The Week in Review provides an overview of the past week’s top health care content, including industry news and trends, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Laboratories news, and upcoming events.
Industry News
New Flu Vaccine Skin Patch Could Do Away With Needles
Scientists are hopeful that a new type of skin patch could replace needles as a method of flu vaccination. When they tested the skin patch on mice, it elicited an appropriate immune response without side effects… Through a series of experiments with human skin cells, the team identified a peptide, or small protein, that can disrupt the skin barrier without causing toxic side effects…The researchers then created a skin patch containing the peptide and a recombinant flu vaccine and tested it in two ways on mice…The immune response to the patch in the first test was not significant. However, there was a robust immune response to the skin patch in the second test…Therefore, these findings would suggest that the skin patch could serve as a delivery mechanism for the regular seasonal flu vaccine. Via Medical News Today.
Using Hand Sanitizer May be Giving You A False Sense of Security
A new study shows that quickly smearing an ethanol-based hand sanitizer onto your hands probably won't kill those cold and flu bugs. According to the study, it's because your fingers are still wet with mucus. Japanese researchers dabbed wet mucus harvested from people infected with influenza A onto the fingertips of 10 plucky volunteers and then applied hand sanitizer. The ethanol didn't kill the flu virus, even when the sanitizer was left on their fingers for a full two minutes. It took four minutes to fully deactivate the virus so that it wasn't infectious. The results of this new study are in contrast to many previous studies that show ethanol-based disinfectants are quite effective against the spread of germs. "In our studies hand sanitizers worked pretty darn good compared to soap and water," said microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba, a professor at the University of Arizona who is more commonly known as "Dr. Germ" for his work on infectious microbes.Via CNN Health.
Mayo Clinic News
Hysterectomy Tied to Depression, Anxiety
Having a hysterectomy can be a traumatic experience, and new research now shows it may also increase the long-term risk for depression and anxiety. "Our study shows that removing the uterus may have more effect on physical and mental health than previously thought," said senior author Dr. Shannon Laughlin-Tommaso, an ob-gyn at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "Because women often get a hysterectomy at a young age, knowing the risks associated with the procedure even years later is important," she said in a clinic news release. She and her colleagues reviewed the health records of nearly 2,100 women who underwent removal of the uterus but not the ovaries. They found they had about a 7% increased risk of depression and a 5% increased risk of anxiety over 30 year. Via HealthDay.
9 Sneaky Things Nutritionists Say Could Sabotage Your Metabolism
So what exactly is metabolism? Mayo Clinic says it's "the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. During this complex biochemical process, calories in food and beverages are combined with oxygen to release the energy your body needs to function." And while a slow or fast metabolism is not the main reason you're gaining weight or losing weight, a disruption in your metabolism can make it harder to burn calories. Via Yahoo! Lifestyle.
How to Help Your Child With ADHD Rock the School Year
For kids with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), school can be a tough place to be, especially without treatment and accommodations. In fact, many parents of kids with ADHD don’t have any concerns about their children until they begin school, says Flora Howie, M.D., a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Via Health Central.
