Health Newsfeed – Johns Hopkins Medicine Podcasts

Anchor lead: What accounts for an increased risk of cancer in those taking aspirin in the ASPREE trial? Elizabeth Tracey reports The ASPREE trial, which compared a group of healthy older people taking daily aspirin to another group who did not, found an increased rate of death in those taking aspirin, and this was not […]

Anchor lead: Does it help to have a complete genetic assessment when it comes to lung cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Lung cancer is often the result of known mutations abbreviated EGFR and ALK, and these are routinely tested for around the country. Now a new study suggests that a more complete genetic assessment really doesn’t […]

Anchor lead: Can delivering stimulation across the skull help depression? Elizabeth Tracey reports Depression can be very hard to treat. Now a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS appears to hold some promise. Kyrana Tsapkini, a researcher at Johns Hopkins who is using another type of transcranial stimulation called TDCS for speech disorders, says […]

Anchor lead: Should you use a transcranial stimulation machine on your own? Elizabeth Tracey reports Transcranial direct stimulation or TDCS delivers a small electrical current across the skull to the brain, and new research by Kyrana Tsapkini and colleagues at Johns Hopkins shows it helps some people with speech disorders. The machines are available for […]

Anchor lead: Can transcranial stimulation help people who are having trouble with speech? Elizabeth Tracey reports Transcranial direct current stimulation or TDCS sends a small electrical current through the skull to stimulate certain areas of the brain. Now research by Kyrana Tsapkini and colleagues at Johns Hopkins has shown it can help people with certain […]

Anchor lead: Most people shouldn’t be taking aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Aspirin really doesn’t help otherwise healthy older people avoid cardiovascular disease, a major new trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals. Erin Michos, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins, says this negative result may be interpreted in light […]

Anchor lead: Doctors may not be adequately describing risks and benefits of cancer screening, Elizabeth Tracey reports When people with significant risk factors for lung cancer talked with their doctors about the risks and benefits of screening, those discussions lasted about a minute, a recent study found. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center […]

Anchor lead: With Medicaid expansion, more people are at least filling prescriptions for drugs to help them get off opioids, Elizabeth Tracey reports Medicaid expansion in a few states has led to an increase in prescriptions for a drug combination called buprenorphine naloxone, intended to help manage opioid addiction, a recent study reported. Eric Strain, […]

Anchor lead: Integration with drug treatment is needed when people come to the ED with an overdose, Elizabeth Tracey reports Emergency departments are well-equipped to handle opioid overdose, but less so when it comes to getting people into drug treatment, a recent report found. Eric Strain, a drug abuse expert at Johns Hopkins, comments. Strain: […]

Anchor lead: Amyloid and Alzheimer’s disease isn’t always important, Elizabeth Tracey reports Aggressively removing amyloid from the brains of people who had Alzheimer’s disease only slightly slowed their rate of cognitive decline, a recent study found. Constantine Lyketsos, an Alzheimer’s expert at Johns Hopkins, says it’s clear that the clinical entity called ‘Alzheimer’s disease’ may […]