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Tag: Healthcare

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has had direct and indirect impacts on the mortality of patients on dialysis

    The COVID-19 pandemic has had direct and indirect impacts on the mortality of patients on dialysis

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    Highlights

    • During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, mortality risk for both COVID-19–positive and other patients on hemodialysis fluctuated in line with two waves of the pandemic in the general population.
    • Compared with hemodialysis patients treated in 2019, the mortality risk of COVID-19–positive patients on dialysis persisted at much higher levels across 2020, whereas the mortality risk of other patients on dialysis was elevated slightly and mainly during the pandemic peak period.
    • Results from the study will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2022 November 3–November 6.

    Newswise — Orlando (November 5, 2022) — New research has revealed elevated risks of death during the COVID-19 pandemic for both COVID-19–positive and other patients on hemodialysis compared with hemodialysis patients treated in 2019. The findings will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2022 November 3–November 6.

    The study relied on data from 63,216 patients undergoing hemodialysis in 2019–2020 at NephroCare centers of 23 countries in European and Middle East countries.

    In line with two waves of the pandemic in the general population, two fluctuations of mortality risk were observed for both COVID-19–positive and other patients on hemodialysis (patients without a documented COVID-19 infection in Fresenius Medical Care’s electronic health record system). Compared with hemodialysis patients treated in 2019, the mortality risk of COVID-19–positive patients on dialysis persisted at much higher levels across 2020 (greater than 6.5-fold), whereas the mortality risk of other patients on dialysis was elevated slightly (less than 1.5-fold) and mainly during the pandemic peak periods.

    “The COVID-19 pandemic had direct and indirect impact on the mortality of hemodialysis patients,” said corresponding author Yan Zhang, PhD, of Fresenius Medical Care. “Potential reasons of the increased mortality among patients without confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis could be undertesting or healthcare system capacity constraints. Quantifying the magnitude of pandemic effects on patients with and without confirmed disease may benefit dialysis clinics to manage patients during critical events.” 

    Study: “COVID-19 pandemic effect on mortality of hemodialysis patients”

    ASN Kidney Week 2022, the largest nephrology meeting of its kind, will provide a forum for nephrologists and other kidney health professionals to discuss the latest findings in research and engage in educational sessions related to advances in the care of patients with kidney diseases and related disorders.

    Since 1966, ASN has been leading the fight to prevent, treat, and cure kidney diseases throughout the world by educating health professionals and scientists, advancing research and innovation, communicating new knowledge, and advocating for the highest quality care for patients. ASN has more than 20,000 members representing 132 countries. For more information, visit www.asn-online.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

     

     

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    American Society of Nephrology (ASN)

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  • FREE Webinar for PM&R Career Path Guidance Hosted by AANEM

    FREE Webinar for PM&R Career Path Guidance Hosted by AANEM

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    Newswise — Rochester, Minn. (Nov. 4 2022)- The American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) invites medical students, physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) residents, and early-career physiatrists to join experienced physicians at an interactive webinar to explore career options for physiatrists with a sub-specialty focus on neuromuscular (NM) and/or electrodiagnostic (EDX) medicine.

    “What a PM&R Physician Needs to Know About Considering a Career in NM or EDX Medicine,” will be held live on November 14, 2022, at 8:30 p.m. (EST). A recording will also be made public after the event. Attendees will learn about different pathways available so they can excel in NM and/or EDX medicine practice, the new AANEM Fellowship Match Portal, and how to leverage a foundation in physiatry with colleagues in neurology.

    Presentations will be given by a panel of experts, including Erik Ensrud, MD, University of Missouri-Columbia; Ileana Howard, MD, University of Washington; and more. Presentations will be followed by a live Q&A. Colin Franz, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, will moderate the webinar. “This session brings together a diverse group of PM&R specialists from across the country to share their insights on careers in electrodiagnostic and neuromuscular medicine,” he said. “When I was considering a neuromuscular fellowship, it was hard to find good advice from a PM&R perspective. It turns out there are multiple pathways to achieve a career with a strong focus on electrodiagnostic and/or neuromuscular medicine.”

    Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lhvFTnA_TEW_JXxAx6oGgQ About American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) Based in Rochester, MN, AANEM is the premier nonprofit membership association dedicated to the advancement of neuromuscular (NM), musculoskeletal, and electrodiagnostic (EDX) medicine.

    The organization and its members work to improve the quality of patient care and advance the science of NM diseases and EDX medicine by serving physicians and allied health professionals who care for those with muscle and nerve disorders.

    For more information about AANEM, visit aanem.org or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

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    American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM)

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  • Shorter Course of Radiation Therapy Yields Comparable Results for Patients with Non-Metastatic Soft Tissue Sarcoma

    Shorter Course of Radiation Therapy Yields Comparable Results for Patients with Non-Metastatic Soft Tissue Sarcoma

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    Newswise — HOUSTON – Patients with non-metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS) who need pre-operative radiation therapy can safely receive hypofractionated treatment over three weeks instead of five, with comparable tumor control and no increased risk of major complications in wound healing, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

    Results from the study, led by Ashleigh Guadagnolo, M.D., professor of Radiation Oncology, were published today in The Lancet Oncology. Guadagnolo also presented results at the 2022 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting. 

    On the single-arm, non-randomized trial, patients received hypofractionated radiation therapy, consisting of higher daily radiation therapy doses per treatment over fewer days relative to conventional therapy. Thirty-one percent of patients developed major wound complications within 120 days of surgery, while local tumor control was 93% at two-year follow-up — both comparable to historically reported rates with the longer treatment course.

    “Our data indicate the three-week regimen offers patients a likely safe and effective alternative to the current standard of care with comparable outcomes in disease control and no increased risks of major wound complications,” Guadagnolo said. “We are excited by the current results of this study, which demonstrate the value of a hypofractionated approach to radiation therapy, which is more convenient for patients.”

    A major side effect of pre-operative radiation therapy in patients with non-metastatic STS is an increased risk of wound-healing complications after surgery. Patients have a heightened risk of needing a second operation for wound repair, extensive wound management and readmission to the hospital.  

    On the current study, no patients experienced a serious adverse event or a grade 3 acute skin toxicity while on the study. The 31% rate of major wound complications is comparable to the historically observed 35% rate in patients treated with the standard five-week regimen.

    “Research shows that patients receiving their treatment at cancer centers with sarcoma specialists have better survival and functional outcomes. Being able to shorten our patients’ treatment time from five to three weeks may improve care accessibility because patients would be able to reduce their time away from home if they do not live near a sarcoma specialty center,” Guadagnolo said.

    The trial enrolled a total of 120 patients over the age of 18 with non-metastatic STS who had not previously undergone radiation therapy. All patients had STS in the extremity or superficial trunk; 65% of participants had lower extremity tumors; 17% had upper extremity tumors and 18% had tumors in the trunk.

    All patients were treated with a three-week course of radiation consisting of 15 daily fractions of 2.85 Gray (Gy), totaling 42.75 Gy. The current standard dose is 50 Gy in 25 daily fractions, or a five-week course. Radiation therapy was followed by surgery four to eight weeks later. Researchers assessed major wound complications within 120 days of surgery among patients treated on the trial.

    Long-term side effects, oncologic and functional outcomes using the hypofractionated regimen still are being assessed.

    The research was supported by the National Cancer Institute (P30 CA016672). A full list of collaborating authors and their disclosures can be found with the full paper here.

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    University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

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  • $50M Perot Family Gift Expands UT Southwestern’s Medical Scientist Training Program

    $50M Perot Family Gift Expands UT Southwestern’s Medical Scientist Training Program

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    Newswise — DALLAS – Nov. 04, 2022 – The Perot family, The Perot Foundation, and The Sarah and Ross Perot, Jr. Foundation have provided a transformative $50 million endowment for UT Southwestern’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), among the nation’s elite programs that provide graduates a dual M.D./Ph.D. degree to strengthen the advancement of laboratory discoveries into the clinical arena.

    Funding will provide a permanent endowment for the Perot Family Scholars Medical Scientist Training Program – one of just 54 M.D./Ph.D. training programs in the country supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The program is celebrating its 40th anniversary of graduating top-level physician-scientists from UT Southwestern Medical School and UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, both among the top-ranked schools nationally.

    “This extraordinary gift provides a permanent foundation at UT Southwestern for this distinctive dual-degree program that will not only benefit top UT Southwestern students, but also help address a disturbing national trend in the diminishing number of fully trained physician-scientists,” said Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., President of UT Southwestern Medical Center. “The Perot family’s beneficent support further cements their historical commitment to the continuous advancement of academic medicine and its benefits.”

    UT Southwestern’s faculty includes a number of distinguished physician-scientists with the dual degree, including the late Nobel Laureate Alfred G. Gilman, M.D., Ph.D., former Dean of UT Southwestern Medical School; three of UT Southwestern’s 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine; and two of UT Southwestern’s 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigators.

    “Ross was an enthusiastic supporter of the Medical Scientist Training Program because he considered it to be one of our best investments in people and intellect,” Margot Perot said. “Our family is delighted to sustain our support and association with the MSTP program. We know that it will yield enormous rewards in the years to come. We are certain our funds will go far to train young scientists destined to make significant medical breakthroughs in the future.” 

    The Perot Family Scholars program builds on a legacy that Ross and Margot Perot invested in for the past four decades, starting in 1987 with a $20 million gift supporting Nobel Laureates Michael Brown, M.D., and Joseph Goldstein, M.D., and the Medical Scientist Training Program, followed by more than $23 million in additional support in 1996 for training and biomedical research. In addition, the Perot family has generously supported the Perot Foundation Neuroscience Translational Research Center, mental health programs, and veterans research, including groundbreaking research by Robert Haley, M.D., on Gulf War Syndrome. 

    “I think the Perot family’s contribution is, as it was back in the 1980s, enormously forward-looking,” Dr. Brown said. “This latest gift will make it possible for us to produce a whole new generation of physician-scientists who will then go on to develop new cures and ultimately the means to prevent many diseases.”

    Since its launch in 1978, UT Southwestern’s M.D./Ph.D. program has graduated nearly 300 physician-scientists with approximately 75% going on to faculty positions at academic medical centers, including many prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Stanford, in addition to UT Southwestern. Twenty-four of the graduates serve on the faculty at UT Southwestern, where they train the next generation of physician-scientists. UT Southwestern Medical School is ranked among the top 25 in the U.S. for research and in the top 20 for primary care nationwide by U.S. News & World Report. Only six institutions in the country rated above UTSW in both categories, and UTSW has nationally rated programs in the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, including ranking 25th nationally in Biology.

    The Perot family’s support will expand the number of students admitted to the dual-degree program as well as research disciplines in which they study, to include biomedical engineering, computational biology, bioinformatics, and data science. The investment also will enhance the curriculum and experiences of MSTP students and increase efforts to recruit students from elite U.S. colleges, including top international students who wish to stay in the U.S. for their careers. 

    MSTP Research Success 

    The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) bridges the gap between basic science and clinical research by providing both graduate training in the biomedical sciences and clinical training offered through medical schools. A 2014 report by the NIH Physician-Scientist Workforce (PSW) Working Group, which included Helen H. Hobbs, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine at UTSW and an HHMI Investigator, identified a need to strengthen the biomedical workforce. In the past three decades, the proportion of physicians engaged in research has declined to approximately 1.5% of the overall physician workforce, according to the Physician-Scientist Support Foundation.

    Studies from the NIGMS show that NIH MSTP graduates are more likely to have performed both research and clinical postdoctoral training, to hold academic appointments, to publish more, and to receive research support. Three-quarters of MSTP graduates who applied were successful in obtaining NIH support, for example. 

    UT Southwestern is ranked No. 1 among global health care institutions in the 2022 Nature Index for its published research and among the top 20 for global academic life sciences institutions. UTSW faculty includes four active Nobel Laureates, 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 HHMI Investigators.

    Dr. Brown holds The W. A. (Monty) Moncrief Distinguished Chair in Cholesterol and Arteriosclerosis Research, and the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine. Dr. Goldstein holds the Julie and Louis A. Beecherl, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Research, and the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine. Dr. Haley holds the U.S. Armed Forces Veterans Distinguished Chair for Medical Research, Honoring Robert Haley, M.D., and America’s Gulf War Veterans. Dr. Hobbs holds the Eugene McDermott Distinguished Chair for the Study of Human Growth and Development, the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Chair in Developmental Biology, and the 1995 Dallas Heart Ball Chair in Cardiology Research. Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.

    About UT Southwestern Medical Center

    UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,900 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year.

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    UT Southwestern Medical Center

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  • Endocrine Society Condemns Florida Ban on Gender-Affirming Care

    Endocrine Society Condemns Florida Ban on Gender-Affirming Care

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    Newswise — WASHINGTON—The Endocrine Society rebukes the Florida Board of Medicine’s decision to ban gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse teenagers.

    We call on the Florida Board of Medicine to reverse the ban and allow physicians to provide evidence-based care and protect the lives of minors.

    The Florida ban is blatantly discriminatory and contradicts medical evidence followed by the Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the Pediatric Endocrine Society and other mainstream medical organizations.

    When an individual’s gender identity is not respected and they cannot access medical care, it can result in higher psychological problem scores and can raise the person’s risk of committing suicide or other acts of self-harm. Research has found denying access to puberty-delaying medication and/or hormone therapy raises the risk of suicidal ideation and self-harm.

    According to the Endocrine Society’s globally recognized evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines, only reversible treatments to delay puberty are recommended for adolescents.  Puberty-delaying medication is safe, reversible, and the conservative approach that gives teenagers and their families more time to explore their options. The same treatment has been used for decades to treat precocious puberty.

    Teenagers who continue to demonstrate gender incongruence and who demonstrate the ability to provide informed consent can be offered gender-affirming hormone therapy, which is partially reversible. The Florida Medicaid ban prevents teenagers from accessing these important treatment options.

    Medical evidence, not politics, should inform treatment decisions. The Endocrine Society submitted comments earlier this year during the abbreviated public comment period on the Board’s guidance on “treating gender dysphoria for children and adolescents, yet the Florida Board of Health opted to rely on controversial research that is not recognized by the mainstream medical community in crafting its ban on gender-affirming care. Consequently, the state blocked transgender residents from receiving gender-affirming care through Medicaid coverage.

    Twenty states have proposed legislation to limit access to care during the 2022 legislative session, according to Freedom for All Americans. The Endocrine Society is alarmed that misinformation about medical care recommended for transgender and gender-diverse adolescents is fueling efforts to limit access to gender-affirming care. The move by the Florida Board of Health to ban gender-affirming care based on a political agenda rather than on science sets a dangerous precedent for all health care decisions.

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    Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.

    The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.

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    Endocrine Society

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  • Radiology Patient Action Network Calls on Congress to Stop Deep Cuts to Medicare Coverage

    Radiology Patient Action Network Calls on Congress to Stop Deep Cuts to Medicare Coverage

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    “Congress must stop these double-digit, devastating cuts to independent Medicare doctors and their patients to ensure all Americans receive affordable, quality healthcare,” said Bob Still, Executive Director of the RBMA.

    Press Release
    –

    Nov 4, 2022


    WASHINGTON, November 4, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    The Radiology Business Management Association’s Radiology Patient Action Network (RPAN) calls on Congress to preserve Medicare funding for physicians, following the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) decision to cut payments to doctors under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) across the United States. 

    “At a time where nearly half of Medicare-age women have gone several years without receiving a mammogram, Congress cannot justify cutting Medicare reimbursements to doctors, especially those who conduct the screenings and procedures that help prevent deadly breast cancer and other illnesses,” said Bob Still, Executive Director of the RBMA. “This takes an axe to preventative healthcare for women on Medicare, and it will also lead to the slashing of Medicaid coverage, since most states index their Medicaid rates based on Medicare. Taken together, this will worsen health inequity across America. Congress must stop these double-digit, devastating cuts to independent Medicare doctors  and their patients to ensure all Americans receive affordable, quality healthcare.”

    RPAN urges Congress to pass H.R. 8800, Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022, on behalf of providers and patients across the country as swiftly as possible to begin systematic Medicare reform, including an inflationary adjustment for MPFS.

    “While independent and non-hospital-based providers across the country now face significant cuts, hospitals will receive increased reimbursements of over $6 billion dollars. With hospital Medicare rates already around 60% higher than rates for independent doctors, CMS’ new policy will further spike healthcare costs for U.S. consumers,” said Still. “This growing reimbursement delta will only lead to more consolidation among healthcare providers, compounding inequities between hospital-based and non-hospital-based providers, and limiting patient access to care.”

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    About RBMA

    The Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) is an industry-leading organization comprised of more than 2,100 professionals who focus on the business of radiology. RBMA members support diagnostic imaging, interventional radiology and radiation oncology providers in the full spectrum of practice settings. RBMA connects members nationwide to valuable information, education, and practice-related resources and serves as an authoritative industry voice on behalf of shared member interests.

    Source: RBMA

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  • Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster shows higher immune response, but new COVID cases climb back above 40,000 a day

    Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster shows higher immune response, but new COVID cases climb back above 40,000 a day

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    First the good news: Pfizer Inc. and Germany-based partner BioNTech SE said updated trial data for their omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent booster showed a “substantially higher” immune response in adults than the original COVID-19 vaccine.

    The companies said the Phase 2/3 clinical-trial data, collected one month after the boosters were given, also demonstrated that safety and tolerability profiles were similar to those of the original vaccine.

    The news sent Pfizer’s stock
    PFE,
    +0.51%
    rallying 1.7% and BioNTech’s U.S.-listed shares
    BNTX,
    +4.97%

    22UA,
    +4.11%
    surging 7.2% in morning trading.

    “As we head into the holiday season, we hope these updated data will encourage people to seek out a COVID-19 bivalent booster as soon as they are eligible in order to maintain high levels of protection against the widely circulating Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages,” said Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla.

    Only 8.4% of eligible Americans have received updated COVID booster shots, while 68.5% of the total population have completed the original primary series of vaccinations, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    The bivalent booster has been authorized for emergency use in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration for people age 5 and older and has also been granted marketing authorization in the European Union for those age 12 and older.

    In another piece of good news, Pfizer and BioNTech shares were also lifted by a report in The Wall Street Journal that the Chinese government has agreed to approve the companies’ COVID-19 vaccines for foreign residents in China and has also held talks to approve those vaccines for the broader population.

    Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that China was working on a plan to end the practice of penalizing airlines that bring COVID-infected people into the country.

    Both reports boost hopes that China is slowly moving toward ending its zero-COVID policy, which has crimped China’s economy and acted as a drag on global growth.

    Now for the bad news.

    The seven-day average of new COVID cases topped 40,000 for the first time in a month and hospitalizations have also ticked higher, with more than half of U.S. states showing increases over the past two weeks.

    According to a New York Times tracker, the daily average of new cases rose to 40,101 on Thursday from 38,208 on Wednesday, and was up 6% from 14 days ago.


    The New York Times

    Nevada has seen a 96% jump in daily cases, followed by Tennessee with a 69% increase and Louisiana with a 68% rise, leading the 28 states that saw cases increase over the past two weeks.

    Still, daily cases were less than one-third of the summer high of more than 130,000 reached during the surge of the BA.5 variant, the data show.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    The daily average of COVID-related hospitalizations rose 2% to 27,252, while the number of people with COVID in intensive-care units (ICUs) fell 2% to 3,110.

    The daily average of COVID-related deaths fell 6% to a four-month low of 339.

    On a global basis, the total number of COVID cases has increased to 631.91 million, while deaths have reached 6,598,197, according to data provided by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has seen a total of 97.69 million cases and 1,072,245 deaths.

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  • Breast Cancer Survivorship Doubles

    Breast Cancer Survivorship Doubles

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    Newswise — It was the information she couldn’t find that led Amy Kirkham, an assistant professor in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education (KPE), to her latest discovery.

    Asked by the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance to co-author a scientific statement paper in 2020 on the state of women’s heart health in Canada, Kirkham – whose research is focused on preventing and treating the risk of heart disease related to breast cancer treatment – needed to know what percentage of the Canadian female population has a history of breast cancer.

    But the most recent statistic she could find – one percent – was from 2007.

    “Nearly 15 years had passed and I could not find a more recent citation about the prevalence of breast cancer survivors in Canada,” says Kirkham. “Breast cancer mortality rates had continued to improve 26 per cent over this time period, so I suspected that this number was no longer accurate.”

    So, in collaboration with Katarzyna Jerzak, a medical oncologist at Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre and assistant professor in the department of medicine in U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Kirkham embarked on a new study that would determine an up-to-date estimate of the prevalence of breast cancer survivors in Canada in 2022 using the Canadian Cancer Society’s annual cancer statistic reports.

    The study, recently published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, found that in the 15-year span from 2007 to 2021, there were 370,756 patients (2.1 per cent of the adult female population in Canada in 2022) diagnosed with breast cancer and 86 per cent of these women would have survived breast cancer by 2022. 

    “This indicates that the prevalence of breast cancer survivors in the Canadian female population has doubled and that there are 2.5 times more survivors since the last estimate in 2007,” says Kirkham. 

    The prior estimate did not include the age group of survivors, but according to the new estimate provided by Kirkham and Jerzak, breast cancer survivors represent one per cent of Canadian women in the typical working and/or child-raising age group (20 to 64 years) and 5.4 per cent of senior (aged 65-plus) Canadian women. 

    But it’s not all good news.

    Many of the treatments that have improved breast cancer mortality rates also cause short-term and long-term side effects, which, in turn, can raise the risk of death from other causes such as heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, liver disease and other non-fatal health outcomes.

    “The most common cause of death in women with breast cancer is heart disease,” Kirkham says. 

    Such conditions also affect overall health-care costs.

    To demonstrate the excess health-care costs related to heart disease, Kirkham and Jerzak performed an additional analysis using Canadian data on rates of hospitalization for heart failure and their costs. They found that two per cent of the women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2007 and 2021 would likely experience heart failure hospitalization costing $66.5 million in total. As much as 25 per cent of these costs, or $16.5 million, were in excess of those costs that would be associated with women who did not have breast cancer. 

    “Given the excess health-care costs, potential for reduced contributions to the workforce and reduced quality of life associated with long-term side effects and risk of excess death among breast cancer survivors, our work highlights that there is a growing segment of the population who require services to support recovery following breast cancer treatment,” says Kirkham.

    “The goal of my research lab is to develop new therapies to improve the health of women after surviving breast cancer.” 

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    University of Toronto

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  • Weekly tally of COVID cases and deaths continues to fall; Moderna lowers vaccine-sales outlook by as much as $3 billion

    Weekly tally of COVID cases and deaths continues to fall; Moderna lowers vaccine-sales outlook by as much as $3 billion

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    The global tally of COVID-19 cases fell 17% in the week through Oct. 30 from the previous week, while the death toll fell 5%, the World Health Organization said in its weekly update on the virus.

    The omicron variant BA.5 remained dominant globally, accounting for 74.9% of cases sent to a central database. WHO reiterated that newer sublineages of omicron, including BQ.1 and XBB, still appear no more lethal than earlier ones and do not warrant the designation of “variant of concern.”

    But BQ.1 rose in prevalence to 9.0% globally from 5.7% a week ago, while XBB rose to 1.5% from 1.0%.

    “WHO will continue to closely monitor the XBB and BQ.1 lineages as part of omicron and requests countries to continue to be vigilant, to monitor and report sequences, as well as to conduct independent and comparative
    analyses of the different omicron sublineages,” the agency wrote.

    WHO has cautioned that changes in testing and reduced surveillance of the virus are making some of the numbers unreliable and has urged leaders to renew efforts to monitor and track developments.

    In the U.S., known cases of COVID remain at their lowest level since mid-April, although the true tally is likely higher given how many people overall are testing at home, where data are not being collected.

    The daily average for new cases stood at 39,090 on Wednesday, according to a New York Times tracker, up 3% versus two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was up 2% to 27,161, while the daily average for deaths was down 6% to 345. 

    But cases are climbing in some states, raising concerns among health experts. In Nevada, cases are up 92% from two weeks ago, followed by Missouri, where they are up 75%, Tennessee, where they are up 69%, Louisiana, where they are up 68%, and New Mexico, where they have climbed 54%.

    Physicians are reporting high numbers of respiratory illnesses like RSV and the flu earlier than the typical winter peak. WSJ’s Brianna Abbott explains what the early surge means for the coming winter months. Photo illustration: Kaitlyn Wang

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • COVID vaccine maker Moderna
    MRNA,
    -2.21%
    posted far weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings on Thursday and lowered full-year sales guidance by up to $3 billion. The Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech firm said advance purchase agreements, or APAs, for delivery this year are now expected to total $18 billion to $19 billion of product sales, down from guidance of $21 billion that it provided when it reported second-quarter earnings. The FactSet consensus is for full-year sales of $21.3 billion. For fiscal 2023, Moderna has APAs of $4.5 billion to $5.5 billion. The FactSet consensus for 2023 sales is for $9.4 billion.

    • Virax Biolabs Group Ltd.
    VRAX,
    +36.26%
    stock jumped after the biotechnology company said its triple-virus antigen rapid test kit, which tests for RSV, influenza and COVID, has been launched in the European Union, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The test kit, which can be used in both at-home and point-of-care settings, has also been launched in other markets that accept the CE mark, Virax Biolabs said.

    Testing sewage to track viruses has drawn renewed interest after recent outbreaks of diseases like monkeypox and polio. WSJ visited a wastewater facility to find out how the testing works and what it can tell us about public health. Photo illustration: Ryan Trefes

    • Royal Caribbean Group
    RCL,
    +4.11%
    posted its first quarterly profit since the start of the pandemic, but the cruise-line company said it expected a loss for the current quarter, sending its stock lower on Thursday. Load factors were 96% overall and booking volumes were “significantly higher” than in the same period of prepandemic 2019, as the easing of testing and vaccination protocols provided a boost. For the fourth quarter, the company expects adjusted per-share losses of $1.30 to $1.50, compared with the FactSet loss consensus of 71 cents, and projects revenue of “approximately” $2.6 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $2.7 billion. 

    • The death of a 3-year-old boy in northwestern China following a suspected gas leak at a locked-down residential compound has triggered a fresh wave of outrage at the country’s stringent zero-COVID policy, CNN reported. The boy’s father said in a social media post on Wednesday that COVID workers tried to prevent him from leaving their compound in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, to seek treatment for his child, resulting in what he believes was a fatal delay. The post was met with an outpouring of public anger and grief, with several related hashtags racking up hundreds of millions of views over the following day on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 631.4 million on Thursday, while the death toll rose above 6.59 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 97.6 million cases and 1,071,582 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 226.9 million people living in the U.S., equal to 68.4% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 22.8 million Americans have had the updated COVID booster that targets the original virus and the omicron variants, equal to 7.3% of the overall population.

     

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  • P23 Health E-Commerce Well-Being Company Just Launched in Partnership With P23 Labs, a Renowned Molecular Laboratory

    P23 Health E-Commerce Well-Being Company Just Launched in Partnership With P23 Labs, a Renowned Molecular Laboratory

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    P23 Health provides consumers with flexibility and control over their health journey: at-home molecular testing kits, skincare products, dietary supplements, and healthcare guidance.

