amazing new imaging technology

Combining ultrasound and OCT-like technology for extremely high resolution 3-D imaging.


http://www.iamscientist.com/projects/89-Lighting-up-the-brain-and-breast-?goback=.gde_84299_member_176387026

The latest in organ technology

Could this portend the end of organ donation?

http://the-scientist.com/2012/08/01/replacement-parts/

The governments role in what we eat

So how is what the gov. of NY that much different?  I know my right-leaning friends will say gov't has no role in telling me what to eat but how about regulating the producers?

http://www.theheart.org/article/1422641.do?utm_medium=email&utm_source=20120705_EN_Heartwire&utm_campaign=newsletter

Acupuncture proven effective

A small, but well designed study out of Japan has shown that acupuncture can actually improve symptoms in COPD patients!  Wow.  A larger study is planned for a broader set of medical problems.

A must-read article that lays out the dilema in interventional cardiology

http://blogs.theheart.org/melissa-walton-shirley-blog/2012/5/19/fame-or-courage-can-we-have-both?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BlogsTheheartorg+%28Blogs+%40+theheart.orgENGLiSH%29

RIP Geoff Hartzler

Wow.  It is a sad commentary on mainstream media to say that I just learned of the passing of one of the great physicians of our era.  A great doctor, teacher and innovator.

http://www.theheart.org/article/1368951.do

Awesome technology!

    http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tiny-artificial-heart-saves-baby-s-life-slideshow/http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tiny-artificial-heart-saves-baby-s-life-slideshow/

Doctors lobby wins again

".........From The estimated $30 billion deal also includes $4 billion to prevent doctors from having their reimbursement rates slashed by Medicare.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/payroll-tax-cut-deal-to-include-keystone_n_1154888.html

it's not time that heals all wounds - it's REM sleep

Not all sleep is REM sleep.  It is the dreaming phase of sleep which you go in and out of depending on other physiologic variable.  


The other consequences of too little sleep (from WebMD):

• Impaired memory and thought processes.
• Depression.
• Decreased immune response.

Sleep deprivation also magnifies alcohols effects on the body, so a fatigued person who drinks will become much more impaired than someone who is well-rested. Sleep deprivation also increases pain perception on pain simulation testing. Caffeine and other stimulants can temporarily overcome the effects of severe sleep deprivation, but cannot do so for extended periods of time.

Natural pain remedies from your kitchen

Good to know.

http://www.ivillage.com/natural-pain-remedies-your-kitchen/4-b-334141

A new benefit from medical marijuana?

Whatever your stance on medical marijuana this is exciting.  Anything that can prevent or reduce Alzheimer's disease should be studied carefully. Hopefully a peer reviewed study will prove this benefit.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17140265

Are we what we eat? Scientific American says yes.

www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm%253Fid%253Dvitamins-minerals-and-microrna

“You are what you eat.” The old adage has for decades weighed on the minds of consumers who fret over responsible food choices. Yet what if it was literally true? What if material from our food actually made its way into the innermost control centers of our cells, taking charge of fundamental gene expression?

That is in fact what happens, according to a recent study of plant-animal micro­RNA transfer led by Chen-Yu Zhang of Nanjing University in China. MicroRNAs are short sequences of nucleotides—the building blocks of genetic material. Although microRNAs do not code for proteins, they prevent specific genes from giving rise to the proteins they encode. Blood samples from 21 volunteers were tested for the presence of microRNAs from crop plants, such as rice, wheat, potatoes and cabbage.

The results, published in the journal Cell Research, showed that the subjects’ bloodstream contained approximately 30 different microRNAs from commonly eaten plants. It appears that they can also alter cell function: a specific rice microRNA was shown to bind to and inhibit the activity of receptors controlling the removal of LDL—“bad” cholesterol—from the bloodstream. Like vitamins and minerals, microRNA may represent a previously unrecognized type of functional molecule obtained from food.

The revelation that plant microRNAs play a role in controlling human physiology highlights the fact that our bodies are highly integrated ecosystems. Zhang says the findings may also illuminate our understanding of co-evolution, a process in which genetic changes in one species trigger changes in another. For example, our ability to digest the lactose in milk after infancy arose after we domesticated cattle. Could the plants we cultivated have altered us as well? Zhang’s study is another reminder that nothing in nature exists in isolation.

job opp in Europe

Very interesting technology.  Can't wait to see some clinical data.

http://www.miracormedical.com/p-58875.html

OCT news

Acouple of nice articles on the ever evolving applications of OCT imaging technology.

http://www.ajnr.org/content/early/2011/11/03/ajnr.A2740.abstract


http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ccd.23385/abstract?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+disrupted+5+Nov+from+10-12+GMT+for+monthly+maintenance

Exciting new, and not so new, diagnostic tools

http://www.octnews.org/articles/3208854/renowned-interventional-cardiologists-discuss-pote/

The image is of Dr. Gus Pichard, of the Washington Hospital Center.  I assisted him during his first experience with the C7-XR OCT imaging device, which then was the development of LightLab Imaging Inc.  Now part of St. Jude Medical.

The current list of drug shortages

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugShortages/ucm050792.htm

Serious medication shortages spreading

"...And because most of these drugs have been off-patent for years, some drug companies don’t want to spend the money to upgrade lines to produce drugs with slim profit margins. 


Sometimes it is sort supply of raw material, sometime they have to shut down for quality reasons.  But letting people die because there is no profit in saving them?  I get it, but it the government is partly at fault because of the big pharma lobby getting their way potentially shutting down smaller companies who could develop an alternative

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/10/13/hospital-drug-shortages-threaten-patient-health-prove-costly/#ixzz1ahSCQEDe..."

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/10/13/hospital-drug-shortages-threaten-patient-health-prove-costly/

Patient safety versus costs

This study is really misleading.  They looked at a huge population and still didn't get statistical significance.  This is a pure money versus patient safety play.  The comment that a randomized trial is needed before they can draw any conclusions is right on.


http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/PCI/28877?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=WC&eun=g409551d0r&userid=409551&email=ctklex@yahoo.com 

From Cardiobrief: A new vascular repair tool

This is a very cool new product.  If it works as advertised it could be a real breakthrough in vascular repair.


http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm274372.htm?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

ACC; Shame on you!

The ACC recommends three completely self-serving limitations regarding the proposed cuts to Medicare/Medicaid:

• Permanent reform of the Medicare physician payment system (The current Sustainable Growth Rate  (SGR) formula calls for massive cuts of 29.5 percent on Jan. 1, 2012.).
• Inclusion of medical liability reforms in any final committee recommendations.
• Avoidance of further medical imaging payment cuts as an offset in any final recommendations.

The single biggest  group expense in the Medicaid budget is?  Physician salaries.  What a surprise.  And the single biggest line-item expense?  the incredibly over-prescribed use of Imaging!  (CT, MRI, etc).  One of the highest paid subgroups of physicians?  What a coincidence, it is cardiologists.

This is the type of self-serving lobbying that is killing our economy.  I HATE the very existence of lobbyists.  I wish the Super Committee would propose a complete phase-out plan for the entire sector!

Having said all this I do agree in the proposed liability tort reform issue.  But expecting lawyers (did you know that 100% of congress have law degrees?) to limit litigation opportunities (can you say cha-ching) is akin to expecting the Cubs to win another world series.