in research. Witness:

The skin gun is not science fiction—it's a prototype medical device that literally sprays skin cells onto burn victims to re-grow skin. Old methods like skin grafts took weeks to heal; the skin gun needs about an hour. Though it is still technically in an experimental stage, the skin gun has already successfully treated over a dozen burn victims. The way it works is by using stem cells from the patient's healthy skin and mixing it with a solution to come up with the spray paint. And combined with that fancy gun, the rest is easy.

Scientists have converted adult skin cells directly into beating heart cells efficiently without having to first go through the laborious process of generating embryonic-like stem cells. The powerful general technology platform could lead to new treatments for a range of diseases and injuries involving cell loss or damage, such as heart disease, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists are bringing probioticsl therapy into the 21st century by genetically engineering the microbes to enhance their effect on the immune system. They hope the new bugs will ultimately help treat inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as other disorders that result from an overactive immune system.

Paper strips containing dots that turn blue when exposed to blood.

Researchers have invented a technique that uses inexpensive paper to make "microfluidic" devices for rapid medical diagnostics and chemical analysis. This new approach offers the potential to extend the inexpensive paper-based systems so that they are able to do more complicated multiple analyses on the same piece of paper. It's a generic platform that can be used for a variety of applications.

A San Diego company has developed a treatment that aims to prevent much of that muscle damage from a heart attack before it starts. The treatment works by injecting a concentrated slurry of stem cells and other regenerative cells isolated from the patient's body directly into the heart's main artery within 24 hours after an attack. "You can't do anything about dead tissue, but tissue that's bruised and damaged—that's revitalizable. If you can get new blood flow in there, that tissue comes back to life," says the company's CEO.

A blood test so sensitive that it can spot a single cancer cell lurking among a billion healthy ones is moving one step closer to being available at your doctor's office. This is like a "liquid biopsy" that avoids painful tissue sampling and may give a better way to monitor patients than periodic imaging scans.