Seniors in Pain find Relief with Cannabis

Stephanie O\’Neill:

September 18, 2018

Megan Baker (left) of Papa & Barkley Co., a cannabis company based in Eureka, Calif., shows Shirley Avedon different products intended to help with pain relief. (Stephanie O’Neill for KHN)

Shirley Avedon, 90, had never been a cannabis user. But carpal tunnel syndrome that sends shooting pains into both of her hands and an aversion to conventional steroid and surgical treatments is prompting her to consider some new options.

“It’s very painful, sometimes I can’t even open my hand,” Avedon said

So for the second time in two months, she’s climbed on board a bus that provides seniors at the Laguna Woods Village retirement community in Orange County, Calif., with a free shuttle to a nearby marijuana dispensary.

The retired manager of an oncology office says she’s seeking the same relief she saw cancer patients get from smoking marijuana 25 years ago.

“At that time [marijuana] wasn’t legal, so they used to get it off their children,” she said with a laugh. “It was fantastic what it did for them.”

Avedon, who doesn’t want to get high from anything she uses, picked up a topical cream on her first trip that was sold as a pain reliever. It contained cannabidiol, or CBD, but was formulated without THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient.

“It helped a little,” she said. “Now I’m going back for the second time hoping they have something better.”

As more states legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use — 30 states plus the District of Columbia to date — the cannabis industry is booming. Among

the fastest growing group

of users: people over 50, with especially steep increases among those 65 and older. And some dispensaries are tailoring their pitches to seniors like Avedon who are seeking alternative treatments for their aches, pains and other medical conditions

On this particular morning, about 35 seniors climb on board the free shuttle — paid for by Bud and Bloom, a licensed cannabis dispensary in Santa Ana. After about a half-hour drive, the large white bus pulls up to the parking lot of the dispensary.

About half of the seniors on board today are repeat customers; the other half are cannabis newbies who’ve never tried it before, said Kandice Hawes, director of community outreach for Bud and Bloom.

Residents of Laguna Woods Village, a retirement community in Orange County, Calif., ride a free shuttle to a marijuana dispensary in August.

(Stephanie O’Neill for KHN)

“Not everybody is coming to be a customer,” Hawes said. “A lot are just coming to be educated.”

Among them, Layla Sabet, 72, a first-timer seeking relief from back pain that keeps her awake at night, she said.

“I’m taking so much medication to sleep and still I can’t sleep,” she said. “So I’m trying it for the back pain and the sleep

.”

Hawes invited the seniors into a large room with chairs and a table set up with free sandwiches and drinks. As they ate, she gave a presentation focused on the potential benefits of cannabis as a reliever of anxiety, insomnia and chronic pain and the various ways people can consume it.

Several vendors on site took turns speaking to the group about the goods they sell. Then, the seniors entered the dispensary for the chance to buy everything from old-school rolled joints and high-tech vaporizer pens to liquid sublingual tinctures, topical creams and an assortment of sweet, cannabis-infused edibles.

Jim Lebowitz, 75, is a return customer who suffers pain from back surgery two years ago.

He prefers to eat his cannabis, he said.

“I got chocolate and I got gummies,” he told a visitor. “Never had the chocolate before, but I’ve had the gummies and they worked pretty good.”

“Gummies” are cannabis-infused chewy candies. His contain both the CBD and THC, two active ingredients in marijuana.

Derek Tauchman rings up sales at one of several Bud and Bloom registers in the dispensary. Fear of getting high is the biggest concern expressed by senior consumers, who make up the bulk of the dispensary’s new business, he said.

“What they don’t realize is there’s so many different ways to medicate now that you don’t have to actually get high to relieve all your aches and pains,” he said.

But despite such enthusiasm, marijuana isn’t well researched, said Dr. David Reuben, the Archstone Foundation professor of medicine and geriatrics at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.

While cannabis is legal both medically and recreationally in California, it remains a Schedule 1 substance — meaning it’s illegal under federal law. And that makes it harder to study.

The limited research that exists suggests that marijuana may be helpful in treating pain and nausea, according to a

research overview

published last year by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Less conclusive research points to it helping with sleep problems and anxiety.

Reuben said he sees a growing number of patients interested in using it for things like anxiety, chronic pain and depression.

“I am, in general, fairly supportive of this because these are conditions [for which] there aren’t good alternatives,” he said.

But Reuben cautions his patients that products bought at marijuana dispensaries aren’t FDA-regulated, as are prescription drugs. That means dose and consistency can vary.

“There’s still so much left to learn about how to package, how to ensure quality and standards,” he said. “So the question is how to make sure the people are getting high-quality product and then testing its effectiveness.”

And there are risks associated with cannabis use too, said

Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz,

who directs the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“When you have an industry that does nothing but blanket our society with messages about the medicinal value of marijuana, people get the idea this is a safe substance to use. And that’s not true,” she said.

Side effects can include increased heart rate, nausea and vomiting, and with long-term use, there’s a potential for addiction, some studies say.

Research suggests

that between 9 and 30 percent of those who use marijuana may develop some degree of marijuana use disorder.

Still, Reuben said, if it gets patients off more addictive and potentially dangerous prescription drugs — like opioids — all the better.

Jim Levy, 71, suffers a pinched nerve that shoots pain down both his legs. He uses a topical cream and ingests cannabis gelatin capsules and lozenges.

“I have no way to measure, but I’d say it gets rid of 90 percent of the pain,” said Levy, who — like other seniors here — pays for these products out-of-pocket, as Medicare doesn’t cover cannabis.

“I got something they say is wonderful and I hope it works,” said Shirley Avedon. “It’s a cream.”

The price tag: $90. Avedon said if it helps ease the carpal tunnel pain she suffers, it’ll be worth it.

“It’s better than having surgery,” she said.

Precautions To Keep In Mind

Though marijuana use remains illegal under federal law, it’s legal in some form in 30 states and the District of Columbia. And a growing number of Americans are considering trying it for health reasons. For people who are, doctors advise the following cautions.

Talk to your doctor.

Tell your doctor you’re thinking about trying medical marijuana. Although he or she may have some concerns, most doctors won’t judge you for seeking out alternative treatments.

Make sure your prescriber is aware of all the medications you take. Marijuana might have dangerous interactions with prescription medications, particularly medicines that can be sedating, said Dr. Benjamin Han, a geriatrician at New York University School of Medicine who studies marijuana use in the elderly.

Watch out for dosing.

Older adults metabolize drugs differently than young people. If your doctor gives you the go-ahead, try the lowest possible dose first to avoid feeling intoxicated. And be especially careful with edibles. They can have very concentrated doses that don’t take effect right away.

Elderly people are also more sensitive to side effects. If you start to feel unwell, talk to your doctor right away. “When you’re older, you’re more vulnerable to the side effects of everything,” Han said. “I’m cautious about everything.”

Look for licensed providers.

In some states like California, licensed dispensaries must test for contaminants. Be especially careful with marijuana bought illegally. “If you’re just buying marijuana down the street … you don’t really know what’s in that,” said Dr. Joshua Briscoe, a palliative care doctor at Duke University School of Medicine who has studied the use of marijuana for pain and nausea in older patients. “Buyer, beware.”

Bottom line:

The research on medical marijuana is limited. There’s even less we know about marijuana use in older people. Proceed with caution.

Jenny Gold and Mara Gordon contributed to this report.

This story is part of a partnership that includes

NPR

and Kaiser Health News.

KHN’s coverage of these topics is supported by

John A. Hartford Foundation

and

The SCAN Foundation

Cancer linked with a more than doubled risk of dying from stroke

Credit: Getty Images utah778

Newswise — People living with or beyond cancer are more likely to die from stroke than the general public, according to new Penn State research, and certain types of cancer may boost the risk

even more.

Researchers at

Penn State College of Medicine

found that compared to the general population, people who have or have had cancer are more than twice as likely to die of a stroke, and the risk increases with time. Additionally, cancers of the breast, prostate or colorectum were the type most commonly associated with fatal stroke.

Nicholas Zaorsky

, assistant professor in radiation oncology and public health sciences, said the

results

– recently published in Nature Communications – may help physicians identify patients at risk for fatal strokes.

“Previous research has shown that most cancer patients aren’t going to die of their cancer, they’re going to die of something else,” Zaorsky said. “A stroke is one possibility. Our findings suggest that patients may benefit from a screening program to help prevent some of these early deaths from stroke, as well as help identify which patients we could target with those preventative efforts.”

According to the researchers, cancer is the leading cause of death in the United States, with stroke being the fifth leading cause. But while institutions like the American Heart Association and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network provide separate guidelines for stroke prevention and advice for people beyond cancer treatment, there is little guidance for preventing strokes in people who have or have had cancer.

Zaorsky, a member of the

Penn State Cancer Institute

, said he and the other researchers were interested in identifying those at the highest risk of stroke to help future prevention efforts.

The researchers used data gathered from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. SEER includes data about cancer incidence, survival, treatment and age and year of diagnosis, and covers 28 percent of the U.S. population.

For the current study, the researchers used SEER data on more than 7.2 million patients who had been diagnosed with invasive cancer – cancer that has spread beyond the tissue in which it originally developed – between 1992 and 2015.

The researchers found that out of 7,529,481 cancer patients, 80,513 died of a stroke. Males and females had equal chances of dying from a stroke, but those diagnosed with cancer at a younger age had a higher chance of a fatal stroke.

Additionally, they found that among those diagnosed with cancer before they turned 40, most strokes occurred in people treated for brain tumors and lymphomas. In patients diagnosed with cancer above the age of 40, fatal strokes were most commonly associated with cancer of the prostate, breast and colorectum.

Zaorsky said one explanation for the increased risk could be that many people who are diagnosed with cancer are in a “prothrombotic” state, which means they are more likely to form a blood clot.

“That blood clot may then go to the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism, for example, or cause a stroke if it goes to the brain,” Zaorsky said. “In general, it’s an underlying theme and risk factor for a lot of cancer patients. And because certain cancers like those of the prostate, breast and colorectum are some of the most common cancers, that could also help explain that high association.”

Brad Zacharia

, assistant professor of neurosurgery, said another explanation may stem from the effects of certain types of cancer treatment.

“We can speculate that a subset of cancer patients are receiving chemotherapy or radiation treatments that may have a direct effect on the blood vessels to the brain and could increase stroke risk,” Zacharia said. “This may be particularly true in patients with brain cancer.”

The researchers added that future studies could help pinpoint mechanisms and further establish the relationship between cancer and strokes.

Ying Zhang, Penn State; Leila T. Tchelebi, Penn State; Heath B. Mackley, Penn State; and Vernon M. Chinchilli, Penn State, also participated in this work.

About Penn State College of Medicine

Located on the campus of

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

in Hershey, Pa.,

Penn State College of Medicine

boasts a portfolio of nearly $100 million in funded research. Projects range from development of artificial organs and advanced diagnostics to groundbreaking cancer treatments and understanding the fundamental causes of disease. Enrolling its first students in 1967, the College of Medicine has more than 1,700 students and trainees in medicine, nursing, the health professions and biomedical research on its two campuses.

Action Wellness Honors Three “Friends For Life”

Action Wellness to be Presented with Pioneer Award by Center for AIDS Research at UPENN

PHILADELPHIA, PA (NOVEMBER 2019)

– Every year, Action Wellness observes

World AIDS Day

in partnership with

AmeriHealth Caritas

. On December 1, as a part of their annual campaign

“Action Heroes Wear Red”

, friends and supporters are asked to wear red, or a red ribbon, on this day to raise awareness for World AIDS Day. This day is an opportunity for people to unite in the fight against HIV and to commemorate those who have died from AIDS-related illness. In 2017, according to the CDC, there were 1.8-million new cases of HIV in the United States. Action Wellness refuses to let this disease take over, and is dedicated to raising awareness in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Since 1991, Action Wellness has recognized individuals who have made a very real difference in the lives of people living with HIV and other chronic illnesses by giving them their highest honor: the

Friend for Life Award

. On December 4, Action Wellness is hosting the Friends for Life Awards event at

Yards Brewing Company

. The award ceremony is set to honor NBC10’s Vai Sikahema, Yard’s Brewery’s Tom Kehoe and London Grill Owner Terry Burch McNally.

Vai Sikaehma has done an outstanding job in raising awareness for those affected by HIV through his work on

NBC10

and

Telemundo62

Tom Kehoe, Owner of

Yards Brew

ing Company

, has been supporting Action Wellness for years by creating Action IPA. Every year the sales of Action IPA benefit Dining Out For Life. Dining Out For Life is Philadelphia’s largest dining fundraiser in which participating restaurants donate 33% of your food bill back to local HIV/AIDS service organization.

Terry Burch McNally has been supporting Action Wellness since the first year of Dining Out For Life. Fairmount’s London Grill (which is now closed) has been one of the few restaurants that have been with Dining Out For Life for the last thirty years.

Through their work, their vision, and their philanthropy, these three individuals have made a very real difference in the lives of people living with HIV and other chronic illnesses.

Finishing out the week on December 6, Action Wellness Executive Director Kevin Burns will be accepting an award on behalf of the organization. It is the Pioneer Award from the

Community Advisory Board of the Center for AIDS Research

at the University of Pennsylvania. The award is part of the Red Ribbon Awards Ceremony which is held each year in commemoration of World AIDS Day, and recognizes the tireless efforts of our local heroes in policy, research, community, faith, youth leadership and more. The Penn CFAR CAB has developed partnerships with several programs from the School District of Philadelphia showcasing the work of youth around the city and creating the space to continue the work of HIV activism and education.

For media inquiries and/or interview requests, please contact

Molly@PhillyPRGirl.com

About Action Wellness:

Action Wellness is one of Pennsylvania’s largest AIDS service organizations. It is committed to helping people living with HIV and other chronic illnesses. Its services include: medical case management, a range of health screenings including HIV testing, treatment as prevention, prevention education, supportive housing, and volunteer services. Services are provided at five Action Wellness locations and at more than 30 host sites throughout the city of Philadelphia and in Delaware County. Action Wellness currently serves over 4,000 clients annually through the efforts of 400 dedicated volunteers and over 100 professional staff working together to sustain and enhance the quality of life for the diverse community it serves.

About World AIDS Day:

World AIDS Day

was founded in 1988 and is the first ever globally recognized health day. There are an estimated 30,000 people living with HIV in Philadelphia and an estimated 37.9 million people living with HIV globally. Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 3 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

5 Pieces of Essential Equipment for a New Dental Surgery

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(Nov. 29, 2019)–A surgeon is only as good as their tools, and this also goes for a dentist. When opening, upgrading or launching a new dental surgery, it’s vital that you first have all the supplies you need to provide excellent care for your patients.

Your skill and technique might be top of the class from all your training and qualifications, but if you don’t have the necessary tools to make use of those skills, they will all go to waste.

