Daily Archives: December 30, 2019

With winter months come runny noses, scratchy throats and headaches. Maybe not a cure to all but honey can be used to relieve and prevent many of our little and sometimes big aches and illnesses.

Alternative cough syrup

There are many remedies made out of honey to ease the raspy throat, especially for children. One version that is a traditional Turkish remedy, which personally helped me. Black radish is carved out, cut off a bit of the lower part (the root) and add a spoonful of honey into the radish bowl. Put that into a glass so that the radish infused honey can drip into it. Drinking that usually helps with throat aches. Doctors warn pregnant or breastfeeding women from consuming this, as it might have negative effects on them.

A second very popular remedy is paring up the honey with another healthy ingredient: lemons! Putting a few lemon slices into a cup of honey not only helps with the throat but with other symptoms of the common cold as well.

Honey itself is considered a good cough suppressant, a study published on "Jama Pediatrics" shows. In the study, parents preferred honey for the symptomatic relief of the children's coughs at night and their difficulty to sleep, which was caused by upper respiratory tract infections.

Toothaches

Cloves are known for their numbing properties so chewing on them when you get a toothache makes sense. But adding honey into the mix makes for a mixture that might prevent infections, which could make the toothaches worse. The traditional remedy recommends adding a few cloves onto a few tablespoons of honey and let it rest in it.

Lowers cholesterol levels

Honey itself does not have any cholesterol and with the vitamins and microelements, it lowers the "bad" cholesterol levels in the blood. Several pieces of research suggest that the so-called "bad" LDL cholesterol can be lowered by 6-11% with the consumption of honey.

The classic: Helping you fall and stay asleep

The reason why people sometimes wake up in the middle of the night might be the lack of glycogen in our brain, the kidneys releasing adrenaline and cortisol making you wake up, studies suggest. As honey contains glycogen it should be consumed before you go to sleep, lowering your adrenaline low and helping you at least stay asleep.

Wounds

Even in ancient Egypt honey was used to seal off wounds and help them heal faster. And with its antimicrobial properties, the wound won't get infected. This is even supported by several studies, researching alternative medicine.

Some scientists even claim that it helps to heal extreme eczema and eliminated dry patches, initiating new skin growth. The best way to help with eczema is to mix the honey with equal parts of ground cinnamon and apply it to the affected areas, they suggest.

While honey has even more benefits than the ones listed here it should be noted that honey is dangerous for children under 1-year-old. But mind you, this content which includes advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information.

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Oldest cure that never spoils: Honey - Daily Sabah

Yoga therapist Tina Paul (back) and Lori Weisenberg-Catalano work on form.

Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service Jun Mao performs acupuncture on a patient.

Music therapist Alessandro Ricciarelli and an MSK Kids patient play the guitar.

Summary

The Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering is celebrating 20 years of incorporating complementary medicine into the care plans of people with cancer.Read on to learn about its first days and whats to come.

As a new millennium approached in 1999, another beginning was underway: the creation of the Integrative Medicine Service (IMS) at Memorial Sloan Kettering. The IMS was built on the premise that healing from cancer goes beyond standard medical treatments promoting wellness in mind and spirit can help people feel whole again, too.

For 20 years, the IMS staff has cared for hundreds of thousands of people with cancer and led studies that have furthered the field of integrative oncology. The program has always been rooted in evidence-based medicine, says IMS Chief Jun Mao. Unlike alternative medicine, which uses unproven methods instead of conventional treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, the IMS works with a persons primary MSK cancer care team to support them holistically. Specialized integrative medicine doctors consult with patients and create a road map for their therapeutic needs. Services such as fitness training, acupuncture, meditation, yoga, massage, music therapy, and more are tailored to the individuals symptoms and promote restoration.

The blend of programs at MSK was the brainchild of philanthropist Laurance Rockefeller, who was on MSKs Boards of Overseers and Managers for more than 50 years. He believed that we have to take care of quality-of-life issues for people affected by cancer, Dr. Mao says. The first IMS Chief, Barrie Cassileth, established the prototype for the IMS and later founded the Society for Integrative Oncology, a multidisciplinary international society with more than 500 members from over 30 countries.

Integrative Medicine

Our Integrative Medicine Service offers a range of wellness therapies that are designed to work together with traditional medical treatments. Visit us today.

Barrie wanted me to continue to build upon the strong foundation she created and take this program to the next level, Dr. Mao says. Mr. Rockefellers legacy is now being carried forward by his daughter Lucy R. Waletzky, an MSK Board member who continues to support the IMS.

