West Newsmagazine 3-21-18

50 I HEALTH I
March 21, 2018
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
@WESTNEWSMAG
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
Hunger Isn’t Seasonal;
The Need Continues Year Round!
Your generous donation provides low income
families in West St. Louis County with:
• Wholesome Foods
• Financial Assistance
• Summer Camp Opportunities
• Career Mentorship
• Scholarships
• Holiday Programs
Call to learn how you can receive Missouri Food Pantry tax credits for your donations and get back
more than just the gratitude of helping your neighbors in need!
(636) 861-2623 • www.circleofconcern.org
Washington University scientists have developed an inexpensive way to transport
blood and other lab samples without the need for refrigeration.
health
capsules
By LISA RUSSELL
Area scientists develop new
method to transport lab samples
Preserving the quality of lab samples
as they are transported to and from testing
facilities long has been a challenge. To
provide accurate test results for patients
who may live many miles from hospitals
and labs, their blood or urine samples must
be refrigerated throughout transport, which
often is an expensive and difficult process.
Using nanotechnology, a team of researchers
at Washington University has eliminated
that need for refrigeration. They have
developed a new preservation technique that
creates a protective shield around protein biomarkers
in various types of samples. Using
this method, which can be implemented at
low cost, lab samples maintain 95 percent of
their purity while providing accurate information
to healthcare providers.
The Wash U research, which recently
was published in Chemistry of Materials,
is the first to use an emerging class of
nanomaterials, called metal-organic frameworks,
to work with biological specimens
such as blood, urine, serum and plasma.
The research team plans to test this new
method with other types of biomolecules to
create more potential applications for both
research and clinical settings, as well as to
develop a kit that would allow patients to
prepare their own samples to send to labs
for testing. The team is working to patent
the technology, and also intends to develop
it into a product for the healthcare industry.
CDC report shows worsening opioid
crisis, particularly in Midwest
The most recent Vital Signs report from
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention [CDC] shows that America’s
opioid overdose epidemic continues to
accelerate. The report, based on emergency
department data collected in 45 states,
found that the rate of suspected opioid overdoses
increased nationwide by 30 percent
from July 2016 through September 2017.
The rate of overdoses increased for both
men and women, among all age groups, and
throughout all regions of the country; however,
the increases varied by state, and were
greater in urban than rural areas.
Although all five U.S. regions designated
by the CDC experienced rate increases, by
far the largest was seen in the Midwest,
with a 70-percent rise in overdoses – followed
by the West [40 percent], Northeast
[21 percent], Southwest [20 percent] and
Southeast [14 percent].
Significant increases were seen in all
states reporting in the Midwest, including
Wisconsin [109 percent], Illinois [66
percent], Indiana [35 percent], Ohio [28
percent] and Missouri [21 percent]. Men
and women experienced similar increases
in the overdose rate [30 percent vs. 24 percent].
The problem also was spread fairly
evenly among age groups, with the greatest
increase of 36 percent seen among people
ages 35-54.
The report’s findings spotlight the need
for better prevention and treatment efforts
in emergency rooms and for greater access
to evidence-based opioid use disorder
treatments, according to CDC officials.
“Long before we receive data from death
certificates, emergency department data
can point to alarming increases in opioid
overdoses,” said CDC Acting Director
Anne Schuchat, M.D. “This fast-moving
epidemic affects both men and women,
and people of every age. It does not respect
state or county lines and is still increasing
in every region in the United States.”
‘I-talk’ may signal
emotional distress
Those people who always seem to make
themselves the topic of conversation are
not necessarily annoying, self-centered