Source: http://gluten-free-blog.blogspot.com/2011/10/gluten-free-product-review-not-nuts.html
Monday 31 October 2011
Food Reward: a Dominant Factor in Obesity, Part VIII
Further reading
I didn't come up with the idea that excessive food reward increases calorie intake and can lead to obesity, far from it. The idea has been floating around the scientific literature for decades. In 1976, after conducting an interesting diet study in humans, Dr. Michel Cabanac stated that the "palatability of the diet influences the set point of the ponderostat [system that regulates body fatness]" (1).
Currently there is a growing consensus that food reward/palatability is a major contributor to obesity. This is reflected by the proliferation of review articles appearing in high-profile journals. For the scientists in the audience who want more detail than I provide on my blog, here are some of the reviews I've read and enjoyed. These were written by some of the leading scientists in the study of food reward and hedonics:
Palatability of food and the ponderostat. Michel Cabanac, 1989.
Food reward, hyperphagia and obesity. Hans-Rudolf Berthoud et al., 2011.
Reward mechanisms in obesity: new insights and future directions. Paul J. Kenny, 2011.
Relation of obesity to consummatory and anticipatory food reward. Eric Stice, 2009.
Hedonic and incentive signals for body weight control. Emil Egecioglu et al., 2011.
Homeostatic and hedonic signals interact in the control of food intake. Michael Lutter and Eric J. Nestler, 2009.
Opioids as agents of reward-related feeding: a consideration of the evidence. Allen S. Levine and Charles J. Billington, 2004.
Central opioids and consumption of sweet tastants: when reward outweighs homeostasis. Pawel K. Olszewski and Allen S. Levine, 2007.
Oral and postoral determinants of food reward. Anthony Sclafani, 2004.
Reduced dopaminergic tone in hypothalamic neural circuits: expression of a "thrifty" genotype underlying the metabolic syndrome? Hanno Pijl, 2003.
If you can read all these papers and still not believe in the food reward hypothesis... you deserve some kind of award.
I didn't come up with the idea that excessive food reward increases calorie intake and can lead to obesity, far from it. The idea has been floating around the scientific literature for decades. In 1976, after conducting an interesting diet study in humans, Dr. Michel Cabanac stated that the "palatability of the diet influences the set point of the ponderostat [system that regulates body fatness]" (1).
Currently there is a growing consensus that food reward/palatability is a major contributor to obesity. This is reflected by the proliferation of review articles appearing in high-profile journals. For the scientists in the audience who want more detail than I provide on my blog, here are some of the reviews I've read and enjoyed. These were written by some of the leading scientists in the study of food reward and hedonics:
Palatability of food and the ponderostat. Michel Cabanac, 1989.
Food reward, hyperphagia and obesity. Hans-Rudolf Berthoud et al., 2011.
Reward mechanisms in obesity: new insights and future directions. Paul J. Kenny, 2011.
Relation of obesity to consummatory and anticipatory food reward. Eric Stice, 2009.
Hedonic and incentive signals for body weight control. Emil Egecioglu et al., 2011.
Homeostatic and hedonic signals interact in the control of food intake. Michael Lutter and Eric J. Nestler, 2009.
Opioids as agents of reward-related feeding: a consideration of the evidence. Allen S. Levine and Charles J. Billington, 2004.
Central opioids and consumption of sweet tastants: when reward outweighs homeostasis. Pawel K. Olszewski and Allen S. Levine, 2007.
Oral and postoral determinants of food reward. Anthony Sclafani, 2004.
Reduced dopaminergic tone in hypothalamic neural circuits: expression of a "thrifty" genotype underlying the metabolic syndrome? Hanno Pijl, 2003.
If you can read all these papers and still not believe in the food reward hypothesis... you deserve some kind of award.
Source: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/07/food-reward-dominant-factor-in-obesity.html
Another double digit premium increase from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Just returned from an eye exam with my pupils dilated wide enough that I can’t read. Luckily, I’m able to crank the font size way up on my computer monitor so that I can see well enough to write this. When I left the eye doctor I commented to the receptionist that my $25 co-pay [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/lQ3Ne9JFs_w/
Sunday 30 October 2011
The Carbohydrate Hypothesis of Obesity: a Critical Examination
Introduction
I'd like to begin by emphasizing that carbohydrate restriction has helped many people lose body fat and improve their metabolic health.� Although it doesn't work for everyone, there is no doubt that carbohydrate restriction causes fat loss in many, perhaps even most obese people.� For a subset of people, the results can be very impressive.� I consider that to be a fact at this point, but that's not what I'll be discussing here.�
What I want to discuss is a hypothesis.� It's the idea, championed by Gary Taubes, that carbohydrate (particularly refined carbohydrate) causes obesity by elevating insulin, thereby causing increased fat storage in fat cells.� To demonstrate that I'm representing this hypothesis accurately, here is a quote from his book Good Calories, Bad Calories:
Read more �
I'd like to begin by emphasizing that carbohydrate restriction has helped many people lose body fat and improve their metabolic health.� Although it doesn't work for everyone, there is no doubt that carbohydrate restriction causes fat loss in many, perhaps even most obese people.� For a subset of people, the results can be very impressive.� I consider that to be a fact at this point, but that's not what I'll be discussing here.�
What I want to discuss is a hypothesis.� It's the idea, championed by Gary Taubes, that carbohydrate (particularly refined carbohydrate) causes obesity by elevating insulin, thereby causing increased fat storage in fat cells.� To demonstrate that I'm representing this hypothesis accurately, here is a quote from his book Good Calories, Bad Calories:
Read more �
Source: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html
The perils of early closure in medicine and management consulting
Happiness in this World has an interesting post from last November (which I happened to see re-posted at KevinMD), which tells the story of a misdiagnosis of one physician by another. The problem: “early closure,” or jumping to conclusions. From the blog: Early closure, it turns out, is a danger that lies in wait mostly [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/k1w-41CSD_I/
Health Information Exchange edges closer to a sustainable business model (podcast)
The financial viability of Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) and their antecedents (RHIOs, CHINs, etc.) has always been shaky. Grant funding often carries these organizations through their early years and then dries up without anything robust to replace it. Attempts to demonstrate return on investment are often unpersuasive, and governance issues, rivalries among participants and perverse [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/MxL5WU8KJyE/
Health Care Reform Developments
Some quick tidbits and news items concerning health care reform you hopefully find useful ? or at least interesting: Judge Upholds PPACA: This time the plaintiffs claimed the individual mandate provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act violated their religious freedom. They also argued the financial penalties were too severe. U.S. District Judge [...]
