Will Smith's new movie "Concussion" terrifies the NFL. Here's the trailer.

http://goo.gl/U1XN5S

The NFL's concussion crisis is about to hit the big screen. Today, the football site MMQB debuted the trailer for a film titled simply Concussion, due out Christmas Day.

It stars Will Smith as Bennet Omalu, the real Pittsburgh forensic pathologist who first discovered a neurodegenerative disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brains of football players. CTE is the result of repeated brain trauma over time and causes depression, dementia, and other behavioral changes.


The Medicaid Expansion Experience In Michigan

http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2015/08/28/michigan-the-path-to-medicaid-expansion-in-a-republican-led-state/

At a March 2015 conference sponsored by the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation, the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and the University of Michigan School of Public Health, consumers, providers, employers, and state leaders reviewed the first-year experience of the ACA’s coverage expansions. While some described challenges, particularly in the small employer market, the Healthy Michigan Plan was almost uniformly praised as being clearly successful to date.

Healthy Michigan Plan enrollment has vastly exceeded expectations, surpassing the state’s first year projection in less than four months. As of August 3, 2015, 576,624 residents were enrolled. The majority of enrollees (nearly 500,000) had incomes below 100 percent FPL, more than 51 percent were women, and roughly 47 percent were between the ages of 19 and 34.

Operational issues with enrollment have been minimal and health plan participation has been high, with thirteen health plans serving the Healthy Michigan population in the first year. Moreover, the proportion of primary care practices willing to accept new Medicaid patients in Michigan has increased from 49 percent to 55 percent since the launch of the Healthy Michigan Plan — with median wait times for new appointments remaining less than two weeks.

Early figures suggest Healthy Michigan Plan enrollees are utilizing the program’s benefits and are connected to a primary care physician through their managed care plan enrollment. As of February 2015, over half of enrollees had visited a primary care physician and about 17 percent used preventive care services. Healthy Michigan Plan enrollees are also participating in the program’s health risk assessment component at more than twice the rate of enrollees in a typical private health insurance plan (14 percent compared to 6 percent, per state figures).


Nine risk factors may contribute to two thirds of Alzheimer's cases worldwide

http://goo.gl/W07Y0K

Out of almost 17,000 studies, 323, covering 93 different potential risk factors and more than 5000 people, were suitable for inclusion in the analysis. The researchers pooled the data from each of the studies and graded the evidence according to its strength.

They found grade 1 level evidence in favour of a protective effect for the female hormone oestrogen,cholesterol lowering drugs (statins), drugs to lower high blood pressure, and anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

They found the same level of evidence for folate, vitamins C and E, and coffee, all of which were associated with helping to stave off the disease.

Similarly, the pooled data indicated a strong association between high levels of homocysteine - an amino acid manufactured in the body - and depression and a significantly heightened risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

The evidence also strongly pointed to the complex roles of pre-existing conditions as either heightening or lowering the risk.

The factors associated with a heightened risk included frailty, carotid artery narrowing, high and low blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes (in the Asian population). Those associated with a lowered risk included a history of arthritis, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and cancer.


Nursing Home Transitions

http://goo.gl/D9MvER

This report examines nursing home transitions nationwide and how they can be improved from the perspective of both the individuals who had moved back into the community and the programs that assist them.  The findings from interviews and surveys with these individuals are presented, along with policy recommendations for making the transition process go more smoothly for consumers from beginning to end.


Heading Off The Looming Diabetes-Tuberculosis Epidemic

http://goo.gl/ayyOJi

Increasingly, TB’s spread is fueled by rising rates of diabetes—as with HIV, diabetes weakens the immune system, making a person more vulnerable to TB infection and illness—particularly in emerging economies like India and China, which are the source for much of the TB seen in the U.S.

Globally, it is now estimated that 15 percent of people who develop TB are also living with diabetes — equating to over 1 million people worldwide. We appear to be ignoring this trend at our peril. TB and diabetes need to be addressed together — immediately. If not, this problem will grow to epidemic proportions and ultimately claim the lives of millions.

Rising Global Rates of Diabetes

Diabetics have difficulties in processing insulin. This dysfunction weakens their immune system and makes them more susceptible to contracting TB, which is an airborne bacterial infection.
Most people living with a TB infection never develop the full-fledged disease. But a weakened immune response makes it easier for TB bacteria to turn “active,” making it contagious and potentially fatal.

In fact, having diabetes increases a person’s chances of developing the fully fledged TB disease by two to three times. And global diabetes rates are rapidly rising. Over the next three decades, the total number of people with this illness is expected to jump from just under 400 million to nearly 600 million. That rise will fuel TB’s spread.


MRI system puts low-cost health care in reach

http://goo.gl/RNRLMe

“Diagnostic imaging is critical for quality health care, yet most current imaging devices used for diagnosis and treatment planning are expensive to operate and maintain, putting this treatment of out of reach of millions of people around the world,” Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials (ISEM) PhD student Dipak Patel said.

“Patients regularly face long waiting times for scans due to a lack of MRI systems and in the developing world there are many countries that do not have a single MRI unit or have only very old systems in large cities. For a person with a serious injury or illness, it’s not possible to travel hundreds of kilometres to get a diagnosis, let alone be able to afford it.”

A major contributor to the cost of MRI systems is constant cooling of a key part of the system - the magnet - to remain within a set temperature range. To achieve this, the magnet is immersed in a helium ‘bath’. Helium is very expensive and there are concerns about global supply shortages,” Dipak said.

“If a helium-cooled MRI unit has a power outage, the helium boils off, or evaporates, as the magnet heats up. It’s very expensive to refill the cooling chamber and this leads to lengthy downtime during which the system cannot be operated.”

To get around the helium issue, researchers at ISEM, led by ARC Future Fellow Associate Professor Jung Ho Kim, have developed a prototype for a new magnet and cooling system that will enable them to build a low-cost and easy-to-operate MRI system.


New, rapid dementia screening tool rivals 'gold standard' clinical evaluations

http://goo.gl/gCRmkf

The "Quick Dementia Rating System" (QDRS), which uses an evidence-based methodology, validly and reliably differentiates individuals with and without dementia. When dementia is present, it accurately stages the condition to determine if it is very mild, mild, moderate or severe. QDRS has applications for use in clinical practice, to pre-qualify patients in clinical trials, prevention studies, community surveys and biomarker research.

The QDRS is a 10-item questionnaire that can be completed by a caregiver, friend or family member, and is brief enough to be printed on one page or viewed as a single screenshot, maximizing its clinical utility. Scores range from 0 to 30 with higher scores representing greater cognitive impairment. The questionnaire covers: 1) memory and recall; 2) orientation; 3) decision-making and problem-solving abilities; 4) activities outside the home; 5) function at home and hobbies; 6) toileting and personal hygiene; 7) behavior and personality changes; 8) language and communication abilities; 9) mood; and 10) attention and concentration.


Microbes Effect on the Brain

Long overview of research. This thread of biological research is part of a general recent scientific trend that shows the astounding complexity of life....

http://goo.gl/LmSF82

Hundreds of trillions of microbes live in the human gut, with 300 times the total DNA as humans. The products of this “forgotten organ” include large amounts of DNA that are critical to create necessary human nutrients, for essential metabolism and to develop the most effective immune system. Recent research shows dramatic effects of microbe products from the gut on mental function—depression, stress, autism, and degenerative illness. In humans, many studies show microbes affect anxiety, mood, depression and social behavior. Direct effects are through secreted products, stimulation of the enteric nervous system and travel of microbes into the brain, while indirect factors are microbes’ influence on immune function affecting behavior. Microbes produce molecules that transform into hormones and neurotransmitters or they produce neurotransmitters themselves. Microbes effect on the brain includes fetal development and neurotransmitter function.

Non-24 is a circadian rhythm disorder

http://goo.gl/KrznyS

Non-24 is a circadian rhythm disorder. Your circadian rhythms are controlled by your master body clock and tell you when to sleep, when to wake, when to eat, among other things.

In most people, the master body clock runs slightly longer than 24 hours. What this means is that rather than cycle on a 24-hour day, most people's natural rhythms actually cycle a bit longer. Whether the cycle runs two minutes or 30 minutes longer, if you have Non-24 these minutes add up day after day, a few one day adding to a few more the next, eventually causing a noticeable change in the times during the day when your body expects to sleep and expects to be awake.

Though Non-24 may appear to be a sleep disorder, it isn't. It's actually a serious, chronic circadian rhythm disorder very common in people who are totally blind, and it can arise at any age. Currently, there are 1.3 million people who are legally blind in the United States. Of the legally blind, 130,000 have no light perception (i.e., totally blind), and as many as 70% suffer from Non-24.


Why Do Pets Have Better Web Portals For Medical Records Than Humans?

http://goo.gl/MN62Cp

Before attempting to answer the main question in the title, let me describe some of the features of the web portal for the medical records of my cat and dog. The web portal login page is modern-looking and professionally designed, with large, readable fonts and uncluttered information about the health of my pets (I can even attach their pictures to facilitate portal use). The opening page is easy to navigate and includes a dashboard that, for example, allows pet owners to track changes in the weight of their pet(s) over time.

The web portal also includes useful information such as each pet’s vaccine history, weight, test results, and prescriptions. Pet owners are also encouraged to interact online with their “veterinary team” because “the knowledge gained from reviewing your pet’s medical records will come in handy at the next veterinarian visit, as you can be prepared with specific questions.”

There is even a list of questions that I “might already be thinking of” and might be prepared to ask (“When are the next vaccinations due?”, “When was the last blood and/or urine screening performed?”). All test results are presented with few abbreviations and in brief, easily understood statements. For the few abbreviated technical terms used, the web portal includes examples of “commonly used veterinary abbreviations,” such as FAD (“flea allergy dermatitis”) and MN (“male neutered”).

Cluttered Web Portals
In contrast, the web portal for my medical records seems outdated and cluttered. For example, the welcome page has a hyperlink to “Schedule appointments for your current health reminders.” That link then takes me to a list of preventive care reminders for procedures such as “Hepatitis C Screen Fpa” and “Colonoscopy,” but also with a status column stating that these procedures are not due for several years.