Bland and Low Dog join Fullscript's Medical Advisory Board
On July 14, 2020, Fullscript announced the Fullscript Medical Advisory Board composed of six healthcare visionaries including Dr. Tieraona Low Dog and Dr. Jeffrey Bland. According to the press release, “the Fullscript Medical Advisory Board remains unique. Its degree of medical insight and expertise is only acquired through decades of sustained innovation and practical experience. Each member brings exceptional knowledge, achievements, and acumen that will inspire innovation at Fullscript and in integrative medicine.”
The new advisory board will meet regularly with the Fullscript leadership team to provide strategic direction and help develop new product lines, treatment focuses and platform features for the organization. The board will also support the medical community with innovative and exclusive educational content.
To learn more about the new Board and how it will shape Fullscript and support the medical community, see: https://fullscript.com/blog/medical-advisory-board
Covid sniffing dogs
Dogs ability to detect odor is far superior to humans and they are increasingly being used in the field of medical odor detection where they are adept at identifying cancer and malaria as well as other bacterial and viral infections with unusually high rates of sensitivity and specificity.
A new pilot study published online July 23, 2020 in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases, concludes that after some training, dogs may be able to sniff out and identify people who are infected with the coronavirus. In the study, eight dogs were able to correctly detect 94% of cases out of more than 1000 infected and non-infected samples after one week of training.
Because the metabolic processes in the body of an infected patient are completely changed, researchers think dogs are able to detect a specific smell from those changes. The researchers were amazed at how quickly the dogs could be trained to recognize samples and will now train them to identify the difference between COVID-19 samples and other diseases, like the flu.
Researchers hope that detection dogs sent to airports and sporting events could identify infections and, in countries with limited access to diagnostic testing, dogs could be used for mass detection of infected people. Researchers do note however, it is still unclear whether dogs can spread the virus to other animals or to humans, if they themselves can be infected and, if so, how it would alter their sense of smell.
A video of the pilot study can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/lzDYsZfd-fY
And to find the study itself: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879–020–05281–3
Meditation and yoga as adjunctive treatment for COVID-19
According to a brief overview of key subjects published online July 14, 2020 in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (JACM), meditation and yoga practices make them potential adjunctive treatments of COVID-19 due to their anti-inflammatory effects.
Results show evidence of stress and inflammation modulation, preliminary evidence for potential immune system enhancement along with potential implications for counteracting some forms of infectious challenges.
The authors urge further rigorous scientific investigation into the ideas put forth in the article and JACM Editor-in-Chief John Weeks states: "The paper is another in a series in JACM and in other integrative medicine journals suggesting that research agencies in the United States and Europe would serve their citizens by upping their exploration of the potential contributions of natural health practices, especially amidst the present dearth of conventional treatments."
To read the paper, see: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/acm.2020.0177
Healthy lifestyle linked to an extra decade free from chronic disease
A Harvard study published online January 8, 2020, set out to examine how a healthy lifestyle is related to life expectancy that is free from major chronic disease. The study identified the following five lifestyle factors: never smoking, healthy body mass index, 30 minutes of daily physical activity, moderate alcohol intake and healthy diet.
It was already well-known that these healthy behaviors are linked to a longer life, but the study looked at the quality of life: to what extent were the added years marred by diseases like Type 2 diabetes, cancer or heart disease? The answer is a rousing endorsement for healthy living. Women who practiced four or five healthy behaviors enjoyed roughly an extra decade free from disease and men benefited from nearly eight additional years.
Per the study, only 3% of Americans who were followed from middle age on actually achieved five of the five behaviors, but the benefits add up, so each healthy behavior brings additional benefits, even if you fall well short of perfection.
To read the study, see: https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.l6669
Who should get critical care when ventilators are scarce? Americans are divided according to religion
According to an April 24, 2020 Pew Research Center survey, Americans are split on the question of who should be given priority when hospitals do not have enough ventilators for all patients who need help breathing.
Hospitals have had to make difficult decisions as the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded and questions at the intersection of medicine and morality have arisen. Among these dilemmas is the question of who should be given priority. Should it be patients who are most in need at the time, even if it means more lives overall are lost? Or perhaps patients with the highest likelihood of recovery should take priority even if it means denying potentially life-saving care due to age or health status.
The Pew study reports stark differences in opinion based on religious affiliation and how religious a respondent is. Most of the religiously affiliated respondents say ventilators in short supply should go to patients who need them most at the time, which could mean fewer people survive, but no one is denied treatment based on age or health status. People with no religious affiliation are the only group with a majority (56%) saying that ventilators should be saved for those with the highest chance of recovery, even if it means some patients won't receive the same aggressive treatment because they are older, sicker and less likely to survive.
The findings are consistent with research showing that people who are not religious tend to prefer utilitarian solutions in a variety of moral dilemmas. Religious believers, on the other hand, often rely on deeply ingrained moral rules and on guidance from religious leaders and texts. Religious people also may respond negatively to the idea of doctors “playing God.”
The detailed findings can be found at: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/24/
Overwhelming majority of people with MS use CAM
A new cross-sectional survey published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders on June 1, 2020 states that an overwhelming majority of patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), with many using cannabis.
The 2018 survey of more than 1,000 people in Oregon and Southwest Washington found that patients are nine times more likely to talk with their neurologist about the use of CAM therapies than patients in a similar survey conducted in 2001. “There's been a change in culture between patients and providers over the past 20 years,” said lead author Elizabeth Silbermann, M.D., a fellow in neurology in the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine. “It's less paternalistic and more of a partnership,” and patients are more open to discussing their use of alternatives because it's important to manage interactions with conventional medication.
The results also indicate broader societal acceptance of treatments beyond conventional medications, potentially driven by an increased influence of internet and social media on mindfulness, diet, and exercise-based lifestyle trends.
The 2018 survey found 81% used dietary supplements (up from 65% in the previous 2001 survey), 39% used mind-body therapies (up from 14%) and 81% used exercise to help manage symptoms (up from 67%). The use of cannabis was common among those in the current survey with about 30% reporting that they've used it in a variety of forms.
To read the survey, see: doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2020.102041
Alice Walton announces new Whole Health Institute, Chopra Medical Library
The healthcare system is broken, and more aptly reflects a disease-care system, so says Alice Walton, philanthropist and daughter of Walmart founders Helen and Sam Walton. This message was delivered earlier this year during an announcement of the formation of the Whole Health Institute and Chopra Medical Library. The center will be located in Bentonville, Arkansas and will work to improve health in the region and around the state with impacts that will be felt across the nation.
Walton said. “We need a holistic approach that incorporates mind, body and spirit. Whole health tools do exist around the country and we want to be part of the solution to change healthcare.” The approach will focus on the person instead of the disease and on aspirations instead of problems. Walton said once the new system is created, the plan is to spread it throughout the state and region.
Walton said the Chopra Medical Library will create a global collection of scientific and cultural research from around the world where healthcare professionals and laymen can enhance their learning. Walton said the future will be one of more health and wellbeing, less pain and fewer chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity. This will involve more self-care, creating less need for clinical and pharmaceutical treatments and the end result should be to reduce healthcare costs and better health outcomes.
Could there be a roadmap to an HIV Vaccine?
So far, scientists haven't been able to create an effective HIV vaccine. One reason a vaccine has been so elusive is that HIV evolves rapidly making it a difficult target for immunologists. The virus mutates and changes over time even within an individual and can evade antibodies while still trying to generate them.
According to a proof of concept study published in Science on December 6, 2019, a subset of antibodies does have the ability to recognize different forms of HIV, but they're rare and difficult to generate with a vaccine.
In the paper, researchers describe a prototype vaccine that works like an instruction manual that can guide the immune system to develop antibodies that have all the key features necessary to be effective against HIV.
When tested in mice and monkeys, the vaccine showed promise. Researches say, though incomplete, it's a step forward in trying to make an effective HIV vaccine.
To read the paper, see: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aay7199
Biography
Matters of Note is written and compiled bySusie Demarinis, MSEditorial Director for EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing.