Health Newsfeed – Johns Hopkins Medicine Podcasts

Anchor lead: Places where physicians are not comfortable talking about end of life rendered their patients more likely to receive more expensive care before death, Elizabeth Tracey reports What accounts for an almost two-fold difference in spending on end of life cancer care around the US? A recent Health Affairs study found it was all […]

Anchor lead: Modeling cancers over time may help predict resistance to treatment, Elizabeth Tracey reports Using cells from head and neck cancers in conjunction with a mathematical model, Johns Hopkins researchers are able to develop a timeline over which cancer cells acquire resistance to therapy, a very important clinical milestone. Elana Fertig, senior author, explains. […]

Anchor lead: How does long term inflammation affect the brain? Elizabeth Tracey reports Chronic inflammation in mid- and late life has been linked to compromised cognition and dementia in a long term study of more than 1500 people by Keenan Walker, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins, and colleagues. Walker:  We actually found that in […]

Anchor lead: Some cells that are overreacting in the brain may be the culprit in Parkinson’s disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Your brain has what amounts to a specialized immune system, with two cell types, known as microglia and astrocytes, responsible for monitoring things continuously and taking action when things go awry. Ted Dawson, a Parkinson’s […]

Anchor lead: Can a drug class used to treat diabetes help in Parkinson’s disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports A drug similar to diabetes drugs already on the market can slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease in both cells and an animal model of the disease, as well as relieve symptoms. That’s according to research published in […]

Anchor lead: A look at the development of resistance in cancer cells has already borne fruit, Elizabeth Tracey reports Sophisticated mathematical modeling along with analysis of head and neck cancer cells as they acquired resistance over time has produced at least one surprise. That’s according to Elana Fertig, senior author of the study and associate […]

Anchor lead:  Why should a promising treatment for sepsis be studied more? Elizabeth Tracey reports Sepsis is a killer. This overwhelming infection is implicated in one in three deaths in the hospital, CDC data indicate, with one recent study touting the combination of vitamin C, thiamine, and steroids to reduce deaths by a third.  So […]

Anchor lead: Why would vitamin C be important in treating sepsis? Elizabeth Tracey reports Sepsis, an overwhelming infection and inflammation that is the third leading cause of death, may respond to use of three drugs: vitamin C, thiamine, and steroids. That’s the hypothesis being tested in a randomized, prospective study underway now. Jeremiah Hinson, an […]

Anchor lead: Can a three drug combination treat sepsis? Elizabeth Tracey reports Sepsis, where an infection spreads throughout the bloodstream, is the third leading cause of death. Now two new studies are examining whether a combination of vitamin C, a B vitamin called thiamine, and steroids can budge dismal mortality statistics relative to sepsis. Richard […]

Anchor lead: Can a physician see anyone via telemedicine? Elizabeth Tracey reports The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has just released a proposed funding change that would help expand physician services delivered by telemedicine. Advocates hail this as a great boon for patients, who may struggle to come to in-office visits. Yet a big […]