Conventional Medicine & The Autoimmune Protocol: Finding a Balance that Works for YOU – Video

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Conventional Medicine The Autoimmune Protocol: Finding a Balance that Works for YOU
Join Samantha McClellan (Sweet Potatoes and Social Change), Angie Alt (Autoimmune Paleo), Tara Perillo (Paleo Cajun Lady) and Jaime Hartman (Gutsy By Nature) to discuss the challenges and ...

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Conventional Medicine & The Autoimmune Protocol: Finding a Balance that Works for YOU - Video

Obama Seeks Millions for 'Precision Medicine'

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President Barack Obama is asking Congress for $215 million to pay for what he's calling a Precision Medicine Initiative a plan to rev up more targeted treatments for people.

The hope is to build on gains like those made recently in treating cancer. Scientists know that cancer isn't just a single disease and it's become clear that even specific types of cancer, such as breast cancer, are truly separate diseases with separate causes.

The initiative would aim to take these discoveries across medicine.

"It's a game changer. It holds the potential to revolutionize the way we approach health in this country and, ultimately, around the world," said Dr. Jo Handelsman, associate director for science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

"It holds the potential to revolutionize the way we approach health in this country."

"Throughout history, most medical treatments have been designed for the average patient, meaning they can be highly effective for most patients but not others," she added.

"As a result of this one-size-fits-all-approach, treatments can be very successful for some patients but not for others," the White House said in a statement.

"This is changing with the emergence of precision medicine, an innovative approach to disease prevention and treatment that takes into account individual differences in people's genes, environments, and lifestyles."

Even as toddlers it was clear something was wrong with Alexis and Noah Beery of Carlsbad, California. But doctors could not figure out what. Their mother, Retta Beery, said precision medicine could have changed that.

Obama's ask includes $130 million for the National Institutes of Health to develop a database of a million people whose genes, lifestyle and health would be studied and followed for years. Unlike previous such studies, the volunteers could share in learning from and using their data.

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Obama Seeks Millions for 'Precision Medicine'

Obama Calls on Congress to Fund 'Precision Medicine' Studies

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Holding out the promise of major medical breakthroughs, President Barack Obama on Friday called on Congress to approve spending in medical research that tailors treatment to an individual's genes.

Obama wants $215 million for what he's calling a precision medicine initiative that moves away from one-size-fits-all treatments. The ambitious goal: Scientists will assemble databases of about a million volunteers to study their genetics and other factors such as their environments and the microbes that live in their bodies to learn how to individualize care.

"That's the promise of precision medicine -- delivering the right treatment at the right time, every time, to the right person," Obama said in announcing the proposal Friday.

The effort is a hot but challenging field in medical research that has already yielded some early results.

For example, it's becoming more common for patients with certain cancers to undergo molecular testing in choosing which drug is their best match. People with a rare form of cystic fibrosis now can choose a drug designed specifically to target the genetic defect causing their illness. Some medical centers, such as the Mayo Clinic, have opened "individualized medicine clinics."

But only recently has the cost of genomic sequencing dropped enough, and the computer power of medicine increased, to make it possible for large-scale pursuit of the approach, said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, which will lead the initiative.

The hope is to "harness the power of science to find individualized health solutions," Collins said.

Obama noted that doctors often try to personalize care, such as matching blood transfusion to blood types.

"What if matching a cancer cure to a genetic code was just as easy, just as standard?" he asked. "What if figuring the right dose of medicines was as a simple as taking a temperature?"

In the short term, precision medicine holds the most promise for cancer because scientists already know a lot about the molecular signatures of different tumors, Collins said.

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Obama Calls on Congress to Fund 'Precision Medicine' Studies

'Vast Majority' of Neurosurgeons Practice Defensive Medicine

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More than three-fourths US neurosurgeons practice some form of defensive medicine -- performing additional tests and procedures out of fear of malpractice lawsuits, reports a special article in the February issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

The rates and costs of defensive medicine by neurosurgeons are especially high in states with high-risk liability environments. "Although ordering extra laboratory tests, imaging studies, etc. was prevalent everywhere, it was even more so in high-risk states," according to the survey study by Dr. Timothy R. Smith of Northwestern University, Chicago, and colleagues.

Most Neurosurgeons Report Defensive Medicine

Dr. Smith and colleagues sent a questionnaire regarding defensive medicine to 3,344 Board-certified neurosurgeons. Defensive medicine refers to making medical decisions based on concerns over possible malpractice lawsuits, rather than any expected benefit to the patient. The study assessed the relationship between defensive medicine practice and an objective measure of the "liability risk environment" of the neurosurgeon's state.

The survey response rate was 31 percent, with 1,026 neurosurgeons responding. Those practicing in states with high-risk liability environments were more likely to respond. Most neurosurgeons correctly perceived their state's level of liability risk.

Based on the survey responses, "The vast majority of US neurosurgeons participate in some form of defensive medicine," Dr. Smith and colleagues write. More than 80 percent of surgeons said they had ordered imaging tests solely for defensive reasons, while more than three-fourths reported ordering laboratory tests and making extra referrals for defensive purposes. Up to half said they ordered more medications and procedures out of fear of being sued.

Rates of all of these defensive behaviors were higher for neurosurgeons in high-risk states. This included a 30 percent increase in the likelihood of ordering additional imaging studies for defensive purposes, 40 percent for additional laboratory tests.

Even More So in States with High Risk of Liability

Nearly half of neurosurgeons in high-risk states said they had stopped performing high-risk procedures because of liability concerns. Nearly one-fourth had stopped performing brain surgery for fear of being sued, while close to 40 percent were considering retirement because of the local liability environment.

Overall, the rate of defensive medicine behaviors increased by 50 percent at each grade of the five-point risk scale. Thus, a neurosurgeon practicing in a state at highest risk of liability would be six times more likely to practice defensive medicine than one in a state at lowest risk.

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'Vast Majority' of Neurosurgeons Practice Defensive Medicine

Winter graduation 2015: Ceremony 4, 9.30am Saturday 24 January – Video

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Winter graduation 2015: Ceremony 4, 9.30am Saturday 24 January
Featuring graduands of: - Archaeology - Biology - Chemistry - Health Sciences - Hull York Medical School - Physics Also includes the awarding of an honorary degree to Professor Odile Eisenstein,...

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Winter graduation 2015: Ceremony 4, 9.30am Saturday 24 January - Video

Registration opening soon for updated, six-hour-long MCAT

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The MCAT is officially changing this month, causing a stir among hundreds of medical school hopefuls grinding through the application process.

The new MCAT, which stands for Medical College Admission Test, has several noteworthy changes.

The exam will be double the length, about six hours instead of three, said Owen Farcy, an MCAT specialist for Kaplan. It will also feature an broader scoring scale with the highest score increasing from 45 to 528, as well as three additional semesters worth of material covered in biochemistry, introductory psychology and sociology.

Farcy said the American Association of Medical Colleges made changes that would more accurately test medical school readiness.

The association is opening registration Feb. 11 for the April, May and June exams, offering a $150 Amazon gift card to those willing to register for one of the first two dates.

The first round of exams will set the scoring standard.

We wanted to take this as an opportunity to build from the ground up, Farcy said. The AAMC have said this is the new test for the 21st century.

Farcy said he has been working on creating a program for the new exam since it was first announced in 2011. The six hours of testing is the most common concern hes heard.

Six hours is a long time to be in a testing center, said Drew Sexton, a UF microbiology junior.

However, Sexton, 21, said he has mixed feelings about the exam.

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Registration opening soon for updated, six-hour-long MCAT