"Women's obesity levels fell precipitously as income rose...And there was no similar trend for men."

As Income Rises, Women Get Slimmer -- But Not Men

"Women's obesity levels fell precipitously as income rose -- from about 45 percent for women at the poverty line, to about 43 percent for women in the middle-income group, and then to under 30 percent for women at the higher level of income, the findings showed.

The CDC team noted that the trend seemed specific to white women. For black women, obesity rates remained roughly the same, regardless of income.

And there was no similar trend for men. In fact, the highest obesity rate for American men was in the middle-income group, at 38.5 percent. That's compared to men who were either at the poverty line (a 31.5 percent obesity rate) or in the higher income bracket (32.6 percent)."

"The U.S. was joined by eight other U.N. members in rejecting the resolution: Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Togo. Thirty-five other members abstained, including Canada."

UN condemns US recognition of Jerusalem in 128-9 vote

"Nikki Haley, speaking minutes later, was unmoved.

"America will put our embassy in Jerusalem," she said. “That is what the American people want us to do and it is the right thing to do. No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that. But this vote will make a difference on how Americans look at the UN, and on how we look at countries who disrespect us in the UN, and this vote will be remembered."

The U.S. was joined by eight other U.N. members in rejecting the resolution: Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Togo.

Thirty-five other members abstained, including Canada. That's a relatively strong showing for the United States, which usually comes out on the losing side of Israel-related votes at the UN."

Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2018 Jan;142(1):89-108. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2017-0124-RA. Epub 2017 Jul 7.

Guidelines for Pathologic Diagnosis of Malignant Mesothelioma 2017 Update of the Consensus Statement From the International Mesothelioma Interest Group.

Husain AN1, Colby TV1, Ordóñez NG1, Allen TC1, Attanoos RL1, Beasley MB1, Butnor KJ1, Chirieac LR1, Churg AM1, Dacic S1, Galateau-Sallé F1, Gibbs A1, Gown AM1, Krausz T1, Litzky LA1, Marchevsky A1, Nicholson AG1, Roggli VL1, Sharma AK1, Travis WD1, Walts AE1, Wick MR1.

Author information

1

From the Department of Pathology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois (Drs Husain and Krausz); the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona (Dr Colby, emeritus); the Department of Pathology, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (Dr Ordóñez); the Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston (Dr Allen); the Department of Cellular Pathology, University Hospital of Wales and Cardiff University, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales (Dr Attanoos); the Department of Pathology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York (Dr Beasley); the Department of Pathology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington (Dr Butnor); the Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (Dr Chirieac); the Department of Pathology, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Dr Churg); the Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Dr Dacic); Centre National Référent MESOPATH Departement de Biopathologie, Lyon Cedex, France (Dr Galateau-Sallé); the Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Wales, Penarth, South Glamorgan, Wales (Dr Gibbs); the Department of Pathology, PhenoPath Laboratories, Seattle, Washington (Dr Gown); the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, (Dr Litzky); the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California (Drs Marchevsky and Walts); the Department of Histopathology, Royal Brompton & Harefield National Health Service Foundation Trust and the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, Chelsea, London, England (Dr Nicholson); the Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (Dr Roggli); the Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Dr Sharma); the Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (Dr Travis); and the Department of Pathology, University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville (Dr Wick).

Abstract

CONTEXT:

- Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an uncommon tumor that can be difficult to diagnose.

OBJECTIVE:

- To provide updated, practical guidelines for the pathologic diagnosis of MM.

DATA SOURCES:

- Pathologists involved in the International Mesothelioma Interest Group and others with an interest and expertise in the field contributed to this update. Reference material included up-to-date, peer-reviewed publications and textbooks.

CONCLUSIONS:

- There was discussion and consensus opinion regarding guidelines for (1) distinguishing benign from malignant mesothelial proliferations (both epithelioid and spindle cell lesions), (2) cytologic diagnosis of MM, (3) recognition of the key histologic features of pleural and peritoneal MM, (4) use of histochemical and immunohistochemical stains in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of MM, (5) differentiating epithelioid MM from various carcinomas (lung, breast, ovarian, and colonic adenocarcinomas, and squamous cell and renal cell carcinomas), (6) diagnosis of sarcomatoid MM, (7) use of molecular markers in the diagnosis of MM, (8) electron microscopy in the diagnosis of MM, and (9) some caveats and pitfalls in the diagnosis of MM. Immunohistochemical panels are integral to the diagnosis of MM, but the exact makeup of panels employed is dependent on the differential diagnosis and on the antibodies available in a given laboratory. Depending on the morphology, immunohistochemical panels should contain both positive and negative markers for mesothelial differentiation and for lesions considered in the differential diagnosis. Immunohistochemical markers should have either sensitivity or specificity greater than 80% for the lesions in question. Interpretation of positivity generally should take into account the localization of the stain (eg, nuclear versus cytoplasmic) and the percentage of cells staining (>10% is suggested for cytoplasmic and membranous markers). Selected molecular markers are now being used to distinguish benign from malignant mesothelial proliferations. These guidelines are meant to be a practical diagnostic reference for the pathologist; however, some new pathologic predictors of prognosis and response to therapy are also included.

Eat right. Work out.

Atherosclerosis Market: Rise in the Aging Population Is Expected to Propel Demand


"Besides aging, aspects that upsurge the risk of atherosclerosis include: High blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, smoking or other tobacco use, family history of early heart disease, lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet."



Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3603736#ixzz51vDRaFiL

Wherein Chuck E. Cheese helps us understand trademark law

Why Chuck E. Cheese’s Has a Corporate Policy About Destroying Its Mascot’s Head

It doesn’t usually involve sledgehammers in a parking lot.

BY PAULA MEJIA 

DECEMBER 18, 2017

But Meredith Rose, an intellectual property attorney and a policy advocate, has surmised the policy’s purpose since her brief time working at a Middletown, New Jersey, Chuck E. Cheese’s in high school. “If you own this intellectual property writ large, you don’t want a secondary market to pop up. [You don’t want] people selling animatronic Chuck E.’s on eBay,” says Rose. “So if someone were to set up, say, an entire backyard-like sideshow thing where they replicate the animatronic band and all this swag, it might conceivably be viewed as not exerting control over your trademark.” In a future where the mascot is regularly seen outside Chuck E. Cheese’s, the company could lose the legal right to monopolize the character.

Why Garbage Science Gets Published

Why Garbage Science Gets Published

"Lest anyone think that pseudoscience is the province solely of predatory publishers, however, even the big, top-tier houses fall victim. Springer and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, two leading publishers, in 2014 retracted more than 120 articles that had appeared in conference proceedings after learning that they had been written not by scientists but by a convincing computer text generator called SCIgen.13 The program—a sort of industrialized version of the Sokal hoax14—allows anyone to create a “scientific paper” by simply providing author names. The resulting text and graphics look like a proper scientific paper, but are gibberish. The fact that any were published means that no one peer reviewed the manuscripts."

"Civilization Syndrome"

From a quarter century ago:

Obes Res. 1993 May;1(3):206-22.

Visceral obesity: a "civilization syndrome".

Björntorp P1.

Author information

1

Department of Heart and Lung Diseases, Sahlgren's Hospital, University of Göteborg, Göteborg, Sweden.