Integrative medicine services at MSK are more accessible than ever. Today, patients can receive acupuncture at all of MSKs regional locations. Through telemedicine, they can consult with an IMS doctor and take mindfulness classes from home. They can also access an online video library of mind-body programs guided by IMS specialists, including a series of instructional tai chi videos. In 2019, the IMS began offering pediatric integrative medicine consultations through MSK Kids. The IMS continues to lead integrative oncology research. In April 2019, Dr. Maos team published findings showing that changes to sleep behavior and acupuncture can offer persistent relief for insomnia.

Dr. Mao envisions an even more robust future, with expanded in-person and digital offerings. MSKs About Herbs database, an online hub of information on vitamins and supplements, has had roughly seven million visitors from 194 countries over the past 15 years. We really want to harness the power of technology so that patients have access to MSKs experts and services at their fingertips, he says.

Excerpt from:

Whole-Person Healing: Celebrating 20 Years of Integrative Medicine at MSK - On Cancer - Memorial Sloan Kettering

When Tara Green decided to open Green Tara Wellness Center in Plymouth, she wasnt trying to get cute with the name. OK, maybe she was just a little.

When Tara Green decided to open Green Tara Wellness Center in Plymouth, she wasnt trying to get cute with the name. OK, maybe she was just a little, but her companys title actually has another, more significant meaning.

"Green Tara is the Hindu goddess of compassion," Green said. "Were not a religious organization, but we are spiritually based. We bridge traditional mental health services with alternate therapies to provide an integrated approach to wellness. We encourage people to make a physical, spiritual and emotional connection to find healing and inner peace."

Located at 147 Court St., next to Christ Church, the new center offers a variety of programs, including breath work, psychological services, health coaching, reiki, intuitive energy healing, acupressure, oracle card reading, Ayurvedic therapies, infinity healing, essential oils and more.

Green Tara Wellness Center opened in September with practitioners from around the South Shore. Green wanted to create a place where likeminded specialists could provide a variety of therapies to help people find the medical solutions traditional, alternative or a combination of the two that work best for them.

"We are a group of heart-centered professionals that have come together a as team to help people with their issues," she said. "The common thread is that we are all kind and compassionate people working together to help others transform and heal."

Green said her team can help individuals and families with a range of health issues by working on the connection between

mind, body and soul. This holistic approach integrates modern medical practices to help people achieve maximum wellness.

"One of the areas we specialize in is PANS, or pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome," she said. "This is an autoimmune disorder that often affects children and is usually caused by a virus or bacterial infection, such as strep or Lymes disease, that have triggered this response and often goes misdiagnosed and mistreated."

To treat PANS, the professionals at Green Tara Wellness Center work in concert with traditional health professionals to help the child. A regimen of antibiotics coupled with alternative therapies is often used to reverse the illness, which can cause children to exhibit a variety of neuropsychiatricsymptoms, including obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, ADHD behaviors, personality changes and sleep disorders.

Green Tara Wellness Center offers a range of services and workshops. There are 10 practitioners based at the Plymouth location:

"We believe in living a life full of joy, gratitude and compassion," Green said. "We focus on helping clients better connect to themselves and to live vibrantly so they can achieve healthier bodies, minds and spirits."

For more information, contact Green Tara Wellness Center at 781-724-6510 or visit https://www.greentarawellnesscenter.com/.

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VIDEO: Plymouth wellness center combines alternative therapy, modern medicine for optimal healing - Wicked Local Plymouth

In one photo, the babys head is turned away from the camera, as someone holds his arm up to show the pink area on his back. In another, a cluster of red bumps ring the area where the babys arm and back meet, and a third, of the childs chest, shows what looks like a bumpy red rash near the belly button.

Hi all does this look like an allergic reaction? asks the poster in a Facebook allergy parent group.

Have you tried a naturopath or chiropractor? And adding probiotics and vitamin D to hid [sic] diet? reads one response.

You might think this social media post, presented by Dr. David Stukus to a room full of experts at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, would cause an uproar. Why would a parent turn to Facebook with such a severe reaction?Who has the nerve to respond as an expert and give such misguided advice? Instead, the post elicits familiar groans. Every single person I talked to after my presentation has seen this in his or her practice, says Stukus, an associate professor of pediatrics and associate director of the Pediatric Allergy & Immunology Fellowship Program at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. But whats a room full of immunologists to do? Fighting promises of quick fixes with clear science has always been an uphill battle when it comes to the health of kids. Increasingly, parents ofkids with food allergies have seen this first-hand, thanks to the rise of parenting groups who are taking a page from anti-vaxxers and offering medically dubious advice and promoting conspiracies. For worried parents, its disorienting and dangerous. Fortunately, experts are speaking up, looking to nip this trend in the bud before it does real, extensive harm.

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The fact is that there is no cure for food allergies, which affect more than 4 million kids, or 5 percent of children in the U.S.

If parents believed everything they read online about food allergies, theyd worry that smelly feces could signal a gluten intolerance. Theyd shell out $250 for at-home food allergy tests and would ban charcoal briquettes from their grills. Theyd think a detoxifying elixir might cure allergies and that the body can reverse allergies with the help of vitamin B5, probiotics and crystallized sulfur. Theyd make a child having an anaphylactic allergic reaction drink activated charcoal and hope for the best. They would blame the government for the rise of peanut allergies among kids because they started putting peanut oil in vaccines in the 1960s.

Many parents of kids with food allergies correctly understand that theres no scientific evidence supporting the above claims. But a sizable portion missed the lessons and are all too happy to share unsubstantiated clickbait with dubious health claims via myriad online podiums that offer the misinformed a megaphone. CountlessFacebook groups for allergy parents have cropped up, many of which have tens of thousands of members. People offer anecdotal advice on allergy blogs and YouTube videos, and, to a lesser degree, on allergy-related Instagram accounts (there are more than 50,000 Instagram posts with the tag #allergymom.).

The fact is that there is no cure for food allergies, which affect more than 4 million kids, or 5 percent of children in the U.S., according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. And although the Food and Drug Administration is close to approving a new peanut allergy treatment, currently, the only available treatments for food allergies are avoiding the allergens and possibly medication and immunotherapy. Sadly, however, many parents get their hopes up chasing spurious and often expensive allergy fixes discouraged by their allergists and that turn out to be useless.

Its not just well-meaning but misinformed parents spreading bad food allergy advice. Irresponsible bloggers and companies selling supplements, herbs, treatment programs, DIY allergy tests and chiropractic services based on junk science prey on parents dealing with the anxiety-inducing new world of severe child food allergies. In addition, even well-informed parents might sometimes click on a promise of some new treatment or remedy that at best is a waste of time and at worst, could lead to dangerous medical decisions affecting their childs health.

One Facebook allergy group member, a father of a 15-month-old son who has an anaphylactic allergic reaction to sesame seeds, peanuts, cashew nuts, and pistachios, offered his story as evidence: Im pretty skeptical, says the man who asked to remain anonymous.He and his wife follow doctors instructions and do extra research when it comes to allergy treatments or restaurant menu tips. A lot of that research comes by way of Facebook groups for allergy parents which offer some well-cited information next to some too-good-to-be-true posts and ads that, he admits, can be hard to resist. I have to say, as a dad with an allergic son, I really wish I could believe the headlines and wish I could think Oh, hes going to be OK, theyve found a cure.Since allergies are still somewhat a science mystery, he says, its ripe territory for clickbait and false information posing as science.

This is what fortune-tellers do: they cast a wide net until they find something that may have some application to somebodys life and go with it.

Its no surprise that parents are vulnerable targets for all sorts of allergy quackery. Its difficult enough to keep kids safe as they navigate the world but can be overwhelming having to worry that a piece of cake containing hidden allergens at a birthday party might kill them. But the volume of targeting this vulnerable population receives from modern-day snake-oil salesmen is shocking.

Stukus studied six years worth of allergy-related posts on social media and presented his findings at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology annual meeting in October. What he saw was alarming, he says, and no surprise to any of his colleagues at the meeting.

There are companies as well as different types of medical providers that deliberately target the food allergy community and peddle pseudoscience as a way to make a profit for their services, such as home food allergy sensitivity testing, which is not an accurate way to diagnose anything, he says.

One branch of quackery aimed at food allergy parents involves dubious means of diagnosing food allergies, such as chiropractic adjustments, muscle testing, and hair analysis, Stukus says. Websites peddling food allergy home tests often are loose with the terms allergy and sensitivity and use them interchangeably, even though food allergies and food intolerances are wildly different things. (Stukus goes so far as to say food sensitivities arent real.)

These bogus online [food intolerance] quizzes basically keep asking about every common symptom until you say yes, Stukus says. This is what fortune-tellers do: they cast a wide net until they find something that may have some application to somebodys life and go with it.

More alarming than persuading someone that they have a nonexistent food allergy, however, is that allergy misinformation can feed a mistrust of mainstream medicine that can endanger kids health. Some Facebook and YouTube videos feature doctors of chiropractic or alternative medicine offering advice that your traditional allergists wont tell you, or point out that avoidance of an allergen isnt a cure and frame their dangerous or useless remedy as more proactive than recommendations from a board-certified allergist.

Scrolling through the comments on some of these videos reveals viewers who enthuse that the advice in the video saved them a trip to the doctor for a diagnosis or ask for a virtual diagnosis of an allergic reaction. Describing big red bleeding bumps, sharp stomach pains and swells around their lips, a sufferer on one video commented, I was just wondering if I should go to the doctor or I should just put cream on it and hope for the best.

The lack of an effective cure means that were a big, ripe target for every medical quack and health scammer out there, including the anti-vaxxers.

The prevalence of food allergies among children has increased, and speculation about the reasons for the spike veers into conspiracy-theory territory with, perhaps unsurprisingly, some crossover from the anti-vaxxer movement.

Heated arguments abound in the parent allergy community over the theory that the government began adding peanut oil to vaccines decades ago and is to blame for the increase in peanut allergies in children. This is a debunked claim that even some anti-vaxxers say is false. Yet many parents believe it and might not vaccinate their children for fear theyll develop a life-threatening peanut allergy.

If not getting vaccinated prevented food allergies then unvaccinated kids should not have food allergies, but they do, says Melanie Carver, vice president of community health services and marketing for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Delaying vaccination because of a fear of allergies poses health risks to children, she says.

The lack of an effective cure (as opposed to a few treatments still in development), means that were a big, ripe target for every medical quack and health scammer out there, including the anti-vaxxers, says Laurel, an author of an allergy blog and member of several Facebook groups for allergy parents who asked to remain anonymous. Laurel says she recently was kicked out of an allergy group after flagging an anti-vax post to a mod. It turned out that the anti-vax poster was the moderator, and Laurelwas booted.

The hundreds, if not thousands, of Facebook groups for allergy parents, vary widely in terms of the quality of information and how well theyre policed for misleading and dangerous posts, Laurel says. Plenty of good, responsible Facebook groups and blogs help parents understand scientific studies related to allergies. Allergy parents are often anxious and overwhelmed, and the support they can get online from other parents who understand what theyre going through can be invaluable.

But gauging the reliability of Facebook allergy groups is time-consuming. In general, its safer to think of social media as one step in evidence-gathering about allergies and evaluate each article about a study or tip about allergy-free restaurant independently, says Nicole Smith, a longtime allergy parent blogger in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

If anything is claimed to be a cure, run in the opposite direction, Smith says. Parents need to be cautious and discuss even innocuous-seeming herbal supplements with their childs allergist before trying them, she says, because you dont know what else could be in one that could set off the system.

Instead of looking at blogs and less reliable information portals, turn to nonprofit or medical society resources for parents such as FARE, the AAAI and the ACAAI, recommends allergy researcher Thomas Casale, MD, former head of the ACAAI and professor of pediatrics at the University of South Florida.

Remember that allergies are so individual that your childs allergist will always be the most informed source of information.Keep a file of research, remedies, and recommendations you see online and bring the list to appointments to discuss with your allergist. They know your child and are a better source of information than a stranger with a kid whose condition could have little bearing on your childs condition.

Its dangerous to take another persons online anecdote and apply it to your own situation, not recognizing there are many nuances never discussed that can vastly impact whether the anecdote even applies to [your child], Stukus says.

The scariest part of all this is people with a child whos having active symptoms and posts a picture of a rash asking their group, What should I do? And other people with no training whatsoever offer their opinions, he continues. Thats how I see someone might die, and that really scares the hell out of me.

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Food Allergy Treatments and Cures Are Cropping Up Everywhere Online. Parents Beware. - Fatherly

SPRING HILL Wellness through attention to body, mind and spirit is the aim for adults, students and even pets at WellCome Om Holistic Wellness Center, a unique and recent addition to lifestyle education in Hernando County.

Opened with a full range of offerings this fall, the institute is housed in three architecturally dynamic buildings, extending to open-air learning spaces in a leafy, six-acre campus at 4242 Lake in the Woods Drive, just off Commercial Way.

Founder Dr. Maria Scunziano Singh is a physician of internal medicine with another diploma in naturopathic medicine. In establishing the center over several years, she explained, I have always wanted to bring truth to the public for living healthier, (with) a more balanced body, mind and spirit, and to know there is something beyond therapeutical, surgical and pharmaceutical. The concept embodies the holistic approach shes developed over her 58 years.

All things we have, Singh continued, can be for improvement of health overall, to enhance wellness. We dont have to treat things.

Under Singhs direction, eight on-site professional staffers are joined regularly by guest practitioners and consultants to lead processes, she said, to awaken, to educate and to nurture and to prevent illness.

At WellCome, meditation focuses on wakefulness, said administrator Natalya Musallam, a registered medical assistant with a college degree in health and wellness. The center educates through speakers and hands-on activities.

Among the facilities, the salt room has really taken off, Musallam said. The comfortably heated room is akin to a beach with salt crystals instead of sand underfoot, pressed salt walls and salt embedded in the ceiling. Treatment in the room is said to reduce respiratory inflammation, improve breathing and fight bacteria.

The dry heat, infrared sauna for whole-body detoxification is drawing approval from those who find wet saunas overly intense, she said.

In a sparkling stainless steel commercial kitchen, a visiting chef offers periodic cooking classes, showcasing plant-based dishes with new preparations, a particular hit with vegans and vegetarians, Singh said.

Organic edibles, body essentials and a range of eco-friendly products are for sale at the centers Conscious Market. Among them are honey, vegetable oils, seeds, dried herbs, fresh bulk greens in season, as well as kitchen gadgets, goat milk soaps, local artisan jewelry and crafts.

Market workshops have focused on using essential oils and concocting ones own body and skin products.

The outdoor landscape is edible, Musallam noted, pointing out lemongrass hedges, pineapple plants, fig and peach trees, and healing herbs.

In the movement studio, classes practice several forms of yoga, plus tai chi, kick-boxing, tribal belly dance, Latin dance, Pilates and guided meditation. Whole health includes attention to the arts, Singh believes, and a series of weekly classes on the subject begins in late January.

Special for teens is the iEmpower Club, which teaches leadership skills, making a difference and providing opportunities to earn community service hours.

As for pets, a recent lecture dealt with the use of essential oils for their benefit. Healthy pet treats are available at the Conscious Market.

Center memberships are available starting at an introductory $20. Massage starts at $45, movement classes, from $15. Details are available on the website, WellComeOMCenter.com.

A number of lectures and activities are offered free to the public. The center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Community and special events may be scheduled evenings and Sundays.

Contact the writer at graybethn@earthlink.net.

Originally posted here:

Wellness center offers holistic alternative in New Hernando - Tampa Bay Times

Image Credit: AFP

For all the flak the pharmaceutical industry has taken for its exorbitant pricing practices, theres no getting around the fact that its been a pretty stunning decade for medical progress.

Multiple new categories of medicines have moved from dreams and lab benches into the market and peoples lives, and investors who came along for the ride often reaped extraordinary profits. The Nasdaq Biotech Index is up 360 per cent over the last 10 years to the S&P 500s 190 per cent. And thats without mentioning the hundreds of billions of dollars in takeovers that rewarded shareholders with windfalls.

As 2020 approaches, its worth highlighting how far weve come in the past 10 years in developing new therapies and approaches to treating disease, even as politicians grapple with how to rein in health-care costs without breaking an ecosystem that incentivises the search for new discoveries.

Here are some of the decades biggest medical breakthroughs:

Cell therapies

First approved in the US two years ago, these treatments still sound like science fiction. Drugmakers harvest immune cells from patients, engineer them to hunt tumours, grow them by the millions into a living drug, and reinfuse them. Yescarta from Gilead Siences Inc. and Novartis AGs Kymriah the two treatments approved so far can put patients with deadly blood cancers into remission in some cases. At the beginning of the decade, academics were just beginning early patient tests.

Its still early days for the technology, and some issues are holding these drugs back. There are significant side effects, and the bespoke manufacturing process is expensive and time-consuming. That has contributed to a bruising price tag: Both of the approved medicines cost over $350,000 (Dh1.28 million) for a single treatment. And for now, cell therapy is mostly limited to very sick patients who have exhausted all other alternatives.

Luckily, more options are on their way. Some drugmakers are focused on different types of blood cancers. Others hope to mitigate side effects or create treatments that can be grown from donor cells to reduce expenses and speed up treatment. In the longer run, companies are targeting trickier solid tumours. Scientists wouldnt be looking so far into the future without this decades extraordinary progress.

Gene therapies

Researchers have spent years trying to figure out how to replace faulty DNA to cure genetic diseases, potentially with as little as one treatment. Scientific slip-ups and safety issues derailed a wave of initial excitement about these therapies starting in the 1990s; the first two such treatments to be approved in Europe turned out to be commercial flops.

This decade, the technology has come of age. Luxturna, a treatment developed by Spark Therapeutics Inc. for a rare eye disease, became the first gene therapy to get US approval in late 2017. Then in May came the approval of Novartis AGs Zolgensma for a deadly muscle-wasting disease. The drugs have the potential to stave off blindness and death or significant disability with a single dose, and, unsurprisingly, Big Pharma has given them a substantial financial endorsement. Roche Holding AG paid $4.7 billion to acquire Spark this year, while Novartis spent $8.7 billion in 2018 to buy Zolgensma developer Avexis Inc.

Dozens of additional therapies are in development for a variety of other conditions and should hit the market in the next few years. They offer the tantalising potential not just to cure diseases, but to replace years of wildly expensive alternative treatment. If drugmakers can resist the temptation to squeeze out every ounce of value by doing things like charging $2.1 million for Zolgensma, theres potential for these treatments to save both lives and money.

RNA revolution

The above treatments modify DNA; this group uses the bodys messaging system to turn a patients cells into a drug factory or interrupt a harmful process. Two scientists won a Nobel Prize in 2006 for discoveries related to RNA interference (RNAi), one approach to making this type of drug, showing its potential to treat difficult diseases. That prompted an enormous amount of hype and investment, but a series of clinical failures and safety issues led large drugmakers to give up on the approach. Sticking with it into this decade paid off.

Alnylam Inc. has been working since 2002 to figure out the thorny problems plaguing this class of treatments. It brought two RNAi drugs for rare diseases to the market in the past two years and has more on the way. The technology is also moving from small markets to larger ones: Novartis just paid $9.7 billion to acquire Medicines Co. for its Alnylam-developed drug that can substantially lower cholesterol with two annual treatments.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Biogen Inc. collaborated on Spinraza, a so-called antisense drug that became the first effective treatment for a deadly rare disease. It was approved in late 2016 and had one of the most impressive drug launches of the decade. And Moderna Therapeutics rode a wave of promising messenger RNA-based medicines to the most lucrative biotechnology IPO of all time in 2018. From pharma abandonment to multiple approvals and blockbuster sales potential in under 10 years. Not bad!

Cancer immunotherapy

Scientists had been working on ways to unleash the human immune system on cancers well before the 2010s without much luck. Checkpoint inhibitors drugs that release the brakes on the bodys defence mechanisms have since produced outstanding results in a variety of cancers and are the decades most lucrative turnaround story.

Merck got a hold of Keytruda via its 2009 acquisition of Schering-Plough, but it was far from the focus of that deal. Once Bristol-Myers Squibb & Co. produced promising results for its similar drug, Opdivo, Merck started a smart development plan that has turned Keytruda into the worlds most valuable cancer medicine. Its now available to treat more than 10 types of the disease, and has five direct competitors in the US alone. Analysts expect the category to exceed $25 billion in sales next year.

If anything, the drugs may have been too successful. Copycat efforts are pulling money that could fund more innovative research. There are thousands of trials underway attempting to extend the reach of these medicines by combining them with other drugs. Some are based more on wishful thinking than firm scientific footing. Still, the ability to shrink some previously intractable tumours is a considerable advance. If drugmakers finally figure out the right combinations and competition creates pricing pressure that boosts access, these medicines will do even more in the years to come.

Conquering hepatitis C

From a combined economic and public-health standpoint, a new group of highly effective hepatitis C medicines may outstrip just about anything else on this list so far. Cure rates for earlier treatments werent especially high; they took some time to work and had nasty side effects. The approval of Gileads Sovaldi in 2013, followed in time by successor drugs such as AbbVie Inc.s Mavyret, have made hepatitis C pretty easily curable in a matter of weeks. For Gilead, getting to market rapidly with its drug proved enormously profitable; it raked in over $40 billion in revenue in just three years.

Hepatitis C causes liver damage over time that can lead to transplants or cancer. The existence of a rapid cure is a significant long-term boon even if the initial pricing on the drugs made them, in some cases, prohibitively expensive. Sovaldi notoriously cost $1,000 per pill at launch and over $80,000 for a course of treatment. The good new is, treatments have become a lot more affordable, which should allow this class of drugs to have a broad and lasting positive health impact.

Hepatitis C is one of the relatively few markets where the drug-pricing system has worked well. As competing medicines hit the market, the effective cost of these treatments plummeted. That, in turn, made the drugs more accessible to state Medicaid programmes and prison systems, which operate on tight budgets and care for populations with higher rates of hepatitis C infection. Louisiana has pioneered the use of a Netflix model, under which the state paid an upfront fee for unlimited access to the drug. Its an arrangement that will help cure thousands of patients, and other states are likely to follow its lead.

Many of the medicines highlighted in this column have list prices in the six figures, a trend thats helped drive up Americas drug spending by more than $100 billion since 2009. Building on this decades medical advances is going to lead to even more effective medicines that will likely come with steeper prices. Id like to hope that policymakers will come up with a solution that better balances the need to reward innovation with the need to keep medicines accessible. That would really be a breakthrough.

Max Nisen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering biotech, pharma and health care.

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The medical breakthroughs of the past decade | Op-eds - Gulf News

By Cottage Health | December 25, 2019 | 12:05 p.m.

Is the Internet your first source to check when researching health information? If so, youre not alone.

A recent survey, conducted by United HealthCare, found this was the case for 20 percent of survey respondents. With so much information at our fingertips, it can be hard to know if your search results come from reliable sources.

Brittany Haliani, manager of SAGE Medical Library at Cottage Health, covers this very topic in her Fact or Fiction presentation in which she discusses:

Tools to access authoritative health websites

How to see if your physician is board certified

How to look up your physicians medical license

How to evaluate health information shared on social media

How to access complementary and alternative medicine websites

Our professional journalists work tirelessly to report on local news so you can be more informed and engaged in your community. This quality, local reporting is free for you to read and share, but it's not free to produce.

You count on us to deliver timely, relevant local news, 24/7. Can we count on you to invest in our newsroom and help secure its future?

We provide special member benefits to show how much we appreciate your support.

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How to Determine Fact or Fiction When Researching Health Information - Noozhawk

Maureen Tonge wasn't supposed to see the end of 2019.

Diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour in January, doctors guessed she could have as little as only four months to live.

But throughout the year,the Yellowknife art teacher has seen her tumour shrink to one-tenth the size and it seems as though she'll beat the odds, she said.

Now, she's taking the holidays to spread a message of gratitude.

"May you find the blessings in the mundane, in the everyday," she told listeners of CBC's Trail's End, "because there is always blessings to be found."

Tonge said she first noticed something was wrong late last year, when she was "suffering quite drastically from anxiety and depression."

"I had lost all forms of balance," said Tonge, who also works as a yoga teacher.

Tonge said she initially thought the problem was seasonal affective disorder. But after she experienced a grand mal seizure in January, she went to the YellowknifePrimary Care Centre.

"The doctor that I saw said, 'Let's rule out the worst-case scenario and get you a CT scan,'" she said. "But being what the system is up here, I didn't hear for two weeks, and then my CT scan wasn't booked for another four weeks."

When she was finally diagnosed with brain cancer, Tonge said she was under the impression shehad at least a year to live.

But the reality was far worse. Her neurosurgeon informed her husband and twin sister, Kirsten Tonge, that she could have as little as four months.

It was Kirsten who helped her recognize that "I didn't really get it right," about the timeline, she said.

Tonge said during this period, she was in "a full-on state of denial."

"[I]had indicated to everyone that would listen that I was neither my diagnosis nor my prognosis and that I would prove them differently," said Tonge.

In March, she began a rigorous, six-week course of chemotherapy.

During her treatment, Tonge, a believer in alternative medicine, recruited the supportive "prayers and positive energy" of "thousands of people from all corners of the globe." She also engaged the services of B.C. based shaman, worked with naturopathic doctors, and used essential oils.

Before her treatment, Tonge's tumour measured approximately 54 cubic centimetres. A followup MRI in late July showed a "dramatic" reduction to just over seven cubic centimetres.

And on Dec. 11, her latest scan showed it had shrunk even further.

She called her recovery "a team effort."

Tonge isn't out of the woods yet while her tumour is reduced in size, she's still getting treatments in Yellowknife and returning to Edmonton for exams and checkups.

"I'm incredibly fortunate to be on long-term disability at this point, and so I am able to focus my days on healing," she said. "I spend typically hours in a day doing different meditations."

Tonge also spends her time practicing yoga, exercising with her dog, learning how to paint, and working on a book about her journey.

She said the past year has been a spiritual journey as much as it has been a physical one.

"I just fairly recently have embraced the fact that I'm a living miracle," she said.

Her advice to others for the holidays is to focus on the present moment and find your blessings in the everyday.

"Honestly, there is only now."

Read more:

'I'm a living miracle': Yellowknife woman with terminal cancer beating the odds - CBC.ca

Tania Maduro and Syngin Colchester are one of the most controversial couples on Season 7 of TLCs 90 Day Fianc. Fans have criticized Tania for many things since her fiance Syngin moved from South Africa to the U.S.

Viewers blamed her for not prepping their temporary home (a she-shed behind her moms house) before his arrival to leaving for 30 days to complete a monthlong herbalism intensive in Costa Rica in the middle of their first 90 days together.

But after the Dec. 22 episode, Judgement Day, 90 Day Fianc fans voiced their criticism about something a lot more trivial. Many viewers noticed that Tania didnt often seem to wear bras, especially during her trip to Costa Rica. Syngins fiance took to Instagram to defend her choices in underwear and clap back at critics.

Under a recent photo of herself in a revealing dress, Tania pushed back against negative opinions from 90 Day Fianc viewers. Can you help with a supporting bra? one Instagram user wrote sarcastically. And when Tania asked why the commenter thought her choice of undergarments was their concern, the critic responded, Its unattractive. Thats why. Do you but posting a pic will get opinions.

The 29-year-old reality star wrote back, Omgosh sorry! Didnt realize I was supposed to be attractive to you. My apologies.

After the most recent 90 Day Fianc episode aired, Tania took to her Instagram stories to share that Syngin was part of her inspiration for giving them up. Fun fact: I never really liked wearing bras, she wrote in response to the widespread criticism. My ex used to call me gross and other mean things the one day I wouldnt wear one. It wasnt until Syngin that I felt empowered and comfortable enough to not wear one.

Tania, who often posts on social media about natural health and alternative medicine, also took the opportunity to contend that bras werent necessary to begin with. Fun facts: Bras are not medically [necessary] to survive. Mostly they are needed for only superficial reasons, the 90 Day Fianc star argued on Instagram.

She also said she was happy with her choice, no matter what anyone thought. My breasts have become perkier when I started to [choose] when I would wear a bra or be braless, Tania wrote. It was because my muscles were finally working.

Tanias unpopularity on 90 Day Fianc thus far has made her a frequent target for criticism on social media. Still, shes never backed down from defending herself or been shy about standing up for her beliefs, both big and small.

In her Instagram stories, Tania even shared a bit of a history lesson about bras in her defense of her decision not to wear them. The modern bra came about predominantly after steel from corsets was needed for wars. Now since the modern bra is fairly new, why were we wearing corsets before?

The 90 Day Fianc star said she now felt free without the obligation to wear a brassiere on a daily basis. And if you wouldnt wear a corset every day, and you feel so much relief the moment you take off YOUR bra, maybe should really dig into why you feel so upset that Im free and [choose] not to wear a bra all the time, Tania declared.

Still, 90 Day Fianc fans didnt shy away from critiquing Tania on her beach photos. Please wear a bra, one Instagram user wrote.

Unafraid to speak her mind, Tania wrote in response, Sorry you dont know the freedom of not having to wear them all the time. And in another snarky reply, she reiterated that she was more free than ever without a bra weighing her down.

How good do you feel when you finally get home from work and you take yours off? she questioned one critic. Now take that feeling and multiply it by 100 because thats how much more free I am than you. Kisses!

Go here to see the original:

'90 Day Fianc': Tania Says Syngin Changed This About Her Underwear Choices - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Five related agencies have joined forces to open the first farm in Northern Thailand to study cannabis farming. The cannabis cultivation and production center, is the first to be opened in Thailand.

The cultivation and production center is located at Petchlanna Organic Farming Community Enterprise in Lampang.

Lampang Provincial Agriculture Office has combined interests with; the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine; the Medical Cannabis Organization; Chiang Mai University; and Rangsit Univeristy. Above all to further advance the research of medical cannabis. Which has also led to the allocation of the first legal zone for cannabis cultivation in Thailand.

The National Farmers Federation plans to expand the cultivation of a Thai strain of cannabis to all regions of Thailand. With planned legal cultivation zones to open in Buriram, Surat Thani, and Kanchanaburi in the future.

The pilot cannabis farm in Lampang is situated on 4.5 rai of land. The Thai cannabis plants are being cultivated using an organic method. The farm is also a part of the study of cannabis growth to prove that cannabis can grow well in regular soil. Outside of special green houses. Cannabis plants from the first cycle will be delivered to the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine for further research and extraction for medical use.

Even with the opening of a legal cannabis farm, it is still illegal for any unauthorized persons to grow cannabis. Even more to have cannabis products in their possession. Such offences are consequently punishable by law.

Go here to read the rest:

Five Agencies to Study Cannabis Farming in Northern Thailand - Chiang Rai Times