Health Newsfeed – Johns Hopkins Medicine Podcasts
Episodes
How might AI improve interpretation of free DNA levels in the blood? Elizabeth Tracey reports
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Free DNA in   the blood portends increasing frailty and possibly an increased risk to develop Alzheimer’s disease, two long term stud...
Higher levels of your own DNA circulating in your blood may be a problem, Elizabeth Tracey reports
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
DNA fragments found circulating in an older person’s blood are associated with frailty and Alzheimer’s disease, studies by Peter Abadir, a geriatr...
How much does increased levels of DNA in the blood increase dementia risk? Elizabeth Tracey reports
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Increased cell death, increased levels of DNA in the blood, increased inflammation, and increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. That appears to be o...
Why does increased cell death in the body increase inflammation? Elizabeth Tracey reports
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cell death in your body happens all the time, every day, and when it does DNA is released into your blood. It may be your genetic DNA or it may be fro...
Is walking speed linked to cell death? Elizabeth Tracey reports
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Walking speed is a commonly used measure for health, as it’s easy to do and doesn’t cost much. Now a study by Peter Abadir, a Johns Hopkins geriat...
How does circulating DNA contribute to accelerated aging? Elizabeth Tracey reports
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
DNA fragments found in your blood, so called circulating cell free DNA, come from your cells as they die. Both genetic material and DNA from your ener...
Are circulating DNA and inflammation related? Elizabeth Tracey reports
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Circulating cell free DNA fragments are found in your bloodstream when cells die and release what’s inside. Some of that DNA is your genetic materia...
Can a blood test for DNA predict Alzheimer’s disease and frailty? Elizabeth Tracey reports
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You may have heard the term ‘liquid biopsy.’ Most often referring to cancer detection, such technology aims to find materials circulating in the b...
A blood test looking for your DNA is proving increasingly useful, Elizabeth Tracey reports
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some cancer tests and prenatal assessments already use DNA found circulating in someone’s blood to look for certain cancers or assure the health of ...
Your own genetic material from two cellular locations can be found in your blood, Elizabeth Tracey reports
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You have quite a lot of the genetic material DNA circulating in your bloodstream. Peter Abadir, a geriatrics expert at Johns Hopkins, is looking at DN...
It may now be possible to tell who is going to react badly to some forms of cancer therapy, Elizabeth Tracey reports
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Immunotherapies for cancer can be lifesavers, but they can also provoke an overwhelming immune response that can be life threatening. Now a Johns Hopk...
Using two immunotherapies in colon cancer helps, Elizabeth Tracey reports
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
People with a type of advanced colorectal cancer who were treated with two different immunotherapy drugs did much better than a group treated with a s...
Studying cancers in three dimensions has revealed a kind of regression, Elizabeth Tracey reports
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As cancer cells grow, a study looking at their three dimensional architecture reveals that they become more like cells normally seen in fetal life. Jo...
What are we learning from studying cancers in three dimensions? Elizabeth Tracey reports
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An effort is underway to characterize cancerous tumors in three dimensions, with an eye toward a more complete understanding of their behavior. A seri...
What can a 3D atlas of cancer teach us? Elizabeth Tracey reports
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When cancer exists in the body it has a three dimensional structure, an architecture, that only now is being looked at in detail to understand better ...
Text messages meeting people where they are allow children to avoid becoming obese, Elizabeth Tracey reports
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Childhood obesity is a worldwide problem with long term health implications, especially cardiovascular disease. Now a study co-led by Johns Hopkins pe...
Childhood obesity rates keep rising, but a text based intervention can help.
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While childhood obesity is a widespread problem, the children who are most at risk to develop this disabling condition are already those with fewer ed...
Helping kids most at risk for obesity is possible, Elizabeth Tracey reports
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Childhood obesity is a worldwide problem that keeps accelerating, with the kids most at risk from already disadvantaged groups. Now a study co-led by ...
Parents were pivotal in the success of a study to prevent childhood obesity, Elizabeth Tracey reports
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New parents are motivated people. That’s one observation from a new study co-led by Johns Hopkins pediatrics expert Eliana Perrin using a text-based...
Getting to kids and parents very early in life may be key to preventing obesity, Elizabeth Tracey reports
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can a texting intervention to parents of very young children prevent the development of obesity in their offspring? A study co-led by Johns Hopkins pe...
Parents are invaluable when it comes to avoiding childhood obesity, Elizabeth Tracey reports
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Engaging parents in developing a host of text messages around healthy behaviors for infants and young children was pivotal to the success of a study s...
Specific text messages to parents help slow down childhood obesity, Elizabeth Tracey reports
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How can we stem the rising tide of childhood obesity? Start in infancy and engage parents personally. That’s the conclusion of a study co-led by Eli...
What sorts of messages help parents prevent obesity in their young children? Elizabeth Tracey reports
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Obesity is a complex condition that all too often begins in childhood. Now a comprehensive program using educational materials and personalized text m...
Can texting prevent obesity in young children? Elizabeth Tracey reports
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With about one in five children in the US falling into the obese range, trying to find a way to intervene effectively is top of mind for many pediatri...
A comprehensive text program can help prevent childhood obesity, Elizabeth Tracey reports
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Preventing obesity in young children is possible using a program of texting new parents, a study co-led by Johns Hopkins pediatrics expert Eliana Perr...
What’s the best strategy for staying ahead of emerging flu strains? Elizabeth Tracey reports
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
H5N1 is shorthand for the strain of influenza that’s been worrying some public health experts this summer since being found in multiple herds of cow...
What’s the best practice for measuring your blood pressure at home? Elizabeth Tracey reports
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Even if you have high blood pressure when it’s measured in your doctor’s office, you may not really have it at all. That’s according to Tammy Br...
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Taking a look at blood pressure should begin in childhood so good habits can be instilled, Elizabeth Tracey reports Arm position is just one factor wh...
If your blood pressure measures high it’s wise to consider a couple of things, Elizabeth Tracey reports
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Both arm position and resting for a moment before measurement are things to consider if you have a high blood pressure reading. Those are the conclusi...
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Besides arm position, must rest also be a part of blood pressure measurement? Elizabeth Tracey reports Arm position matters when it comes to accurate ...
If you measure your own blood pressure, pay attention to your arm position, Elizabeth Tracey reports
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Incorrect arm position when your blood pressure is being measured may result in a mistakenly high reading, a study by Tammy Brady, a cardiovascular he...
Taking a blood pressure right is more complicated than it might seem, Elizabeth Tracey reports
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vital signs like blood pressure may be measured by a number of clinicians during a medical visit, and all of them need to be trained and recertified p...
How high might your blood pressure be if your arm isn’t properly positioned? Elizabeth Tracey reports
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
High blood pressure is associated with cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes, so keeping it under control is important. Yet many times ...
What should your arm position be if you’re having your blood pressure measured? Elizabeth Tracey reports
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Turns out when you get your blood pressure measured, arm position is critical. That’s according to a study led by Tammy Brady, a cardiovascular heal...
Accurate blood pressure measurement is harder than it seems, Elizabeth Tracey reports
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most important things you can do to prevent the number one cause of death – cardiovascular disease – is to keep your blood pressure und...
Just how are video games to help manage mental health conditions in children developed? Elizabeth Tracey reports
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can you trust a video game to help your child with ADHD, depression or anxiety? A new study by Johns Hopkins psychiatrist Barry Bryant surveyed the fi...
What characterizes a video game designed to help kids with mental health issues? Elizabeth Tracey reports
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Just how does a video game designed to help kids with ADHD, depression and anxiety differ from other video games? Barry Bryant, a psychiatrist at John...
Having kids using mental health care gaming works best at a computer, Elizabeth Tracey reports
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
if you’re using a gaming program to help a child with ADHD, depression or anxiety, these technologies work best if they are done on a computer. That...
What does a survey of video games to help kid’s mental health show? Elizabeth Tracey reports
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can video games help children and adolescents with mental health issues like anxiety, ADHD or depression? A Johns Hopkins study led by psychiatrist Ba...
Can video games help fill in the gap between kids who need mental health care and the dearth of providers? Elizabeth Tracey reports
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mental health issues are skyrocketing among US youth, data shows. Barry Bryant, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins, wondered whether technology might be ...
Skin isn’t the only place to sample to make a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Skin biopsies can diagnose both Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions called prion diseases, recent studies show. Ted Dawson, Johns ...
Personalized treatment may soon come for Parkinson’s disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
More than 200,000 people in the US alone are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease yearly, but it can be caused by multiple forms of a misfolded protei...
Some people with Parkinson’s disease will test negative with the best test yet, Elizabeth Tracey reports
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A type of test known as a seeding assay has been shown to be very good at diagnosing conditions like Parkinson’s disease, caused by a protein that f...
What is it that causes a normal protein to fold differently and cause Parkinson’s disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A protein called alpha synuclein is normally found in our bodies, but it’s also found in a misfolded form that’s known to cause Parkinson’s dise...
Parkinson’s disease is actually a few different clinical entities, Elizabeth Tracey reports
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Used to be Parkinson’s disease was thought of as a movement disorder, but now it’s known that as the condition progresses two different types of d...
A new way of diagnosing prion disease may also help in other diseases, Elizabeth Tracey reports
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Prions are misfolded proteins that can infect us and cause our normal proteins to fold incorrectly also, and they can be found in the skin, a new stud...
What is a prion and how does it cause disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Prion diseases are caused in people when an aberrant form of a protein that is already in our bodies infects us, and causes the normal protein to fold...
Why is it that a disorder that affects the brain can be diagnosed with a skin biopsy? Elizabeth Tracey reports
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The rare brain disorder abbreviated CJD, for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, can be diagnosed with two or more skin biopsies, a recent study shows. Jo...
Making the diagnosis for a rare brain disease may now be easier, Elizabeth Tracey reports
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Skin biopsies have proven better at diagnosing the rare brain disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob, abbreviated CJD, than doing a spinal tap to obtain cereb...
Diagnosing some neurologic diseases may now use a skin biopsy, Elizabeth Tracey reports
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or CJD is a rare neurological condition that may initially look like dementia and that is ultimately fatal. It’s caus...
Treatment of the skin cancer melanoma continues to improve, Elizabeth Tracey reports
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The skin cancer melanoma has historically been associated with difficulties in treatment and survival, but that picture is changing rapidly. Now the r...
There’s good news for a difficult to treat breast cancer, Elizabeth Tracey reports
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
So called triple negative breast cancer is associated with increased rates of spread, recurrence and death than other forms, but now long term results...
Even if you’ve had a false positive mammogram you should still have regular screening, Elizabeth Tracey reports
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Women who’ve had a false positive mammogram may be at increased risk for developing breast cancer later, a recent study shows, so regular mammograph...
Just how often do mammograms turn up false positive results? Elizabeth Tracey reports
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
No woman likes to undergo mammography, and when results seem to show a problem when there isn’t one, many will choose to give subsequent studies a m...
What happens when a woman gets a false positive mammogram? Elizabeth Tracey reports
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you are a woman who’s had a mammogram to screen for breast cancer, you may be reluctant to come back again for regular screening if you’ve gott...
What is the role for fecal screening tests for colorectal cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While not perfect, colorectal cancer screening tests known as FIT tests are not just likely to be used more often, they’re poised to become the go t...
How much can you trust the fecal test to screen for colorectal cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fecal immunochemical tests, so called FIT tests, vary quite a bit at how accurate they are in pinpointing the presence of colorectal cancer, a recent ...
Fecal screening tests for colorectal cancer may not have the last word, Elizabeth Tracey reports
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fecal immunochemical or FIT tests are increasingly being used to screen for colorectal cancer, with a recent study examining just how good – or not ...
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is there a difference between various stool tests used to screen for colorectal cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports If you’re using a fecal test to scr...
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is alcohol a risk factor for cancer development? Elizabeth Tracey reports Several cancer societies have come out fingering alcohol consumption as a ri...
Benefits of nurses in communities are multiple, Elizabeth Tracey reports
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trust is a major barrier for many when it comes to interactions with healthcare providers and our current system, and community based nurses may help....
A nursing shortage may be helped by having nurses in the community, Elizabeth Tracey reports
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Neighborhood Nursing, a community outreach that places both a nurse and a community health worker in communities, meets people where they are and help...
Just how might a community-based nurse impact healthcare? Elizabeth Tracey reports
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine a nurse whose job it is to hang out in your neighborhood, answering questions, helping manage healthcare issues, and doing basic assessments. ...
What is required to put a nurse and community health worker in place in communities throughout the US? Elizabeth Tracey reports
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Primary healthcare delivered right where you are. Sounds like a fantasy, doesn’t it? Not if health insurers can see the benefits and choose to work ...
How might a nurse in the neighborhood change the way healthcare is delivered in the US? Elizabeth Tracey reports
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Neighborhood Nursing is a new initiative begun by Sarah Szanton, dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and colleagues, to place a nurse and a c...