Abstract

The controversial question of the relationship between obesity and disease has been considerably clearer after the demonstration in several prospective, epidemiological studies that the subgroup of central, visceral obesity is particularly prone to develop cardiovascular disease, stroke, and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Visceral obesity is associated with multiple central endocrine aberrations. The hypothalamo-adrenal axis is apparently sensitive to stimuli, sex steroid hormone secretion blunted, and hyperandrogenicity is found in women. In addition, there seem to be signs of central dysfunctions in the regulation of hemodynamic factors after stress, and growth hormone secretion appears to be particularly blunted. Several of these endocrine abnormalities are associated with insulin resistance, particularly glycogen synthesis in muscle. Fiber composition with low type I/type II ratio might be secondary to the prevailing hyperinsulinemia, but low capillary density in muscle may well be of importance. In combination with elevated turn-over of free fatty acids (FFA) this will probably provide powerful mechanisms whereby insulin resistance is created. Portal FFA, from the highly lipolytic visceral depots may, in addition, affect hepatic metabolism to induce increased gluconeogenesis, production of very low density lipoproteins as well as to perhaps inhibit clearance of insulin. By these mechanisms a Metabolic Syndrome Visceral adipocytes seem to have a high density of several steroid hormone receptors, directing steroid hormone effects particularly to these depots. The net effect of cortisol is apparently a stimulation of lipid storage, with opposing effects of sex steroid hormones which also facilitate lipid mobilization, regulations most often found at the gene transcription level. Growth hormone inhibits cortisol effects on lipid accumulation, and amplifies the lipid mobilizing effects of steroid hormones. The combined perturbations of hormonal secretions will therefore probably direct triglycerides toward visceral depots. Circulatory and nervous regulatory mechanisms require, however, more attention. The multiple central endocrine and nervous aberrations of visceral obesity suggest neuroendocrine dysregulations, and have features characteristic of the hypothalamic arousal seen after certain types of stress, alcohol intake, and smoking. Such factors can be traced to subjects with visceral fat accumulation. Standardized stress, eliciting a "defeat reaction" in primates is followed by an apparently identical syndrome. This integrated picture of the multiple symptoms of visceral obesity is based on epidemiological, clinical, experimental, cellular, and molecular evidence. The ingredients of positive energy balance, including physical inactivity, stress, smoking, and alcohol consumption are frequent features of modern, urbanized society. Visceral obesity may therefore be an expression of a "Civilization Syndrome."

Colorado is still the least-obese state in the country. But it might not be for much longer

Colorado is still the least-obese state in the country. But it might not be for much longer.

The obesity rate jumped 10 percent in one year in Colorado

"Obesity surged 10 percent in Colorado over the past year, according to the annual America’s Health Rankings report by the United Health Foundation. That means 22.3 percent of Coloradans are now considered obese, up from 20.2 in the 2016 report. Obesity is measured by body mass index, a simple calculation involving height and weight.

Colorado was hardly alone in its increased obesity. Thirty-four U.S. states added girth between last year’s report and this year’s, but Colorado’s increase was tied with West Virginia for the second-largest. (Only Washington state’s gain was greater.) Meanwhile, the second-least-obese state — Massachusetts, which the report also named the healthiest overall state in the country — saw a decline in obesity. Massachusetts is now 1.3 percentage points behind Colorado in obesity."

"...increasing weight loss and, to a lesser extent, decreasing BMI, led to substantially worse outcomes for non-small cell lung cancer patients independent of other variables."

J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2017 Dec 4. doi: 10.1002/jcsm.12253. [Epub ahead of print]

Post-diagnosis weight loss as a prognostic factor in non-small cell lung cancer.

Mytelka DS1, Li L1, Benoit K1.

Author information

1

Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, IN, 46285, USA.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Cachexia and its most visible manifestation, weight loss, represent important poor prognostic factors for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. This work examines how severity of weight loss as an indicator of cachexia affects outcomes.

METHODS:

In a retrospective observational study of electronic medical records, patients with non-small cell lung cancer were monitored for weight loss from an initial assessment (within 2 months of index diagnosis) to a landmark at 5 months (at least 3 months after initial assessment). Patients who survived to the landmark were then followed to determine the association of baseline body mass index (BMI) and weight loss during the assessment period with outcomes. Patients were clustered to determine how BMI and weight loss related to survival as approximated by time of last appearance in the database, a strong proxy for time of death.

RESULTS:

Twelve thousand one hundred and one patients were divided into 5 cachexia risk groups based on a combination of weight loss and initial BMI. More severe groups demonstrated progressively worse outcomes, with the most severe group surviving for a median of 263 days (95% CI 254-274) from index and having a 1-year survival rate of 31%. The least severe group survived for a median of 825 days from index (95% CI 768-908) and had a 1-year survival rate of 78%. Cachexia risk group was a stronger predictor of survival than any baseline variable, including disease stage, performance status, or age.

CONCLUSIONS:

In this study, we showed that increasing weight loss and, to a lesser extent, decreasing BMI, led to substantially worse outcomes for non-small cell lung cancer patients independent of other variables. We suggest risk score groups that provide an improved approach for identifying poor prognosis patients with the greatest need.

"Overall, science understanding is associated with vaccine and genetic modification food acceptance, but not climate change acceptance."

Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2017 Nov 1:146167217741314. doi: 10.1177/0146167217741314. [Epub ahead of print]

Not All Skepticism Is Equal: Exploring the Ideological Antecedents of Science Acceptance and Rejection.