    Press Release
    –

    Nov 3, 2022 09:15 EDT


    SAVANNAH, Ga., November 3, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    P23 Health is a newly formed digital healthcare and wellness company under the P23 umbrella. P23 Health’s strategic partner is acknowledged molecular laboratory P23 Labs. Leadership from both P23 Labs and P23 Health believe that this strong partnership will develop the most sustainable solutions and strengthen their competitiveness within the industry. P23 Labs will reduce cost and increase efficiency within the laboratory operations, while P23 Health will facilitate all e-commerce business and ensure a top-notch consumer experience.

    “We are very pleased and excited to announce that we have secured a strong new partnership with P23 Health, an e-commerce company that will be supporting our at-home testing options, membership program, consultations, and wellness product line to the broader communities,” stated Dr. Tiffany Montgomery, the founder and CEO of P23 Labs.

    P23 Health’s website already launched and the first products are available for purchase at special prices for first customers. The product categories represented are:

    • At-home testing kits delivered in partnership with P23 Labs. The comprehensive product line ranges from PCR pathogen testing to the P23 Optimum test for fitness. 
    • Wellness products cover each base in self-care routines: from skincare to dietary supplements, and CBD-infused creams to provide the ultimate relaxation, nourishment, and revitalization.
    • Consultation with a medical professional who will provide treatment recommendations based on consumers’ test results, allowing them to start a path to a healthier, happier life. Consultations can be one-time, regular, or come as a part of a Membership.
    • Membership packages with monthly subscriptions for healthcare and wellness products and services delivered in accordance with the chosen plan, starting at 75USD/ month as a promotional price. 

    P23 Health is built based on the mission to remove medical barriers and make healthy living accessible to everyone. P23 Health values luxury. Luxury that is truly enjoyed in a healthy mental, physical, emotional, and financial state of being. P23 Health values commitment to self, to life, and to well-being. 

    Source: P23 Health

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  • Ochsner Health CEO Announces Executive Leadership Team Promotions and Appointments

    Ochsner Health CEO Announces Executive Leadership Team Promotions and Appointments

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    Newswise — New Orleans, La. – Today, Ochsner Health’s new CEO Pete November introduced the promotions and appointments of several leaders to the Ochsner system executive team. Ochsner’s executive leadership team is responsible for serving Ochsner’s workforce of more than 36,000 people, supporting the physicians, providers and caregivers who treat Ochsner’s more than one million patients and establishing the organization’s strategic direction.  

    November, who stepped into Ochsner’s chief executive role on Nov. 1 after a decade serving in various executive leadership positions, shared these changes to reflect the strong management team that continues to lead the organization successfully into the future. These promotions and appointments enhance alignment with Ochsner’s strategic plan and commitment to serving Ochsner’s workforce, patients, physicians and communities.

    “I’m honored to lead Ochsner with an exceptional team of leaders,” said Pete November, CEO, Ochsner Health. “Our executive team brings a wealth of talent and knowledge to our organization with a mix of longstanding Ochsner leaders bringing a combined 150 years of service at Ochsner to the team, and professionals who recently joined our team with decades of expertise from the nation’s leading healthcare, insurance and digital health organizations. This is a team that has a proven track record of success and a commitment to servant leadership, inclusivity and teamwork. I could not be prouder to work with this team.”

    November continued, “I do want to specifically congratulate Dr. Robert Hart and Mike Hulefeld on their appointments. Dr. Hart will serve as our chief physician executive and president of Ochsner Clinic and Mike Hulefeld will serve as our president and chief operating officer. Dr. Hart and Mike have provided over 52 years of outstanding leadership at Ochsner. Both Dr. Hart and Mike are strong leaders who work every day to support our physicians, and caregivers in their efforts to provide the highest quality and most accessible healthcare possible. In their expanded roles they will continue to strengthen our commitment to those at Ochsner who every day prioritize the interests and wellbeing of their patients first.”

    Andy Wisdom, Chair of the Ochsner Board of Directors stated, “On behalf of the entire board of directors I want to express our full support for this executive team and for Pete’s position as CEO. As a board, we have seen this team help lead the organization for many years, and we have complete confidence in their vision, capabilities and commitment to Ochsner and the communities we serve. We are also incredibly proud that the team has seamlessly prepared for this transition and has continued to move the organization forward. This is a true team that combines the best of each individual and places the organization above themselves.” 

    Meet Ochsner Health’s Executive Team:

    • Robert Hart, MD, Chief Physician Executive, Ochsner Health, and President, Ochsner Clinic
      • A member of Ochsner’s team since 1994, Dr. Hart will lead Ochsner’s more than 4,500 employed and affiliated physicians and focus on building and growing world-class healthcare programs for patients across the Gulf South. Dr. Hart will also be instrumental in leading all aspects of our clinical and other operations to ensure we provide the highest quality care in the best environment for our physicians and providers. Dr. Hart began his career at Ochsner as a pediatrician and internist and most recently served as chief medical officer.
    • Mike Hulefeld, President and Chief Operating Officer, Ochsner Health
      • As Ochsner’s president and COO, Hulefeld will lead the system’s clinical operations that include 47 hospitals and over 370 clinics and will now also oversee corporate functions including information services (IS), as well as managing Ochsner’s North Louisiana region. Hulefeld has been instrumental in Ochsner’s success since he joined the team in 1998. He’s served in many leadership positions, most recently as Ochsner’s system chief operating officer.
    • Tracey Schiro, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, Ochsner Health
      • Schiro leads all aspects of human resources for Ochsner’s team of more than 36,000 employees, driving programs including talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, employee development and learning and employee wellbeing. Schiro will continue building scalable workforce programs and advancing an innovative diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. Tracey also oversees Ochsner’s risk functions including compliance and legal. Schiro previously served as EVP, chief risk and human resources officer and joined Ochsner’s team in 2007.
    • Scott Posecai, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Ochsner Health
      • As executive vice president and chief financial officer, Posecai will once again assume responsibility for the system’s accounting, financial planning and analysis, reimbursement, and revenue cycle functions. He will also maintain his duties as Treasurer and continue leading managed care. Posecai began his work at Ochsner in 1987 and most recently served as executive vice president, insurance partnerships and treasurer, Ochsner Health. Scott’s 35 years at Ochsner make him an invaluable resource as he steps back into the chief financial officer position. He previously served as chief financial officer for Ochsner for 20 years.
    • Denise Basow, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, Ochsner Health
      • As Ochsner’s first chief digital officer, Dr. Basow will continue to grow Ochsner’s expanding suite of digital programs including those associated with innovationOchsner, virtual care, remote patient monitoring and chronic disease management. Dr. Basow will expand her role to, among other things, lead Ochsner’s physician medical information officers who work to improve the lives of our physicians and transform the delivery of healthcare through digital technology. Dr. Basow will also help lead Ochsner’s effort to be the most consumer-friendly organization for patients and their family members. Dr. Basow joined Ochsner’s team in early 2022 and has more than 25 years’ experience in global healthcare innovation.
    • Leonardo Seoane, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, Ochsner Health
      • Seoane will lead Ochsner’s continuum of education including undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education programs as well as all research initiatives. Additionally, he will oversee Ochsner’s partnership with the University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School and will continue serving as interim chief executive officer of Ochsner LSU Health System in North Louisiana. Dr. Seoane also serves as the executive leader for Ochsner’s Healthy State initiative which was formed to improve the health of the communities we serve. Dr. Seoane, who is board certified in four specialties, joined Ochsner’s physician team in 2001 and has served in many leadership roles throughout his time with the organization.
    • David Gaines, Executive Vice President and Chief External Affairs Officer, Ochsner Health
      • As executive vice president and chief external affairs officer, Gaines continues his transformative work on the Ochsner leadership team by serving as the voice and liaison with critical organizations and individuals including donors, media, elected officials and community leaders. Under his leadership, Ochsner has successfully drafted and secured laws to improve the safety and well-being of healthcare professionals and secured critical funding to support Ochsner’s mission. Gaines and his team have been instrumental in advancing Ochsner’s brand locally, regionally and nationally, as well as leading strategic system communications.
    • Deborah Grimes, RN, JD, System Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Ochsner Health
      • As system vice president and chief diversity officer, Grimes is critical in leading workforce and employee strategy for Ochsner and further developing policies and practices that promote focused attention to diversity and inclusion matters including recruitment, retention, workforce planning and career development. Grimes is also responsible for managing and implementing Ochsner’s health equity strategy in collaboration with Dr. Eboni Price-Haywood. Grimes joined Ochsner in 2020, following a 33-year career at University of Alabama – Birmingham Hospital.

     Joining the Executive Team:

    • Corwin Harper, Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer, Ochsner Health
      • As Ochsner’s first chief growth officer, Harper brings together growth-focused initiatives, allowing Ochsner to find new and nurture existing partnerships and business ventures. Harper began working with the Ochsner team in 2021 as the CEO of Ochsner’s Northshore and Mississippi Gulf Coast Region after more than 25 years of experience with Kaiser Permanente Health in California. Harper was recently honored by the National Association of Health Services Executives for outstanding leadership and his dedication to creating equity, diversity and inclusion in healthcare.
    • Jeffrey Fernandez, Senior Vice President, Population Health and Chief Executive Officer, Ochsner Health Plan
      • Fernandez joins Ochsner’s executive team with more than 20 years of managed care leadership experience. He currently serves as CEO of the Ochsner Health Plan, and prior to joining the organization served as senior vice president at Humana, where he was responsible for Medicare Advantage operations across 17 states and over one million lives. Jeff will oversee the Ochsner Health Network, our non-Louisiana based Ochsner 65 plus clinics, the Ochsner Health Plan as well as the performance of our value-based Medicare Advantage products.

     

    Headshots can be viewed and downloaded here: https://ochsner.imagerelay.com/sb/ebf93865-9021-45c0-979e-f377969e1c7a/ochsner-health-executive-team-headshots_11-2-22.

     

    ###

    About Ochsner Health

    Ochsner Health is an integrated healthcare system with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate. Celebrating 80 years in 2022, it leads nationally in cancer care, cardiology, neurosciences, liver and heart transplants and pediatrics, among other areas. Ochsner is consistently named both the top hospital and top children’s hospital in Louisiana by U.S. News & World Report. The not-for-profit organization is inspiring healthier lives and stronger communities. Its focus is on preventing diseases and providing patient-centered care that is accessible, affordable, convenient and effective. Ochsner Health pioneers new treatments, deploys emerging technologies and performs groundbreaking research, including over 700 clinical studies. It has more than 36,000 employees and over 4,600 employed and affiliated physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties. It operates 47 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centers across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Gulf South; and its cutting-edge Connected Health digital medicine program is caring for patients beyond its walls. In 2021, Ochsner Health treated more than 1 million people from every state and 75 countries. As Louisiana’s top healthcare educator, Ochsner Health and its partners educate thousands of healthcare professionals annually. To learn more, visit https://www.ochsner.org/.

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  • Sylvester’s Sexual Health After Cancer Program Expands to Meet Needs of Women with Cancer

    Sylvester’s Sexual Health After Cancer Program Expands to Meet Needs of Women with Cancer

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    Newswise — Kristin E. Rojas, M.D., FACS, FACOG, assistant professor of surgical oncology in the DeWitt Daughtry Department of Surgery and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University Miami Miller School of Medicine, realized she had struck a chord with women being treated for cancer when she started the Menopause Urogenital Sexual Health and Intimacy Clinic (MUSIC).

    An unexpectedly high demand for the MUSIC program among women concerned by vaginal dryness, painful sex, low sexual desire, and more, challenged Dr. Rojas and colleagues to expand the new program right after it opened its doors at Sylvester in 2020.

    Dr. Rojas has since expanded the MUSIC program to include two specially trained oncology nurse practitioners to help women with a history of cancer safely maintain sexual health through treatment and beyond.

    “MUSIC adds to the comprehensive aspect of survivorship care at Sylvester, making sure that we not only address side effects that we talk about all the time, like hot flashes, joint pain, fatigue, etc., but also the more taboo topics that aren’t always brought up,” Dr. Rojas said.

    Referrals to the program include women who are undergoing treatments that trigger menopause or worsen menopausal symptoms. They might silently suffer from symptoms related to genitourinary complaints, such as vaginal dryness, painful sex, or from a global sexual functioning aspect, such as depressed libido.

    “One might think that these symptoms only impact gynecologic or breast cancer patients who get estrogen-blocking medication, but it’s also women with other cancer types. In fact, anyone who gets chemotherapy can experience these issues,” she said. “Women who have large abdominal surgery, like a radical hysterectomy or a colectomy, could have sexual function concerns. Anyone who has had their ovaries removed, as well as women who haven’t had surgery or chemotherapy but are coping with the psychologic aspects of the diagnosis—that, too, can influence aspects of intimacy.”

    Evidence-based Care

    The MUSIC program is part of Sylvester’s focus on quality of life and improving survivorship without increasing the risk of recurrence or inhibiting the efficacy of different cancer treatments. It is one of only a few women’s sexual health programs at cancer centers in the U.S., but Dr. Rojas says that more centers are recognizing the need.

    “We offer treatments that are evidence-based, effective, and safe, which is so important for cancer patients,” Dr. Rojas said. “There are many therapies, including laser treatments, that have not been studied, and we don’t know if they’re safe in women with a history of cancer. I’ve seen women with burns and scarring who have gone to med spas and other centers that offer these unapproved treatments. By not addressing these issues and not preemptively preparing patients for what might happen sexually and offering them care, we may unknowingly drive them to fringe treatments that could hurt them or their ability to benefit from cancer treatment.”

    MUSIC also serves as a research center for new treatments aimed at addressing women’s sexual health concerns in the setting of cancer. Dr. Rojas recently received funding for a pilot trial to study use of platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, injections into the vulva and vagina for treating painful sex and vaginal dryness. The grant is a Sylvester Survivorship Pilot Award for $30,000, and the study will enroll 20 women with a history of breast cancer who are experiencing vaginal dryness and/or painful sex. The study will include two treatments with PRP injections (with numbing medicine) separated by a month.

    “The primary goal of the study is to standardize the way this treatment is given and then monitor the improvement of symptoms,” Dr. Rojas said.

    Care guidelines for prostate and other cancers include the importance of addressing the potential impact of cancer treatment on men’s sexual health.

    “Oftentimes, men are given options for treatment based on how treatments will impact their sexual health,” Dr. Rojas said. “We’re demonstrating this also is an important option for women undergoing cancer treatment, not only from an equity standpoint but also to make sure these resources are effective and safe for women with cancer. For a long time, we didn’t have solutions for these patients, but that’s changing. It’s important to steer our patients to providers like ours who are oncology clinicians experienced in treating sexual health concerns.”

    The MUSIC program is available at Sylvester’s main campus on Mondays and Tuesdays. Dr. Rojas said she plans to expand the program to sites in Broward in the future.

    MUSIC patients have one-on-one appointments with the MUSIC team.

    “The initial appointments are longer, about an hour, because these issues are often very complicated, and we want to make sure to get the entire picture with regard to symptoms and how to treat these women in the context of their cancer care,” Dr. Rojas said.

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  • 20 dividend stocks that may be safest if the Federal Reserve causes a recession

    20 dividend stocks that may be safest if the Federal Reserve causes a recession

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    Investors cheered when a report last week showed the economy expanded in the third quarter after back-to-back contractions.

    But it’s too early to get excited, because the Federal Reserve hasn’t given any sign yet that it is about to stop raising interest rates at the fastest pace in decades.

    Below is a list of dividend stocks that have had low price volatility over the past 12 months, culled from three large exchange traded funds that screen for high yields and quality in different ways.

    In a year when the S&P 500
    SPX,
    -0.40%
    is down 18%, the three ETFs have widely outperformed, with the best of the group falling only 1%.

    Read: GDP looked great for the U.S. economy, but it really wasn’t

    That said, last week was a very good one for U.S. stocks, with the S&P 500 returning 4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    -0.32%
    having its best October ever.

    This week, investors’ eyes turn back to the Federal Reserve. Following a two-day policy meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee is expected to make its fourth consecutive increase of 0.75% to the federal funds rate on Wednesday.

    The inverted yield curve, with yields on two-year U.S. Treasury notes
    TMUBMUSD02Y,
    4.540%
    exceeding yields on 10-year notes
    TMUBMUSD10Y,
    4.064%    ,
    indicates investors in the bond market expect a recession. Meanwhile, this has been a difficult earnings season for many companies and analysts have reacted by lowering their earnings estimates.

    The weighted rolling consensus 12-month earning estimate for the S&P 500, based on estimates of analysts polled by FactSet, has declined 2% over the past month to $230.60. In a healthy economy, investors expect this number to rise every quarter, at least slightly.

    Low-volatility stocks are working in 2022

    Take a look at this chart, showing year-to-date total returns for the three ETFs against the S&P 500 through October:


    FactSet

    The three dividend-stock ETFs take different approaches:

    • The $40.6 billion Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
      SCHD,
      +0.15%
      tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Indexed quarterly. This approach incorporates 10-year screens for cash flow, debt, return on equity and dividend growth for quality and safety. It excludes real estate investment trusts (REITs). The ETF’s 30-day SEC yield was 3.79% as of Sept. 30.

    • The iShares Select Dividend ETF
      DVY,
      +0.45%
      has $21.7 billion in assets. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index, which is weighted by dividend yield and “skews toward smaller firms paying consistent dividends,” according to FactSet. It holds about 100 stocks, includes REITs and looks back five years for dividend growth and payout ratios. The ETF’s 30-day yield was 4.07% as of Sept. 30.

    • The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF
      SPYD,
      +0.60%
      has $7.8 billion in assets and holds 80 stocks, taking an equal-weighted approach to investing in the top-yielding stocks among the S&P 500. It’s 30-day yield was 4.07% as of Sept. 30.

    All three ETFs have fared well this year relative to the S&P 500. The funds’ beta — a measure of price volatility against that of the S&P 500 (in this case) — have ranged this year from 0.75 to 0.76, according to FactSet. A beta of 1 would indicate volatility matching that of the index, while a beta above 1 would indicate higher volatility.