Synthetic opioids continue to complicate rates of opioid dependance and death, Elizabeth Tracey reports
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nitazines are the new kid on the block when it comes to synthetic opioids being found in street drugs, and they can be about 40 times as powerful as f...
Readily available treatment is important for opioid addiction, Elizabeth Tracey reports
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Opioid overdoses continue to be a huge public health problem, with new synthetic opioids continuing to be developed. Eric Strain, a substance use diso...
World Health Organization data paints an increased risk of cancer and cancer death for men, Elizabeth Tracey reports
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How can we explain the disparity between cancer deaths among men and women, including the prognostication in a recent WHO report on cancer worldwide t...
Who is at risk for cancer development and death over the next decades? Elizabeth Tracey reports
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The World Health Organization has recently released a snapshot of world cancer data, with a look forward to what we might expect regarding cancers of ...
How does infection risk relative to CAR-T treatment factor into therapy? Elizabeth Tracey reports
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
CAR-T therapy, where someone’s own immune cells are trained to go after their cancer, has now been shown to confer a heightened infection risk, and ...
How is it that more and more powerful opioids are appearing among street drugs? Elizabeth Tracey reports.
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Just keeping up with the names is difficult: fentanyl, carfentanyl, xylazine, now nitazines…and each has a host of harms and is more potent than its...
Why add even more potent synthetic opioids to existing ones? Elizabeth Tracey reports
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Adding the potent opioid nitazine to heroin or fentanyl is hard to understand, since it ups the likelihood you’ll kill your clientele. Eric Strain, ...
What are the dangers of nitazines? Elizabeth Tracey reports
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When someone is brought to the ED having overdosed, the clock is ticking to identify what substance they’ve used and then attempt to reverse it. Joh...
Newer and more potent street opioids are always being developed, Elizabeth Tracey reports
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
No sooner does awareness of new types of street opioids develop than the next generation appears. Such is the case with nitazines, a class of opioids ...
There’s a new drug being added to opioids bought on the street, Elizabeth Tracey reports
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
First was heroin, then came fentanyl and its variations, then came xylazine. Now nitazines, a class of drugs that augment the action of opioids, are b...
What can we do to protect ourselves from respiratory infections? Elizabeth Tracey reports
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Respiratory infections like seasonal influenza and Covid can be devastating. Johns Hopkins critical care physician and pandemic preparedness expert Am...
Benefits of the flu vaccine are multiple, Elizabeth Tracey reports
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do you know the difference between seasonal and pandemic flu? Amesh Adalja, a critical care medicine physician and pandemic preparedness expert at Joh...
How much do you know about flu-related mortality? Elizabeth Tracey reports
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At this point you’ve probably gotten really tired of Covid, but it’s not time to stop thinking about viral illnesses yet. That’s because we’re...
Why aren’t people accessing the new Covid vaccines? Elizabeth Tracey reports
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New Covid vaccines are here, yet the number of people choosing to get them is underwhelming. Amesh Adalja, a critical care medicine physician and pand...
Vaccine uptake is lackluster, and that’s a problem, Elizabeth Tracey reports
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you up to date on your vaccines? How about your children? Amesh Adalja, a critical care medicine physician and pandemic preparedness expert at Joh...
How have diet trends over the last couple of decades impacted health? Elizabeth Tracey reports
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The medical establishment took on fats as problematic in the 1960s, with the result that food manufacturers switched to sugars and refined carbs inste...
Our obesity epidemic is rooted in medicine’s inability to take a broader view, Elizabeth Tracey reports
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The food pyramid was supposed to visually demonstrate how best to nourish our bodies, but instead it vilified many fats and precipitated a wholesale s...
What is the role for a new medicine in managing menopause? Elizabeth Tracey reports
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a new medicine to manage hot flashes, which many women identify as the most troubling aspect of menopause, a recent study reports. Yet Marty...
What does a wholistic approach have to do with health? Elizabeth Tracey reports
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Diabetes is out of control, along with obesity, mental health disorders, and rising rates of many cancers. Marty Makary, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins an...
It’s time for medicine at large to look at whole people instead of diseases and conditions, Elizabeth Tracey reports
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Where are the blind spots when it comes to the practice of medicine? Johns Hopkins surgeon Marty Makary, author of a new book entitled ‘Blind Spots,...
Could early life antibiotic use be associated with chronic disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Early in life antibiotic use may disrupt the microbiome in children and lead to long term health consequences, and this is one of medicine’s blind s...