Health Newsfeed – Johns Hopkins Medicine Podcasts

Your microbiome is the collection of microorganisms that live on you and in you, with a new study pointing to certain bacteria as increasing one’s risk of pancreas cancer. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson says many new … What might your microbiome have to do with your cancer risk? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

As people age, many will develop problems with walking, cognition, and urination. Yet while some may point to dementia as the cause, a build up of fluid in the brain known as normal pressure hydrocephalus, which can be treated by … A new study shows shunting works for normal pressure hydrocephalus, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Problems walking, urinary issues, cognitive impairment…these are all symptoms of normal pressure hydrocephalus, where fluid builds up in the brain, and is fairly common with aging. Now a study by neurosurgeon Mark Luciano at Johns Hopkins and colleagues has shown … Fluid buildup in the brain treated with a shunt improves symptoms, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Normal pressure hydrocephalus, where fluid called CSF builds up in the brain, is fairly common with aging, and has been treated with something called a shunt that diverts the excess fluid to the abdomen. Now a study by Mark Luciano, … Shunts do work for a condition where fluid builds up in the brain, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

The singer Billy Joel recently announced he has normal pressure hydrocephalus, or NPH, a condition where fluid builds up in the brain and may cause a host of problems. Mark Luciano, a neurosurgeon and head of the CSF disorders group … Fluid in the brain known as hydrocephalus is fairly common with aging, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Use of electronic devices seems to reduce one’s risk for dementia, a recent study showed. Constantine Lyketsos, an Alzheimer’s disease expert at Johns Hopkins, says he has lots of patients who are concerned about their risk or would like to … What’s the alternative to computer games to stave off dementia? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

An analysis of 57 studies published recently shows that use of digital technologies, including computers and smart phones, helps reduce the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment in older adults. Dementia expert Constantine Lyketsos at Johns Hopkins says while there … Does using digital technology help people avoid dementia? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Lithium may reduce dementia risk. That’s the take home from a recent study in mice that garnered a lot of attention. Constantine Lyketsos, a dementia expert at Johns Hopkins, says caveat emptor.  Lyketsos: I don't believe they had any human … Should you consider available formulations of lithium to reduce dementia risk? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

If mouse models prove to be true in humans, the element lithium may help avoid the development of dementia. Dementia expert Constantine Lyketsos at Johns Hopkins says he’s disturbed by the tenor of the coverage of this basic science discovery. … Is lithium the key to avoiding the development of dementia? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Are the plethora of healthcare screenings something that’s appropriate for you? That’s one question Nancy Schoenborn, a geriatrics expert at Johns Hopkins, is trying to answer in her research looking at messaging for breast cancer screenings. She says there’s one … You’re in charge of your healthcare decisions, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Healthcare screenings should be targeted to those who are likely to benefit, and conveying information about that needs to be crafted carefully so people can make informed choices. That’s according to research by Nancy Schoenborn, a geriatrics expert at Johns … What’s the best way to craft public health messages? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

When given appropriate information about mammogram screenings, including benefits, harms, and who should consider screening cessation, a cohort of older women largely made rational choices for themselves, a study by Nancy Schoenborn, a geriatrics expert at Johns Hopkins, has shown. … Information can help people decide to forgo cancer screening, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Even when people know they can discontinue health screenings for things like cancer they often continue the practice. Nancy Schoenborn, a geriatrics expert at Johns Hopkins who studies such behaviors, says recent research on older women and breast cancer screenings … What are the factors that keep people who won’t benefit from health screenings going? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More &#187...

Just as there’s a point in life when cancer screenings should begin, so too is there a point at which they can stop. That’s usually because the likelihood that a cancer will kill you in the time you are likely … How might you feel about being told you can stop cancer screening? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Research on when preventive healthcare like cancer screenings should start is abundant, with some guidelines, such as for breast or colorectal cancer, pushing the time to begin screening earlier. But when should such screenings stop? That’s the focus of research … How should preventive healthcare change as people age? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

About half of people who have dementia don’t know it, and those people are at risk for worse outcomes when they’re hospitalized. That’s according to research by Halima Amjad, a geriatrics and dementia expert at Johns Hopkins. Amjad says this … How would you feel about being screened for dementia on a regular basis? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Older people with undiagnosed dementia who get hospitalized experience worse outcomes than other groups of older adults who require hospitalization, a study by Halima Amjad, a dementia and geriatrics expert at Johns Hopkins, and colleagues has shown. Amjad: Focusing on … People with dementia but no diagnosis can have more problematic hospitalizations, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More &#187...

People who have dementia frequently aren’t diagnosed, and when such a person is hospitalized they are at much higher risk for poorer outcomes. That’s the focus of research by Halima Amjad, a geriatrics and dementia expert at Johns Hopkins. Amjad: … Undiagnosed dementia can be risky, especially when someone is hospitalized, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Cancers continue to change, or mutate, as time goes on, often acquiring the ability to outmaneuver treatments. Valsamo Anagnostou, a cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins, has used repeated blood sampling for cancer cells with treatment strategies like radiation to stay … Can peripheral blood sampling be combined with radiation therapy for cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Genetics are foundational to much of cancer treatment, and now both the environment surrounding the tumor as well as analysis of cancer cells shed into the blood may also be used to inform treatment as well. That’s according to studies … A combination of strategies help determine best cancer treatment strategies, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Radiation of a primary tumor can activate immune cells around distant metastases, a study by Valsamo Anagnostou, a cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins, and colleagues has shown. Anagnostou says the mechanism is clear.  Anangostou: Radiation induces cell death. The cells … How does radiation benefit the body’s response to cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

When cancer develops resistance to immunotherapy, radiation may help. That’s according to a study by cancer researcher Valsamo Anagnostou at Johns Hopkins. Anagnostou: We’re administering radiation as a sensitizer for immunotherapy and as the way to circumvent primary resistance to … Radiation is emerging as an important tool in helping improve immune response in cancer, Elizabeth Tracey rep...

If someone with cancer has initially responded to immunotherapy but then develops metastasis, radiation of the primary tumor may help treat those distant sites, research by Valsamo Anagnostou, a cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins, has shown. Anagnostou: Radiation can activate … Can radiation affect distant metastasis? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

Immunotherapies have proven very successful in the treatment of different types of cancer, but over time it is common for resistance to develop. Valsamo Anagnostou, a cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins, has found that radiation may help activate someone’s own … Can radiation improve the success of immunotherapies to treat cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »

How tumors respond to treatment has to do with both their internal and external environments, research by Valsamo Anagnostou, a cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins, and colleagues has shown. Anagnostou: The way we do this is by looking very deeply … What does the area around a tumor tell us about response to treatment? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »