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Dennis OConnor

COVID-19 FAQ: Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine - 0 views

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    Recommended by Sharon Wampler: "COVID-19 FAQ The information provided on this site is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. The Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, is not responsible for individuals who choose to self-diagnose, self-treat, or use the information without consulting with their own health care practitioner. You should never alter your dosage of prescription medications without first consulting with your physician and you should always inform your physician about any dietary supplements you are taking."
Dennis OConnor

Coronavirus misinformation, and how scientists can help to fight it - 0 views

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    "Bogus remedies, myths and fake news about COVID-19 can cost lives. Here's how some scientists are fighting back. " Scientists are well placed to help to hold back the tide of COVID-19 misinformation - but should they get involved in time-consuming, and sometimes bruising, efforts to do so, or just stick to doing good research? For those who sign up for the fight, how can coronavirus untruths best be confronted? Should scientists restrict interventions to their areas of expertise? Is countering falsehoods about the pandemic purely a public service, or might there be career benefits to doing so?
Dennis OConnor

I've Seen Over 50 Doctors And No One Knows What's Wrong With Me | HuffPost - 0 views

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    Tyler Orion recommends: "I appreciated her recognizing that she probably has a little bit of many things - but balancing the urge to have a diagnosis with learning to live well - was what struck me the most."
Dennis OConnor

CISCRP - Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation - 0 views

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    "We strive to educate and help patients, their family members, and members of the general public that are interested in clinical research understand the process and what it means to be a clinical research participant. We then help locate ongoing clinical trials through our free service called Search Clinical Trials, and honor those who have participated in clinical research."
Dennis OConnor

General Clinical Research Overview - YouTube - 0 views

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    "Why are clinical trials a critical part of the process to develop new and promising treatments? Why do therapies take such a long time to develop? Here's why"
Dennis OConnor

Precision Healthcare Ecosystem: Coping with Stress and Uncertainty During COVID-19 - 0 views

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    Siemens Healthineers PEPconnect I'm delighted to see our course offered via the Siemens system. Way to go Team!
Dennis OConnor

The Quantification of Placebo Effects Within a General Model of Health Care Outcomes - 1 views

  • It is proposed that the integration of a scientific model of placebo effects within a general model of health care outcomes could finally end the placebo debate and help to integrate these powerful effects into the health care system.
  • Positive expectancy is recognized as a central component of placebo phenomena by all placebo theorists
  • The proposed model emphasizes that the search for a placebo personality factor must be combined with the measurement of situational expectancy.
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  • an individual who has negative expectations regarding treatment effectiveness would likely produce a stronger than average “nocebo” effec
  • placebo-prone personality
  • Absorption
  • receptivity to sensory experiences and a propensity for sustained, focused attention.
  • Absorption has a genetic basis and is higher in women compared to men
  • Absorption can go in either a positive or negative direction, depending on the situation,
  • Subjects were randomly
  • outcome measures
  • based on three scales
  • includes scales measuring fatigue, pain, and spasticity
  • Judgment that the placebo was the active device resulted in a positive score with a magnitude of the confidence rating.
  • if judgment was that the placebo was the placebo device, the confidence rating of the placebo was a negative score, with the magnitude of the rating.
  • scored in the upper quintile on improved quality of life, as measured by the 3 QLI (an average of three symptom scales measuring pain, fatigue, and spasticity) after receiving treatment with a sham device.
  • placebo responders
  • Placebo responders scored higher on Absorptio
  • Placebo responders gave higher confidence ratings that the placebo was the active device
  • This study provides support for a two-factor model of placebo responding.
  • importance of positive expectancy
  • both cognitive and emotional factors mediate these effects
  • Positive beliefs or confidence in the treatment coupled with a desire to feel better activate processes that result in positive outcomes.
  • positive expectancy is an essential factor
  • disease-specific pathways that are activated by positive expectancies have helped to transform this “soft” psychologic factor into a “hard” physiologic factor with physically measurable effects.
  • While the shift from negative to positive affect may be the hallmark of placebo responding, negative affect alone is not sufficient and can play a role in people who worsen as well (nocebo effects).
  • Numerous research studies have reliably shown that Absorption is modestly (yet very consistently) correlated with hypnotizability.
  • Hypnotizability is often associated with “suggestibility,” with perhaps the sense of a weak-willed character or unbridled fantasy-proneness, the “unreality factor” that has plagued placebo theory for decades.
  • enlightening to view these individual differences as a natural endowment in self-regulation skills: a potential innate strength rather than a simple weakness with a natural ability for self-directed healing in response to health challenges.
  • Decades of research have reliably demonstrated that individuals scoring high in Absorption can skillfully modulate an impressive array of physiologic processes in laboratory settings.
  • The literature suggests that the mind–body control of high Absorption scorers is similar to the self-regulation skills that many are seeking to develop with meditation, mindfulness, yoga, and qigong.
  • The regular practice of mind–body control and the cultivation of positive attitudes may enhance regulation at higher levels, improving the regularity of circadian and other rhythms,
  • points to the role of both expectation and conditioning, with conditioning playing a greater role in certain pathways such as immune modulation.
  • somatic vulnerability of high Absorption individuals who suffer from negative biases in perception.
  • nocebo phenomena described by these researchers are important for our model as they directly illustrate the power of a negative interaction of the two factors.
  • Many physicians admit to prescribing placebos to contribute to patient wellness, even though this “dark secret” is not condoned and is considered to be ethically questionable.
  • High Absorption individuals may benefit from encouragement to utilize their innate self-regulation skills toward maximum therapeutic effect.
  • ersons with average Absorption scores can be encouraged to become more skilled at self-regulation through mind–body therapies
  • The model does not specifically address the many factors that contribute to confidence in the treatment, such as cost, pill color, pill size, or confidence-enhancing paraphernalia.
  • The role of provider and patient interaction are also not specifically addressed.
  • he model also does not directly address the role of stress reduction
  • The strength of placebo responding in domains such as pain and depression clearly indicate the importance of the shift from a negative to a positive state.
  • the unresolved issue of why some people respond to placebos whereas others do not
  • asic two-factor model can be further tested with the basic measurement tools of expectancy and Absorption,
  • Conclusions
  • the recognition that positive expectancy and expert self-regulation skills significantly contribute to health outcomes can help to integrate these powerful effects into the health care system
  • The “positive psychology” movement is shifting attention to the power of positive expectation
  • undermining nature of negative expectancy and pessimistic language, especially in vulnerable populations such as those with pain and depression
  • Practitioners of the art of health care have always recognized the importance of motivated and empowered patients and the power of a kind word and a ray of hope.
  • This is the time to quantify these factors, integrating art and science, and finally solving (and forgiving Descartes for) the mind–body problem.
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    "The topic of placebo effects is distinguished by decades of keen scientific interest1-4 coupled with a general skepticism regarding the ultimate significance of these phenomena. The importance of psychologic factors in mediating these effects may contribute to the attitude that placebo effects are not as substantial as a therapeutic effect produced by a drug. Complementary and alternative therapies have sometimes been dismissed as "mere placebos." However, recent studies have provided compelling evidence that placebo effects are physiologically measurable with condition-specific pathways.5"
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    Dr. Jake Fleming recently suggested these potent keywords: quantifiable placebo The keywords led to this article. I find it affirming and empowering.
Dennis OConnor

Study: Brain Exercises Provide Breakthrough Treatment for Geriatric Depression - BrainH... - 0 views

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    "SAN FRANCISCO - For the first time in a randomized controlled trial, brain exercises were shown effective in addressing depression in treatment-resistant older patients, who had previously used anti-depressive drug therapy without success. The exercises were shown to improve not only mood, but also the often-unaddressed cognitive deficits associated with geriatric depression. The study used neuroplasticity-based exercises from BrainHQ, the brain training app from Posit Science, plus two new exercises designed for the study."
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    While the term 'geriatric depression' tastes like ashes, I was pleased to see this research. I've been working with BrainHQ for some time and I can feel the neuroplastic growth.
Dennis OConnor

PCORI | - 0 views

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    Recommended by Tyler Orion: "PCORI funds studies that can help patients and those who care for them make better-informed healthcare choices."
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    Tyler - Here are some important FAQs https://help.pcori.org/hc/en-us/categories/200010230-Applicant-Resources I think we might consider a project under their "Accelerating Patient-Centered Outcomes Research & Methodological Research" which is explained here https://www.pcori.org/about-us/our-programs/clinical-effectiveness-and-decision-science
Dennis OConnor

Part 1 - BVS' San Diego's Multi-faceted Attack Against the COVID-19 Pandemic Virtual Co... - 0 views

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    "Panelists: Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., Professor and Coronavirus Task Force Member, La Jolla Institute for Immunology Evan Y. Snyder, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.P, Professor, Sanford Burnham Prebys (SBP) Medical Discovery Institute Joseph Payne, Founder, President and CEO, Arcturus Therapeutics Kate Broderick, Ph.D., Senior VP R&D, Inovio Pharmaceuticals 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM - PANEL DISCUSSION San Diego's Multi-faceted Attack Against the COVID-19 Pandemic From a Diagnostic Perspective Moderator: Pam Gardner, President & CEO, BVS, Inc. Panelists: Doug Bryant, President & CEO, Quidel Corporation Joshua Trotta, Sr. Director, Global Business Development - Clinical Solutions, Genetic Sciences Division, Thermo Fisher Maurice Exner, Ph.D., Vice President, R&D, Assay Development and Clinical Affairs, Hologic, Inc. Susan Tousi, Senior Vice President, Product Development, Illumina, Inc."
Dennis OConnor

NIH mobilizes national innovation initiative for COVID-19 diagnostics | National Instit... - 0 views

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    "The National Institutes of Health today announced a new initiative aimed at speeding innovation, development and commercialization of COVID-19 testing technologies, a pivotal component needed to return to normal during this unprecedented global pandemic. With a $1.5 billion investment from federal stimulus funding, the newly launched Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative will infuse funding into early innovative technologies to speed development of rapid and widely accessible COVID-19 testing. At the same time, NIH will seek opportunities to move more advanced diagnostic technologies swiftly through the development pipeline toward commercialization and broad availability. NIH will work closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to advance these goals."
Dennis OConnor

Swimming with the High-Tech Sharks to Improve COVID-19 Testing - NIH Director's Blog - 0 views

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    "So much has been reported over the past six months about testing for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that keeping up with the issue can be a real challenge. To discuss the latest progress on new technologies for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing in the United States, I spoke recently with NIH's Dr. Bruce Tromberg, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). Not only does Bruce run a busy NIH institute, he is helping to coordinate the national response for expanded testing during the COVID-19 pandemic."
Dennis OConnor

COVID-19 data and tools - Coronavirus COVID-19 Response - 0 views

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    Just announced. June 25, 2020 - California goes Open Source on Covid-19 Data
Dennis OConnor

FDA Announces First of Its Kind Pilot Program to Communicate Patient Reported Outcomes ... - 0 views

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    Recommended by Tyler: "Project Patient Voice has been initiated by the Oncology Center of Excellence to give patients and health care professionals unique information on symptomatic side effects to better inform their treatment choices," said FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Amy Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D. "The Project Patient Voice pilot is a significant step in advancing a patient-centered approach to oncology drug development. Where patient-reported symptom information is collected rigorously, this information should be readily available to patients." "I'm sure this will be useful - and help cancer patients better evaluate treatment options, based on other patients' experience, especially around side effects. I think this is also worth curating." Thanks! Tyler
Dennis OConnor

Using influenza surveillance networks to estimate state-specific prevalence of SARS-CoV... - 0 views

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    "Abstract Detection of SARS-CoV-2 infections to date has relied heavily on RT-PCR testing. However, limited test availability, high false-negative rates, and the existence of asymptomatic or sub-clinical infections have resulted in an under-counting of the true prevalence of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we show how influenza-like illness (ILI) outpatient surveillance data can be used to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2. We found a surge of non-influenza ILI above the seasonal average in March 2020 and showed that this surge correlated with COVID-19 case counts across states. If 1/3 of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the US sought care, this ILI surge would have corresponded to more than 8.7 million new SARS-CoV-2 infections across the US during the three-week period from March 8 to March 28, 2020. Combining excess ILI counts with the date of onset of community transmission in the US, we also show that the early epidemic in the US was unlikely to have been doubling slower than every 4 days. Together these results suggest a conceptual model for the COVID-19 epidemic in the US characterized by rapid spread across the US with over 80% infected patients remaining undetected. We emphasize the importance of testing these findings with seroprevalence data and discuss the broader potential to use syndromic surveillance for early detection and understanding of emerging infectious diseases."
Dennis OConnor

Initial COVID-19 infection rate may be 80 times greater than originally reported | Penn... - 0 views

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    "Now, a new study from Penn State estimates that the number of early COVID-19 cases in the U.S. may have been more than 80 times greater and doubled nearly twice as fast as originally believed."
Dennis OConnor

Genes, Blood Type Tied to Risk of Severe COVID-19 - NIH Director's Blog - 0 views

  • Many people who contract COVID-19 have only a mild illness, or sometimes no symptoms at all. But others develop respiratory failure that requires oxygen support or even a ventilator to help them recover [1]. It’s clear that this happens more often in men than in women, as well as in people who are older or who have chronic health conditions. But why does respiratory failure also sometimes occur in people who are young and seemingly healthy? A new study suggests that part of the answer to this question may be found in the genes that each one of us carries [2]. While more research is needed to pinpoint the precise underlying genes and mechanisms responsible, a recent genome-wide association (GWAS) study, just published in the New England Journal of Medicine, finds that gene variants in two regions of the human genome are associated with severe COVID-19 and correspondingly carry a greater risk of COVID-19-related death.
  • the findings suggest that people with blood type A face a 50 percent greater risk of needing oxygen support or a ventilator should they become infected with the novel coronavirus.
  • Their study included 1,980 people undergoing treatment for severe COVID-19 and respiratory failure at seven medical centers in Italy and Spain.
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  • the researchers compared SNPs in people with severe COVID-19 to those in more than 1,200 healthy blood donors from the same population groups.
  • he researchers did find evidence suggesting a relationship between blood type and COVID-19 risk. They noted that this area also includes a genetic variant associated with increased levels of interleukin-6, which plays a role in inflammation and may have implications for COVID-19 as well.
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  • Franke, Karlsen, and many of their colleagues are part of the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative, an ongoing international collaborative effort to learn the genetic determinants of COVID-19 susceptibility, severity, and outcomes
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    "Many people who contract COVID-19 have only a mild illness, or sometimes no symptoms at all. But others develop respiratory failure that requires oxygen support or even a ventilator to help them recover [1]. It's clear that this happens more often in men than in women, as well as in people who are older or who have chronic health conditions. But why does respiratory failure also sometimes occur in people who are young and seemingly healthy? A new study suggests that part of the answer to this question may be found in the genes that each one of us carries [2]. While more research is needed to pinpoint the precise underlying genes and mechanisms responsible, a recent genome-wide association (GWAS) study, just published in the New England Journal of Medicine, finds that gene variants in two regions of the human genome are associated with severe COVID-19 and correspondingly carry a greater risk of COVID-19-related death."
Dennis OConnor

Pioneering Scientist and Innovator Larry Smarr Retires - 0 views

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    "After 20 years at UC San Diego, Larry Smarr will step down as the director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) and retire as a distinguished professor from the Jacobs School of Engineering's Computer Science and Engineering Department at the end of this month. Dr. Ramesh Rao, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering, will serve as interim director of Calit2, in addition to his current position as the director of the Qualcomm Institute."
Dennis OConnor

Coronavirus Safety GuideAndrew Junkin, MD - Medium - 0 views

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    Coronavirus Safety Guide by Andrew Junkin, MD Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Harvard Medical School Boston, MA First published: March 23, 2020 | Last updated: May 3, 2020 This guide is also available in Spanish
Dennis OConnor

How to Correct Mistakes in Your Medical Records - 0 views

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    "Types of errors can include: Some typographical spelling errors may or may not require correction. For example, if mesenteric is incorrectly spelled "mesentiric," you might not go through the trouble of having it corrected because there won't be any impact on your health or medical care. Errors in the spelling of your name do require correction because this can prevent your records from being shared properly among different providers, and it can affect payment for services. If your phone number or address is incorrect or outdated, you'll want to make sure it gets corrected immediately. Failure to do so will result in the wrong information being copied into future medical records or an inability for your medical team to contact you if needed. Any inaccurate information about your symptoms, diagnosis, or treatment should be corrected. For example, if your record says that you have temporal tumor instead of a testicular tumor, this is completely different and requires correction. If the record says your appointment was at 2 pm, but you never saw the doctor until 3:30 pm, that may not have any bearing on your future health or billing information needs, and it isn't worth correcting."
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