The New Face of Health Advice could be Yours

January 17th, 2012

It’s 2012, and it’s well-past time to tap into an under-utilized health resource: our collective knowledge.

Visit Yelp or Tripadvisor and you can get ratings and reviews for restaurants and hotels around the world. Facebook and Twitter connect people and ideas across a broad range of subjects both mundane and critical. But who is  connecting the dots with health information? Healthcare is an incredibly decentralized system, and it’s likely to stay that way for many years to come: privacy regulations simply don’t encourage companies and businesses to share health information.

More than 50% of global citizens are living with a chronic condition, yet there is no dominant social media, no ratings website, no platform for the sharing of information that will lead to the accelerated dissemination of health knowledge. Just like with Travel and Restaurants, having access to the shared experiences of others leads to an improved understanding of available options. Importantly, in healthcare, it can lead to a higher-quality, more comprehensive discussion with your healthcare provider – and could lead to a higher quality of life, more quickly than with traditional resources.

I love Yelp’s restaurant reviews. I’ve never traveled without consulting the hotel ratings at Tripadvisor. But a social platform that enables the sharing of health knowledge and experiences could lead to faster learning, more informed decisions,  and a higher quality of life for millions of people around the world.

The movement has started at healthetreatment.com. Share what you know, and learn from others. Because it’s time to put social media to a world-impacting, life-changing use.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in ePatient Movement, Social Media, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Thyroid cancer is on the rise

January 16th, 2012

While thyroid cancer remains relatively rare, the number of cases has risen about 6.5 percent, according to National Cancer Institute statistics.

This percentage makes the thyroid disease the fastest growing cancer, reports The Indianapolis Star. The condition affects 11 out of 100,000 people annually.

“Ten years ago, if I saw four new thyroid cancer patients a year, it would have been a lot,” G. Irene Minor, a radiation oncologist at the Indiana University Health Central Indiana Cancer Center, told the news provider. “Now sometimes I see that many in a month, and I have seen three in a week.”

The rise in thyroid cancer instances have medical professionals quite puzzled, with some attributing the increase to better screening technology, while others remain skeptical about it only being improved detection practices.

Tod Huntley, an otolaryngologist at the Center for Ear, Nose, Throat and Allergy in Indianapolis, told the news provider that he thinks it is a combination of “increased surveillance” as well as “an actual biological change in disease prevalence.”

Patients  do not typically exhibit any thyroid cancer symptoms other than a lump in their neck, although some experience throat problems like difficulty swallowing. The disease, which affects heart rate, blood pressure, body weight and more, most often occurs in females under the age of 45.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Cancer, Conditions, Thyroid Cancer | No Comments »

Lymphoma drugs lead to rare brain disease

January 13th, 2012

Two cancer drugs have reportedly caused deadly brain infections in three patients, reports Reuters.

There have been two confirmed and one unconfirmed case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare condition that affects the central nervous system, in patients using Seattle Genetics Inc.’s Adcetris. The disease is thought to be a result of JC virus and reportedly leads to death or severe disability.

“Although PML in lymphoma patients can be caused by factors such as underlying disease and prior therapies that affect the immune system, a contributory role of Adcetris cannot be excluded,” said Chief Medical Officer Thomas C. Reynolds in a news release.

Another culprit for PML is reported to be Tysabri, a treatment for multiple sclerosis manufactured by Biogen Idec.

U.S. regulators are now urging the drugmakers to amend the medications’ labels to include stronger warnings.

Adcetris, a drug used in conjunction with chemotherapy, has only been on the market since August 2011, when it was approved after an accelerated review by the Food and Drug Administration. It is intended for use in individuals with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Conditions | No Comments »

Researchers find gene linked to prostate cancer

January 12th, 2012

Prostate cancer research has hit one of the most important milestones in two decades, as scientists have found a gene variant linked with an increased risk for developing the deadly disease.

The study published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine took a look at a small number of families with multiple prostate cancer cases. The common denominator in a significant portion of the families is HOXB13 – a gene that helps the prostate’s development, reports The Huffington Post.

Researchers subsequently analyzed the health data of more than 5,000 males who received treatment for prostate cancer at Johns Hopkins and the University of Michigan, 1.4 percent of whom were found to have the mutation. These men also had a higher probability of having a family history of the disease.

“We’ve been working in this area for 20 years or so, trying to figure out why prostate cancer clusters in some families with very limited success,” study author William B. Isaacs, professor of urology and oncology at Johns Hopkins Medicine, told the news source. “That’s what we think is unique here. It’s a genetic change or mutation that affects the protein sequence, and if you carry this variant, you are at an increased risk – particularly at a young age.”

While this study is a major development for hereditary prostate cancer research, the results need to be replicated in further studies in order to confirm the link. However, men whose family members have been diagnosed with prostate cancer may want to consider getting screened for the HOXB13 gene as a precaution.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Cancer, Conditions | No Comments »

Psoriasis patients at higher risk for heart disease

January 12th, 2012

New research in the American Journal of Cardiology suggests that psoriasis patients may have a heightened risk for blocked arteries and other heart conditions.

Researchers analyzed the health data of 9,500 people who underwent a coronary angiography, more than 200 of which were diagnosed with the skin condition. Psoriasis patients showed higher cholesterol and body weight, reports Reuters, and nearly 85 percent of the participants with psoriasis also had coronary artery disease. This condition causes the arteries supplying blood to the heart to become restricted.

“One of the things that we’ve come to understand is that psoriasis is not a disease that’s just limited to the skin,” April Armstrong, doctor at the University of California, Davis, and one of the study’s researchers, told the news outlet.

Several medical professionals weighed in on the study, telling the news source that those with psoriasis should be screened for “modifiable cardiovascular risk factors,” such as blood pressure, body mass index, cholesterol, glucose levels and smoking.

More than 7.5 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with psoriasis, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation. The inflammatory disease is characterized by thick, red and/or scaly patches of skin. Psoriasis treatments include oral medications, topical creams, and ultraviolet light therapy.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Conditions, Psoriasis | 1 Comment »

Study links vitamin D deficiency to depression

January 10th, 2012

A vitamin D deficiency is a symptom of many conditions, which now include depression, according to a new study in this week’s Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Of the 12,600 adults that participated in the study, researchers found that those who reported symptoms of depression had the lowest vitamin D levels. The connection to the condition is not yet definite, but the source suggests a reciprocal relationship.

“Vitamin D deficiency may result in depression, or depression may increase risk for low vitamin D levels,” WebMD reports.

The sun’s rays give off doses of vitamin D, therefore one scenario we can attribute the deficiency to is that depressed people may not spend enough time outdoors. This is true in the case of seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression. Sufferers are also apt to an unhealthy diet, which could lead to lower vitamin D levels as well.

Dr. E. Sherwood Brown, a researcher and professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, recommended that patients with depression get tested for low vitamin D and if needed, take supplements.

Patients may also want to consider adding more vitamin D-rich foods to their duet, such as fish and fortified dairy products, reports the news outlet.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Conditions, Depression | 1 Comment »

Inadequate sleep affects children with type 1 diabetes

January 7th, 2012

Lack of sleep caused by type 1 diabetes may worsen a child’s condition, reports HealthDay.

In a study published in the most recent issue of SLEEP, it was found that diabetic patients between the ages of 10 and 16 get an average of 5 percent less sleep than their peers. This lead to impaired ability to control blood sugar and also negatively affected the children’s performance in school, according to the source.

“Clinicians and school-based professionals need to be aware that reports of daytime sleepiness, disrupted sleep, or poor sleep habits may affect patients’ daytime functioning, including the possibility of interfering with their diabetes self-care, quality of life, and school performance,” the authors of the study reported.

The students who got approximately 20 minutes less sleep than those without diabetes experienced symptoms of hyperglycemia, emotional and behavioral problems, worsened grades and a decreased ability to keep up with their insulin shots.

The study performed at the University of Arizona in Tucson analyzed the data of 50 patients, reportedly keeping watch on their glucose control with monitors and hemoglobin A1C values.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Conditions, Diabetes | No Comments »

Cancer deaths reportedly declining

January 4th, 2012

Deaths caused by cancer are declining, reports the American Cancer Society.

A new report published in this weeks Cancer Journal for Clinicians shows that the death rate for men decreased by 1.8 percent per year from 2004 to 2008. The rate declined in women by 1.6 percent annually. The number of cases per year have also declined by 0.6 percent for men.

Despite the downward trends, pancreatic cancer and melanoma are steadily becoming more common. According to MSNBC, the number of deaths from cancer this year is expected to reach 577,000, while there are projected to be more than 1.6 million new cases in 2012.

Increases of the aforementioned cancers, as well as cancers of the liver, thyroid and kidney, have been linked to the rise of obesity. The higher numbers are also attributed to early detection practices, according to the source.

The report also found decreased death rates during the same period for lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer. Lung and breast cancer had the most significant decline, with 40 percent in men and 34 percent in women, respectively.

Data for the American Cancer Society study was reportedly taken from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Breast Cancer, Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Conditions, Kidney Cancer, Liver Cancer, Lung Cancer, Melanoma, Skin Cancer | 3 Comments »

ePatients finding organ donors through social media sites

January 3rd, 2012

Here at Healthetreatment, we love stories about a community coming together to help better the health and quality of life of other ePatients. One of the most intriguing trends that we’ve seen lately is on Facebook, where several people in need have successfully found organ donors.

Most recently, Damon Brown of Seattle, who suffers from renal failure, made a Facebook page entitled “Damon Kidney” that his friends and family forwarded to their entire social networks. After attracting more than 1,400 fans over five months, his wife’s long-time friend chose to donate.

“She said it wasn’t really for me, it was for my kids, because they deserve to have a dad around,” Brown told The Associated Press.

The Washington native is just one of many using social media to look for organ donations – a growing trend, according the the news source.

“We see more and more people matched up by social media. It’s an extension of the way we communicate,” April Paschke of the United Network for Organ Sharing told the AP. “Before we found the internet, people found other ways: through a church bulletin, word of mouth or an advertisement even.”

Facebook has been the most popular site to find donors so far, but others have also had success on Twitter and Craigslist, reports Mashable. Another Seattle man, Dan Garrett, found his donor through Facebook as well.

Have you passed along any social media pages dedicated to finding an organ donor?

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in ePatient Movement, Social Media | No Comments »

Drug shortage raises costs for ADHD patients

January 3rd, 2012

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been flooded with complaints recently over drug shortages, with a large percentage of the grievances coming from patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

According to the New York Times, many have not been able to find pharmacies equipped to fill their prescriptions as manufacturers have been at odds with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). While drugmakers have increased profits in mind, the DEA is reportedly trying to crack down on abuse of ADHD meds, largely by college students.

Unfortunately, those who needs the pills to cope with ADHD are the ones suffering in the end. Many of the medications in the shortage are generic, meaning patients may have to spend far more money than expected to keep the behavioral disorder at bay with brand names like Ritalin and Adderall.

The Times reports that the shortages are expected to continue until the DEA comes up with “manufacturing quotas that are designed to control supplies and thwart abuse.”

“We have reached out to the DEA and told them that there are shortage issues, but the quota issues are outside of our area of responsibility,” Valerie Jensen, associate director of the drug shortage program at the FDA, told the news source.

A representative for the DEA told the source that there is “plenty of supply” for those with ADHD, with the Times confirming that “some high-priced pills are indeed readily available.”

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in ADHD, Conditions | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »