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Urgent care company Patient First is offering free X-ray imaging of Halloween candy.
Bags of candy corn and chocolate bars can be brought into any Patient first facility from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. today.
The company said it parents should check candy for objects like glass, metal or plastic themselves. The X-ray will just provide another layer of precaution.
About 137,000 Americans die of stroke every years, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants everyone to know how to reduce the risk.
A stroke happens when a clot blocks blood to the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts.
Just ahead of World Stroke Day tomorrow, the CDC says there are lifestyle changes and medicines that can make a difference.
“Someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds and while that is a statistic to some, it’s a life abruptly changed for the person who suffered the stroke and the person’s family,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, CDC director, in a statement.
The CDC advises: aspirin for people at risk, blood pressure control, cholesterol management and smoking cessation.
Strokes can cause death or significant disability including paralysis, speech difficulties and emotional problems. New treatments can less the damage is given immediately. Call 911 if you experience sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; or sudden, severe headache with no known cause.
The CDC reports that there are more than 2 million heart attacks and strokes a year. Treating them and other vascular diseases is responsible for about $1 of every $6 healthcare dollars.
A new Million Hearts campaign joins public, private and nonprofit groups in an effort to prevent 1 million heart attacks and stroke in the next 5 years.
Switching hospitalized patients from intravenous medicines to pill forms could save millions of dollars a year, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.
The study looked at the financial savings of of swapping four drugs at the Baltimore hospital and found a $1.1 million savings at the Department of Medicine. The study, published in the journal of Clinical Therapeutics, didn't include surgical patients.
The researchers said the savings could be even greater.
“Our study looked at just four drugs administered by one department in one hospital in one year and found more than a million dollars in potential savings,” Brandyn D. Lau, a medical informatics specialist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the study’s leader said in a statement. “Imagine if every hospital took a hard look at substituting oral medications for IV ones whenever possible. We’re talking about an enormous financial impact, with no risk to patients.”
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, about $293.2 billion in 2009, or 12 percen,t of U.S. health care expenditures were for medications and nondurable medical products.
Lau says a large-scale switch to oral medications has the potential to not only decrease costs, but also to reduce the need for puncturing veins to insert intravenous tubes or medications directly, procedures that carry a higher risk of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections, and longer hospital stays.
Simple reminders to physicians that their patients may be eligible to switch medication types could yield large savings, the researchers said.
The four medications reviewed in the study were chlorothiazide (a medication used to treat high blood pressure and address fluid retention), voriconazole (an anti-fungal), levetiracetam (to stop seizures) and pantoprazole (for acid reflux).
To implement the swaps, Lau says hospitals with computerized medication systems could add alerts to their programs that would appear when a patient on an IV medication meets eligibility criteria for oral medication intake.
We've all been there.
We get off work late, don't feel like cooking and head to a restaurant, or even worse, a fast food joint.
Well, this week's healthy recipe is for all those who have ever been in that predicament. (Yes, all of us.)
It's Chili Garlic Glazed Salmon and it comes from Cookinglight.com's 5-ingredient recipes. The website said it takes a mere 4 minutes to prepare and 7 minutes to cook.
Serve with a vegetable that is quick to make, such as steamed broccoli or snow peas.
We want to know your healthy recipes. Send them to andrea.walker@baltsun.com or meredith.cohn@baltsun.com
Ingredients
3 tablespoons chili sauce with garlic (such as Hokan)
3 tablespoons minced green onions (about 3 green onions)
1 1/2 tablespoons low-sugar orange marmalade
3/4 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
Cooking spray
Directions
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; brush half of chili sauce mixture over fillets.
Place fillets, skin sides down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
Broil fish 5 minutes; brush with remaining chili sauce mixture.
Broil 2 more minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.
Nutritional facts:
Amount per serving Calories: 298, Fat: 13g, Saturated fat: 3.1g, Monounsaturated fat: 5.7g, Polyunsaturated fat: 3.2g, Protein: 36.3g, Carbohydrate: 5.6g, Fiber: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 87mg, Iron: 0.6mg, Sodium: 171mg, Calcium: 23mg
International health organization Jhpiego will lead a $24.9 million effort to develop inexpensive medical equipment and other technology it hopes will help save lives and improve health across the world.
The non-profit associated with The Johns Hopkins University says it will take these technologies from the lab to the village.
“We believe that bringing together the community of biomedical innovators to focus on global health needs and engaging with commercialization partners very early in the process has the best chance to fast-track urgently needed, low-cost solutions to save more lives,” Dr. Harshad Sanghvi, Jhpiego’s medical director and vice president for innovations, said in a statement.
The five-year project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, will involve creating, testing and bringing the technologies to market.
Jhpiego will partner with Johns Hopkins Engineering’s Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design, the Center for Global Health and Population Services International on the project.
As people sign up for health insurance in the next few weeks during open enrollment, the state's doctor's group is offering some tips for what can seem like a complicated process.
MedChi, the state's medical society, said it is important that people are informed about their health benefits.
“Understanding your insurance before you need it is a great way to prevent problems,” said MedChi CEO Gene Ransom.
For Medicare beneficiaries, open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7. People who work for private companies should ask their human resources department about open enrollment dates.
Here are five tips from MedChi:
1. Make sure that your doctors are still covered. Check to see if your family’s current physicians and area hospitals are in the plan’s network. Using providers that are in-network will save money. Mistakenly seeing an out-of-network provider can leave you stuck paying medical bills out of pocket.
2. Check that your medications are covered. If you take prescription medications, check them against the list of approved drugs in each plan booklet.
3. Watch out for medication management policies like prior authorization and step therapy. Prior authorization policies require that doctors get insurer approval before the carrier will agree to cover certain medications or treatment, while step therapy policies require that cheaper options fail before the insurer will cover the preferred treatment.
4. Check your co-pyments and deductibles. In order to estimate the full cost of each plan, determine what co-pays, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket expenses you will be responsible for paying.
5. Read the fine print. Make sure to read all of the plan materials thoroughly. Doing so will tell you what your rights and responsibilities are under each plan, and can prevent you from incurring unexpected medical costs later on. If any part of a plan is unclear to you, ask for help from your human resources department or the insurance carrier.
The Drug Enforcement Agency is giving people a way this weekend to get rid of all the drugs that have been sitting in their medicine cabinets unused.
The federal agency is hosting its National Take Back Initiative where people can drop off unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications safely at sites around the country.
The agency hopes this will help reduce the number of prescription drug poisonings, misuse, abuse and theft. The program also provides an environmentally safe disposal method.
It is the third drop-off the DEA has held since 2010. Nearly, 4,000 state and local law enforcement agencies have participated, collecting more than 309 tons of medication.
Howard County has released its drop off sites, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Here are the sites:
Northern District Police Station, 3410 Court House Drive, Ellicott City
Southern District Police Station, 11226 Scaggsville Road, Laurel
Harper’s Choice Police Satellite Office, 5485 Harper’s Farm Road, Columbia
Long Reach Police Satellite Office, 8775 Cloudleap Court, Columbia
North Laurel Police Satellite Office, 9105 All Saints Road, Laurel
Owen Brown Police Satellite Office, 7154 Cradlerock Way, Columbia
Oakland Mills Police Satellite Office, 5820 Stevens Forest Road, Columbia
Wilde Lake Police Satellite Office, 10451 Twin Rivers Road, Columbia
Controlled and non-controlled prescriptions will be accepted. Over-the-counter medication will also be accepted. Intra-venous solutions, injectable medications and syringes cannot be accepted.
Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Towson has opened a new healing garden in honor of breast cancer month.
The Pink Garden with bushes and trees with pink flowers will bloom nine to 10 months a year. The garden includes a special water effect and a stone bed in the shape of the cancer ribbon with water constantly flowing over the stones.
The garden was funded through donations and is the result of a collaboration between the Roland Park Garden Club, Signature Landscape and the Sandra & Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute.
Baltimore has received $2.4 million from two national food groups to promote healthy eating in the city.
The Healthy Food Financing Initiative has given $759,000 to the Howard Park neighborhood to build a much needed grocery store.
Several schools will share in a $1.7 million grant to get kids to eat fruits and vegetables. Eighty-three schools will get $50 per child to serve fruits and vegetables as snacks during the school day.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced the grant money today, which is National Food Day. National Food Day is organized around six principals expand access to food and alleviate hunger; reduce diet-related diseases; promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids; and support sustainable farms.
“More than ever, Baltimore residents have many choices for securing healthy, affordable food from sustainable sources, including urban farms, public markets, local farmers markets and our Virtual Supermarket program,” Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. “Solving the food access issue is critical to improving the health of all Baltimore residents.”
The city separately established the Baltimore Food Policy Initiative has to improve access to healthy, affordable foods in food deserts – areas where residents lack access to healthy food options.
First-time applicants to medical schools around the nation reached an all time high, increasing 2.6 percent in 2011 – which could help put a dent in the expected shortage of doctors in the next several years.
The Association of American Medical Colleges, which reported that almost 33,000 students applied to the schools, said the shortage of doctors is expected to reach 90,000 by 2020 because of physician retirements and greater demand from aging baby boomers and the newly insured.
The federal health care reform law is expected to add 32 million Americans to the rolls.
“We are very pleased that medicine continues to be an attractive career choice at a time when our health care system faces many challenges, including a growing need for doctors coupled with a serious physician shortage in the near future,” said Dr. Darrell G. Kirch, the association president and chief executive.
Kirch also said that the pool of applicants is more diverse, and one in four expressed interest in practicing in underserved areas such as inner cities and rural communities. There already is a shortage of primary care physicians in underserved areas, though many doctors end up in specialties and in less needy areas because the pay is better.
There are programs that provide scholarships and loan forgiveness in exchange for serving as general practitioners in the underserved areas. Kirch called for more funding for the programs, and raising payments to primary care doctors for services.
Go ahead eat that candy. It may make someone like you more.
A new set of studies show that those who have a “sweet tooth” have more agreeable personalities.
“It is striking that helpful and friendly people are considered ‘sweet’ because taste would seem to have little in common with personality or behavior,” said lead study author Brian Meier, associate professor of psychology at Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa., in a statement.
“Yet, recent psychological theories of embodied metaphor led us to hypothesize that seemingly innocuous metaphors can be used to derive novel insights about personality and behavior,” he said. “Importantly, our taste studies controlled for positive mood so the effects we found are not due to the happy or rewarding feeling one may have after eating a sweet food.”
The studies, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found those who ate sweet food, as opposed to non-sweet or no food, were more likely to help another person in need. Another study found that those who like sweets are perceived to be more agreeable or helpful.
Do you like sweets? Are you agreeable?
Patuxent Publishing photo
Excessive drinking is giving the nation a big hangover – cost reached $223.5 billion in 2006 from lost work productivity, health care, car crashes and law enforcement.
That’s $1.90 a drink, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC said excessive alcohol consumption also is responsible for an average of 79,000 death and 2.3 million years of potential life lost in the United States.
Excessive drinking is defined as 4 or more drinks at a time for women and 5 or more for men.
The study didn’t take costs due to pain and suffering into account in the study.
“This research captures the reality that binge drinking means binge spending, not just for the person who drinks but for families, communities, and society,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, CDC director, in a statement. “There are substantial costs to all of us in health care, the workplace, and criminal justice systems. Responsible individual behavior combined with the effective policies can decrease unhealthy drinking, reduce health care and other costs, and increase productivity.”
The data came from several sources including the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact Application, the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol-Related Conditions and the National Survery on Durg Use and Health. Most of the costs for 2006, the latest year data was available, were paid by government and the drinkers and their families.
To see the study, click here. For more information on preventing alcohol abuse, click here.
AFP/Getty photo
Maryland hospitals have reduced potentially deadly bloodstream infections by 37 percent in the latest 12-month reporting period, according to the latest state data.
The infections are preventable through proper insertion and care. And the Maryland Health Care Commission began tracking those that occur in central lines recently to shine light on the problem. The hospitals self report but the state is among 11 that audit the numbers to verify their accuracy.
Last October was the first reporting period (for July 2009 to June 2010) and acute care hospitals reported 424 such infections in adult intensive care units and 48 in neonatal units. This year, the number dropped to 262 infections in adult units and 34 in neonatal units.
Four hospitals have lower infection rates that the national average: Suburban, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, St. Agnes, and Johns Hopkins. Thirty nine hospitals have rates not significantly different from the national average.
“Reducing these preventable healthcare-associated infections will improve patient care outcomes and save health care dollars,” Marilyn Moon, chair of the health care commission, said in a statement. “The progress that Maryland hospitals have made in reducing infections in ICUs is quite encouraging. The commission hopes that hospitals are able to expand their prevention initiatives to all units within their respective facilities to eliminate preventable infections hospital-wide.”
Maryland Health Care Commission's Hospital Guide can be found here.
Headaches are one big reason that troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are medically evacuated, and because they only about a third return to duty in those countries, it’s depleting active-duty ranks. This is according to a new study lead by Dr. Steven P. Cohen, an associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves.
“Everyone gets headaches, and there are generally physical or psychological stressors that contribute to them,” he said in a statement. “War amplifies all stressors, which may be why headaches take such a great toll in soldiers overseas.”
For the study, published online in Cephalalgia, the journal of the International Headache Society, Cohen and other researchers looked at the medical records of all 985 military personnel medically evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan between 2004 and 2009 with a primary diagnosis of headache.
In general, neurological illnesses such as headaches are one of the top three causes of non-combat related loss of unit strengths in those war zones. Half of the headaches studied were the result of physical trauma and only one in five of the sufferers returned to duty. Half who were evacuated with tension headaches went back to the war zone. Those with psychiatric illness or traumatic brain injury or were treated with narcotics were the least likely to return.
Some headaches resulted from damage to or pressure on the occipital nerve in the back of the head, possibly caused by the heavy Kevlar helmets worn in war zones.
Headaches can make it hard to think and work, said Cohen, also director of chronic pain research at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He said military doctors need to understand their impact and make an effort to treat them on the ground. Better design of helmets could also reduce some strain.
When E! News anchor Giuliana Rancic announced she discovered she had breast cancer during her IVF treatments, many women also going through such treatment likely wondered if they were at greater risk of the disease. Experts seem to agree that generally the answer is no.
But Dr. Kala Visvanathan, an associate professor of oncology and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins, says more study is needed on women in certain subgroups such as older women and those with higher risk factors for breast cancer.
Much of the published data involve younger women using certain hormones and other fertility drugs, and the age of women in treatment and their medications have changed somewhat over time.
The numbers using the technology certainly has grown in the last few decades: There were more than 60,000 live births from IVF cycles in 2009, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or more than 1 percent of all infants born in the United States.
“The data so far doesn’t suggest that there is a link when you look at it overall,” she said. “Whether there is a link between subgroups of individuals is yet to be known.”
Women who are older may want to talk to their doctors about whether a mammogram is a good idea for them before they begin IVF, Visvanathan said. Age is a risk factor for breast cancer, as is delaying childbirth. Also, whatever is causing the infertility may also put women at higher risk for cancer.
Rancic, 36, who is a University of Maryland, College Park alumna, told the Today show that she had a mammogram on her doctor’s advice. She said her doctor told her, “'I don't care if you're 26 or 36, but I will not get you pregnant if possibly there's a small risk that you have cancer because the hormones will accelerate the cancer. I never in my wildest dreams expected anything would be wrong.”
Visvanathan said there isn’t good data on whether the estrogen used in IVF can exacerbate cancer that already is forming from abnormal cells in the breast. Estrogen generally is known to fuel tumors. And estrogen used for long periods of time in hormone replacement therapy in post-menopausal women is also known to cause cancer.
“The good news is the data doesn’t show a large association between IVF and breast cancer,” Visvanathan said. “There’s not data to say you shouldn’t do this. But you do need to balance that with your risk.”
Maryland is among 20 states receiving grants from a foundation aimed at reducing disparities in oral health care. The money comes from DentaQuest Foundation, which is supported by the oral health benefits administration company.
The group points to an Institute of Medicine report that found nearly 5 million children didn’t get dental checkups in 2008 because of poor finances and 33.3 million people live in an area with a shortage of dental professionals.
For its Oral Health 2014 Initiative, the foundation sought proposals to address the problems. It received interest from 70 organizations and chose those that engaged multiple partners inside and outside the oral health arena. They will tackle one or more area: prevention and public health infrastructure, oral health literacy, medical/dental collaboration, developing metrics for improving oral health, financing models, and strengthening the dental care delivery system.
“This is a really important moment for oral health,” said Ralph Fuccillo, president of the DentaQuest Foundation, in a statement. “These 20 state organizations enhance the national movement of collaborative leaders who are embracing the challenge and the opportunity to address oral health disparities in their communities.”
Maryland has moved aggressively in recent years to tackle oral health disparities, creating a the Maryland Dental Action Coalition, after the death of a Prince George’s County boy from an infected tooth. The coalition will get the funding from Dentaquest and will target oral health literacy and medical/dental collaboration. Here are the other recipients.
Baltimore has received a grant for $100,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency to fund a program called the Healthy Environments for City Kids Initiative. The money will go to the Baltimore City Health Department, one of 13 organizations out of 263 applicants, to reduce children’s exposure to environmental hazards.
The health department will get the funding over 18 months and will be aimed at supporting healthy child care and school environments, educating the public about risks and identifying hazards in the home including lead, mold, pests, pesticides, carbon monoxide, and environmental tobacco smoke.
“In Baltimore, we are working collaboratively to build stronger, healthier neighborhoods and schools for our children—places where they can learn and thrive,” said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake in a statement. “With this new funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, we can better protect our children now and in the future.”
October is Children’s Health Month, and EPA officials said it was a good time to focus attention on cleaning up hazards that affect kids more as they grow and develop. Baltimore City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot said healthy children learn better so their environments are especially important.
Join us Wednesday for another live health chat with Dr. Paul Christo of Johns Hopkins.
We've tackled many pain topics on our live chats since December. Some have resonated more than others, so we decided to have an open forum on Oct. 19 at noon. Ask Christo about any pain condition, including back pain, neck pain, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, neuropathy and more.
Christo is director of the Multidisciplinary Pain Fellowship Training Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also has a radio talk show Saturday nights on WBAL.
Can't make the chat? Send questions in advance to healthcalendar@baltsun.com and return here to read the transcript.
Radiation from cellphones is being absorbed in children at much higher rates than reported because of the way the industry designed process works, according to a new study form a group that has been lobbying for more public information on radiation’s possible effects.
The study by the Environmental Health Trust published online today in the journal Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine finds that children absorb twice as much microwave radiation from phones as do adults and the amount exceeds FCC exposure limits.
The industry designed method of calculating radiation is based on a large man with brain tissues that are the same. A better system, the study concludes relies on anatomically based models for people of various ages and pregnant women.
Now, children are absorbing twice the radiation in the heads, up to triple in the brain’s hippocampus and hypothalamus and as much as 10 times more in the bone marrow when compared to adults.
Still, the science remains conflicting on the damage from cellphones’ radiation, such as brain tumors.
The Federal Communications Commission and the Food and Drug Administration say studies are inconclusive or have failed to find a link to adverse effects. The World Health Organization and others are less sure cellphones are safe and are studying.
You think they're safe?
Four area scientists are among the 65 new members of the Institute of Medicine, a premier independent scientific advisory panel created by the National Academy of Sciences. Membership is an honor, as new members are recognized for their major professional achievement in medical sciences, health care and public health by the 1,870 existing members. They volunteer their service to conduct analyses and make recommendations.
The new members and a snapshot of their achievements are:
+Claire Fraser-Liggett, director of the Institute for Genome Sciences and a faculty member in the departments of medicine and microbiology and immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She and her team launched the field of microbial genomic by sequencing a bacterium, Haemophilus influenzae, for the first time and creating a foundation for new approaches to personalized medicine.
+Richard Huganir, director of the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Brain Science Institute and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He recently discovered a method to erase memories in mice that could eventually be used to treat humans.
+Dr. Jeremy Nathans, professor of molecular biology and genetics, neuroscience, and ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and an investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He has made fundamental discoveries in basic and clinical vision science.
+Dr. Peter J. Pronovost, director of the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality at Johns Hopkins, senior vice president for patient safety and quality for Hopkins and a professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine and surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He’s known for his research into medical errors and is methods to end bloodstream infections are used in hospitals around the world.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is little flu going around right now – making it a good time to get a flu shot.
In its first “FluView” report of the 2011-2012 season, the CDC says the vaccine is well matched to the flu virus that is expect to become more widespread in coming weeks.
“It takes about two weeks after vaccination for the body’s immune response to fully kick in,” said Dr. Joe Bresee, chief of CDC’s Influenza Epidemiology and Prevention Branch, in a statement. “It’s best to get vaccinated before activity begins so that you’ll be protected once flu season starts in your community.”
Bresee said more vaccine than ever has been delivered already this year – 110 million doses, available in doctors offices, retail stores, public clinics and elsewhere. Up to 173 million doses are expected to be delivered this season.
The CDC generally recommends that everyone 6 months or older get an annual vaccine.
Officials will be monitoring influenza activity, so we’ll know soon enough when the masses are becoming sick. The CDC says the flu causes anywhere from 3,000 to 49,000 deaths a year.
Readers seem to be interested in the stories about the Legionnaire’s outbreak at an Ocean City hotel, see stories here and here. But state health officials say there’s no need to panic – cases are about average for the year and far below many other diseases.
There have been 93 confirmed cases of the disease, a form of pneumonia, in Maryland. About 100-130 is typical.
But Dr. David Blythe, an epidemiologist at the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said most cases are not investigated because they involve only one person and it’s difficult to determine where the individual came in contact with the Legionella bacteria.
The bacteria is found naturally in many water systems and affects only those with weakened immune systems, smokers and seniors. Investigators would need cultures from every water system the person came in contact with, as well as a culture from the diseased person, which are not generally produced. (It’s diagnosed through a urine test.)
Only when there is an outbreak, do officials step in. They try and notify others who might have been exposed because if the disease is caught early, antibiotics can be used for treatment. (If you have flu-like symptoms, fall in a high-risk group and believe you may have been exposed to the bacteria, call your doctor.)
A look at the state database shows that incidence of the disease is quite low when compared to other maladies related to pets, dinner and other extracurricular activities:
For example, Marylanders are much more likely to be bitten by an animal (9,733 cases in 2010) or come down with chlamydia (26,192 cases) gonorrhea (7,413 cases) Lyme disease (1,617 cases) or meningitis (650 cases), or get salmonella from their food (1,086 cases).
An Annapolis group that raises money for research of metastatic breast cancer has awarded $75,000 in grants to two professors.
METAvivor Research and Support said today it has awarded a $50,000 research grant to Alana Welm at the University of Utah and a $25,000 grant to Andrea Mastro at Penn State University.
The awards coincide with the kick-off of METAvivor's "30% for 30% Campaign." The organization believes 30 percent of breast cancer research dollars should go to metastatic breast cancer because 30 percent of women with the disease metastasize, which is when the cancer spreads to other organs in the body.
Metastatic breast cancer research currently receives about 2 percent of funds.
Welm and a group of researchers have generated new mouse models for metastatic breast cancer research. Tumors taken directly from patients have been grafted into mouse mammary glands.
The grant will allow Welm and her team to "determine whether tumor grafts are reliable predictors of a tumor's actual response to therapy in the patient." If successful, these mouse models can potentially be used to select treatment for individual patients.
Mastro has developed a bone-like matrix in a petri dish so that researchers will now be able to study the impact of the bone microenvironment molecules on breast cancer cell metastasis.
Tumor cells stay dormant for months to years before they reactivate and cause metastatic growth in a secondary organ such as bone. One of the hurdles in metastatic breast cancer research has been the lack of proper tools to study these dormant tumors in the petri dish and control their reactivation.
The grant will allow Mastro and her team to use the bone–like matrix to test the role that various factors play in the metastatic breast cancer cell's escape from dormancy and then its growth in the bone. These grants are the second and third metastatic breast cancer research grants to be awarded by METAvivor Research and Support.
For many children, fall is peak asthma time because of the high level of airborne ragweed and mold spores, as well as flu and other seasonal bugs.
Asthma is the most common pediatric chronic illness, causing almost 6.3 million U.S. children inflammation, airway tightening, wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing.
But there are steps that can help them avoid flare-ups, and trips to the doctor and the emergency room, says Dr. Robert Wood, director of Allergy & Immunology at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, who typically sees more patients for asthma exacerbations in the fall and winter.
The steps include:
+Getting a flu shot because respiratory infections can lead to serious complications for asthmatics and those with other chronic conditions. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends flu vaccinations for everyone older than 6 months.
+Avoiding exposure to allergens and other triggers such as pet dander, cockroach and mouse allergens, industrial smog, household chemicals and bacterial and viral infections.
+Using controller medications to suppress airway inflammation regularly in children with persistent asthma. That’s wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath two or more times a week. Rescue medications should also be used during an asthma attack to prevent the symptoms from worsening.
For information on joining one of several studies at Hopkins of children with asthma, call 410-614-5467.
Baltimore Sun file photo of a ragweed flower
The number of teenage boys who use condoms the first time they have sex has grown in recent years, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report of males aged 15-19 showed that eight of 10 now use condoms, an increase of 9 percent from 2002 to 2010. About 16 percent used a condom in combination with the female’s hormonal method, up 6 percent from 2002.
Overall, the number of teens using contraceptives for their first sexual encounter in general hasn’t budged much since 2002, with 78 percent of females and 85 percent of males using some method.
The report, called ”Teenagers in the United States: Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use, and Childbearing, 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth,” from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, also found that from 2006-2010 about 43 percent of female teens and 42 percent of male teens had intercourse at least once.
Females were also using more injectable hormonal contraception and patches.
There were some racial disparities: Black males had the highest percentage with sexual experience and Hispanic males had the highest percentage not using contraceptives.
There’s a place in downtown Baltimore where out-of-town cancer patients can go and stay for free while they are in treatment. And now the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge at Baltimore is adding some a set of services that will help them cope with that treatment.
The Wellness Program, which launches Thursday, will be the first of its kind in the country, according to the cancer society. It will offer patients and caregivers activities for their bodies and minds, including yoga, massage therapy, nutrition counseling and one-on-one personal training, among other options. They will learn to sustain their programs.
The hope is they cope better with side effects and feel better. This program is also free.
“Our overall goal with this wellness program is to help cancer patients transition into strong and healthy proactive cancer survivors that feel secure in their mind, body and spirit,” said Jessie Bernstein, Hope Lodge Wellness Program coordinator, in a statement. “We have a terrific team of volunteers who are experts in the field of health and wellness.”
The lodge was opened in 1987 and is funded through donations to the cancer society, Hope Lodge residents, local businesses and foundations. The property was donated by the University of Maryland.
There are 31 such lodges around the country. For more information on the facility click here.
For information on other support and treatment programs, click here.
One of the good things about fall is all the seasonal vegetables, such as acorn squash, pumpkin and parsnips.
Here is an easy, and fairly healthy recipe for Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash. It comes from the cookbook Vegans Know How to Party by Nancy Berkoff. If you're not vegan you can substitute the vegan margarine for butter or standard margarine.
Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash
Serves 5
2 acorn squash
2 diced, peeled green apples
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vegan margarine
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat ovent to 350 degrees. Slice squash in half and remove seeds. Place cut side down in a casserole dish and fill with 1 inch of water. Bake for 20 minutes or until just tender. While the squash id steaming in the oven, mix apples with brown sugar. Remove squash from oven, place face up, and fill the cavities with the apple mixture. Top each squash with a small amount of margarine and sprinkle with nutmeg. Cover with foil and bake until the apples and the squash are very soft, about 20 minutes.
Nutritional Information: 150 calories per serving, fat 1 gm, protein 2 gm, carbohydrates 37 gm, calcium 69 gm, iron 1 mg, sodium 17 mg, dietary fiber 5 gm
It’s been reported (including on this blog) that Apple founder Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer, but some experts and readers point out that he did not have the common form. He had a neuroendocrine tumor.
Dr. Mansur Shomali, from Union Memorial Hospital’s Diabetes & Endocrine Center, explains that the pancreas is divided into two parts: the “exocrine” pancreas and the “endocrine” pancreas. The common form of pancreatic cancer arises from the exocrine pancreas, the part that makes digestive enzymes.
Job’s reported cancer came from the endocrine pancreas, which is made cells that produce hormones like insulin. They cluster and are called islets. Sometimes they produce tumors, which aren’t always cancerous.
Shomali said they are called neuroendocrine because they originate from neurologic tissue during embryologic development.
He said he’s seen only one patient in the last 12 months with such a tumor.
And while he did not treat Jobs and doesn’t know the detail of his case, he said when caught early, the tumors are treatable. While some tumors are very aggressive, many are benign and don’t spread.
The National Cancer Institute reports that 80 percent of patients survive the first year and 22 percent survive 10 years – many times the survival rates for more common pancreatic cancer.
It’s unclear what sort of treatment Jobs had and why, for example, he had a liver transplant – Shomali said he’s not had a patient that needed one.
For more information, go to http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/isletcell/Patient.
Consumer Reports took a look at health care plans around the country and found in Maryland that the best among the private insurers was Johns Hopkins US Family Health Plan, which is used by members of the military, retirees and their families.
Nationally, the program ranked 23rd among private HMOs. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States was next (33rd nationally), followed by Cigna HealthCare Mid-Atlantic (79th nationally), Employer Health Programs (106th nationally) and Aetna Health (131th nationally).
CareFirst BlueChoice was 7th in the state (194th nationally) and United Healthcare of the Mid-Atlantic was 9th (225th nationally).
Consumer Reports analyzed 830 health plans ranked by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, an independent non-profit group. Included were 540 HMOs, 285 PPOs, Medicare and Medicaid plans and plans for employers and individuals. All told, they serve 127 million Americans.
The rankings considered consumer satisfaction, treatment and prevention.
Among Medicare plans in Maryland, the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States was ranked at the top (17th nationally) and among Medicaid HMO plans, Priority Partners HMO was ranked at the top.
To see the list and get more information, go to http://www.consumerreports.org/health/insurance/private-hmo-1.htm.
Patient First will open an urgent and primary care facility in Catonsville next week.
The center, to open Oct. 19, will the be the 13th for the company in Maryland.
Patient First physicians and other staff offer urgent care; work, school, camp, sports and travel physicals; occupational health; and primary care for patients who do not have a primary care physician.
Patient First will also transmit a copy of the visit record to the patient’s primary care physician.
Your zip code might be making you sick.
A new study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that where people live plays more of a role in health disparities than was known before.
Researchers studied a racially mixed neighborhood in Baltimore and found that disparities commonly found among the races were less prevalant or didn't exist at all. Disparities in hypertension, diabetes, obesity among women and use of health services were less common.
The results of the study are published in this month's issue of Health Affairs.
“Most of the current health disparities literature fails to account for the fact that the nation is largely segregated, leaving racial groups exposed to different health risks and with variable access to health services based on where they live,” Thomas LaVeist, lead author of the study and director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, said in a statement. “By comparing black and white Americans who are exposed to the same set of socioeconomic, social and environmental conditions we were better equipped to discern the impact of race on health-related outcomes and have concluded social factors are essentially equalized when racial disparities are minimized.”
LaVeist and colleagues identified communities in the U.S. containing a population of at least 35 percent African American and 35 percent white residents, and where the African Americans and white residents have similar income and education.
Two communities in Baltimore were selected as study sites and in-person interviews were conducted with adult residents. Blood pressure was also measured among a number of study participants.
The researchers used various national health databases for comparison.
They found that racial differences in social environments explained a significant portion of disparities typically found in national data.
“When whites are exposed to the health risks of an urban environment their health status is compromised similarly to that of blacks, who more commonly live in such communities,” said Darrell Gaskin, co-author of the study and deputy director of the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions and an associate professor with the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management."
Checker Cab is giving free rides all month to breast cancer patients who need to get to doctor appointments.
Those who want to take advantage of the promotion - being done for breast cancer awareness month - can call 443-573-3460 for an appointment. The cab company needs about 24 hours advanced notice.
The company will also donate $200 each week to the American Cancer Society's "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" program. They have also painted a cab pink.
The free rides are being given in conjunction with the American Cancer Society.
“Every time a passenger rides in our pink vehicle, from October 1 through October 31, they’ll know they are riding in a vehicle that is helping to raise funds in the fight against breast cancer,” said Checker Cab general manager Navin Dass.
No specific reason was given for former Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ death, but it’s well-known he battled pancreatic cancer, an extremely lethal kind of the disease.
November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, and here’s a little about the disease from the American Cancer Society:
+In 2011 an estimated 44,030 new cases will be found and there will be 37,660 deaths.
+About 20 percent of people live at least one year but fewer than 4 percent live longer than 5 years. Catching disease early gives the best odds.
+Causes are unknown though but risk factors include age (most patients are older than 55), being male and African American, smoking, obesity, diabetes, chronic pancreatitis or inflammation, cirrhosis of the liver, exposure to certain chemicals, family history.
+There’s no surefire way to prevent pancreatic cancer.
+It’s hard to detect early because the pancreas is deep in the belly and tumors aren’t usually felt and blood tests don’t generally work early. The cancer has usually spread by the time symptoms arise, which is why it’s so deadly. Genetic testing of those with strong family history may show risk for an individual.
+Symptoms can be mistaken for other problems because they are general. They can include yellowing of the eyes and skin, pain in the belly or middle back, weight loss, fatigue, nausea, swollen gallbladder, blood clots and digestive issues because it releases enzymes that break down fats and proteins in food and makes hormones including insulin that help balance sugar in the blood.
+Treatments include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. A complex procedure called the Whipple can cure the cancer. It involves removing parts of the pancreas, stomach and small intestine, common bile duct, as well as the gallbladder and some lymph nodes. Other treatments can shrink tumors or kill cancer cells. New methods of early detection are now being employed and some targeted drugs also are being used. Clinical trials of new therapies are ongoing.
Hospitals in the area have specialists that research and treat pancreatic cancer, including Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland and St. Joseph.
Reuters photo
Despite increased attention, health disparities persist in the state, according to public health officials who met this year for eighth year in a row to discuss remedies.
This year’s conference focused on promoting diversity in the workforce and brought the comments of many of the state’s healthcare leaders from government agencies, the legislature and advocacy and provider groups.
It was co-sponsored by the University of Maryland School of Public Health and the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions and hosted by the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities.
“All Marylanders deserve the best possible care and the opportunity to improve their quality of life, which is why it is unacceptable that many health disparities persist among racial and ethnic communities in our state,” said Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, who is the governor’s point person on health care, in a statement. “To address these disparities and ensure every community has access to high quality health care, we must improve diversity in the health care workforce and encourage more providers to work in underserved communities.”
Brown is heading up a workgroup on disparities, which promises more to come.
For more information on the conference, go to www.dhmh.maryland.gov/hd.
Drunk driving is dropping a bit, but there were more than 112 million incidents of people getting behind the wheel after drinking in 2010, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A recent report found that there were almost 300,000 episodes a day, according to the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey, which is self-reported information.
“The four million adults who drink and drive each year put everyone on the road at risk,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, CDC director, in a statement. “In fact, nearly 11,000 people are killed every year in crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver.”
The study also found that men were responsible for 81 percent of the drinking in driving last year and young men aged 21 to 34 were responsible for about a third of all episodes despite that they were only 11 percent of the population.
About 85 percent of the drinking and driving also reported that they were binge drinkers, who drank four (women) or five (men) or more drinks during a short period of time.
CDC officials say drinking delays reaction times and reflexes, putting everyone in harm’s way. But they say there are effective strategies to prevent problems, including sobriety checkpoints, minimum legal drinking age laws and ignition interlocks for those convicted of alcohol-impaired driving.
For more information about drinking and driving and driving safety, go to www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety or www.cdc.gov/injury.
Patuxent Publishing photo of a mock drunk driving accident
A little child's play may help intensive care patients through their recovery.
A new Johns Hopkins study found that interactive video games may enhance physical therapy for patients in intensive care.
The findings were published online in the Journal of Critical Care. A patient's stamina and balance improved with use of the video games.
The researchers studied 22 patients admitted to ICU for respiratory failure, sepsis, cardiovascular disease and other health problems. The patients participated in 42 physical therapy sessions that included 20 minutes of playing on the Nintendo Wii or Wii Fit video game consoles. Activities included boxing, bowling, balance board use and others games that improved stamina and balance.
The study had some limitations because of its size and scope and the researchers said the next step would be a broader study to look at further benefits of video games.
Video games have also been found to improve motor function in recovering stroke patients.
Hospital and medical providers who use electronic medical records could be eligible for federal money to help with implementation.
Providers who are eligible will receive $21,250 the first year to implement or upgrade medical record technology. An additional $8,500 is available each year after for those who meet certain "meaningful use" requirements.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced the incentive program Monday.
The money is being made available through the federal Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Program. The program runs through 2021 and providers can participate for up to six years.
Physicians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, dentists, or physician assistants who participate in Medicaid and meet specified Medicaid patient volume thresholds are eligible for the program. Hospitals that are acute-care facilities with at least 10 percent Medicaid patient volume, as well as children’s hospitals, are also eligible to receive funds under the program.
Eligible hospitals would receive a $2 million base incentive, plus additional money reflecting Medicaid inpatient bed-days and other factors.
For more information, visit http://www.dhmh.state.md.us/mma/ehr/index.html.
For questions, email MarylandEHR@dhmh.state.md.us.
First Lady Katie O’Malley plans to kick off a new campaign today that aims to promote healthy eating in the state by offering easy recipes made with local foods.
She will join Dr. Judith Palfrey, head of Michelle Obama's Let’s Move campaign, and Sally Sampson, founder and president of ChopChop Magazine, to launch ChopChop Maryland.
Every month for a year, recipes will be featured online, at local non-profits and health organization – and can be sent to you via text.
At the event, families will prepare the first featured recipe using ingredients from local farmers and the Government House garden. Cooking lessons will be led by Sampson.
For more information go to the ChopChop Maryland website, and to get the recipes, text CHOPMD to 43186 or for Spanish, text CHOPES to 43186.
Meredith Cohn has been a reporter since 1991, covering everything from politics and airlines to the environment and medicine. A runner since junior high and a particular eater for almost as long, she tries to keep up on health and fitness trends. Her aim is to bring you the latest news and information from the local and national medical and wellness communities. 
Andrea K. Walker knows it’s weird to some people, but she has a fascination with fitness, diseases, medicine and other health-related topics. She subscribes to a variety of health and fitness magazines and becomes easily engrossed in the latest research in health and science. An exercise fanatic, she’s probably tried just about every fitness activity there is. Her favorites are running, yoga and kickboxing. So it is probably fitting that she has been assigned to cover the business of healthcare and to become a regular contributor to this blog. Andrea has been at The Sun for nearly 10 years, covering manufacturing, retail , airlines and small and minority business. She looks forward to telling readers about the latest health news.
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