Patients have renewed interest in STI exams after post-Covid spike – Medical Economics

Primary care physicians are being urged to encourage their patients to take a renewed interest in their sexual health after a report showed a spike in STI cases following Covid-19 lockdowns in 2022. According to experts, STI screenings were put off during the pandemic as patients prioritized other health care appointments.

The Zocdoc report, released ahead of CDC's STI Awareness Week, shows that patients have started to book more STI appointments in 2023. Zocdoc appointment booking data revealed that bookings in the first half of March 2023 were 26% higher than the same period in 2022.

The report also highlights a demographic divide, with men being more proactive about checking their sexual health than women. Millennials and Gen Z patients booked the most STI appointments, with patients in their 20s booking nearly twice as many appointments as those in their 30s. Meanwhile, seniors (65+) made up less than 1% of the bookings.

Genital warts caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) were the most common STI issue, accounting for 24% of all bookings. Genital herpes, HIV/AIDS, HPV, and hepatitis were also among the most commonly reported STIs.

Patients in Atlanta were found to be the most proactive about their sexual health, with the highest rate of STI bookings per patient. In contrast, patients in Boston, Charlotte, NC, San Francisco, and Nashville had some of the lowest booking rates.

Primary care physicians are encouraged to promote STI screenings and provide education on safe sex practices to help reduce the spread of STIs. CDC's STI Awareness Week runs through April 15th and provides a timely opportunity for health care providers to engage with their patients on this important issue.

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Patients have renewed interest in STI exams after post-Covid spike - Medical Economics

Woman diagnosed with incurable condition after eyes turned completely white – Yahoo News

Kerrys partner plans to walk the equivalent of a half marathon with Kerrys weight on his back to raise money for treatment abroad (Collect/PA Real Life)

A woman who lost her father to suicide and was diagnosed with a brain tumour in the space of six months, having seizures up to three times a month, has taught her 10-year-old son how to call 999 and says shes only still alive for (her) kids sake.

Kerry Warburton, 35, who lives in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, with her partner, Craig Kirkham, 36, their son, Ethan, 10, and their daughter, Ellana, 10 months, landed her dream job as a teaching assistant in December 2019,but in April 2020 she began having seizures where her eyes would turn completely white and she could no longer work.

On top of this, in July 2020 Kerrys dad died by suicide, and in January 2021 doctors found a tumour in her brain, which was causing her seizures.

One month later, doctors tried to remove her tumour by performing an open craniotomy, which made her lose her speech, and while in hospital she contracted Covid and was quarantined for 12 days partnerCraig thought she was on deaths door and doctors wereseconds away from turning off her life support, but she recovered.

Things were beginning to look up Kerry fell pregnant with her second child, Ellana, but after resuming treatment, a follow-up MRI scan revealed that her brain tumour was at stage four.

Now, Craig is planning to walk the equivalent of a half marathon to raise money for stem cell therapy which could prolong Kerrys life by three to five years.

I was at an all-time low when receiving treatment, especially after losing my dad Im only still alive now for my kids sake, Kerry said.

In December 2019, Kerry finally landed her dream job, as a teaching assistant, after going back to college as a mature student.

But in April 2020, Kerry began to have seizures, which was the first warning sign for her terminal brain tumour.

Her partner Craig said: She was shaking like mad, and her eyes rolled back in her head, and I saw foam and blood come out of her mouth.

I didnt know what the hell was going on. I was so scared, and I thought she was dying.

Story continues

The whole bed was shaking, and I thought we were having an earthquake or something.

(PA Real Life)

I had no clue what to do I was trying to push her head back into the pillow to stop her shaking, and her eyes were completely white.

Craig quickly called an ambulance, and Kerry was taken into Lincoln Hospital for tests and an MRI scan.

But Kerry was not diagnosed with anything and continued to have seizures up to three times a week, while her father died by suicide in July 2020.

Kerry said: I hit rock bottom, they took me off my seizure meds because it can cause low moods, and my seizures got worse I was having them twice a week.

In January 2021, she received more devastating news she had a five-by-five-by-five centimetre tumour in her brain.

Just a few weeks later, in February, Kerry had an open craniotomy, and was told she had stage two brain cancer,which caused her to have aphasia when a person has difficulty with their language or speech.

She explained: I lost my speech completely, it was horrible.

It was so hard for me because I wanted to speak I could speak clearly in my mind, but I couldnt get it out.

(PA Real Life)

When in hospital, she contracted Covid-19 and was quarantined for 12 days.

Craig said: I thought she was on deaths door. It was so scary they were seconds away from putting her to sleep.

It was terrifying because you couldnt go and see her.

I didnt sleep at all Id message her and check her WhatsApp constantly just to check she was alive.

Once out of hospital, Kerry found out she was pregnant and in June 2022 she gave birth to her second child, Ellana.

Just two months later, she had another MRI scan which concluded the brain tumour was terminal and stage four.

Craig said: It was scary as hell we were all happy, we had the baby, and then we were thrown back into the deep end again.

We had to travel for 55 miles for treatment again, for six weeks every single day.

Since October 2022, Kerry has been receiving radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which has caused her to lose her hair and put on over two stone.

She said: It affects my confidence I dont want to leave the house.

Kerry continues to have seizures, but they have gone down to three per month, and has even had to teach her 10-year-old son Ethan how to call an ambulance.

She said: Were scared to death that I might have a seizure when Craig is at work, so weve taught him how to call an ambulance.

Weve had to give him counselling at school to cope with me being so ill.

It was hard to teach him how to do it,I was petrified, and his school have helped.

I know it must be horrible for my son, I blame myself for him getting upset about it.

To raise money for stem cell therapy, which could extend Kerrys life by three to five years,Craig has set up a GoFundMe and plans to walk from Lincoln Castle to his house, which is the equivalent of a half marathon, with Kerrys weight, 12 stone, on his back.

Craig said: Gravity will be trying to pull me into the ground just like this tumour is trying to put her in the ground, but we are going to defy both.

Kerry added: It would just be wonderful to have the treatment, and to not worry my son anymore.

