Every day is a barrage of health information, discovery and debate. It’s good to check in once in a while to get a sense of where we are as a society and where we are headed. Just a sampling at least… Today’s four stories are no disappointment!
Lyme disease and antibiotic resistance spurs a new look at how to combat infection
While this particular research is explicitly in the pursuit of developing new drugs, their approach is indeed fascinating, and their reasons are noble.
One researcher, Neil Spector, M.D. of Duke University, barely survived Lyme disease himself. Besides antibiotic resistance, one of Spector’s main concerns is the microbiome, which can become all but destroyed by the aggressive antibiotic treatment it usually takes to destroy Lyme. He said, “Our goal is to identify drugs that will target the Achilles’ heel of these pathogens while sparing the normal gut microbiome.”
Their new method targets a specific protein in the Lyme disease pathogen that, when destroyed, ultimately destroys the pathogen. It’s an interesting idea, and in its very early stages. However, one must wonder: what will the laundry list of side effects be?
United Health Foundation ranks U.S. states by health
Using 35 different criteria, the UHF has determined where in America is the healthiest and most unhealthy places to live. Among these criteria are included things like obesity, heart disease, number of deaths by drug overdose and infant mortality rates. It’s quite sobering actually.
The top five healthiest states are, in order: Massachusetts, Hawaii, Vermont, Utah and Connecticut. The bottom five states are, starting with the unhealthiest: Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansa, Alabama and West Virginia.
The Southeast is the least healthy region in the states where New England is the healthiest, followed closely by the intermountain West.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the survey was finding that premature death had risen for the second straight year, after a previous 25-year decline.
The UHF does not speculate as to why this is the case–that’s not their job. There are, however, no doubt cultural factors at play. There are ways of living that proliferate, are very old and are difficult to break away from.
High-risk virus research now allowed by the National Institute of Health
Researchers and molecular tinkerers have long been excited at the prospect of manipulating the genetic code of viruses, particularly common ones like cold viruses, flu and even SARS.
The idea is that there is much to be learned about how viruses evolve and change–which they do very quickly in the “real world.” Scientists simply want to take a closer look at how that happens.
The concern is with this type of research, that they will cause a viral mutation that can be deadly to humans, spread quickly and easily, and create a pandemic with fatal consequences. This fear is so potent, the White House banned viral genetic research for two years… until now. The National Institute of Health has lifted the ban.
The biggest concern is simply human error. Someone will be careless and unleash the next plague upon mankind.
Maybe it’s best to just leave well enough alone.
A look at burnout and its stages
This isn’t a necessarily new idea to the world, but the article itself is new and very interesting. As this is something I notice at the office, particularly toward the end of the year, it’s just too timely not to mention: The 4 Stages of Burnout.
Sometimes you just do the same thing for too long and it wears you down. Just for a quick overview, the stages are:
- Physical, mental and emotional exhaustion, followed by a sense of guilt for losing the desire to do your job as well as you normally do.
- Doubt – Your lack of motivation and the burnout has you being less productive at work and more apathetic. This then makes you doubt your own ability to do the job well.
- Cycle of cynicism – You feel shame and doubt for long enough, you become cynical. Your cynicism translates to obnoxiousness toward your co-workers. Your lack of sympathetic ears in the office becomes more cynicism and the cycle continues.
- Failure – Quit or fired or a resigning to the attitude that nothing works and everything at work is hopeless and meaningless.
Unfortunately, the article doesn’t mention how to overcome burnout. Just a quick suggestion to “seek help.”
My speculation as a final word: Identify where you are and take steps through your awareness to remedy the situation. Do you need to use that vacation time? Start meditating? Start learning to say no? Get a handle on it from your current perspective.
Just a thought.
Until next time, that’s been your health update!
