FHIweekly 2/8/24: Gut health linked to Alzheimer's progression + ER overcrowding worsens

February 8, 2024 | Volume XV | Issue 6

Gut health linked to Alzheimer's progression, study suggests diet as potential therapy

Chinta Sidharthan reports for News Medical Life Sciences:

In a recent study published in the journal Nutrients, a team of researchers in Australia conducted a review to understand the species-level diversity of the gut microbiome and its role in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. They also investigated how confounding elements such as prebiotics and probiotics and diet influence the various stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive impairments that have an impact on daily life and functioning. These cognitive impairments affect abilities such as decision-making, memory, problem-solving, thinking, and mobility...

How patients and doctors are navigating the fallout of the massive recall of Philips breathing machines

Liz Moughon

Series: With Every Breath – Millions of Breathing Machines. One Dangerous Defect

In 2021, Philips Respironics recalled its DreamStation breathing machines, along with other sleep apnea devices and ventilators, leaving millions of customers worldwide waiting for replacements. Foam inside the machines could crumble in heat and humidity, sending potentially carcinogenic materials into the lungs of patients.

I spent eight months making a film about this, following sleep apnea patients through airports to doctor appointments. I recorded their home lives, their bedtime routines. I tried to capture the claustrophobic details of the mask that fits tightly over the nose and mouth.

In February 2023, when I first began having conversations with the reporting team investigating the recall about making a film about sleep apnea, I wondered how I would visualize sleep. I could use interviews to spell out the intricacies of what went wrong, but how would I bring the reality of restricted breath to the screen? And why would someone who doesn’t have sleep apnea choose to watch this?

I got part of that answer from one of the film’s participants, Dr. Carol Stark, who said: “Sleep isn’t a luxury. It isn’t optional.”

What these patients need help doing — breathing while sleeping — is something that I took for granted...

As ER overcrowding worsens, a program helping to ease the crisis may lose funding

Erika Edwards and Anne Thompson report for NBC News:

As emergency room doctors nationwide plead for help to ease patient overcrowding, the one federal program that could fix the crisis is poised to lose funding.

Across the U.S., ER patients who need to be hospitalized find themselves stuck in hallways or waiting rooms, sometimes for days or weeks, before they are able to get further care.

Marissa Long, 30, spent three days and four nights on a gurney in a busy Los Angeles ER hallway last March, separated from other sick patients just a few feet away by a thin fabric curtain.

Supplements and Safety - Hidden Dangers of Vitamins & Supplements

PBS | FRONTLINE

In 2016, FRONTLINE, The New York Times and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation examined the hidden dangers of vitamins and supplements, a multibillion-dollar industry with limited FDA oversight. (

When “Supplements and Safety” aired, it was estimated that half of all Americans took a health supplement every day, from fish oil to multivitamins to diet pills. However, the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration at the time noted in “Supplements and Safety” that, “The FDA does not do any review of dietary supplements before they come onto the market, and I think that all consumers need to understand this.”

From director Neil Docherty, correspondent Gillian Findlay and Anahad O’Connor, then a reporter for The New York Times Well blog, “Supplements and Safety” explored the limited government regulation and oversight of supplement companies, and examined cases of contamination and serious health problems.

Watch the video HERE.

Inside

FloridaHealthIndustry.com

Publisher of Week in Review, Specialty Focus, FHIweekly & Game Changers