To find out more about Craigs fundraising, visit http://www.gofundme.com/f/kerry-the-white-knight.

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Woman diagnosed with incurable condition after eyes turned completely white - Yahoo News

Memphis Grizzlies provide details on why Steven Adams hasn’t been cleared for NBA playoffs – Yahoo Sports

The Steven Adams injury and timeline has left fans searching for answers.

A report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said that Adams is "unlikely to return" for the NBA playoffs. This came a week after Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins noted that Adams was beginning a reevaluation period where the team hoped he'd be able to return soon.

The Grizzlies practiced on Tuesday. Adams was at practice shooting free throws

"It's pretty confirmed he's most likely out for the playoffs," Jenkins said. "We don't have definitive words on what the next steps are. It's been an ongoing process the last couple of weeks. I think there's more dialogue still this week with doctors involved. We want to make sure Steven's in a good place."

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Adams initially sprained his right PCL in January. He was expected to return in early March, but he needed a stem-cell injection that sidelined him another four weeks.

That lined Adams up for a potential reevaluation at the end of the regular season. When the Grizzlies signed Kenneth Lofton Jr. to a standard contract, it felt like an indicator of Adams' playoff status and the lack of frontcourt depth, but the Grizzlies didn't issue an official update.

"We thought we were making headway with the process and all that, but each evaluation we had with the doctors kind of revealed it's not progressing like we need it to. ... No setbacks, no reinjuries, it was just not progressing to a level. Obviously some unfortunate news, but that's why we're going to try to do everything possible to try to get the best decision possible for him," Jenkins said.

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The Grizzlies haven't ruled out surgery as an option for Adams. Jenkins said that everything remains on the table.

Xavier Tillman Sr., Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama are expected to get the bulk of minutes at power forward and center. Aldama didn't play in the final two regular season games due to left elbow soreness, but Jenkins called it precautionary.

Aldama was a full participant in practice on Tuesday and wore a compression sleeve on his left arm.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Steven Adams: Memphis Grizzlies give injury report for NBA playoffs

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Memphis Grizzlies provide details on why Steven Adams hasn't been cleared for NBA playoffs - Yahoo Sports

More than 200 people have been treated with experimental CRISPR … – MIT Technology Review

I watched scientists, ethicists, patient advocacy groups, and others wrestle with these topics at the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing in London earlier this week.

Theres plenty to get excited about when it comes to gene editing. In the decade since scientists found they could use CRISPR to edit cell genomes, multiple clinical trials have sprung up to test the technologys use for serious diseases. CRISPR has already been used to save some lives and transform others.

But it hasnt all been smooth sailing. Not all of the trials have gone to plan, and some volunteers have died. Successful treatments are likely to be expensive, and thus limited to the wealthy few. And while these trials tend to involve changes to the genes in adult body cells, some are hoping to use CRISPR and other gene-editing tools in eggs, sperm, and embryos. The specter of designer babies continues to loom over the field.

It was at the last summit, held in Hong Kong in 2018, that He Jiankui, then based at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, announced that he had used CRISPR on human embryos. The news of the first CRISPR babies, as they became known, caused a massive ruckus, as you might imagine. Well never forget the shock, Victor Dzau, president of the US National Academy of Medicine, told us.

He Jiankui ended up in prison and was released only last year. And while heritable genome editing was already banned in China at the timeit has been outlawed since 2003the country has since enacted a series of additional laws designed to prevent anything like that from happening again. Today, heritable genome editing is prohibited under criminal law, Yaojin Peng of the Beijing Institute of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine told the audience.

There was much less drama at this years summit. But there was plenty of emotion. In a session about how gene editing might be used to treat sickle-cell disease, Victoria Gray, a 37-year-old survivor of the disease, took to the stage. She told the audience about how her severe symptoms had disrupted her childhood and adolescence, and scuppered her dreams of training to be a doctor. She described episodes of severe pain that left her hospitalized for months at a time. Her children were worried she might die.

But then she underwent a treatment that involved editing the genes in cells from her bone marrow. Her new super cells, as she calls them, have transformed her life. Within minutes of receiving her transfusion of edited cells, she felt reborn and shed tears of joy, she told us. It took seven to eight months for her to feel better, but after that point, I really began to enjoy the life that I once felt was just passing me by, she said. I could see the typically stoic scientists around me wiping tears from their eyes.

Victoria is one of more than 200 people who have been treated with CRISPR-based therapies in clinical trials, said David Liu of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, who has led the development of new and improved forms of CRISPR. Trials are also underway for a range of other diseases, including cancers, genetic vision loss, and amyloidosis.

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More than 200 people have been treated with experimental CRISPR ... - MIT Technology Review

The 30th Biohacking Health and Wellness Biomed EXPO returning to Los Angeles on March 24-26, 2023, latest Stem Cell, Brain enhancement Technologies…

LOS ANGELES, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Biomed Expo ushers in new earth frequencies of biohacking and Trans-Humanism at Sonesta Los Angeles LAX Hotel, on March 24-26. The conference brings together a highly coveted group of physicians to defy the preconceived limits of the human body. With workshops and many exhibitors, this healing fest has curated the leading minds behind the latest leaps in healing modalities from scalar energy to functional homeopathy and Quantum Healing.

Attendees will receive codes on healthcare from a future timeline in which doctors harness Gaia's source codes to help patients of conditions from cancer to Alzheimer's to lupus with non-invasive modalities.

This year's programming will be the largest quantum leap to the future yet: medical researchers, doctors, and disclosure groups, EX- Military Intelligence, California DEPT of Health Whistleblower, and the New Humanity Movement leaders will speak candidly on classified topics including: Tesla's discoveries, Space Science, ET Disclosure, Origin of Man - converging the disciplines of metaphysics and medicine to enhance human cognitive functions, extend lifespan, and expand extrasensory perceptions like clairvoyance.

Keynote speakers:

Dr. Barry Morguelan, M.D., the only western Grand Master of a 5,000-year-old Chinese Source Energy discipline and Founder of Upgrade Labs

Dr. Todd Ovokaitys, M.D. Pioneering Qi-laser resonance technology inventor

Dr. Michael Grossman, M.D. Stem Cell researcher

Dr. Patrick Porter, CEO of BrainTap, Brain Advancement Technologies

Dr. Beverly Rubik, International Biophysicist & EMF Researcher

more amazing speakers:

Dr. Robert Young, The Worldwide Renowned Microbiologist and Virologist.

Dr. Scott Werner, Dr. Jeffrey Benton, Dr. Doug Lehrer, Dr. Vanessa Pavey, Dr. Rollin McCraty, SIR Kaya Redford, Brooks Agnew, Michael Cremo, Dr. Lori Smiskol, Saeed David Farman, Ryan Veli, Ismael Perez, Perry Kamel, Debbie Hawkins, Nichola Burnett, Shehnaz Soni, Veronica Bucheli, Michael Schratt, Azucena Avila, Eric Dadmehr, Robert Potter, Alan Bedian, Michelle Jewsbury, Amelia Brummel, Phillip Wilson, Sandra Biskind, Geraldine Orozco & Julia Galasso.

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Registration for this three-day extravaganza of meet-and-greet banquet dinners with daily Functional wellness panels and over 100 lectures, workshops on biohacking is now open at https://biomedexpo.com

Cision

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New gene therapies are a near-cure for Louisiana’s sickle cell patients. But at $1-2M, who will pay for it? – NOLA.com

When Leola Conleys daughter was born, everybody said she looked like she was already three months old.

The girl was 8 pounds, 13 ounces, cute, with a full head of hair, said Conley, a counselor in Lafayette.

About a week after her birth, a letter arrived from the state Department of Health. A standard pinprick on the babys heel at birth showed a mutation in a gene that makes red blood cells. Usually, red blood cells are round, like a doughnut. This babys cells were shaped like a crescent moon. She had sickle cell disease, a genetic disorder that affects about one in every 365 Black babies. Those with severe cases have a life expectancy of about 45 years.

It put me in a depression like nobody's business, said Conley. It broke me, because she looked so healthy.

Now 23, Conleys daughter, Adria, guesses shes been hospitalized about 30 times. She graduated with her MBA in December but is limiting her job search to positions with good insurance close to her doctors in south Louisiana. She doesnt look sick, but unpredictable pain episodes can throw her life off track, requiring weeks of recovery.

But new gene therapies two of which will submit for FDA approval by the end of March offer what could be a life-changing alternative for sickle cell patients in Louisiana,which has the second-highest prevalence of sickle cell disease among Medicaid patients. The problem? At a predicted $1 million to $2 million for the therapy, its unclear how states will pay for it.

If just 7% of the eligible sickle cell population of Louisiana wanted the treatment, it would cost the state a predicted $31.6 million in the first year, according to an analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics by Dr. Patrick DeMartino, a physician specializing in blood diseases among children. Thats for just 17 patients.

Nobody really knows whether it's going to be three people getting the gene therapy in the first year or 15, said DeMartino. And that upper end of 15 to 20 people a year would almost certainly be very consequential for the Medicaid budget.

No one tracks how many Louisiana residents have sickle cell disease, though efforts to create a registry are underway. There are at least 3,000 people on Medicaid with sickle cell disease, according to the state. The 1,400 who were hospitalized in Louisiana in 2020 spent an average of 30 days in the hospital. About one in 10 children with sickle cell anemia will have a symptomatic stroke by age 20, and more have strokes that go undetected.

These people do not live normal lives at all, said DeMartino. The existing therapies are supportive. They don't change the underlying disease, and people still have massive amounts of disability.

Instead of easily transporting oxygen through their bodies, the warped cells become wedged in blood vessels, causing blockages and injuring the vessels, resulting in immense pain.

Have you ever felt your heart beating in your ear? It feels like that but all over your body, said Whitney Carter, a 37-year-old who works from home for an insurance company in Baton Rouge.

The sickled cells getting jammed in her blood vessels feels "like a walnut trying to fit through a straw.

Without a potential pain episode looming over Rhonda Chubes 9-year-old son, he would be able to keep up with his older brothers, play football, swim and collect rocks to his hearts content. With treatment, hed be a regular kid, said Chube, a child care assistant at a Baton Rouge hospital.

His little spirit, he wants to do more, keep going, said Chube. But his little body won't let him.

Prior to gene therapy, a bone-marrow transplant was the only thing close to a cure, but required a close genetic match, usually a sibling, resulting in a match for about 25% of patients. There is also risk that the body will reject the transplant, causing serious complications or death.

Researchers shy away from using the word cure to describe gene therapy, because its not yet clear how long its effects last since the first was given in 2017. But it has been shown to deliver a pain-free existence for trial participants for the first time in their lives.

There are two different gene therapy drugs to treat sickle cell expected to be approved soon one from Bluebird Bio and the other from Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics.

Its highly transformative, said Dr. Julie Kanter, a hematologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who oversees a Bluebird trial that includes patients from Louisiana.

Whats most notable when I look at my patients is how many are now working that couldnt work before, said Kanter. I have one in nursing school, one in a full-time construction job They dont have to worry about being too far from a hospital or too far from pain medicines.

But how to deliver the medications, which will require an expensive and lengthy hospital stay not included in the drugs price tag, is something the world is trying to figure out right now, said Kanter, a New Orleans native who was previously head of the Sickle Cell Center of Southern Louisiana.

Figuring out a way to fund sickle cell treatment is a priority of the Biden administration. And Louisiana has gotten creative with paying for expensive therapies before, Dr. Joe Kanter, state health officer, pointed out. The state got unlimited access to pricey hepatitis C medication for five years for a lump sum instead of paying per dose.

I think the hepatitis C work laid a good groundwork for the feds and other states to follow if they choose to, said Kanter, who is not related to Julie Kanter.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a plan in mid-February that aims to address the sky-high cost of gene therapy. A pilot program would allow the federal government to coordinate a way to pay on behalf of states. For example, Medicaid might negotiate to pay for treatment in installments dependent on the therapy continuing to prevent pain, which has not yet been proven.

The plan will likely take years to implement.

Still, not everyone will want the therapy, which requires a long hospital stay and chemotherapy to make room for new stem cells.

