Health Newsfeed – Johns Hopkins Medicine Podcasts

A blood test used for population based cancer screening fell short of allowing cancers to be detected earlier, was cost prohibitive and delayed diagnoses for others, a new study shows. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson says both … What do false positives and negatives have to do with screening tests for cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

A blood test capable of detecting multiple cancers seems like a dream come true, yet a new study looking at such a test used in populations of people failed to find cancers earlier, and also delayed diagnosis for others. William … Just how expensive could it be to screen populations of people for cancer using blood tests? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

When large populations of people were screened for multiple cancers using a blood test, not only didn’t cancers get found earlier, others who were not screened had delays in their diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center … Should blood tests to screen for cancer be used on a population basis? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

For some types of cancer obesity is clearly a risk factor. Now a new study shows that when people with obesity take a GLP-1 agonist to lose weight, they also reduce their risk for these cancers. Kimmel Cancer Center director … How do GLP-1 agonists compare against other strategies for weight reduction and cancer risk reduction? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

GLP-1 agonists are a class of drugs originally developed to treat diabetes but have been shown to be helpful for weight loss. Now a new study looks at whether their use reduces the risk of obesity related cancers. William Nelson, … How are one class of diabetes drugs related to cancer risk? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Keeping mosquitoes away may be more important than ever as malaria returns to the continental US and other viral illnesses are also transmitted by them. Johns Hopkins mosquito expert Christopher Potter says most means to drive them off depend on … Can anything be done to ward off mosquitoes? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Mosquitoes seem to practice discernment when they choose which human they’ll bite. Christopher Potter, a mosquito expert at Johns Hopkins, says smell brings them in, with women who smell enticing being high on the list. Potter: The sense of smell … Do mosquitoes have preferences when it comes to who they bite? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Mosquitoes looking to feed utilize many qualities of humans to find their prey. Exhaled carbon dioxide, unique human scents and infrared radiation all play a part. But it’s not until the mosquito actually lands on us that a final decision … It’s the touch that finally does it when a mosquito is looking to feed, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

You may not think of yourself as especially odorous but your very breath combines with scents from your body to make a human bouquet that’s especially attractive to mosquitoes. That’s according to Christopher Potter, a mosquito expert at Johns Hopkins. … Body odors work in concert with carbon dioxide to tip mosquitoes off to our presence, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Mosquitoes, relative in size to people, are tiny. How is it that they can locate us so efficiently when they’re looking for a blood meal? Mosquito expert Christopher Potter at Johns Hopkins explains. Potter: The first thing they use is … What’s the first clue to a mosquito that there’s a human around? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Mosquito borne illnesses may include those caused by viruses or parasites. With factors such as frequent international travel and climate change, conditions are improving for malaria to be seen more often in the United States, which is transmitted from the … Should you be concerned about a malaria comeback in the US? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Along with longer days and warmer temperatures, summer heralds much more robust mosquito populations in the northern hemisphere. Johns Hopkins mosquito expert Christopher Potter describes the three species of mosquitoes found worldwide and the illnesses they’re associated with. Potter: There … Now that summer is here mosquitoes are all around us, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Making CAR-T cells from donor bone marrow already used to treat someone’s cancer helped rein in cancer recurrence, a new study shows. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins says this is one more place where an expansion … Can a new method for developing CAR-T cells to treat cancer be expanded? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

CAR-T cells developed from bone marrow donors whose bone marrow had already been used to treat someone’s cancer may be able to rein in cancer recurrence, a new study finds. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson says this … Can donor CAR-T cells have an impact on cancer treatment? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Specially engineered T cells, one component of immune cells in your body, are called CAR-T cells, and for several years now have been used to treat blood cancers and some other conditions, with some success. William Nelson, director of the … Are CAR-T cells coming into their own as therapeutic agents? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Daraxonrasib is the name of a drug to treat pancreas cancer that has extended survival in many with the disease, a just reported clinical trial finds.  Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson says it’s gotten many people who treat … A new drug for pancreas cancer may be a game changer, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

New guidelines for managing cholesterol levels have recently been released by the American College of Cardiology. Cardiologist Roger Blumenthal at Johns Hopkins chaired the committee that wrote the guidelines, and says that in reviewing the data it became clear that … Certain groups of people seem to be missing out when it comes to optimizing cardiovascular disease prevention, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Cholesterol found in your blood is just the beginning of the story when it comes to markers found there that are indicative of cardiovascular risk. A relative newcomer is apolipoprotein a, which is genetically determined, says Roger Blumenthal, a cardiologist … What markers are found in blood that indicate cardiovascular risk? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

When it comes to assessing your cardiovascular risk, your blood tells an eloquent story. It’s not just cholesterol but several other factors that can be detected and measured that point toward or away from risk. Roger Blumenthal, a cardiologist at … What does a blood marker called lipoprotein A have to do with your risk for cardiovascular disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Cholesterol management, per new guidelines from the American College of Cardiology, is just one aspect of measures you can take to lower your risk for cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of death. Roger Blumenthal, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins … What’s involved in lowering your risk for cardiovascular disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