Source: http://alankatz.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/health-care-reform-developments/
Saturday 29 October 2011
Another double digit premium increase from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Just returned from an eye exam with my pupils dilated wide enough that I can’t read. Luckily, I’m able to crank the font size way up on my computer monitor so that I can see well enough to write this. When I left the eye doctor I commented to the receptionist that my $25 co-pay [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/lQ3Ne9JFs_w/
Health span: a nifty measure
One of the striking things about people who live to very old ages is how spry and healthy many are until close to the end. There are exceptions of course, but in general the very old are a hopeful beacon for those who are younger. So I was happy to see a Wall Street Journal [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/-Us6lUxFheE/
Podcast interview with GNS Healthcare CEO Colin Hill
GNS Healthcare is an analytics company that enables personalized healthcare. In this podcast interview, CEO Colin Hill describes the company’s supercomputer based, machine learning approach to hypothesis-free analysis, which goes beyond correlations to uncover cause and effect relationships. He also discusses the company’s novel partnership with the National Cancer Institute and hints at exciting announcements [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/sRvi0o6G_Gk/
Friday 28 October 2011
Smart money on Pfizer?
Seeking Alpha highlights what leading hedge funds are doing with Pfizer. Some are selling, but some savvy (i.e., very rich) investors like David Einhorn –who also holds a lot of Microsoft shares– are buying. It’s an interesting move. Personally I find it hard to be bullish on Pfizer. Sure, they scored a victory against Teva [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/LLPLX9_79dc/
Community Health Centers: Not just a ?safety net?
What do you think when you hear the term “safety net provider?” It doesn’t make a very positive brand impression, does it? Trapeze artists are glad that there’s a safety net underneath them, but they sure as heck don’t want to fall into it. If they screwed up and landed there they wouldn’t go around [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/HYZHEr5eBT0/
Health Care Reform on Judicial Fast Track
The wheels of justice, as the clich� goes, grinds slowly. Given the complexity of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act this poses a bit of a problem. Federal District Court judges are reaching contrarian conclusions concerning the constitutionality of the PPACA. Everyone knows the validity of the health care reform law will be decided [...]
Source: http://alankatz.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/health-care-reform-on-judicial-fast-track/
Drug co-pay cards: Can we all just get along?
The editor of Drug Benefit News, Anthony Vecchione asserts (Copay Cards Could Be Win-Win If All Sides Work Together). I really don’t think so. In fact, my home state of Massachusetts is the only one that’s got things right. Here the cards are banned outright. Vecchione’s argument: When it comes to the topic of drug [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/ODlH1oxrUbI/
Finasteride and Allopregnanolone
Is it true that Finasteride in Humans would reduce important Neuroactive Steroids like for example allopregnanolone? I know there was already a post about this in the past but that was about rats. In rats, Finasteride blocks both type I and II 5?-reductase whereas in humans inhibits only type II which it seems is not [...]
Source: http://www.baldingblog.com/2011/10/26/finasteride-and-allopregnanolone/
Thursday 27 October 2011
Using Turmeric & The Benefits: 2
Now that we have talked about exactly what Turmeric is and what properties it has in it, let?s talk about how you can use Turmeric in order to treat some of those cuts and wounds that you might be experiencing.� One thing that you should know is that Turmeric is a natural antiseptic and what [...]
Source: http://yourbodyyourtemple.net/health/using-turmeric-the-benefits-2/
Highland Capital founder Bob Higgins joins the board of Advanced Practice Strategies
In addition to� consulting and blogging, I’m chairman of Advanced Practice Strategies, an innovative, high-growth eLearning company in Boston. We’re excited to welcome Bob Higgins to the board. Here’s the press release: Boston, Mass., September 13, 2011 ? Advanced Practice Strategies (APS), the leading provider of continuing medical education solutions for risk management and patient [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/YuUMu0DBCCM/
Obesity and drink cause liver disease
Binge drinking and obesity are contributing to a steep rise in deaths from liver disease. The number of deaths from damaged, diseased and worn-out livers has gone up by 60 per cent in just a decade in Britain.
Liver disease, including cancer, claimed 9,719 lives in Britain in 2008 alone, up from 6,058 10 years earlier, a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group said, according to the Daily Mail.
Alcohol is 75 per cent cheaper now than in 1980. Heavy drinking can inflame the liver, causing jaundice and leading to comas and even death. Long-term, excessive drinking can also cause cirrhosis, which destroys normal liver tissue and is replaced by scar tissue. The number of cases has increased 10-fold in recent decades.
Doctors have warned that the alcohol-induced problem, usually found in older adults, is now being diagnosed in teenagers. Liver cancer is also on the rise. Although it is relatively common for cancers to spread to the liver, few cancers started there until recently.
Don Shenker of the charity Alcohol Concern, which is calling for high-strength beers and ciders to be taxed more heavily, said the combination of cheap alcohol and round-the-clock drinking, had fueled a surge in drink-related deaths.
Many young people take advantage of cheap supermarket alcohol, then go out later and stay out later. So their overall alcohol consumption has gone up, he said.
Hepatitis C is also contributing to the surge in liver deaths. Many of today's deaths are from infections caught in the 1970s and 80s, before blood transfusions were screened for the virus.
Tags : liver disease symptoms,fatty liver disease,alcoholic liver disease,liver disease in dogs,end stage liver disease,symptoms of liver disease,signs of liver disease,chronic liver disease,liver disease in cats,canine liver disease
Liver disease, including cancer, claimed 9,719 lives in Britain in 2008 alone, up from 6,058 10 years earlier, a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group said, according to the Daily Mail.
Alcohol is 75 per cent cheaper now than in 1980. Heavy drinking can inflame the liver, causing jaundice and leading to comas and even death. Long-term, excessive drinking can also cause cirrhosis, which destroys normal liver tissue and is replaced by scar tissue. The number of cases has increased 10-fold in recent decades.
Doctors have warned that the alcohol-induced problem, usually found in older adults, is now being diagnosed in teenagers. Liver cancer is also on the rise. Although it is relatively common for cancers to spread to the liver, few cancers started there until recently.Don Shenker of the charity Alcohol Concern, which is calling for high-strength beers and ciders to be taxed more heavily, said the combination of cheap alcohol and round-the-clock drinking, had fueled a surge in drink-related deaths.
Many young people take advantage of cheap supermarket alcohol, then go out later and stay out later. So their overall alcohol consumption has gone up, he said.
Hepatitis C is also contributing to the surge in liver deaths. Many of today's deaths are from infections caught in the 1970s and 80s, before blood transfusions were screened for the virus.
Tags : liver disease symptoms,fatty liver disease,alcoholic liver disease,liver disease in dogs,end stage liver disease,symptoms of liver disease,signs of liver disease,chronic liver disease,liver disease in cats,canine liver disease
Source: http://www.aboutthehealth.com/2010/10/obesity-and-drink-cause-liver-disease.html
Individual mandate: Did Democrats miss their chance to avoid court challenges?
