Would Tweaking Cancer Drugs To Align With Body’s Natural Clock Make A Huge Difference? This Doctor Thinks So
The idea of syncing up the administration of drugs with the body's circadian rhythms has been relegated to fringe science, but that could be changing. In other public health news: eating disorders, vocal pitch, Ebola, skin infections, dehydration and more.
The Washington Post:
Using Circadian Rhythms To Improve Cancer Treatment
Chi Van Dang generally declines to discuss the science that made him famous. A leading authority on cancer metabolism, he routinely is asked to speak about how tumors reprogram biochemical pathways to help them slurp up nutrients and how disrupting these noxious adaptations could be a powerful approach to treating cancer. (Dolgin, 7/29)
The New York Times:
Recognizing Eating Disorders In Time To Help
Eating disorders pose serious hazards to adolescents and young adults and are often hidden from family, friends and even doctors, sometimes until the disorders cause lasting health damage and have become highly resistant to treatment. According to the Family Institute at Northwestern University, nearly 3 percent of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 have eating disorders. Boys as well as girls may be affected. Even when the disorder does not reach the level of a clinical diagnosis, some studies suggest that as many as half of teenage girls and 30 percent of boys have seriously distorted eating habits that can adversely affect them physically, academically, psychologically and socially. (Brody, 7/30)
NPR:
How The Human Brain Codes Meaning In A Voice's Pitch
"Pitch change" — the vocal quality we use to emphasize words — is a crucial part of human communication, whether spoken or sung. Recent research from Dr. Edward Chang's lab at the University of California, San Francisco's epilepsy center has narrowed down which part of the brain controls our ability to regulate the pitch of our voices when we speak or sing— the part that enables us to differentiate between the utterances "Let's eat, Grandma" and "Let's eat Grandma." (Watson, 7/27)
Stat:
New Ebola Species Is Reported For First Time In A Decade
The family of Ebola viruses has just gotten a bit bigger. The government of Sierra Leone has announced that a new species of Ebola, the sixth, has been discovered there in bats. It has been called, provisionally, the Bombali virus, after a district in the north of the country where it was found. There’s no evidence the new virus has infected people, although EcoHealth Alliance, an environmental nonprofit group involved in the discovery, said on Twitter that it has the potential to infect human cells. (Branswell, 7/27)
The Washington Post:
Skin Infections Turned Out To Be Sign Of Serious Problem For Little Girl
The pediatrician was blunt but not unkind. Even so, her unequivocal message made Jan Wiese bristle. “You know, this is really not normal,” the Northern Virginia doctor said as she examined 2-year-old Lucy Wiese for the first time. Struck by the little girl’s medical history, especially her repeated skin infections, the doctor recommended that Lucy see a pediatric immunologist in Baltimore. (Boodman, 7/28)
NPR:
Mental Performance Can Be Hurt By Even Mild Dehydration
Was it hard to concentrate during that long meeting? Or, does the crossword seem a little tougher? You could be mildly dehydrated. A growing body of evidence finds that being just a little dehydrated is tied to a range of subtle effects — from mood changes to muddled thinking. "We find that when people are mildly dehydrated they really don't do as well on tasks that require complex processing or on tasks that require a lot of their attention," says Mindy Millard-Stafford, director of the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at Georgia Institute of Technology. She published an analysis of the evidence this month, based on 33 studies. (Aubrey, 7/30)
Miami Herald:
How To Help Your Child Undergo A Smooth Transgender Transition
Providing supportive services to children and teens struggling with gender identity can be invaluable in ensuring a smooth transition and potentially lower their risk of suicide, said Dr. Chris Salgado, section chief of UHealth’s LGBTQ Center for Wellness, Gender and Sexual Health. According to a report from the Center for Excellence for Transgender Health, 41 percent of transgender people who responded to its survey attempted suicide. (Himes, 7/28)
KQED:
People With Intellectual Disabilities More Vulnerable To Sexual Abuse
People with intellectual disabilities are seven times more likely to experience sexual abuse compared with others, according to an investigation published by NPR earlier this year. That series showed a hidden epidemic of abuse occurring in schools, homes and treatment centers that often goes unreported and unpunished. (Arcuni, 7/29)
The Associated Press:
Emma Stone, Jonah Hill Star In New ‘Fever Dream’ Comedy
Jonah Hill and Emma Stone are starring in a new TV series that tackles sensitive issues of mental illness and the pharmaceutical industry. The Netflix series, a black comedy titled “Maniac,” follows two participants of a murky late-stage pharmaceutical drug trial. Hill plays a man diagnosed with schizophrenia, while Stone plays a woman fixated on broken relationships. (7/29)