The most important person in reducing your risk for cardiovascular disease is you, and managing your blood cholesterol levels is just one part of an overall, lifelong strategy, beginning with becoming educated about your own unique set of risk factors. … Becoming educated about your own cardiovascular risk is pivotal to prevention, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Management of blood cholesterol is a major factor in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, as reflected in new guidelines released by the American College of Cardiology, and it should start early in life and be monitored throughout the lifespan. Johns … Monitoring cholesterol and other factors should be done regularly to prevent cardiovascular disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

When it comes to ideal LDL cholesterol levels in the blood, ideal is a bit of a moving target. Johns Hopkins cardiologist Roger Blumenthal, chair of an American College of Cardiology committee that has just updated cholesterol guidelines, says it … What LDL cholesterol level should you be aiming for? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

If you’ve been told you have high LDL cholesterol in your blood, the first place to begin to try to improve it is with diet and exercise. That’s according to new guidelines from the American College of Cardiology, and such … The first strategy to improve blood cholesterol levels in lifestyle management, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

A quarter of US adults have elevated levels of LDL, the type of cholesterol in the blood most often associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Now the American College of Cardiology has issued new guidelines for managing cholesterol, last updated … New guidelines from the American College of Cardiology for cholesterol guidelines are here, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Depending on your media exposure you have likely seen commercials or advertisements for cancer detection tests that look for markers of the disease in your blood. Now a new study examines these tests and determines that they’re really not ready … Should you have a commercially advertised cancer detection test? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Changes to DNA that are added on top of the baseline order of its building blocks are known as epigenetics, and these changes are implicated in a number of diseases and conditions, including pancreas cancer. Now a Johns Hopkins study … Can epigenetics point the way to treatment for pancreas cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Certain bacteria commonly found in the gut produce toxins that promote breast cancer, a Johns Hopkins study shows. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins says there is a pathway where such an association makes sense. Nelson: When … What do gut bacteria have to do with breast cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

There are too many copies of one arm of chromosome one in pancreas cancer, a Johns Hopkins study finds. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Hopkins, says the stage of tumor development where this finding was seen … What does too many copies of a part of a chromosome in pancreas cancer tell us? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Perhaps you recall from high school biology that you have 23 pairs of chromosomes. A Johns Hopkins study has shown that one arm of chromosome one, the biggest chromosome, is often copied many times in pancreas cancer, and that part … Can too many copies of a gene drive pancreas cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

About one in five adolescents have cholesterol levels that are too high, and that’s why new guidelines from the American College of Cardiology specify testing children 9 to 11 years of age. Johns Hopkins cardiologist Seth Martin, one of the … Why do kids 9-11 years of age need a cholesterol test? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Did you know that one in five adolescents have cholesterol levels that are too high, some of them very high indeed? Those at the highest levels may have a genetic disorder called familial hypercholesterolemia, and when it’s caught early it … There’s a very good reason to test preadolescents’ cholesterol levels, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Your preadolescent child should have their blood drawn to test their cholesterol levels, new guidelines from the American College of Cardiology specify. That’s because of a condition that happens in one in 250 people where such levels are abnormally high … There’s a test your adolescent should have to help avoid cardiovascular disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Familial hypercholesterolemia is just what it sounds like: abnormally high cholesterol levels that run in families due to their genetics. Turns out these very high cholesterol levels begin in infancy, and unless someone is suspicious, are rarely tested for. That’s … Even kids who appear very healthy can have very high cholesterol levels, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

A new clinical guideline to manage cholesterol levels in the blood has been released by the American College of Cardiology. Johns Hopkins cardiologist Seth Martin participated in writing the guidelines and says that shifting risk assessment and management strategies for … New cholesterol screening guidelines capture childhood risk, too, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Many substances marketed as ‘supplements’ enjoy a lack of oversight and regulation, among them kratom, a plant based extract from Asia. While some users report pain relief and mood improvement there are no studies to support this, and as Eric … How did the current situation with kratom develop? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Over a thousand fold in the last year. That’s the increase in the number of emergency department visits nationally due to use of kratom, a drug sold unregulated in convenience stores and gas stations as well as online. Substance use … What is the likelihood that you’ll experience a problem with a product labeled as kratom? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

When someone presents to an emergency department after having taken an unknown drug, screening is typically undertaken. Yet for kratom, which last year accounted for over a thousand fold increase in ED visits, no screen is available. Substance use disorder … If you have a bad experience after taking kratom, can medical professionals help? Read More »

Kratom is a drug that has been unregulated and sold for decades in smoke shops and elsewhere, now associated with over a thousand fold increase in emergency department visits. Why? Substance use disorder expert Eric Strain at Johns Hopkins explains. … Consuming kratom products may result in an ED visit, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

You may have noticed among the offerings at gas stations and convenience stores something called kratom. This is a plant based drug with the potential for undesired side effects that is unregulated in the United States. Now over a thousand … Kratom is accounting for a dramatic rise in ED visits, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »