Diabetes Treatment Enters A New Phase

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New guidelines for treating Type 2 diabetes call for the use of one of the newer diabetes medicines rather than Metformin in order to help reduce weight and protect the heart and kidneys.  Many people suffer from hypertension, kidney disease and obesity along with Type 2 diabetes so this should be welcome news that these new drugs can help with that.  “It’s a fundamental departure from the classical approach of trying to fix the blood sugars, which is what we used to focus on because it’s all we could really do,†Dr. Marie McDonnell, director of the diabetes program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, told the Wall Street Journal.   The new drugs belong to two classes known by the acronyms SGLT-2 and GLP-1.  The changes are being made so doctors can tailor the drug to the patient, rather than have a one-size-fits-all strategy, according to Dr. Nuha Ali El Sayed, an endocrinologist at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.  He is also VP of healthcare improvement at the American Diabetes Association.

FDA Detects Cancer Causing Chemicals In Blood Pressure Medicines

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The Food & Drug Administration, FDA, has announced that after recalling more than 12 million bottles of high blood pressure meds over the last five years, it expects more may be tainted with a chemical called nitrosamines.  Although they are found in trace amounts in anything from water, cured and grilled meats, dairy products and vegetables, in higher doses they can be dangerous.   “The difference is with drugs it’s totally avoidable,†Dr. Stephen Hecht, a University of Minnesota professor of cancer prevention, told USA Today.  FDA officials have said the agency expects drug manufacturers who have identified a potential risk to complete testing and report changes that they have made by October 1.

New Blood Pressure Reduction Device Requires No Medication

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A Medtronic PLC medical device reduced the blood pressure of people with tough-to-treat hypertension in a new study.  However it missed its goal, producing an insignificant blood pressure result of only 2 points more than those in the study that didn’t have the procedure done.  Despite falling short of the study’s main efficacy goal, Medtronic is still moving forward with its application to the Food and Drug Administration to approve the device.  If the FDA approves it, the device could offer a new, non-medication treatment for people who have high blood pressure.  “This could be the biggest thing we’ve ever done because hypertension is the No. 1 contributor to death,†Medtronic CEO Geoffrey Martha told The Wall Street Journal.

Keeping Blood Pressure Low Reduces Alzheimer’s And Dementia Risk

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Scientists know that having high blood pressure, particularly between the ages of 40 and 65, increases the risk of developing dementia later in life.  Until now, it was not clear whether monitoring your blood pressure at home and then getting on meds to control it if it is high was helpful in reducing dementia in older adults.

“What is so exciting about our study is that the data shows that those people who were taking the blood pressure lowering medication had a lower risk of a dementia diagnosis than those taking a matching placebo,” said Ruth Peters, an associate professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia, who is also a senior research scientist at Neuroscience Research Australia, a nonprofit research organization, told KSBW News.

The new study, which was published recently in the European Heart Journal, looked at 28,000 older adults (with an average age of 69) who all had a history of hypertension.  It found that a drop of about 10 mm/HG on the systolic and 4 mm/HG on the diastolic blood pressure reading at 12 months significantly lowered the risk of a dementia diagnosis.

In addition, as blood pressure dropped, so did cognitive risk, which held true to at least 100 mm/HG systolic and 70 mm/HG diastolic.  When sex, age or history of stroke were taken into account, there was no difference in outcome.

Cancer-Detection Blood Tests Increasingly Used

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Blood tests which can pick up early signs of cancer are growing in usage.  Illumina Inc. recently disclosed that its Grail unit has  has sold 38K of its test (which costs $949) since it debuted in June of 2021.  This comes despite the fact that most insurance companies don’t cover the cost so it is an out-of-pocket expense.  Also known as liquid biopsies, they are designed to augment traditional screening tests.  Analyst Puneet Souda at SVB Securities estimates they could eventually reach $50 billion in annual revenue, although he didn’t predict in which year this would occur.

Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Cap Starts In 2025 : Too Late For Many

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The climate health bill recently passed by Congress provides quite a bit of relief for seniors.  However, the fact that not all provisions kick in next year has some seniors worried.  USA Today recently profiled Jackie Trapp, one of more than 1.3 million Americans whose drug spending exceeds Medicare;’s definition of “catastrophic†coverage.  Jackie has incurable blood cancer and is on a chemotherapy regimen which costs $240K per year and results in $21,740 in out-of-pocket expenses for the drug Revlimid.  “We used to donate a healthy amount to charity.  Now, I’m receiving charity,†she told USA Today.

Sleep Extremely Important For Staying In Good Health

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As we get older, we often sleep less than we did when we were younger.  However, that may not be a good thing.  The American Heart Association recommends that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep per night.  Just last month they added sleep to its list of factors critical to heart health, a list that includes seven others such as diet, physical activity and blood pressure.  Their report jibes with a widening scientific consensus on the role sleep plays in helping prevent heart disease.  “The more we learn, the more we know how instrumental sleep is to heart health,†Marie-Pierre St-Onge, associate professor of nutritional medicine and director of the Sleep Center of Excellence at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told The Wall Street Journal.

Seniors Should Get Regular Checkups, Even If They Feel Good

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AARP The Magazine just had an interesting article (April/May Issue, page 33) about how some seniors don’t go to the doctor regularly because they feel great.  As we have seen with COVID-19, many diseases and viruses are symptomless but if left untreated can turn into something very serious.  Researchers have been studying this phenomenon which they call future-time perspective.  The more time we perceive that we have, the more we’re able to ignore the fact that we’re overweight, have high blood pressure or cholesterol levels, and other serious health problems.  Make sure you see your doctor at least once per year.

FDA Approves New Blood Cancer Treatment From Johnson & Johnson

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The Food & Drug Administration has cleared drug therapy called Carvykti, the first treatment for blood cancer in the U.S.  It works on patients with multiple melanoma whose disease has worsened despite prior treatment with other drugs.  On one of J&J’s U.S. studies, 98% of the 97 multiple-myeloma patients treated with Carvykti had a significand reduction in the proteins that signal the presence of myeloma.  And 83% had a complete remission, with no detectable cancer cells at a median time point of 22 months after treatment.

 

Monterey, CA Tips For Warding Off Alzheimer’s Disease

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Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and my grandfather had Alzheimer’s disease when they passed away.  It’s a terrible disease for which there is no cure.  However, there are ways that you can try and keep the disease at bay including:

  1. Protect your heart – Four major risk factors directly relate to heart health: high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and smoking.  Work towards keeping blood pressure and cholesterol low by eating a healthy diet.
  2. Exercise – According to Dr. Richard Isaacson, this can be the brain’s first defense against amyloid plaque. Try and get at least thirty minutes of exercise per day.
  3. Stay Socially and mentally active – Getting together with family and friends can be difficult during the COVID pandemic, but getting social stimulation is important, even if you have to do it over a zoom call.
  4. Avoid head injury – This is easier said than done, but studies have found that even mild head trauma can result in dementia. Wear a seatbelt, play sports safely and treat any head injury immediately.
  5. Treat depression, hearing loss, and substance abuse – Excessive alcohol consumption, hearing loss and depression all increase the risk for dementia.

Source: American Brain Foundation and Brain Life, the Academy of Neurology’s patient and caregiver magazine and website.

 

If you or a family member are struggling with Alzheimer’s disease or some other type of dementia, go talk to the good folks at the Alzheimer’s Association’s Monterey Chapter in Ryan Ranch.  They also have a 24-hour hotline you can call at 1800-272-3900.