health department

Interventions that promote longevity, remembered by mnemonic: DEEP purple - “eat colorful plant foods: D ietary modification, E xercise, active E ngagement, P urposeful living (click here to enlarge the image ). Based on a Mayo Clinic Proceedings article ( https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)30792-4/ ): Exceptional Human Longevity : the oldest old have an extreme phenotype of delayed onset of age-related diseases and/or resistance to lethal illnesses occurring earlier in life. Centenarians have delayed onset of chronic diseases During the span of human history the likelihood of living from birth to age 100 rose from 1 in 20 million to 1 in 50 as of year 1995 (for females in low-mortality nations such as Japan and Sweden). By 2009, this probability increased to 1 in 2. About 1 in 5,000 persons in the United States is a centenarian or older. Human longevity now exceeds 115 years. However, maximum life span has remained largely unchanged. There is a limit to huma...

That's a pretty big change: Diabetes Guidelines Updated: For patients with type 2 diabetes who require an injectable drug, a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist is preferred over insulin. https://buff.ly/2T0Kowc Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based therapies (eg, GLP-1 receptor agonists, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 [DPP-4] inhibitors) affect glucose control through several mechanisms , including: - enhancement of glucose-dependent insulin secretion - slowed gastric emptying - reduction of postprandial glucagon and food intake These agents do not usually cause hypoglycemia. Short-acting GLP-1 receptor agonists have an effect on postprandial hyperglycemia and gastric emptying: - Exenatide twice daily. Exendin-4 is a naturally occurring component of the Gila monster lizard saliva and shares 53 percent sequence identity with GLP-1. Exenatide (half-life 2.4 hours) is synthetic exendin-4. Brand Names: Bydureon; Byetta Pen. - Lixisenatide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that shares some s...

Piriformis syndrome is a controversial entrapment neuropathy What is  piriformis muscle? The piriformis muscle is a small but important external rotator of the hip that crosses the sciatic nerve and is believed by some to cause sciatica-type pain when it compresses the nerve. However, the existence of this so-called "piriformis syndrome" remains controversial and diagnosis is difficult. Controversy is due to the limited research about the condition and the difficulty of making the diagnosis, particularly as symptoms mimic many other more common diagnoses. How common is it? Piriformis syndrome may account for 0.3-6% of sciatic-like syndromes. What causes it? The sciatic nerve normally passes inferior to the piriformis muscle. Entrapment of the sciatic nerve may develop following trauma to the buttocks or piriformis muscle strain causing scarring and fibrosis around the nerve, or due to the structure of the piriformis, such as when branches of the nerve pass through a bifid pir...

From the WSJ: "Canned tuna is struggling to connect with younger generations who favor fresher, less-processed options." In a country focused on convenience, canned tuna isn’t cutting it with consumers. “A lot of millennials don’t even own can openers,” said vice president for StarKist. Younger consumers are opting for fresh or frozen fish over canned items. Tuna first made inroads into American cupboards following a sardine shortage in 1903 and grew in popularity during wartime protein shortages that followed and as new canning technologies took hold. Since the late 1980s, its reputation has changed as consumers worried about potential mercury poisoning, the harm done to dolphins and its likeness to cat food . Companies see promise in pouches vs. cans. New cups of flavored tuna are designed to fit in car cupholders and are equipped with a plastic fork. References: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tuna-makers-look-to-hook-younger-consumers-1543766400