General Interest

The CDC Is About to Fall Off a Funding Cliff

15 Feb, 2018 | 10:42h | UTC

The CDC Is About to Fall Off a Funding Cliff – The Atlantic (free)

“It’s already planning to pull back on work that protects the world from pandemics”.

Research: Polygenic Contribution in Individuals With Early-Onset Coronary Artery Disease

15 Feb, 2018 | 10:39h | UTC

Polygenic Contribution in Individuals With Early-Onset Coronary Artery Disease – Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine (free)

Commentary: Genetic Risk Score May Best FH Variant for Predicting Early-Onset CAD – Medscape (free registration required)

“Another study suggests CAD will soon be predicted not by 1 gene (like FH) but groups of genes that can be combined into risk scores” (via @drjohnm see Tweet)

How Fake Surgery Exposes Useless Treatments

9 Feb, 2018 | 12:45h | UTC

How Fake Surgery Exposes Useless Treatments – Scientific American (free)

Opinion: This flu season, physicians need to scrap the ‘martyr culture’ of working while sick

9 Feb, 2018 | 12:43h | UTC

This flu season, physicians need to scrap the ‘martyr culture’ of working while sick – STAT (free) (via @CMichaelGibson)

New Cellphone and Health Studies Don’t Eliminate Uncertainty

9 Feb, 2018 | 12:22h | UTC

New cellphone and health studies don’t eliminate uncertainty – Science (free)

Other commentaries: Largest Animal Study of Cell Phone Radiation and Cancer Risk – Medscape (free registration required) AND High doses of cellphone radiation linked to some cancers in rats – STAT (free) AND Cell phone radiation: Could high exposure cause tumors? – Medical News Today (free)

Research: Use of social media is associated with short sleep duration in students aged 11 to 20 years

9 Feb, 2018 | 11:57h | UTC

Use of social media is associated with short sleep duration in a dose–response manner in students aged 11 to 20 years – Acta Paediatrica (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Social media use linked to lack of sleep in students – Wiley, via EurekAlert (free)

See also a recent Pediatrics supplement: Children, Adolescents and Screens: What We Know and What We Need To Learn (series of free articles) and related articles on Social Media and Mental Health

Opinion: Doctors and Patients Heading in Opposite Directions

9 Feb, 2018 | 11:48h | UTC

Richard Smith: Doctors and patients heading in opposite directions – The BMJ Opinion (free)

“Patients increasingly have multiple conditions, while doctors continue remorseless specialisation and subspecialisation. What are the consequences of this divergence?” (via @bmj_latest see Tweet)

Research: High performance plasma amyloid-β biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease

5 Feb, 2018 | 16:48h | UTC

High performance plasma amyloid-β biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease – Nature (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Expert reaction to biomarkers for amyloid-beta in Alzheimer’s disease – Science Media Centre (free) AND A Big Step toward a Blood Test for Alzheimer’s – Scientific American (free) AND Simple blood test spots dementia protein – Nature News (free) AND Alzheimer’s hope as scientists unveil blood test for early signs – The Guardian (free)

AHA Scientific Statement: Cardiovascular Disease and Breast Cancer

5 Feb, 2018 | 16:49h | UTC

Cardiovascular Disease and Breast Cancer: Where These Entities Intersect: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association – Circulation (free PDF)

Commentaries: Breast cancer treatments may increase the risk of heart disease – AHA / ASA Newsroom (free) AND Heart group warns of cardiovascular risks after treatment for breast cancer – STAT (free)

Research: Effects of Preschool in Educational Attainment at 35 Years of Age

5 Feb, 2018 | 16:45h | UTC

A Multicomponent, Preschool to Third Grade Preventive Intervention and Educational Attainment at 35 Years of Age – JAMA Pediatrics (free)

Commentaries: Longer Early Childhood Intervention Linked To Greater Post-Secondary Attainment – MedicalResearch.com (free) AND Does Preschool Make a Long-Term Difference? – MedPage Today (free) AND Graduates of early childhood program show greater educational gains as adults – EurekAlert (free)

A Revolution in Health Care is Coming

5 Feb, 2018 | 16:27h | UTC

A revolution in health care is coming – The Economist (a few articles per month are free) (via @equitylist)

“Welcome to Doctor You”

New Document for Patients: Advanced Health Directive for Dementia

5 Feb, 2018 | 16:26h | UTC

One Day Your Mind May Fade. At Least You’ll Have a Plan – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)

Free download: Health Directive for Dementia (free PDF) from Advanced Directive for Dementia

Source: New document allows advance planning for dementia – Univadis (free registration required)

“A Simple Way to Document the Medical Care You Would Want If You Had Dementia”

Meta-analysis: Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements Don’t Reduce Cardiovascular Risk

5 Feb, 2018 | 16:18h | UTC

Associations of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplement Use With Cardiovascular Disease Risks: Meta-analysis of 10 Trials Involving 77 917 Individuals – JAMA Cardiology (free)

Commentary: Omega-3 Supplements Don’t Protect Against Heart Disease – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)

Omega-3 fatty acids did not prevent fatal or nonfatal coronary heart disease or any major vascular events.

Research: Traumatic Brain Injury and the Risk of Dementia Diagnosis

5 Feb, 2018 | 16:16h | UTC

Traumatic brain injury and the risk of dementia diagnosis: A nationwide cohort study – PLOS One (free)

Commentaries: TBI is associated with increased dementia risk for decades after injury – PLOS, via ScienceDaily (free) AND More evidence traumatic brain injuries raise later dementia risk – Reuters (free)

“Using longitudinal, case-control, and sibling-matched analyses of nationwide data from Sweden, Peter Nordström & Anna Nordström describe the association between TBI and dementia, its time course, and the influence of familial factors”. (via @PLOSMedicine see Tweet)