Preventative Cardiology Part 4: Insulin Resistance
Blood sugar (glucose) is tightly regulated in order to supply a constant stream of energy throughout the body. After a meal, insulin levels rise pushing glucose into cells, primarily in the liver and muscle. This glucose can be stored as glycogen or converted to fat. During fasting states, glucagon, cortisol, and other hormones act to release glucose into the blood ensuring a steady state of between 80-120 mg/dL.
In states of over-nutrition and obesity, blood glucose remains chronically elevated (hyperglycemia) and the body becomes resistant to the effects of insulin. This is called insulin resistance and highly associated with metabolic syndrome (discussed in detail later). Insulin resistance is the hallmark of type 2 diabetes. Importantly, chronically elevated blood glucose levels (and insulin), lead to macrovascular (large vessel) complications like heart attacks and strokes (ASCVD) as well as microvascular complciations (cataracts, kidney dysfunction, etc).
Measurements of insulin resistance include:

1. Fasting Blood Glucose
2. Insulin Levels (for HOMA-IR calculation)
3. HbA1c (Glycated Hemoglobin)
4. Triglyceride/Glucose Ratio
5. Mets-IR

Fasting Blood Glucose (after 8 hours of not eating) is any easy, crude measurement of insulin resistance in both pre-diabetes and diabetes.
Fasting insulin levels can be measured along with the corresponding fasting glucose to derive the HOMA IR (see calculation). This is a frequently used measure of insulin resistance in research settings.
HbA1c is the most common indirect measurement of insulin resistance in clinical practice. It measures what percent of hemoglobin in the blood is glycated (glucose attached) and represents a 3 month running average of blood glucose levels. 5.7% corresponds to pre diabetes and 6.5% represents diabetes.
Triglyceride/Glucose is an extensively validated indirect measurement of insulin resistance mostly used for research as is Mets-IR.
Finally, continuous glucose monitors, which can estimate time in (healthy) range, excursions after meals, and many other derived metrics are increasingly important and give a higher level of granularity.
I check all these numbers in my routine practice because they give slightly different information and together paint a picture of a patients insulin sensitivity. It is critical to get right because again it is a major risk factor for ASCVD. Interventions for insulin resistance include Metformin, Fiber therapy, Diet, GLP1 agonists, among many other lifestyle and medical interventions.
In part 5, we will discuss hypertension (high blood pressure) as a major risk factor for ASCVD.

Know anyone with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and/or chronic kidney disease who wants to take a GLP-1 medication?
Lilly recently launched has a 5-year-long retatrutide trial trial recruiting 10k participants worldwide. For those who don’t know, trial participants on retatrutide lost about 24% of their body weight (or ~58lbs) in the phase two trials. That’s more than any GLP-1 on the market.

The Effect of Retatrutide Once Weekly on Cardiovascular Outcomes and Renal Function in Adults Living With Obesity (TRIUMPH-OUTCOMES) NCT06383390

BIG THINGS TO KNOW:

• The trial is 5 years long 🙌
  
• Must be at least age 45 with a BMI of ≥27.0 kilograms per meter squared (kg/m²⁾
  
• Participants may be with or without type 2 diabetes (T2D) unless their hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is 10% or lower
  
• As best I can tell, the odds of getting retatrutide is 50%
  

If you want to see how those on other TRIUMPH trials are doing, visit RetatrutideTrial.
NOTE: I am not adding this one to my big list of “obesity only” trials since it requires cardiovascular and/or kidney disease.

Know anyone with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and/or chronic kidney disease who wants to take a GLP-1 medication?
Lilly recently launched has a 5-year-long retatrutide trial trial recruiting 10k participants worldwide. For those who don’t know, trial participants on retatrutide lost about 24% of their body weight (or ~58lbs) in the phase two trials. That’s more than any GLP-1 on the market.

The Effect of Retatrutide Once Weekly on Cardiovascular Outcomes and Renal Function in Adults Living With Obesity (TRIUMPH-OUTCOMES) NCT06383390

BIG THINGS TO KNOW:

• The trial is 5 years long 🙌
  
• Must be at least age 45 with a BMI of ≥27.0 kilograms per meter squared (kg/m²⁾
  
• Participants may be with or without type 2 diabetes (T2D) unless their hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is 10% or lower
  
• As best I can tell, the odds of getting retatrutide is 50%
  

If you want to see how those on other TRIUMPH trials are doing, visit RetatrutideTrial.
NOTE: I am not adding this one to my big list of “obesity only” trials since it requires cardiovascular and/or kidney disease.

Know anyone with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and/or chronic kidney disease who wants to take a GLP-1 medication?
Lilly recently launched has a 5-year-long retatrutide trial trial recruiting 10k participants worldwide. For those who don’t know, trial participants on retatrutide lost about 24% of their body weight (or ~58lbs) in the phase two trials. That’s more than any GLP-1 on the market.

The Effect of Retatrutide Once Weekly on Cardiovascular Outcomes and Renal Function in Adults Living With Obesity (TRIUMPH-OUTCOMES) NCT06383390

BIG THINGS TO KNOW:

• The trial is 5 years long 🙌
  
• Must be at least age 45 with a BMI of ≥27.0 kilograms per meter squared (kg/m²⁾
  
• Participants may be with or without type 2 diabetes (T2D) unless their hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is 10% or lower
  
• As best I can tell, the odds of getting retatrutide is 50%
  

If you want to see how those on other TRIUMPH trials are doing, visit RetatrutideTrial.
NOTE: I am not adding this one to my big list of “obesity only” trials since it requires cardiovascular and/or kidney disease.

Know anyone with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and/or chronic kidney disease who wants to take a GLP-1 medication?
Lilly recently launched has a 5-year-long retatrutide trial trial recruiting 10k participants worldwide. For those who don’t know, trial participants on retatrutide lost about 24% of their body weight (or ~58lbs) in the phase two trials. That’s more than any GLP-1 on the market.

The Effect of Retatrutide Once Weekly on Cardiovascular Outcomes and Renal Function in Adults Living With Obesity (TRIUMPH-OUTCOMES) NCT06383390

BIG THINGS TO KNOW:

• The trial is 5 years long 🙌
  
• Must be at least age 45 with a BMI of ≥27.0 kilograms per meter squared (kg/m²⁾
  
• Participants may be with or without type 2 diabetes (T2D) unless their hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is 10% or lower
  
• As best I can tell, the odds of getting retatrutide is 50%
  

If you want to see how those on other TRIUMPH trials are doing, visit RetatrutideTrial.
NOTE: I am not adding this one to my big list of “obesity only” trials since it requires cardiovascular and/or kidney disease.

[REPOST]Can someone Suggest some colleges based on My stats?I genuinely don’t know where my stands in terms of T20😭💀 maybe Rice?
Can someone suggest some colleges based on my stats/ECs? Like I’m actually lost. Please give me some reach, Match or safeties. Thanks!
Demographics

• Gender: Male
  
• Race/Ethnicity: Asian (Bengali)
  
• Residence: Texas
  
• Income Bracket: $35,000
  
• Type of School: Rural Public
  
• Hooks:- Low-Income, Immigrant, First-Gen, Quest-Bridge Scholar ( My parents did go to College In Bangladesh though so Idk if I’ll be considered First Gen or not)
  

STATS (1st semester Junior Year)

• GPA:- 4.5 Weighted and 3.98Unweighted (1 B+ :- 89 in 9th grade)
  
• Rank:- Top 2%, 20/589 (1st semester Junior)
  
• SAT/ACT:- 1400-1500 (Based on practice SATs, taking SAT in August)
  
• Major:- Neuroscience/Biology (Pre-Med Track)
  
• AP/DE courses:- 11 AP courses, 3 Dual Credit, 2 On-Ramps, Rest Honors
  
• Senior year Course load:- AP CHEM, AP BIO, AP CALC, AP MACRO, AP GOV, AP LIT, On-Ramps COMP SCI, MATH 1314
  
• Additional Info:- I immigrated to the USA right before 8th grade and that's when we went to lock down for COVID-19 so, 9th grade is basically my first year in an American High School. I didn't know any English at that time so my priority was to learn English freshman year- I learned it through playing video games online💀😭. Due to my late immigration, I wasn’t aware of AP/Honors courses during Freshman year and my school never informed me of such courses and the benefits of it. So, I had to take 2 on-level classes in 9th grade, (Eng-1 and World Geo). I learned about AP/Honors at the end of Freshman year but it was already too late. That is a reason why my rank is behind as well since people who took those classes Freshman year are ahead despite having lower grades and Unweighted GPA.
  

Awards/Honors (Up until April 2024)
Quest-Bridge College Prep Scholar (National -2024)
2024 PATHS UP YOUNG SCHOLAR (National)
Barbara James Service Award (National -2024) Given to people who provided 100+ hours worth of community service in the healthcare sector specifically. For me, it was Hospice & Nursing home volunteering
National EKG technician (National - 2023)
State Certified Nursing Aid (State -2024 )
2024 Food Bank Student Heroes** (State)
AP Scholar EMT Certification (Future) AP CAPSTONE DIPLOMA (Future)
Activities

1. Health-Bridge - Non-Profit, In process… (Founder & Board Member); Holiday Project Initiative (Nov 2023 - Ongoing)
2. Health-Bridge has delivered 300+ gifts and Letters to residents across 7 clinical facilities in the Kingwood area - Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, and Hospice care - during Thanksgiving and Christmas to provide comfort to these residents.

• Collaborated with As-Salam clinic ( A nonprofit clinic that provides FREE healthcare to immigrants and Low-income families ) Currently the health bridge team is organizing fundraising events for As-Salam and aims to sponsor 100 patients to get FREE healthcare, $35/patient
  
• In the future, Health-Bridge aims to collaborate with other nonprofits to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for people
  

1. Shadowing Medical Professionals (December 2023 - Ongoing) Gained valuable knowledge about the profession and practical insights into different medical fields, enhancing academic knowledge and providing a foundation for a future career in medicine. Shadowed both the clinical and procedures of the mentioned doctors.

• Gastroenterologist: 8 Hours
  
• Internal Medicine: 10.5 hours
  
• Physical Therapist: 14 Hours
  
• Emergency Physician (Summer 2024) - Scheduled
  
• Ophthalmologist (Summer 2024) - Scheduled
  
• Neurosurgeon ( Still cold calling/Emailing)
  

1. Internship as a CNA at Heights At Valley Ranch (50hrs, January 2024 - April 2024)

• Completed a 50-hour internship at a local nursing home as a Certified Nurse Aide. Gained valuable patient care skills and was exposed to clinical settings. Worked alongside Nurse and Physical Therapist to provide patient care to the residents. Some performed skills are: Vital signs, changing patients, parental care, catheter care, mouth care, hand/foot care, direct and indirect patient care

1. Student Volunteer at Gentiva Hospice (2hweek, January - Ongoing)

• I do weekly patient visits with Gentiva Hospice. Consistently volunteered 2-4 hours per week since January, providing compassionate care and support to hospice patients, enhancing their comfort and quality of life. Offering crucial emotional support to both patients and their families during difficult times.

1. Research Analyst Intern at RICE UNIVERSITY office of STEM ENGAGEMENT (July 8, 2024 - July 25. 2024)

• Was selected as a Young Scholar for a research internship with Rice University. [Students will work with and combine instruments such as pulse oximeters, accelerometers, GPS devices, speakers, and microphones to understand a major tenet of the research theme and construct an introductory device that mirrors the type of technology being created at the engineering research center.] - copied from the Rice STEM website since I haven't done it yet

1. Independent Research on Thermoregulation (Unpublished…working on to get in Published) (August 2023 - Ongoing)

• Currently researching Thermoregulation -Sleep Temperature- and how can it be utilized to minimize health risks such as Diabetes, obesity, and Other metabolic syndromes from night shift workers. Conducted a cross-sectional survey of 167 Night shift workers from various industries and evaluated the correlation between sleep temperature and their health complaints.

1. Food Bank Student Heroes (May 2024 - August 2024) 50-100 hours commitment

• Train and oversee volunteers in various projects ensuring that volunteers have a meaningful experience. Coordinate and market a Food/School Supply Drive to help those in need in our community. Attend leadership and professional development workshops to develop skills. Understand food insecurity as a southeast Texas issue and learn to measure the impact of their work. [copied from Foodbank Student Heroes website] - still waiting on finishing the program

1. Community service with Kingwood Islamic Center (9,10,11,12)

• During Ramadan served Iftar ( the meal Muslim uses to break fast) to 30-50 people for 3 consecutive years around 2-3 times during the month of Ramadan. Helped to distribute food, make the food, cleaning the mosque afterward ( 1 month/yr 5hweek )
  
• Also cleaned up the mosque for Jummah praye Special Friday prayer during school break to create a better experience for people during prayer.
  

1. Social Media Business (10th grade Summer)

• Gained 12 Million+ views and gained across 57K Followers across 2 different accounts earning $2000 in revenue in 1 month.
  
• Gained 9K subscribers and 2M view on YouTube Shorts within 2 months
  
• Created entertainment video and Education videos on TikTok and YouTube through the usage of AI to automate the process of content creation. Tik-Tok:- u/HistoricalLore (other Entertainment TikTok account got banned💀💀💀💀)
  

1. Part-Time Jobs (10,11,12)

• Job 1:- Dave’s Hot Chicken -CashieTeam member ( January 2023 - May 2023 ( 6hweek) (May-August - 16 hweek) ( Sept- November 6hweek)
  
• Job 2:- Shell Time-Wise - Associate (May - Ongoing) - 16hweek
  

1. SCHOOL CLUB INVOLVEMENT

• Culture Club (11,12) - Event Planner. Actively involved in planning and organizing cultural events that celebrate diversity and foster an inclusive community environment at school. For example, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, etc.
  
• DECA (10,11) - Secretary. Kept record of every meeting and Notified DECA members on upcoming meeting/ competitions. Participated in DECA state competition in Entrepreneurship.
  
• National Honor Society (10,11,12) - Historian. Actively participated in various community service events such as field cleanup, food drive, book drive, etc. Despite my leadership role, I also created community service opportunities for members through my nonprofit, initiative and Hospice connection.
  
• HOSA (11) - Got recognized for outstanding community service at the International Leadership Conference 2024. Participated in various blood drive events at school and conducted a fundraiser for the school's HOSA chapter
  

1. I will intern at a Hospital Senior year for my EMT class. But I don't wanna include it just yet.

College:- maybe Rice???💀

Zone 2 training, which involves exercising at a moderate intensity (typically 60-70% of maximum heart rate), can reverse metabolic syndrome through several detailed mechanisms. This form of exercise enhances the body's ability to oxidize fat as a primary fuel source, thereby improving metabolic flexibility. By operating predominantly within the aerobic energy system, Zone 2 training increases the efficiency and capacity of mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, thereby enhancing overall energy metabolism. The increased mitochondrial density and function allow for better utilization of glucose and fatty acids, reducing blood glucose levels and improving insulin sensitivity, which are crucial factors in reversing metabolic syndrome.
One significant benefit of Zone 2 training is the improvement in insulin sensitivity. Exercise at this intensity enhances the muscles' ability to uptake glucose, independent of insulin, through increased translocation of glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4) to the cell surface. This effect not only helps in lowering blood glucose levels but also decreases insulin resistance, a key component of metabolic syndrome. Improved insulin sensitivity means that the body requires less insulin to manage blood sugar levels, alleviating the burden on pancreatic beta cells and reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes​ (BMJ Open Access)​​ (BioMed Central)​.
Another crucial mechanism is the reduction of visceral fat, which is closely associated with metabolic syndrome. Zone 2 training promotes lipolysis, the breakdown of fats, and enhances fat oxidation, leading to a decrease in visceral adiposity. Reduced visceral fat decreases the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and adipokines that contribute to chronic inflammation and insulin resistance. Consequently, lowering visceral fat not only helps in managing weight but also mitigates the inflammatory state that exacerbates metabolic syndrome​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
Furthermore, Zone 2 training improves cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure, enhancing endothelial function, and increasing HDL cholesterol levels while reducing LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. These cardiovascular benefits reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases, which are often comorbid with metabolic syndrome. By improving vascular function and lipid profiles, Zone 2 training addresses several risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome, leading to a comprehensive improvement in metabolic health​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
Overall, Zone 2 training offers a multifaceted approach to reversing metabolic syndrome by enhancing mitochondrial function, improving insulin sensitivity, reducing visceral fat, and promoting cardiovascular health. These combined effects lead to a substantial improvement in metabolic health and a reduction in the risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome.
Resistance training has a significant impact on reversing metabolic syndrome through multiple mechanisms, enhancing overall metabolic health. Engaging in regular resistance exercise leads to increased muscle mass and strength, which is crucial for improving metabolic rate. A higher metabolic rate helps in better energy expenditure and fat oxidation, reducing body fat and visceral adiposity, both of which are key factors in metabolic syndrome.
One of the primary ways resistance training helps is by improving insulin sensitivity. Muscle contractions during resistance exercises stimulate glucose uptake into the muscles independently of insulin. This increased glucose uptake helps lower blood glucose levels and reduces insulin resistance, a core component of metabolic syndrome. Studies have shown that resistance training can significantly reduce hemoglobin A1c levels, a marker of long-term blood glucose control, thereby improving glycemic control​ (BioMed Central)​.
Resistance training also positively affects lipid profiles, which are often dysregulated in metabolic syndrome. It helps lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while increasing HDL cholesterol levels. These changes contribute to a better cardiovascular risk profile, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases commonly associated with metabolic syndrome​ (Diabetes Journals)​. Additionally, the reduction in visceral fat due to resistance training decreases the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, further mitigating the inflammatory state associated with metabolic syndrome.
Moreover, resistance training improves cardiovascular health by reducing resting blood pressure and enhancing endothelial function. This is crucial because hypertension is a common component of metabolic syndrome. Improved muscle strength and endurance from resistance training also contribute to overall physical function and quality of life, making it easier to maintain an active lifestyle, which is essential for long-term metabolic health​ (Diabetes Journals)​​ (Oxford Academic)​.
Intermittent hypoxia (IH) involves short periods of low oxygen followed by normal levels. Studies show IH enhances mitochondrial biogenesis, crucial for cellular energy and metabolic health.
Research indicates IH increases mitochondrial DNA, biogenesis markers, and oxidative enzyme activity. In J Physiol, healthy adults showed significant mitochondrial improvements with IH. In Diabetes, obese individuals improved insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial function through IH.
IH appears effective for managing metabolic syndrome by enhancing mitochondrial function and metabolic health. Further research with larger samples and longer follow-ups is needed to confirm its long-term efficacy and safety.
HIIT significantly enhances mitochondrial biogenesis by creating high energy demands and producing reactive oxygen species (ROS), which act as signaling molecules for adaptive responses. During intense exercise bursts, localized hypoxia occurs in the muscles, stabilizing hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) that activate genes promoting mitochondrial biogenesis and improved oxygen utilization.
Intermittent hypoxia (IH) within HIIT plays a crucial role in these adaptations. The temporary hypoxic conditions during HIIT sessions induce similar responses to IH protocols, enhancing mitochondrial function and metabolic health. Thus, HIIT effectively boosts mitochondrial biogenesis through increased energy demands, ROS production, and HIF activation due to localized hypoxia.
To sustain the benefits of endurance training and boost mitochondrial function, several supplements and drugs are supported by varying degrees of scientific consensus.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is well-supported by research for its role in enhancing mitochondrial ATP production and reducing fatigue. Numerous studies have shown CoQ10's effectiveness in improving exercise performance and overall mitochondrial health​ (BMJ Open Access)​​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR) is also widely researched and known for transporting fatty acids into mitochondria for energy production, thus reducing oxidative damage and improving mitochondrial function and endurance​ (BioMed Central)​​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA) acts as an antioxidant and has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial function, making it a beneficial supplement for maintaining the effects of endurance training​ (BMJ Open Access)​​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) has a growing body of evidence supporting its role as a precursor to NAD+, a crucial coenzyme for mitochondrial function and energy metabolism. Research indicates that NR supplementation improves mitochondrial function and supports healthy aging​ (BioMed Central)​​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
PQQ (Pyrroloquinoline Quinone) promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and has shown promise in enhancing cognitive function and energy metabolism. While the research is positive, it is less extensive compared to CoQ10 and ALCAR​ (BioMed Central)​​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
Urolithin A (Mitopure) stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis and has demonstrated benefits in clinical trials, including improved muscle function and endurance. The research is promising but still emerging​ (BioMed Central)​​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
Metformin, primarily used for diabetes management, activates AMPK and enhances mitochondrial biogenesis and insulin sensitivity. It has been shown to have positive effects on mitochondrial function, though it is primarily prescribed for its glucose-lowering effects​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
Rapamycin inhibits the mTOR pathway, enhancing mitochondrial function and potentially extending lifespan. Its use is more experimental and comes with potential side effects, making it less commonly recommended solely for mitochondrial health​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
CoQ10 and ALCAR are the most extensively supported by research, followed by ALA and NR. PQQ and Urolithin A have emerging support, while metformin and rapamycin are more specialized with broader implications for their use. Always consult a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement or medication.
Thoughts on Complex 1 inhibitors Some of these supplements are very speculative. Peter Attia is not convinced of NAD and neither am I. It might have an impact, but it's not been studied long term. Peter Attia also is not convinced of the utility of Metformin and neither am I. In my experience with Metformin and Berberine, while my fitness improved on some levels, my lactate levels were higher, it seemed to put me into a carb rather than fat burning mode of operations. Basically the same result Peter Attia experienced is what I experienced. As a result of this, it's a bad idea to use Metformin or Berberine.
Metformin blunts some benefits of exercise due to its activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a key energy regulator that both metformin and exercise activate. When both are active simultaneously, the overlapping pathways can reduce the exercise-induced improvements in insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial adaptations. This overlap leads to a state where the additive effects of exercise on these pathways are diminished, as the body is already experiencing heightened AMPK activation due to metformin​ (BMJ Open Access)​​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
Additionally, metformin interferes with mitochondrial biogenesis, a process that exercise naturally promotes to enhance cellular energy capacity. While metformin improves mitochondrial function in insulin-resistant tissues, it may hinder the exercise-induced mitochondrial adaptations in healthy tissues. This interference results in less pronounced improvements in muscle oxidative capacity and endurance performance during physical activities​ (Diabetes Journals)​​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
The increase in lactate levels observed with metformin use is primarily due to its inhibition of complex 1 in the mitochondrial electron transport chain, which shifts energy production from oxidative phosphorylation to anaerobic glycolysis. This shift increases lactate production as a byproduct of glycolysis. Furthermore, metformin disrupts the lactate shuttle, which involves the transport of lactate to the liver for gluconeogenesis, thus accumulating lactate in the blood. These mechanisms collectively contribute to elevated lactate levels during exercise in individuals taking metformin​ (Diabetes Journals)​​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
There are additional supplements I've tried like bergamot, but I'm not sure if this particular supplement helped or hurt. If I had to guess, it seems to have a mix between statin like effects and metformin like effects. It works by an entirely different mechanism from Metformin or berberine. Berberine itself works by a different mechanism from Metformin, but because it is a confirmed complex 1 inhibitor it's just as bad. The main difference is berberine has a very short half life while metformin has an unusually long half life. By inhibiting complex I, berberine reduces ATP production through oxidative phosphorylation and increases the reliance on glycolysis for energy production. This inhibition leads to a mild increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can have various signaling effects on cellular metabolism​ (BMJ Open Access)​​ (Diabetes Journals)​.
Lactate Shuttle Hypothesis, proposed by George Brooks in the 1980s, redefines lactate's role in metabolism. Traditionally viewed as a mere byproduct of anaerobic metabolism, lactate is now recognized as a crucial intermediary in energy production and metabolic regulation. During glycolysis, lactate is produced from pyruvate, especially under anaerobic conditions. This hypothesis posits that lactate is not just an end-product but a vital fuel source, transportable and oxidizable by various tissues, including the heart, brain, and skeletal muscles.
Lactate produced in one cell can be transported to another cell or tissue via monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs). This transport allows lactate to be converted back into pyruvate, which can then enter mitochondria for oxidation, contributing to ATP production during aerobic metabolism. This mechanism facilitates energy redistribution within and between tissues. For example, during intense exercise, lactate produced by fast-twitch muscle fibers can be transported to slow-twitch fibers for oxidation, optimizing energy utilization. The lactate shuttle thus supports the coordination of energy supply and demand across different organs and tissues, enhancing overall metabolic efficiency.
Numerous studies have confirmed the presence and function of MCTs in lactate transport and utilization. Research has shown that lactate can be taken up and oxidized by muscle cells' mitochondria and other tissues, providing a significant energy source during and after exercise. This concept has significant implications for understanding metabolic diseases and exercise physiology. It suggests that improving lactate clearance and utilization could benefit conditions like heart failure and diabetes, where metabolic flexibility is compromised. Understanding the lactate shuttle helps clarify the complex interplay of metabolic processes during exercise and in metabolic disorders, highlighting lactate's central role in energy metabolism.
Urolithin A is a metabolite derived from ellagitannins, compounds found in fruits like pomegranates, berries, and nuts. It is known for its potential benefits on mitochondrial health and muscle function. Urolithin A promotes mitophagy, a selective degradation process that removes damaged mitochondria, ensuring the maintenance and regeneration of healthy ones. This process is vital for maintaining mitochondrial quality, particularly in metabolically active tissues like muscle.
Urolithin A enhances mitophagy by activating the PINK1-Parkin pathway, which tags damaged mitochondria for degradation, promoting overall mitochondrial health and function. Additionally, by removing defective mitochondria, Urolithin A supports mitochondrial biogenesis, increasing the number and efficiency of mitochondria, which boosts cellular energy production and metabolic efficiency. It also exhibits anti-inflammatory properties, reducing chronic inflammation that can impair mitochondrial function and contribute to metabolic disorders.
Studies have shown the benefits of Urolithin A on mitochondrial health and muscle function. Preclinical studies indicate that Urolithin A extends lifespan and improves muscle function in animal models by enhancing mitophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis. Human clinical trials, such as one published in Nature Metabolism, have shown that Urolithin A supplementation can improve muscle endurance and mitochondrial health in older adults, suggesting its potential for mitigating age-related decline in muscle and metabolic health.
Integrating Urolithin A into a training program can enhance the benefits of exercise by improving mitochondrial function and muscle health. Urolithin A can be taken as a dietary supplement in the form of capsules or powder, ideally alongside meals for better absorption. Consistency is key, so it should be a part of the daily routine. Combining Urolithin A with regular exercise, particularly endurance and resistance training, can maximize its benefits since exercise itself promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and function. Monitoring improvements in muscle strength, endurance, and overall metabolic health can help assess the effectiveness of Urolithin A as part of a training regimen.
My experience with Urolithin A (mitopure) so far has been positive. This supplement seems to have a positive effect on mitochondria whether you exercise or not. When combined with exercise it seems to have only positive effects. This is in contrast to the complex 1 inhibitors or even certain statins which seem to have some sort of negative or blunting effect on the adaptations. Statins at least for now are necessary until better drugs become widely available and cheap, but metformin or berberine may be unnecessary for people who are willing to go the exercise route.
The PINK1-Parkin Pathway and Its Role in Mitophagy
Urolithin A activates the PINK1-Parkin pathway, a crucial mechanism for maintaining mitochondrial health through the process of mitophagy. Mitophagy is the selective degradation of damaged or dysfunctional mitochondria by autophagy, ensuring that cells maintain a healthy and functional mitochondrial population. Understanding how Urolithin A activates this pathway helps clarify its beneficial effects on mitochondrial health.

