Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 1-24-24

18 I HEALTH I
January 24, 2024
MID RIVERS NEWSMAGAZINE
@MIDRIVERS_NEWS
MIDRIVERSNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
The American Red Cross recently issued an emergency call for blood
donations as a 20-year low in its donor numbers threatens critical
blood supplies.
(Adobe Stock photo)
HEALTH
CAPSULES
By LISA RUSSELL
Blood donations fall
to 20-year low
As the U.S. marks National Blood Donor
Month in January, The American Red Cross
has also issued an emergency call for donations
as it faces the lowest number of people
giving blood in the last 20 years. Blood
and platelet donations are urgently needed
to help alleviate the shortage and ensure
lifesaving medical procedures can continue,
according to its chief medical officer.
“One of the most distressing situations
for a doctor is to have a hospital full of
patients and an empty refrigerator without
any blood products,” said Dr. Pampee
Young. “A person needs lifesaving blood
every two seconds in our country – and its
availability can be the difference between
life and death.”
The Red Cross received about 7,000
fewer units of donated blood than it needed
between Christmas and New Year’s Day
alone, which left the organization with a
major deficit of life-sustaining blood products
to begin 2024. Additional challenges
may lie ahead as winter weather and seasonal
respiratory illnesses like the flu affect
donor turnout.
To find an upcoming blood drive near
you, visit the organization’s website at
RedCrossBlood.org. Appointments can
also be made by calling 1-800-733-2767.
Translating thoughts into
speech comes closer to reality
The ability to “read” and translate a person’s
thoughts into speech is no longer a
concept found only in science fiction. An
implantable speech prosthetic developed
by a team of neuroscientists, neurosurgeons
and engineers at Duke University
can translate a person’s brain signals into
words they’re trying to say.
In a recent trial, the team fabricated a
postage stamp-sized piece of flexible, medical-grade
plastic containing hundreds of
microscopic brain sensors. They recruited
four patients who were undergoing brain
surgery for some other condition, such as
to treat Parkinson’s disease or remove a
brain tumor, to test the implants.
During their surgeries, the devices were
temporarily implanted in these patients,
who were awake. They were given a simple
listen-and-repeat activity in which they
“heard” a series of nonsense words via the
sensor, and then spoke each one aloud. The
device recorded activity from the speech
motor cortex of each patient’s brain, and
was able to coordinate nearly 100 muscles
that move the lips, tongue, jaw and larynx.
The Duke researchers hope this new technology
could one day help people who are
unable to speak, due to neurological disorders
such as ALS, to communicate effectively
again. Their study was recently published in
the journal Nature Communications.
For the seventh year in a row, the
Mediterranean diet has topped U.S.
News and World Report’s annual list of
Best Diets for 2024.
The diet focuses on eating mainly nutrient-dense
fruits, vegetables, whole grains,
fish, nuts, seeds and healthy fats such as
olive oil. It’s a consistent winner because
research shows people who stick to a Mediterranean-style
eating plan tend to live
longer – and are also less likely to suffer
from chronic diseases such as cancer, heart
disease and Type 2 diabetes.
While red meats and sugary sweets
can be part of the Mediterranean diet as
well, they should be kept to a minimum.
COVID may ‘rebound’ more
often after Paxlovid treatment
There may be a downside to taking the
antiviral medication Paxlovid to lessen the
severity of COVID-19 symptoms, according
to a recent study by University of California
San Francisco medical researchers.
Although Paxlovid is effective at protecting
unvaccinated people who are at
high risk for serious illness and hospitalization
due to the virus, it does not prevent
the litany of uncomfortable and sometimes
life-altering symptoms known as long
COVID which can follow the virus, the
UCSF team reported. What’s more, people
who take Paxlovid have a higher rate of
“rebound” symptoms after treatment ends,
and also continue to test positive for a
longer period of time, their study found.
The research was based on a group of vaccinated
people participating in the university’s
COVID-19 Citizen Science Study, some
of whom took oral Paxlovid treatment during
the acute phase of infection. In a follow-up
survey conducted months later, about 16%
of those treated with Paxlovid reported long
COVID symptoms such as fatigue, shortness
of breath, confusion, headache, and altered
taste and smell – compared to 14% of those
who had not taken the antiviral.
Among those who symptoms improved
during Paxlovid treatment, 21% reported
rebound symptoms later. And in the group
reporting rebound symptoms, about 11%
reported one or more long COVID symptoms,
compared to roughly 8% with no
rebound symptoms. For participants who
repeated antigen testing after testing negative
and completing Paxlovid treatment, more
than a quarter (26.1%) reported rebound
symptoms or continued to test positive.
The study was published this month in
the Journal of Medical Virology.
Vaping harms the heart
study suggests
Results of the most recent Annual
National Youth Tobacco Survey, published
last November, show that roughly 2.8 million
American youth under 18 currently
use tobacco products. The vast majority of
them use e-cigarettes, including 6.6% of
middle school-aged children.
Mediterranian Diet again ranked No. 1 for health
An occasional glass of red wine is also
acceptable, according to its guidelines.
The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches
to Stop Hypertension) and the MIND
diet (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention
for Neurodegenerative Delay)
were named the second- and third-best
overall diets by the publication. The
DASH eating plan is aimed at reducing
or preventive high blood pressure, while
MIND includes elements of both the
Mediterranean and DASH approaches,
concentrating on foods (such as leafy
greens, berries, nuts and fish) that may
improve brain health to potentially lower
the risk of mental decline.