A weekly podcast on the latest medical, science and telehealth news.
REPORTS: TUFTS HEALTH & NUTRITION – APRIL 2023


Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter (April 2023):
- The Truth about “Brain-Boosting” Supplements
- News Bites
- Personalized Nutrition
- Special Report: Cooking with Kids
- Eight Cups of Water a Day?
- Featured Recipe: April Fools’ Day Tofu Scramble
- Ask Tufts Experts: Cardiovascular Disease; Melatonin
Studies: Regular Exercise Prevents Heart Disease

Frequent exercise is robustly associated with a decrease in cardiovascular mortality as well as the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Physically active individuals have lower blood pressure, higher insulin sensitivity, and a more favorable plasma lipoprotein profile. Animal models of exercise show that repeated physical activity suppresses atherogenesis and increases the availability of vasodilatory mediators such as nitric oxide.
Exercise has also been found to have beneficial effects on the heart. Acutely, exercise increases cardiac output and blood pressure, but individuals adapted to exercise show lower resting heart rate and cardiac hypertrophy.
Treatments: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Benefits For Ulcerative Colitis
Northwestern Medicine (March 21, 2023) – Parambir Dulai, MD, is studying the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat severe ulcerative colitis. The treatment delivers oxygen into the tissues to promote healing.
What Is Ulcerative Colitis?
Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disorder that affects the large intestine and rectum, causing bleeding. This chronic condition impacts more than 900,000 Americans. It can begin at any age, but it often starts in young adulthood. Older men are more likely to be diagnosed than older women.
There is no cure for ulcerative colitis, but with treatment, the majority of patients can be symptom-free for long periods of time.
Aging: Mild Cognitive Impairment Vs Dementia


Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition in which people have more memory or thinking problems than other people their age. The symptoms of MCI are not as severe as those of Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. People with MCI can usually take care of themselves and carry out their normal daily activities.
People with MCI are at a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. Estimates vary as to how many people who have MCI will develop dementia. Roughly one to two out of 10 people age 65 or older with MCI are estimated to develop dementia over a one-year period. However, in many cases, the symptoms of MCI stay the same or even improve.
Kidney Cancer: What Are The Treatment Options?
Mayo Clinic (March 20, 2023) – How is kidney cancer treated? About 50,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with kidney cancer.
Risks factors for developing this type of cancer include environmental exposures like smoking, high blood pressure, a history of kidney failure, obesity, or not having a healthy weight. And there are also hereditary syndromes that may your risk for kidney cancer.
Dr. Thai Ho, a Mayo Clinic oncologist who specializes in genitourinary malignancies, says there are no screening tests specifically for kidney cancer. When it is discovered early, it’s usually from an imaging test for another issue.
DOCTORS PODCAST: MEDICAL & TELEHEALTH NEWS (MAR 19)
A weekly podcast on the latest medical, science and telehealth news.
Studies: 39% Of Americans Suffer Sleep Disorders

This Friday, March 17, is World Sleep Day, an annual event that aims to raise awareness of the importance of getting a good night’s sleep. This year’s campaign tagline is “Sleep is essential for health.” According to a study by the American College of Cardiology, up to 8 percent of deaths from any cause could be attributed to “poor sleep patterns”, while those with healthier sleep habits are less likely to die prematurely.
Data from Statista Consumer Insights shows that in the United States, 39 percent of respondents said they had suffered from a sleep disorder (problems falling asleep or staying asleep, insomnia, etc.) in the 12 months prior to the survey. Italians were among the worst sleepers in the survey at 48 percent reporting a sleep disorder, while India registered a higher share of good sleepers, with only 26 percent suffering from poor sleep.
BMJ: Why ‘Frailty’ Impacts Cardiovascular Disease
March 2023: In this episode of the Heart podcast, Digital Media Editor, Professor James Rudd, is joined by Dr Chris Wilkinson from Hull York Medical School and the James Cook hospital, UK. They discuss the concept of frailty and why it’s an important concept in cardiology.
Immunity: How T Cells And B Cells Fight Infections
nature (March 15, 2023) – Lymphocytes are immune cells that play vital roles in fighting infections. The most well-known lymphocytes are the T cells and B cells of the adaptive immune system. In the 1950s and 1960s, scientists performed experiments to follow lymphocytes on their journey around the body, which helped us to work out where they go and what they do.
This work laid the foundation for everything we know about T cells today, including how they become activated to fight infections and how they form memory populations that provide long-lasting immunity.
Learn more about T cells here http://www.nature.com/collections/t-c…