For many patients, even words like transformative and life-changing can seem empty after years of mistreatment.

Every time I go to the hospital, I feel like I have to put my shield on, because Im going to battle, said Leola Conley. Who will I fight today?

Conley and her daughter have endured 11-hour waits in emergency rooms to get admitted and health care workers who dont believe her pain.

A lack of investment in treatment for sickle cell patients means that the only option for some is often opioids in an emergency room, said Dr. Jennifer Avegno, an emergency medicine physician and director of the New Orleans Health Department.

"Being on chronic opiates is really a terrible way to live," said Avegno. "We've really taken a terrible disease and made it worse in America."

In comparison to sickle cell, genetic diseases that mainly affect White people, such as cystic fibrosis, have much more investment, Avegno pointed out. A federal study found funding for cystic fibrosis was 11 times that of per-person funding for sickle cell disease, even though it impacts about one-third of the number of people.

In a world without sickle cell,Adria Conleyimagines shed move to the Netherlands, where shes read people are happy.Maybe one day, with gene therapy, that will be a reality. For now, sickle cell is calling the shots.

If gene therapy was offered as a safe and affordable option, we would run to it, said Leola Conley. Her fear is that one day, her daughter will be in pain and she wont be around to make sure she gets the right treatment.

Before I leave this earth, I hope to heck my child can be cured, said Conley. She has so much to offer the world.

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New gene therapies are a near-cure for Louisiana's sickle cell patients. But at $1-2M, who will pay for it? - NOLA.com

Medical tourism to Mexico is on the rise, but it can come with risks – WMUR Manchester

One of the four Americans who were kidnapped in Mexico last week was traveling for medical tourism, a friend said. A growing number of U.S. residents are traveling internationally to seek more affordable medical care, more timely care or access to certain treatments or procedures that are unapproved or unavailable in the United States.Latavia "Tay" Washington McGee, 33, drove to Mexico with Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric Williams for cosmetic surgery that was scheduled to take place Friday, according to a close friend of Washington McGee's who did not want to be identified.The four Americans were found Tuesday near the border city of Matamoros, officials said. Washington McGee and Williams were found alive, and Woodard and Brown were found dead, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation told CNN. Investigators are still piecing together what happened after they were abducted.Video below: Hear from the family of some of the Americans recently kidnapped in Mexico.Medical tourism takes people all over the world, including to Mexico, India and Eastern Europe. Violence against medical tourists is generally thought to be rare, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns about other risks such as quality of care, infection control and communication challenges with medical staff."It's on the daily, without a doubt. There are people going daily to get this kind of stuff done," said Dr. Nolan Perez, a gastroenterologist in Brownsville, Texas, which is across the border from Matamoros. "Whether it's primary care provider visits or dental procedures or something more significant, like elective or weight loss surgery, there's no doubt that people are doing that because of low cost and easier access."A growing trend One study published in the American Journal of Medicine estimated that fewer than 800,000 Americans traveled to other countries for medical care in 2007, but by 2017, more than 1 million did. More current estimates suggest that those numbers have continued to grow.Video below: Americans are saving by traveling abroad for medical care"People travel because there may be a long waiting time, wait lists or other reasons why they can't get treatment as quickly as they would like it. So they explore their options outside the United States to see what's available," said Elizabeth Ziemba, president of Medical Tourism Training, which provides training and accreditation to international health travel organizations.Also, "price is a big issue in the United States. We know that the US health care system is incredibly expensive," she added. "Even for people with insurance, there may be high deductibles or out-of-pocket costs that are not covered by insurance, so that people will look based on price for what's available in other destinations."The most common procedures that prompt medical tourism trips include dental care, surgery, cosmetic surgery, fertility treatments, organ and tissue transplants and cancer treatment, according to the CDC."With Mexico and Costa Rica, it's overwhelmingly dental and cosmetic surgery. However, certain countries are known for specialties. For example, in Singapore, stem cell and oncology is huge. In India, South India and Chennai Apollo hospitals does incredible work with hip and knee surgeries," Josef Woodman, founder of Patients Beyond Borders, an international health care consulting company, said."In Eastern Europe, a lot of people from the UK but also people from the United States travel to Hungary, Croatia and Turkey for everything from dental to light cosmetic surgery," he said.Mexico is the second most popular destination for medical tourism globally, with an estimated 1.4 million to 3 million people coming into the country to take advantage of inexpensive treatment in 2020, according to Patients Beyond Borders. Matamoros where officials said the four kidnapped Americans were found is "not considered a primary medical travel destination," Woodman said, "largely because there are no internationally accredited medical centers/specialty clinics there or in the immediate region."Mexico City, Cancun and Tijuana are more frequented and reliable destinations in the country, Woodman said.On average, Americans can save 40% to 60% across the most common major procedures received by medical tourists in Mexico, according to an analysis of 2020 health ministry data conducted by Patients Beyond Borders.Woodman said that violence against medical tourists was extremely rare, but he added that "price shopping" searching for the cheapest location for a procedure is a "blueprint for trouble," namely substandard medical care.Video below: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland offers remarks about the Americans who were kidnapped in Mexico.'There are the complexities' Medical tourism can be dangerous, depending on the destination and the person's condition."There are the complexities of traveling if you have a medically complex situation. There are fit-to-fly rules. And your health care providers should take into consideration the impact of traveling if you have orthopedic injuries or issues," Ziemba said."The quality of care may be an unknown," she said. "It may be that the quality of care is not up to the standards that you would like. So there's a bit of an unknown there, and then the last thing I would say is, if something goes wrong, what's going to happen?"Perez said he commonly manages complications from medical tourism in his practice."There are a lot of bad outcomes. There are a lot of infections and a lot of botched procedures gone wrong, and patients have to come back to the United States and then have a revision of the surgery," he said. "So it's really unfortunate."Yet Ziemba added that there can be benefits to medical tourism, including that someone could receive a service that they need faster overseas than locally."And price: If you simply can't afford the out-of-pocket costs of health care in the United States, and assuming the risks involved, it may make much more sense for you financially to travel outside the United States," she said.Medical tourism is not just for people traveling around the world. Many living along the U.S.-Mexico border, where access to health care can be scarce, cross into Mexico for care.The Rio Grande Valley, at the southernmost point of Texas, is considered to be a medically underserved area. The region has some of the nation's highest rates of comorbidities, including obesity and diabetes, and one of the lowest physician-to-patient ratios.There is a "dire need" for health care professionals along the border, Perez said."There are not as many doctors given our big and our growing population down here. So the demands on primary care doctors and specialists are very high because there are not enough of us for this population," he said. "So that's one reason why people end up going to Mexico to visit with physicians, because of easier access."People interested in medical tourism can take some steps to help minimize their risk, the CDC says.Those planning to travel to another country for medical care should see their health care provider or a travel medicine provider at least four to six weeks before the trip and get international travel health insurance that covers medical evacuation back to the United States.The CDC advises taking copies of your medical records with you and checking the qualifications of the providers who will be overseeing your medical care. Also, make sure you can get any follow-up care you may need.

One of the four Americans who were kidnapped in Mexico last week was traveling for medical tourism, a friend said.

A growing number of U.S. residents are traveling internationally to seek more affordable medical care, more timely care or access to certain treatments or procedures that are unapproved or unavailable in the United States.

Latavia "Tay" Washington McGee, 33, drove to Mexico with Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric Williams for cosmetic surgery that was scheduled to take place Friday, according to a close friend of Washington McGee's who did not want to be identified.

The four Americans were found Tuesday near the border city of Matamoros, officials said. Washington McGee and Williams were found alive, and Woodard and Brown were found dead, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation told CNN.

Investigators are still piecing together what happened after they were abducted.

Video below: Hear from the family of some of the Americans recently kidnapped in Mexico.

Medical tourism takes people all over the world, including to Mexico, India and Eastern Europe. Violence against medical tourists is generally thought to be rare, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns about other risks such as quality of care, infection control and communication challenges with medical staff.

"It's on the daily, without a doubt. There are people going daily to get this kind of stuff done," said Dr. Nolan Perez, a gastroenterologist in Brownsville, Texas, which is across the border from Matamoros. "Whether it's primary care provider visits or dental procedures or something more significant, like elective or weight loss surgery, there's no doubt that people are doing that because of low cost and easier access."

One study published in the American Journal of Medicine estimated that fewer than 800,000 Americans traveled to other countries for medical care in 2007, but by 2017, more than 1 million did. More current estimates suggest that those numbers have continued to grow.

Video below: Americans are saving by traveling abroad for medical care

"People travel because there may be a long waiting time, wait lists or other reasons why they can't get treatment as quickly as they would like it. So they explore their options outside the United States to see what's available," said Elizabeth Ziemba, president of Medical Tourism Training, which provides training and accreditation to international health travel organizations.

Also, "price is a big issue in the United States. We know that the US health care system is incredibly expensive," she added. "Even for people with insurance, there may be high deductibles or out-of-pocket costs that are not covered by insurance, so that people will look based on price for what's available in other destinations."

The most common procedures that prompt medical tourism trips include dental care, surgery, cosmetic surgery, fertility treatments, organ and tissue transplants and cancer treatment, according to the CDC.

"With Mexico and Costa Rica, it's overwhelmingly dental and cosmetic surgery. However, certain countries are known for specialties. For example, in Singapore, stem cell and oncology is huge. In India, South India and Chennai Apollo hospitals does incredible work with hip and knee surgeries," Josef Woodman, founder of Patients Beyond Borders, an international health care consulting company, said.

"In Eastern Europe, a lot of people from the UK but also people from the United States travel to Hungary, Croatia and Turkey for everything from dental to light cosmetic surgery," he said.

Mexico is the second most popular destination for medical tourism globally, with an estimated 1.4 million to 3 million people coming into the country to take advantage of inexpensive treatment in 2020, according to Patients Beyond Borders.

Matamoros where officials said the four kidnapped Americans were found is "not considered a primary medical travel destination," Woodman said, "largely because there are no internationally accredited medical centers/specialty clinics there or in the immediate region."

Mexico City, Cancun and Tijuana are more frequented and reliable destinations in the country, Woodman said.

On average, Americans can save 40% to 60% across the most common major procedures received by medical tourists in Mexico, according to an analysis of 2020 health ministry data conducted by Patients Beyond Borders.

Woodman said that violence against medical tourists was extremely rare, but he added that "price shopping" searching for the cheapest location for a procedure is a "blueprint for trouble," namely substandard medical care.

Video below: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland offers remarks about the Americans who were kidnapped in Mexico.

Medical tourism can be dangerous, depending on the destination and the person's condition.

"There are the complexities of traveling if you have a medically complex situation. There are fit-to-fly rules. And your health care providers should take into consideration the impact of traveling if you have orthopedic injuries or issues," Ziemba said.

"The quality of care may be an unknown," she said. "It may be that the quality of care is not up to the standards that you would like. So there's a bit of an unknown there, and then the last thing I would say is, if something goes wrong, what's going to happen?"

Perez said he commonly manages complications from medical tourism in his practice.

"There are a lot of bad outcomes. There are a lot of infections and a lot of botched procedures gone wrong, and patients have to come back to the United States and then have a revision of the surgery," he said. "So it's really unfortunate."

Yet Ziemba added that there can be benefits to medical tourism, including that someone could receive a service that they need faster overseas than locally.

"And price: If you simply can't afford the out-of-pocket costs of health care in the United States, and assuming the risks involved, it may make much more sense for you financially to travel outside the United States," she said.

Medical tourism is not just for people traveling around the world. Many living along the U.S.-Mexico border, where access to health care can be scarce, cross into Mexico for care.

The Rio Grande Valley, at the southernmost point of Texas, is considered to be a medically underserved area. The region has some of the nation's highest rates of comorbidities, including obesity and diabetes, and one of the lowest physician-to-patient ratios.

There is a "dire need" for health care professionals along the border, Perez said.

"There are not as many doctors given our big and our growing population down here. So the demands on primary care doctors and specialists are very high because there are not enough of us for this population," he said. "So that's one reason why people end up going to Mexico to visit with physicians, because of easier access."

People interested in medical tourism can take some steps to help minimize their risk, the CDC says.

Those planning to travel to another country for medical care should see their health care provider or a travel medicine provider at least four to six weeks before the trip and get international travel health insurance that covers medical evacuation back to the United States.

The CDC advises taking copies of your medical records with you and checking the qualifications of the providers who will be overseeing your medical care. Also, make sure you can get any follow-up care you may need.

Excerpt from:
Medical tourism to Mexico is on the rise, but it can come with risks - WMUR Manchester

Michael York: ‘I have not lost anything. In fact, I think I’ve gained’ – Rochester Post Bulletin

Michael York has been called the quintessential British actor. Dashing, debonair, and intelligent. One of the most sought-after movie stars of his time.

And thats just in the first paragraph of one magazine article.

He grew up as the second of four children of a musician mother and an ex-Royal Artillery British Army officer/businessman father in Oxfordshire, the southeast county in England that connects the Cotswolds to the Chilterns (rolling hills to more rolling hills). Was schooled at Bromley Grammar School for Boys then Oxford. Joined the National Youth Theatre as a teen.

Landed a role in a BBC-TV movie. Made the jump to the big screen as Tybalt in the 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet. Found fame as Brian Roberts in 1972s Cabaret and as DArtagnan in The Three Musketeers a year later.

Played John the Baptist in Jesus of Nazareth. The Antichrist in The Omega Code. Logan in Logans Run.

Narrated the entire New King James Version for an audio Bible. Voiced Dr. Lionel Budgie on The Simpsons. Wrote five well-received books (including The Readiness Is All: My Odyssey of Healing from Mayo Clinic to John of God and Beyond.)

Played Basil Exposition in Austin Powers. Professor Asher Fleming on Gilmore Girls. Himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Received the OBE (The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire). Won two Emmys. Was voted to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame.

Lunched with Princess Grace in Monaco. Outbidand this is the kind of name-dropping sentence you dont often get to sayCary Grant for a David Hockney painting. Called Lawrence Olivier Larry.

Contributed

Today, Michael York, 80, walks through the lobby of Charter Housethe 350-resident downtown retirement community with a focus on healthy agingand wishes Happy Birthday to longtime Rochesterite Tom Ostrom, says Good morning, Theresa as he picks up a copy of the daily Charter House newsletter, The Chronicle (with inspirational quotes and celeb birthdays), and greets me like we know each other.

We grab coffees in the Corner Cupboard (the Charter House cafe/gift shop, Hello, Carol!) and elevator up to his apartment, where wife Patriciashe often goes by Patwarmly welcomes us into their fourth-floor apartment.

Steve Lange [showing Michael the January issue of Rochester Magazine]: This is the January issue, which includes The Rochies, some of our best and worst stories of the past year. In the best category was Michael York moves to Rochester.

Michael York: Well, Im flattered. Im truly flattered.

Steve: Youve been nominated for two Emmys, won a Satellite Award and two Lifetime Achievement awards. Where does this stack up in those awards?

Michael: Why, this is right at the top.

Steve: You are off to a good start. Was this a typical morning for you, except for me coming here?

Michael: Well, we got coffee downstairs. We can easily have a coffee in the kitchen, but I like to get out and see whats going on and pick up a copy of The Chronicle, the newsletter that they produce here. Its a wonderful mixture of the serious and the ridiculous. I love it. Im totally hooked on it. And then we will often walk around. I think its good to interact with people rather than to be solitary. It feels like being back at university here. Theres everythingintellectual, spiritual, and physical.

Contributed

Steve: Since you mentioned university, Im going to give you some names: C.J. Lukey, R.V. Neve, P.S. Fenwick, D.E. Tennant, K.V. Turpee ...

Michael: Thats the 61 class from Bromley Grammar School [in London].

Steve: [showing a photo of the class].

Michael: My name was Johnson, then. M.H. Johnson. I think I was school captain. How did you get this? I dont believe Ive ever seen this.

Steve: I do my research. Charter House takes you back to those Bromley days, those Oxford days?

Michael: It does. Absolutely. And I love being on this sort of campus because I like to walk to places. It also reminds me of university because there are so many brilliant people together on this one campus.

Steve: I reached out to a few doctor friends of mine about your doctor, Robert Kyle. They described him as a world-renowned expert in hematology.

Michael: He is amazing. Pat, explain how Dr. Kyle came into our life.

Contributed / Pat York

Pat York has been called a major voice in the world of photography.

She was born Patricia Watson in Jamaica to an English diplomat father and an English mother, attended a French convent school in England and was tutored in Germany, eloped as a teenager (for a short-lived marriage) and gave birth to a son, Rick (a film producer).

The artist-turned-photographer soon became the portraitist for the stars (Andy Warhol, the Kennedys, John Travolta). When she got tired of shooting celebrities, York turned to artistic photography.

Her 2004 book, Pat York: Covered-Uncovered starts with her celebrity photos. Part two focuses on ordinary peopleincluding their plumberwho agreed to be photographed in the nude, while working. Part three features Pats groundbreaking work photographing human cadavers.

As a couple, Michael and Pat have been described as a binary star, each in orbit around the other.

So, as soon as Michael asks Pat about anything during this interview, she jumps in seamlessly.

Pat: I will first tell you how I met Michael. I lived in New York, and I worked for Vogue and Glamour. My magazine editor sent me to photograph Tom Stoppard [a playwright and screenwriter] in London. I was also shooting the new young hot actor called Michael York, who had just come out in two movies. And we were both engaged to someone. I was engaged to S.I. Newhouse [the billionaire magazine publisher], though I had asked him to wait for us to set a marriage date. Well, Michael and I just clicked. We both broke off our engagements. He proposed on Juhu Beach in Mumbai on Valentines Day of 1967. We were married in 1968.

Steve: As far as contacting Dr. Kyle, I know that was an important decision, since you are big believers in complementary and alternative medicine.