Rutjens BT1, Sutton RM2, van der Lee R3.

Author information

1

1 University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

2

2 University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.

3

3 VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Many topics that scientists investigate speak to people's ideological worldviews. We report three studies-including an analysis of large-scale survey data-in which we systematically investigate the ideological antecedents of general faith in science and willingness to support science, as well as of science skepticism of climate change, vaccination, and genetic modification (GM). The main predictors are religiosity and political orientation, morality, and science understanding. Overall, science understanding is associated with vaccine and GM food acceptance, but not climate change acceptance. Importantly, different ideological predictors are related to the acceptance of different scientific findings. Political conservatism best predicts climate change skepticism. Religiosity, alongside moral purity concerns, best predicts vaccination skepticism. GM food skepticism is not fueled by religious or political ideology. Finally, religious conservatives consistently display a low faith in science and an unwillingness to support science. Thus, science acceptance and rejection have different ideological roots, depending on the topic of investigation.

Ann Glob Health. 2017 May - Aug;83(3-4):596-604. doi: 10.1016/j.aogh.2017.07.005. Epub 2017 Aug 15.

On Becoming a Global Citizen: Transformative Learning Through Global Health Experiences.

Litzelman DK1, Gardner A2, Einterz RM3, Owiti P4, Wambui C5, Huskins JC6, Schmitt-Wendholt KM7, Stone GS8, Ayuo PO5, Inui TS9, Umoren RA10.

Author information

1

Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine and Center for Global Health, Indianapolis, IN. Electronic address: dklitzel@iu.edu.

2

Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), Eldoret, Kenya.

3

Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine and Center for Global Health, Indianapolis, IN.

4

Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), Eldoret, Kenya.

5

Department of Medicine, Moi University School of Medicine, Eldoret, Kenya.

6

Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN.

7

Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis, IN.

8

Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston, MA; Global Medicine Program, MGH Global Health, Boston, MA.

9

Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN.

10

Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Globalization has increased the demand for international experiences in medical education. International experiences improve medical knowledge, clinical skills, and self-development; influence career objectives; and provide insights on ethical and societal issues. However, global health rotations can end up being no more than tourism if not structured to foster personal transformation and global citizenship.

OBJECTIVE:

We conducted a qualitative assessment of trainee-reported critical incidents to more deeply understand the impact of our global health experience on trainees.

METHODS:

A cross-sectional survey was administered to trainees who had participated in a 2-month elective in Kenya from January 1989 to May 2013. We report the results of a qualitative assessment of the critical incident reflections participants (n = 137) entered in response to the prompt, "Write about one of your most memorable experiences and explain why you chose to describe this particular one." Qualitative analyses were conducted using thematic analysis and crystallization immersion analytic methods based on the principles of grounded theory, employing a constructivists' research paradigm.

FINDINGS:

Four major themes emerged. These themes were Opening Oneself to a Broader World View; Impact of Suffering and Death; Life-Changing Experiences; and Commitment to Care for the Medically Underserved.

CONCLUSIONS:

Circumstances that learners encounter in the resource-scarce environment in Kenya are eye-opening and life-changing. When exposed to these frame-shifting circumstances, students elaborate on or transform existing points of view. These emotionally disruptive experiences in an international health setting allowed students to enter a transformational learning process with a global mind. Students can see the world as an interdependent society and develop the capacity to advance both their enlightened self-interest and the interest of people elsewhere in the world as they mature as global citizens. Medical schools are encouraged to foster these experiences by finding ways to integrate them into curriculum.

How do you define patient engagement? My take.

Becker's Health IT + Clinical Leadership 2018 Speaker Series: 3 questions with University of Texas Medical Branch Director of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology, Timothy Craig Allen, MD

America’s healthiest and least healthy states

"Massachusetts, Hawaii, Vermont, Utah and Connecticut rank as the five healthiest states, while West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi rank the least healthy in America’s Health Rankings, according to the report by the United Health Foundation."

BMC Med. 2017 Dec 8;15(1):216. doi: 10.1186/s12916-017-0978-2.

The extra cost of comorbidity: multiple illnesses and the economic burden of non-communicable diseases.

Cortaredona S1,2, Ventelou B3,4.

