“The theoretical case for routine cancer surveillance is strong. Tumor burden is expected to be lower before signs and symptoms of a recurrence develop; treatment is therefore expected to be more effective when a recurrence is identified by means of routine surveillance. [..] The empirical case for routine cancer surveillance is weak. None of the 12 RCTs assessing imaging-based surveillance that were included in a 2021 systematic review revealed a statistically significant reduction in mortality associated with surveillance. [..] These findings suggest that detection and treatment of asymptomatic cancer recurrences offers no advantage over initiation of treatment only after symptoms … Read More
“We identified all DHTs [digital health technologies] prescribable for a hypothetical patient with 5 chronic conditions (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis), and assessed the number of DHTs this patient should be prescribed to receive benefits from functions health professionals considered important. We chose to evaluate devices involving hardware and standalone apps together to reflect patients’ perspective, as patients would have to cope with tasks from all DHTs, regardless their nature. [..] We defined DHTs as all software as a medical device (SaMD); implanted, wearable, external, or environmental medical devices driven by software; and … Read More
“[Introduction] Despite spending more than any country in the world on health care, life expectancy in the US is comparably worse than that of most other high-income countries and declining both in absolute value and relative rank. However, life expectancy across US states varies just as markedly as it does across high-income countries, from 81.8 years in Hawaiʻi to 74.7 years in Mississippi in 2019—a divergence that has been increasing over time. US states vary considerably on policy decisions related to the spending, regulation, and provision of health care; reproductive health; tax policy; social welfare programs; and in relation to … Read More
“Surveillance has always been a part of the human experience, because it’s one of the mechanisms that enables power to be exercised and enforced in society. “No creature is hidden from His sight,” the Bible says, “but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” The Quran warns, “God is all-knowing.” Omniscience is not confined to the realm of religious belief. Authoritarian systems share in the idea that, even if you’re hidden behind the walls of your own home, someone might find out that you said the wrong thing or read the … Read More
“Adam Kucharski, mathematical modeller and Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in London, UK, was one of the most reliable expert sources for many reporters wrestling with the scientific debates and dilemmas [around COVID-19]. He has now distilled his experience from working on both the pandemic and the epidemiology of other disease outbreaks, such as Zika virus disease and Ebola virus disease, into Proof: The Uncertain Science of Certainty, an exceptionally clear and engaging account of how scientists demonstrate truth and falsity. By showing that the matter often requires us to accept uncertainty … Read More
“[Abstract] At least 60% of stroke, 40% of dementia and 35% of late-life depression (LLD) are attributable to modifiable risk factors, with great overlap due to shared pathophysiology. [..] Identified risk factors included alcohol (normalised β-coefficient highest category: −34), blood pressure (130), body mass index (70), fasting plasma glucose (94), total cholesterol (22), leisure time cognitive activity (−91), depressive symptoms (57), diet (51), hearing loss (60), kidney function (101), pain (42), physical activity (−56), purpose in life (−50), sleep (76), smoking (91), social engagement (53) and stress (55). [article’s Discussion section] When assessing individual components, hypertension emerged as the factor … Read More
The Trump administration is manipulating government-sponsored research to get the answers it wants. “Since its first days, the new Trump administration has clearly shown where it thinks scientific attention should not be focused: It has attempted to censor federal scientific data, cut billions in government spending on research, and compromised care for some of the world’s most at-risk populations. Now, as the nation’s leaders have begun to encourage inquiry into specific areas, they are signaling that they’re willing to not just slash and burn research that challenges their political ideology but to replace it with shoddy studies designed to support … Read More
Hearing aids and cochlear implants have been getting better for years, but a new type of device—eyeglasses that display real-time speech transcription on their lenses—are a game-changing breakthrough. Excerpt – free voice-to-text app on his [David Howorth, a person with multiple causes of hearing loss] phone, Google Live Transcribe & Notification. When someone speaks to him, he can read what they’re saying on the screen and respond as if he’d heard it. He belongs to a weekly lunch group with half a dozen men in their seventies and eighties, and when they get together he puts his phone in the … Read More
“most people don’t simply want to live until 110. They want to extend the amount of time they live free of serious disease, a concept known as health span. That’s why the most sensible approach is to reduce the toll of three major age-related diseases: cancer, heart disease and neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. It may be less flashy, but it’s more attainable than ever. It’s estimated that at least 80 percent of cardiovascular disease cases, 40 percent of cancer cases and 45 percent of Alzheimer’s cases are preventable. Even with a long lag — these diseases can each … Read More
The Luddites lost the fight to save their livelihoods. As the threat of artificial intelligence looms, can we do any better? Excerpt – The Luddites rejected the moral and political authority of a system that had abandoned long-held principles of fairness, quality, and mutual obligation. Under feudalism and mercantile capitalism, Britain’s rigid class structure placed the gentry at the top, merchants and professionals (such as doctors, parsons, and lawyers) in the middle, and the vast majority in the “lower orders.” Yet this social hierarchy was accompanied by labor-market regulations—both formal and informal—that provided some measure of reciprocity. Skilled trades were … Read More