WARM UP:

One Joke: 

• Patient: “Doctor, I’ve swallowed a spoon.”

• Doctor: “Sit down and don’t stir.”

One Fact: 

Everyone knows you can use a fingerprint or retina to identify someone.  But it turns out that kneecaps can also be used as biometrics (though it’s certainly not cheap since an MRI is required)!

One Quote:

“You have to surrender to something outside yourself to gain strength within yourself. You have to conquer your desire to get what you crave. Success leads to the greatest failure, which is pride. Failure leads to the greatest success, which is humility and learning. In order to fulfill yourself, you have to forget yourself. In order to find yourself, you have to lose yourself.”

— David Brooks, The Road To Character

One Guess…Name That Disease: (Answer at bottom)

• Description:  Rare, rapidly progressive, and fatal brain disorder.  Only about 1-2 cases per million and typically affects older adults.  Caused by abnormal infectious proteins called prions which cause irreversible damage to nerve cells.  Popularized in the 1990’s when people in the UK became sick with a rare form of the disease after eating cattle, but 85% of cases occur for unknown reasons in persons with no known risk factors or genetic predispositions.

• Signs and Symptoms:  Symptoms are similar to those of rapid onset Alzheimer’s disease.  Causes behavioral changes, poor muscle coordination, visual disturbances, and altered cognition.

• Diagnosis:  Made on clinical grounds as a diagnosis of exclusion.  MRI, EEG, spinal tap used to exclude other conditions.  Brain biopsy on death used to confirm the diagnosis.  

• Treatment:  None.  

• Prognosis:  Always fatal.  Death usually occurs within one year of onset of illness.

HEALTHCARE HEADLINES:

** Medicare is decreasing physician services by 3.4% next year, with plans to cut hospital outpatient reimbursement in 2026.  Physician and hospital groups are saying the cuts could lead to closures and decreased access for Medicare patients in the face of rising labor costs and inflation.

** In a shocker to no health care worker anywhere, the CDC says burnout in health care workers “has reached crisis levels.”  Anxiety and depression in the health workforce has increased, exacerbated by COVID era staffing shortages.  Harassment of health care workers is also at an all time high.

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WATER COOLER WONDERS…the stuff we found interesting this week:

** Stat: 17.94% is the average tip in the US, per USA Today.  Californians tip the highest, at 22.69%.  Illinoisans tip the lowest on average, at 14.22%.

** Travel: Check out the Lonely Planet’s top places to go in 2024.

** Tech: Did you know you can exchange numbers with another iphone user by holding the phones next to each other for 3 seconds? Check out the NameDrop feature.

** Video: How many wine glasses can you hold on your head while dancing?  If you’re like us, it’s zero.  If you’re trying to break the world record, you’ll need to hold 320! 

TGIF:

Time just released its list of Best Inventions of 2023.  Not surprisingly, there are a lot of innovations in medicine.  A sampling of some of our favorite new inventions that made the list:

• Vibrant System: a prescription, non-pharmacological capsule programmed to vibrate 8-10 hours after ingestion to stimulate peristalsis and used as a treatment for constipation.

• The CAN Go: an AI powered smart cane with fall detection, activity tracking, GPS location, a flashlight, and emergency calling features.

• Naqi Earbuds: an earbud based command and control system for paralyzed patients that converts electrical signals from clenching your jaw or lifting an eyebrow into commands to control all your connected devices.

• Samba Robotic Toothbrush: A U shaped toothbrush with 12,900 bristles oscillating around the gumline to cover every tooth without requiring any motion by the user.  Perfect for disabled patients or those with movement disorder who struggle with loss of coordination.   

•  iLet: an FDA approved, AI powered smart device that not only does continuous glucose monitoring but also dispenses microdoses of insulin, fully automatically. 

• Abbott Aveir DR: a leadless dual chamber pacemaker that implants two small battery like devices in each chamber of the heart, leaving no visible scar.

• Medivis SurgicalAR: an AR headset that superimposes data on a patient’s body during an operation to create a real time visual guidance system.

• Lyma Laser: a 500-milliwatt laser that can clear scars, rosacea, and wrinkles when used for as little as 15 minutes a day.  The device is the first clinical grade laser that is FDA approved for at home consumer use.

THANKS FOR READING!

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Disease Answer: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease