by tyler | Apr 7, 2023 | CNN, health
Wouldn’t it be nice if there were some undiscovered ingredient, and one bite of it would cure all our health concerns?
There isn’t one, sadly.
But scientists do know the recipe to better health, and it is a long-term practice of good habits when it comes to sleep, eating, exercise, socialization and stress.
In honor of the 75th anniversary of the World Health Organization, here are the factors that add up to better health and what you can do today to improve in these areas.
Ask your doctor if you have specific concerns in any of these areas.
A bad night’s rest doesn’t just mess with your concentration during the day. So far this year, CNN has reported that not getting enough sleep can increase your risk of mood problems, asthma, stroke and longevity.
Sleep is kind of a big deal.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults get at least seven hours of sleep a night — but quality is important as well.
To get more good sleep, research shows it’s important to set a schedule for going to bed and waking up, follow a nighttime routine to tell your brain it’s time to go to bed, keep your bedroom dark and cool, turn away from the screens early, and don’t lay in bed if you are having trouble sleeping.
People’s individual bodies need different things, but is there a best way to guide your nutrition?
According to many scientific studies and U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings, it’s the Mediterranean diet.
Don’t let the word diet fool you — this isn’t a restrictive philosophy to manipulate your body weight. The Mediterranean diet is a way of eating that features simple, plant-based cooking, with the majority of each meal focused on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and seeds, with a few nuts and a heavy emphasis on extra-virgin olive oil. Fats other than olive oil, such as butter, are consumed rarely, if at all, and sugar and refined foods are reserved for special occasions.
Numerous studies have found the Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk for diabetes, high cholesterol, dementia, memory loss, depression and breast cancer.
Scientists have long known that exercise is good for a healthy body, but research has shown it’s also important for a healthy mind.
The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends that people between the ages of 18 and 64 engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity each week, as well as muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week.
The good news is even if you can’t get there right now, adding even a little bit will help.
Research published earlier this year showed that even 11 minutes of exercise a day can lower your risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease or premature death.
Many people place a lot of importance on some of the health behaviors often thought of as more physical, but social and emotional factors deserve our attention as well.
And good, strong friendships are key to not just alleviating our stress and improving emotional well-being, but also boosting markers of our physical health, according to the latest research.
People should grow this area of health by investing more in a feeling of community, experts have suggested.
They also stressed the importance of making friendship a priority in your schedule: Text a friend that you haven’t talked to in a long time, commit to meeting one new person a month, host a dinner party or join a class.
Strong bonds won’t happen overnight, but starting small and prioritizing friendships as an important part of your life can bring more happiness, less stress and more support, workplace belonging expert Adam Smiley Poswolsky told CNN earlier this year.
“Even when — especially when — their friend is struggling or going through something hard,” said Poswolsky who is also author of “Friendship in the Age of Loneliness: An Optimist’s Guide to Connection.” “You know someone is a true friend when they have your back when you’re sick, when you lose your job, when you make a mistake, when you’re going through a break-up, when you’re stressed, when you’re sad.”
I know I’ve heard it every time I go to the doctor for any concern: Whatever it is, it gets worse with stress.
Sure enough, stress can send a body into fight or fligh, which raises cortisol. Higher levels of cortisol can exacerbate health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic gastrointestinal problems, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Stress can also cause or contribute to anxiety, irritability, poor sleep, substance abuse, chronic distrust or worry, and more.
Fortunately, a balanced diet, good sleep, exercise and social support can help with stress reduction. It can also help to explore breathing and meditation techniques.
You may be thinking, I am already stretched thin in my day — adding in all these health behaviors will cause stress by itself.
The good news is that these habits are best added with small, manageable changes over a period of time.
Approach your goals one bite at a time and with a plan, flexibility, fun and support, and you may soon find you’ve made the changes you are looking for, said Katy Milkman, the James G. Dinan Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, author of “How to Change: The Science of Getting From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.”
Sign up for CNN’s Stress, But Less newsletter. Our six-part mindfulness guide will inform and inspire you to reduce stress while learning how to harness it.
by tyler | Apr 6, 2023 | CNN, health
The World Health Organization is monitoring the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16, which has been identified in about two dozen countries.
