Tetanus is a serious disease with no cure. But it’s also highly preventable. This video explains what happens when tetanus enters your body, and why vaccination is so important.
Chapters: 0:00 What is tetanus? 0:30 How do you get tetanus? 1:15 What symptoms does tetanus cause? 2:16 Can it be prevented?
Physicians are reporting high numbers of respiratory illnesses like RSV and the flu earlier than the typical winter peak. WSJ’s Brianna Abbott explains what the early surge means for the coming winter months.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes infections of the lungs and respiratory tract. It’s so common that most children have been infected with the virus by age 2. Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-ul) virus can also infect adults.
In adults and older, healthy children, RSV symptoms are mild and typically mimic the common cold. Self-care measures are usually all that’s needed to relieve any discomfort.
RSV can cause severe infection in some people, including babies 12 months and younger (infants), especially premature infants, older adults, people with heart and lung disease, or anyone with a weak immune system (immunocompromised).
Abbott Laboratories newest continuous glucose monitor is now available at participating retail pharmacies and through durable medical equipment suppliers. The Freestyle Libre 3 was approved by the FDA in June and is a step up from previous Abbott systems.
Abbott Laboratories and Dexcom are the leaders in the CGM market, which hit $5.1 billion in revenue in 2021 and is expected to reach $13.2 billion by 2028, according to Vantage Market Research. Abbott’s CGM systems, called FreeStyle Libre, generated $3.7 billion in revenue last year, with 4 million users globally.
CNBC’s Erin Black, a type 1 diabetic, tested out the Libre 3 for over a month. Here is her review.
Cataracts in the eye lens are a later-in-life reality that leads to vision problems for many people. This video shares describes what cataracts are, how they form, and warning signs to help you detect them early.
Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:10 What are cataracts? 0:43 What are the warning signs of cataracts? 2:44 How are cataracts diagnosed? 3:04 Talk to your eye doctor
Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist
Regenerative medicine could slow the clock on degenerative diseases that often ravage the golden years, a Mayo Clinic study finds. Life span has nearly doubled since the 1950s, but health span — the number of disease-free years — has not kept pace. According to a paper published in NPJ Regenerative Medicine., people are generally living longer, but the last decade of life is often racked with chronic, age-related diseases that diminish quality of life. These final years come with a great cost burden to society.
Researchers contend that new solutions for increasing health span lie at the intersection of regenerative medicine research, anti-senescent investigation, clinical care and societal supports. A regenerative approach offers hope of extending the longevity of good health, so a person’s final years can be lived to the fullest.
Johns Hopkins Medicine: What To Do When You Find a Lump in Your Breast? Breast imaging radiologist, Emily Ambinder discusses common questions one may have when discovering a lump in the breast.
Video timeline: 0:03 Why do lumps form in the breast? 026 What are the different types of lumps? 0:55 Can breast lumps form because of physical impact? Could those lumps become cancerous? 1:23 What do i do if i have found a lump? 1:47 What makes breast imaging at Johns Hopkins different? 2:01 What is a mammogram? 2:29 What is a breast ultrasound? 2:53 What else do I need to do if I have a lump?
Keeping bones healthy is important for everyone and especially important for people with Parkinson’s. We share some top tips for keeping your bones in tip top condition.
Bone health really means having ‘healthy bones’. Healthy bones are strong enough to prevent fractures, for example when we have a fall. Our bones are more healthy when we have enough calcium in our diet (from milk, and dairy products like cheese) and when we use our arms and legs (such as with exercise).
Find out more https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/informa…
Take an animated look inside the neuron, and learn how scientists are addressing brain disease. With approximately 86 billion neurons in the brain, humans contain the most complex communications network imaginable. To address diseases of brain development and degeneration, neuroscientists are investigating how and why this network breaks down, and what can be done to repair it.
One area of study is dendrites, which are the tree-like structures of neurons, that receive electrical impulses. Researchers are carefully mapping out brain circuits and uncovering how connectivity changes can result in defects of the visual system or behavioral problems. The core section of the neuron is the cell body. Genetic engineering tools are revealing how mutations impact brain development and contribute to autism spectrum disorder or rare, inherited forms of neurological disease.
The transmission of nerve impulses occurs along the axon, which is insulated, much like an electrical wire, by a fatty layer called the myelin sheath. Scientists have invented a medicine to stop the immune system from mistakenly attacking this layer, which occurs during multiple sclerosis. Other molecules currently in development instruct the body to regenerate the sheath and repair damage. The axon also transports valuable cellular cargo, such as neurotransmitters, along tracks from one end of the neuron to the other.
Researchers are testing drug candidates for their ability to remove molecular traffic jams when this transport system fails, as often occurs in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. The axon terminals make connections called synapses with other cells, using neurotransmitters as signals. Some scientists are evaluating how finely tuning the receptors for these chemicals could ease depression and anxiety.
Others are finding ways to promote the regrowth of lost synapses, which could halt neurodegeneration. From genetics to behavior, neuroscience is accelerating new interventions for the most challenging disorders of the nervous system.
Learn more: https://www.scripps.edu/
If you have endometriosis, you’re all too familiar with the heavy periods, pain and nausea it can cause. Eating these foods might help control the pain and make all the difference.
Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:10 What is endometriosis? 0:45 Eating the right foods can help the body fight inflammation 1:01 Fiber rich foods 1:41 Omega-3 fats 2:10 Monounsaturated fats 2:30 Magnesium and zinc 3:25
It’s always important to eat good, healthy food Resources: The Best and Worst Foods for an Anti-Inflammatory Endometriosis Diet – https://cle.clinic/3VeYzyG
Endometriosis: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Tests – https://cle.clinic/31ntZLx
In this instructional video, Drs. Jane Leopold, Elliott Antman, William Sauer, and Paul Zei provide an overview of the classification and diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, management strategies, and mitigation of stroke risk with anticoagulation therapy.
Video timeline: 0:00 Pathophysiology and Symptoms 3:11 Stroke Risk, Anticoagulants, and Arrhythmia Control 6:32 Catheter Ablation 10:11 Post-Procedural Monitoring and Care
The video also focuses on the new rhythm-control strategy of catheter ablation therapy, with attention to the success rate, potential complications, postprocedural monitoring for recurrence of atrial fibrillation, and consideration of ongoing anticoagulation therapy in these patients. The New England Journal of Medicine is the world’s leading general medical journal.
Continuously published for over 200 years, the Journal publishes peer-reviewed research along with interactive clinical content for physicians, educators, and the global medical community at https://NEJM.org.
COMMENTARY:
This is a very good video well worth watching by general physicians and interested patients. There are several general and some specific comments I would like to make.
First, in my opinion, the best physician is none too good. In any operative or serious procedure, the decision to operate should be made by the patient in conjunction with a physician that does not do the operating. In my case, as a physician, I consulted an electrophysiologist.
Second, in my opinion, a good medicine is better than surgery. For atrial fibrillation, there has been no new medication treatment for decades. The main drugs are still amiodarone and Propafenone. The latter is less consistently effective, but has a better long-term safety profile; amiodarone often produces ‘floaters” in the eye, and Propafenone merely a bitter taste which you’ll get used to.
Third, it must be realized that catheter ablation is often not curative, especially as you get older, which was rather glossed over in this video. Ablation also requires a great deal of expensive equipment, which is constantly evolving, hence the importance of getting your ablation at a major center where it is done all the time. These major centers have less complications such as atrial wall perforation; Yes, you can rarely wind up worse off after any operation.
I am a physician, currently 90 years old. I developed atrial fibrillation of the persistent type when I was in my late 70s. I had a cardioversion to get me into sinus rhythm, and then tried Propafenone, which kept me in sinus rhythm for less than a month. My main motivation to get a radio frequency ablation was to stay off of anticoagulants. I had my ablation, and remained in sinus rhythm, and off anticoagulants, for three years. I could always tell when I went into atrial fibrillation from normal sinus rhythm because I produced a lot of urine and had to go to the bathroom all the time; atrial fibrillation causes release of a hormone called atrial naturetic peptide. I could also tell by taking my own pulse, which was quite irregular in comparison to my very regular sinus rhythm pulse, which ticked along with a rate in the high 50s. I had always thought my rate was low because I exercise a lot. Actually, my EKG shows a second-degree heart block which is probably partially responsible.
After three years, I returned to atrial fibrillation, and needed a another ablation. They found very few areas of abnormal electrical activity, and gave me a “touchup”, which lasted another two or three years after which I went back into atrial fibrillation. Probably as a result of my age, a fibrillated at a slow rate, and at least did not need any extra medication for rate control, although I did, of course, need to take a regular anticoagulant, in my case Eliquis.
In summary, atrial fibrillation is a common electrical storm in the upper chambers of the heart, causing a rapid, irregular beat. AF increases in frequency as you get older. In the video they mention the “substrate”, which is the structure of the atrium. In my own case, this was an enlarged atrium, and probably a tendency towards atrial fibrillation; my brother also has AF. The main complication is stagnation of blood in the atria, resulting in increased tendency toward stroke. Fibrillation therefore requires an anticoagulant.
There is some discussion about the irregular rate causing an inefficiency of cardiac action, contributing to heart failure, This is logical, but not clear cut statistically.
—Dr. C.
Doctors Without Waiting Rooms 