    Now look at this five-year total return chart showing the three ETFs against the S&P 500 over the past five years:


    FactSet

    The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ranks highest for five-year total return with dividends reinvested — it is the only one of the three to beat the index for this period.

    Screening for the least volatile dividend stocks

    Together, the three ETFs hold 194 stocks. Here are the 20 with the lowest 12-month beta. The list is sorted by beta, ascending, and dividend yields range from 2.45% to 8.13%:

    Company

    		 Ticker

    		 12-month beta

    		 Dividend yield

    		 2022 total return
    Newmont Corp.

    		 NEM,
    -0.78%         		0.17

    		 5.20%

    		 -30%
    Verizon Communications Inc.

    		 VZ,
    -0.07%         		0.22

    		 6.98%

    		 -24%
    General Mills Inc.

    		 GIS,
    -1.47%         		0.27

    		 2.65%

    		 25%
    Kellogg Co.

    		 K,
    -0.93%         		0.27

    		 3.07%

    		 22%
    Merck & Co. Inc.

    		 MRK,
    -1.73%         		0.29

    		 2.73%

    		 35%
    Kraft Heinz Co.

    		 KHC,
    -0.56%         		0.35

    		 4.16%

    		 11%
    City Holding Co.

    		 CHCO,
    -1.45%         		0.38

    		 2.58%

    		 27%
    CVB Financial Corp.

    		 CVBF,
    -1.24%         		0.38

    		 2.79%

    		 37%
    First Horizon Corp.

    		 FHN,
    -0.18%         		0.39

    		 2.45%

    		 53%
    Avista Corp.

    		 AVA,
    -7.82%         		0.41

    		 4.29%

    		 0%
    NorthWestern Corp.

    		 NWE,
    -0.21%         		0.42

    		 4.77%

    		 -4%
    Altria Group Inc

    		 MO,
    -0.18%         		0.43

    		 8.13%

    		 4%
    Northwest Bancshares Inc.

    		 NWBI,
    +0.10%         		0.45

    		 5.31%

    		 11%
    AT&T Inc.

    		 T,
    +0.63%         		0.47

    		 6.09%

    		 5%
    Flowers Foods Inc.

    		 FLO,
    -0.44%         		0.48

    		 3.07%

    		 7%
    Mercury General Corp.

    		 MCY,
    +0.07%         		0.48

    		 4.38%

    		 -43%
    Conagra Brands Inc.

    		 CAG,
    -0.82%         		0.48

    		 3.60%

    		 10%
    Amgen Inc.

    		 AMGN,
    +0.41%         		0.49

    		 2.87%

    		 23%
    Safety Insurance Group Inc.

    		 SAFT,
    -1.70%         		0.49

    		 4.14%

    		 5%
    Tyson Foods Inc. Class A

    		 TSN,
    -0.40%         		0.50

    		 2.69%

    		 -20%
    Source: FactSet

    Any list of stocks will have its dogs, but 16 of these 20 have outperformed the S&P 500 so far in 2022, and 14 have had positive total returns.

    You can click on the tickers for more about each company. Click here for Tomi Kilgore’s detailed guide to the wealth of information available free on the MarketWatch quote page.

    Don’t miss: Municipal bond yields are attractive now — here’s how to figure out if they are right for you

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  • Bitcoin’s Role In The Rise Of Crowdsourced Health Insurance

    Bitcoin’s Role In The Rise Of Crowdsourced Health Insurance

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    This is an opinion editorial by Frankie Wallace, a freelance writer from the Pacific Northwest.

    Bitcoin is transforming the world of health insurance. Case in point: the use of bitcoin to crowdsource healthcare coverage.

    There is a strong correlation between bitcoin and crowdsourced health insurance. A clear understanding of this relationship is key for those who want to use bitcoin and want to pursue all of the healthcare options at their disposal.

    Bitcoin And Crowdsourcing Increase Access To Healthcare Coverage

    Crowdsourcing is helping people pay their medical bills. To understand how crowdsourcing works and its relationship to bitcoin, let’s consider an example.

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  • Study Shows Temporary Isolation Wards Provided Effective Protection Against Healthcare-Associated COVID-19 Transmission

    Study Shows Temporary Isolation Wards Provided Effective Protection Against Healthcare-Associated COVID-19 Transmission

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    Newswise — Arlington, Va., October 28, 2022 – Temporary isolation wards utilized to house COVID-19 patients at a large Singapore hospital during the global pandemic allowed for safe management of COVID-19 cases over an 18-month period, without healthcare-associated SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The study finding, published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), suggests that these wards can provide a safe option for managing patients during future pandemics caused by a novel respiratory pathogen.

    “This study provides important information that supports the safety of temporary isolation units – which became a critical option for many healthcare facilities worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic – and can inform practice during subsequent pandemics,” said Wee Liang En Ian, Associate Consultant in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Singapore General Hospital (SGH), one of the paper’s lead authors. “Despite environmental SARS-CoV-2 contamination observed in the temporary isolation wards at our institution, we found no evidence of transmission to healthcare workers over a prolonged period.”

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for airborne infection isolation rooms to safely manage patients with the disease often outstripped availability. Many healthcare facilities created temporary isolation wards at the peak of the pandemic to provide surge-capacity. However, there has been very little research evaluating the effectiveness of these wards in managing COVID-19 cases.

    During the 18-month period from July 2020 to December 2021, Dr. Wee and colleagues conducted environmental sampling for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in temporary isolation wards constructed from prefabricated containers (N=20) or converted from normal-pressure general wards (N=47) at SGH. The researchers completed sampling at the point of patient discharge/transfer out and prior to terminal cleaning. During this period, the hospital also conducted contact-tracing, active surveillance, and whole genome sequencing (WGS) for all COVID-19 cases among hospital healthcare workers (HCWs).

    Researchers collected and evaluated a total of 355 environmental swabs and determined that 22.4% (15/67) of patients had at least one positive sample. As compared to patients in the converted isolation wards, patients housed in isolation rooms constructed from prefabricated containers had greater odds of detectable environmental contamination (adjusted-odds-ratio, aOR=10.46, 95%CI=3.89-58.91, p=0.008), with the majority of positive environmental samples obtained from the toilet area (60.0%, 12/20) and another substantial portion from patient equipment, including electronic devices used for patient communication (8/20, 40.0%). Among patients in the converted temporary isolation wards, environmental contamination was also detected most frequently in the toilet area (17.0%, 8/47), while only 4.3% (2/47) of these patients had positive samples from patient equipment (call-bell).

    During the study period, SGH reported 441 cases of COVID-19 infection among HCWs, 5.7% (25/441) of which were among HCWs working in any of the hospital’s COVID-19 isolation areas. While seven of these cases occurred among HCWs working in the temporary isolation wards, WGS and epidemiological investigations provided no evidence of patient-to-HCW or HCW-HCW transmission.

    “This study suggests that with the right combination of infection prevention practices, including well-designed isolation units, appropriate cleaning processes, compliance with prevention protocols and appropriate use of personal-protective-equipment, temporary isolation units are a viable option to help safely manage patients during respiratory disease outbreaks,” said Linda Dickey, RN, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, 2022 APIC president.

    About APIC

    Founded in 1972, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is the leading association for infection preventionists and epidemiologists. With more than 15,000 members, APIC advances the science and practice of infection prevention and control. APIC carries out its mission through research, advocacy, and patient safety; education, credentialing, and certification; and fostering development of the infection prevention and control workforce of the future. Together with our members and partners, we are working toward a safer world through the prevention of infection. Join us and learn more at apic.org.

    About AJIC

    As the official peer-reviewed journal of APIC, The American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) is the foremost resource on infection control, epidemiology, infectious diseases, quality management, occupational health, and disease prevention. Published by Elsevier, AJIC also publishes infection control guidelines from APIC and the CDC. AJIC is included in Index Medicus and CINAHL. Visit AJIC at ajicjournal.org.

    NOTE FOR EDITORS

    “Environmental contamination and evaluation of healthcare-associated SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk in temporary isolation wards during the COVID-19 pandemic,” by Wee Liang En Ian, Shalvi Arora and collaborators, was published online in AJIC on October 27, 2022. The article may be found at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2022.09.004

     

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  • Cancer Therapy Shows Potential to Treat Severe COVID-19 in Pre-Clinical Trials

    Cancer Therapy Shows Potential to Treat Severe COVID-19 in Pre-Clinical Trials

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    Newswise — An article published in Science Advances suggests that a type of cancer treatment known as immune checkpoint blockade may be beneficial in certain cases of severe COVID-19. The creators of this therapy, which can successfully activate the immune system to fight cancer, won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

    The findings reported by the authors were based on experiments involving cells from patients treated in intensive care units (ICUs) after being infected by SARS-CoV-2, and mice infected by MHV-A59 (murine hepatitis virus A59), another betacoronavirus.

    “PD-1 blockade is one of the known immune checkpoint therapies and one of the therapies we analyzed in the study. It tells T lymphocytes [a type of white blood cell] to stop responding to infection after a time so that the response is not excessive. In cases of cancer, sepsis and severe COVID-19, however, PD-1 makes T cells stop functioning even before the disease has been resolved and must therefore be blocked,” said Pedro Moraes-Vieira, one of the leaders of the study. Moraes-Vieira is a professor at the State University of Campinas’s Institute of Biology (IB-UNICAMP) in São Paulo, Brazil, and supported by FAPESP.

    Another co-author is Gustavo Gastão Davanzo, a PhD candidate at IB-UNICAMP with a scholarship from FAPESP.

    “These are very expensive treatments, but we believe it could be a viable option because there aren’t as many critical patients as there were at the start of the pandemic, provided further research confirms that it’s safe for COVID-19 patients,” Moraes-Vieira said.

    Murine coronavirus

    The hypothesis tested in the study arose when Uruguayan researchers (co-authors of the article) observed that mice that did not express the protein TMEM176D responded more acutely to infection by MHV-A59. This protein regulates inflammasomes, protein complexes deployed by the innate immune system to trigger inflammation as a weapon against tumors, viruses and bacteria. 

    Inflammasome activation is more intense without TMEM176D. More inflammatory cytokines are released, including interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), which is known to play a role in severe COVID-19 (more at: agencia.fapesp.br/34732/). 

    “Excessive release of IL-1β leads to T lymphocyte dysfunction, which we call T cell exhaustion,” Moraes-Vieira said. “These cells are so strongly activated that they can no longer respond adequately. This is common in chronic viral diseases like severe COVID-19, as we found in a study conducted early in the pandemic.”

    An article on the study in question, published in 2020 in Cell Metabolism, is one of the most cited articles published in this journal in the last three years and motivated the Uruguayan team to propose a partnership (more at: agencia.fapesp.br/33296/). 

    In the trials involving mice, treatment with a PD-1 inhibitor restored T cell functionality. In addition, the researchers had access to blood from healthy donors and COVID-19 patients hospitalized at two institutions in Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital.

    Experiments involving healthy cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 were conducted at UNICAMP’s Laboratory of Emerging Virus Studies (LEVE) headed by Professor José Luiz Proença Módena, a co-author of the article, with support from FAPESP.

    In trials involving human blood samples, only cells that came from patients in intensive care benefited from the administration of atezolizumab, a PD-1 inhibitor used in the study. This was because of inflammasome overactivation leading to exhaustion and dysfunction of adaptive immunity in these patients.

    The findings should be considered with caution, the researchers warn. Studies involving cancer patients who were treated in this manner before contracting COVID-19 showed no benefits or pointed to negative results.

    In one study, administration of the therapy before viral infection did not lead to an improvement in COVID-19. In another study, involving 423 patients, there were more cases of hospitalization and severe disease among those who had been given the inhibitor. On the other hand, a clinical trial of PD-1 inhibitors in sepsis patients showed the therapy to be safe. More research will therefore be needed to glean a deeper understanding of the effects of the treatment in the context of COVID-19.

    About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

    The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe

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  • Controlling Gut Flora Can Reduce Mortality in Critically Ill Patients on Life Support

    Controlling Gut Flora Can Reduce Mortality in Critically Ill Patients on Life Support

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    Newswise — Preventing severe lung infections in mechanically ventilated intensive care patients by applying topical antibiotics to the upper digestive tract results in a clinically meaningful improvement in survival, new research shows. 

    The results are being presented during the ‘Hot Topics’ session of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine annual congress in Paris and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

    Professor John Myburgh AO, lead author and Director of the Critical Care Division at The George Institute for Global Health, said that ventilator-associated pneumonia is a major cause of death and disability in critically ill patients being mechanically ventilated in intensive care units.

    “While the concept of ‘selective decontamination’ of the digestive tract, or ‘SDD’, has been around for decades, this is the first large-scale randomised clinical trial that used a high-quality commercially prepared product specifically designed to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in these patients,” he said.

    “In nearly 3,000 patients treated with SDD, we saw a reduction in death of around two percent, equivalent to one death prevented for every 50 patients treated.”

    SDD is an infection-control measure where non-absorbed antibiotics and antifungal agents are applied to the mouth and stomach, combined with a short course of intravenous antibiotics.

    This inhibits the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by harmful bacteria and overgrowth of fungi that normally live in the upper part of the gut but enter and infect the lungs once patients are placed on a ventilator.

    While SDD may reduce infections and prevent deaths, it has not been widely adopted as the evidence was not considered strong enough and there are widely held concerns about the potential risk of causing antibiotic resistance.

    To address this uncertainty, the Selective Decontamination of the Digestive tract in the Intensive Care Unit (SuDDICU) trial was designed to determine whether adding SDD to the usual care of ICU patients would reduce all-cause hospital mortality compared to usual care alone.

    The SuDDICU trial recruited 5,982 mechanically ventilated adults from 19 ICUs in Australia between April 2018 and May 2021. Each ICU delivered either SDD with usual care or usual care alone for 12 months and then crossed over to the other option for a second 12-month period.

    The study found that while SDD with standard care compared to standard care alone did not result in a statistically significant reduction in in-hospital mortality (27.0% vs 29.1% respectively), the range of values included a clinically important benefit.

    “Moreover, we saw that SDD was also associated with a significant reduction in new hospital-acquired infections and there were no adverse events related to the administration of SDD itself,” said Professor Myburgh.

    George Institute investigators combined the results with those of other major randomised clinical trials of SDD conducted over the last 20 years in a systematic review and meta-analysis, also being published in JAMA and presented at the conference by senior author, Associate Professor Anthony Delaney.

    “This review provides a high degree of certainty for clinicians to administer SDD to critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients in their ICUs to reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia and the potential increased risk of death,” A/Prof Delaney said.

    Professor Myburgh added that SDD alongside other important strategies reinforces the importance of effective and safe preventive medicine in this vulnerable patient population.

    “We now plan to extend our trial to low and middle-income countries where mortality rates and the incidence of infections with antimicrobial resistant organisms are higher,” he said.

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  • Biden to get updated COVID booster on Tuesday; less than 10% of eligible Americans have had the shot so far

    Biden to get updated COVID booster on Tuesday; less than 10% of eligible Americans have had the shot so far

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    President Joe Biden will receive his updated COVID booster on Tuesday and will urge Americans to get the shot, which targets both the original virus and omicron variants that have been dominant in the U.S. and elsewhere this year.

    The news, first reported by NBC News, was confirmed by a tweet from White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz and by an emailed statement, in which the White House said, “The President will receive his updated COVID-19 vaccine and will deliver remarks on the ongoing fight against the virus.”

    Biden tested positive for COVID-19 in July, then did so again three days after he had been cleared from isolation in a rare rebound case after receiving the anti-viral drug Paxlovid. The president was fully vaccinated and boosted and suffered only mild symptoms. Health officials recommend that people who have contracted COVID wait at least three months after infection to get the booster.

    The bivalent booster has been available to adults and older children since early September, and its use was expanded to children as young as 5 in October. But data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show fewer than 20 million Americans have received it so far — less than 10% of those eligible.

    That’s a slow start given expectations for a wave of new cases in the winter months.

    As immunity from previous shots wanes and new variants spread, health officials are urging people, especially those over 65, to get the updated booster. A study earlier this month by the Commonwealth Fund concluded that a strong booster campaign this fall could save 90,000 American lives and prevent more than 936,000 COVID hospitalizations in the U.S.

    CDC data released Friday showed the two new COVID variants dubbed BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 continued to gain traction in the U.S. in the latest week, accounting for 16.6% of all cases, up from 11.4% a week ago.

    The two variants are lineages of BA.5, the omicron subvariant that remains dominant but has shrunk to account for 62.2% of circulating variants, the agency said, down from 67.9% a week ago. The CDC had previously combined data about BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 with BA.5 cases, because the number of cases caused by the new variants was so small. BQ.1 was first identified by researchers in early September and has been found in the U.K. and Germany, among other places. The New York area, which includes New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, has the highest number of cases involving those variants, at 28.4%, the data show.

    U.S. known cases of COVID are continuing to ease and now stand at their lowest level since mid-April, although the true tally is likely higher given how many people overall are testing at home, where data are not being collected.

    The daily average for new cases stood at 37,741 on Sunday, according to a New York Times tracker, down 7% from two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was down 1% to 26,798, while the daily average for deaths was down 6% to 361.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • The head of the CDC has tested positive for COVID, the Associated Press reported. Rochelle Walensky, who is up to date on her vaccinations, tested positive Friday night and had mild symptoms, the CDC said in a statement. “Consistent with CDC guidelines, she is isolating at home and will participate in her planned meetings virtually,” the agency said. Senior staff and close contacts have been informed of her positive test and are monitoring their health.

    • The pandemic caused historic learning setbacks for America’s children, erasing decades of academic progress and widening racial disparities, according to results of a national test that provide the sharpest look yet at the scale of the crisis, the AP reported separately. Across the country, math scores saw their largest decreases ever. Reading scores dropped to 1992 levels. Nearly 4 in 10 eighth-graders failed to grasp basic math concepts. Not a single state saw a notable improvement in average test scores, with some treading water at best. Those are the findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress — known as the “nation’s report card” — which tested hundreds of thousands of fourth- and eighth-graders across the country this year.

    The FDA has authorized modified COVID-19 boosters to target the latest versions of the omicron variant. But as WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez explains, a key part of the decision-making process was changed with these new shots. Photo: Laura Kammermann

    • The Chinese economy grew 3.9% over a year earlier in the third quarter, quickening from the 0.4% expansion recorded in the second quarter, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The reading topped the 3.5% economic growth expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. For the first nine months of the year, China’s GDP expanded 3.0% over a year earlier, well below the 5.5% annual growth target set by the government. Growth has been crimped all year by China’s zero-COVID policy, which has led to repeated lockdowns of commercial and residential areas.

    • The pandemic interrupted measles-vaccine campaigns globally in 2020 and 2021, leaving millions of children unprotected against one of the world’s most contagious diseases, whose complications include blindness, pneumonia and death, Reuters reported. After what health experts call the biggest backslide in a generation, 26 large or disruptive measles outbreaks have occurred worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. A devastating outbreak in Zimbabwe has killed more than 700 children this year, chiefly among religious sects that do not believe in vaccinations.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 627.6 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.57 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 97.2 million cases and 1,067,686 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 226.6 million people living in the U.S., equal to 68.2% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots. Just 111.4 million have had a booster, equal to 49.1% of the vaccinated population, and 26.8 million of those who are eligible for a second booster have had one, equal to 40.6% of those who received a first booster.

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  • New Clinical Advances in Gastroenterology Presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 87th Annual Scientific Meeting

    New Clinical Advances in Gastroenterology Presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 87th Annual Scientific Meeting

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    Newswise — Gastroenterologists and other health care professionals will convene at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC, for the premier clinical gastroenterology event—the American College of Gastroenterology’s 87th Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course (ACG 2022) to review the latest scientific advances in gastrointestinal (GI) research, treatment of digestive diseases and clinical practice management.

    This year’s scientific presentations reveal significant findings and innovative technologies for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases and serious GI-related health issues, including inflammatory bowel disease, bariatric surgery, colorectal cancer screening and prevention, liver disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), GI bleeding, Barrett’s esophagus, as well as irritable bowel syndrome.

    • Can digital tools help physicians improve colonoscopy adherence rates?
    • What racial/ethnic disparities exist in the use of certain IBD medications?
    • Are pregnancy complications more likely among patients who have had bariatric surgery or took biologic medications?
    • Can virtual reality therapy help improve functional dyspepsia?
    • How has America’s fast-food fixation affected our liver health?
    • How can physicians combat health misinformation their patients find on social media?

    These are some of the intriguing clinical questions answered in the Newsworthy Abstracts selected by the ACG Public Relations Committee, with additional perspective on findings and explanation of what the clinical science means for patients provided by authors. Following the links below, reporters can explore these Newsworthy Abstracts and Author Insights and connect with these researchers for media stories. 

    Please note that all research presented at ACG 2022 is strictly embargoed until Sunday, October 23, 2022, at 12:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time.

    Helpful Links for Media Visit Press Info ACG Annual Scientific Meeting page of gi.org
    Explore ACG’s Press Room logistics, press releases, media advisories and links to author insights, commentary, and perspective on noteworthy clinical findings in gastroenterology and hepatology presented at the ACG 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting.
    [https://gi.org/media/press-info-scientific-meeting]

    Newsworthy Abstracts and Author Insights
    Nominated by the ACG Public Relations Committee, this group of abstracts features scientific findings that are innovative, noteworthy for the lay reader, relevant to those who suffer from common GI problems, and which represent a significant advancement in the diagnosis and treatment of GI diseases. The Committee aims to identify novel and thought-provoking abstracts which reinforce key public health messages, such as the importance of CRC screening, particularly for minority and at-risk populations, or which feature common GI problems in a new way.
    [https://gi.org/media/press-info-scientific-meeting/featured-science]  

    Featured Lectures
    Learn more about the featured lectures by renowned experts which will showcase innovative and challenging issues in clinical gastroenterology at ACG 2022
    [https://gi.org/2022/10/17/featured-lectures-at-acg-2022] 

    Navigating the Abstracts

    ACG 2022 Abstract Guide
    Look at pages 4-7 for the Abstract Award recipients. Look at pages 8-12 for the Presidential Poster Award recipients. ACG’s Presidential Posters are highly meritorious projects selected by the ACG Educational Affairs Committee. 

    Conference Platform
    Tip: Search all of the abstracts on the ACG 2022 Conference Platform:
    [https://www.eventscribe.net/2022/ACG2022/index.asp]

    • General Search: use the search bar at the top of the page. This search will pull any and every instance of an entered name or keyword(s).
    • Oral Papers: On the left sidebar, select “Presentations” and “Browse by Oral Abstracts.” The search will pull in all of the oral abstracts.
    • Posters: select the “Posters” option and in the new window that opens, browse by title, category (organ system), presenter, number, day and session, or award recipients using the left sidebar. Note: the ePoster Hall with final visual posters will open on Sunday, October 23, at 12pm ET.

    Media Interview Requests
    Press room and video recording facilities will be available on site at the Charlotte Convention Center. To arrange an interview with any ACG experts or abstract authors, please contact Becky Abel of ACG via email at mediaonly [at] gi.org. From Sunday, October 23, to Wednesday, October 26, in the ACG Press Room (W205 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC). 

    About the American College of Gastroenterology
    Founded in 1932, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) is an organization with an international membership of over 17,000 individuals from 86 countries. The College’s vision is to be the preeminent professional organization that champions the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of digestive disorders, serving as a beacon to guide the delivery of the highest quality, compassionate, and evidence-based patient care. The mission of the College is to enhance the ability of our members to provide world class care to patients with digestive disorders and advance the profession through excellence and innovation based upon the pillars of Patient Care, Education, Scientific Investigation, Advocacy and Practice Management. www.gi.org

    Visit the ACG Website Media & Press section for all news, featured research, and expert insights related to the ACG 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course. Follow ACG on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and share your live updates using #ACG2022.

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  • Featured Lectures at the 2022 ACG Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course

    Featured Lectures at the 2022 ACG Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course

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    Newswise — The featured lectures at the 2022 ACG Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course showcase innovative and challenging issues in clinical gastroenterology. This year’s lectures highlight new approaches to inflammatory bowel disease, clinician-led research, optimizing colorectal cancer screening outreach, living with purpose, and the central role of the gut in overall health. All the 2022 featured lectures are at the invitation of ACG President Samir A. Shah, MD, FACG except for The American Journal of Gastroenterology Lecture which was invited by Co-Editors-in-Chief Jasmohan S. Bajaj, MD, MS, FACG and Millie D. Long, MD, MPH, FACG. Access is available for press to view livestreams of the lectures through the ACG 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting virtual platform.

    David Sun Lecture – The Two Most Important Days: Reflections on Lasting Happiness and Living With Purpose
    Sanjiv Chopra, MD
    Saturday, October 22, 10:00 am–10:30 am EDT
    Ways to achieve happiness and live your life’s purpose, no matter the challenges faced along the way. 

    President’s Address – ACG President, Samir A. Shah, MD, FACG, introduced by ACG President-Elect Daniel J. Pambianco, MD, FACG
    Monday, October 24, 9:00 am–9:30 am EDT

    The American Journal of Gastroenterology Lecture – The Transformative Power of Research Carried Out by Busy Clinicians
    Patrick S. Kamath, MD
    Monday, October 24, 3:05 pm–3:35 pm EDT
    How clinicians can participate in research that moves the fields of gastroenterology and hepatology forward.

    Edward Berk Distinguished Lecture – The Promise and Progress of New Approaches to Treating the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
    Bruce E. Sands, MD, MS, FACG
    Tuesday, October 25, 10:05 am–10:30 am EDT
    Efficacy and safety of newer agents for IBD, and the potential for combination therapy and precision medicine approaches to treat Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. 

    Emily Couric Memorial Lecture – Colon Cancer Screening: What Do We Need to Build and Who Will Come?
    Aasma Shaukat, MD, MPH, FACG
    Tuesday, October 25, 4:30 pm–5:00 pm EDT
    Current colon cancer screening tests and strategies to increase screening uptake in all populations. 

    David Y. Graham Lecture – Why Do All Diseases Start in the Gut?
    Emeran A. Mayer, MD
    Wednesday, October 26, 10:20 am–10:50 am EDT
    A better understanding of how the gut connectome translates microbial signals into health and disease.

     

    About the American College of Gastroenterology
    Founded in 1932, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) is an organization with an international membership of over 17,000 individuals from 86 countries. The College’s vision is to be the preeminent professional organization that champions the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of digestive disorders, serving as a beacon to guide the delivery of the highest quality, compassionate, and evidence-based patient care. The mission of the College is to enhance the ability of our members to provide world class care to patients with digestive disorders and advance the profession through excellence and innovation based upon the pillars of Patient Care, Education, Scientific Investigation, Advocacy and Practice Management. www.gi.org

    Visit the ACG Website Media & Press section for all news, featured research, and expert insights related to the ACG 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course. Follow ACG on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and share your live updates using #ACG2022.

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