Health Newsfeed – Johns Hopkins Medicine Podcasts

About one in five adolescents have cholesterol levels that are too high, and that's why new guidelines from the American College of Cardiology specify testing children 9 to 11 years of age. Johns Hopkins cardiologist Seth Martin, one of the … Why do kids 9-11 years of age need a cholesterol test? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Did you know that one in five adolescents have cholesterol levels that are too high, some of them very high indeed? Those at the highest levels may have a genetic disorder called familial hypercholesterolemia, and when it's caught early it … There's a very good reason to test preadolescents' cholesterol levels, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Your preadolescent child should have their blood drawn to test their cholesterol levels, new guidelines from the American College of Cardiology specify. That's because of a condition that happens in one in 250 people where such levels are abnormally high … There's a test your adolescent should have to help avoid cardiovascular disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Familial hypercholesterolemia is just what it sounds like: abnormally high cholesterol levels that run in families due to their genetics. Turns out these very high cholesterol levels begin in infancy, and unless someone is suspicious, are rarely tested for. That's … Even kids who appear very healthy can have very high cholesterol levels, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

A new clinical guideline to manage cholesterol levels in the blood has been released by the American College of Cardiology. Johns Hopkins cardiologist Seth Martin participated in writing the guidelines and says that shifting risk assessment and management strategies for … New cholesterol screening guidelines capture childhood risk, too, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

When it comes to slowing down cognitive decline in those with early Alzheimer's disease a total package of lifestyle interventions is superior to currently available medications, a study by Johns Hopkins neurologist Majid Fotuhi has shown. Fotuhi and colleagues had … Does a program exist to implement comprehensive lifestyle changes to preserve cognitive function? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

If you have mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease, changes in lifestyle are more likely to provide benefit to your cognitive capacity than available medicines, a study by Johns Hopkins neurologist Majid Fotuhi shows. Fotuhi says this is largely … How exactly do lifestyle interventions benefit brain health? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Lifestyle interventions are more effective than medications in early Alzheimer's disease, a study led by Majid Fotuhi, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins, has found. When a number of trials were analyzed together, implementation of several lifestyle changes emerged as superior … Comprehensive lifestyle changes impact wellbeing in those with early Alzheimer's disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Declines of several fold in rates of progression- sounds pretty good, doesn't it, if you have the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease and are considering available medications. Yet a recent study by Johns Hopkins neurologist Majid Fotuhi finds that those … How is it that medications to treat Alzheimer's disease appear to show such a benefit? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Comprehensive lifestyle changes are better than medications to slow, stop or even improve mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease, a study by Johns Hopkins neurologist Majid Fotuhi finds. This meta analysis of existing randomized trials sought to compare the … If you've been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment what's the best strategy to slow decline? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Many substances marketed as ‘supplements' enjoy a lack of oversight and regulation, among them kratom, a plant based extract from Asia. While some users report pain relief and mood improvement there are no studies to support this, and as Eric … How did the current situation with kratom develop? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Over a thousand fold in the last year. That's the increase in the number of emergency department visits nationally due to use of kratom, a drug sold unregulated in convenience stores and gas stations as well as online. Substance use … What is the likelihood that you'll experience a problem with a product labeled as kratom? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

When someone presents to an emergency department after having taken an unknown drug, screening is typically undertaken. Yet for kratom, which last year accounted for over a thousand fold increase in ED visits, no screen is available. Substance use disorder … If you have a bad experience after taking kratom, can medical professionals help? Read More »

Kratom is a drug that has been unregulated and sold for decades in smoke shops and elsewhere, now associated with over a thousand fold increase in emergency department visits. Why? Substance use disorder expert Eric Strain at Johns Hopkins explains. … Consuming kratom products may result in an ED visit, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

You may have noticed among the offerings at gas stations and convenience stores something called kratom. This is a plant based drug with the potential for undesired side effects that is unregulated in the United States. Now over a thousand … Kratom is accounting for a dramatic rise in ED visits, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

The good news is heart failure in people with severe obesity may be reversible with common weight loss drugs. The bad news is both obesity, with BMIs of around 30, and severe obesity, with a BMI of 42 or greater, … Increasing rates of obesity and severe obesity may presage increased rates of heart failure, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

GLP-1 receptor agonists are effective in helping most people lose weight, and now a new study suggests that in those with severe obesity, a BMI of 42 or greater and who have a type of heart failure, this condition may … Is there another benefit besides weight loss of GLP-1s in people with severe obesity? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

There's a relationship between severe obesity and one type of heart failure, and it looks like it's mediated by adding more phosphate groups, a process known as phosphorylation, to proteins in heart muscle cells, specifically to units within the muscle … Can GLP-1 agonists help in heart failure and severe obesity? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Severe obesity may impede the ability of units inside heart muscle cells called sarcomeres to contract, and losing weight may reverse that condition. That's according to research by cardiologist David Kass and colleagues at Johns Hopkins, who looked closely at … What is severe obesity doing to the heart muscle's ability to contract? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, so-called HFpEF, is happening more frequently, especially in those with severe obesity. David Kass, a cardiologist and researcher at Johns Hopkins, and colleagues, have looked closely at heart muscle cells from this group of … How is obesity related to a common form of heart failure? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Brain organoids, collections of cells found in the brain, have been grown from blood samples of people with Alzheimer's disease and used to assess the impact of a drug called escitalopram in a new study. Vasiliki Machairaki, study leader and … A model of your brain may one day be grown in a lab, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Extracellular vesicles are membrane bound packages cells use to jettison materials from inside the cell, a sort of trash can. Johns Hopkins genetic medicine expert Vasiliki Machairaki has shown in a new study that these vesicles may be a means … What can be learned from what cells dispose of? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

