MedBr First to Know 9/14/2015

New Brooms Sweep Clean!

     We are so happy with our new editor, Brent Sucher. In his first month, he worked so hard and so happiliy that in his second month he got us to invest in a whole new editing system that is faster, easier and all-around better than the one we had before. He also totally cleaned and organized the 3 or 4 rooms of cables and discarded equipment that had amassed over the last 5 years and we now have two substations we can use for other tasks. Thanks to his grandmother, Cynthia, and Ivanhoe’s founder, Bette, for getting him to interview with us!

     Watch our Medical Headline Videos:

•      Reslizumab is a new drug being tested by Dr Mario Castro, MD, MPH and other researchers at Washington University School of Medicine for asthma attacks. It takes two weeks to start working but the patients had a 50 percent reduction in asthma attacks and few to no side effects.
•      Macular degeneration slowly blinds 15 million Americans and it has no cure. Stanford Ophthalmologist Daniel Palanker, PhD, is developing the first-of-its-kind, minimally invasive retinal implant that might give sight back. It’s only been tested in mice but clinical trials are expected to begin in Paris early next year.
•      LAM is a rare lung disease that targets women ages 20 to 40. Dr Robert Kotloff, MD, Pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic, says that it often worsens during pregnancy. Rapamune is now approved by the FDA to treat it.

     Washington University Rheumatologist Jonathan Miner, MD, PhD is studying chikungunya. He believes that studying this virus will give us insight into what drives the inflammation that causes painful arthritis. There is now a Chikungunya registry at Washington University:chikv.dom.wustl.edu

     Libby and Tony Kranz started Unravel Pediatric Cancer after losing their oldest daughter, Jennifer, to a brain tumor at age six. So far they have raised $300,000 to fund research in the hope that other parents and children won’t suffer what they did. Seven children a day die from cancer right now but only four percent of federal cancer funding goes to pediatrics.

     In case you missed them, you may want to check our past reports, Premium Content in Archives Better Workout: Yoga or Gym? One Technique Really Helps Depressed Patients. Premium Content in the Archives may be purchased for as little as $9 for 24-hour, unlimited access. If you would like to access Premium Content for the first time click here.

     Depression affects 17 million people but about a third of them refuse to seek help. Our report on “Eating Away Depression” gives some great tips about what to eat that might help. Charles Conway, PhD, Psychiatrist in St Louis recommends several things but also admits that dietary changes alone probably aren’t enough, talk therapy and/or medications are still needed for a full recovery.

And there's more where that came from...

Marjorie Bekaert Thomas

President, Ivanhoe Broadcast News

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.”
-- Bill Clinton