Stay Well

January 25, 2024

Volunteers Will Conduct Homeless Census Today In Berkeley, Oakland

Over 1,000 volunteers will conduct the annual Alameda County point-in-time homeless count early this morning to generate a census of how many unsheltered people are living in Berkeley, Oakland and the rest of the region. The final report is typically released in the spring and includes a census of sheltered residents as well as those living outside in tents and vehicles. Local jurisdictions use it to allocate resources and determine areas of need. From 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., volunteers will tally visible homelessness in neighborhoods throughout the county, including a random sampling of areas and those with known encampments. This year, they’ll also survey residents on information such as their preferred language, gender identity and history of their homelessness or residency status. Berkeleyside Read more

UCSF Study - Could Two Drugs Be Better Than One For Treating Prostate Cancer?

Combining testosterone-blocking drugs in patients with prostate cancer relapse prevents the spread of cancer better than treatment with a single drug, a multi-institution, phase 3 clinical trial led by UC San Francisco researchers has found. The approach can extend the time between debilitating drug treatments without prolonging the time it takes to recover from each treatment. Prostate cancer affects 1 in 8 men and causes 34,000 deaths each year in the United States. It is usually treated with one of several testosterone-lowering drugs for a set period of time. “This adds to a growing body of evidence in favor of more intensive testosterone-blocking therapy in patients with higher-risk prostate cancer,” said Rahul Aggarwal, MD, professor in the UCSF School of Medicine and lead author of the paper. UCSF Read more



COVID Variant JN.1 Is Not More Severe, Early CDC Data Suggests

Early data from hospitals suggests the latest COVID variant, known as JN.1, is not leading to more severe disease, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Monday, as the agency has tracked the strain's steep rise to an estimated 85.7% of COVID-19 cases nationwide.

The agency is still waiting for more weeks of data to lay out its more detailed assessment of JN.1's impact this season, the CDC official, Dr. Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, said at a webinar with testing laboratories hosted by the agency this week. Asked if JN.1's symptoms seemed to be more severe compared to previous waves, he said "there are early signals that that may not be the case," based on electronic medical record cohorts and other data. CBS News Read more

What Is COVID Rebound? Doctors Explain Common Symptoms And Who's At Risk

With COVID levels high across most of the country, some people may find themselves experiencing symptoms of COVID rebound in the coming weeks. “COVID rebound is a recurrence of COVID symptoms after initial improvement or a new positive test after a negative one,” Dr. Scott Roberts, associate medical director of infection prevention at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, tells TODAY.com. Earlier in the pandemic, COVID rebound was thought to be mostly caused by taking the antiviral treatment Paxlovid, as many of these patients would notice symptoms returning a few days after finishing treatment. But a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no consistent link between taking Paxlovid and those who experienced COVID rebound. Today Read more

Why Many More People Are Lining Up For A Flu Shot Than A COVID Vaccine

America is over the COVID vaccine. Frantic lineups for scarce doses when COVID vaccines first became available have long since given way to widespread indifference. Each new round of boosters has drawn fewer bared arms than the round before it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, as of Jan. 6, a mere 21.5% of Americans aged 18 and older and 11% of children have been vaccinated with the latest COVID vaccine. But before you write off that number as a reflection of hesitancy over vaccines overall, consider this: 46.7% of Americans aged 18 and older and 47.5% of children have been vaccinated against influenza for this cold and flu season. In older adults, who are at the greatest risk from COVID, the gap is wider still; 73% of people 65 and older have received a flu shot, but only 41% have taken the COVID booster. STAT Read more

Why Americans May Be At Risk Of Heart Problems As COVID, Flu Spread

As a surge of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19 and influenza, continue to spread across the United States, experts are warning it could lead to a rise in cardiovascular complications. Weekly COVID hospitalizations are currently sitting at 32,861 for the week ending Jan. 13, lower than the week before but similar to levels seen in January 2023, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Similarly, there were 14,874 weekly flu hospitalizations, lower than the week before but comparable to levels seen in November 2023, the data shows. Many Americans may assume that complications from respiratory illnesses are limited to sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia and other sicknesses that affect the upper or lower respiratory tracts. However, Dr. Deepak Bhatt, director of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital in New York City, said there are two potential routes by which these infections can contribute to heart problems. ABC News Read more



Alzheimer’s Blood Test Could Be Used To Screen Even Before Symptoms

A new blood test screening for signs of Alzheimer’s disease may soon be able to detect it even before symptoms begin to show, a study finds. The research, published in the JAMA Neurology journal on Monday, found that blood tests screening for a protein called phosphorylated tau “accurately identified” biological Alzheimer’s disease. The study, which included 786 participants, indicated that Alzheimer’s disease could be detected using these blood tests instead of costly brain scans. The study tested for the specific biomarker of Alzheimer’s, known as p-tau217, to identify abnormal beta amyloid and tau pathologies that can differentiate the disease from other neurological disorders. It found that testing for elevated levels of the beta amyloid was up to 96 percent accurate and testing for tau was up to 97 percent accurate. KRON4 Read more

Cancer Vaccine With Minimal Side Effects Nearing Phase 3 Clinical Trials

Dr. Thomas Wagner, founder of the biotech company Orbis Health Solutions and cancer researcher, has made it his life's mission to find a way to treat cancer without the dreaded side effects that, for some, can become worse than the cancer itself or may even lead to an earlier death. "The tragedy of cancer is not just that person, the diagnosis, but it's also the fear of the therapy," Wagner told ABC News. Many traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, work by killing off cancer cells but also kill off non-cancerous cells throughout the body. This can cause a range of side effects including hair loss, nausea, vomiting, or may knock out a person's immune system putting them at risk of life-threatening infections, Wagner said. ABC News

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AI Could Flag Patients’ Dangerous Alcohol Use Before Surgery

Alcohol can cause risky surgical complications for patients who drink in the days leading up to a procedure, but signs of dangerous alcohol use aren’t always obvious on a patient’s chart. Artificial intelligence could help bring such problems to light, a new analysis suggests. The study, published in the journal Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research, used a natural language processing model to assess the medical records of 53,811 patients who underwent surgery between 2012 and 2019. Patients’ electronic medical records contain diagnostic codes, but they can also include information such as notes, test results or billing data that may hint at risky alcohol use. Washington Post Read more

Risk Of Wildfire Smoke In Long-Term Care Facilities Is Worse Than You'd Think

Every year, wildfires across the western U.S. and Canada send plumes of smoke into the sky. When that smoke blows into southwestern Idaho's Treasure Valley, it blankets Boise-area residents in dirty air. They include seniors living in long-term care facilities, many of whom are considered an at-risk population for smoke exposure because of respiratory or cardiac diseases. "An astonishing amount of smoke gets inside these facilities," said Luke Montrose, an environmental toxicologist and researcher at Colorado State University. Data from monitors Montrose installed in four Idaho long-term care facilities in 2020 showed that large amounts of smoke pollution recorded outside during wildfire season seeped into the facilities. One building let in 50% of the particulate matter outside; another, 100%. In some cases, Montrose said, "it was no better to be inside than to be outside during those smoke events." CBS News

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Intimate Partner Violence Is A Precursor To Homelessness, Study Finds

One in five women who become homeless in California flee their homes to escape violence and escalating abuse by an intimate partner, a new analysis of a statewide survey has reported. The study by the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UC San Francisco found that a dearth of domestic violence shelters leaves women exposed to more violence in homeless encampments. “That system is completely overwhelmed, and people are winding up in encampments,” said Margot Kushel, director of the research group and co-author of the report. Among those who reported being victims of violence in the six months before losing their housing, 2 in 5 were victimized again while homeless, usually at the hands of a former partner who tracked them down. LA Times Read more



Does Medicare Pay For Mental Health Care? Here’s Which Services Are Covered

Many older adults are undiagnosed or untreated for mental health conditions because symptoms like depression or anxiety are often mistaken for normal aging. Yet, mental health issues in those 65 and older are real, and care is vital at this stage of life. Events like the death of a loved one, or concerns about loss of independence, deteriorating health, alcohol or drug dependence, social isolation, and loneliness are real psychological challenges for thousands of older people. About one in four people on Medicare have a mental health condition, yet only 40% to 50% receive treatment, according to a new report by The Commonwealth Fund. Since the start of the pandemic, anxiety and depression have more than doubled among older people an analysis by KFF (formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation) found. Medicare will pay for many mental health services, but the challenge for countless beneficiaries has been been finding a mental health professional willing and able to accept new patients. Some do not accept assignment, and those who do have months-long waiting lists, thanks to a shortage of providers. Fortune Read more

Why 34% Of LGBTQ Youth Say They Don’t Expect To Live To Age 35

In recent years, much has been documented about the state of mental health among LGBTQ+ young people. From high rates of suicidal ideation to concerns over the recent wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in states across the country, now is a particularly fraught time for the mental health and well-being of queer and trans youth in the United States. Nonprofit The Trevor Project recently released a new survey that further contributes to our understanding of the state of the mental health of this population of young people, taking a look at the perceptions LGBTQ+ young people have of their own life expectancies and life purposes. Data from the survey was derived from the organization’s 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People. The Trevor Project surveyed 28,524 13-to-24-year-old LGBTQ+ youth by way of targeted social media ads. Standing out among the findings, 58% of those surveyed reported they were more likely than not to live to the age of 35. Those who believed their chances of living to that age were low stood at 34%. Healthline Read more

How Power Outages Can Affect Physical And Mental Health

After a spate of storms hit the United States from coast to coast last week, thousands of Americans were left without power, and some people are still struggling. As of Friday afternoon, more than 91,000 customers are without power in Oregon, according to poweroutage.us, a website that tracks power outages throughout the country. Some people are going on nearly a week without power and heat, local reports say. While many may view power outages as disruptions to daily life, an expert told ABC News they can come with physical and mental health effects. ABC News Read more



These New Synthetic Opioids Could Make Fentanyl Crisis Look Like "The Good Old Days"

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that in the 12-month period ending last August, about 74,000 people died from fentanyl-related overdoses. While politicians and policymakers amp up calls for more brutal crackdowns on fentanyl smuggling, a “new” class of synthetic opioids has been showing up in overdose victims with the potential to make America look back on the fentanyl crisis as “the good old days.”  Chemists refer loosely to this category of drugs as “nitazenes,” even though the term is incorrect; it should be “benzimidazole-based opioids.” The Swiss drug maker CIBA, now part of Novartis, developed the first nitazenes in the late 1950s as potential pain treatments. However, none was approved because they were too dangerously potent.  USA Today Read more

Is There A Link Between Opioids And Youth Suicides? What Educators Need To Know

The underlying causes of youth suicide are complex and difficult to study. But one thing is for certain, the rate of suicide deaths among children has been on an upward trajectory for more than a decade. The suicide rate did drop among 10- to 24-year-olds between 2021 and 2022, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but it remains elevated compared with two decades ago. Suicide is one component — and the most tragic — of the youth mental health crisis that has been straining school resources. EducationWeek Read more

New York City Accounted For 10% Of All Fentanyl Seized In U.S. In 2023

The battle to keep fentanyl off New York City streets continues. Federal agents seized the highest amount of fentanyl ever in the Big Apple last year. And of all the fentanyl seized in the United States last year, New York City accounted for 10% of it. CBS New York recently sat down for an exclusively interview with the Drug Enforcement Administration's Special Agent in Charge.

"This has been the biggest drug threat we have ever seen in the history of DEA," Frank Tarentino said. CBS News Read more



Ultraviolet Light Can Kill Almost All The Viruses In A Room. Why Isn’t It Everywhere?

At least as long as human beings have lived in large, close groups, respiratory viruses have been present — sometimes an annoyance, sometimes a catastrophe. Though we’ve managed to create vaccines and drugs to blunt their effects, the viruses endure. But there is a group of people who think we do not need to live this way. These scientists, activists, and entrepreneurs believe we’re going to look back on this era, one of commonly endured airborne infections, as a case of antiquarian barbarism, a bunch of needless suffering that we accepted because we didn’t know any better. They believe that we have the technology now, and will have even better technology soon, that could end respiratory infections for good, the way that disinfecting our drinking water with chlorine helped end typhoid as a major cause of death in the U.S.The technology is called germicidal ultraviolet light (GUV), and in particular, a relatively novel kind of ultraviolet light often denoted as “far-UV.” Vox Read more