Category Archives: Preventative Medicine

You know strength training is key to building muscle, but how bad is it to skip?

Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative

Official guidelines recommend doing muscle-strengthening activities at least two times per week. But only about a quarter of adults meet those requirements.

That's nearly half as many people who have a regular cardio workout, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Some people don't know how to resistance train and are worried they might get injured, while others have an injury or condition that doesn't allow them to weight train to a full capacity," says Araceli De Leon, CPT, a certified personal trainer, kinesiologist and spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise.

"In addition, there is a misconception around weight training among some females, who think they might get too bulky or gain too much muscle," she says.

Another common barrier is "gym-timidation," a lack of knowledge about how to use weight-lifting equipment and the intimidation that can come with it. Women, in particular, reported lower comfort using gym facilities, including strength machines and free weights, according to a November 2020 study from Penn State University.

But hey, as long as you're exercising regularly, does skipping out on pumping iron actually matter that much? Is strength training mandatory?

Cardio bunnies, consider this your wake-up call.

Why Doing Cardio Alone Isn't Enough

Let's be clear: We're not knocking a heart-pumping aerobic workout, which is amazing for your health in so many ways. But if you don't also incorporate resistance work, your body will pay the price.

"Your muscles might atrophy you will lose muscle mass and endurance because you're not using your muscles as much," De Leon says. "Your ligaments and tendons can also weaken."

Skipping out on strengthening is also bad for your bones. "Weight training puts stress on your bones, which nudges bone-forming cells into action," De Leon says. "If you don't do resistance exercises, your bones may get weaker and lose some mineral content."

This is especially important for older adults primarily those who are postmenopausal, as the decline in estrogen levels leads to bone loss, increasing your risk of fractures.

In fact, resistance exercise alone or in combination with other forms of physical activity is the ideal training for improving bone mass in postmenopausal women, middle-aged men and older adults, according to a December 2018 review in Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Finally, if weight loss is your goal, you won't torch nearly as many calories without resistance training, says A. Brion Gardner, MD, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at the Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics in Manassas, Virginia.

"When you do a 30-minute cardio session, you are burning calories for that 30 minutes," he says. "But a 30-minute weight-lifting session will have you burning calories for the rest of the day, an effect known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption."

That's because strength training, by causing microscopic stress to your muscles, triggers your body to enter a recovery state. That muscle recovery uses calories for energy.

Plus, the more lean muscle you have, the more you'll increase your basal metabolic rate, the number of calories you burn each day just to maintain normal biological function. Muscle is metabolically active, meaning it burns more calories at rest than body fat, he says.

The Benefits of Strength Training

Not convinced yet? "There are so many benefits to resistance training, even if you already have an aerobic program," De Leon says. "Because everything in the body is connected, having a solid muscular foundation is important in the way one's body moves, heals and interacts with other body systems."

Just check out all these major payoffs.

You'll Prevent Injury and Promote Healing

Increasing your strength training volume and intensity are associated with a reduced risk in sports injury risks, according to an August 2018 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

A 2017 report from the American College of Sports Medicine also shows that following a resistance-training program is associated with a lower incidence of stress fractures, falls and low-back injuries in people who are physically active.

And if you do get hurt? You'll bounce back more quickly and efficiently if you've been sculpting muscles.

"Resistance training strengthens your tendons and ligaments, which can help you recover from injuries, like a sprained ankle or dislocated shoulder," De Leon says. "It will also improve your balance and posture by strengthening the small stabilizers that keep you erect."

It Will Enhance Your Athletic Performance

Runners with a strength-training practice significantly improve their speed and endurance, according to a September 2019 study in the British Journal of Medicine. "Increased muscle fiber size and contractile strength lead to greater physical capacity," De Leon says.

She explains that her own resistance workouts have helped her become stronger in other pursuits. "I'm a long-distance runner, and targeting my leg, core and glute muscles helps me have longer, more successful runs," she says.

Her strength-training routine also allows her to be a more powerful rock climber, stabilizes her in yoga practice and prepares her for snowboarding days.

You May Reduce Your Risk of Disease

A November 2017 study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that moderate strength training (between 100 to 145 minutes per week) is associated with a lower all-cause mortality risk in older women.

In fact, older adults age 65 and over who followed recommended guidelines to strength train at least twice per week had 46 percent lower odds of all-cause mortality than those who didn't, in a February 2016 study in Preventative Medicine.

But that's not all research shows that women who focus on strengthening their muscles reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes by 30 percent and cardiovascular disease by 17 percent compared with those who don't strength train, according to a January 2017 study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

The bottom line: Combining strength training with aerobic exercise is linked to an even lower risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and early death than doing cardio alone.

It Can Help Boost Your Mood

According to a June 2018 meta-analysis in JAMA Psychiatry, resistance training reduces symptoms of mild to moderate depression.

"Resistance training regulates your blood flow and heart rate, which clears away brain fog and pumps you full of feel-good endorphins," De Leon says.

As you perform new feats of strength, your mental strength and confidence will also improve.

You'll Reduce Low-Back Pain

A small May 2020 study in BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation found that people with lower back pain experienced significantly less discomfort and saw improvements in pain-related disability when they followed a strength-training program. (A randomized clinical trial looking at this effect is currently underway.)

De Leon explains that strengthening your core via resistance work lends support to your lumbar spine (lower back), relieving pressure and pain. Bonus: The study participants also reported an increase in energy levels.

You Might Sleep Better at Night

Building muscle may even improve shuteye, according to a small May 2015 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, in which people fell asleep faster and had fewer nighttime awakenings on days when they engaged in resistance training.

Which Kind of Strength Training Is Best?

There are many different ways to strength train, but the best modality for you depends on your abilities, goals and needs. Here's the 101.

"Although both machines and free weights, such as dumbbells and kettlebells, allow you to gain a similar amount of muscle size and strength, free weights require more core engagement and activate more muscle groups than a machine," De Leon says. Without the support of a machine to hold you in the proper position, your body is forced to work harder to maintain your posture.

"As a result, free weights are better for building muscle long term, compared to a machine that may only be targeting specific muscles," De Leon says.

Because machines provide more support, they can be a good bet for beginners who haven't yet honed their form. "A machine is also great to work on improving your form and range of motion after an injury," De Leon says.

"These [resistance bands] are cheap and portable," De Leon says. "Although they do increase muscle size and strength, in the long run, they will become less challenging." To make your strength workouts more challenging with resistance bands, you can add them to your dumbbells or kettlebells.

"Body-weight workouts use your own weight to provide resistance against gravity," De Leon says. The best part is that body-weight exercises don't require any special equipment, like weight machines, dumbbells or even resistance bands. You can do them anytime, anywhere, which is especially helpful if you're avoiding the gym during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"To build muscle using body-weight training, gradually increase the amount of reps or train until failure for example, by doing squats until you physically can't do any more," De Leon says. "You can also try a 'time under tension' workout, where you perform each movement very slowly so that it becomes more difficult."

So, How Bad Is It Really to Never Strength Train?

As long as you are still getting an aerobic workout, you're not doomed if you skip pumping iron. "There is no harm per se in not weight training," Dr. Gardner says.

But it's certainly not ideal. "Over time, it can lead to adverse health effects and the loss of fitness gains," De Leon says. "People with a strength-training practice have an overall greater quality of life."

Aim to strength train at least twice per week, and experiment with different types of resistance-training equipment to help you figure out what will help you reach your goals. Because the more you enjoy that activity, the higher the chances you'll stick to a routine.

Ultimately, you'll be better off if you quit resisting resistance training. Now drop and give us 20!

More:
The Benefits of Strength Training: Why Cardio Isn't Enough - LIVESTRONG.COM

Global Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Market report provides a basic overview of the industry including growth rate, demand, size, share and forecast. This market research is a combined result of inputs from industry experts with awareness, the experience of industry and qualitative and quantitative synthesis of the market. Additionally, the report enables a market player not only to plan but also execute lucrative Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services strategies based on growing market needs by emphasizing leading competitors strategic moves which include recent mergers, ventures, acquisitions, busine Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services expansion, product launches, branding, and promotional activities.

Furthermore, the report Provides Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services market key strategic developments of the market comprising new product launch, research & development, partnerships, acquisitions & mergers, collaborations & joint ventures agreements, and regional growth of main players in the market on the global and regional basis.

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Global Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the TOP PLAYERS including:

Detailed Market Analysis and Insights:

Preventative healthcare technologies and services market is expected to gain market growth in the forecast period of 2020 to 2027. Data Bridge Market Research analyses the market to account to growing at a CAGR of 11.10% in the above-mentioned forecast period. The growing awareness amongst the physicians and patients regarding the benefits of advance technology as well as services will help in boosting the growth of the market.

Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Market Segment Analysis:

By Type (Early Detection and Screening Technologies, Chronic Disease Management Technologies, Vaccines, Advanced Technologies to Reduce Errors)

By Application (Hospitals, Clinics, Others)

The cost analysis of the Global Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Market has been performed while keeping in view manufacturing expenses, labor cost, and raw materials and their market concentration rate, suppliers, and price trend. The research carried out after the launch of a new product can help to find loopholes and devise plans to counter that loss and increase the profits. With the reliable Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services market research report, the chances of loss can be reduced to a large extent.

The research study evaluates the overall size of the market, by making use of a bottom-up approach, wherein data for different industry verticals, and end-user industries and its applications across various product types have been recorded and predicted during the forecast period. The report helps to recognize new areas for expansion, and increase customer base. After discovering potential customers and their needs via the winning Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Servicesreport the same can be incorporated into the clients services.

Read complete report along with TOC @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-preventative-healthcare-technologies-and-services-market&AS

Table of Contents

Global Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Market Outlook-by Major Company, Regions, Type, Application and Segment Forecast, 2021 -2027

Chapter 1: Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Market Overview, Product Overview, Market Segmentation, Market Overview of Regions, Market Dynamics, Limitations, Opportunities and Industry News and Policies.

Chapter 2: Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Industry Chain Analysis, Upstream Raw Material Suppliers, Major Players, Production PricePreventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Analysis, Cost Analysis, Market Channels and Major Downstream Buyers.

Chapter 3: Value Analysis, Production, Growth Rate and Price Analysis by Type of Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services.

Chapter 4: Downstream Characteristics, Consumption and Market Share by Application of Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services.

Chapter 5: Production Volume, Price, Margin, and Revenue ($) of Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services by Regions

Chapter 6: Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Production, Consumption, Export and Import by Regions.

Chapter 7: Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Market Status and SWOT Analysis by Regions.

Chapter 8: Competitive Landscape, Product Introduction, Company Profiles, Market Distribution Status by Players of Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services.

Chapter 9: Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Market Analysis and Forecast by Type and Application.

Chapter 10: Market Analysis and Forecast by Forecast (2021-2027).

Chapter 11: Industry Characteristics, Key Factors, New Entrants SWOT Analysis, Investment Feasibility Analysis.

Chapter 12: Market Conclusion of the Whole Report.

Chapter 13: Appendix Such as Methodology and Data Resources of This Research.

Competitive Landscape and Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Market Share Analysis:

Preventative healthcare technologies and services market competitive landscape provides details by competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, global presence, production sites and facilities, production capacities, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product width and breadth, application dominance. The above data points provided are only related to the companies focus related to preventative healthcare technologies and services market.

The major players covered in the preventative healthcare technologies and services market report are Myriad Genetics, Inc., Quest Diagnostics Incorporated., Medtronic, Abbott., Merck & Co., Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc., Omnicell, Inc., McKesson Corporation, Pfizer Inc., Dilon Technologies, Inc., OMRON Healthcare Europe B.V., among other domestic and global players. Market share data is available for Global, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America separately. DBMR analysts understand competitive strengths and provide competitive analysis for each competitor separately.

Global Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Market Scope and Market Size:

Preventative healthcare technologies and services market is segmented on the basis of type and application. The growth amongst these segments will help you analyse meagre growth segments in the industries, and provide the users with valuable market overview and market insights to help them in making strategic decisions for identification of core market applications.

Based on type, preventative healthcare technologies and services market is segmented into early detection and screening technologies, chronic disease management technologies, vaccines, and advanced technologies to reduce errors. Early detection and screening technologies have been further segmented into automated screening, personalized medicine, and other advanced screening technologies. Chronic disease management technologies have been further segmented into blood pressure monitors, asthma monitors, cardiovascular monitors, and glucose monitors.

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By Geographical Regions:-

Asia Pacific: China, Japan, India, and Rest of Asia Pacific

Europe: Germany, the UK, France, and Rest of Europe

North America: The US, Mexico, and Canada

Latin America: Brazil and Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa: GCC Countries and Rest of Middle East & Africa

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Preventative Healthcare Technologies and Services Market Size, Industry Trends, Leading Players, Share and Forecast 2021-2027 || Myriad Genetics,...

Panelists for the COVID-19 Vaccines: A Community Town Hall include, clockwise from top left, Dean Lee Hamm, MD; Executive Dean Patrick Delafontaine, MD; Professor and Gerald S. Berenson Chair in Preventative Cardiology Keith Ferdinand, MD; Associate Professor Lisa Morici, PhD; panel moderator Sharon Courtney, vice president for government affairs; Professor Bob Garry, PhD; Associate Professor John Schieffelin, MD; and Professor Dave Mushatt, MD. (Photo provided by Tulane School of Medicine)

Tulane University School of Medicine will virtually host COVID-19 Vaccines: A Community Town Hall Monday, Dec. 14, at 5:30 p.m. CT to discuss the COVID-19 vaccines.

A panel of experts including Senior Vice President and School of Medicine Dean Lee Hamm, MD; Executive Dean Patrick Delafontaine, MD; Professor and Gerald S. Berenson Chair in Preventative Cardiology Keith Ferdinand, MD; Associate Professor Lisa Morici, PhD; Associate Professor Dave Mushatt, MD; Associate Professor John Schieffelin, MD;and Professor Bob Garry, PhD, will discuss current and upcoming vaccines and topics related to the vaccines.

We anticipate the first wave of approved vaccines to reach our hospitals next week and be available to frontline providers. We hope that more vaccines will be available more widely in the weeks ahead, said Dean Hamm. To provide accurate information and answer your questions, we will assemble some of our experts so that you hear directly from the most trusted sources.

In the United States, the historic first doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be available in December, coinciding with dramatic increases in COVID-19 cases nationwide.

Tulanes medical faculty offer a range of expertise about the vaccines and include frontline physicians who have treated COVID-19 patients, representatives on both city and state COVID-19 task forces, and researchers. Tulane is also the site of the Janssen vaccine Phase 3 trial, for which results are expected next month. Executive Dean Patrick Delafontaine is the principal investigator for the New Orleans site.

Delafontaine said that the School of Medicine conducted a town hall centering on the vaccines earlier in December for medical students and residents. The panel discussion was valuable, he added, but the questions were plentiful. That event gave rise to Mondays town hall, which is open to the public.

Questions about COVID-19 vaccines will be accepted in the Zoom chat during the town hall, but viewers can also submit questions for consideration beforehand to medquestions@tulane.edu.

The live stream of the town hall will be available via Zoom and also Facebook Live. For more information and to access the links to the town hall, click here.

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School of Medicine to host town hall on COVID-19 vaccines - News from Tulane

Illinois regulators are scheduled to decide the fate of Mercy Hospital on Tuesday, about five months after the historic medical center on the Near South Side announced that it wanted to shut down during a pandemic.

Mercy the first chartered hospital in Chicago says it has been treating fewer patients and operating in the red for years. Located in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Mercy tried to merge with three other South Side hospitals. But Illinois lawmakers wouldnt help foot the billion-dollar bill, so the deal ended.

The decision to discontinue Mercy Hospital was not an easy one but rather, the culmination of a multi-year, multi-factorial process that ultimately resulted in the consensus that Mercy Hospital needed to be at the forefront of transforming the health care options available on the South Side of Chicago and needed to move forward with a new model of care, Mercy attorney Edward Green wrote in July to state regulators.

Ever since, patients, physicians, health advocates and activists have rallied against the closure.

The majority of Mercys patients are Black, and doctors there also treat many Cantonese-speaking patients from nearby neighborhoods, including Chinatown. During COVID-19, Black and Latino Chicagoans have gotten sick and died the most, public health data show.

And a new state report shows that Mercys closure would create major health care access issues for people who need emergency care, in particular. Patients who would have gone to Mercy would have to travel at least five miles to another hospital emergency department. Thats according to the report from the staff of the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, which is the regulatory board thats scheduled to vote on Mercys closure.

The loss of emergency care services will result in health risk to the population that Mercy Hospital serves, according to the report.

Late Friday afternoon in the wind and light rain, dozens of people formed a giant circle in front of the Thompson Center downtown and called for lawmakers, including Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, to stop the closure.

How are we supposed to provide patient care when you cannot support us on the other end, Dr. Anudeep Dasaraju, an emergency medicine physician who treats patients at Mercy, shouted from the middle of the circle. We are fighting two battles here, and we feel like we are losing. Despite what happens on the 15th, we will continue to fight.

The group then walked on to Randolph Street and briefly shut it down as they formed another large circle, chanted and prayed.

Before the pandemic, hospitals across the country watched their beds empty out as they treated fewer patients losing the money they would have generated. Many advances in medicine mean patients no longer need to be hospitalized. Family doctors have been working to prevent people from getting sick in the first place and from winding up in expensive emergency departments. Meanwhile, immediate and urgent care centers have become convenient and cheaper alternatives to hospital emergency departments.

The ripple effect on the South Side is evident in the services hospitals have cut over the years, particularly obstetrics.

Consistently, Mercy has only staffed just under half of the roughly 400 beds in the hospital.

In his letter to regulators on behalf of Mercy, Green underscored how health care has changed, and how the hospitals patients disproportionately suffer from chronic medical conditions and need more preventative care, rather than expensive hospital care.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted these disparities, Green wrote.

Mercys proposal: close the hospital and its half a dozen clinics, then open a new outpatient center with urgent care services that would treat some 50,000 people a year. Doctors there would focus on prevention.

Theres also a financial reason to close. Green wrote that Mercy needs at least $100 million in the next five years to maintain a safe and sustainable acute care environment. The hospital has said its losing about $4 million a month.

The review board that plans to vote on Mercys closure is a nine-member board appointed by the governor. It currently has just six members there are three vacancies and needs five votes to approve or deny a project.

The board regulates the health care industry to prevent the duplication of medical services. Hospitals come before the board when they want to acquire another hospital, start or stop providing a medical service or, in Mercys case, close.

Board staff members review the proposals to make sure they meet state guidelines, but board members are known for not always following their staffs findings.

In Mercys case, board staff members found that the hospital does not meet some standards to close.

For example, Mercy has one of the busiest emergency departments in Chicago, treating on average about 57,000 people a year. Other hospitals would have to absorb those patients. Mercys closure would also leave a hole in intensive care beds for the sickest patients, and no hospitals in the area would have physical rehabilitation beds for patients. Mercy staffs 16 physical rehab beds.

Mercy also treats a large portion of patients who need outpatient care, like a check-up at the doctors office. Over a five-year period ending in 2019, Mercy averaged about 360,000 outpatient visits a year accounting for more than one in every four visits among all hospitals in the area.

The report also reveals some other details, including that Mercy was slightly profitable in 2020.

Mercy is pushing back on the board staff members report. In a letter to the board, Green said other hospitals in the area have enough beds to treat Mercys patients. In fact, he said Mercys closure could help other hospitals, including Cook County-run Provident Hospital about three miles south, by sending patients (and the money they generate) their way. The county recently downgraded Providents emergency department to a stand-by department, and Provident is laying off staff amid a budget crunch.

Transformation is the only feasible path forward for Mercy Hospital, Green wrote. And, just as importantly, it will hopefully motivate the State of Illinois, Cook County, and the other healthcare providers in the region, to begin to transform how healthcare is delivered on the Southside of Chicago so the disparities and inequities can start to abate.

Green added that Mercy was profitable in 2020 only based on a one-time cash infusion from the state and federal governments

Mercy has already started transitioning patients to other hospitals. If approved, Mercy plans to close by May 31.

Ann Guild, a compliance analyst with the review board, said she couldnt recall a time when the board rejected a hospitals request to close.

But if the board does vote no, Mercy could come back for a second vote, followed by an administrative hearing if the board rejects Mercys bid to close a second time.

Ultimately, Mercy could take the state to court, or the hospital could just close and be fined.

The fine is $10,000, plus another $10,000 for every 30 days the hospital stays closed without permission from the board.

Kristen Schorsch covers public health on WBEZs government and politics team. Follow her @kschorsch.

Read more from the original source:
Illinois Regulators To Decide The Fate Of Mercy Hospital This Week - WBEZ

The government has announced a landmark rule change that will make it easier for gay and bisexual men to donate blood in England.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock today (December 14) announced new criteria would be introduced in the summer where anyone who has had one sexual partner and who have been with their sexual partner for more than three months will be eligible to give blood.

The criteria will apply to anyone regardless of their gender, their partners gender, or the kind of sex they have.

This landmark change to blood donation is safe and it will allow many more people, who have previously been excluded by donor selection criteria, to take the opportunity to help save lives, Mr Hancock said.

"This is a positive step and recognises individuals for the actions they take, rather than their sexual preference.

The move has been championed by LGBT+ advocates as it will now make it easier for gay and bisexual men to donate blood.

Since 2017, men who have sex with men have been unable to donate blood until three months after their last sexual activity.

However, the new criteria will come with some restrictions. Donors who have had more than one sexual partner or a new partner in the last three months will only be able to donate blood if they have not had anal sex.

People using HIV-preventative medicine, such as PrEP or PEP, will still be unable to donate blood.

The new criteria is based on findings from the For the Assessment of Individualised Risk (FAIR) report, which suggested moving away from the blanket three-month ban and instead identifying a range of highest risk behaviours that apply to all donors.

NHS Blood and Transport will now assess any potential risks through its donor health check questionnaire.

The government has insisted the new changes will have no impact on the safety of blood donated in the UK.

By closely examining the latest evidence relating to blood donation and sexual behaviour, we have been able to bring forward a more inclusive policy to allow people to safely donate blood to save lives, Lord Bethell, Minister for Blood Donation, said.

I am grateful to the members of the FAIR steering group, including LGBT charities, for the work they have done over the last 18 months to enable us to bring this policy, which many have called for, to fruition.

FreedomToDonate, a pressure group that has campaigned for fair and equal blood donation, welcomed the changes and said it would encourage more people to donate blood.

Almost 6 years ago, our group of volunteers set out to rewrite the rules that had perpetuated inequality and prevented thousands of potentially safe donors from donating for too long, Ethan Spibey, Founder and Director of FreedomToDonate, said.

Today, we welcome a pioneering new policy and are immensely proud that more people than ever will be able to fairly give the life-saving gift of blood.

Working with the NHS Blood and Transplants steering group, we have moved the UK from a population-based risk assessment, which excluded too many people who would otherwise have been able to safely donate for no reason other than their sexuality, to an individualised risk assessment, which will look at each donors individual risk profile.

At the start of 2020, the blood service announced it needed 68,000 new male donors to begin donating blood.

"Today sees both that need and the potential of so many safe donors fulfilled.

Nancy Kelley, Chief Executive of Stonewall, added that while the change represented an important first step, there was still a need to address issues relating to minority communities.

Ms Kelley said: While we welcome todays news, we know much more still needs to be done to tackle the challenges that lead to gay and bi men, along with other groups of people including black African communities, sex workers, and trans communities, being at higher risk of acquiring HIV and other STIs.

The recommendations of the HIV Commission set out a clear roadmap for achieving the UK governments commitment to ending new HIV infections by 2030, and we will continue to work with the government and other charities to make this a reality.

The rest is here:
More gay and bisexual men will be able to donate blood following government's 'landmark' rule change - Manchester Evening News

MIDDLETONMiddleton Dentist Dr. Chris Kammer established Victorious Dental at 8313 Greenway Blvd, Ste. 20 to focus on an alternative approach to dental care which treats tooth decay and preserves teeth rather than the more conventional method of drilling and filling them.

Kammer has been a dentist in Madison and Middleton for decades and says he has done just about everything in the field. About 15 years ago he became interested in the connection between mouth health and overall health. Kammer was fascinated by the correlation between poor dental health and increased risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes.

Kammer founded an organization called the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health, which is made up of health professionals dedicated to expanding awareness of the relationship between oral health and whole-body health. Kammer says about 1000 people attend the annual meetings.

His approach focuses on getting patients started early. He says children should begin scheduling regular visits at age one to establish a lifetime of good oral health. If and when tooth decay develops Kammer says it can be healed rather than removed.

Keep people in that lane, keep people in that preventative healing lane, so they don't ever have to get into the restorative, heavy duty surgical care lane, Kammer says.

Kammer decided to open a practice exclusively using the no-drill approach.

What if you moved away from traditional dentistry and focused on just starting out and keeping people decay free? Kammer asks. Or if they have decay, heal their decay with non-mechanical means, like they would do in medicine. If you had an infection in your skin or something, they wouldn't go cut your skin out to heal that infection. What does dentistry do when there's an infection in your tooth when there's tooth decaythey cut it out, it can be healed.

To treat tooth decay Kammer uses ozone which is an excited form of oxygen molecule. It can be used to sterilize the area of decay without needing to remove a large volume of the structure of the tooth. The tooth is then treated with silver diamine fluoride (SDF). Silver and Fluoride ions possess antimicrobial properties and remineralize the enamel and dentin on teeth.

Currently SDF is cleared for sale by the US Food and Drug Administration as a Class II medical device for the treatment of dentinal hypersensitivity. Kammer says the National Institute of Health is expected to complete a study on the treatment in about two years.

Kammer believes the FDA will then approve SDF as the first medicine used to treat tooth decay.

Thats going to throw dentistry for a loop, Kammer says.

He notes it is important to understand there are caveats with the treatment. Areas of a tooth with decay darken turning black. The teeth also need a steady dose of fluoride and xylitol, ideally five separate exposures daily.

Kammer says the caveats are more perceived than actual since the dark spots can be covered cosmetically and xylitol is readily available and in many products.

As far as making teeth look nice, I can do it, Kammer says. But to me, it's more important we stop the disease first, then we can worry about making your smile look pretty.

Kammer says the treatment is cheaper than traditional dentist care and he is one of the few dentists that will accept Badgercare.

If I was running state aid, I'd say what you're doing we need to have everybody in the state doing because what I charge to heal a cavity versus what I would charge them if I were to fill, Kammer says. They'll never have further problems down the line, or less likely, but it would make all the sense in the world.

He says his approach could be a much more affordable option for dentists just starting out. The equipment needed is also lightweight and mobile compared to traditional dentistry.

Honestly I can't tell you how this is going to play in the big picture, but I do know that there should be a clinic like this in every city, Kammer states.

He thinks his practice could serve as a blueprint.

I'm seeing with an eye to the future, what I do here, can be done in other cities and throughout America because I think that's what we need, Kammer says.

Victorious Dental also offers services related to whole body health including: a saliva bacteria test; systemic inflammation blood test; cardiovascular ultrasound screening scan; and in-body visceral fat level scan. More information can be found at thedrillisgone.com.

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Local Dentist Aims to Revolutionize Industry with No-Drill Treatment - Middleton Times Tribune

We are on the cusp of a monumental achievement, the release of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, but the dark cloud of vaccine skepticism remains, serving as an even bigger threat to the nations health than the virus itself.

The only thing more unpredictable than viruses are people, so encouraging naysayers to get a double dose of the vaccine will be no small feat. Despite promising data that shows the vaccine to be 95 percent effective, skepticism remains understandably high, given the speed at which this vaccine has been developed.

Read More: Black critical care nurse among 1st in US to receive COVID vaccine

According to a Pew Research poll conducted from Nov. 18 to Nov. 29, 60 percent of American adults said they would definitely or probably take the vaccine when it becomes available, well below the 75 percent needed to achieve herd immunity. The outlook is even more bleak in Black and brown communities with vaccine-acceptance rates hovering around 50 percent.

Vaccine Hesitancy in the Black, Brown Community

Vaccine hesitancy in Black and brown communities stems from Americas dark history of medical racism and unequal access to care. Black and brown people often cite the 1951 story of Henrietta Lacks and the 40-year Tuskegee syphilis experiment as reasons to distrust medical research. The forced sterilization of Latina women and the nonconsensual surgeries performed by Dr. J Marion Sims on enslaved Black women, are just two examples of the hyper-experimentation on Black and brown bodies that have been common practice throughout American history. The trepidation that Black and brown people have in the U.S. medical system is not an irrational fear but a corollary of generational trauma.

The relationship between Black and Brown communities and modern medicine is tenuous at best. Based on my experience, when African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans are told to get vaccinated first, they hear guinea pig. Frustration sets in when these groups are told to accept medical treatments without being given an explanation of the processes and procedures that are to be performed. This creates a scenario where Black and brown people are left to fill in the blanks, spawning the conspiracy theories that litter social media today. Even worse, this now discouraged group of people become less likely to attend future medical visits and persuade others to do the same.

New Voices in Vaccine Messaging

We need the voices of Black and brown medical professionals now more than ever. Research shows that the trust between Black and brown doctors and their patients leads to better health outcomes. Studies show that communities of color are more compliant with medical treatment and more likely to access preventative services when directions are given by a healthcare professional who shares a similar racial or cultural background. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has even insinuated that Black and brown medical professionals be the centerpiece of pro-health messaging campaigns when the vaccine is released to the public to ensure its equitable distribution.

Throughout history non-medical professionals like athletes and entertainers have served as gatekeepers to medical information. People listen to celebrities because they can connect with them, but the danger in taking medical recommendations from celebrities is that the larger and more emotional their stories become, the more likely it is that nuances will be lost and misinformation will spread.

Celebrities benefit from the halo effect the tendency to attribute positive impressions from people you admire. This means that people may unknowingly accept misinformation because they place more trust in the celebrities they admire than their own critical thinking.

Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci encouraged the Black community to lean on celebrities to get the message out about the vaccine. History shows that this approach has marginal returns at best. A tactical, innovative, and thoughtful pro-vaccine messaging campaign, spearheaded by medical professionals, that meets people where they are, is needed to ease the concerns of Black and Brown Americans. Well intentioned celebrities cannot answer specific medical questions. They cannot confirm or refute information with evidence-based science. They are not equipped to do the job of healthcare professionals. To defeat the coronavirus pandemic we need a messaging campaign that looks nothing like the ineffective celebrity-driven campaigns that weve used in the past. We simply cannot afford to go about this the wrong way given how deadly the virus has been in our communities.

How the SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Works

As vaccine hesitancy looms, the battle to get the community informed and vaccinated wages on. Answering questions about the vaccine in churches, town hall meetings, and on social media via livestream formats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook can go a long way in alleviating the publics concerns.

One of the questions that I get asked most often is how the coronavirus vaccine works. The short answer is that the vaccine unlocks the bodys natural defense system.

The Moderna and Pfizer vaccine candidates consist of saline and messenger RNA (mRNA) surrounded by a fatty layer. The vaccines mRNA contains instructions that tell the body to make non-infectious coronavirus spike proteins. These proteins kick off an immune response that generates antibodies against COVID-19, which are stored throughout the body for future use. If the body comes into contact with the virus it releases these antibodies, fighting off the disease and avoiding serious illness.

Read More: Trump says hes nixing plan for early vaccine at White House

Trusting the Medical Community Again

The hate filled rhetoric between pro and anti-vaccine groups predates the pandemic, in part due to the deep class divisions that exist between the two groups. This needs to change. The need for widespread vaccination is on par with the need for meaningful conversation between pro and anti-vaccine groups.

The reconciliation between marginalized communities and modern medicine wont happen in a day, month or year, but if we dont begin the process today we will continue to suffer huge losses. Full transparency and open dialogue by both sides can help us mend the fences of American medical mistrust. Whether you choose to take the vaccine or not lets use this moment as an opportunity to work together and take the first step towards rebuilding trust with the medical community.

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The development of COVID-19 vaccine is not enough to save this nation - TheGrio

An explosion in cancer therapies over the past decade has greatly improved peoples chances of surviving cancer. There are upward of 16 million human cancer survivors in the U.S. todayand that number is expected to grow substantially over the next five to 10 years.

The development of new targeted therapies has even transformed some once-terminal cancers into health conditions that can be managed more like a chronic disease. That is a huge success story, said Iris Jaffe, cardiologist and executive director of the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (MCRI) at Tufts Medical Center.

However, some advances in cancer treatment have come at a cost, Jaffe said. Most of the new cancer therapies were studied in cancer patients who otherwise might have died from their cancer. The drugs were approved based on the survival data demonstrating their efficacy for treating tumors and metastasis.

Now, in many cases, we put patients on these drugs for life. And were discovering that many novel cancer therapies cause heart and blood-vessel side effects that were unanticipated when those drugs were first approved, she said.

These long-term side effects are particularly problematic for the youngest patients. Childhood-cancer survivors have a six-fold higher rate of developing cardiovascular disease 15 to 20 years later than those who havent gone through treatments. If you were a 10-year-old when you had cancer, that means you may be dealing with heart disease when youre only 25 or 30, said Jaffe, the Elisa Kent Mendelsohn Professor of Molecular Cardiology at Tufts University School of Medicine.

This medical quandary has led to an emerging field of medicine called cardio-oncology, which is dedicated to managing and studying heart and blood-vessel problems caused by cancer treatment.

In Tufts Cardio-Oncology Research Groupwhich was formed in October 2017 by Jaffe within the MCRIcardiologists and biomedical researchers are taking a unique approach to the problem. Theyre working closely with veterinarians to better understand and treat cancer therapies effects on the heart through studies in both people at Tufts Medical Center and pets at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

As the life-extending benefits of the new generation of cancer drugs reached veterinary clinicsadding an estimated average of 6 to 24 months of life to a typical pet dog treated for cancerthe risk of long-term cardiovascular side effects also rose. Some traditional chemotherapies such as doxorubicin, which also is used in human medicine, already are well known to cause long-term heart damage in dogs.

Thats why Cheryl London, V90, a veterinary oncologist well known for doing comparisons across species, was all ears when Jaffe approached her in April 2018, proposing a truly multidisciplinary approach to answering the questions raised by the Cardio-Oncology Research Group

Londonthe Anne Engen and Dusty Professor in Comparative Oncology atCummings Schoolis leading a study in dogs looking at whether immunotherapy can help the body fight lymphoma using far less-toxic doses of doxorubicin.

The clinical trial is being funded by part of a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health through the Cancer Moonshot initiative. Her colleague, veterinary cardiologist Vicky Yang, V09, led a team of Cummings School researchers who identified a potential biomarker thats an early indicator of heart damage being caused by this common chemotherapy.

With many new cancer therapies poised to enter veterinary clinics, London and Yang also are concerned about the long-term side effects of the comparable human drugs. For example, the oral cancer treatment toceranib (Palladia)the first cancer therapy approved specifically for dogsis analogous to sunitnib, a cancer treatment that often causes high blood pressure in people.

Given their patients potential for shared complications, London and Yang eagerly joined forces with their counterparts researching human medicine.

The Cardio-Oncology Research Group secured more than $3 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to launch a multidisciplinary study entitled Credentialing a Cross-Species Platform to Investigate Cancer Therapy-Associated Cardiovascular Toxicity. The study seeks to determine the mechanisms driving cancer treatments toxic effects, develop an early diagnostic for cardiovascular dysfunction, and assess possible preventative therapies.

The researchers are looking at two drugs in pets and people: toceranib, which causes high blood pressure, and doxorubicin, which causes heart failurein dogs being treated for cancer at the Henry & Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals, and their human-medicine equivalents in people being treated at Tufts Medical Center.

In human and canine patients, clinicians are comparing ultrasounds of the heart called echocardiograms over time and blood pressure measurements against the results of blood tests to identify molecular changes that may serve as early indicators of cardiovascular side effects.

The study has already yielded new evidence of a cancer treatments effect on dogs. Pets blood pressure usually is not taken routinely as part of oncology follow-ups the way it is in people, said Yang, a research assistant professor at Cummings School. However, when veterinarians started checking blood pressure in dogs treated with toceranib as part of the studies done in collaboration with the Tufts physicians, they noticed that some canine patients were developing high blood pressure, just like many human patients treated with sunitnib do, Yang said.

While in human medicine cardiologists turn to existing blood-pressure medications to try to bring patients blood pressure down, so they can continue their cancer treatments, the approach is not based on any evidence.

We dont really know the biological mechanism thats causing the high blood pressure, and there have been no clinical trials to show whether one drug is better than another, said Jaffe.

Now the group is comparing the cardioprotective benefits of two blood-pressure medications in dogs treated with toceranib as part of the NIH-funded study. The findings could have practice-changing implications for pets and people alike.

If we see some benefit with the drug identified from our research study in the canine cancer patients, the next step would be a clinical trial in humans, said Jaffe. We already have cardio-oncologists taking care of patients at Tufts Medical Center, so we could pretty rapidly follow up on any promising approach in people.

Howard Chen, an assistant professor of medicine at Tufts School of Medicine and investigator in the MCRI at Tufts Medical Center, expects the cross-species nature of Tufts research to help translate his own laboratory findings into new diagnostics and treatments far more quickly.

A pre-clinical researcher, Chen is partnering with Yang on a complementary study funded by a Tufts Collaborates seed grant. Their research aims to determine whether molecular imaging can reveal biological changes in the heart caused by cancer treatments well before there has been a change in the organs structure or function.

Oncologists monitor cardiac function now as a routine follow-up in their patients, but its hard to predict which patients will go on to develop cardiac problems and when, said Chen. Existing medical imaging technology only provides anatomical information, so it cant tell doctors if theres a problem until cardiac function is already impaired. At that point, oncologists only choice is to stop the chemotherapy, which is not what anyone wants, because then the cancer will come back.

Chen has identified pathways in cardiac muscle cells that appear to be affected by cancer treatment in mice. Hes now using canine cardiac tissue from Cummings Schools deceased-body-donation programthrough which pet owners may donate their animals bodies to research that helps animals and peopleto study if its possible to see changes in those cells under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Chens findings could be directly applied to human patients.

Yang said shes thrilled how the pace of the veterinary research seems to be accelerating as a result of working so closely with physicians and basic scientists. Theyre getting really excited about what we do, Yang said. Whenever they have an idea, theyre thinking about how to bring dogs into their studies.

The collaboration across human and veterinary medicine has really been spectacular agreed Jaffe. She noted that the cardio-oncology team has made rapid advances, secured multiple large NIH grants, and brought together senior investigators and junior investigators, providing great opportunities for mentoring.

I think we owe a lot of our success to having the veterinary school involved, Jaffe said. By demonstrating safety and efficacy in dogsreal cancer patientswe will not only help these pets and their owners, but well be able to translate these findings into people faster through this uniquely Tufts collaboration.

Genevieve Rajewski can be reached at genevieve.rajewski@tufts.edu.

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Investigating Cancer Treatments' Effects on the Heart and Blood Vessels - Tufts Now

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This episode of 'Show Me the Science' reports on progress toward a vaccine and how to stay safe before vaccines become widely available

In this episode of "Show Me the Science," infectious diseases physicians at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discuss the status, safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S., as well as how to approach flu season while the pandemic holds on during the winter months.

A new episode of our podcast, Show Me the Science, has been posted. At present, these podcast episodes are highlighting research and patient care on the Washington University Medical Campus as our scientists and clinicians confront the COVID-19 pandemic.

Drug companies are reporting eye-popping success rates in clinical trials of their vaccines to prevent COVID-19. Its possible the first people in the U.S. could begin getting shots before the end of the year. In this episode, well hear about the amazing pace of vaccine development, as well as Washington Universitys role in vaccine research, from infectious diseases specialist Rachel Presti, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine and medical director of Washington Universitys Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Unit. Presti discusses how soon most of us can expect to get a vaccine and how safe those shots are likely to be. In addition, we visit again with Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, MD, a clinical instructor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. She discusses how COVID-19 and the flu might interact as the pandemic continues during flu season. Hlatshwayo Davis believes its important for everyone to get a flu shot, and she and Presti both think that if we can double down on use of masks, hand-washing and social distancing, it will limit the spread of COVID-19 while also cutting down on the number of flu cases we will see.

The podcast, Show Me the Science, is produced by the Office of Medical Public Affairs at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Transcript

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Jim Dryden (host): Hello, and welcome to Show Me the Science, conversations about science and health with the people of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, the Show-Me state. As we continue to look at Washington Universitys response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we focus in this episode on vaccines.

Rachel Presti, MD, PhD: I think its really, really exciting. The numbers that they were reporting are really remarkable, really kind of best-case scenario of what we were thinking we might get. So I think its very promising.

Dryden: Thats infectious diseases specialist Rachel Presti. Shes running the vaccine trials at Washington University School of Medicine, and she says with a few vaccines reporting early successes at much higher rates than anticipated, and with more reports expected soon, we could see some people in the United States vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus before the end of the year. But even with the good news, most of us wont have the opportunity to be vaccinated for several more months. So infectious diseases specialist Mati Hlatshwayo Davis says its important that we double down in our efforts to protect ourselves over the next couple of months. Part of that, she says, involves protecting ourselves against other viruses that circulate at this time of year, particularly influenza.

Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, MD: If we dont have a really good and successful flu campaign, and we have a situation where our hospitals are overwhelmed with sick people from flu, from the myriad of other respiratory viruses out there on top of the fact that we have people still getting sick from coronavirus, we will again find ourselves in a situation where our resources are stretched.

Dryden: Flu shots have been available for several weeks. For coronavirus vaccination, not quite yet. But Pfizer, then Moderna, then AstraZeneca, all reported that their vaccines appeared to work. All reported success rates much higher than had been expected. And according to Rachel Presti, that means some people could start getting vaccinated in a few weeks.

Presti: They were talking actually about having vaccines available maybe in mid- to late December. Those would be small numbers, and it would probably be the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines. They would probably be mainly for healthcare workers who are at high-risk and other folks who were essential workers who are at high risk of infection.

Dryden: A lot of people had expected these first COVID vaccines would be closer to 50 or 60 percent effective, and that would have been considered good. So how big a deal is it that these early vaccines keep reporting success rates so much higher than that?

Presti: I think its really, really exciting. When you still have small numbers, you always worry about there being some small statistical kind of issue. But the numbers that they were reporting are really remarkable, really kind of best-case scenario of what we were thinking we might get. So I think its very promising.

Dryden: How do these studies determine that the shot is working, rather than that the volunteers just didnt get sick?

Presti: Obviously, there are a whole lot of people who got vaccinated, and there were whole lot of people who didnt get vaccinated, who never got exposed in that timeframe. So its important to continue to follow people. But a 90% efficacy means those numbers dont happen very often by accident.

Dryden: Now, the news about the vaccines was encouraging. But that Pfizer vaccine, and I think the Moderna vaccine as well, require some very specialized refrigeration. I guess Moderna doesnt have to be quite as cold. But people also need to get two doses of each of those shots to work. And I wonder if that makes it important to keep looking for other vaccines that might be easier to store, easier to get patients to comply with.

Presti: Right. I mean, I think were going to need multiple different vaccines because were going to need to be able to vaccinate the entire population of the world, really, to address this. This virus has really gone worldwide. And the Pfizer vaccine is going to require ultradeep cold storage, and that is just not something that is easy to do worldwide. It can be done in the US, but even in the US that is somewhat difficult. The Moderna vaccine requires freezing and sort of the normal freezer temperature, but that still is a little bit difficult. And you have to know that your freezers are not failing, you have to have access to electricity to keep things cold. Our hope is with the newer vaccines AstraZeneca actually can be stored at sort of refrigerator temperatures for quite some time. The closer we can get to a vaccine that doesnt require cold storage throughout its journey from the pharmaceutical company thats manufacturing it to your arm, eventually, the easier this is going to be. And then, the other thing is the number of doses. So ideally, a vaccine that is a single dose that doesnt require cold storage would be the best potential vaccine. But we also need one fast. So its great to have these vaccines available and know that they work because we can get started protecting some of the people who are most vulnerable.

Dryden: How long do the drug companies have to wait in order to demonstrate safety?

Presti: The FDA set out rules. They want at least two months of follow-up on all their participants after they get both doses of the vaccine.

Dryden: Theres been a lot of talk about whether the natural immune response persists in people who have had COVID-19, or whether they can get re-infected. Now, if they only test this vaccine for a few months, do we really know how long the protection lasts? Or do you expect this will be like a flu shot that we have to get every year at some point?

Presti: So I think we dont know. I think thats part of the reason why almost all of these studies are designed to last for at least two years. And so, hopefully, well have enough people who stay on the study arm. We would continue to follow them. And that way, we can see how long does the vaccine last. How long does the antibody response last? What is it that you need? And then, were getting a lot of blood so that we can see how long that does last. Most of these vaccines are sort of targeting the same kind of immune response. So theyre using different strategies, but theyre all targeting the same protein that spike protein on the virus. If that works in one vaccine, its very likely that itll work in another.

Dryden: A year ago, we had not heard of SARS-CoV-2. And now, theres a vaccine. Thats far and away the fastest vaccine development in the history of vaccines, Im guessing. And I wonder if theres any fear that in moving so fast, some corners might have been cut?

Presti: We tried not to. Theres always things that might happen that you find out about. And when you move this far this fast, theres a temptation to say, Oh, I think thats still okay. But in reality, Ive been very impressed. Both AstraZeneca and Janssen paused their studies. With all the pressure on these companies and the researchers doing the studies to get an answer fast, on the basis of one person getting sick with an unusual illness that could have potentially been related to the vaccine, they stopped the study. And they waited, and they evaluated, and they had multiple scientists look at the data. And so, those kind of safety corners are not being cut. Were hoping that if there are side effects that youll see them early. And were hoping that the fact that we are enrolling tens of thousands of people into these studies these are huge vaccine trials, much bigger than weve done in past. So were hoping that we will have that information because weve done it in more people, even if we tried to do it as quickly as possible.

Dryden: Nonetheless, there is lots of suspicion of other vaccines too. Some people refuse to have their kids vaccinated. Do you expect that even after a vaccine is approved, we may still get COVID outbreaks because some people are going to refuse to get this vaccination?

Presti: I think thats possible. The thought is that this might become one of those seasonal viruses, and we may see it come through. I think theres still questions about whether or not we could come up with a better treatment or a better vaccine, that would target coronaviruses more in general. Weve now seen these outbreaks of SARS and MERS, and now SARS-CoV-2. It was easier to come up with a COVID-19 vaccine because of all the work that was done trying to make a SARS and a MERS vaccine that never got fully developed because those viruses went away. So you dont think this one is going to go away. We think itll probably wind up circulating to some extent, and the hope is that well have enough immunity to it that we wont see these kind of huge outbreaks that were seeing right now.

Dryden: With those other viruses, I mean, one of the reasons they went away was that there was more than just a waiting for a vaccine, there were lots of public health measures that were taken. So Im guessing that while were all waiting and hoping that the news about vaccines continues to be good, we still need to do the things that weve needed to do from the beginning.

Presti: Oh, absolutely. And right now, were looking at really scary numbers. Were seeing the hospitals filling up. This is the nightmare scenario that people were worried about back in March. New York especially, there were certain areas of New York that just saw huge numbers, and the rest of the country didnt experience that. I think its always a little hard to prepare for something that you dont have direct experience with. And yet, its so critically important because if we run out of ICU beds, if we run out of places in the hospital to take care of people, then people are going to die because we cant do what we need to do.

Dryden: There are vaccine candidates that are being tested at Washington University School of Medicine. Is it still possible for people to volunteer?

Presti: Theyre still ongoing. Its still possible to volunteer. We have had tremendous outpouring, great community support for the vaccine studies. But each of the vaccine studies, were expecting that we may be doing more, and each of the vaccine studies have slightly different eligibility criteria, slightly different people theyre looking for. And so, yeah, if people are interested, I cant promise that I can get you on the vaccine study tomorrow, but we are still looking for people. Yeah.

Dryden: Until then, I guess masks, handwashing, social distancing, until, and even beyond, the time that some of us get vaccinated.

Presti: Right. So I mean, the vaccines arent going to work instantaneously. You need to get that immune response, and that usually takes about three weeks. So we want to make sure that you cant rip your mask off and stop washing your hands the day after you get the vaccine. The other thing is what weve noticed with handwashing and wearing masks is, were not seeing a lot of flu right now. And when we shut things down in March, we not only did a decent job trying to flatten the coronavirus curve, but we saw other respiratory viral infections just plummet. So these work. It works as a way of keeping yourself healthy and safe, and to some extent maybe should be something that we think about doing a little bit more. Not shutting the economy down, not shutting the schools down; but think about washing your hands, and think about wearing a mask in these respiratory viruses.

Dryden: Presti says even if it does keep those vaccinated from getting sick, we wont know right away whether the vaccine also prevents those who get the shot from spreading the infection to others who havent yet been vaccinated. So even after people are vaccinated, Presti says its important for them to remain vigilant with masks, distancing, and handwashing; still our best strategies for fighting COVID-19. Those practices also are likely to help protect against flu. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, also an infectious diseases specialist, says because COVID-19 is so new, its not yet clear how the novel coronavirus and influenza will affect one another.

Hlatshwayo Davis: We dont know what flu and coronavirus are going to do together. That is a sort of time will tell. What is important, and what we do know, is that flu on its own carries with it a high degree of morbidity and mortality, right? People can get very sick, and people can die. We know that we need to protect ourselves from flu. We know what were dealing with with coronavirus. And so its obvious that to have both of them not at a place of being well-controlled will be difficult, and, quite honestly, devastating if we dont get ahead of it.The level that a lot of us in the public health sector are most concerned about is not so much on the individual level as much as how this will impact our hospital systems. If we dont have a really good and successful flu campaign where people get their vaccines early and are willing to actually get them, and we have a situation where our hospitals are overwhelmed with sick people from flu, from the myriad of other respiratory viruses out there, on top of the fact that we have people still getting sick from coronavirus, we will again find ourselves in a situation where our resources are stretched. Where we dont have enough beds for those who critically need them. Where we dont have enough ICU space and ventilators for those that critically need them. And where we possibly then run into issues around supply. So its critically important that we try to prevent what we know we can prevent. And our prevention strategies for flu are: get your flu vaccine and continue the same preventative strategies around COVID that will also help with flu and other respiratory viruses. Masking up is key. Masking up is the number one thing that I think people need to really, really get on board with. Washing hands with soap and water; where thats not available, with hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Social distancing at least six feet apart if youre in public, right? So avoiding large gatherings, particularly indoors. And those things will go such a long way to making sure that we keep the case numbers down from both influenza and coronavirus.

Dryden: Some of that was sort of at a macro level, though. At a micro level, I wake up, and I feel sick. Then what? I mean, I assume a phone call to the doctor is in order. We dont want to just show up at a doctors office. But should we isolate? Should we get tested? How does a person make that sort of a determination?

Hlatshwayo Davis: I think its critically important not to play your own doctor as much as possible. So for anyone who has access to a primary care physician, I think that should be your first call. A lot of the symptoms that we see with coronavirus are very similar to what we see with flu and other respiratory viruses. There are some differences. For the most part, we see with coronavirus, its not this sudden attack where you suddenly go down; whereas, with flu, you can oftentimes feel like youre hit by a truck almost immediately. But every disease does not follow the rulebooks. Theyre just variations around common themes. And so, rather than try to make assumptions or I mean, one thing I would say is if you wake up with symptoms, whatever they may be, whether its a fever, cough, trouble breathing, difficulty smelling, loss of taste, and other type of symptoms, the first determination is, How sick do you feel? Are you comfortable enough to still be at home? And if so, the first call really should be to your primary care physician. But if youre in a position where there is concern about how stable you can be at home youre having trouble catching your breath; you feel really, really bad then you have to go to an emergency room. I think the biggest message here is there are many similarities between these viruses, so its important to get testing wherever possible, and that you cannot be your own physician. So to that extent, try to engage the healthcare system as much as possible. Other resources that I think are important for people who need help who may not have access to a primary-care physician or who have other barriers that prevent them from being able to access the health-care system, whether it be they dont have transport, they have trouble paying bills, that they have trouble getting food for their families, are number one, the CDCs website is amazing. And it breaks down information on all of these topics weve been talking today very clearly and succinctly. But our county and city Departments of Health have incredible websites with all the sort of resources and numbers you can call to ask questions if youre struggling. So I would definitely direct people to engage in those resources.

Dryden: Should we have little oximeters at home? A thing that we can put on our fingers so that if we feel bad, we can get a quick read on what our blood oxygen level might be?

Hlatshwayo Davis: Thats an excellent question. Ill tell you a story first by way of example. When I was pregnant with our first child, I said to my husband, Babe, I found a home ultrasound on Amazon. I think Im going to get one. And he looked at me, and he said, Woman, absolutely not. You? With an ultrasound, with all of your anxiety and fears around the baby? What happens if you dont know how to use it, and you dont hear a heartbeat one day? So I say that to say, Im very wary of people arming themselves with tools that they may not be equipped to understand or know how to operate fully. So I think those types of contraptions, while I absolutely advocate for them, should be done under the observation and guidance of a health-care professional. My home hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Washington University School of Medicine, we have a home-monitoring program. So if you get diagnosed with coronavirus within our system, you can actually sign up for a home-monitoring program where you will be mailed such tools as the oximeter that youre talking about and a thermometer. But the difference is, youre guided by a healthcare professional either over the phone or through your computer as to what to do, what not to do, questions you can ask if things arent working. I love how engaged people are in their health, and I love how thoughtful people are. But I do think we need to do it in a way thats measured and has the expertise of the people that have been trained to support us.

Dryden: It seems to me that there were a few countries in the southern hemisphere that during their winter reported rather light flu seasons in 2020. The assumption being that because people were isolating due to COVID, they also were protecting themselves from other viruses that they might pick up just being around other people. And I wonder if theres a potential silver lining that if were protecting ourselves from COVID, and wearing masks, staying apart, working from home if possible, or whatever it is, if maybe we might get lucky this flu season. Is there any possibility of that?

Hlatshwayo Davis: If you are conscientious about using preventative strategies that protect against respiratory viruses in ways that we know, not only does it drive down the morbidity and mortality so that getting sick and potentially dying from those illnesses it definitely has a protective benefit. It would not be a surprise to me. I think we have an opportunity here to use what weve learned since March around coronavirus to protect ourselves and our loved ones. I will say, though, that cannot happen in isolation. When it comes to the flu, the vaccine is critical. And so, that has to happen.

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Dryden: So if you havent gotten your flu shot yet, its important to get one. Its also important to remain vigilant with masking, social distancing, and handwashing as COVID vaccines gradually become available. Until then, there are still openings for volunteers who want to take part in vaccine trials at Washington University School of Medicine. For more information, please consult the Division of Infectious Diseases clinical trials website or email idcru@wustl.edu. Again, thats idcru@wustl.edu. Show Me the Science is a production of the Office of Medical Public Affairs at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The goal of this project is to keep you informed and maybe teach you some things that will give you hope. Thanks for tuning in. Im Jim Dryden. Stay safe.

Washington University School of Medicines 1,500 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, ranking among the top 10 medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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Podcast: COVID-19 vaccines around the corner Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis - Washington University School of Medicine in St....

This is part of a four-part series exploring the four facets of the ProShares MSCI Transformational Changes ETF (NYSEARCA:ANEW) ETF: The Future of Work, Genomics and Telehealth, the Digital Consumer and the Food Revolution. Click on other themes where linked to read other installments.

Healthcare has come a long way over the course of human history, but this may be one of the most exciting times in the sector and theProShares MSCI Transformational Changes ETF (NYSEARCA:ANEW) lets investors make their bet on those exciting developments.

Some of these changes are highly technical in nature. For instance, genomics combines our increasingly deep and complex knowledge of human biology with the sheer data-crunching power of technological advances to enable us to understand how a persons genes work and to use that to heal them.

Others are a lot closer to home. The Covid-19 pandemic has made traveling to the doctors office even more awkward and troublesome than before.As taken from ProShares information on the ANEW ETF, According to an April 2020 Harris Poll, 32% of Americans have used telehealth services, doubling since before the outbreak. The shift to telehealth may endure. Indeed, a May 2020 McKinsey & Company study stated that up to $250 billion of current U.S. healthcare spending could potentially be virtualized post-pandemic.

And thats not all. From targeted therapeutics to molecular diagnostics, ANEW digs deep into the cutting edge of the healthcare sector and pulls some of its best prospects together into one fund for investors.

The fund charges an 0.45% expense ratio, or $45 per $10,000 invested annually.

I had a chance to discuss the ANEW ETF with Scott Helfstein, Executive Director of Thematic Investing for ProShares, and talk about how ANEW is letting investors get in on cutting-edge medical advancements.

InvestorPlace: Gene editing can sound scary to some people, but its a market that continues to grow gene editing is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.6% through 2027, to reach $6.6 billion. What are some of the use cases for this therapy investors might be more familiar with?

Scott Helfstein, Executive Director of Thematic Investing for ProShares: The search for a COVID-19 vaccine is one very salient example right now. Leading vaccine candidates from Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)/Biontech (NASDAQ:BNTX), and other companies use genetic therapy through messenger RNA that essentially delivers photocopied blueprints. This is remarkable, representing a possible turning point in medicine and potentially the first time that genetic medicine is administered at mass scale. The technology could someday be adapted to teach the body to fight off a range of pathogens from cancer to HIV.

The COVID gene-based vaccines are specific sections or strands of genetic code manipulated to include instructions for the human body to produce antibodies capable of fighting off the virus. The vaccine does not edit peoples DNA, an individuals unique code, but uses genetic material as a delivery mechanism. Teaching the body to fight off disease directly by offering instructions at a genetic level is different than using medicine that directly attacks the pathogen or exposes the body to produce an immune response. Companies in ANEW such as Moderna and Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) have been exploring mRNA treatment for other areas as well.

There are few examples where treatment focuses on editing underlying human DNA or an individuals core genetic code, but this is still early in development. In 2019, a doctor in China introduced a genetic treatment to human embryos aiming to make twin girls immune to HIV. While this may sound like science fiction, there is a strong possibility that doctors will be able to actually cut out genetic code associated with diseases, perhaps even degenerative diseases like Alzheimers, and replace those genes with healthy code. This type of direct manipulation could play an important role in preventative treatment with companies like CRISPR (NASDAQ:CRSP), Invitae (NYSE:NVTA), and Editas (NASDAQ:EDIT) leading the way.

InvestorPlace: Telehealth has become a vital component of the current healthcare landscape. Obviously the Covid-19 pandemic impacted that transition, but what do you see as the future of this space? What are the companies that stand to particularly benefit?

ProShares:The adoption of Telemedicine is an excellent example of a transformational change in motion before the pandemic that has been accelerated by COVID-19. Can you imagine people actually heading back to their doctors to sit in crowded waiting rooms in future flu seasons? McKinsey reports that in 2019, 11% of U.S. consumers reported use of Telemedicine or Virtual Care services. More recently, 76% of respondents say they are moderately or highly likely to use telehealth going forward

The interesting part is that technology to support telehealth has been in place for years. There were two impediments prior to the pandemic, and COVID appears to have mowed them over. The first is related to policies around reimbursement, as both government and private insurance were not sure how to treat telemedicine. The second was doctor and patient behavior, with both hesitant to take the relationship online. Both of those impediments are may be a thing of the past.

With widespread adoption of video conference for activities from work to family holidays and happy hours, much of the U.S. population has gotten comfortable with communication technology. Telehealth can improve efficiency in healthcare. Teladoc (NYSE:TDOC) has been one beneficiary of the shift to telehealth. The company recently raised its guidance to project 2020 earnings of almost $100 millionmore than triple 2019s results.Medical device makers, such as Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), that provide instruments continuously monitoring patients are integral to meeting the demand for remote care, as well.

InvestorPlace: Data is vital to healthcare, and big data advances are helping grow the world of genomics. What are some of the leaders in the space, and what does the growth ramp for that area look like?

ProShares:Advances in biotechnology and genomics are in large part due to innovations in data analysis as well as biology. That cannot be overstated. The human genome consists of 20,000 pairs of amino acids, which would amount to a stack of 8.5 x 11 paper that was 200 feet tall. That is a twenty-story building. Biological science plays an important part, but analyzing these massive datasets is critical as well. That is just one example of data in medicine, and not even the low-hanging fruit.

Improving data access, quality, and analytics could help build a more efficient healthcare system from hospitals to individual medical practices. The healthcare industry is estimated to produce 5% of world data, but sector remains one of the least digitized. There is tremendous opportunity to leverage data for supply chain management, imaging, medical alerts, predictive analytics, new therapies, and process optimization. Veeva Systems (NYSE:VEEV), for example, is a cloud-based platform that attempts to streamline data access. IBM has also focused the Watson artificial system on cancer diagnosis. The computer is capable of reading more scans than any doctor can ever see in the course of their lifetimes, and the computer can identify or infer patterns that would otherwise be impossible for humans, hopefully then increasing the diagnostic accuracy.

InvestorPlace: The growth of targeted therapeutics is allowing for better cancer treatments with fewer adverse effects, as compared to typical treatments like chemotherapy and surgery. Do you see more companies breaking into the space? And how far do you expect the sector to expand?

ProShares:Targeted therapeutics or treatments customized based on both patient and disease characteristics, as you note, are increasingly common in cancer treatment. The idea is that targeted or personalized treatment will more effectively address a harmful disease specifically as opposed to traditional therapies targeting all rapidly reproducing cells. An increased emphasis on personalized medicine, which is critically reliant on data analysis, offers the possibility of better patient outcomes delivered more efficiently at lower cost. This is another area in healthcare we believe is still in early stages with significant growth ahead.

There are two main considerations. First, the treatment can be developed to have an optimal impact on diseased tissue while limiting the impact on the rest of the body. Second, drug development should be faster and cheaper since treatments need not be effective or even safe for all people provided they are only administered to those patients most likely to respond well. That could translate to billions in drug development savings. Quark is an interesting example of a company pushing the limits in the field.

InvestorPlace: Molecular diagnostics tests have supplanted a number of traditional testing methods, and have increased accuracy and speed of diagnoses. Can you discuss that?

ProShares:Its startling to hear the term rapid PCR test enter the mainstream media, but this reflects the importance molecular diagnostics which uses genomic scienceto testing for an illness as challenging as COVID-19.

Several hundred diagnostics have been submitted to the World Health Organization for the identification of the novel coronavirus, but only a few dozen of these have been approved for use by major healthcare authorities. Companies like Abbott Laboratories and Roche Diagnostics have seen their tests approved for use in several countries. A smaller company like Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) is another example of an innovator in the field.

InvestorPlace: This intersection of science, tech and healthcare is of growing interest to investors. Which subsections and companies should investors be the most excited about in the next 3-5 years?

ProShares:There is a reasonable possibility that we are at the rebirth of healthcare along the lines of Hippocrates or Galen. A decade from now, we may look back and see medicine of late 20thcentury as the dark ages. The combination of genomic technology, diagnostic data, and targeted therapeutics, all powered by advanced data analysis, opens the possibility of preventive medicine and minimally invasive treatment while optimizing patient outcomes. There is a lot to be excited about based on market size and the time to deployment.

Genomics is really fascinating, and maybe a little scary. Delivery of treatment through genetic material like the some of the COVID vaccines as well as human gene editing hold tremendous potential. Companies like Moderna and Novavax have already made great strides in possibly bringing genomic treatment mainstream. COVID accelerated this transition. Editing the human genome is still in early stages but offers the possibility of treating diseases once thought almost incurable. Gene editing companies CRISPR, Editas, and Invitae hold some of the most valuable patents in the field.

On the date of publication, Jessica Loder did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

In The InvestorPlace Q&A, weinvite a manager to speak directly to Main Street investors, whether discussing their firms technologies, strategies or investments for the year ahead. Our goal is to put the spotlight on fund managers and other institutional investors of note, providing a detailed look into their management styles, world views and investing strategies.Read past interviews here.

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The InvestorPlace Q&A: Genomics, Telehealth and the Future of Healthcare with the ANEW ETF - InvestorPlace