Contributed

Pat: So I was very worried that Michael, in L.A., was getting misdiagnosed. But I didnt know for sure. But I didnt feel confident. He was being treated for multiple myeloma. Then a really nice doctor in L.A. gave me Dr. Kyles number at Mayo, and we became friends on email and phone calls. Dr. Kyle, at one point said to me, Well, what are his symptoms? And I told him about everything, including the purpura [a rash of purple spots] around the eyes. And he said, You know, I dont think hes got multiple myeloma. I think hes got amyloidosis.

Steve: That was like 10 years ago?

Pat: We came here in 2012. Michael had a checkup. They decided it was amyloidosis [a rare disease that occurs when a protein called amyloid builds up in organs]. And it was suggested he have his first stem cell transplant, which was a big success. And our whole life had been nothing but travel. We were in our house maybe two months a year. So we continued that life and we came back here about every five months for a checkup. Then in 2018, he needed a second stem cell transplant. We stayed in a guest apartment here. We decided last year that we should move here definitely.

Steve: Michael, you describe amyloidosis as the Rodney Dangerfield of diseases. Thats a great line.

Michael: Yes. At that time, amyloidosis was not fully on the radar. It was there, but it was little appreciated. But since then, its become extremely well-known and extremely well-provided for. Now, I see a Dr. [Morrie] Gertz every month or six weeks or so. Its been a wonderful place.

Steve: What are your hobbies? I know you and Pat played some late-night Scrabble with Jane Fonda ...

Michael: Well, I must say I like watching movies.

Steve: Whats the last movie you watched?

Michael: Oh, it was wonderful. Im trying to think of the name of it ... Seabiscuit.

Contributed / Pat York.

Steve: Thats a good one. Im going to give you some of your own movie descriptions. You tell me what movie it is. I will read them like an announcer reading for a trailer.

Micheal: I cant wait to hear it.

Steve [in announcer voice]: While escaping war-torn China, a group of Europeans crash in the Himalayas, where they are rescued and taken to the mysterious Valley of the Blue Moon, Shangri-La.

Michael: Lost Horizon.

Steve. Yes. A Russian immigrant finds himself in bed with the mob after buying a sexual novelties shop.

Michael: I remember. I think they changed titles. Did they end up calling it Merchants of Venus?

Steve: Yes. Last one: Sparks flyand the heat is literally turned upwhen Dr. Kornack goes undercover as a pizza oven salesman and seduces notorious deep-dish lover Dame Pomeroy to solve the mystery of Kornacks missing Weimaraner.

Michael: I cant believe this. I know Ive had some gaps in my memory lately, but I would remember this one.

Contributed / Michael York.

Steve: Youre right. I made that one up. OK. Whats the best restaurant meal in Rochester?

Michael: Well, we like the fish restaurant ... Pescara. Also, Terza and Twigs.

Steve: Thats good, because theyre all advertisers.

Michael: We love trying the local restaurants.

Steve: One of the first movies I saw in the theater was Logans Run in 1976. I was seven years old, and it had a real impact. I know youve been heralded as a serious Shakespearean actor, but Logans Run stuck with me.

Michael: I got the script and turned it down. I didnt think it was for me. At that time, I was doing a play in L.A. ... The theater company hired a young man to drive me to the theater, and we became friends. I got the script and I didnt think it was for me. And this kid driving me, he saw the script and said Do you mind if I read this? I said, Oh, of course. I came back. He was wagging a finger. He said, You dont understand whats going on, but I do. You need to do this movie. So I did. He did me a real favor. So always listen to your chauffeur.

Steve: I will remember to do that. Whats your favorite photo from your wifes portfolio?

Michael [pointing to a large framed print above the table]: This one.

Contributed / Tsuni / USA / Alamy

Steve: I was going to guess it was her shot of Jane Fonda in her Barbarella outfit standing over a stove cooking dinner.

Michael: How interesting. Thats not my favorite, but one of the doctors here loved it.

Steve: I was going to guess your favorite was not Plumber, 1997. Thats the photo of your naked plumber working under your sink.

Michael: Oh, no.

Steve: Im going to just throw out the most name-dropping sentences imaginable. You won a David Hockney painting by outbidding Cary Grant.

Michael: Well, we got the Hockney. And then Cary was forever trying to buy it back. Cary became a good friend. I was resident in Monaco, in Monte Carlo, and knew Grace [Kelly] very well. And she would invite us to lunch. And one time, Cary Grant was also there. He came down the steps into the reception area and fell into Pats arms. He said, Theres no place Id rather be.

Steve: Wow. The only comparable story in my life would probably be when I was a celebrity parade judge at the Viola Gopher Count, with Tom Overlie ...

Michael: That sounds lovely.

Steve: Yes. Right. OK. You sold your $7 million house overlooking the Sunset Strip in Hollywood Hills. You had a French chef you brought in for special meals. All of that. What do you miss most about that life now that youre in Rochester?

Michael: I dont miss any of it. I have not lost anything. In fact, I think Ive gained. We get to live in a part of the world we want to get to know. We love exploring the area. Weve toured an amazing art museum in Winona, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. Weve been on the Mississippi River with a wonderful, fantastic captain who was like a professor. He told us so much. And then he took us to this place with these wonderful eagles and then they were flying above our heads. It was extraordinary. We even went to Austin for the Spam Museum. I sent postcards to all my contemporaries in the university. Ive booked a cruise on the Great Lakes leaving from Toronto this June. We have so much to see here.

Steve: That is great. You dont sound like someone with many regrets.

Michael: I dont believe in them. Regrets dont do anyone any good.

With that, Michael and Pat show me to the door, offer to walk me out. I know my way, though, and I know they have plenty to do.

Return a call from an art studio hoping to display some of Pats paintings. Meet a group for their regular exercise class. Prepare for dinner at the Skyview Dining Room (Charter Houses restaurant).

Plan a daytrip to Lanesboro for Amish Country. Find a good Indian restaurant to celebrate the 55th anniversary on Michaels wedding proposal. And, tomorrow morning, take that walk down to the Corner Cupboard for coffee with Rochester friends.

Read more:
Michael York: 'I have not lost anything. In fact, I think I've gained' - Rochester Post Bulletin

Stem Cell Transplant for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

The doses of chemotherapy drugs that doctors can give to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are limited by the serious side effects they can cause. Even though higher doses of these drugs might kill more cancer cells, they cant be given because they could severely damage the bone marrow, which is where new blood cells are formed. This could lead to life-threatening infections, bleeding, and other problems caused by low blood cell counts.

Doctors can sometimes use a stem cell transplant (SCT), also called a bone marrow transplant,to give higher doses of chemotherapy than could normally be given. (Sometimes radiation therapy is given as well.) After the treatment is finished, the patient gets an infusion of blood-forming stem cells to restore their bone marrow.

The blood-forming stem cells used for a transplant can come either from blood or from bone marrow. Sometimes stem cells from a babys umbilical cord blood are used.

Stem cell transplants differ based on whom the blood-forming stem cells come from.

This is the most common type of SCT used to treat AML. In an allogeneic SCT, the stem cells come from someone other than the patient usually a donor whose tissue type (also known as the HLA type) closely matches the patients. Tissue type is based on certain substances on the surface of cells in the body. Differences in HLA types between the stem cell donor and recipient can cause the body's immune system to react against the cells. Therefore, the closer a tissue match is between the donor and the recipient, the better the chance the transplanted cells will take and begin making new blood cells.

The best donor is often a close relative, such as a brother or sister, if they are a good match. If no close relatives match, stem cells might be available from a matched unrelated donor (MUD), an unrelated volunteer whose tissue type matches that of the patient. But the use of stem cells from a MUD is linked to more complications. Sometimes umbilical cord stem cells are used. These stem cells come from blood drained from the umbilical cord and placenta after a baby is born and the umbilical cord is cut.

For most patients with AML, especially those at higher risk of having the leukemia return after treatment, using an allogeneic SCT is preferred over an autologous SCT (see below). Leukemia is a disease of the blood and bone marrow, so giving the patient their own cells back after treatment may mean giving them back some leukemia cells as well. Donor cells are also helpful because of the graft-versus-leukemia effect. When the donor immune cells are infused into the body, they may recognize any remaining leukemia cells as being foreign to them and attack them. This effect doesnt happen with autologous stem cell transplants.

Allogeneic transplants can have serious risks and side effects, so patients typically need to be younger and relatively healthy to be good candidates. Another challenge is that it can sometimes be difficult to find a matched donor.

One of the most serious complications of allogeneic SCTs is known as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). It happens when the patients immune system is taken over by that of the donor. When this happens, the donor immune system may see the patients own body tissues as foreign and attack them.

Symptoms can include severe skin rashes, itching, mouth sores (which can affect eating), nausea, and severe diarrhea. Liver damage can cause yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice). The lungs can also be damaged. The patient may also become easily fatigued and develop muscle aches. Sometimes GVHD can become disabling, and if it's severe enough, it can be life-threatening. Drugs that affect the immune system may be given to try to control it.

Non-myeloablative transplant (mini-transplant): Many older people cant tolerate a standard allogeneic transplant that uses high doses of chemo. Some may still be able to get a non-myeloablative transplant (also known as a mini-transplant or reduced-intensity transplant), where they get lower doses of chemo and radiation that dont completely destroy the cells in their bone marrow. They then get the allogeneic (donor) stem cells. These cells enter the body and establish a new immune system, which sees the leukemia cells as foreign and attacks them (a graft-versus-leukemia effect).

A non-myeloablative transplant can still sometimes work with much less toxicity. In fact, a patient can get the transplant as an outpatient. The major complication is graft-versus-host disease.

Many doctors still consider this an experimental procedure for AML, and it is being studied to determine how useful it may be.

In an autologous transplant, a patients own stem cells are removed from their bone marrow or blood. They are frozen and stored while the person gets treatment (high-dose chemotherapy and/or radiation). In the lab, a process called purging may be used to try to remove any leukemia cells in the samples. The stem cells are then put back (reinfused) into the patients blood after treatment.

Autologous transplants are sometimes used for people with AML who are in remission after initial treatment and who dont have a matched donor for an allogeneic transplant. Some doctors feel that it is better than standard consolidation chemotherapy (see Typical Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)) for these people, but not all doctors agree with this.

Autologous transplants are generally easier for patients to tolerate than allogeneic transplants, because they are getting their own cells back, which lowers the risk of some complications. But the high-dose chemo can still cause major side effects. This type of transplant can be done in any otherwise healthy person, although patients who are very old or have other health problems might not be suitable.

One problem with autologous transplants is that its hard to separate normal stem cells from leukemia cells in the bone marrow or blood samples. Even after purging (treating the stem cells in the lab to try to kill or remove any remaining leukemia cells), there is the risk of returning some leukemia cells with the stem cell transplant.

Read more:
Stem Cell Transplant for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

19-year-old bobcat receives stem cell therapy for chronic arthritis – Channel3000.com – Channel3000.com – WISC-TV3

September 10, 2022 10:55 AM

Posted: September 10, 2022 10:55 AM

Updated: September 11, 2022 12:26 AM

Click here for updates on this story

SANDSTONE, Minnesota (WCCO) A 19-year-old bobcat has received stem cell therapy for chronic arthritis at The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minnesota.

On Thursday, the sanctuary announced that the bobcat, named Baby Jenga Blue, is believed to be the first bobcat in the world to receive this type of treatment. The procedure took place at the sanctuarys veterinary hospital.

This was thanks to Dr. Valerie Johnson, a veterinarian at Michigan State University, the sanctuary said in a release. Johnson grew the stem cells in a lab at MSU.

The stem cells were grown using fatty tissue from a healthy bobcat at the sanctuary.

Once the cells were ready for transplant, they were shipped to the sanctuarys veterinarian, Dr. Joanne Kamper. Then they were injected into Baby Jengas wrist joint and through IV infusion, which will help all joints through his blood stream, the release said.

It will take six weeks or longer to know the full effects of the treatment, but the sanctuary is optimistic the treatment will provide crucial relief for the big cat.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

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19-year-old bobcat receives stem cell therapy for chronic arthritis - Channel3000.com - Channel3000.com - WISC-TV3