Jack Andraka - Health Care Superman

As the United States Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act today we can hope health care will become more cost effective. The following videos make me think improvements in efficiency and performance have a head start. Jack Andraka, a high school freshman has implemented a carbon nano-tube paper to develop an unprecedented method for early cancer detection. This method will likely bring the cost of cancer screening down dramatically. Worthy of highest praise he has been awarded a $75,000 prize from the Intel Corporation at an international science fair held May 2012.

In the first video Jack explains the mechanism of his invention.  In the second video you see his acceptance of the first place award.  It is epic and has gone viral. I hope I help it spread.

Money-Driven Medicine

This is a great place to start in understanding what the U.S. health-care debate is all about.

Maggie Mahar's book Money-Driven Medicine is like a microphone listening in on the thoughts of doctors at the front line - in the exam room.

Watch this well put together piece on Bill Moyer's Journal.

Pro-Profit Health Insurance is NOT Pro-People

Dr. Muney and Health Insurance?

A New York doctor's “plan” to offer his services to the uninsured has come under fire from the New York State Insurance Department. Dr. John Muney offers his services for a flat rate of $79 per month with unlimited office visits, each at a $10 “co-pay.” The state of New York will maintain that this is too much like health insurance because it covers “unplanned” procedures. This situation offers plenty of material for debating the interpretation of the laws regarding health insurance. Read more on the story and the interesting debate that follows in the comments at this link.

What is more important than interpreting laws? There at times, in my opinion this is one of them, when it is more important to debate the nature and purpose of laws, as well as their mere interpretation. Here a doctor has arrived at a feasible model to offer his services to a specific population of the uninsured and our laws stand to try and stop him!? To blame insurance companies or bureaucracy is too easy and doesn’t help anything. We must understand that our government, OUR LAWS, represent us, they are an extension of us!

The national healthcare debate will heat up again in the near future when our current bout with cyclic economic strife moves into the rear view mirror yet again. Put simply, healthcare is not a simple issue. Transcending the limitations of bipartisan thought, moving thought beyond obsolete party lines, is essential to progression. My views, the views of many, can not be summed up with obsolete partisan politics. The complex issues/aspects of healthcare will have to be the subject of future posts. Here I want to echo, within the pages of Tom Paine's Ghost, the importance for all of us to give the issue of healthcare due thought from all perspectives.

ARRA signed at Museum of Nature and Science

Today the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is signed at the museum of nature and science in Denver. Appropriate it is that this recently blue state host such a moment. The text of the ARRA is available here for your pursuing pleasure and is overwhelming in its breadth and depth. It addresses the economic downturn with the following list of priorities. I have no memory of a single piece of legislation attempting to fund so many programs simultaneously.

(1) To preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery.
(2) To assist those most impacted by the recession.
(3) To provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health.
(4) To invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits.
(5) To stabilize State and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases.

With start-up companies like AVA Solar making their home in the sun-soaked state it is no wonder the road to renewal begins in the mile high city. To read more about what the stimulus bill actually does for jump starting clean energy, environmental projects, and scientific research click here. This article clearly breaks down the planned $60 billion set aside for green initiatives within ARRA into understandable bits.

Spice up your life

Easily recognized and distinguished by its bright orange-yellow color, the spice turmeric is made from the root of curcuma longa, a member of the ginger family. Turmeric, as well as many curries with turmeric, contain a compound known as curcumin. Curcumin has a long history in eastern medicine, being employed in the treatment of an extremely broad range of ailments. A rapidly growing body of scientific evidence from both laboratory research and clinical settings is reinforcing this history. Curcumin exhibits anti-oxidant, anti-arthritic, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumorigenic activity in vitro and in animal models. A recent phase II clinical study published in ASCO, provides evidence that curcumin may enhance the chemotherapeutic efficacy of gemcitabine in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Keep in mind, this study involved advanced stage and metastatic pancreatic disease patients, who unfortunately suffer extremely poor prognosis. While this regimen may help and is very encouraging, it is by no means a cure for this disease. Another interesting study published recently in the scientific journal Cancer Research, presents data that curcumin represents a new class of mTORC (mammalian target of rapamycin complex) inhibitor. mTORC is a target of pharmaceutical companies due to its fundamental role in the cell. mTORC1, a member of the PI3K related-kinase family (PIKK) promotes cap-dependent mRNA translation and ribosome biogenesis, two absolutely fundamental processes used in all cells. Your probably asking yourself, wouldn’t this suggest that curcumin is bad for you and toxic? From a cancer treatment perspective, it is all about therapeutic index. The current basis of many cancer treatments without any other options, is to use anti-metabolites (such as the nucleoside analog gemcitabine mentioned above) that are more devastating to proliferating cells than non-proliferating cells, as cancerous cells are often proliferating at higher rates than most non-cancerous cells. Many “chemo” drugs are cytotoxic agents with narrow therapeutic windows; therefore compounds with considerably less toxicity that can widen this window are of great value and high priority.

In terms of your everyday diet, curcumin likely has many benefits. In fact a little research will yield an enormous amount of both substantiated and putative benefits of curcumin. Don’t be lead astray by its function at high concentrations in terminally ill cancer patients (8 grams orally per day in the above clinical trail) in combination with gemcitabine and at high concentrations in cell culture. Toxicity is a complete non-issue if used as a seasoning. Remember that many drink caffeinated beverages everyday while caffeine is a potent inhibitor of DNA repair. However, the concentrations of caffeine required to have this effect are not physiologically achievable by drinking caffeinated beverages. Just a little thought to illustrate the dosage concept, too often overlooked these days in my opinion (a complete blog post in and of itself really). Spice up some sautéed vegetables and cleanse the palate with some green tea. While you’re at it, transcend binary thought and balance the opposing forces of the universe! Cheers.