Author information

1

Aix-Marseille University, INSERM, IRD, SESSTIM, Sciences Economiques & Sociales de la Santé & Traitement de l'Information Médicale, 19-21 boulevard Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France. sebastien.cortaredona@inserm.fr.

2

ORS PACA, Observatoire régional de la santé Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Marseille, France. sebastien.cortaredona@inserm.fr.

3

ORS PACA, Observatoire régional de la santé Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Marseille, France.

4

Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, EHESS, Centrale Marseille, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, Marseille, France.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The literature offers competing estimates of disease costs, with each study having its own data and methods. In 2007, the Dutch Center for Public Health Forecasting of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment provided guidelines that can be used to set up cost-of-illness (COI) studies, emphasising that most COI analyses have trouble accounting for comorbidity in their cost estimations. When a patient has more than one chronic condition, the conditions may interact such that the patient's healthcare costs are greater than the sum of the costs for the individual diseases. The main objective of this work was to estimate the costs of 10 non-communicable diseases when their co-occurrence is acknowledged and properly assessed.

METHODS:

The French Echantillon Généraliste de Bénéficiaires (EGB) database was used to assign all healthcare expenses for a representative sample of the population covered by the National Health Insurance. COIs were estimated in a bottom-up approach, through regressions on individuals' healthcare expenditure. Two-way interactions between the 10 chronic disease variables were included in the expenditure model to account for possible effect modification in the presence of comorbidity(ies).

RESULTS:

The costs of the 10 selected chronic diseases were substantially higher for individuals with comorbidity, demonstrating the pattern of super-additive costs in cases of diseases interaction. For instance, the cost associated with diabetes for people without comorbidity was estimated at 1776 €, whereas this was 2634 € for people with heart disease as a comorbidity. Overall, we detected 41 cases of super-additivity over 45 possible comorbidities. When simulating a preventive action on diabetes, our results showed that significant monetary savings could be achieved not only for diabetes itself, but also for the chronic diseases frequently associated with diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS:

When comorbidity exists and where super-additivity is involved, a given preventive policy leads to greater monetary savings than the costs associated with the single diagnosis, meaning that the returns from the action are generally underestimated.

Fat child taken into care by after their parents let them eat too much

Social workers stepped in over fears for the safety of the obese youngster in Manchester.

"Nine kids – some as young as two – were also removed from their ­families  because their parents failed to get them to brush their teeth, a freedom of information request found."

The Who. Eminence Front

The Who.  Eminence Front

Classic.

Is there really such a thing as 'fault-free obesity'? New science says maybe

Million of us have the right genes for obesity, researchers say.

"Bennett and his team can’t yet say that the presence of ankyrin-B in humans impacts weight. The next step is to research humans with the gene and compare against factors known to affect weight — like eating and exercise habits — along with family histories, metabolism, psychological traits and more."

The day of an Academic Pathologist. Finally revealed.

The day of an Academic Pathologist.  Finally revealed.

From the University of South Alabama Department of Pathology

"...because of continuing endemic prejudice in United States society and its healthcare system and the distrust this engenders..."

Camb Q Healthc Ethics. 2018 Jan;27(1):36-51. doi: 10.1017/S096318011700038X.

Compulsory Organ Retrieval: Morally, But Not Socially, Justified.

Rosoff PM.

Abstract

The number of patients with organ failure who could potentially benefit from transplantation continues to exceed the available supply of organs. Despite numerous efforts to increase the number of donors, there remains an enormous mismatch between demand and supply. Large numbers of people still die with potentially transplantable organs remaining in situ, most frequently as a result of family objections. I argue that there are no persuasive moral arguments against mandated organ retrieval from all dead individuals who meet clinical criteria. However, because of continuing endemic prejudice in United States society and its healthcare system and the distrust this engenders, I conclude that proceeding with a policy of compulsory organ retrieval, even if morally unobjectionable, would not be warranted.

"...six out of every 10 Bahamians have not one, not two, but three risk factors that can lead to a non-communicable disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke or cancer."

Nutrition Policy To Stop People 'Dropping Like Flies'

"The latest national data shows that six out of every 10 Bahamians have not one, not two, but three risk factors that can lead to a non-communicable disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke or cancer. NCDs account for more than 20 percent of the loss of productive life years among Bahamians."

#However, "virtually all NCDs are preventable through lifestyle changes," he added.

#ReadyPlayerOne - Playing Super Mario 64 increases hippocampal grey matter in older adults

PLoS One. 2017 Dec 6;12(12):e0187779. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187779. eCollection 2017.

Playing Super Mario 64 increases hippocampal grey matter in older adults.

West GL1,2, Zendel BR2,3,4, Konishi K5, Benady-Chorney J5, Bohbot VD5, Peretz I1,2, Belleville S3.

Author information

1

Department of Psychology and Centre de Recherche en Neuropsychologie et Cognition, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

2

International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

3

Department of Psychology, University of Montreal and Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, QC, Canada.

4

Faculty of Medicine, Division of Community Health and Humanities, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Newfoundland, Canada.

5

Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Verdun, Québec, Canada.

Abstract

Maintaining grey matter within the hippocampus is important for healthy cognition. Playing 3D-platform video games has previously been shown to promote grey matter in the hippocampus in younger adults. In the current study, we tested the impact of 3D-platform video game training (i.e., Super Mario 64) on grey matter in the hippocampus, cerebellum, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of older adults. Older adults who were 55 to 75 years of age were randomized into three groups. The video game experimental group (VID; n = 8) engaged in a 3D-platform video game training over a period of 6 months. Additionally, an active control group took a series of self-directed, computerized music (piano) lessons (MUS; n = 12), while a no-contact control group did not engage in any intervention (CON; n = 13). After training, a within-subject increase in grey matter within the hippocampus was significant only in the VID training group, replicating results observed in younger adults. Active control MUS training did, however, lead to a within-subject increase in the DLPFC, while both the VID and MUS training produced growth in the cerebellum. In contrast, the CON group displayed significant grey matter loss in the hippocampus, cerebellum and the DLPFC.

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017;1031:323-346. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-67144-4_19.

Newborn Screening: Beyond the Spot.

Urv TK1, Parisi MA2.

Author information

1

Division of Clinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. urvtiin@mail.nih.gov.

2

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Democracy 1, Room 9108, 6701 Democracy Boulevard, Bethesda, MD, 20892-4874, USA.

Abstract

The newborn screening paradigm of testing all newborns in the United States for treatable conditions within the first few hours of birth has proven to be a remarkable success story in the realm of public health by reducing neonatal and childhood morbidity and mortality. The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007 and its successor, the Reauthorization Act of 2014, legislated the establishment of a Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee to make recommendations around newborn screening and a methodology to establish and add new conditions to a Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) which currently includes 34 core conditions. In spite of the absence of a federal mandate that requires each of the states in the U.S. to screen for the disorders on the RUSP, most state public health laboratories have adopted the conditions on this panel. Moreover, the evolution of the evidence-based review process for adding new conditions to the RUSP has led to improvements in incorporating the public health impact and feasibility and implementation considerations. The cooperation between the federal partners who support implementation and rollout of state-based screening programs, develop technical standards and proficiency materials for laboratories, review and approve new technology platforms, and promote research to develop new assays and treatments for screenable disorders, points to the success of the newborn screening enterprise nationwide. As new technologic advances are made in the realm of genomic sequencing, the potential for incorporating these technologies holds great promise for newborn screening, but the ethical ramifications must be carefully considered to avoid harming the existing trust in the program.

Is obesity going to be the new normal?

"They found that at any age, kids who are obese are more likely than their non-obese peers to be obese at age 35. They also found that older obese kids are more likely than younger obese kids to still be obese on their 35th birthday."

How about just not mixing up patient's specimens?

A Bill to 'Eliminate Prostate Cancer Misdiagnosis'

"As a remedy for these mix-ups, Dr Bucshon is sponsoring the Prostate Cancer Misdiagnosis Elimination Act of 2017, which calls for Medicare to reimburse labs $200 for DNA testing that compares and matches the patient's biopsy tissue with cells from the inside the cheek that are taken with a cotton swab to ensure both came from the same person."

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams supports studying medical marijuana

"Under medical marijuana, I believe it should be like any other drug," Adams said Friday in Indianapolis. "We need to let the FDA vet it, study it, vet it. The FDA has actually approved cannabidiol oil and some derivatives of marijuana, Marijuana is not one substance. It's actually over 100 different substances, some of which benefit, some of which are harmful."