Before you open your new dental surgery to the public, make sure you have these essential instruments and pieces of equipment at hand.

X-Ray Equipment

Some dental treatments require an insight that you cannot get by eye, which is why you need to

invest in X-ray equipment

. Digital X-rays are much more efficient and less harmful than traditional X-rays; there is a lot less radiation which makes it safer for both the dentist and the patient. What’s more, instead of waiting for X-ray images to develop, you can access them immediately on a computer.

Sterilization Equipment

Maintaining sterile equipment and a sterile environment is vital for good quality care and for the health of your patients. If your equipment isn’t sterile, it can pass on contagious germs and infect multiple patients. There are multiple types of sterilization equipment that you will need throughout the office, including but not limited to:

Dental instrument washers & dryers

Dental sterilizers

Sterilization is essential; even if your other equipment and instruments are of excellent quality. If they aren’t sterile, you won’t be providing excellent care.

Curing Light Units

For treatments like veneers, specialized instruments and equipment are required for the procedures. If you plan to offer cosmetic teeth treatments, you will need a wide range of instruments specifically used for these types of treatments.

One of these instruments is a dental curing light

that will become essential for any procedure that involves materials that need curing by light.

Dental Operatory Lights

To be able to see all the way into patients’ mouths, you will need a strong dental operatory light. When you have a good view of the patient, you can provide more accurate and tailored care for the current condition of their teeth and their mouth.

Cabinets

While cabinets aren’t directly correlated to patient care, they are correlated to how well you perform as a dentist. Organization is key when you have a lot of instruments and equipment in the office. Having cabinets will allow you to organize and store all the essential equipment you need so that you can access it with ease when you are treating a patient.

Reaching for an instrument and knowing exactly where it is, looks much more professional than taking a long time to look for it and wasting the patient’s time.

—

Whether you are starting a new dental office from scratch or updating one that’s already running, it is important to remember the essentials before anything else.

image courtesy of unsplash.com

Researchers discover HIV drug is effective against Zika virus

A research team at Temple’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine has discovered that a drug used to treat HIV is effective in suppressing Zika virus, suggesting potential global implications for treating mosquito-borne viral diseases.

Photography By: Ryan S. Brandenberg

Laura H. Carnell Professor and Chair of the Department of Neuroscience Kamel Khalili, right, and a researcher, work in a lab at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

A team of Temple researchers has discovered that a drug used for HIV treatment is also effective in suppressing Zika virus. Now with help of

HIV home test kit

you can easily detect HIV.

In a new study published in the journal Molecular Therapy, the research team—led by Laura H. Carnell Professor and Department of Neuroscience Chair Kamel Khalili, director of the Center for Neurovirology and the Comprehensive NeuroAIDS Center at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine—describes a study that demonstrated in cell and animal models that the drug, rilpivirine, stops Zika virus by targeting enzymes that both Zika and HIV depend on for replication.

The enzymes also occur in other flaviviruses—

enveloped RNA viruses often transmitted by mosquitoes

—including dengue, West Nile and yellow fever.

“HIV and Zika virus are distinct types of RNA viruses,” Khalili explained. “By discovering that rilpivirine blocks Zika virus replication by binding to an RNA polymerase enzyme common to a family of RNA viruses, we\’ve opened the way to potentially being able to treat multiple RNA virus infections using the same strategy.”

Previously endemic to regions of Africa and Asia, Zika virus is now present throughout the Americas, and has attracted growing concern in recent years due to its global spread and damaging effects on the brain and nervous system. Zika virus infection is known to cause Guillain-Barré syndrome, which culminates in muscle paralysis, and microcephaly, or underdevelopment of the head, in infants born to mothers infected with the virus.

We now have a clear path forward. We have a starting point from which we can find ways to make these drugs even more potent and more effective against flaviviruses.\”

— Kamel Khalili, Laura H. Carnell Professor and Chair of the Department of Neuroscience

Rilpivirine is one of several non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) drugs that have been developed to treat HIV. This research breakthrough and other tests showing that other NNRTIs are effective in Zika-infected cells have significant implications for their use in treating other flavivirus infections. The researchers plan to soon step up their studies to develop ways to improve the effectiveness of these drugs in blocking viral infections.

“We now have a clear path forward,” Khalili said. “We have a starting point from which we can find ways to make these drugs even more potent and more effective against flaviviruses.”

A team from across the university, including College of Science and Technology Dean and Laura H. Carnell Professor of Science Michael L. Klein and Associate Professors of Neuroscience Ilker K. Sariyer and Jennifer Gordon of Temple’s Center for Neuroviology, came together to carry out the research.

Read more about the work that led to this research breakthrough.

A Glimpse From The First Cannabis Café in America

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(Nov. 28, 2019)–Cannabis has been recognized for both its benefits and contributions to one’s society. With this, the usage of marijuana has extended into different sectors and services. Alongside this growth and development, the first-ever Cannabis Café in America has become available for service and open to the public.

A weed café, similar to other cafeterias and shops, is a place that offers food and various marijuana products to consume. A guest can afford to order any food from their menu with several marijuana offerings. Upon the establishment of the first weed café, the importance and dominance of cannabis can’t be neglected. Other people choose to visit such a place to obtain

the advantages of taking CBD oil

and marijuana.

Here’s What To Expect From The Lowell Café

Lowell Farms is the first legal business that has a complete cannabis-consumption license. This place allows its customers to smoke weeds while enjoying its ambiance and served food. At the same time, the said restaurant is also believed to create history. It was able to successfully surpassed government negotiation and processes for more than three years before its operation.

This café has also been recognized for its trendy and aesthetic ambiance. Its design is based on the Californian inspiration. With this, it has brick walls, thick ferns, olive trees, and neon signage. The only thing that differs in this shop is its huge air purifiers that help maintain the environment despite the smoking of its customers. Thus,

marijuana

users can continuously consume the plant while enjoying the services and products offered in this restaurant. To explain further, here is a list of things to love from the Lowell Café:

Unique and One-of-a-kind

The legality of marijuana allowed people to consume the plant in the comforts of their home. However, similar to other foods and drinks you consume, several people would also want to try cannabis outside their home. Other people might want to try the plant served and made by professionals. At the same time, customers might also be limited in their homes and can’t use cannabis at home. It may be caused by having children or elderly in the house. Lastly, tourists may seek to visit the country to try cannabis legally. For whatever reason, the establishment of the first café had made a landmark for both long-term and first-time users of marijuana.

Welcoming and Safe

an article

posted by CNN, the Lowell Café is created to have an open place for anyone to enjoy cannabis. Thus, the owners seek to offer a welcoming destination for everyone. With this, it can be your go-to place even if it is your first time to try cannabis. At the same time, the café also seeks to provide a safe environment for its customers. Having a legal world of cannabis, this café has proven the success of creating a community that believes in the wonders of the plant.

Well-Served Food and Drinks

This café is more than just the availability of different variants, tools, and flavor of cannabis that you can enjoy. Instead, it also provides its customers with quality food and drinks for everyone to enjoy. By having such, it has proven that it is indeed a café with delicious food to consume and fill one’s tummy.

Powerful Vents

One of the common fear of its potential customers is the threat of smoke due to the vaping and burning of marijuana. There are industrial-sized vents around the restaurant to extinguish the odor of the plant and cigarette that solves this issue. Thus, customers are guaranteed to have clean scenery and ambiance instead of plumes of smoke. At the same time, the café also ensured that the odor and smoke would not get in contact with its neighbors.

The Bottom Line

The significant development established by America’s first weed café paved the way to the changes in view and acceptance to Cannabis users. Despite being limited by state policies, it is considered as a stepping stone towards the acceptance of people regarding marijuana use. At the same time, the creation of the Lowell Farms made a safe and fun place for users to establish its community and for users to interact. With this, it had made history changed negative perspective taken against marijuana.

image courtesy of unsplash.com

4 Amazing Technologies Improving Our Health Every Day

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(Nov. 28,2019)–

We’ve come a long way from leeches. The high-tech boom of the Information and Innovation Ages has melded with the healthy-living craze. Cutting-edge technologies help us live longer, happier, and healthier lives.

Here are four amazing technologies for improving our health every day …

1. Software as a Medical Device

We get it—you already had to learn what SaaS means, but now you have to learn SaMD? Nevertheless, according to

Orthogonal

, “SaMD is proving to be a major disruptive force in the way healthcare professionals do their work, in areas such as bioinformatics, drug discovery, genomics, point-of-care diagnostics, robotics, and therapeutics.”

SaMD basically uses software to perform one or several basic medical functions. Examples include:

Artificially-intelligent software that examines MRI scans for signs of cardiovascular disease.

Software that recommends insulin dosage for a diabetic patient based on inputs from a patient’s cloud-based food log.

Software that determines the correct dosage of the medication for an individual, based on that individual’s cloud-based medical records.

Software that identifies signs of respiratory conditions based on breathing patterns recorded by the microphone.

Software that tracks the risk factors contributing to epileptic seizures.

SaMD should be distinguished from SiMD (software

a medical device) which includes programs that automate surgical robots or the magnets inside an MRI machine.

Instead of performing these mechanical functions, SaMD apps work in tandem with cloud-based data and wearable devices to provide medical professionals with a wealth of actionable data they couldn’t possibly get from a brief clinic visit (or the clipboard you fill out before the visit).

2. Wearable Health-Tracking Devices

There’s no need to guess when the doctor asks you whether you lead an active or sedentary life. Why guess when a

cheap pedometer

will tell you exactly how many steps you have taken over the course of a week? A month? A year?

In a way, wearable tech started with the wristwatch or pocket watch and took a long leap forward with the cell phone and then the smartphone. Technologies like the Apple Watch have made a clunky transition into the mainstream, but FitBits made a huge splash. HuffPo estimated that by 2018, 130 million wearable devices would have been delivered to consumers.

According to Business Insider Intelligence, a whopping 80%+ of consumers express a willingness to wear fitness technology.

It’s not just about tracking steps, though. Wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) monitors stand to make a huge difference for patients living with heart conditions. A wearable ECG monitor can transmit data directly to your doctor, as well as your atrial fibrillation and details like your elevation, distance, and pace.

This year, Omron Healthcare debuted the first wearable blood pressure monitor to track daily blood pressure readings for patients at risk of hypertension, correlating it with geographical, environmental, and physical exertion data.

Phillips also released a wearable biosensor patch, like those given to astronauts, which shows the promise of an almost 89% reduction in preventable respiratory or cardiac arrest. What a time to be alive … and, presumably, stay alive.

3. Blockchain

No, we don’t mean we will pay all our medical bills with Bitcoin.

Blockchain technology usually makes the news for its role in the cryptocurrency craze. But while crypto is built on blockchain,

blockchain is not crypto.

The reality is far less sexy … and far more revolutionary.

“Blockchain” refers to a process where “blocks” of data exist on a “chain,” a digital, decentralized, and public ledger that exists simultaneously on thousands of individual computers.

As a result, blockchains are

easy to audit and almost impossible to hack or falsify.

This is why people trust it with systems of currency.

Where else do you need transparency, security, and integrity of data. All over the medical profession, of course. According to

Healthcare Weekly

, “Digital blockchains stand to revolutionize how the medical industry creates drugs, runs clinical trials, gathers medical records, and renders care.” In other words, pretty much the whole shebang.

How does blockchain do this? In many ways:

Warehousing of Pharmaceutical Data.

Blockchain and AI technology could standardize and maintain the integrity of the data that pharma companies use to create drugs.

Fighting Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals.

Pharma companies could reduce the $200+ billion in losses they suffer from counterfeit drugs by shoring up the supply chain with unhackable, unimpeachable blockchain records.

Siloing Clinical Trial Data.

No technology shows more promise than blockchain to create unalterable, auditable, secure databases of clinical trial data, which can be browsed by AI for relevant patterns. Blockchain could also bring data integrity to the identification of viable trial subjects.

Managing Patient Consent.

Blockchain’s biggest contribution to the business community may be “smart contracts”—e-signature records beyond reproach. This could apply to patient consent, as well as other hospital contracts.

Patient Intake.

Hey, what if you

didn’t

have to fill out a clipboard in every hospital waiting room and then wait for that data to be input before the doctor sees you? Blockchain offers a secure solution for patient intake

before

you arrive at the doctor’s office.

Verifying Physician Credentials.

Fraudulent physicians and unlicensed quacks are a real liability for hospitals. A transparent, easily-audited blockchain database could replace “scout’s honor” or burdensome research to verify a provider’s qualifications.

The global healthcare marketplace is expected to spend $5.61 billion on blockchain technology by the year 2025 …

and save $100-$150 billion as a result.

Online medical records facilitated by blockchain could work together with wearable devices and SaMD to completely change how patients track their health and how medical professionals deliver care.

4. Genomics

The mapping of the first human genome in 2003 was a medical milestone. The next frontier is the mapping of

your

own genome. Yes, each person’s unique genome, which contains its own inalterable “blockchain” of data about that person’s physiology.

Genomics stands to take personalized medical treatment to the next level. Doctors can take a much less scattershot approach to treatment, therapy, and medication, instead of tailoring a treatment plan to the data found in the patient’s genome. It really is the application of a data-driven age to the very cells of our body and the DNA inside of them.

Genomics stands to:

Reduce our intake of inefficient medications.

Reduce the application of unnecessary surgeries.

Revolutionize the treatment of cancer.

Provide treatment options for genetic disorders like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Angleman’s Syndrome, and many more.

Increase in Calls to U.S. Poison Control Centers for Natural Psychoactive Substances, Driven by Marijuana Exposures

Newswise — (COLUMBUS, Ohio)

– Natural substances with psychoactive effects have been used by people for religious, medicinal and recreational purposes for millennia. Lack of regulation has led to an increase in their availability, especially online. Some psychoactive substances may be appealing to recreational users because of the

Gloucestercitynews.net blog files

perception they are safer because they’re “natural.” However, these substances can produce psychedelic, stimulant, sedative, euphoric and anticholinergic symptoms, which are cause for concern.

A new study conducted by the

Center for Injury Research and Policy

and the

Central Ohio Poison Center

at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found there were more than 67,300 calls to U.S. Poison Control Centers regarding exposures to natural psychoactive substances. The study looked at calls from January 2000 through December 2017, which totaled an average of 3,743 exposures each year, or approximately 10 calls every day.

“These substances have been associated with a variety of serious medical outcomes including seizures and coma in adults and children,” said

Henry Spiller, MS, D.ABAT

, co-author of this study and director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s. The increasing rate of exposures to marijuana accounted for almost half of all natural psychoactive substance exposures and can be attributed, in part, to the increasing number of states that have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use. “As more states continue to legalize marijuana in various forms, parents and health care providers should treat it like any other medication: locked up, away, and out of sight of children,” said Spiller. “With edibles and infused products especially, curious children are mistaking them for kid-friendly candy or food, and that poses a very real risk for harm.”

The study, published online today in the journal

Clinical Toxicology,

found that most exposures occurred among individuals older than 19 years of age (41%) and 13-19-year-olds (35%). The majority (64%) of cases occurred among males, and 91% occurred at a residence. The substances most commonly involved were marijuana (47%), anticholinergic plants such as jimson weed (21%), and hallucinogenic mushrooms (16%). Kratom, khat, anticholinergic plants, and hallucinogenic mushrooms were the substances with the highest percentages of hospital admission and serious medical outcomes.

Despite an increase in the overall rate of exposure to natural psychoactive substances, most substances showed a significant decrease in exposure rate from 2000-2017, except for marijuana (150% increase), nutmeg (64% increase), and kratom. Kratom demonstrated a nearly 5,000% increase from 2011-2017 and accounted for eight of the 42 deaths identified in this study. These findings support the need for increased efforts to prevent kratom-associated morbidity and mortality.

Of the 42 deaths identified in this study, seven were among children. Five of the deaths were to 13-19-year-olds and involved anticholinergic plants, hallucinogenic mushrooms, kava kava and marijuana. Both deaths among children 12 years and younger involved marijuana. Similar to previous studies, almost all cases among children younger than 6 years old were primarily exposures associated with exploratory behaviors. Children in this age group are mobile, curious and generally unaware of the potential danger of poisoning. Children younger than 6 years accounted for one-fifth of natural psychoactive substance cases, of which, the majority involved anticholinergic plants and marijuana.

Data for this study were obtained from the National Poison Data System, which is maintained by the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC). The AAPCC receives data about calls to poison control centers that serve the U.S. and its territories. Poison control centers receive phone calls through the Poison Help Line and document information about the product, route of exposure, individual exposed, exposure scenario, and other data.

The Central Ohio Poison Center

provides state-of-the-art poison prevention, assessment and treatment to residents in 64 of Ohio’s 88 counties. The center services are available to the public, medical professionals, industry, and human service agencies. The Poison Center handles more than 42,000 poison exposure calls annually, and confidential, free emergency poisoning treatment advice is available 24/7. To learn more about the Poison Center, visit

www.bepoisonsmart.org

The Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) of The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

works globally to reduce injury-related pediatric death and disabilities. With innovative research at its core, CIRP works to continually improve the scientific understanding of the epidemiology, biomechanics, prevention, acute treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries. CIRP serves as a pioneer by translating cutting edge injury research into education, policy, and advances in clinical care. For related injury prevention materials or to learn more about CIRP, visit

www.injurycenter.org

Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice Hosted Special Educational Conference

on Moral Injury and Veteran-Centric Care with Local Experts

Marlton, NJ

–

Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice

, in collaboration with New Jersey Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, HeroCare Connect and the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA), recently hosted the

Moral Injury and Veteran-Centric Care Conference

at The Samaritan Center in Voorhees.

VetConference– Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice, in collaboration with New Jersey Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, HeroCare Connect and the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA), recently hosted the Moral Injury and Veteran-Centric Care Conference at The Samaritan Center in Voorhees. Pictured here, from left: Mary Ann Boccolini, President and CEO, Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice; Reverend Chris J. Antal, Staff Chaplain, Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia and Keynote Speaker of the conference; and Kim Rumaker, Manager of Social Work, Spiritual Support & Center of Grief Support, Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice.

“The purpose of this conference was to bring together local experts in order to educate and, ultimately, improve quality care for our veterans across the healthcare continuum,” explained Mary Ann Boccolini, president and CEO of Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice. “Samaritan is proud to host a conference highlighting the unique needs of those who have served our country. By openly discussing topics such as moral injury and PTSD, we are breaking down barriers and raising awareness of how we can best serve our growing veteran population.”

The keynote address was delivered by Reverend Chris J. Antal, staff chaplain at the Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia where he co-leads a group for veterans experiencing moral injury. Accompanied by fellow veterans who shared their own personal experiences, Reverend Antal, who served in the Army Chaplain Corps from 2008-2016 and is a veteran of the United States’ war in Afghanistan, presented the concept of moral injury and then led conference attendees through a series of exercises to bring the concept to life.

The conference also included presentations from local experts on a variety of topics pertaining to veteran-centric care:

The Importance of Veteran-Centric Care

Presented by Dr. Stephen Goldfine, Chief Medical Director of Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice

The Evolution of Caring for Our Military – A Case Study

Presented by Christine Carlson-Glazer, MPH, Government and Community Relations Liaison of Deborah Heart and Lung Center and HeroCare Connect™ and Louis Bezich, MPP, Senior Vice President, Strategic Alliances of Cooper University Hospital and HeroCare Connect™

Navigating Moral Injury – Stats and Stories

Presented by Dr. Mary Ditri, Vice President of Community Health of the New Jersey Hospital Association and Dr. Michael Mimms, Veteran Mental Health Care Navigator of the New Jersey Hospital Association

Connecting Veterans to Services in NJ

Presented by Christopher Wambach, State Supervisor of Veteran Service Offices of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veteran Affairs

Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice is a four-star provider of the

We Honor Veterans

and

Hospice Veterans Partnership (HVP) of New Jersey

We Honor Veterans

is a joint program of the Veterans Administration and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization that focuses on respectful inquiry, compassionate listening and grateful recognition for those who served our country.

HVP of New Jersey

, an affiliate of the Homecare & Hospice Association of New Jersey, establishes a network of hospice and VA professionals in efforts to provide outstanding end-of-life care for New Jersey’s veterans and their families.

To learn more about the services Samaritan provides to members of the veteran community, visit

www.SamaritanNJ.org/hospice-care/veteran-hospice/

How Long Do Resin Beads in a Water Softener Last?

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(Nov. 26, 2019)–Whether you have just purchased a water softener or still using the one you bought on your last shopping, one of your many worries include when to replace the resin bed. This leads to asking – how long do resin beads in

industrial water softeners

last?

Also, you inquire further about the kind of maintenance it requires, how they work, and which of these resin beads the best is for you. In this post, we\’ll provide answers to these questions and help you get the most out of your resin beads.

What is a Water Softener Resin

Water softener resin

is a media to remove the hardness of your water. This media uses an ion exchange process to eliminate the high amount of heavy metals and other minerals, causing hardness of water, leaving the water in your plumbing network soft.

While the water conditioner does not remove the hardness in water, the resin descales it. For salt-based models, the resin bed plays an integral part in making your water soft. In most commercial and residential houses, water treatment includes the water softening resin to get rid of minerals, causing hardness.

How the Resin Works

The resin bed of a water softener is a collection of thousands of resin beads located in the unit\’s tank. When you turn on the tap, water flows into the water softener and passes through the resin bed, where it comes in contact with the plethora of resin beads in the tank. During the process, the resin beads trap calcium, magnesium, and other minerals, allowing only soft water to flow out in your kitchen outlet.

Type of Resin

In the market today, there are two main types of water softeners, which includes:

Fine mesh resin

Standard ion exchange resin.

It\’s vital that you know more about each model before heading to your local store to purchase just any water softening resin that comes your way. However, you should choose the one that best suits your needs.

Fine Mesh Resin

This type of resin is excellent for removing high concentrations of iron. It comes with small-sized resin beads that are capable of removing as high as ten parts in a million dissolved iron.

That\’s not all: it helps make your drinking water taste better since this resin is sometimes blended with activated carbon. Besides, this type features small-sized resin beads; you must place a flow basket on the upper part to help avoid resin migration when it\’s regenerating.

Standard Ion Exchange Resin

This is the most popular water softener type on the market. Unlike fine mesh resin, the standard ion exchange resin is only capable of removing up to 5 parts per million of dissolved iron. When it comes to water purification, this model does it better.

Further, standard ion exchange resin uses sodium chloride or potassium chloride to regenerate the resin.

Crosslink Percentage

Crosslink is a crucial factor to consider when trying to pin down the best water softening resin. Crosslink is a measure of the amount of divinylbenzene (DVB), which a resin bed contains. Products featuring higher crosslink percentage, often come with a hefty price tag.

However, it doesn\’t mean resin with a higher crosslink percentage is the best choice for every homeowner.

To begin with, there are two variations of crosslink percentage – 8 and 10 percent. Let\’s take a look at each variation and why you should consider it.

8% Crosslink

The 8% crosslink is the most used

water softening resin percentage

. It\’s suitable for removing dissolved iron up to 3 – 5 parts per million while softening your water wholly. This resin should serve you for about 10 -15 years, which is based on your water quality. You can expect maximum effectiveness from this unit when used with non-chlorinated water.

10% Crosslink

When it comes to softening hard water, 10% crosslink packs a lot of strength. This type is recommended for people dealing with chlorinated iron-free water. Higher crosslink helps handle the high amount of chlorine in your water. Besides, it permits a huge capacity for water.

Sadly, owning a high crosslink resin can be way over your budget and often leads to a significant drop in water pressure.

Which is best

Still not sure which resin suits your needs? Let\’s help you make an informed decision.

For homeowners with water offering 5 P.P.M of chlorine, then you should lean more to resin with 8% crosslink. This option is also suitable for people looking to treat their city water.

But if you have got water featuring higher than 5 P.P.M of chlorine, which means you need a strong resin to handle oxidation. Fine mesh or 10% crosslink resin is an ideal choice. Also, for people with well water, you can make sure of any of the resins to remove hardness.

How long do they last

Needless to say, water softener resin requires replacement after a while. Most brands out there boast of a lifetime within 10 – 15 years. But, in the end, it boils down to the

quality of your water

and the number of times it regenerates.

In addition, keep in mind that the concentration of iron in your water and organic coating of your resin determines how long resin beads last. To simply say, a high amount of chlorine or iron can kill the resin bed faster.