California Healthline has a good roundup of the implications of the recent court ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including a look back on what could have been done differently and a look forward to the Supreme Court. The article’s author, Daniel Diamond includes a link to my prediction that we could [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/WqBPK6loU-s/
Wednesday 26 October 2011
Health Information Exchange edges closer to a sustainable business model (transcript)
This is the transcript of yesterday’s podcast interview with Dr. Albert Tzeel of Humana. David E. Williams:����������� This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.� I?m speaking today with Dr. Albert Tzeel, National Medical Director of HumanaOne in Wisconsin. He?s co-author of a study of the Wisconsin Health [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/qkFPe5sV_CM/
Highland Capital founder Bob Higgins joins the board of Advanced Practice Strategies
In addition to� consulting and blogging, I’m chairman of Advanced Practice Strategies, an innovative, high-growth eLearning company in Boston. We’re excited to welcome Bob Higgins to the board. Here’s the press release: Boston, Mass., September 13, 2011 ? Advanced Practice Strategies (APS), the leading provider of continuing medical education solutions for risk management and patient [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/YuUMu0DBCCM/
Podcast interview with MyHealthDIRECT CEO Jay Mason (transcript)
This is the transcript of my podcast interview with Jay Mason, CEO of MyHealthDIRECT. David E. Williams:����������� This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.� I?m speaking today with Jay Mason,� CEO of MyHealthDIRECT.� Jay thanks for your time today. Jay Mason:����������� Absolutely.� Looking forward to talking to [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/t45MiXIThyA/
Tuesday 25 October 2011
I Said That??
That?s what several prominent Democrats might be saying about their speeches and comments about the CLASS Act.�The DC Examiner released this helpful video compilation of Democrats arguing that the CLASS program was solvent; among the highlights: Leader Reid: ?[CLASS is] fully paid for ? CBO said in the far future, decades and decades in the [...]
Diaphoresis
Diaphoresis The body performs best if its temperature is around 37� Celsius (98.6� Fahrenheit). The body?s internal temperature is closely monitored by the hypothalamus. Once the temperature reaches a point where homeostasis is compromised, the hypothalamus will try to lower it by the triggering the sweat mechanism. Sweating is the body?s inherent method of regulating temperature that is why people would sweat more if the temperature outside is high, when doing exercises or when responding to circumstances that would make them afraid, embarrassed or angry. The amount of sweat produced would depend on the number of sweat glands a person has. Normally, a person has around 2 ? 4 million [...]
Rerun: Quality and cost at the end of life: no need for trade-off?s
I?m taking a break from blogging this week so am rerunning some favorite posts from 2010. Please visit the original post to comment. A major reason US health care costs are so much higher than anywhere else while outcomes lag is that we waste so much money is wasted on end-of-life care. An article by [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/7GaQm8ngCxA/
Exercise and Fitness Tips for Women
When talking about fitness tips for women, you are going to want to concentrate on ideas that help women lose weight and keep their body in shape. Most women don?t want to think about building bulk muscle and completely changing their body type, and the main reason a woman will exercise is probably to lose [...]
Source: http://www.fitnesshealthzone.com/fitness/exercise-and-fitness-tips-for-women/
Torn Meniscus ? Symptoms, Treatment, Surgery, Recovery, Exercise
Torn Meniscus The knee joint has a fibrocartilaginous crescent-shaped structure that serves to distribute the weight of the body uniformly across the three bones that compose the knee joint namely the tibia (shin bone), femur (thigh bone) and the patella (knee cap). This structure is called the meniscus and aside from providing stability, it also acts as a spacer between the knee bones allowing them to move effectively without resulting to any damage. There are two menisci in each knee between the surfaces of the articular cartilage: the medial meniscus (at the inner section) and the lateral meniscus (at the outer section). These structures also act as shock absorbers during [...]
Source: http://www.allhealthsite.com/torn-meniscus-symptoms-treatment-surgery-recovery-exercise.html
Monday 24 October 2011
What the Talmud teaches about drug company gifts to doctors
Recently I heard a Rabbi discuss the prohibitions against bribes in Jewish law. He shared the Talmudic insight that “a gift blinds the eyes of the wise” and taught that this refers not just to obvious bribes but even to small, innocent-seeming gestures that appear too insignificant to influence another person but that actually do [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/HLagGwv4OzY/
Google Health is gone. Why did they pull the plug?
Google Health was announced in 2007 yet never caught on. Now the company is dumping the offering. I can understand why the current product is being discontinued but am surprised to see Google abandon the consumer health focus so explicitly. It’s not as though someone else has run away with the market; and there are [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/DefQcCJoXGc/
Harvard Food Law Society "Forum on Food Policy" TEDx Conference
Last Friday, it was my pleasure to attended and present at the Harvard Food Law Society's TEDx conference, Forum on Food Policy.� I had never been to Cambridge or Boston before, and I was struck by how European they feel compared to Seattle.� The conference was a great success, thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Food Law Society's presidents Nate Rosenberg, Krista DeBoer, and many other volunteers.�
Dr. Robert Lustig gave a keynote address on Thursday evening, which I unfortunately wasn't able to attend due to my flight schedule.� From what I heard, he focused on practical solutions for reducing national sugar consumption, such as instituting a sugar tax.� Dr. Lustig was a major presence at the conference, and perhaps partially due to his efforts, sugar was a central focus throughout the day.� Nearly everyone agrees that added sugar is harmful to the nation's health at current intakes, so the question kept coming up "how long is it going to take us to do something about it?"� As Dr. David Ludwig said, "...the obesity epidemic can be viewed as a disease of technology with a simple, but politically difficult solution".
Read more �
Dr. Robert Lustig gave a keynote address on Thursday evening, which I unfortunately wasn't able to attend due to my flight schedule.� From what I heard, he focused on practical solutions for reducing national sugar consumption, such as instituting a sugar tax.� Dr. Lustig was a major presence at the conference, and perhaps partially due to his efforts, sugar was a central focus throughout the day.� Nearly everyone agrees that added sugar is harmful to the nation's health at current intakes, so the question kept coming up "how long is it going to take us to do something about it?"� As Dr. David Ludwig said, "...the obesity epidemic can be viewed as a disease of technology with a simple, but politically difficult solution".
Read more �
Source: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/10/harvard-food-law-society-forum-on-food.html
A few observations on the PSA testing debate
Much has and will be written on the new US Preventive Services Task Force (USPTF) recommendations against routine use of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test in healthy men . I?m not a doctor or scientist and have not had the PSA test or a subsequent biopsy myself, but I am a close observer [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/JbIJxBxIgb0/
Sunday 23 October 2011
Primal Docs
Chris Armstrong, creator of the website Celiac Handbook, has designed a new non-commercial website called Primal Docs to help people connect with ancestral health-oriented physicians. It's currently fairly small, but as more physicians join, it will become more useful. If you are a patient looking for such a physician in your area, or an ancestral health-oriented physician looking for more exposure, it's worth having a look at his site:
Primal Docs
Update 9/22: apparently there is already another website that serves a similar purpose and has many more physicians enrolled: Paleo Physicians Network.
Primal Docs
Update 9/22: apparently there is already another website that serves a similar purpose and has many more physicians enrolled: Paleo Physicians Network.
Source: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/09/primal-docs.html
Cavalcade of Risk is up at Healthcare Economist
Healthcare Economist hosts the latest edition of the Cavalcade of Risk blog carnival, entitled Risk Grabs the Headlines. Share
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/-pUmboG4YJQ/
red onion diet - remove bad cholesterol
Scientists have claimed that the humble red onion could help prevent heart disease. They have discovered that the vegetable - commonly used in Mediterranean and Indian cuisine - helps remove bad cholesterol from the body, which can cause heart attacks and strokes.
At the same time red onions retain the body's good cholesterol, which help protect against heart disease. Scientists in Hong Kong fed crushed-up red onions to hamsters who had all been put on a high-cholesterol diet.
They found that after eight weeks levels of bad cholesterol, or low density lipoprotein (LDL), had dropped by an average of 20 per cent.
"This results support the claim that the regular consumption of onion reduces the risk of coronary heart disease," the Daily Mail quoted Zhen Yu Chen, who was in charge of the research carried out at the Chinese University of Hong Kong as saying.
Tags : low cholesterol diet plan,high cholesterol diet plan,cholesterol diet food,low cholesterol diet guidelines,low cholesterol diet tips 2008,cholesterol diet plans,cholesterol diet sheet
At the same time red onions retain the body's good cholesterol, which help protect against heart disease. Scientists in Hong Kong fed crushed-up red onions to hamsters who had all been put on a high-cholesterol diet.
They found that after eight weeks levels of bad cholesterol, or low density lipoprotein (LDL), had dropped by an average of 20 per cent.
"This results support the claim that the regular consumption of onion reduces the risk of coronary heart disease," the Daily Mail quoted Zhen Yu Chen, who was in charge of the research carried out at the Chinese University of Hong Kong as saying.
Tags : low cholesterol diet plan,high cholesterol diet plan,cholesterol diet food,low cholesterol diet guidelines,low cholesterol diet tips 2008,cholesterol diet plans,cholesterol diet sheet
Source: http://www.aboutthehealth.com/2010/10/red-onion-diet-remove-bad-cholesterol.html
High fat diet, tobacco cause cancer
About 10 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year worldwide, with one-third the cases related to tobacco use, one-third to diet, another large percentage to infection and the remaining to pollution, stress and other factors.
According to Lalit Kumar, professor of medical oncology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), three million cases of cancer globally are due to tobacco use alone, with lung cancer claiming half the victims.
A high fat content diet can lead to breast cancer. Women who do yoga or moderate exercise everyday have lower incidence of cancer as compared to women with sedentary lifestyles and high fat intake, Kumar said at a talk at the India International Centre Wednesday evening.
"A high fat diet also acts as a trigger for prostate cancer. Fried food and spicy food is linked to cancer of the esophagus. Preservatives in food and smoked food, which is eaten in some parts of northeast India, also act as triggers for cancer," he said, adding that high fat intake and low fibre intake can cause colon cancer.
Some fungal infections can lead to liver cancer, while the human papillomavirus has been proven to be the cause of cancer of the cervix. "But the good news is, a vaccine is available and in the next 20 years the incidence of cervical cancer will come down," he said.
According to Lalit Kumar, professor of medical oncology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), three million cases of cancer globally are due to tobacco use alone, with lung cancer claiming half the victims.
A high fat content diet can lead to breast cancer. Women who do yoga or moderate exercise everyday have lower incidence of cancer as compared to women with sedentary lifestyles and high fat intake, Kumar said at a talk at the India International Centre Wednesday evening.
"A high fat diet also acts as a trigger for prostate cancer. Fried food and spicy food is linked to cancer of the esophagus. Preservatives in food and smoked food, which is eaten in some parts of northeast India, also act as triggers for cancer," he said, adding that high fat intake and low fibre intake can cause colon cancer.Some fungal infections can lead to liver cancer, while the human papillomavirus has been proven to be the cause of cancer of the cervix. "But the good news is, a vaccine is available and in the next 20 years the incidence of cervical cancer will come down," he said.
Source: http://www.aboutthehealth.com/2010/08/high-fat-diet-tobacco-cause-cancer.html
Testicular Cancer ? Symptoms and Signs
Testicular Cancer Testicular cancer is the disease condition where malignant cancer cells are noted in the testicles, the male?s gonads or sex glands and are often felt as painless lumps. These gonads are placed inside a sac (scrotum) and are responsible for the production and storage of sperm cells.� Additionally, they are the chief source of the male hormones, testosterone, that influence the maturity of the reproductive organs and the development of other physical characteristics in males. Matched up to other cancer types, testicular cancer is quite rare but is considered to be the most common type afflicting American males between 15 and 34 years old. The cancer is classified [...]
Source: http://www.allhealthsite.com/testicular-cancer-symptoms-and-signs.html
Saturday 22 October 2011
Scabies
Definition An infestation by a tiny, eight-legged burrowing mite known as Sarcoptes scabies is called scabies. The scabies mite burrows into the skin and lays eggs which leads towards tiny blisters and bumps. This does not stop at this but causes intense itching in its existing area and the urge to scratch reaches at peak during night. The mite that causes scabies is invisible to the naked eye but can be seen with the help of microscope or magnifying glass. Scabies is contagious in nature and can spread itself quickly through the close physical contact of the healthy person with the infected one. Scabies�Causes The microscopic female mite called as [...]
Say the F word if you want to speak to a real person
Voice recognition is getting there, but it’s not there yet. The Boston Globe (Automated agent will aid enrollees in Medicare) describes Humana’s use of voice recognition technology to sign up patients for Medicare Part D drug benefit plans. The computer asks the caller a series of questions and interacts sort of like a human being. [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/_OyhYCeQr_8/
Miscarriage pregnancy-best is conceive soon
Women who conceive within six months after a miscarriage have a better chance of a healthy pregnancy without complications compared to women who wait longer, according to a study .They are less likely to have another miscarriage, and are also less likely to experience a cesarean section, deliver prematurely or have low-birth weight babies, the study showed.The findings, published in the British Medical Journal , are likely to be controversial.The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that women who experience a miscarriage should wait at least six months before getting pregnant again, and other medical authorities suggest holding off even longer.
To get a clearer picture, researchers led by Sohinee Bhattacharya at the Aberdeen Maternity Hospital in Scotland reviewed the medical histories of more than 30,000 women in Scotland who had a miscarriage in their first pregnancy and then became pregnant again between 1981 and 2000.
"Our research shows that women who conceive within six months of an initial miscarriage have the best reproductive outcomes and the lowest complication rates in a subsequent pregnancy," they concluded.
Source: http://www.aboutthehealth.com/2010/08/miscarriage-pregnancy-best-is-conceive.html
Study: More Medicare Spending = Better Health
[There is a] a positive and statistically significant relationship between medical spending and better health: 10 percent greater medical spending over the prior 3 years (mean = U.S. $2,709) is associated with a 1.9 percent larger [Health and Activity Limitation Index] value (p=.045; range 1.2?2.2 percent depending on medical spending measure) and a 1.5 percent [...]
Source: http://healthblog.ncpa.org/study-more-medicare-spending-better-health/
Friday 21 October 2011
Obesity and drink cause liver disease
Binge drinking and obesity are contributing to a steep rise in deaths from liver disease. The number of deaths from damaged, diseased and worn-out livers has gone up by 60 per cent in just a decade in Britain.
Liver disease, including cancer, claimed 9,719 lives in Britain in 2008 alone, up from 6,058 10 years earlier, a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group said, according to the Daily Mail.
Alcohol is 75 per cent cheaper now than in 1980. Heavy drinking can inflame the liver, causing jaundice and leading to comas and even death. Long-term, excessive drinking can also cause cirrhosis, which destroys normal liver tissue and is replaced by scar tissue. The number of cases has increased 10-fold in recent decades.
Doctors have warned that the alcohol-induced problem, usually found in older adults, is now being diagnosed in teenagers. Liver cancer is also on the rise. Although it is relatively common for cancers to spread to the liver, few cancers started there until recently.
Don Shenker of the charity Alcohol Concern, which is calling for high-strength beers and ciders to be taxed more heavily, said the combination of cheap alcohol and round-the-clock drinking, had fueled a surge in drink-related deaths.
Many young people take advantage of cheap supermarket alcohol, then go out later and stay out later. So their overall alcohol consumption has gone up, he said.
Hepatitis C is also contributing to the surge in liver deaths. Many of today's deaths are from infections caught in the 1970s and 80s, before blood transfusions were screened for the virus.
Tags : liver disease symptoms,fatty liver disease,alcoholic liver disease,liver disease in dogs,end stage liver disease,symptoms of liver disease,signs of liver disease,chronic liver disease,liver disease in cats,canine liver disease
Liver disease, including cancer, claimed 9,719 lives in Britain in 2008 alone, up from 6,058 10 years earlier, a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group said, according to the Daily Mail.
Alcohol is 75 per cent cheaper now than in 1980. Heavy drinking can inflame the liver, causing jaundice and leading to comas and even death. Long-term, excessive drinking can also cause cirrhosis, which destroys normal liver tissue and is replaced by scar tissue. The number of cases has increased 10-fold in recent decades.
Doctors have warned that the alcohol-induced problem, usually found in older adults, is now being diagnosed in teenagers. Liver cancer is also on the rise. Although it is relatively common for cancers to spread to the liver, few cancers started there until recently.Don Shenker of the charity Alcohol Concern, which is calling for high-strength beers and ciders to be taxed more heavily, said the combination of cheap alcohol and round-the-clock drinking, had fueled a surge in drink-related deaths.
Many young people take advantage of cheap supermarket alcohol, then go out later and stay out later. So their overall alcohol consumption has gone up, he said.
Hepatitis C is also contributing to the surge in liver deaths. Many of today's deaths are from infections caught in the 1970s and 80s, before blood transfusions were screened for the virus.
Tags : liver disease symptoms,fatty liver disease,alcoholic liver disease,liver disease in dogs,end stage liver disease,symptoms of liver disease,signs of liver disease,chronic liver disease,liver disease in cats,canine liver disease
Source: http://www.aboutthehealth.com/2010/10/obesity-and-drink-cause-liver-disease.html
Drug Cessation and Weight Gain
Commenter "mem", who has been practicing healthcare for 30+ years, made an interesting remark that I think is relevant to this discussion:
It's clear that smoking cigarettes, taking cocaine and certain other pleasure drugs suppress appetite and can prevent weight gain.� These drugs all activate dopamine-dependent reward centers, which is why they're addictive.� Cocaine in particular directly inhibits dopamine clearance from the synapse (neuron-neuron junction), increasing its availability for signaling.
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Recovering substance dependent people often put on lots of weight and it is not uncommon for them to become obese or morbidly obese.This relates to the question that commenter "Gunther Gatherer" and I have been pondering in the comments: can stimulating reward pathways through non-food stimuli influence body fatness?��
It's clear that smoking cigarettes, taking cocaine and certain other pleasure drugs suppress appetite and can prevent weight gain.� These drugs all activate dopamine-dependent reward centers, which is why they're addictive.� Cocaine in particular directly inhibits dopamine clearance from the synapse (neuron-neuron junction), increasing its availability for signaling.
Read more �
Source: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/06/drug-cessation-and-weight-gain.html
Podcast interview with MyHealthDIRECT CEO Jay Mason
I first heard about MyHealthDIRECT a year ago when the director of an emergency department in a major urban hospital told me how his staff used the system to guide patients to follow-up care at community health centers and clinics, or in some cases to redirect patients who were arriving with non-emergent conditions. So I [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/I5XqiYGkhmk/
Grand Rounds is up at The Covert Rationing Blog
The invariably insightful and pithy Dr. Rich hosts the latest edition of Grand Rounds at The Covert Rationing Blog. Share
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Thursday 20 October 2011
Health Wonk Review is up at New Health Dialogue
The New Health Dialogue hosts the Muppets Edition of the Health Wonk Review. Share
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Saucony?s Celliant Suit Soothes Sore Muscles
?But really, it?s a recovery suit that Saucony gave me. It?s got this stuff called Celliant in it, and it reflects the photons??
This is what you might very well say to your friends as they look at you dumbstruck for lounging around in a racing-striped black unitard. They?d probably laugh less if you said ?I?m now a masked vigilante.?
Really, I get it. It seemed nuts to me too. Had Saucony not been the company whose shoes enabled me to start running again, I would?ve written this off to snake oil. But Saucony gear almost never fails for me. I figured I owed it to them to have an open mind to their recovery suit, right?
Aaaand? the suit really works. Seriously. I?m more shocked than you are.
I?m not even willing to admit that it?s because of the space-aged material. I can?t tell if it makes me strangely warm because it?s inducing a sort of self-perpetuated light therapy, or because it?s made from polyester. I don?t know if my muscles are getting fixed faster because of the Celliant, the compression, or something else.
But, the bottom line is, I recover faster when I wear the Saucony AMP PRO 2 recovery suit after a hard workout.
I was so unprepared to believe that I tried it twice.
Last Tuesday, I ran a sprint drill. I haven?t run sprints since I was maybe 20. I had my friend Courtney with me to help coach my form. But still, we ran 3-4 miles of intermittent sprints. It was a sure recipe for shin splints, cramped calves, aching thighs and the worst-case scenario: reigniting nerve-shattering knee pain. So, I slept in the suit and hoped for the best.
The best happened. The next day I had nothing but a tiny twinge in my right thigh. I was almost completely recovered.
I refused to believe it. I figured that I must not have worked as hard as I thought. So, on Saturday, I hit up the Run A Muck Festival, a 5k mud run with obstacles, boulders, and water. I went as hard as I could in the race (I wore Saucony Razors, by the way ? great for bouncing off rocks. Would you believe I can swim well in them?), and I did not wear the suit that night. By Sunday, my legs were stiff and wracked with pain. I didn?t want to get out of bed, much less walk around, with this kind of conditioning pain.
So I put on Saucony?s recovery suit. Usually, if you?re this beat up after a race, you?re stiff and sore at least through the next two days. But after lounging in the suit for three hours, I felt limber again and the pain subsided to a dull ache. I could literally feel the thing working. I was almost recovered by bedtime, and that has never happened to me before, at least not without a masseuse involved.The down side: It is warm, so you might need to crank the AC a little when you wear it. Also, you step in through the shoulders, so there is no fly, adding an extra step to a 3 a.m. bathroom break.
Whether you?re a casual athlete like me, or training for something that makes mortals tremble, you should at least try some of Saucony?s forthcoming Celliant-based products and see if they help you as much as they help me.
Health Wonk Review: Please submit your entries
The Health Business Blog is hosting the Health Wonk Review this week. Please submit through Blog Carnival or email by Wednesday, September 14 at 9 am EDT. Share
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Wednesday 19 October 2011
Rate Regulation Grants Announced by HHS
Carriers set health insurance premiums based on several criteria. The single biggest component is the expected cost and utilization of medical services. Then there?s the need to cover overhead (such as operations, sales costs, marketing and armies of lawyers to deal with regulation) and profit (or retained earnings for non-profits). Insurers know they don?t operate [...]
Source: http://alankatz.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/rate-regulation-grants-announced-by-hhs/
NAIC to Study MLR Impact on Compensation and Consumers Before Voting on Changes
Brokers holding their breath to see if their compensation will be removed from the medical loss ratio formula required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will be turning a darker shade of blue. The hoped for support from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which was expected to result from a meeting of [...]
Detached Retina (Retinal Detachment) ? Symptoms, Causes and Surgery
Detached Retina The retina is the light-sensitive tissue found at the posterior portion of the inner eye. It focuses the images that comes through the lens and converts them into electrical impulses which are sent to the brain via the optic nerve. It contains photoreceptor cells (cones and rods) contained in its most sensitive part, the macula. The retina has around seven million cones for detailed daytime vision and color perception; and about 75 ? 150 million rods for the dim light (black and white) and peripheral visions. A light-sensitive ganglion cell helps in the reflexive responses to bright light. The retina occupies around 65 percent of the eye?s inner [...]
Source: http://www.allhealthsite.com/detached-retina-symptoms-causes-surgery.html
Do teens really prefer phone calls?
From all I’ve seen and heard, text messaging and Facebook are a lot more effective ways to communicate with today’s teenagers compared to calling landlines and cellphones. So I was skeptical when I read in HealthCareIT News that Telephone beats social media for teen research participation. In the age of social media and text messaging, [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/m9er4c8MoH8/
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Bill to Exempt Broker Commissions from MLR Formula Introduced Today
A bit sooner than expected: Representatives Mike Rogers and John Barrow introduced legislation today to exempt broker compensation from the medical loss ratio calculations required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Under the PPACA, health insurance carriers are obliged to spend 80 percent of the premiums they take in on policies sold to [...]
Source: http://alankatz.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/broker-commission-exemption-from-mlr-bill-introduced-today/
Ancestral Health Symposium Drama
My full Ancestral Health Symposium talk is not yet online, but reader bentlleyj74 found a link to a You Tube video of most of my exchange with Gary Taubes following the talk.� You can find it here.� I'm not sure who shot it, but if you'd like credit, please contact me.�
I think I did an adequate job responding to his questions, but as I'm not the best at thinking on my feet, I can do better.� So here are his questions and my more complete responses.� This was all during one question and answer session; it was essentially an extended interrogation.� I'm paraphrasing Gary's questions for the most part to make them more concise, although the sections in quotation marks are direct quotes:
Read more �
I think I did an adequate job responding to his questions, but as I'm not the best at thinking on my feet, I can do better.� So here are his questions and my more complete responses.� This was all during one question and answer session; it was essentially an extended interrogation.� I'm paraphrasing Gary's questions for the most part to make them more concise, although the sections in quotation marks are direct quotes:
Read more �
Source: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/ancestral-health-symposium-drama.html
The Case for the Food Reward Hypothesis of Obesity, Part I
Introduction
When you want to investigate something using the scientific method, first you create a model that you hope describes a natural phenomenon-- this is called a hypothesis.� Then you go about testing that model against reality, under controlled conditions, to see if it has any predictive power.� There is rarely a single experiment, or single study, that can demonstrate that a hypothesis is correct.� Most important hypotheses require many mutually buttressing lines of evidence from multiple research groups before they're widely accepted.� Although it's not necessary, understanding the mechanism by which an effect occurs, and having that mechanism be consistent with the hypothesis, adds substantially to the case.
With that in mind, this post will go into greater detail on the evidence supporting food reward and palatability as major factors in the regulation of food intake and body fatness.� There is a large amount of supportive evidence at this point, which is rapidly expanding due to the efforts of many brilliant researchers, however for the sake of clarity and brevity, so far I've only given a "tip of the iceberg" view of it.� But there are two types of people who want more detail: (1) the skeptics, and (2) scientifically inclined people who want mechanism.� This post is for them.� It will get technical at times, as there is no other way to convey the material effectively.
Read more �
When you want to investigate something using the scientific method, first you create a model that you hope describes a natural phenomenon-- this is called a hypothesis.� Then you go about testing that model against reality, under controlled conditions, to see if it has any predictive power.� There is rarely a single experiment, or single study, that can demonstrate that a hypothesis is correct.� Most important hypotheses require many mutually buttressing lines of evidence from multiple research groups before they're widely accepted.� Although it's not necessary, understanding the mechanism by which an effect occurs, and having that mechanism be consistent with the hypothesis, adds substantially to the case.
With that in mind, this post will go into greater detail on the evidence supporting food reward and palatability as major factors in the regulation of food intake and body fatness.� There is a large amount of supportive evidence at this point, which is rapidly expanding due to the efforts of many brilliant researchers, however for the sake of clarity and brevity, so far I've only given a "tip of the iceberg" view of it.� But there are two types of people who want more detail: (1) the skeptics, and (2) scientifically inclined people who want mechanism.� This post is for them.� It will get technical at times, as there is no other way to convey the material effectively.
Read more �
Source: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/10/case-for-food-reward-hypothesis-of.html
Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs: What are the key differences?
