1. 50 = time for a colonoscopy
When you turn 50 (and are at average risk for colorectal cancer), you should schedule a colonoscopy according to the guidelines of the American Cancer Society (ACS). They recommend a colonscopy every 10 years or alternatively a sigmoidoscopy every 5 years after the age of 50. If you are considered high risk, then the screening should be scheduled earlier and performed more frequently. Risk factors include a family history of colorectal cancer or a personal history of inflammatory bowel disease.
2. How does the Xbox One monitor your heart rate?
Basically, the Xbox One uses technology developed at MIT Media Labs that measures the light from your face (using the camera) and decomposes it into the red, green and blue signals (RGB). Typically, one or more of these signals will show a periodicity that is related to your heart rate. For example, your face may become more or less red depending on the phase of the heart beat. This periodic rhythm can be quantitated by calculating the power spectrum of the signal and identifying the frequency with the highest peak (power) in a certain frequency range appropriate for your heart rate (45 - 240 beats per minute).
3. High Intensity Intermittent Exercise (HIIE) as a more efficient exercise regimen
When calculating the number of calories burned, activity trackers primarily take into account the distance traveled and not how fast you traverse that distance. Running a mile versus walking a mile consumes the same number of calories according to their calculations. However, a recent trend has emphasized high-intensity exercise, termed high intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) or high intensity interval training (HIIT), arguing that increased intensity burns calories more efficiently and has a better effect on cardiovascular health compared to traditional lower intensity exercise.
4. Nike+ API: Sharing your activity data?
"Sports footwear and apparel giant Nike has opened its Nike+ API developer portal, providing teams with the tools and resources they need to combine the popular Nike+ fitness metrics with their own profile and activity data. The new portal has been launched to coincide with the Nike+ Accelerator program, an initiative being organised alongside renowned startup accelerator TechStars to find companies that will “use Nike+ technology to create products and services that will inspire athletes across a broad range of activity and health goals.”
5. An Example of the Placebo Effect
The Placebo Effect is quite fascinating. A placebo is a medical treatment (e.g. a pill) that only simulates an actual treatment without providing any medical value (e.g. sugar pill). Instead, it is intended to deceive the patient into thinking she is being treated. This is necessary because people who receive a placebo often do better than people who don't because of the more positive mental outlook from being "treated". Thus, the proper negative control to an experimental treatment is a placebo group, and not a no-treatment group.
6. "Do as your mom said: Wash your hands.”
There are a number of important reasons to wash your hands. If you have been working with toxic agents, you want to remove anything harmful from your hands to prevent ingestion. Many respiratory illnesses such as flu or the common cold are passed from person to person via secondary liquid transmission such as saliva or mucous which can get on your hands. Finally, there is the dreaded fecal-oral transmission in which organisms from your feces can somehow get into the mouths of others. There are a number of "germs" that are transmitted in this manner including the bacteria Salmonella, the virus Hepatitis A, and the protozoan Giardia.
7. Should I get a CT scan of the heart?
The cardiac CT is considered the gold standard because of the more detailed images compared to the other methods. It offers information on a wide range of problems. It measures the calcium build up on the coronary artery walls (see next paragraph). It can detect problems with the aorta which is the main artery from the heart including possible aneurysms. It can identify pulmonary embolisms which are blood clots in the lungs. It can assess the pulmonary veins which carry blood to the heart and can contribute to atrial fibrillation (AF). It can examine the functioning of the heart valves, as well as the health of the pericardium or heart sac. Finally, as mentioned above, in combination with angiography, it provides a detailed look at coronary arteries.
8. A life-saver after the Boston Marathon bombing: The emergency tourniquet
The casualty report from the terrorist bombing at the Boston Marathon this week was quite high; three people were killed, and over 170 people were injured, many critically. However, it could have been a lot worse. As noted, it is amazing that all of the wounded have survived. The credit goes to the outstanding medical care provided by first responders and hospital staff. They in turn benefited from lessons learned during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts on treating personnel wounded from IEDs (improvised explosive devices). One of the most important lessons was the use of emergency tourniquets to stem bleeding.
9. The genetics of BRCA1/BRCA2 and breast cancer
On Tuesday, the actress Angelina Jolie announced that she carries a mutant allele (version) of the BRCA1 gene, and that this mutant gene conferred an 87% risk of breast cancer (and 50% risk of ovarian cancer). She inherited the mutant allele from her Mother who died of breast cancer when she was 56. In response, Ms. Jolie has elected to have a preventive double mastectomy. She is also planning to have her ovaries removed in the near future.
Figure 1. We hope 2013 was a healthy year for you and that 2014 is even healthier
No comments:
Post a Comment