The subvariant has not been found in the United States, but it is similar to the XBB.1.5 subvariant that has been dominant in the country since January.
XBB.1.16 has one additional mutation that, according to lab studies, makes it more infectious and potentially more pathogenic, Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19, said at a recent briefing.
“This is one to watch,” she said. “It’s been in circulation for a few months. We haven’t seen a change in severity in individuals or in populations, but that’s why we have these systems in place.”
Most of the samples of XBB.1.16 are from India, where it has become dominant. Weekly Covid-19 cases in the country have more than doubled in the past week but remain far below peak levels, WHO data shows.
Omicron remains the variant of concern worldwide and hundreds of sublineages continue to circulate.
“We are in a much better situation than we were since the beginning of this pandemic,” Van Kerkhove said. “One of the big uncertainties we face going forward is the virus itself. It hasn’t settled into a predictable pattern. It continues to evolve.”
The number of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths continues to fall in the United States. Less than 1% of counties in the United States have a Covid-19 community level of high, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
by tyler | Apr 6, 2023 | CNN, health
On Thursday, the US Food and Drug Administration announced its final decision to withdraw its approval of Makena, a drug approved more than a decade ago to reduce the risk of preterm birth. The FDA says that the drug is not effective and that the benefits of taking it do not outweigh the risk.
“It is tragic that the scientific research and medical communities have not yet found a treatment shown to be effective in preventing preterm birth and improving neonatal outcomes – particularly in light of the fact that this serious condition has a disparate impact on communities of color, especially Black women,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in a statement. “Fundamentally, however, the touchstone of FDA drug approval is a favorable benefit-risk assessment; without that favorable assessment, the drug should not have the status of being FDA-approved.”
Effective Thursday, the agency says, Makena and its generics are no longer approved and cannot lawfully be distributed in interstate commerce.
Last month, the maker of the drug said it was moving to withdraw the medication from the market after an FDA panel said it is not effective.
“While we stand by Makena’s favorable risk-benefit profile, including its efficacy in women at highest risk of preterm birth, we are seeking to voluntarily withdraw the product and work with the FDA to effectuate an orderly wind-down,” Covis Pharma Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Raghav Chari said in a news release at the time.
In October, the FDA’s Obstetrics, Reproductive and Urologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted that Makena should not remain on the market after a large study failed to show that it was effective. It also voted that a postmarket trial didn’t show any benefit to babies and that the evidence didn’t show that Makena reduced the risk of preterm birth in women who had had one before.
Covis said that soon after the committee hearing, it outlined a plan for withdrawal that included a wind-down period allowing patients to finish the 21-week course of treatment. However, the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research rejected the plan.
The FDA said while the approvals of Makena and its generics have been withdrawn, the agency recognizes that there is a supply of product that has already been distributed. It said patients who have questions should talk to their health care provider.
by tyler | Apr 6, 2023 | CNN, health
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory Thursday about the Marburg virus outbreak in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania.
Marburg is a rare but highly fatal viral fever that causes uncontrolled bleeding, similar to Ebola.
The CDC’s warning says that although there are no cases in the United States and the current risk is low, health care providers should be on the lookout for any imported cases.
Providers who suspect that someone is sick with Marburg virus should take a detailed travel history, the CDC said. The patient should be managed under isolation until there is a negative test, and the local health department should be contacted immediately.
Marburg virus is not contagious until symptoms appear. These can include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal symptoms and unexplained bleeding.
It can spread through contact with an infected person’s blood and other body fluids or through fluids from infected animals. It does not spread through the air like the virus that causes Covid-19.
There is no specific vaccine or treatment for the disease. Early intensive supportive care, the CDC said, may keep people from getting seriously ill or dying.
In March, the CDC warned travelers to Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania to avoid contact with sick people and to monitor their health for three weeks after visiting those countries. The agency posted notices in international airports reminding people to watch for symptoms and to see a doctor immediately if they feel sick. It’s also sending text messages to travelers who have been in those countries.
The CDC has sent staff to Africa to help fight the outbreaks, which are the first reported in either Equatorial Guinea or Tanzania.
Authorities were made aware of the outbreak in Equatorial Guinea in early February. On February 7, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for Equatorial Guinea announced that there had been a cluster of deaths in early January.
In late March, the Ministry of Health of Tanzania announced an outbreak in the northwest part of the country. As of April 5, there have been eight lab-confirmed cases, and five of those people have died.
The CDC said there is no evidence to suggest that the two outbreaks are related. Most experts agree that these cases represent two independent animal-to-human spillover events.
In addition to avoiding areas where there are known outbreaks, there are ways to keep yourself safe from Marburg virus, the CDC said. Avoid contact with blood and bodily fluids from people who are sick. If attending a funeral for someone who has died from the disease, take care not to touch the body. Also avoid contact with fruit bats and primates in areas where there are outbreaks, since both animals are known to be carriers for the virus.
by tyler | Apr 6, 2023 | CNN, health
The World Health Organization still does not have key data from China about the origins of the Covid-19 outbreak, putting the world in jeopardy, says Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the group’s Covid-19 technical lead and head of its program on emerging diseases.
“The lack of data disclosure is simply inexcusable,” Van Kerkhove wrote in an editorial in the journal Science on Thursday. “The longer it takes to understand the origins of the pandemic, the harder it becomes to answer the question, and the more unsafe the world becomes.”
Understanding how the disease emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 would help prevent future outbreaks, Van Kerkhove said.
It was only this year, three years after the start of the pandemic, that WHO got access to certain data that Chinese scientists had gathered in early 2020 at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan. The raw genetic sequences from the samples had recently been uploaded to the data-sharing site GISAID. They were soon removed, but quick-thinking researchers had already noticed them and downloaded them for further study.
An analysis of that material uncovered animal DNA in samples already known to be positive for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. A significant amount of that DNA seemed to belong to animals known as raccoon dogs, which had been on sale at the market, WHO officials said in March.
Although the sequences showed that the animal could have been an intermediate host and that the market amplified the spread of the virus, the data did not show that people who interacted with those animals got sick through that exposure. In other words, the findings did not settle the question of how the pandemic started.
To do so, scientists would need to trace the animals to the source of the virus. WHO also needs access to test results from workers at the market.
Three years later, Van Kerkhove said, WHO still does not have access to the raw data China collected from early Covid-19 cases.
With China’s advanced technical capabilities, she firmly believes, it has more essential information that it is not sharing.
Van Kerkhove says China could have more unshared information about things like the wild and farmed animal trade, the testing of humans and animals in Wuhan and across China, the operations of labs in Wuhan that worked with coronaviruses, and the first cases.
The failure to share information, she said, only fuels politicization of the origin of the virus.
“The world needs to move away from the politics of blame and, instead, exploit all diplomatic and scientific approaches so that the global scientific community can do what it does best – collaborate, focus on this health crisis, and find evidence-based solutions to thwart future pandemics,” Van Kerkhove wrote.
It’s still not clear whether the Covid-19 pandemic began with a lab leak or with spillover from animals. Many scientists believe that the virus naturally moved from animals to humans. Intelligence agencies like the US Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence and the FBI endorse the theory that that virus spread out of a Chinese lab. Without more data from China from early in the pandemic, it may never be proved.
This is not the first time Van Kerkhove has been vocal about China’s lack of transparency about Covid, nor is she the only world leader to call on China to be forthcoming about the beginnings of the pandemic.
In March, Van Kerkhove described to Science WHO’s late discovery of the Chinese data about the market as “beyond infuriating,” calling the lack of collaboration “scary as hell.”
Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and a member of President Joe Biden’s Covid task force during the presidential transition, said Van Kerkhove’s editorial puts WHO on the record on the issue.
“Will that be a compelling incentive for China to share more? No. They’re going to do what they’re going to do,” Osterholm said.
“I am not optimistic,” he added.
It will never be fruitful to spend time and attention on getting data from China to pinpoint what happened with Covid, Osterholm said.
“My whole message is that we’ve got to prepare for lab leaks or spillover events,” he said.
WHO plans to publish a status report about what it knows about the origins of Covid-19 this year.
In the meantime, it’s encouraging all countries, not just China, to share what they know to help solve the mystery and fight future pandemics. Collaboration is key, as is finding evidence-based solutions, Van Kerkhove believes.
“Time is running out,” she wrote.
by tyler | Apr 6, 2023 | CNN, health
More than 90,000 people in the United States are waiting for a kidney donation, but Dr. Aleksandra Gmurczyk helped take two people off the waitlist when she donated her own kidney to Ginger, a woman she had never met, and launching a kidney-paired donation.
A kidney-paired donation happens when a person is willing to donate a kidney to someone in their life who needs it, but they aren’t a good match, so they swap recipients with another donor.
In this case, Gmurczyk’s kidney was donated in February to Ginger, who had “hard-to-match” kidneys. Ginger’s husband, Gary, was not a match for his wife. He donated his kidney to a Northwestern Medicine patient.
Ginger and Gary did not want their last name reported.
“I am so glad to meet you,” Gmurczyk, a nephrologist and associate professor at Northwestern Medicine, said to Ginger when meeting her at a news conference on Thursday. “I’m so glad you got my kidney, and I can tell you’re going to take really good care of it.”
“I did not want to donate specifically to one person,” Gmurczyk told CNN, adding that with a kidney-paired donation, she felt like she had a chance to help more people.
In 2020, there were 22,817 kidney transplants performed in the United States because of conditions like kidney disease or failure, according to the National Institutes of Health. On average, it takes about three to five years for a patient to be matched with a kidney donor, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
Doctors have donated their own kidneys to patients before: According to Maine Health, Dr. Aji Djamali, chair of the Department of Medicine at Maine Medical Center, donated his kidney to a former patient last year.
In 2002, Dr. Susan Hou, a nephrologist at Michael Reese Hospital, Rush University Medical Center and Loyola University Medical Center, donated her kidney to a patient, according to the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest.
But Gmurczyk wanted to donate to help educate patients.
She often sees patients who have kidney failure, which renders their kidneys unable to filter waste and toxins out of their bloodstream. Many undergo dialysis, a taxing treatment that helps remove waste and extra fluids from the blood.
Although treatment varies depending on the level of care needed, dialysis is typically done three times a week for about four hours at a time, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
“It’s like a part-time job,” Gmurczyk said. “It is stressful, and it is sad, and they feel isolated and lonely. Many of them work, but not many of them can.”
Prior to the transplant, Ginger was undergoing dialysis treatment.
“It would have been two years yesterday that I started dialysis,” Ginger said. “About a week or two before I got my transplant…it started getting worse.”
Despite the long list of people awaiting donation, some of her patients are still leery of undergoing a transplant because of things like mistrust of the health care system or the requirements for donation.
Nine years ago, Gmurczyk began thinking about how she could change those people’s minds. She decided to donate one of her own kidneys to help increase the level of trust in the procedure and to inspire others to donate.
“The reason why I wanted to donate is that … I can go to them and say, ‘I donated my kidney, and I believe that people who receive a kidney transplant live longer, healthier lives, and I believe in this so much that I donated,’ ” she said.
Gmurczyk says kidney donations from living people usually begin working immediately and can function for twice as long as those from deceased donors: 15 to 20 years vs. 10 to 12 years, respectively.
She applied to join a donation pool, which led to the kidney-paired model.
After she was matched with Ginger in Virginia, Gmurczyk’s donor journey was a typical one, including things like kidney function tests and abdomen screenings to find the smaller kidney, which is ultimately donated.
Her care team included another nephrologist, a pharmacist, a surgeon, a social worker and a donor advocate.
Donor advocates work to ensure that donors are not being coerced or paid to have the procedure. Social workers help the donor set up the best social support to make sure they are taken care of at home after the procedure.
“People who get a transplant need a social support person, and a lot of people do not even have one person to help them after the transplant,” Gmurczyk said.
After she had the surgery and spent the night in the hospital, a friend came to help her get home, but Gmurczyk felt well enough to walk.
“I was able to take care of my dog the next day,” she said. “I was doing everything for myself.”
She took two weeks off work and did not have any problems returning.
Her decision to donate has already paid off, she says: One of her patients who had been skeptical of getting a kidney transplant was inspired to begin the evaluation process.
Gary also met his recipient, Arturo “Art” Reyes.
Reyes was particularly emotional.
“I didn’t think there was any hope anymore,” Reyes said. “There’s really no words to say thank you, you’ve given me life back.”
Northwestern Medicine gave Gmurczyk and Reyes shirts that said, “Organ donation saves lives.”