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) created major incentive programs for clinicians and hospitals that adopt electronic health records and achieve certain Meaningful Use (MU) criteria. Medicare and Medicaid have similar but separate programs. All providers –except certain hospitals– have to choose one program or the other to participate in. CMS has [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/TzkpCA8QfLU/
Monday 17 October 2011
Podcast interview with NaviNet CMO Michael Ross (transcript)
This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Michael Ross, Chief Medical Officer of NaviNet. David Williams: This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.� I?m speaking today with Dr. Michael Ross, Chief Medical Officer of NaviNet.� Dr. Ross, thanks for being with me today. Michael [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/hgPKwz4er1M/
Niche blockbusters: the next drug cost crisis?
For quite a while –especially in the 1990s and early 2000s– rising drug costs were a major driver of medical inflation. Big pharma was rolling out lots of “me too” products in existing drug classes –such as statins (e.g., Lipitor) and COX-2 inhibitors (e.g., Vioxx)– that could be prescribed widely. In a normal market, having [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/KsNg2Y4ix8Y/
I Got Boinged, and Other News
The reaction to my post "The Carbohydrate Hypothesis of Obesity: a Critical Examination" has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly among the scientists I've heard from.
On Saturday, the inimitable maker and writer Mark Frauenfelder posted a link to my post on the variety blog BoingBoing. BoingBoing has been on my sidebar for three years, and it's the place I go when I need a break. It's a fun assortment of science, news, technology and entertainment. BoingBoing was originally a zine started by Frauenfelder and his wife in 1988, and it has been on the web since 1995. Today, it has multiple contributing authors and it draws several hundred thousand hits per day. I'm thrilled that Frauenfelder posted my article there. Apparently he likes my blog. Thanks!
I added a new section (IIB) to my original post. It discusses what human genetics can teach us about the mechanisms of common obesity. It is consistent with the rest of the evidence suggesting that body fatness is primarily regulated by the brain, not by fat tissue, and that leptin signaling plays a dominant role in this process.
On Saturday, the inimitable maker and writer Mark Frauenfelder posted a link to my post on the variety blog BoingBoing. BoingBoing has been on my sidebar for three years, and it's the place I go when I need a break. It's a fun assortment of science, news, technology and entertainment. BoingBoing was originally a zine started by Frauenfelder and his wife in 1988, and it has been on the web since 1995. Today, it has multiple contributing authors and it draws several hundred thousand hits per day. I'm thrilled that Frauenfelder posted my article there. Apparently he likes my blog. Thanks!
I added a new section (IIB) to my original post. It discusses what human genetics can teach us about the mechanisms of common obesity. It is consistent with the rest of the evidence suggesting that body fatness is primarily regulated by the brain, not by fat tissue, and that leptin signaling plays a dominant role in this process.
Source: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-got-boinged-and-other-news.html
Do teens really prefer phone calls?
From all I’ve seen and heard, text messaging and Facebook are a lot more effective ways to communicate with today’s teenagers compared to calling landlines and cellphones. So I was skeptical when I read in HealthCareIT News that Telephone beats social media for teen research participation. In the age of social media and text messaging, [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/m9er4c8MoH8/
Sunday 16 October 2011
Repairing Old Plugs Placed Too Low at the Hairline (with Photos)
To many people that aren’t familiar with the advances made in hair restoration, “hair plugs” are still the norm. There’s nothing pluggy looking about today’s hair transplant procedures, but those bulky hair plugs of yesteryear were easy to point out and looked incredibly unnatural. I saw a patient that had an unusual placement of these [...]
Individual mandate: Can PPACA survive without it?
Ever since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was passed, opponents have looked for ways to overturn it in the court of law and the court of public opinion. They’ve had reasonable success in both arenas, using opposition to the individual mandate to buy health insurance as Exhibit A. Ironically, President Obama wasn’t [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/5QDyl0U1HGE/
Obstipation
Obstipation Definition Obstipation is the failure to pass fecal matters or gas, practically a chronic constipation.� It is a state where the intestines are never fully emptied and would eventually lead to obstruction. There is no definite diagnostic exam for obstipation. Identification of the condition is frequently made based on the patient?s medical history and the presenting signs and symptoms. A person who is chronically constipated would feel bloated most of the time which could lead to anorexia and abdominal discomfort or tenderness. If not treated as soon as possible, it can develop into more serious problems. If the bowel is not emptied, toxins would accumulate which could lead to [...]
Saturday 15 October 2011
Google Health is gone. Why did they pull the plug?
Google Health was announced in 2007 yet never caught on. Now the company is dumping the offering. I can understand why the current product is being discontinued but am surprised to see Google abandon the consumer health focus so explicitly. It’s not as though someone else has run away with the market; and there are [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/DefQcCJoXGc/
Smoking and ectopic pregnancy
Women who smoke regularly are four times more likely to have ectopic pregnancy than those who don't smoke, say scientists. Researchers of the Edinburgh University have found a chemical in cigarette smoke that causes a reaction, which may lead to ectopic pregnancies.The researchers said Cotinine triggered a reaction, which increased a protein in the Fallopian tubes. The protein, called PROKR1, raised the risk of an egg implanting outside the womb.
PROKR1 allows pregnancies to implant correctly inside the womb, but its presence in the Fallopian tubes is believed to increase the risks of this happening outside the womb.
The study found that women who smoked and developed an ectopic pregnancy had twice as much PROKR1 in their Fallopian tubes as women who did not smoke and had previously had a healthy pregnancy.
Researchers believe that too much of the protein prevents the muscles in the walls of the Fallopian tubes from contracting, which in turn hinders the transfer of the egg to the womb.
Tags : ectopic pregnancy symptoms,signs of ectopic pregnancy,ectopic pregnancy hcg levels,causes of ectopic pregnancy,ectopic pregnancy test
Source: http://www.aboutthehealth.com/2010/09/smoking-and-ectopic-pregnancy.html
NaviNet execs discuss Mobile Connect for PBMs (podcast)
NaviNet recently launched a Mobile Connect offering for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which provides real-time exchange of patient-specific drug information between PBMs, physicians, health plans and pharmacies. The information exchange includes e-prescriptions, clinical care alerts and prior authorizations for drugs. In this podcast interview, NaviNet Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Ross and VP of Business [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/6zLVhn5Qn5k/
What does an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) actually explain?
I recently had some physical therapy for a minor injury. Since the office forgot to charge my co-pay the first time I went in I received a so-called Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from my insurance carrier, BlueCross BlueShield of Massachusetts.� EOBs are a holdover from the mainframe era: arcane, inflexible reports that are hard to [...]
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Grands Rounds is up at Healthcare Economist
Healthcare Economist hosts the latest issue of Grand Rounds. It’s the Wisconsin Sports edition, and why not? Share
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Friday 14 October 2011
Weight Gain and Weight Loss in a Traditional African Society
The Massas is an ethnic group in Northern Cameroon that subsists mostly on plain sorghum loaves and porridge, along with a small amount of milk, fish and vegetables (1, 2).� They have a peculiar tradition called Guru Walla that is only undertaken by men (2, 1):
Read more �
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Source: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/07/weight-gain-and-weight-loss-in.html
Unintended consequences of changing the current 510K system for ?moderate risk? devices
This is a guest post from Rick Lifsitz, a colleague of mine from MedPharma Partners and a serial entrepreneur . On July 29 an expert panel assembled by the Institute of Medicine found that the current regulatory framework for ?substantially equivalent? devices (known as the FDA 510K process) was flawed and called for it to [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/JHmtHLDAHmk/
Natural Black Eye Treatments: 2
Now that we have talked about tea specifically as a known treatment for black eyes, what type of tea is going to do the most healing?� That is what I have been asking myself and it is sage.� Sage tea compresses are actually fantastic for you to put onto any black eyes as this particular [...]
Source: http://yourbodyyourtemple.net/health/natural-black-eye-treatments-2/
Baseball caps, flip flops and melanoma
This isn’t a personal health and wellness blog, but as a light-skinned, blue-eyed, bald redhead I feel compelled to post the occasional piece about sun exposure. I’ve� been careful about the sun since childhood, and a lot of people laugh at my broad brimmed hat, sunglasses, long-sleeve Sun Precautions swimshirt, and sneakers at the beach.� [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/0zN90ldYulE/
Thursday 13 October 2011
My Blood Pressure Went Up After My Hair Transplant ? Are My Grafts Going to Suffer?
I’ve never had blood pressure before, but about 4 weeks after my mega-session it shot up (mostly 144/90 range) along with a light elevation in blood sugar (110 avg.). This all coincided with a family move to the other coast and switching jobs. This went on for about a month before things died down again. [...]
Liposuction and Fat Regain
If body fat really is actively regulated by the body, rather than just being a passive result of voluntary food intake and exercise behaviors, then liposuction shouldn't be very effective at reducing total fat mass in the long run. People should return to their body fat "setpoint" rather than remaining at a lower fat mass.
Teri L. Hernandez and colleagues recently performed the first ever randomized liposuction study to answer this question (1). Participants were randomly selected to either receive liposuction, or not. They were all instructed not to make any lifestyle changes for the duration of the study, and body fatness was measured at 6 weeks, 6 months and one year by DXA.
At 6 weeks, the liposuction group was significantly leaner than the control group. At 6 months, the difference between the two groups had decreased. At one year, it had decreased further and the difference between the groups was no longer statistically significant. Furthermore, the liposuction group regained fat disproportionately in the abdominal area (belly), which is more dangerous than where it was before. The investigators stated:
Teri L. Hernandez and colleagues recently performed the first ever randomized liposuction study to answer this question (1). Participants were randomly selected to either receive liposuction, or not. They were all instructed not to make any lifestyle changes for the duration of the study, and body fatness was measured at 6 weeks, 6 months and one year by DXA.
At 6 weeks, the liposuction group was significantly leaner than the control group. At 6 months, the difference between the two groups had decreased. At one year, it had decreased further and the difference between the groups was no longer statistically significant. Furthermore, the liposuction group regained fat disproportionately in the abdominal area (belly), which is more dangerous than where it was before. The investigators stated:
We conclude that [body fat] is not only restored to baseline levels in nonobese women after small-volume liposuction, but is redistributed abdominally.This is consistent with animal studies showing that when you surgically remove fat, total fat mass "catches up" to animals that had no fat removed (2). Fat mass is too important to be left up to chance. That's why the body regulates it, and that's why any satisfying resolution of obesity must address that regulatory mechanism.
Source: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/05/liposuction-and-fat-regain.html
Harvard Pilgrim CEO Eric Schultz speaks with the Health Business Blog (Part 4 of 4)
Recently I sat down with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC) CEO, Eric Schultz for a wide-ranging discussion on the health care business. In this last of four segments Eric and I discuss how health plans can leverage social media and mobile apps, and how –like with most revolutions– health care reform requires the middle classes [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/X3rKd-glp-A/
Say the F word if you want to speak to a real person
Voice recognition is getting there, but it’s not there yet. The Boston Globe (Automated agent will aid enrollees in Medicare) describes Humana’s use of voice recognition technology to sign up patients for Medicare Part D drug benefit plans. The computer asks the caller a series of questions and interacts sort of like a human being. [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/_OyhYCeQr_8/
Wednesday 12 October 2011
Let?s hope ACOs aren?t our last, best chance for delivery system reform
After reading the July edition of Health Affairs, I’m concerned about the impact of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) on cost trends in the US health care system. In The Accountable Care Organization: Whatever Its Growing Pains, The Concept Is Too Vitally Important To Fail, Francis Crosson of the Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy plays [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/ln1SiY2xOQg/
Right result, wrong reason: VA boots Avastin for wet AMD
I’m a big fan of cost containment in health care. But I’m dead set against using a $50 shot of Avastin in place of a $2000 shot of Lucentis even if safety and efficacy are the same. Why? Because it has a chilling effect on innovation. To make a long story short, Avastin is a [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthBusinessBlog/~3/bDWfBu0IiR0/
Children born using IVF are likely taller
Children born using in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) are likely to be taller than their naturally conceived counterparts, New Zealand researchers have found.
The study by Auckland University's Liggins Institute found IVF children conceived from fresh, rather than frozen, embryos were about 2.6 centimetres (1.02 inches) taller than non-IVF children by the age of six.
The research, which examined about 200 children, found the height difference was statistically significant, even after adjusting for variables such as the parents' height.Liggins Institiute director Wayne Cutfield said the phenomenon was most striking in girls.
Cutfield said appeared IVF children from fresh embryos had a different hormone profile to regular children, which could promote growth.
This could be caused by the drugs mothers took to induce ovulation during the conception process or by the culture medium the embryos were developed in for 36 hours before being transferred to the womb, he said.
Tags : cost of in vitro fertilization,in vitro fertilisation ivf,ethical issues of in vitro fertilisation,advantages of in vitro fertilization,process of in vitro fertilisation,in vitro fertilisation procedure,in vitro fertilisation eggs
The study by Auckland University's Liggins Institute found IVF children conceived from fresh, rather than frozen, embryos were about 2.6 centimetres (1.02 inches) taller than non-IVF children by the age of six.
The research, which examined about 200 children, found the height difference was statistically significant, even after adjusting for variables such as the parents' height.Liggins Institiute director Wayne Cutfield said the phenomenon was most striking in girls.
Cutfield said appeared IVF children from fresh embryos had a different hormone profile to regular children, which could promote growth.
This could be caused by the drugs mothers took to induce ovulation during the conception process or by the culture medium the embryos were developed in for 36 hours before being transferred to the womb, he said.
Tags : cost of in vitro fertilization,in vitro fertilisation ivf,ethical issues of in vitro fertilisation,advantages of in vitro fertilization,process of in vitro fertilisation,in vitro fertilisation procedure,in vitro fertilisation eggs
Source: http://www.aboutthehealth.com/2010/10/children-born-using-ivf-are-likely.html
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