What might a model of the hindbrain, which helps control functions like sleep, breathing and heart rate, tell us about using a common depression drug in people with Alzheimer's disease? Genetic medicine expert Vasiliki Machairaki at Johns Hopkins says her … Brain organoids can resemble specific parts of the brain, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Drugs to manage symptoms of Alzheimer's disease may work in some people but not in others. Now a new method using brain organoids, which are derived from a person's own blood sample, may help determine whether a specific medication is … Can drugs to manage Alzheimer's disease be tested in organoids? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Brain organoids are lab grown clusters of cells that have several of the cell types found in someone's brain. Cells taken from a person's blood are coaxed to become stem cells, then differentiate into brain cells. Vasiliki Machairaki, a genetic … Can brain organoids help in treating people with Alzheimer's disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Medicaid reductions being rolled out this year are poised to dramatically reduce cancer screening for millions, a new study estimates. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, takes a look at the numbers. Nelson: This is … Medicaid reductions may impact screening for cancer, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Breast cancer screening is associated with false positives, where women are referred for further assessments and procedures that may be unnecessary. Does it help to stratify women based on risk factors like genetics before they have screening? Johns Hopkins Kimmel … Should breast cancer screening be targeted to those at greatest risk? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

People who were older and had advanced cancers benefited from a telephone-based intervention designed to regularly assess their symptoms and refer them to expert clinicians, by reducing their visits to emergency departments and need for hospitalization. Kimmel Cancer Center director … Can older people with cancer benefit from telephone based contact? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Seventy percent of people diagnosed with cancer in the United States will still be alive five years later, the American Cancer Society reports. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, says yes, and. Nelson: There's still … Good news on cancer survival! Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

American Cancer Society data find that the majority of people who are diagnosed with cancers of all types will still be alive five years later. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson says this is good news indeed. Nelson: … There's good news regarding survival when cancer if found, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

PICS stands for post intensive care syndrome, and it is characterized by a number of physical and mental health conditions that may follow someone's stay in an ICU. Rohan Mathur, a critical care expert at Johns Hopkins, says fatigue, memory … Who is at risk to develop PICS? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Physical and mental health issues can follow a stay in an intensive care unit, a condition known as PICS, for post intensive care syndrome. Rohan Mathur, a critical care expert at Johns Hopkins, says now that more attention is being … What can be done about PICS? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

When someone has survived an intensive care unit stay, they may experience a host of challenges to their wellbeing known collectively as post intensive care syndrome, or PICS. Critical care expert Rohan Mathur at Johns Hopkins says sometimes the worst … How can you tell if PICS is present? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

PICS stands for post intensive care syndrome, and recent data indicate that perhaps the majority of people who've been hospitalized in an ICU will have what are called sequelae, or lingering issues once they're stepped down or discharged. Johns Hopkins … What kinds of issues may remain after someone has been in an intensive care unit? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Once you've made it through a stay in an intensive care unit, you can simply move forward in your life, right? Not exactly, as recent research indicates. So-called post intensive care syndrome, or PICS, can continue to impact the life … What is post-intensive care syndrome? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Maybe you've heard of CAR-T cells, a type of cell you have in your body that is supercharged in a lab and put back in to fight things like cancer. Biomedical engineering expert Jeremy Green at Johns Hopkins and colleagues … There's a new technique that may revolutionize one type of T cell therapy, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

CAR-T cells are a type of immune cell that have proven very effective for treating some types of cancer, yet limitations to their use exist. Biomedical engineering expert Jordan Green at Johns Hopkins says limitations including lengthy time and expense … Can an injectable particle help supercharge your T cells? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Using polyester to wrap mRNA to create an injectable particle may soon enable targeting of your T cells to fight some cancers and autoimmune diseases.  That's according to research by Jordan Green, a biomedical engineering expert at Johns Hopkins, and colleagues. … Can an mRNA containing particle help direct your T cells to specific targets? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Let's say I take one type of immune cell from your blood, grow it in a lab and use a virus to cause changes in that cell so it recognizes cancer. Then I put it back in your body to … Temporary changes to T cells may empower new treatments for cancer and autoimmune disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Put together a shelf-stable particle with a polyester shell, a homing mechanism, and mRNA instructions, and what do you have? A new technology that may be able to train your own T cells inside your body to combat some types … Messenger RNA can be used to stimulate T cells to fight cancer and autoimmune disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

With several studies saying oxygen measurements are too low and one saying they're too high, how much can pulse oximeters be trusted in those with darker skin? Rohan Mathur, a critical care medicine expert at Johns Hopkins, says that oft … Trust but verify may be needed for pulse oximeters, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Critical care medicine relies on pulse oximeters, which estimate oxygen levels in someone's blood, for many decisions regarding their care. Studies during the pandemic suggested the devices said there was more oxygen in the blood of someone with darker skin … How do we account for opposite results from studies on pulse oximeters? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Do devices that measure oxygen levels in blood, known as pulse oximeters, measure too high or too low in those with darker skin? That's the question now that results of an FDA funded study seem to contradict those of previous … What does a recent FDA funded study on pulse oximeters show? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

If you are a person with darker skin should you be worried about the levels of oxygen in your blood a pulse oximeter is giving? Critical care expert Rohan Mathur at Johns Hopkins says past studies looking at this issue … Data from pulse oximeters can really impact patient care, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »