Welcome to the April 13th edition of 5-Shot Friday, featuring 5 things that can actually change how you relate to health and wellness.
I first heard about doing this from a cutting-edge, Silicon Valley biotech CEO about 5 years ago. He’d used new technology to grow his own stem cells from a blood draw to create his own heart muscle tissue, inserted them onto an organ-on-a-chip device, then tested various heart medications against them for efficacy. Fast forward to Columbia University scientists, who developed a similar process to create the simulator in just four weeks:
“The bioreactor technology developed by the researchers allowed them to measure a variety of tissue properties, including calcium signal propagation and the frequency and force of the tissue contractions. The team could also assess how the cultured tissue responded to drugs, suggesting the technology is highly amenable to cardiac drug screening tests.” If this scales further and faster, it could mean tailoring medications for you as an individual, without the usual guesswork: will this medication work for you, will it cause side effects, is it toxic?
…is kind of lacking, at least for now, according to this article from Gizmodo:
“The promise of personalized medicine is to exploit the variations in our genome, tailoring treatments and assessing risk of disease based on specific genes. But modern science has so far mostly ignored that those variations sometimes fall along ancestral lines. Topol put it bluntly: “Your chances of there being existing genetic research relevant to you and your health are better if you are of European ancestry. “The truth is that if you are black, Latino, or a member of an indigenous population, we just don’t know all that much about your specific genes. It is discrimination embedded deep in the annals of medicine, a slight resurfaced with every journal article that includes the disclaimer that the study population was of “mostly European descent.”
For the love of all that's holy, you cannot have a productive training session while watching TV. (That goes for our program videos, too). If you really want to progress, learn the movements. Then tune into your body instead of a screen.
— GMB Fitness (@gmbfit) April 5, 2018
The video is a 40-minute podcast episode from Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s Found My Fitness site. In it, she interviews Drs. Justin and Erica Sonnenburg, who describe how increasing our intake of fiber benefits us at a genetic level, by promoting the growth of key healthy bacteria that secrete substances that regulate our immune systems via chemical signals. Fiber keeps you “regular,” but its main benefit is acting as fuel for microorganisms that you symbiotically dance with to maintain your health.
An opinion piece by Max Richtman from CNN, former staff director of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. The price of pharmaceuticals has risen steadily, to the point of many seniors being unable to afford them. That’s not unusual with experimental drugs, but there’s a real issue about corporations working hard to keep things that way.
“Sen. McCaskill likened the perennial drug price hikes to paying an auto dealership a 20% markup on the same model car year after year. Seniors living on fixed income simply can"t afford this -- and there are actual life and death consequences. According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 million seniors did not take their medications as prescribed in 2015 due to medication costs. The dilemma of seniors having to choose between meals and pills is very real. “It"s no mystery why the pharmaceutical companies almost always get their way in Washington. "The pharmaceutical and health products industry ... is consistently near the top when it comes to federal campaign contributions," reports the Center For Responsive Politics. Pfizer leads the pack, showering candidates with over $900,000 in donations during 2017 and 2018, with about 55% going to Republicans and 45% to Democrats.”
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Dr. Bunten is originally from Huntington Beach, CA. He attended high school in Tokyo, Japan, went to college at UC San Diego and then to medical school in the Midwest. He returned home to California for residency training in Family Medicine at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. His immediate family all reside in Huntington Beach.
Dr Fishbein has been in the practice of family medicine for over 35 years in Irvine. He received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University, medical degree from Chicago Medical School, and completed his family medicine residency at Memorial Hospital of Long Beach.
Dr. Kim is the Medical Director of Family Care Centers, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Hoag Hospital, and a recipient of the Physicians of Excellence award from the Orange County Medical Association. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine, and has been practicing in our community for over 20 years.
Dr. Memon is a board certified Family Medicine physician and recently completed her fellowship in Geriatrics at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. She attended Saint George’s University, School of Medicine and completed her residency at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. Her interest in medicine started at an early age and has since evolved into a passionate career.
Dr. Gina Nguyen obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Irvine where she graduated Suma Cum Laude. She went to USC Keck School of Medicine, and returned to UC Irvine for a Family Medicine Residency. Since 2005, she worked at Kaiser Permanente, VNCOC, and Family Care Center Urgent Care.
Dr. Williams is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine. He is a native to Orange County and returned home after completing his medical degree at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. After completing his residency in family practice he successfully completed a fellowship in sports medicine.
Dr. Hye Lee is a board-certified Family Practice Physician, affiliated with the American Osteopathic Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Practice.She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Riverside and earned her medical degree from Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center. Afterward, she did her internship at Downey Regional Medical Center in California and has been a primary care physician since 2005.
Dr. Coyne is a board certified family practice physician and a California native. He completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA before earning his medical degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Dr Coyne spent 6 years in the US Air Force at Andrews and Luke Air Force bases, eventually separating as a Major. He enjoys working with patients of all ages.”
Dr. Jay Friehling is a Family Practice physician who has worked in Orange County since 1981. Born in Florida, he received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and then earned a Medical Degree at the New York Medical College.” His healthcare interests include Diabetes, Geriatric Care, and Hospice Care.
Dr. Jennifer Shoquist is board certified in Family Medicine. Her special interest is woman’s health and her practice accepts patients from 6 years old to seniors. Dr. Shoquist received her M.D. degree at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston in Houston, Texas, and did her residency with Memorial Family Practice at memorial Southwest Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Tom is a board certified family medicine physician and native Californian. He received his bachelors of science with great distinction in biochemistry and honors in chemistry. Dr. Tom was awarded a Regents Scholarship to attend medical school at UC Irvine.
Dr. Yan attended Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her Family Practice residency at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California. She joined Family Care Center in 2001. She chose Family Practice because she enjoys working with a wide variety of people and because it provides a unique opportunity for continuing care.
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