The PINK1-Parkin Pathway

PINK1 (PTEN-induced kinase 1) and Parkin are two key proteins involved in the identification and removal of damaged mitochondria:

1. PINK1:

• PINK1 is a serine/threonine-protein kinase that is normally imported into healthy mitochondria and rapidly degraded.
• When mitochondria become damaged (e.g., due to loss of membrane potential), PINK1 accumulates on the outer mitochondrial membrane instead of being imported and degraded.
• The accumulation of PINK1 on the outer membrane serves as a signal indicating mitochondrial damage.

1. Parkin:

• Parkin is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that is recruited to the outer mitochondrial membrane by PINK1.
• Upon recruitment, Parkin ubiquitinates various outer mitochondrial membrane proteins, tagging the damaged mitochondria for degradation.

Mechanism of Action

When mitochondria are healthy, PINK1 is continuously imported into the mitochondria and degraded. However, in the presence of damaged mitochondria with decreased membrane potential, PINK1 accumulates on the outer membrane. This accumulation acts as a signal to recruit and activate Parkin. Activated Parkin ubiquitinates specific proteins on the outer mitochondrial membrane, marking the damaged mitochondria for degradation by the autophagy machinery. This process involves the formation of autophagosomes around the damaged mitochondria, which are then delivered to lysosomes for degradation and recycling.

Urolithin A and the PINK1-Parkin Pathway

Urolithin A enhances mitophagy by modulating the PINK1-Parkin pathway. It promotes the accumulation of PINK1 on damaged mitochondria, leading to the recruitment and activation of Parkin. This activation results in increased ubiquitination of mitochondrial proteins and subsequent autophagic degradation of damaged mitochondria. By facilitating this process, Urolithin A ensures the removal of dysfunctional mitochondria, promoting the regeneration of healthy ones.

Supporting Studies

Research has shown that Urolithin A can activate the PINK1-Parkin pathway and enhance mitophagy in various models:

• A study published in Nature Metabolism demonstrated that Urolithin A improved mitochondrial health and muscle function in older adults by activating mitophagy through the PINK1-Parkin pathway​ (BMJ Open Access)​​ (BioMed Central)​.
• Another study in Cell Reports showed that Urolithin A induced mitophagy and improved mitochondrial function in aging muscle, supporting the idea that this compound can help mitigate age-related decline in mitochondrial health​ (Diabetes Journals)​.

Implementation in a Training Program

To implement Urolithin A in a training program, it can be taken as a dietary supplement alongside regular exercise. Consistency in supplementation and exercise is key, as both activities synergistically promote mitochondrial health. Monitoring progress in muscle strength, endurance, and overall metabolic health can help assess the effectiveness of this approach.
By activating the PINK1-Parkin pathway, Urolithin A helps maintain a healthy mitochondrial population, which is essential for optimal cellular energy production and metabolic health. This mechanism underscores its potential benefits for improving exercise performance and reversing metabolic disorders.
The problem with lifestyle measures is the endurance training benefits don't last long. It's not a cure for metabolic syndrome but it's more like an effective treatment. It can mitigate some of the risks. Insulin resistance for example might not be as bad if you spend a lot of time doing resistance training and Zone 2/Zone 5 cardio. The lifestyle measure seems to work better than metformin but only if you can do it consistently for years. The muscle you build will allow for more carbs to be consumed, and for more glucose to be stored in the muscles instead of the liver. Fatty liver disease and visceral fat are problems, and lifestyle can avoid these problems better than any drug so far. Genetic factors cannot be controlled for, and some new drugs may have to be created for people who are genetically highly likely to develop type 2 diabetes, or who have high cholesterol for no dietary reasons. PCSK9 inhibitors are an example of this and maybe alphaGO will be able to help find new targets or pathways for drugs to improve mitochondria function.
​

Oct 22 I had a “panic attack” I put it in quotes because I don’t actually know that that’s what it was. I went to ER. They did blood tests, ct scan with contrast, and regular chest xray. They couldn’t find anything other than elevated liver enzymes but they didn’t really explain it to me. For reference at the time I was 25yrs old 328lbs. I am female. I haven’t been the same ever since that day. Frequent heart palpitations/racing heart random body pains, ears ringing sometimes. All sounds like panic right?
I went to my regular dr who prescribed me lexapro 10mg. (I was on it for a year but then stopped.) Shortly after this incident, I went to a cardiologist referred by Dr. we did ekg, holter monitor for two weeks, and echocardiogram. He told me nothing seemed to be structurally wrong with my heart.
Fast fwd to recently. During that time I had lost and gained back my weight. Since April I’m down about 30lbs. CW: 297. My Dr prescribed me a beta blocker for the heart palpitations and high blood pressure. I was getting readings ranging from 156/92 to 135/90’s/80’s. I’ve been on metoprolol for less than two weeks.
My blood tests came back but my appointment isn’t until the 5th of June. I have posted the results on here, but will post them again with this post. Also please note that I have gone to ER many times since Oct 2022 and have had a few chest X-rays. Er drs always tell me clear X-rays.
I went to er the other day because my chest and neck and leg were hurting. They did ultrasound of my leg and my carotids. Leg is clear. Carotids have some plaque but not enough to do anything about it. Troponin test negative d dimmer test negative.
I’m freaking out that I have heart disease and Im turning 27 on June 9th.
I feel like my choices over the years signed a death sentence for me and I’m terrified to die.
If you made it this far, thank you. Any thoughts?

Managing blood sugar levels can be confusing and overwhelming. However, understanding your HbA1C levels can simplify this process and provide valuable insights into your long-term health. If you're looking for comprehensive healthcare services, consider visiting the Best Multispecialty Hospital in Ghaziabad for expert advice and medical care.
What is HbA1C?
HbA1C, or glycated hemoglobin, is a blood test that measures your average blood sugar levels over the past two to three months. Unlike daily blood sugar tests that reflect your levels at a specific moment, the HbA1C test gives a broader picture of how well your blood sugar is being managed over time. This is particularly important for individuals with diabetes, as it helps in assessing the effectiveness of treatment plans.
Why is HbA1C Important?
The HbA1C test is crucial because it:
Provides a long-term view of blood sugar control.
Helps in adjusting medication and lifestyle changes.
Reduces the risk of diabetes-related complications.
A high HbA1C level indicates poor blood sugar control, which can lead to complications like heart disease, kidney damage, and nerve problems. On the other hand, a low HbA1C level suggests good blood sugar management.
How to Improve HbA1C Levels?
Improving your HbA1C levels involves a combination of medication, diet, and lifestyle changes. Here are some tips:
Healthy Eating: Focus on a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Avoid sugary and processed foods.
Regular Exercise: Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week. Exercise helps in lowering blood sugar levels.
Medication Adherence: Take your medications as prescribed by your doctor.
Regular Monitoring: Keep track of your blood sugar levels regularly to understand how different activities and foods affect them.
For personalized advice and treatment, consult with healthcare professionals at the Best Multispecialty Hospital in Ghaziabad. They offer a wide range of services, including pathology tests at the Best Pathology Lab in Ghaziabad, ensuring accurate and timely results.
HbA1C and ENT Health
Interestingly, there's a connection between blood sugar levels and ENT (ear, nose, and throat) health. High blood sugar can lead to various ENT problems such as ear infections, sinusitis, and throat problems. Regular monitoring and control of your HbA1C can help in preventing these issues. If you're experiencing ENT problems, the Sanjeevani Clinic offers expert care with the Best ENT Specialist near me in Ghaziabad.
Comprehensive Healthcare in Ghaziabad
When it comes to healthcare, choosing the right facility is crucial. The Best Multispeciality Hospital in Ghaziabad provides comprehensive medical services, from general health check-ups to specialized treatments. With a focus on patient-centric care, the hospital ensures that all your health needs are met under one roof.
Additionally, the Best Pathology Lab in Ghaziabad offers state-of-the-art diagnostic services, ensuring accurate and timely test results. Whether it's routine blood tests or specialized diagnostics, the lab is equipped with the latest technology to provide reliable results.
Conclusion
Understanding your HbA1C levels is a vital step in managing your blood sugar and overall health. Regular monitoring, along with proper medical care, can significantly reduce the risk of complications associated with high blood sugar. For expert advice and comprehensive medical services, visit the Best Multispecialty Hospital in Ghaziabad. With dedicated healthcare professionals and advanced facilities, you can achieve better health and well-being. Remember, maintaining good health is a lifelong journey, and with the right support, you can stay on the path to wellness. Stay healthy, get well soon, and take care of your ENT health with the best care in Ghaziabad.

These days because of the new internship,I need to do lots of data visualization but I can't coding ,so I try some AI Tools and I can record them here.
1、Tableau
Tableau offers smart, personalized insights right in your workflow. Plus, it doesn't just answer queries, it also suggests new ones! Integrated with Salesforce Einstein GPT and OpenAI's ChatGPT, Tableau Pulse is changing the game in AI data visualization.
2、Powerdrill.ai
powerdrill.ai uses AI to transform dense data into intuitive analytics(10x faster AI Excel analysis), unlocking insights with a simple conversation（no coding needed）. Dive into the future with predictive analytics, and wield our advanced tools to drive your decisions.(its so cheap and supports all kinds of files)
3、 Polymer
Polymer transforms your spreadsheet data into a flexible and mighty database. By simply uploading spreadsheets, we can instantly transform their data into a searchable, interactive, and intelligent database.
4、ChartMaster AI
chart master AI is a top-notch tool in the AI graph-making arena, designed to simplify the charting process and make it accessible to everyone. One of its standout features is the use of natural language processing, allowing users to create graphs from verbal or written descriptions, a game-changer for those who aren't data experts.
5、Qlik
Quik is an American AI tool for data visualization, by using an associative data model, this tool ensures that users can derive meaningful insights without hassle. One of its standout features is the drag-and-drop functionality, enabling users to analyze data intuitively.

What is Prediabetes?
Prediabetes is a condition that occurs when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. This occurs when the body doesn’t make enough or use insulin. It leads to the accumulation of glucose in the blood, which can be harmful to your body over time. People who have type 2 diabetes usually have prediabetes first.
Causes of Prediabetes
Prediabetes occurs when the body doesn’t make enough or use insulin. It leads to the accumulation of glucose in the blood, which can be harmful to your body over time. The prediabetes is caused by multiple factors:

1. Insulin Resistance: Insulin resistance, where the body's cells become less responsive to insulin, is the main cause of prediabetes and results in the accumulation of glucose.
2. Genetic factors: The risk of prediabetes is increased in individuals with a family history of diabetes.
3. Obesity: Excess body weight increases the risk of insulin resistance, leading to prediabetes.

Risks
Prediabetes carries significant risks for future health complications.

1. Lifestyle influence: Lack of physical activity and prolonged periods of inactivity can contribute to insulin resistance, leading to prediabetes.
2. Poor Diet: Eating foods high in calories, processed foods and sugary beverages can cause insulin resistance and weight gain.
3. Genetic factors: The risk of prediabetes is increased in individuals with a family history of diabetes.
4. Age: Aging is associated with changes in metabolism, hormone levels and body composition, which can increase the risk of insulin resistance and prediabetes. Prediabetes can affect anyone at any age, but it is more common in those over 45.
5. Ethnicity: Certain ethnic groups, including African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans, have a higher risk of developing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes compared to other populations.
6. Medical conditions: Certain medical conditions, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), hypertension (high blood pressure), and dyslipidemia (abnormal cholesterol levels), are associated with an increased risk of prediabetes.
7. Gestational Diabetes: Having diabetes during pregnancy or giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds.
8. Sleep Disorders: Conditions like obstructive sleep apnea.

Medical Assessment of Prediabetes
The diagnosis of prediabetes is done by measuring blood sugar levels with blood tests. The tests listed below are frequently employed:

1. Fasting Plasma Glucose Test: This test measures blood sugar levels after 12 12-hour overnight fasts. A fasting plasma glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dL is indicative of prediabetes.
2. Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT): This test measures blood sugar levels before and after consuming a sugary beverage. A blood sugar level between 140 and 199 mg/dL after two hours of drinking the sugary drink indicates prediabetes.
3. HbA1c Test: This test measures average blood sugar levels over the past two to three months. An HbA1c level between 5.7% and 6.4% is indicative of prediabetes.

Treatment of Prediabetes
Preventing the development of prediabetes into type 2 diabetes and lowering the risk of related complications are the main objectives of treatment. Treatment strategies typically focus on lifestyle modifications and, in some cases, medication.

1. Healthy Eating: Eating foods high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and balanced carbohydrates in the meal can help control blood sugar levels and improve health. It's also essential to follow portion sizes and consume fewer processed and sugary meals.
2. Regular Exercise: Exercise on a regular basis can help to control weight, improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Try to exercise for at least 150 minutes a week, from moderate to intense.
3. Weight control: If you become overweight or obese, losing added weight can significantly decrease your chance of getting diabetes. Blood sugar levels can be impacted by even small weight loss.
4. Medication: In some cases, doctors may prescribe medication such as metformin to help lower blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of diabetes, particularly for individuals with risk factors or difficulty with glycemic control through lifestyle modifications.
5. Monitoring and support: Regular monitoring of blood sugar levels and follow-up with doctors are essential for managing prediabetes effectively. Regular blood tests and checkups can be used to monitor the patient's progress, identify any changes that may require a change in lifestyle or course of treatment, and provide necessary support and guidance.

Conclusion
Prediabetes is characterized by higher blood sugar levels than normal but not high enough to consider type 2 diabetes, often due to insufficient insulin production or utilization by the body. It is caused by various factors, including insulin resistance, family history, obesity and lifestyle choices. It serves as a crucial warning sign for potential health risks. Early diagnosis using blood tests like fasting plasma glucose test, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and HbA1c test. Treatment focuses on lifestyle modifications like healthy eating, regular exercise, weight control and medication. Lifestyle modifications and regular monitoring are key to managing prediabetes and reducing the risk of progression to type 2 diabetes.

DAY: MAY 28 2024
5-28-2024

THE LIGHT OR THE CONTENT? WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT SCREENS AND SLEEP DISRUPTION

Too much screen time impairs sleep for children and adolescents, and it’s largely the content on those screens that keeps them awake. But it remains less clear whether the light from those screens also impairs sleep or whether and how screens directly disrupt adults’ sleep, too. That’s the consensus from 16 leading sleep experts, including two from CU Boulder, who published an exhaustive scientific review today on screen time and sleep in Sleep Health. “There’s a lot of research out there, but the messaging can
5-28-2024

WHAT SHOULD WE FEAR WITH AI IN MEDICINE?

Will the threats associated with artificial intelligence be as bad as some fear? Or will AI be relatively benign? Could the answer be somewhere in between? Perspectives on AI abound. Whether it be in medicine, security or education, new applications in search of an AI advantage continue to grow. This has prompted calls for well-intentioned restraint and regulation or, at the very least, slower growth and proliferation. To alleviate some of that fear, we should consider one area in which
5-28-2024

HOW TO KEEP FRUIT, VEGGIES AND HERBS FRESH FOR LONGER

We all know fresh produce is good for us, but fruit, vegetables and herbs have a tendency to perish quickly if left uneaten. This is because even after harvesting, produce from living plants tends to continue its biological processes. This includes respiration: producing energy from stored carbohydrates, proteins and fats while releasing carbon dioxide and water vapor. (Ever found a sprouting potato in your pantry?) On top of that, fresh produce also spoils easily thanks to various microbes—both harmless and ones that can cause disease, called pathogens. Simply chucking things
5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS EXAMINE BLACK MEN’S PERCEPTIONS OF LABELING AFTER A VIOLENT FIREARM INJURY

The way Black men see themselves after a firearm injury—whether as a survivor or victim—could change over time and have implications on their mental health, according to a Rutgers Health study. The study, published in the Journal of Urban Health, examined the role of racially coded language, sociodemographic and environmental contexts that support labels among Black men who experienced a firearm injury. Rutgers researchers sought to understand how Black men in a hospital-based violence intervention program perceive “survivor” and “victim” labels after experiencing a firearm-related injury. “The self-identification as a
5-28-2024

SCIENTISTS UNCOVER HOW OUR BRAINS TRY TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MUSIC- AND SPEECH-LIKE NOISE

Music and speech are among the most frequent types of sounds we hear. But how do we identify what we think are differences between the two? An international team of researchers mapped out this process through a series of experiments—yielding insights that offer a potential means to optimize therapeutic programs that use music to regain the ability to speak in addressing aphasia. This language disorder afflicts more than one in 300 Americans each year, including Wendy Williams and Bruce Willis. “Although music and speech are different in many ways, ranging
5-28-2024

MENTAL HEALTH BEGINS IN INFANCY, CHILD DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS TELL PARENTS

Did you know babies can get depressed? Andria Goss, associate vice president of clinical and community services at the Erikson Institute, a graduate school for social work, early childhood education and child development programs, said people are astonished when they learn and appreciate that fact. “Babies experience everything as a bodily feeling: If a parent is stressed, depressed and/or anxious, the baby is picking up on that,” she said. “Imagine a mom who has her own stresses and sometimes she’s able to focus on her baby and other times there’s
5-28-2024

NEUROSCIENTISTS USE AI TO SIMULATE HOW THE BRAIN MAKES SENSE OF THE VISUAL WORLD

A research team at Stanford’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute has made a major stride in using AI to replicate how the brain organizes sensory information to make sense of the world, opening up new frontiers for virtual neuroscience. Watch the seconds tick by on a clock and, in visual regions of your brain, neighboring groups of angle-selective neurons will fire in sequence as the second hand sweeps around the clock face. These cells form beautiful “pinwheel” maps, with each segment representing a visual perception of a different angle. Other visual
5-28-2024

STUDY SHOWS ORANGE PEEL EXTRACT MAY IMPROVE HEART HEALTH

Orange peels may hold a key to better cardiovascular health, new University of Florida-led research shows. The findings are published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women and people of most racial and ethnic groups, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recent research has shown that some gut bacteria help develop cardiovascular disease. When they feed on certain nutrients during digestion, gut bacteria produce trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). Levels of TMAO can help predict future cardiovascular
5-28-2024

A NEW WAY TO CONTROL HIGH BLOOD SUGAR

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease characterized by pancreatic malfunction and poor production of insulin. Imagine your pancreas is a factory for insulin, a key hormone that keeps your blood sugar level. Inside this factory are tiny assembly lines called pancreatic islets. When these islets get damaged, it’s like a mini-disaster in the factory. The assembly lines malfunction, and they can’t produce enough insulin. This can lead to
5-28-2024

CDC WARNS AGAIN OF SALMONELLA TIED TO BACKYARD POULTRY

Backyard chickens are causing outbreaks of salmonella across the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns. About 109 people in 29 states have gotten sick from salmonella after touching or caring for backyard poultry, the CDC said in a health advisory. Of those, 33 people have been hospitalized, the CDC said. No deaths have been reported. More than 2 in 5 people affected by the outbreak are children younger than 5, the agency added. Backyard poultry can carry salmonella bacteria even if they look healthy and
5-28-2024

CIRCUMCISION MAY REDUCE THE RISK OF HIV INFECTION

A randomized controlled trial comprised of 247 men who have sex with men (MSM) found that voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) can prevent incident HIV infection. These findings suggest that MSM should be included in VMMC guidelines. The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers from China enrolled uncircumcised, HIV-seronegative men aged 18 to 49 years who self-reported predominantly practicing insertive anal intercourse
5-28-2024

SUGAR DOESN’T MAKE KIDS HYPERACTIVE, SUGGESTS NEUROSCIENTIST

It’s a Saturday afternoon at a kids’ birthday party. Hordes of children are swarming between the spread of birthday treats and party games. Half-eaten cupcakes, biscuits and lollies litter the floor, and the kids seem to have gained superhuman speed and bounce-off-the-wall energy. But is sugar to blame? The belief that eating sugary foods and drinks leads to hyperactivity has steadfastly persisted for decades. And parents have curtailed their children’s intake accordingly. Balanced nutrition is critical during childhood. As a neuroscientist who has studied the negative effects of high sugar
5-28-2024

IF YOU CAN’T AFFORD AS MUCH FRESH PRODUCE, ARE CANNED VEGGIES OR FROZEN FRUIT JUST AS GOOD?

The cost of living crisis is affecting how we spend our money. For many people, this means tightening the budget on the weekly supermarket shop. One victim may be fresh fruit and vegetables. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) suggests Australians were consuming fewer fruit and vegetables in 2022–23 than the year before. The cost of living is likely compounding a problem that exists already—on the whole, Australians don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables. Australian dietary guidelines recommend people aged nine and older should consume two serves of
5-28-2024

PROMISING RESULTS FOR HYPERLIPIDEMIA TREATMENT REDUCE RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS

Research led by Baylor College of Medicine has shown that a new therapy significantly reduces triglyceride levels in individuals with mixed hyperlipidemia—elevations of triglycerides and cholesterol. The results, published in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrate how the drug plozasiran works by targeting ApoC3, which is a key regulator of the lipoprotein particles that carry triglyceride and cholesterol remnants versus overall LDL cholesterol levels. “This is a story about elevated triglycerides, which remain a problem in many individuals that I see in my practice,” said
5-28-2024

STATINS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED RISK FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND DEATH, EVEN IN VERY OLD ADULTS

A study of adults aged 60 years and older found that the use of statin therapy as primary cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention was effective for preventing CVD and all-cause mortality, even in adults aged 85 years and older. The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers from the University of Hong Kong used a target trial emulation design to investigate the relationship between statin therapy and CVD risk using electronic health records (EHRs) from the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. The study included adult patients over 60 without preexisting
5-28-2024

SLEEP STUDY FINDS POST-KARAOKE STRESS IS STRENGTHENED BY REM SLEEP

We’re all familiar with the fact that the quality of our sleep has a strong impact on our waking lives. But what you may not know is that sleep stages contribute to how we process life experiences and memories in different ways. Deep sleep, or slow wave sleep (SWS), is associated with memory consolidation, which makes memories longer lasting. Our understanding of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is less clear: although it is associated with the way we process emotions and how well we remember more emotionally charged experiences, there
5-28-2024

FOR SOME ENDOMETRIOSIS-RELATED OVARIAN CANCERS, TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Two types of endometriosis-related ovarian cancer arise from the same cells but likely at different stages of the menstrual cycle—a nuance that significantly influences treatment response, reports a recent study led by Van Andel Institute and University of British Columbia scientists. The findings, published in the journal Cancer Research, have implications for better understanding and treating a pair of cancer subtypes that together account for up to nearly a
5-28-2024

PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED MENTAL HEALTH RISKS

A baby’s exposure to air pollution while in the womb is associated with the development of certain mental health problems once the infant reaches adolescence, new research has found. The University of Bristol-led study, published in JAMA Network Open on May 28, examined the long-term mental health impact of early-life exposure to air and noise pollution. Growing evidence suggests
5-28-2024

FOUR WAYS VACCINE SKEPTICS MISLEAD ON MEASLES AND MORE

Measles is on the rise in the United States. In the first quarter of this year, the number of cases was about 17 times what it was, on average, during the same period in each of the four years before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Half of the people infected— mainly children—have been hospitalized. It’s going to get worse, largely because a growing number of parents are deciding not to get their children vaccinated against measles as well as diseases like polio and pertussis. Unvaccinated people,
5-28-2024

CANCER RESEARCHERS DISCOVER OPTIMAL CANCER-KILLING T CELLS

A team of cancer researchers, led by the University of Houston, has discovered a new subset of T cells that may improve the outcome for patients treated with T-cell therapies. T cell-based immunotherapy has tremendous value to fight, and often eliminate, cancer. The strategy activates a patient’s immune system and engineers a patient’s own T cells to recognize, attack and kill cancer cells. In this way, the body’s own T cells become living drugs. While
5-28-2024

AIR POLLUTION DURING PREGNANCY LINKED TO LOW BIRTH WEIGHT, STUDY FINDS

A recent study has uncovered a troubling link between exposure to PM2.5 air pollution during pregnancy and the risk of low birth weight in newborns. This study highlights the significant impact of air quality on prenatal development and emphasizes the urgent need for stricter air pollution controls.
5-28-2024

DEEP LEANING TECHNOLOGY SHOWS POTENTIAL IN PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY

In contrast to traditional cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, photodynamic therapy (PDT) is emerging as a novel
5-28-2024

3 CHILDREN HOSPITALIZED IN PUERTO RICO AFTER LIGHTNING STRIKES BEACH

Did you know: lightning can strike the same place multiple times? For example, the Empire State Building is reportedly struck by lightning roughly 23 times per year. Lightning struck a beach in the northern coastal town of Isabela during inclement weather Monday, injuring three children, one seriously, Puerto Rican police said. The children, whose ages ranged from 7 to 12, were taken to a hospital in the nearby town of Aguadilla, a police statement said. The oldest youngster was listed in serious condition, it said. No further details were released.
5-28-2024

CAFFEINE SHOWN TO AFFECT BRAIN DOPAMINE FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE

The effects of high and low consumption of caffeine on the brain’s dopamine transporter binding in patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Regular high caffeine consumption affects dopamine function in patients with Parkinson’s disease, shows a new international study led by the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital in Finland. Caffeine consumption before undergoing diagnostic brain dopamine imaging may also affect the imaging results. The research results were published in the Annals of Neurology on 20 May 2024. Previous research has shown that
5-28-2024

STUDY REVEALS CIRCADIAN CLOCK CAN BE LEVERAGED TO ENHANCE CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY

STUDY FINDS BLOOD CLOT RISK IS INFLUENCED BY ANGLE AT WHICH PULMONARY VEINS REACH THE HEART

5-28-2024

LIGHT THERAPY INCREASES BRAIN CONNECTIVITY FOLLOWING INJURY, STUDY FINDS

5-28-2024

STUDY SHOWS OVERLOOKED LIPID IS CONNECTED TO ANCIENT CELLULAR PATHWAY WITH LINKS TO CANCER

5-28-2024

RESEARCH IDENTIFIES MECHANISMS FOR SELECTIVE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS TREATMENT STRATEGY

5-28-2024

CHATBOTS ARE POOR MULTILINGUAL HEALTH CARE CONSULTANTS, STUDY FINDS

5-28-2024

COUNTRIES AT ODDS OVER HOW TO REIGNITE PANDEMIC AGREEMENT

5-28-2024

SILIBININ, AN OLD AND NEW MOLECULE

5-28-2024

NEW REPORT REVEALS FATHERHOOD’S HIDDEN HEART HEALTH TOLL

5-28-2024

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AUDITORY CUES AFFECT BODY REPRESENTATION AND VICE-VERSA?

5-28-2024

TARGETING ‘MONSTER CANCER CELLS’ COULD REDUCE RECURRENCE RATES AFTER CANCER THERAPY

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS PROPOSE SURGICAL ALGORITHM FOR NASAL ALAR DEFECTS IN ASIAN PATIENTS

5-28-2024

EFFECTIVE LYMPH NODE TRANSFER EASES ARM SWELLING IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS

5-28-2024

INVESTIGATING HYPERACTIVATION OF MEMORY CIRCUITS AND ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE RISK

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS DEVELOP 3D MODEL TO BETTER TREAT NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS

5-28-2024

EXTERNAL VENTRICULAR DRAINAGE TIMING IN TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY MAY RESULT IN BETTER LONG-TERM FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS GENETICALLY MODIFY E. COLI BACTERIA WITH PART OF HIV VIRUS IN BID FOR SUCCESSFUL VACCINE

5-28-2024

NEW STUDY SHOWS ABDOMINAL OBESITY AND MUSCLE WEAKNESS IN 8-YEAR-OLDS

5-28-2024

EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK-WAVE LITHOTRIPSY, ENDOSCOPY BENEFICIAL FOR PANCREATITIS

5-28-2024

CONSIDERABLE VARIATION SEEN IN MORTALITY RATES FOR SUSPECTED SEPSIS

5-28-2024

CONJUGATED EQUINE ESTROGEN MAY INCREASE RISK FOR OVARIAN CANCER

5-28-2024

RISING COSTS OF HEALTH CARE COVERAGE CONTINUE TO PUT FINANCIAL STRAIN ON EVEN THE PRIVATELY INSURED

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS URGE IMMEDIATE ALCOHOL REGULATION TO CURB VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, KIDS

5-28-2024

STUDY OF DEADLY AUSTRALIAN JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS VIRUS STRAIN PROMPTS PUSH FOR NEW VACCINE

5-28-2024

STUDY FINDS TEXT REMINDERS HELP IMPROVE HEALTH CARE WORKERS’ MENTAL HEALTH

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS DEVELOP MINIMALLY INVASIVE SCAFFOLD DELIVERY SYSTEM USING DYNAMIC THERMOSET POLYURETHANE

5-28-2024

MIGRANTS MUST BE A FOCUS OF CATCH-UP VACCINATION CAMPAIGNS, WARN GLOBAL HEALTH EXPERTS

5-28-2024

SPECIFIC MICROBIAL HALLMARKS IN VAGINA COULD INDICATE GYNECOLOGICAL CANCERS

5-28-2024

PEOPLE COMING OFF ANTIDEPRESSANTS ARE LOOKING FOR HELP ONLINE, UNDERSCORING A GAP IN TRADITIONAL CLINICAL PRACTICES

5-28-2024

CASES OF BACTERIAL DISEASE RISE IN BRAZIL’S FLOODED SOUTH

5-28-2024

MEASLES CASES SURGING AGAIN IN EUROPE: WHO

5-28-2024

ETHICAL APPROACHES TO MITIGATE H5N1 BIRD FLU

5-28-2024

PHARMACISTS PROVE EFFECTIVE, LESS COSTLY CARE OPTION FOR MINOR ILLNESSES

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY PROMISING PROTEIN CANDIDATE FOR METABOLIC DISEASE TREATMENT

5-28-2024

NEXT-GEN KNEE TRAINING MODEL HEADS FOR GLOBAL MARKETS

5-28-2024

POTENTIAL FUTURE TARGET FOR TREATING PRIMARY HEADACHE DISORDERS IDENTIFIED

5-28-2024

GENETIC MOSAICISM MORE COMMON THAN THOUGHT, STUDY SHOWS

5-28-2024

NEW SEQUENCING METHOD ANALYZES LUNG MICROBIOMES TO PREDICT MORTALITY IN CHILDREN FOLLOWING BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT

5-28-2024

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS URGENT NEED TO TACKLE HEALTH CHALLENGES FOR MIGRANTS IN EUROPE

5-28-2024

ONE IN EIGHT PREGNANT PEOPLE HAVE A DISABILITY, BUT REPORT SHOWS GAPS EXIST IN THE PROVISION OF ACCESSIBLE CARE

5-28-2024

BINGE-EATING DISORDER NOT AS TRANSIENT AS PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT

5-28-2024

SAN DIEGO’S BIGGEST MEDICAL PROVIDER IS ALL IN ON ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGERY

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS REFORMULATE ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS WITH COATING THAT MITIGATES WEIGHT GAIN, BOOSTS SEROTONIN

5-28-2024

STUDY DEMONSTRATES HOW CYTOKINES PRODUCE LONG LASTING HUMORAL IMMUNITY FOLLOWING VACCINATION

5-28-2024

ENGINEERED CAR T CELLS REPRESS SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF ALLERGIC ASTHMA IN MICE FOR A YEAR

5-28-2024

NEW SWEAT MONITORING DEVICE DOESN’T REQUIRE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

5-28-2024

MATHEMATICAL MODEL EXPLOITS CANCER CELL PLASTICITY TO GUIDE ADAPTIVE THERAPY

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS DISCOVER NOVEL METHOD TO PREDICT EFFECTIVENESS OF MESENCHYMAL STROMAL CELLS FOR CARTILAGE REPAIR

5-28-2024

RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY ‘DEGREES OF KEVIN BACON’ GENE IN WELL-CONNECTED FRUIT FLIES

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STUDY POINTS TO NEW COMBINATION STRATEGY FOR PANCREATIC CANCER

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RESEARCHERS ESTABLISH MICROFLUIDIC CONTROL TECHNOLOGY FOR BLOOD TESTING DEVICES

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PROTEOMIC SIGNATURES MAY INDICATE MRI-ASSESSED LIVER FAT

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RESEARCHERS ESTABLISH MICROFLUIDIC CONTROL TECHNOLOGY FOR BLOOD TESTING DEVICES

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PROTEOMIC SIGNATURES MAY INDICATE MRI-ASSESSED LIVER FAT

UCLA Times opinion piece by Michael Hiltzik today: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-05-30/is-ucla-a-failed-medical-school-debunking-a-dumb-right-wing-meme
The right-wing and Republican project to eradicate diversity and inclusiveness from American society has become more absurd with every passing day, but it will be hard for anyone to produce a more vapid and fatuous effort than a recent article labeling UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine as a “failed medical school.”
The reason for that label, according to the right-wing Washington Free Beacon, which published the article, is that UCLA has “prioritized diversity over merit, resulting in progressively less qualified classes that are now struggling to succeed.”
To its perverse credit, the Beacon doesn’t conceal the racist import of its claims; on the contrary, it announces it outright, citing the school’s “race-based admissions” and quoting one of its anonymous sources (there is no other category) as saying, “We want diversity so badly, we’re willing to cut corners to get it.”
An admissions officer is quoted anonymously as grousing, “All the normal criteria for getting into medical school only apply to people of certain races. For other people, those criteria are completely disregarded.”
The article purports to rely on complaints from eight of the school’s faculty members. The medical school’s full-time faculty numbers more than 2,000, with an additional 2,000 to 2,500 part-timers or adjuncts. That should give you a clue to how deeply the Beacon delved into the facts before issuing its eye-catching conclusion.
But that’s only one aspect of a piece that trips over its supposed “facts” at almost every turn, openly cherry-picks data to confirm its biases, and treats every factoid as an artifact of the quest for diversity. Its author doesn’t even appear to understand the difference between the student admissions process and the process of accepting residents, who are medical school graduates, many if not most of whom received their medical education elsewhere.
“I consider it to be fact-free,” Steven M. Dubinett, the school’s dean, told me about the Beacon article. He’s being kind.
Before delving into the article itself, a few words abut the Washington Free Beacon. The Beacon was founded in 2012 with funding from, among other conservatives, hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer. Its first editor was co-founder Matthew Continetti, who is a son-in-law of conservative pundit Bill Kristol.
The Beacon’s driving impulse appears to be “owning the libs,” as shown by its preening over its role in advancing the criticism of former Harvard President Claudine Gay for what many in the academic community regard as trivial cases of plagiarism.
That scandal-mongering was basically the handiwork of right-wing attack dog Christopher Rufo, who carried the theme further by accusing other Harvard figures of plagiarism; curiously, as the Harvard Crimson notes, they were all Black women, like Gay.
The Beacon’s tone was described as “puckish” by a Washington Post writer who apparently doesn’t know what “puckish” means; he praised it in the same article as standing a hair above other right-wing websites, which strikes me as a bit like trying to identify the best “Sharknado” movie. The basis of his praise was that the Beacon “does significant reporting of its own.” But if “significant” means “cogent,” that quality isn’t much in evidence in the article about UCLA.
So let’s pick up our endoscopes and take a look inside.
The main target of the article is Jennifer Lucero, who became associate dean for admissions in June 2020. The article posits that her arrival in that post, and her focus on diversity, led to a precipitous drop in the quality of incoming students. More on that in a moment.
The article’s empirical assertions, such as they are, start with the annual medical school rankings of U.S. News and World Report. These have been controversial for years, in part because their methodology is suspect. As a result, many of the top-ranked schools have stopped cooperating with them, though the University of California still participates.
The article’s author, Aaron Sibarium, wrings his hands over the fact that UCLA’s ranking in “research” has fallen to 18th from sixth place in just the first three years after Lucero’s arrival.
Couple of problems there. One is that research ranking tracks the activities of faculty members, not students. It has nothing to do with the record of the incoming class. Dubinett says that one reason UCLA may have fallen in the rankings is that it has assigned more faculty to clinical education rather than research, so the grant level per faculty has naturally declined.
But that’s not the only measure of research quality. Consider the grant approvals by the National Institutes of Health, the nation’s leading source of public grants in medicine. UC as a whole has consistently been a top recipient of NIH grants — ranking first in the nation since at least 2000 and probably for much longer than that. For most of that period, UCLA has been the second-largest recipient among UC campuses behind the research powerhouse of UC San Francisco.
From 2010 through 2019 and again in 2022 UCLA fell to third behind UCSF and narrowly behind UC San Diego, but for three of the four years of Lucero’s tenure it’s been second. There’s no sign there of a decline in research stature.
Sibarium, who did not respond to a request for comment, deserves an F in that category but an A for cherry-picking. On the other metric that U.S. News uses consistently, primary care, UCLA has risen in rank since 2020, to 10th in the nation from 11th. And in other categories, the school’s ranking has risen since 2020 — for example to seventh from 10th in internal medicine and sixth from 12th in pediatrics.
Sibarium’s other “gotcha” concerns the UCLA students’ records on shelf exams, which are given after each clinical rotation. He asserts that their failure rates have risen precipitously during the Lucero era: “As the demographics of UCLA have changed,” he writes, “the number of students failing their shelf exams has soared.” He quotes a professor, anonymously, saying, “Faculty are seeing a shocking decline in knowledge of medical students.”
But as he acknowledges, UCLA dramatically changed its academic schedule in 2020. Along with many other top schools, it moved students out of the classroom in the second of their four years of education, instead of waiting for the third. That deprived students of a full year of clinical training before they took the shelf, so of course they did worse. But the official chart illustrating Sibarium’s article shows that the failure rate on most clinical specialties has fallen as the students progressed from Year 2 to Year 3.
“The challenge of moving the exams earlier has been written about,” Dubinett says. But the trend lines show that by the end of their third year, well more than 90% of UCLA’s students are passing the shelf exams in almost every clinical discipline.
The Beacon’s brief against Lucero is tied to its evident resentment of diversity programs. Sibarium points to a required first-year course titled “Structural Racism and Health Equity,” which comprises “three to four hours every other week,” as though a twice-monthly course is supposed to be an unsupportable burden to medical students.
Is there a point to that sort of training? Of course there is: “We’re cognizant that more than 80% of health is based on social determinants,” Dubinett says, pointing out that the phenomenon was very much on display in racial and ethnic disparities in treatment and outcomes during the pandemic.
“These inequities result, in large part, from racial and ethnic minority populations’ inequitable access to health care, which persists because of structural racism in health care policy,” according to a 2022 paper in Health Affairs.
“We’re not backing off from diversity, equity and inclusion in our medical school curricula,” Dubinett says. “It’s really intended to train the next generation of physicians to respond appropriately to a rapid growth in diversity.” In few other places are the impacts of inattention to social conditions more evident than in Los Angeles, he says. “We can look no further than what’s outside our front door — if I drive 15 minutes to the south from my office, life expectancy falls by 15 years.”
The Beacon even states that diversity efforts at UCLA may be illegal or unconstitutional, since the state’s voters outlawed racial preferences at public institutions in 1996 and the U.S. Supreme Court overturned them nationwide last year.
To support this absurd claim, Sibarium turns to Adam Mortara, the lawyer who represented the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case. Asking for information about an applicant’s race when “no lawful use can be made of it” is “presumptively illegal,” Mortara said. He added, “You can’t have evidence of overt discrimination like this and not have someone come forward” as a plaintiff.
The problem here is that there’s no evidence that the medical school has applied racial or ethnic standards to its applicants. Sibarium admits as much: The application committee “for students does not see the race or ethnicity of applicants,” he writes. So where’s the beef?
Sibarium insinuates that Lucero has exercised undue influence over residency acceptances. But he finds that she’s a member of the hiring committee only for anesthesia residents (anesthesia is Lucero’s medical specialty). Couple of issues here. One is that almost no one gets hired for a medical residency anywhere without an interview, either in person or by zoom, which is designed to give the committee a holistic sense of the applicants’ character and personality, not just their test scores.
Another is that by the author’s own admission, Lucero hasn’t been especially effective in instituting diversity tests for anesthesia residents. He cites one case in which she advocated that a white candidate be ranked downward and another in which she “insisted that a Hispanic applicant who had performed poorly on her anesthesiology rotation in medical school should be bumped up.” As it happened, he reports, “neither candidate was ultimately moved.”
(As for a case Sibarium mentions in which Lucero supposedly pushed to admit a Black student whose grades and test scores were below the UCLA average, he doesn’t say whether the student was admitted.)
It’s true that the UCLA entering medical school class has become more diverse over time. Figures issued by UCLA and published by the Beacon show that from 2019 through 2022, the number of whites in the 173-member class declined to 46 from 49, the number of Black students rose to 25 from 22, Hispanic students rose from 25 to 37, a catchall “other” category grew to 20 from eight, and American Indians, Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders went from zero to three. The number of Asian students declined to 55 from 84.
Does this validate the article’s claim, voiced by an anonymous source, that “a third to a half of the medical school is incredibly unqualified”?
The math doesn’t pencil out. As blogger and statistics maven Kevin Drum notes, given that the number of nonwhite and non-Asian students increased by only 30 ion three years, even if “every single one of these students was woefully unqualified, that’s about 17% of the class. How do you get from there to ‘a third to a half’?”
By the way, the median grade point averages and scores on the Medical College Admission Test of accepted applicants haven’t declined at all since 2020 — the MCAT average in 2023 was the same as in 2020, and the GPA rose by a hair.
In emails to the medical school class, Dubinett and his fellow deans have reinforced their commitment to merit-based admissions and diversity training. “Students and faculty members are held to the highest standards of academic excellence,” they wrote. “Highly qualified medical students and trainees are admitted ... based on merit in a process consistent with state and federal law.” That said, “we are enriched by the diverse experiences each of you brings to our community.”
UCLA, then, is standing firm against the right wing’s drive to pretend that racial and ethnic discrimination doesn’t exist in our society and to undermine efforts to wipe it out. Would that more institutions took that stand, instead of capitulating to a dishonest, braying mob.

I was diagnosed with Hashi and hypo a few years ago and have been on 100 mcg of Levo* since that time. Since January I’ve definitely noticed I’ve felt worse and my feet hurt before even getting up in the morning, losing lots of hair and other things just feel off. The biggest concern though is I’ve gained 10 lbs in a few months and I’m weight training several days a week as well as walking every day so I just know something is off with my 💊. I also eat pretty healthy (am very low carb). I have recently read about AIP and will be trying that as well soon. I went for fasting 🩸💉 (I did take my levo* a few hours prior to appt because my dr told me to, which I’m now reading wasn’t a good idea ugh) a couple days ago and just got my results. I’ll post the photos of them and if anyone has any suggestions of what I may talk to my doctor about I’d appreciate it. Wasn’t sure if maybe I’m not converting and need to add a T3? I also wonder if I’m insulin resistant as I was pre diabetic and my number is now just under that to be considered normal. Honestly I’m clueless and I’m supposed to go in and see the doctor in a couple days so wanted to get ideas on what I may talk to her about. I appreciate the feedback! If any other info is needed for a better picture of what might be going on and give me ideas to discuss with the Dr please let me know! I do not take biotin. I had a bunch of tests done but not really sure which numbers to share below to get ideas. I can share other numbers of bloodwork if needed.
THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES 2 H THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES 476 H TSH. 1.54 T4, FREE 1.2 GLUCOSE 82 HEMOGLOBIN A1C 5.5 Vitamin D 67 IRON 89 IRON BINDING CAPACITY 294 % SATURATION 30 FERRITIN 69 WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT 5.6 RED BLOOD CELL COUNT 4.65 HEMOGLOBIN 13.9 HEMATOCRIT 41.7 MCV 89.7 MCH 29.9 МСНС 33.3 VITAMIN B12 >2000

Wednesday, May 29 Good morning! The Nasdaq finished at a new high of 17,020, the first time it breached 17,000, as the S&P 500 finished flat.
Wall Street is getting more bullish: UBS lifted its year-end S&P 500 forecast from 5,400 to 5,600 on Tuesday, joining BMO at the top of the leaderboard. In the past few weeks, a handful of other strategists we track have also updated their year-end figures for similar reasons: notably, a healthy economy and strong foundation of corporate earnings on which stocks can build future gains. ‌
Nvidia surges again: A week after its quarterly results boosted its stock over $1,000, Nvidia crossed another numerical milestone, closing Tuesday at $1,141, comfortably above the $1,100 mark. The surge came after Elon Musk announced that his AI startup xAI would use Nvidia chips for a new "supercomputer" to power its AI chatbot, Grok. Nvidia has seven trading days to enjoy the big numbers until its 10-for-1 split on June 7. ‌
Consumer confidence is "up": The Conference Board's latest reading showed consumer confidence increased unexpectedly in May, buoyed by the strong labor market. The reading clashes with Friday's consumer sentiment survey from the University of Michigan, which showed sentiment falling sharply after three steady months. And as Myles Udland writes in today's Takeaway below, some of these differences in survey responses are explained by exactly who's confident and who's not. ‌
Beige Book insights: The Fed will release its latest "Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions" on Wednesday. The report, otherwise known as the Beige Book, will provide a deeper, qualitative view into the economy's performance and trajectory by geographic region, setting the table for the economic discussion at the Fed’s meeting in two weeks. ‌
Musk's pay package is 'excessive': Ahead of Tesla's upcoming shareholder vote on June 13, Glass Lewis, a prominent proxy advisory firm, judged the Tesla CEO's pay package as excessive, noting that Musk's ownership would nearly double from 12.9% to 22.4% if shareholders approved the proposal. Shareholders had approved a similar package previously, but a judge rescinded it, noting “barely any evidence of negotiations at all.” Still, shareholders are once again expected to approve Musk's pay. ‌
Salesforce reports: Salesforce headlines Wednesday's crop of companies reporting quarterly results, which also includes C3.ai (which, congratulations, claimed the AI ticker), Chewy, Dick's Sporting Goods, HP, Okta, Advance Auto Parts, and '90s icons Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle. What we're watching Morning Brief is written and edited by Ethan Wolff-Mann. For the web version, click here. Follow all the action throughout the day on Yahoo Finance and on the Yahoo Finance app.
Fed’s Kashkari 'not ruling out' a hike but expects rates to hold steady for 'extended' period. ‌ ️ Hess shareholders approve merger with Chevron. ‌ Silicon Valley luxury home market heats up amid AI boom. ‌ 'Stick to the plan': Readers weigh in on early retirement. ‌ Washington pushes for new AI rules protecting artists as Hollywood backlash mounts. ‌ GameStop stock soars as meme icon raises almost $1 billion in stock sale. What we're reading
Today's Takeaway is by Myles Udland, Head of News. ‌ US consumers felt more confident in May, data from the Conference Board showed on Tuesday. ‌ The main driver of this reading helps explain why other surveys show Americans feel dour about their economic prospects. And it reveals the backward problem facing the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy. ‌ Which is that high rates are helping the wealthiest Americans who are powering the economy's surprising growth and making it hard for the Fed to enact the rate cuts it wants. ‌ The simplified theory behind raising and lowering interest rates is straightforward — lower rates help the economy grow faster, and higher rates slow the economy down. The last 18 months of US economic experience, however, make the second premise harder to accept right now. ‌ "In terms of income, those making over $100K expressed the largest rise in confidence," Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, said in a release. "On a six-month moving average basis, confidence continued to be highest among the youngest (under 35) and wealthiest (making over $100K) consumers." ‌ Financial commentator Josh Brown has suggested that high rates could prolong the current bout of inflation, given the benefits that higher rates confer on the wealthiest Americans. ‌ Wealthy households right now can earn upwards of 4.5% in a high-yield savings account, see their equity portfolios go up 20% in a year, and are watching the value of their real estate holdings rip higher. ‌ These folks want nothing more than for rates to stay high. US consumers show the Fed its backward problem with high rates
Robust spending from wealthy consumers has also kept services inflation elevated, which is keeping overall inflation above the Fed's 2% target. ‌ All of which tracks with the idea JPMorgan's Jack Manley set forward last month that high rates may be the source of persistent inflation and that the Fed might have a better shot at squashing price pressures by cutting rates rather than keeping them high. ‌ Given the amount of wealth concentrated among a handful of US households and the skew on the income distribution in the US, just about any change in monetary policy will be regressive, advantaging those with more at the expense of those with less. ‌ But after pushing back against the view that low rates were "hurting savers," the Fed is now faced with a predicament in which high rates offer outsized advantages to savers at the expense of those without. ‌ And the fact that Fed policy may be accomplishing the exact opposite of what it intends explains why a recent Guardian-Harris poll covered by Yahoo Finance's Rick Newman showed 56% of respondents said the US economy is currently in recession, even as economic data clearly show the opposite. ‌
That poll also showed nearly half of respondents (49%) think the S&P 500 is down this year. The index is actually up over 11% this year and rose 23% last year. ‌ Moreover, Tuesday's consumer confidence reading — while registering a three-month high — was far from a clear-cut judgment from Americans that things are looking up, economically speaking. ‌ "The rise in confidence was likely fueled by easing gas prices and rising equity prices last month, but the underlying details of the survey reveal that consumer confidence may be easily [shaken] moving forward," wrote Grace Zwemmer, associate US economist at Oxford Economics, in a note on Tuesday. ‌ "The perceived likelihood of a recession rose in May, worry over current and future financial situations worsened, and purchasing plans for homes remained at their lowest level since August 2012, reflecting the impact of higher interest rates." ‌
As Rick noted, one of Biden's biggest problems in seeking reelection is "convincing Americans that the economy is working for them without talking down or sounding dismissive." ‌ Pulling this off under normal circumstances is a tall order for any politician. But when the expected outcome of a foundational part of the nation's economic policy has been turned on its head, the task may be out of reach.
Wall Street strategists' S&P 500 targets keep going up. And a quick look at the fundamental story for stocks explains why. The outlook for earnings growth, the stock market's most important driver, keeps getting better. ‌ S&P 500 earnings grew 6% in the first quarter, according to data from FactSet, and earnings for future quarters are on the rise too. ‌ Earnings growth for both full-year 2024 and 2025 have moved higher since April 5, with consensus estimates now seeing earnings growing 11.4% in 2024, up from 10.9% in April. For 2025, earnings growth estimates have moved up to 14.2% from the 11.6% growth projected on April 5. Chart of the day For more graphics like this, follow Yahoo Finance on Instagram.
"While subsequent quarter earnings estimates typically decline during earnings season, [second quarter] estimates have also been quite robust," UBS's Jonathan Golub wrote as the bank revised its year-end estimate up to a Street-high 5,600. "A similar pattern is also evident in full-year 2024 estimates. These trends all support further market upside." ‌ Our chart of the day from Bank of America exemplifies Golub's point. Earnings revisions for the rest of the year have moved higher since the start of April, and perhaps most notably, it's not only Big Tech seeing those revisions. ‌ "We don't think it's just about Nvidia anymore," Bank of America US and Canada equity strategist Ohsung Kwon told Yahoo Finance. "Things are broadening out. ... To power, commodities, utilities, things like that." ‌ — Josh Schafer, Markets Reporter

DAY: MAY 29 2024
5-29-2024

NOT A GYM RAT? HERE’S HOW TO GET STARTED ON AN OUTDOOR EXERCISE ROUTINE

Between the sweat smell, fluorescent lights and omnipresent television screens, April Herring has never connected with going to the gym. Instead, she runs, bikes, hikes, plays tennis, pickleball and football—anything to get her exercise outside as often as possible. “Fresh air, sunshine, the variety of the trees as the seasons change,” said Herring, an administrator at Carroll Community College in North Maryland. “There’s something about the energetic healing
5-29-2024

TOO MUCH EXERCISE COULD ACTUALLY TRIGGER A HOT FLASH

Hot flashes affect roughly 80% of women during the years around menopause. Despite how common they are and how much research has been conducted relative to what causes them, much remains unknown. A new study suggests that acute changes in physical activity, temperature, and humidity may play a role in the hot flash experience. Results of the survey are published online today in the journal Menopause. As one of the most frequently experienced menopause symptoms, hot flashes are sudden heat dissipation events that often involve an increase in heat transfer
5-29-2024

ADEQUATE SLEEP IMPORTANT FOR YOUR HEART HEALTH, SAYS PHYSICIAN

Does how much you sleep affect your heart? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults who sleep fewer than seven hours each night are more likely to experience health problems. Dr. Juan Cardenas Rosales, an internal medicine physician at Mayo Clinic, stresses that adequate sleep is crucial for your overall well-being, including your heart health. Getting a good night’s sleep can give you the energy to jump-start your day and your health. “Sleeping is very important to try to prevent other chronic
5-29-2024

STUDY SHOWS DISRUPTED SLEEP INCREASES RISK FOR SUICIDE AND HOMICIDE

An analysis by researchers in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine—Tucson showed that risks for death by suicide and homicide peak at night, with nocturnal wakefulness, age, alcohol use and relationship conflicts being especially prevalent as contributing factors. Nearly 19% of suicides and 36% of homicides occur at night. Suicide and homicide share little in common, but their highly concordant overnight risk patterns suggest a common feature: nocturnal wakefulness. “Disrupted sleep may acutely impair rational thought, which can drive impulsive behaviors in vulnerable individuals,”
5-29-2024

RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY THE INITIAL STEPS IN COLORECTAL CANCER FORMATION

Research provides new evidence that most colorectal cancers begin with the loss of intestinal stem cells, even before cancer-causing genetic alterations appear. The results, published on May 29 in Developmental Cell, overturn the prevailing theory for colorectal
5-29-2024

CAN PSYCHEDELICS HELP STUTTERERS?

Synesthesia, hallucinations, euphoria. The documented effects of classic psychedelic substances such as psilocybin (magic mushrooms) or lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) are vast. With their usage common and their effects profound, a team of speech and psychology researchers explored the impact of psychedelics on people who stutter, finding evidence that users see some benefits. “Given the positive effects of psychedelics on conditions like anxiety and PTSD, which share symptoms with stuttering, we think that investigating the potential impact of psychedelics on stuttering can be a fruitful area of research,” says lead
5-29-2024

SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND DOOMSCROLLING? THE PROBLEM MIGHT BE FOMO

For as long as we have used the internet to communicate and connect with each other, it has influenced how we think, feel and behave. During the COVID pandemic, many of us were “cut off” from our social worlds through restrictions, lockdowns and mandates. Understandably, many of us tried to find ways to connect online. Now, as pandemic restrictions have lifted, some of the ways we use the internet have become concerning. Part of what drives problematic internet use may be something most of us
5-29-2024

TIPS FOR PROTECTING BABIES FROM HARMFUL UV RAYS

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., and it only takes one blistering sunburn during childhood or adolescence to nearly double a person’s chance of developing melanoma later in life, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association. Since babies are much more prone to sunburn than older kids, it’s especially important to protect them from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month.
5-29-2024

AUTHORITIES URGE PROPER COOKING OF WILD GAME AFTER 6 RELATIVES FALL ILL FROM PARASITE IN BEAR MEAT

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reaffirmed the importance of properly cooking wild game after six people became sick from a parasite traced to undercooked bear meat that was served at a family reunion in South Dakota. The six—one in South Dakota, four in Minnesota and one in Arizona—became infected when bear meat that was served rare turned out to be contaminated with roundworms that cause trichinellosis, also known as trichinosis. Two of the people ate only the vegetables that were grilled with
5-29-2024

FIGHT AGAINST OBESITY GOES FAR BEYOND INDIVIDUAL STRUGGLE TO CHANGE LIFESTYLE, SCIENTISTS SAY

Overweight and obesity rates are rising worldwide, with several Latin American countries in the forefront. Estimates for 2020 pointed to a global obesity rate of 14%, and experts predicted 24% by 2035, including both adults and children. “Nutritional and pharmacological strategies are important to mitigate the problem, but is this enough? We know socioeconomic and environmental factors influence the occurrence
5-29-2024

POTENTIAL THERAPY FOR ADDICTION, DEPRESSION AND OCD

A model image of the targeted deep brain zone, the striatum, a key player in reward and reinforcement mechanisms. Neurological disorders, such as addiction, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), affect millions of people worldwide and are often characterized by complex pathologies involving multiple brain regions and circuits. These conditions are notoriously difficult to treat due to the intricate and poorly understood nature of brain functions and the challenge of delivering therapies to deep brain structures without invasive procedures. In the rapidly evolving field of neuroscience, non-invasive brain stimulation
5-29-2024

STUDY FINDS HEART HEALTHY BEHAVIORS MAY HELP REVERSE RAPID CELL AGING

The benefit of better heart health may be associated with the positive impact of heart healthy lifestyle factors on biological aging (the age of the body and its cells), according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. “Our study findings tell us that no matter what your actual age is, better heart-healthy behaviors and managing heart disease risk factors were associated with a younger biological age and a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, death from heart disease and stroke and death from any cause,”
5-29-2024

COMBO THERAPY BOOSTS SURVIVAL FOR ADVANCED COLON CANCER

People battling advanced colon cancers might have a new treatment option that could extend their survival, a new trial finds. The findings were present the at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, and should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. A combination of two experimental immunotherapy drugs plus standard chemotherapy led to a median 19.7 month survival for patients, compared to the median 9.5 months observed among folks who only got a targeted therapy called regorafenib. “These results pave the way
5-29-2024

TICKS AND THE DISEASES THEY CARRY

In many regions of the U.S. and the world, enjoying the great outdoors comes with a hidden risk: ticks and the diseases they carry. Ticks can carry pathogens like Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii, which can cause Lyme disease in humans. Lyme disease is the most common tickborne illness, but there are also dozens of other diseases that ticks can transmit to humans. Dr. Bobbi Pritt, director of the Clinical Parasitology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, says reported cases of tickborne infections are on the rise, and she offers practical tips
5-29-2024

HIGH PRICE OF POPULAR DIABETES DRUGS DEPRIVES LOW-INCOME PEOPLE OF EFFECTIVE TREATMENT

For the past year and a half, Tandra Cooper Harris and her husband, Marcus, who both have diabetes, have struggled to fill their prescriptions for the medications they need to control their blood sugar. Without Ozempic or a similar drug, Cooper Harris suffers blackouts, becomes too tired to watch her grandchildren, and struggles to earn extra money braiding hair. Marcus Harris, who works as a Waffle House cook, needs Trulicity to keep his legs and feet from swelling and bruising. The couple’s doctor has tried prescribing similar drugs, which mimic
5-29-2024

BREAST CANCER SURGEON RUNS A FARM WHERE THE ONLY CROP IS WELLNESS

Monique Gary, a breast cancer surgeon, is a self-described “Philly girl” who was born in Jefferson Einstein hospital and graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls. Four years ago, she left city life and bought a 40-acre farm in Upper Bucks County, where she runs free, daylong retreats for cancer patients and offers nature walks, aromatherapy, juicing and cooking demonstrations, gardening, and yoga by her fish pond. The farm’s only crop is wellness. “I’m a busy surgeon and when I moved here, I didn’t have any crops, but I knew
5-29-2024

SCIENTISTS IDENTIFY KEY PROTEIN THAT PRESERVES MOTOR ABILITY DURING AGING

scientists show that age-related decline in motor ability can be countered in fruit flies by enhancing the expression of the protein Trio, suggesting potential treatments for age-related movement decline. As we age, we suffer a noticeable decline in motor ability, which affects our quality of life and independence. This can be traced to changes occurring at neuromuscular junctions, the critical points where nerve cells communicate with muscles. The deterioration of motor ability is closely linked to the degeneration of
5-29-2024

LOCAL DISPARITIES MAY PREVENT NATIONAL VACCINATION EFFORTS FOR RUBELLA

When public health officials make policies about when and how vaccination programs are implemented, they must weigh the benefits and risks of how infectious diseases spread throughout the country. However, these analyses are often based on national-level data and, in some countries, may overlook nuances at the local level. A new analysis by an international team, including Penn State researchers, revealed that the resulting recommendations may keep some countries from realizing the benefits of vaccination and globally eradicating diseases, such as rubella—a contagious viral infection that causes mild symptoms in
5-29-2024

INTERMITTENT FASTING SHOWS PROMISE IN IMPROVING GUT HEALTH, WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

The human gut contains trillions of bacterial and other microbes collectively known as the gut microbiome. New research explores how these diverse microorganisms help manage weight. ASU researchers explore the effects of an intermittent fasting diet combined with protein pacing on body weight and overall health. Credit: The Biodesign institute at Arizona State University A new study by researchers from Arizona State University and their colleagues highlights a dietary strategy for significant health improvement and weight management. Participants following an intermittent fasting and protein-pacing regimen, which involves evenly spaced protein
5-29-2024

A NEW PATH FOR CANCER THERAPY

Tumor cells often hijack normal physiological processes to support their growth, exploiting proteins that are in charge of essential cell functions. It is therefore important to block the activity of these proteins only in cancer cells without affecting their crucial roles in healthy tissues. For this reason, classical approaches using small molecules that induce systemic inhibition across all cells in the body can lead to severe side effects. An example of essential proteins hijacked by cancer cells are the cathepsins, a family of
5-29-2024

DO EPILEPSY MEDICATIONS TAKEN DURING PREGNANCY AFFECT A CHILD’S CREATIVITY?

While older drugs for epilepsy, taken while pregnant, have been shown in previous research to affect the creative thinking of children, a new study finds no effects on creativity for children born to those taking newer epilepsy drugs. This study is published in Neurology. Overall, the study found no effects on the children’s creative abilities or their executive function, which is a person’s ability to plan, focus, and manage multiple tasks. However, when researchers looked only at children with higher concentrations of these medications in the mother’s blood during the
5-29-2024

WHY USING DATING APPS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH MESSAGING IS AN ETHICAL DILEMMA

Dating apps are not just about finding love or hooking up. They’re becoming increasingly important in the communication of public health messaging, particularly sexual health. In 2023, Harvard Public Health magazine suggested that dating apps could “become a key component in [sexually infectious diseases] prevention.” And their prediction seems to be spot on. Grindr, a dating app popular among men who have sex with men, for example, has recently partnered with MPOWER in Ireland and The Love Tank in London to allow users to order HIV test kits through the
5-29-2024

HOW EXTREME HEAT CAN AFFECT MENTAL ILLNESSES

During heat waves, hospital admissions for mental health spike. The past 10 years were the hottest on record, and as we prepare for another scorcher of a summer, it’s time to take steps to increase our preparedness for extreme heat. The potential for heat stress, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are well known hazards of extreme heat. Yet, physical health is not the only factor to consider under extreme heat; mental health can also suffer. Many people can relate to the sleepless nights during hot summer months, as well as
5-29-2024

FROM HEALTH TO SPORTS—EARS CAN SAY A LOT ABOUT YOU

An ear is like an iceberg—much of it is out of sight. The only visible part is the auricle—the seashell shaped structure made of bendy cartilage, covered in skin. Its main role is to act as a trumpet, filtering and funneling sound waves down into the middle, then the inner ear, where they are converted into our sense of hearing. A medical ear examination usually involves an inspection of the canal, using an instrument called an otoscope. This is usually to investigate more common ear conditions—an infection, or a clog
5-29-2024

HOW TO KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO QUIT THERAPY

Therapy is great. It gives you the space, time and resources to handle the most difficult challenges of life. Therapy can be especially helpful in the often-confusing life period of your 20s and 30s, when so much is changing and many of your peers have wildly different lifestyles. The aim is to help you discover the thoughts, emotions and behavior that are negatively affecting you, determine where these come from, and develop strategies to change them. But then, how do you know when it is the right time to quit
5-29-2024

STUDY FINDS THAT MEMORY COMPLAINTS CAN PREDICT BIOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE BRAIN

A new study adds further evidence that when a patient or family member notices signs of persistent memory loss, it’s important to speak with a doctor. While there are many reasons why someone’s memory may change, researchers from Mass General Brigham who are studying patients prior to diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease found changes in the brain when patients and their study partners—those who could answer questions about their daily cognitive function—reported a decline in cognition. Using imaging, the researchers found reports of cognitive decline were associated with accumulation of tau
5-29-2024

BLOOD FLOW MAKES WAVES ACROSS THE SURFACE OF THE MOUSE BRAIN

Researchers have, for the first time, visualized the full network of blood vessels across the cortex of awake mice, finding that blood vessels rhythmically expand and contract, leading to “waves” washing across the surface of the brain. These findings improve the understanding of how the brain receives blood, though the function of the waves remains a mystery. The work is published in the journal Neuron. A network of elastic and actively pumping vessels carrying oxygenated blood span the surface of the brain before entering the
5-29-2024

RESEARCH REVEALS WHAT WE SEE ONLINE AFFECTS US MORE THAN LENGTH OF EXPOSURE

It is what we are looking at, rather than how much time we are spending our time online that influences our health and well-being, according to a major new report. The study, published in the journal World Psychiatry, is a comprehensive examination of the latest scientific evidence on screen time and mental health, carried out by an international research team. The authors emphasize the importance of taking an individualized and multi-dimensional approach to how the Internet affects mental health, cognition and social functioning. Content that may be relatively harmless to
5-29-2024

LIFELONG COGNITIVE RESERVE HELPS MAINTAIN LATE-LIFE COGNITIVE HEALTH, 15-YEAR FOLLOW-UP STUDY SUGGESTS

The brain’s flexibility and ability to cope with loss of neurons or other lesions in the brain is called cognitive reserve. In a 15-year follow-up study, researchers at the division of Aging Research Center (ARC), Karolinska Institutet, suggest that lifelong cognitive reserve helps maintain late-life cognitive health by delaying cognitive transition in the preclinical stages of dementia. The results of their findings were recently published in Alzheimers & Dementia. “We found evidence that lifelong greater cognitive reserve was linked with reduced risks of late-life transitions from normal cognition to mild
5-29-2024

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE WITH PELVIC PAIN

Pelvic health is crucial to a woman’s overall well-being but is often misunderstood or overlooked. When symptoms such as urinary incontinence, pain or discomfort, or pain during intercourse occur, they are dismissed as a byproduct of pregnancy and childbirth or just something that comes with age like arthritis. But those symptoms can have a profound effect on a woman’s physical, emotional and social well-being and can lead to more serious complications if untreated. One of the most common conditions is pelvic organ prolapse. This condition occurs when the muscles, ligaments
5-29-2024

RESEARCHERS DEVELOP MICRONEEDLE PATCH THAT CAN DETECT SKIN CANCER EARLY

Researchers have developed a new method for detecting malignant melanoma. A new type of patch equipped with microneedles can identify the biomarker tyrosinase directly in the skin, according to a study published in Advanced Materials. The patch is equipped with microneedles that can detect tyrosinase, an enzyme that is an important biomarker for malignant melanoma. By measuring the enzyme’s
5-29-2024

MORE OUT-OF-STATE PATIENTS SEEK ABORTIONS IN WASHINGTON STATE

Changes in Weekly Number of Abortions and Out-of-State Patients Before and After the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization Decision, January 1, 2017, to July 31, 2023. Vertical orange line indicates the Supreme Court Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision (June 24, 2022). The blue line indicates deseasonalized trends, the black line indicates estimated seasonality, the dotted line indicates the counterfactual, and the dots indicate the outcome (eg, weekly number of abortions).
5-29-2024

GAPS BY RACE, ETHNICITY EXIST IN HEALTH CARE QUALITY UNDER TRADITIONAL MEDICARE, MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS

Medicare Advantage (MA) is an increasingly popular source of Medicare coverage for all recipients, including individuals from racial and ethnic minority groups. Certain managed care strategies used in MA—such as prior authorization, gatekeeping for access to certain services or specialists, and narrow provider networks—may pose challenges in accessing care. This means the quality of MA-funded care for minority groups has critical health equity implications. A new study published in Health Affairs and led by Professor Jeah Jung found that MA plans do not equally improve the quality of care across
5-29-2024

STUDY SHOWS MORE THAN JUST SOCIAL MEDIA USE MAY BE CAUSING DEPRESSION IN YOUNG ADULTS

Over the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of depression in adolescents and young adults—and a simultaneous uptick in the inclusion of technology and social media in everyday life. However, it is unclear how exactly social media use and depression are associated and relate to other behaviors, such as physical activity, green space exposure, cannabis use and eveningness (the tendency to stay up late). In a study published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, a team of researchers, led by experts
5-29-2024

MATTERING MUST BE CENTRAL IN YOUTH SUICIDE PREVENTION, SAYS STUDY

Youth suicide is a growing concern in Canada, the U.S., and around the world, with some research suggesting this might be linked with excessive social media use in vulnerable teens. With Mental Health Awareness Month closing out this week, York University Psychology Professor Gordon Flett says he was motivated by a growing sense of alarm and frustration when undertaking a review of studies on mattering and youth suicide for his latest research, which appears in Child Protection and Practice. Mattering is feeling significant in the eyes of other people, which
5-29-2024

HEARING STUDY REVEALS PREVALENCE OF TINNITUS

About 78% of participants in the Apple Hearing Study, conducted by the University of Michigan, have experienced tinnitus—the perception of sound that others do not hear. That is just one of the findings that U-M researchers and Apple shared today from the Apple Hearing Study, one of the largest surveys on tinnitus to understand the effects of
5-29-2024

RESEARCHER CALLS FOR MORE RESOURCES TO BRING REGULAR MAMMOGRAMS TO RURAL TEXANS

women who live in rural Texas, particularly those of a minority background, were less likely to get routine mammograms when compared to their urban counter parts. The findings are published in the journal Geriatric Nursing. Using Texas Medicare data, the
5-29-2024

TO SOLVE THE NURSING SHORTAGE, RESEARCHER PROPOSES GOVERNMENT FUNDING FIX

Health economist Olga Yakusheva, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, believes that current government reimbursement models incentivize hospitals to cut nursing jobs to save money. Yakusheva, an expert on the economic value of nursing, and Robert Longyear, co-founder and CEO of Avenue Health, present a new hospital funding model they believe could help solve the nurse staffing problem and improve patient care. Yakusheva discusses their research, which appears in an article in the journal Health Affairs. Since COVID, we’ve seen a lot of media coverage about
5-29-2024

IMPROVING CELL THERAPY BY CREATING T-CELL ‘SUPER SOLDIERS’

A new proof-of-concept study by researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) shows that changing only a single letter in the DNA code of selected genes in T cells may lead to improved cell therapy. The researchers, led by Benjamin Izar, a member of the HICCC, used novel CRISPR-dependent base editing to “supercharge” cell therapies, making them potentially more effective for more patients. Cell therapies work by re-engineering a
5-29-2024

ULTRASOUND LOCALIZATION MICROSCOPY: BUBBLES REVEAL TINY VESSELS

To the trained eyes of a doctor, the gray-white shapes and textures of an ultrasound image reveal more than to the layperson. But the tiniest vascular structures have remained elusive—until now. The team from the Department of Medical Engineering at Ruhr University Bochum headed by Professor Georg Schmitz is perfecting ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM). By deploying a commercially available contrast agent with microbubbles and performing a number of calculation steps, it’s now possible, for example, to image the vascular structure of a mouse kidney in minute detail, as well as
5-29-2024

NOVEL DEVICE COULD ALLOW EARLY DETECTION OF DEADLY CONDITION

Each year, at least 1.7 million adults in the United States and millions more worldwide develop sepsis, a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body’s immune system has an extreme response to an infection. The condition, which can be difficult to detect and treat, rapidly damages tissues and vital organs and is one of the leading causes of death in hospitals. To help doctors spot when the condition may be developing, one medical technology company, Opticyte, has developed a novel, noninvasive device that can send out alerts when
5-29-2024

INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS REACH CONSENSUS ON THE LABELING OF SPATIAL NEGLECT

A consensus has been achieved by an international team of rehabilitation researchers and clinicians on the standardized labeling of spatial neglect, a common disorder following neurological injury, which is characterized by a lack of awareness or response to objects or stimuli on the side opposite a brain lesion. The panel reached a 75% consensus to adopt “spatial neglect” as the standard term for the disorder. The consensus paper, titled “An International and Multidisciplinary Consensus on the Labeling of Spatial Neglect Using a Modified Delphi Method,” was published open access on
5-29-2024

RESEARCHERS USE AI, SOCIAL MEDIA TO IDENTIFY HEALTH CONCERNS OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV AND AIDS

Machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and social media are providing researchers with the opportunity to analyze valuable information about social issues in relation to health and mental health, particularly in relation to topics people may be reluctant to discuss in other settings, according to Richard Lomotey, associate professor of information technology at Penn State Beaver. Lomotey, along with researchers from Penn State, the University of Saskatchewan

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