Would you like to win two free books, two magazine subscriptions and a Webicina T-shirt? To enter the giveaway, simply subscribe to the Highlight HEALTH Network email updates.

As the year draws to a close, let’s take a look back at the top stories readers were interested in for 2011. We’ve compiled two top ten lists of the most-viewed stories for the year, one as measured by the absolute number of page views and the other as measured by the average number of page views per day posted.

To get an idea of the underlying theme for the top ten lists, here’s a tag cloud of terms taken from the news stories that made the cut:

Top Biomedical Research News Stories for 2011

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 80% of internet users have searched online for information about health. To see what’s been frequently viewed on Highlight HEALTH, we’ve calculated the top stories for the year using two measures, either by the highest absolute number of page views for 2011 or by the average number of page views per day (7 out of 10 overlap both lists). Each story indicates an article number (we published a total of 115 stories in 2011) and number of views.

Top 10 stories by highest absolute page view for the year

1. Crizotinib: Another Step Towards Personalized Cancer Care
   (article #11; 6,671 page views)

   Three research studies in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine highlight the therapeutic potential of crizotinib, a drug that blocks fusion proteins of anaplastic lymphoma kinase, a signaling molecule that can regulate cell growth.

2. Clarian Health Becomes Indiana University Health
   (article #5; 5,469 page views)

   On Monday, January 24, 2011, Clarian Health, the second largest health organization in Indiana, officially changed its name to Indiana University Health.

3. Grey Weather, Grey Mood: Cortisol Levels May Underlie Seasonal Affective Disorder
   (article #13; 5,449 page views)

   A recent study finds that the cortisol response to awakening is reduced in people with self-assessed seasonal affective disorder.

4. Flu Vaccine for the 2011-2012 Season Approved
   (article #62; 5,302 page views)

   On Monday, July 18th, 2011, the FDA said it had approved the formulation for the 2011-2012 vaccine.

5. Neti Pot Deaths Spark Tap Water Warnings
   (article #113; 5,078 page views)

   There have been two neti pot-associated deaths in Louisiana recently, both of which were caused by infection with the “brain-eating amoeba,” Naegleria fowleri.

6. New Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research Seeks to Curb Epidemic
   (article #35; 5,063 page views)

   To combat the obesity epidemic, the National Institutes of Health is encouraging diverse scientific investigations through a new Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research.

7. President Obama Resists Cuts to Biomedical Research Funding
   (article #16; 4,648 page views)

   While making cuts and freezes in many areas of government, the 2012 budget President Obama recently sent to Congress seeks an increase in funding for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

8. Daily Aspirin May Reduce Cancer Risk
   (article #9; 4,419 page views)

   A recent report published in The Lancet claims that at least 75mg of aspirin every day can also reduce the risk of developing many different types of cancers.

9. Health Literacy: Key for Managing Personal Health
   (article #2; 4,341 page views)

   Health literacy: what is it, why is it important, and what is being done to increase it and create a health literate society.

10. Easter Seals Living With Disabilities Study
    (article #1; 4,011 page views)

    Most of us take everyday adult life for granted; we have a place to live, access to transportation and the opportunity to live independently. But what happens if you’re one of the millions of adults living with a developmental disability in this country?

Top 10 stories by average number of page views per day

1. Neti Pot Deaths Spark Tap Water Warnings
   (article #113; average: 725 page views/day)

   There have been two neti pot-associated deaths in Louisiana recently, both of which were caused by infection with the “brain-eating amoeba,” Naegleria fowleri.

2. Supplemental Vitamin E and A, Worth The Risk?
   (article #115; average: 118 page views/day)

   A recent research summary published in The Medical Letter On Drugs and Therapeutics may help consumers and practitioners to wade through the conflicting information on supplements, as many supplements have both risks and benefits associated with their use.

3. Flu Vaccine for the 2011-2012 Season Approved
   (article #62; average: 32 page views/day)

   On Monday, July 18th, 2011, the FDA said it had approved the formulation for the 2011-2012 vaccine.

4. Celebrating Five Years of Highlight HEALTH, Prize Pack Giveaways
   (article #108; average: 21 page views/day)

   Some events are special and meant to be observed. Here at Highlight HEALTH, we’re coming up on one of those events: our 5 year anniversary! To celebrate this milestone and to give something back to our subscribers, for the next three months we’re holding a prize giveaway.

5. Crizotinib: Another Step Towards Personalized Cancer Care
   (article #11; average: 20 page views/day)

   Three research studies in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine highlight the therapeutic potential of crizotinib, a drug that blocks fusion proteins of anaplastic lymphoma kinase, a signaling molecule that can regulate cell growth.

6. New Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research Seeks to Curb Epidemic
   (article #35; average: 19 page views/day)

   To combat the obesity epidemic, the National Institutes of Health is encouraging diverse scientific investigations through a new Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research.

7. Grey Weather, Grey Mood: Cortisol Levels May Underlie Seasonal Affective Disorder
   (article #13; average: 17 page views/day)

   A recent study finds that the cortisol response to awakening is reduced in people with self-assessed seasonal affective disorder.

8. Clarian Health Becomes Indiana University Health
   (article #5; average: 16.1 page views/day)

   On Monday, January 24, 2011, Clarian Health, the second largest health organization in Indiana, officially changed its name to Indiana University Health.

9. President Obama Resists Cuts to Biomedical Research Funding
   (article #16; average: 15 page views/day)

   While making cuts and freezes in many areas of government, the 2012 budget President Obama recently sent to Congress seeks an increase in funding for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

10. Tips for a Healthy Thanksgiving
    (article #104; average: 14 page views/day)

    Some easy science-based tips to ensure not only a delicious turkey but a healthy Thanksgiving.

Thanks for reading and Best of Health in the coming year!

Thanks to all of our readers for helping make 2011 a great year.

Happy holidays from the team at Highlight HEALTH!

Walter Jessen, Diana Gitig, Kirstin Hendrickson and Faith Martin.

To celebrate this milestone and to give something back to our readers, for the next three months we’re holding a prize pack giveaway.

Highlight HEALTH launched back in late December 2006 and from the very beginning focused on the science of health, reporting on research, providing background and analysis, and explaining how research results affect you, the healthcare consumer. To compliment Highlight HEALTH, we launched the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory six months later. By the end of 2007, The Highlight HEALTH Network was born. We’ve been growing and improving ever since (if you’re interested in new ideas impacting health and medicine, check out the recently relaunched Highlight HEALTH 2.0).

To celebrate five years of biomedical research reporting at Highlight HEALTH, from now through the end of February 2012, we will be giving away four prize packs every other Saturday, starting on January 14th.

Five Years of Highlight HEALTH: the Prize Packs

Here at Highlight HEALTH, we promote advances in biomedical research and offer background/analysis on scientific studies so that readers can understand how new treatments and emerging research could affect them. We also encourage health literacy to improve health self-management. We’ve carried these same themes over to our prize packs. In celebration of five years of Highlight HEALTH, each of the four prize packs we’re giving away consists of the following:

A one-year subscription to ResearchSaves Magazine. The Foundation for Biomedical Research’s quarterly biomedical magazine ResearchSaves showcases medical and scientific breakthroughs with foundations in animal research and strong human interest elements. All articles are submitted by universities, nonprofits and companies across the country. Each magazine also includes a full-length DVD, poster or educational program.

A one-year subscription to NIH MedlinePlus magazine. NIH MedlinePlus brings the latest and most authoritative information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to patients and their families and to other health care consumers. The magazine presents you with the best in reliable, up-to-date health information and the latest breakthroughs from NIH-supported research.

A paperback copy of Don’t Cross Your Eyes … They’ll Get Stuck That Way by Drs. Aaron Carroll and Rachel Vreeman of the Indiana University School of Medicine. The ultimate myth-busting collection of quirky and curious facts about your body and health. With a perfect balance of authoritative research, breezy humor, and snappy, easily-understandable takeaways, Don’t Cross Your Eyes … They’ll Get Stuck That Way is a must-have for physicians, parents, mythbusters, and anyone interested in quirky medical information.

A hardcover copy of Smart Medicine: How the Changing Role of Doctors Will Revolutionize Health Care by Dr. William Hanson, Professor of Anesthesia and Critical Care and the Chief Medical Information Officer at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In Smart Medicine, William Hanson brings to life the fascinating true world of doctors and nurses, examines how the multifaceted medical system has evolved, where it’s going, and reveals the revolutionary changes that will soon be sweeping through the medical community.

A Webicina T-shirt (e-patient style shown; a web-savvy physician style is also available). Webicina.com is the world’s first and only free service that provides curated medical social media resources across 80 medical topics in over 17 languages. Their mission is to let empowered patients and medical professionals access the most relevant social media content in their own languages on a customizable, easy-to-use platform for free.

Five Years of Highlight HEALTH: Enter to Win

To enter the giveaway, simply subscribe to The Highlight HEALTH Network email updates using the form below. Our email updates are one of the easiest ways to stay on top of everything here at Highlight HEALTH. You’ll only get an email when there’s new content. If you’re already a subscriber, send us a note with your email address and we’ll include you in the drawings.

Entries must be in by midnight EST on the Friday preceeding the prize drawing. Four drawings will be held every other Saturday: January 14, January 28, February 11, and February 25. Good luck!

Bonus: Use the buttons below to “Like” on Facebook and/or tweet on Twitter — if you’re one of the prize pack winners, we’ll add a surprise gift!

Don’t forget that we’re giving away several publications for Brain Awareness Week; in particular, the bookmark was created to be paired with the Staying Staying Sharp booklet (link below) and video (below).

Dr. Jordan Grafman, chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, is your guide as we cover what to expect from the aging brain and what you can do to “stay sharp”.

This 29-minute video uses footage of neuroscience experts from live Staying Sharp forums to address topics such as changes in the aging brain, memory, and the science behind the healthy brain practices that may help us stay sharp.

Throughout this program we draw on insights from top neuroscientists committed to helping more people know about what happens to our brain as we age and the brain-healthy behaviors that we can incorporate into our daily lives.

Brain-healthy lifestyle

Studies that look at “successful aging” consistently identify a few fundamental qualities of a brain-healthy lifestyle. The overall message is to stay active: mentally, physically and socially.

Here’s a checklist of things to do for a brain-healthy lifestyle:

• Exercise your body regularly and get involved in physically active leisure pursuits
• Keep your mind exercised! Engage in active learning throughout life and pursue new experiences
• Stay socially engaged with friends, family and community groups
• Maintain a positive attitude and a sense of control over your life
• Take steps to manage stress
• Eat a brain-healthy, balanced diet rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids
• Consider taking a multivitamin supplement that includes antioxidants and folate
• Watch your weight: lose any extra pounds
• Watch your cholesterol: lower it if it’s high
• Keep your blood glucose and blood pressure under control
• Get adequate sleep
• Get proper medical attention and treatment for any underlying health problems

You can read more about the steps you can take to improve your brain fitness today in the Dana Foundation’s booklet Staying Sharp: Successful Aging and Your Brain.

The Staying Sharp program is a joint project of NRTA: AARP’s Educator Community and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. To receive a free DVD of this program, please contact stayingsharp@dana.org.

Cognitive decline as you age appears to be largely due to altered connections among brain cells. Keeping the brain active — reading, writing, working crossword or other puzzles, educational courses, memory exercises — appears to strengthen the brain and may build reserves of brain cells and connections.

Today, it’s common to hear the buzzwords “brain fitness”, “brain training” and/or “neuroplasticity”. There are several products available on the market that can help to maintain and/or rebuild cognitive performance. We reviewed the SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness when it was released in 2009. The guide aims to help people make informed decisions about brain health and cognitive fitness, based on the latest scientific research, and to help navigate new products and confusing myths and claims that are part of the emerging brain fitness market.

SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness book give away

For Brain Awareness Week, SharpBrains has generously provided 5 copies of The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness for us to give away. Here’s how it works:

Simply leave a comment below and tell us in 2-3 sentences how brain research can impact health and/or healthcare. Together with Alvaro Fernandez at SharpBrains, we’ll select the 5 best answers and send the authors a copy of The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness.

If you need ideas to help you get started, check out past stories on the brain here at Highlight HEALTH.

Steps to brain fitness

An unhealthy lifestyle can lead to diseases like obesity, diabetes and brain-related health problems, all of which increase the risk of stroke, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. These conditions can be managed and even prevented by a healthy lifestyle. Research shows that brain health is promoted by a healthy lifestyle that includes [1]:

• Eating a brain-healthy diet
• Staying mentally active
• Exercising and keeping fit
• Staying socially engaged
• Getting plenty of sleep
• Managing stress
• Protecting your head from trauma
• Controlling risk factors
• Avoiding unhealthy habits
• Understanding your genetic risk

The decision to review your current lifestyle and start making changes for brain health is truly an important choice to make. Following the healthy steps listed above will be effective at any age; however, the earlier you start, the better off you will be. Your goal should be to make a brain-healthy lifestyle a normal part of your everyday.

References

1. Steps to Brain Fitness. Alliance for Aging Research. 2006.

The campaign focuses international attention on the field of neuroscience and provides opportunities for people to engage in fun educational activities. From dynamic classroom presentations and laboratory tours to enlightening museum exhibits and public lectures, BAW activities:

• Contribute to the general understanding of basic brain functions
• Improve public health by expanding awareness of neurological disorders
• Make the connection between increased support for biomedical research and benefits to public health
• Inspire the next generation of researchers and physicians

This year, Highlight HEALTH has partnered with the BAW campaign. All this week, we’ll be running stories and posting videos on brain research. To further excite and educate people about the brain and brain research, we’re also giving away some things free to readers. Simply email us at baw@highlighthealth.com with your name and mailing address and we’ll send you the items below:

Federal spending and the national deficit need to be addressed (see our stories on Healthcare Spending After the Recession, Healthcare Costs and the Looming US Budget and An Inconvenient Financial Truth – Healthcare Costs Endanger U.S. Financial Stability). However, eliminating the government’s investment in public broadcasting would not significantly cut the budget deficit. Elimination of funding for the CBP would reduce the federal budget deficit by less than three ten-thousandths of one percent (that’s 0.0003%) but would have a devestating impact on local communities and the 170 million people that use public media every month.

170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting is a collaboration of public radio and television stations, national organizations, producers, viewers and listeners throughout the country in favor of a strong public media in the United States. Highlight HEALTH is proud to join 170 Million Americans. Indeed, half of all Americans (170 million people) use public broadcasting every month. Yet the federal investment amounts to just $1.35 a year per citizen, less than the cost of a cup of coffee.

As more and more media outlets have vested interests in commercial enterprises or political parties, America needs a strong public media as a source of non-partisan news, local cultural programming, public affairs and non-commercial educational programs. Secure funding makes demographics and ratings less relevant, and the less that public broadcasters have to rely on their audiences, the less they’re required to behave like a commercial network. For their audiences, public media fosters the desire to learn, to ask questions and to be engaged in the ideas, ideals, vision and accomplishments of their lives and their local, regional and national communities.

Here at Highlight HEALTH, we normally report on biomedical research advances and promote resources for health literacy. As we offer our support of government funding for public broadcasting, let’s review some of the health programming and resources freely provided by public media to inform, enhance and enrich our lives.

Public Broadcasting System (PBS)

Federal funding helps PBS deliver educational and commercial-free programming that expands children’s minds, documentaries that open up new worlds, trusted news programs that keep you informed, and exposes you to the worlds of music, theater, dance and art as an adult. PBS has a number of programs for children, adults and educators focused on health:

• PBS Health & Wellness lets readers explore PBS programs about health, health care, wellness, fitness, lifestyle issues, nutrition, caregiving, elder issues and more.

• PBS KIDS Health Games lets children play games to learn about healthy eating, hygiene and other healthy living topics.

• The PBS Video, Health & Wellness channel lets viewers energize their mind and body with programs about aging, nutrition and fitness, and explore the decisions behind healthcare policies and regulations.

• PBS Teachers Health & Fitness provides multimedia resources and professional development for America’s preK-12 educators.

National Public Radio (NPR)

Federal funding helps NPR create and distributes award-winning news, information and music programming to a network of 900 independent stations, reaching 27.2 million listeners every week. The mission of NPR is to work in partnership with member stations to create a more informed public — one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas and cultures. They are innovators and developers, exploring new ways to serve the public via digital platforms and improved technologies. In a time of media fragmentation and sound-bites, NPR has succeeded by focusing on its core: in-depth, quality news. NPR offers several health resources:

NPR Health aggregates on air content and print news stories, including the following sections:

• Your Health: NPR provides news and commentary about personal health, medicine, healthcare, drugs, diet, recipes, and nutrition.

• Health Care: NPR discusses the state of health care, health insurance, new medical research, disease prevention, and drug treatments.

• World Health: NPR offers news on world health issues, disease control, public health and sanitation, and health education.

• NPR: Your Health Podcast brings you the latest in consumer health and medical news reporting.

• NPR’s health blog Shots — written and reported by NPR’s Science Desk — covers news about health and medicine.

American Public Media (APM)

APM is the second largest producer and distributer of public radio programming in the nation. APM produces the prominent program Marketplace (a personal favorite), providing news on business, economics and money for the rest of us. In January 2010 Marketplace added reporter Gregory Warner to cover the business of healthcare [3]:

• American Public Media’s Marketplace Health Desk reporting explores all aspects of the healthcare system from the practice of medicine to the inner workings of the insurance, pharmaceutical and hospital industries.

Public Radio International (PRI)

PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources. The mission of PRI is to serve audiences as a distinctive content source for information, insights and cultural experiences essential to living in our diverse, interconnected world. PRI is increasingly focused on fulfilling the unmet needs in global news and cultural perspectives, created and curated specifically for relevance for Americans. PRI offers two health resources:

• PRI’s Heath & Medicine section covers health and medicine around the world.

• PRI’s Global Health podcast covers global health and development.

Reasons to support public broadcasting

Everyone here at Highlight HEALTH recognizes the need to reduce the federal deficit. However, funding for public radio and television stations is too important to the future of our country to eliminate. Why? Here’s a few reasons [4]:

• Public broadcasting is local.
  Stations are locally licensed and governed, locally programmed, and locally staffed. This means local jobs; about 21,000 nationwide [2]. In many rural areas, public broadcasting is the only source of free local, national and international news, public affairs and cultural programming.

• Public broadcasting is a great investment.
  Federal support is critical seed money for local stations, which leverage each federal dollar to raise over six more dollars from local sources in order to provide the American public with the highest quality programming and services.

• Public broadcasting reflects the values of viewers and listeners, not advertisers.
  America has tremendous diversity of broadcasting outlets, but only public broadcasting is commercial free.

• Public broadcasting is a source of unbiased news, local cultural programming, and non-commercial educational programs designed to enhance the quality of life of local communities.
  Public broadcasting is a source of children’s programming, public affairs, music and culture information that is typically not available from other sources.

• Public broadcasting provides vital programming for parents and children.
  Public broadcasting has the best interests of children as its sole objective. Only public broadcasting offers children’s programming free from commercial considerations. This is one reason why parents and teachers trust public broadcasting, and why maintaining our public broadcasting system is so important.

• Public media embraces the digital future.
  Public broadcasting is committed to a multi-platform presence: content is now available through broadcast, cable, satellite, satellite radio, the Internet, and wireless devices.

Support public broadcasting

If you are one of the 170 million Americans who tunes in to public radio and television every month, it is imperative that you contact your congressional members and call on them to support government investment in public broadcasting. You can call the office of Representative Dan Burton at (202) 225-2276 and say that funding for public broadcasting is too important to eliminate. Please take a moment to join 170 Million Americans, then email your congressional members and urge them to support public broadcasting.

References

1. New National Roper Poll Ranks PBS as Leader in Public Trust. PBS. 2005 Feb 16.
2. Listen up on public broadcasting. The Boston Globe. 2011 Feb 17.
3. In Collaboration with WHYY, Marketplace creates Health Desk in Philadelphia with the Addition of Reporter Gregory Warner. American Public Media. 2010 Jan 12.
4. Why Public Broadcasting? 170 Million Americans. Accessed 2011 Feb 17.

We’ve compiled a list of the most-viewed stories for the year, both in terms of the absolute number of page views and average number of page views per day posted. Many of the stories that made the list were obvious contenders; however, a few were surprising. One thing we know is that readers enjoy discovering the science of health.

The Highlight HEALTH Network

The Highlight HEALTH Network consists of three web sites:

• Here at Highlight HEALTH, we report on biomedical research, provide background and analysis, and explain how the results affect you, the healthcare consumer. We also offer original analysis and editorials focused on healthcare and current health news.

• Highlight HEALTH 2.0 follows the use of Web 2.0 and Social Media in Health and Medicine. Late this year, we started an ongoing series of interviews with “movers and shakers” in Health and Medicine 2.0.

• The Highlight HEALTH Web Directory is an online reference guide for reliable health and medical information.

There are a number of ways to connect with the Highlight HEALTH Network, including Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed and email or RSS feed. Highlight HEALTH is also optimized for mobile devices such as your iPhone, Android phone or Blackberry.

Top stories for 2010

We’ve calculated the top stories for 2010 on Highlight HEALTH using two measures, either by the highest absolute number of page views for the year (shown in red) or by the average number of page views per day (shown in white).

Top 10 stories by highest absolute page view for the year

1. The 2010 NF Conference — Connecting the Public with the Research
   (article #65; 10,525 page views)
   Neurofibromatosis (NF) encompasses a set of genetic disorders that cause tumors to grow on nerves. The Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) annual NF Conference is being held from June 5th – June 8th. Although the conference is restricted to researchers, the CTF will update the public about the research presented with a series of blog posts and short videos from the conference floor.
2. The Association Between Smoking and Back Pain
   (article #34; 6,470 page views)
   A new study published in The American Journal of Medicine highlights another reason not to light up that cigarette — smokers (current and former) are more likely to suffer from low back pain than people who have never smoked.
3. Cancer Research Blog Carnival #38 – Breast Cancer
   (article #83; 6,053 page views)
   Welcome to the 38th edition of the Cancer Research Blog Carnival, the monthly blog carnival that discusses what’s new in cancer research. In recognition of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this edition’s focus is on breast cancer.
4. Social Media in Health and Medicine: Medlibs Round 2.7
   (article #75; 5,836 page views)
   Welcome to Medlib’s Round, edition 2.7, the monthly blog carnival highlighting excellent blog posts in the field of medical information. For this edition, we wanted to focus on how social media is being used to promote health information online.
5. The Link Between Positive Psychology and Cancer Survival
   (article #77; 5,747 page views)
   The seemingly common idea that a positive outlook will help someone in poor health is currently under scientific investigation. A special supplement of the Annals of Behavioural Medicine directly addressed this topic and a recent article in the Lancet explored the relationship between positive psychology and cancer pathology.
6. Is Junk Food Addictive?
   (article #64; 5,460 page views)
   In a recent paper in Nature Neuroscience, two researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida report that obese rats with extended access to what they deemed “palatable food” — bacon, sausage, cheesecake, pound cake, frosting and chocolate — exhibited compulsive like eating behavior, much like rats with extended access to cocaine or heroin.
7. Refusing Immunizations Increases Risk of Chickenpox in Children
   (article #11; 5,224 page views)
   According to a new study published in the journalArchives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, children of parents who refuse vaccines are over eight times more likely to get chickenpox compared to fully immunized children [1]. The study, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), it is the first to assess the relationship between parental vaccine refusal and the risk of chickenpox in children.
8. The National Health Observances Toolkit
   (article #42; 5,103 page views)
   To help promote certain health observances, the National Health Observances Toolkit provides information and ideas to engage the public in health promotion activities.
9. Scientists Find New Form of Prion Disease that Damages Brain Arteries
   (article #44; 5,046 page views)
   National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists investigating how prion diseases destroy the brain have observed a new form of the disease in mice that does not cause the sponge-like brain deterioration typically seen in prion diseases. Instead, it resembles a form of human Alzheimer’s disease, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, that damages brain arteries.
10. Personalized Medicine Approach Provides More Benefit for Patients with High Cholesterol than Current Guidelines
    (article #36; 4,966 page views)
    A recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that a simple tailored treatment for high cholesterol provides more benefit per person treated and prevented significantly more coronary artery disease morbidity and death than the currently recommended treat-to-target approaches.

Top 10 stories by average number of page views per day

1. Avastin, the FDA and Breast Cancer Patient Survival
   (article #106; average: 156 page views/day)
   The issue surrounding the use of Avastin for breast malignancies has nothing to do with rationing healthcare and everything to do with patient survival.
2. Grand Rounds: the Impact of Healthcare Reform
   (article #102; average: 151 page views/day)
   For this edition of Grand Rounds, we’re focusing on the impact of healthcare reform: what are the changes to healthcare delivery, utilization, quality, costs (either as a provider or a patient) and outcomes.
3. Happy Holidays (and watch the cookies!)
   (article #109; average:147 page views/day)
   Families everywhere are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, and the temptation to eat and drink in excess during the holiday season can be hard to overcome. For example, consider Santa Claus.
4. Blood Protein Linked to Alzheimers Brain Abnormalities
   (article #108; average: 136 page views/day)
   Researchers report that a protein in the blood may reflect the levels of beta amyloid protein in the brain and eventually lead to a blood test that helps to predict the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.
5. The Benefits of Animal Research
   (article #107; average: 122 page views/day)
   Animals are our allies in the war against cancer and other deadly diseases. Animal research is saving and extending both human and animal lives.
6. Genetic Link to ADHD Identified
   (article #107; average: 122 page views/day)
   A recent study published in The Lancet finds that children with ADHD are more likely to have small segments of their DNA duplicated or missing than other children that don’t have the disorder.
7. Health in 200 Countries Over 200 Years in 4 Minutes
   (article #101; average: 93 page views/day)
   The story of world health in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers in just four minutes.
8. Cancer Research Blog Carnival #38 – Breast Cancer
   (article #83; average: 70 page views/day)
   Welcome to the 38th edition of the Cancer Research Blog Carnival, the monthly blog carnival that discusses what’s new in cancer research. In recognition of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this edition’s focus is on breast cancer.
9. The Flu and Your Health
   (article #105; average: 68 page views/day)
   It’s the gift-giving season. However, there’s one gift this time of year you don’t want to give or get: the flu virus.
10. NIHSeniorHealth.gov Adds Topic on Anxiety Disorders in Older Adults
    (article #103; average: 63 page views/day)
    NIHSeniorHealth, the health and wellness website for older adults from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has added a topic about anxiety disorders.

Thanks for reading and Best of Health in the coming year!

Although getting your five-a-day is important for promoting good health, overindulging on anything is bad for you. Indeed, overindulgence — consuming more calories than your body requires — is one of the main factors contributing to weight gain. Many of us love sweets during the holidays, but large portions won’t do anything but add surplus calories that get converted into fat.

Consider Santa Claus. One of the benefits of being “good St. Nick” is eating all the holiday cookies left by children around the world on Christmas eve.

Lee Biosolutions, a producer of enzymes, glycoprotein hormones and related reagents for the diagnostic and life science industries, realized that, given all the houses Santa must visit, he would put on more than the usual holiday weight. They recently did the math to determine just how much Santa would weight [1].

To calculate the number of households Santa must visit, they took the world population of 6.8 billion people and divided it by the average of 2.5 people per family. Thus, Santa would visit approximately 2.7 billion households on Christmas eve. Now, this number over-estimates the number of Christians in the world who would be celebrating Christmas by about 3-fold [2]. However, many people celebrate Christmas that aren’t Christian and we’re already talking ridiculously huge numbers here, so we’re not going to argue.

To continue the calculation: assuming that every household leaves Santa two chocolate chip cookies, Kris Kringle would eat about 5.4 billion cookies (or 473 million pounds of cookies) and consume 936 billion calories, far exceeding a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet.

Given these numbers, Santa would have or be at risk for a number of health issues, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and cancer.

This holiday season, take responsibility for your diet. Small portions of the “bad stuff” will make very little difference in your health, but going on a cookie binge very well could.

References

1. Santa’s Massive Weight Gain After Christmas Eve Cookie Binge: Local Company Estimates Santa Claus’ Weight and Health Problems from Cookies Consumed. PRWeb. 2010 Dec 17.
2. Christianity by country. Wikipedia. Accessed 2010 Dec 22.

For this edition of Grand Rounds, Vol. 7 No. 11, we’re focusing on the impact of healthcare reform: what are the changes to healthcare delivery, utilization, quality, costs (either as a provider or a patient) and outcomes. After all, these changes affect everyone, whether you’re a patient, a healthcare provider or a biomedical researcher.

President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law on March 23rd, 2010. The new law puts in place comprehensive health insurance reforms that will roll out over the next eight years, with most changes taking place by 2014.

The PPACA incorporates two strategies for expanding healthcare coverage. The first strategy for expanding coverage is a mandate for all individuals to purchase insurance, paired with the creation of state-based insurance “exchanges” and subsidies to help people whose incomes are less than 400% of the federal poverty level to purchase healthcare coverage from private insurers [1]. The second strategy for expanding coverage is an expansion of Medicaid, underwritten by the federal government, to cover all adults whose family income is less than 133% of the federal poverty level (children of such families are already eligible for public coverage) [1].

Healthcare reform in 2010

For 2010, several provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) were put into place, including new consumer protections (such as prohibiting the denial of coverage to children based on pre-existing conditions and the elimination of lifetime limits on insurance coverage), the improvement of quality and lowering of costs (such as free preventive care and small business health insurance tax credits), and the increase in access to affordable care (such as the extension of coverage for young adults and holding insurance companies accountable for unreasonable rate hikes) [2].

There has been much disagreement between Democrats and Republicans over the PPACA. Indeed, Republicans in both the House and Senate unanimously voted against it. With Republicans retaking the majority in the House of Representatives last month, many people are asking what it means for healthcare reform.

Dr. Gavin Yamey, M.D., lead of the Evidence-to-Policy Initiative at the UCSF Global Health Group, wrote a guest post at the Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine community blog, Speaking of Medicine to address the question Can the Republicans Repeal Health Reform? Although he doesn’t think full-scale repeal legislation is likely, he details three other ways that Republicans could impede the PPACA.

Dr. Maggie Mahar, Ph.D., guest posting at KevinMD, agrees that the PPACA won’t be repealed. Nonetheless, she addresses the possibility of repeal, asking if health care reform is killed, what happens?

Public support for healthcare reform faltered over the summer. Shadowfax, an ER physician and administrator, thinks that there may be movement towards increased public support for the PPACA. He reports on the results of two recent polls at Movin’ Meat indicating that the health care reform law is gaining public support.

The fight to control healthcare costs has been going on for decades. In 1997, Medicare payment cuts were scheduled in an attempt to tie Medicare rates to overall economic growth. However, since 1997, Congress has passed legislation to avert every single cut. Why? Because they understand that cuts in compensation for care would reduce access to care (we’re not sure why they didn’t consider that back in 1997!). The latest Medicare payment cut was scheduled for this month but was postponed yet again. Henry Stern at InsureBlog announces that the (doc) fix is in … or is it?

Expansion of Medicaid is one of the ways in which the PPACA will increase the insured population in the U.S. over the next few years. Although Medicaid is jointly funded by federal and state dollars, it is up to the states to implement the program and decide ways to restrain expenses. With states currently experiencing widespread budget issues, Amy O’Connor at LillyPad is thinking about cost containment in Medicaid.

Healthcare reform in 2011

In 2011, big changes are in store for Medicare recipients. There are four major changes affecting beneficiaries, including [3]:

• Prescription drug discounts
• Free preventive care for seniors
• Improved care for seniors after they leave the hospital
• Increased access to services at home and in the community

Although controlling costs is a primary objective of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), health reform shouldn’t mean an end to compassionate care. Indeed, Julie Rosen, executive director of the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare reports at Bedside Manner that patients and doctors strongly support compassionate healthcare.

In addition, the new law addresses overpayments to big insurance companies and strengthens medicare advantage. To ensure that premium dollars are spent primarily on healthcare, the PPACA generally requires that at least 85% of all premium dollars collected by insurance companies for large employer plans are spent on healthcare services and healthcare quality improvement. Bob Doherty at the ACP Advocate Blog thinks that insurance companies spending more money on patients is a reason for thanksgiving.

And how will these changes affect healthcare premiums?

Leading Republicans in Congress are blaming the PPACA for double-digit rate increases being sought by insurance companies in several states. However, healthcare experts and health insurance companies mostly blame rising medical costs; the new benefits mandated by the PPACA are responsible for only a small portion of the premium increases. Dr. Michael Bihari, M.D., reports at the Health Insurance Blog that GOP leaders exaggerate the impact of health reform on premium increases.

What about the pharmaceutical industry?

The PPACA will have a number of direct and indirect effects on big pharma. Starting in 2011, an annual tax could potentially affect research and development through the availability of new grants and tax credits [4]. Moreover, comparative effectiveness research activities initiated under the PPACA, amendments related to fraud and abuse, transparency initiatives and a new regulatory pathway for biosimilar biological products will all have significant impact on pharmaceutical manufacturers [4].

Dr. Sally Church, Ph.D., shares her perspective on the PPACA impact on pharma marketing at the Pharma Strategy Blog, describing how ObamaCare healthcare reform will impact Pharma.

At Pharmalot, Ed Silverman wonders what healthcare reform will mean to prescription drug pricing. He discusses a recent U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the PPACA and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 detailing how healthcare reform will hit drug prices.

One of the expressed aims of healthcare reform is cost containment. Dr. Philip Hickey, Ph.D., at Behaviorism and Mental Health suggests that the pharmaceutical industry is actively working to increase expenditures in this area, and discusses the relationship between the psychiatrists, the drug reps, and the green, green dollars.

Healthcare reform in 2012

In 2012, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will further improve quality and lower costs by linking payment to quality outcomes, encouraging integrated health systems, reducing paperwork and administrative costs and understanding and fighting health disparities [5]. In addition, new, voluntary options for long-term care insurance will increase access to affordable care for adults who become disabled [5].

At the Covert Rationing Blog, Dr. Rich Fogoros, M.D., provides more evidence that the health insurers will become public utilities, suggesting that the American health insurance industry supported healthcare reform because the plan provided them an exit strategy from a now-defunct business model.

Steve Benen at Political Animal has evidence suggesting otherwise, claiming that insurers spent heavily to kill health care reform.

Healthcare reform in 2013

In 2013, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) provides new funding to state Medicaid programs that choose to cover preventive services for patients at little or no cost, increased Medicaid payments for primary care doctors, expanded authority to “bundle” payments (under payment bundling, hospitals, doctors and providers are paid a flat rate for an episode of care rather than the current fragmented system where each service or test or bundles of items or services are billed separately to Medicare) and additional funding for the children’s health insurance program [6].

The PPACA calls for removing financial barriers for many preventive services (see years 2010, 2011 and 2013) and analysts predict it will likely create a greater demand for these services and give physicians a better opportunity to provide preventive care [7].

The most important part of preventive healthcare is maintaining good health habits, including proper nutrition, exercise, weight control, sleep and management of stress. At DrPullen.com, Brooke Douglas, R.D., C.D., provides 8 great tips to change habits.

Preventive care refers to measures taken to identify medical problems early and treat them more cheaply and effectively than if they were addressed later once symptoms appear. Guest posting at KevinMD, Dr. Lucy Hornstein, M.D. argues that preventive care as a cost saving measure is a fallacy.

Fran Melmed gets worked up when people call efforts to improve employee health a “program”. Writing at free-range communication, Fran suggests we stop calling it a wellness program.

Healthcare reform in 2014

In 2014, several provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) impart new consumer protections (such as prohibiting discrimination due to pre-existing conditions or gender), improve quality and lower costs (such as establishing health insurance exchanges), and increase access to affordable care (such as increasing access to Medicaid) [8].

One of the purposes of state-based insurance “exchanges” is to offer consumers a choice of health plans and focus competition on price [9]. However, over 50% of Americans get their health insurance through their employers. Louise Norris at Colorado Health Insurance Insider suggests that most Americans don’t get to make their own health insurance choices.

Healthcare reform in 2015

In 2015, a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will tie physician payments to the quality of care they provide. Physicians who provide a higher value of care will receive higher payments than those who provide less value [10].

Certainly a lot of changes in five years!

And how did we get here? David Williams, writing at Health Business Blog, suggests that all roads lead to health reform. In particular, the defense budget.

The recent presidential commission to reduce the deficit also focused on domestic and military spending programs. Ryan DuBosar at the ACP Internist reflects on the report; he finds the deficit plan intriguing, despite the lack of votes.

Conclusion

That concludes this edition of Grand Rounds: the Impact of Healthcare Reform. It’s been great hosting Grand Rounds for the second time (the first was the 2008 Grand Rounds Holiday Edition). I’d like to thank everyone that submitted articles.

All Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) provisions described can be found at HealthCare.gov. For a detailed implementation timeline of the PPACA, see Timeline of the Affordable Care Act.

The next edition of Grand Rounds, Vol. 7 No. 12, is being hosted by Dr. John Mandrola, M.D. at Dr John M on December 14th.

References

1. Sommers and Epstein. Medicaid expansion–the soft underbelly of health care reform? N Engl J Med. 2010 Nov 25;363(22):2085-7.
   View abstract
2. Provisions of the Affordable Care Act, by Year: 2010. HeathCare.gov. Accessed 2010 Dec 5.
3. Provisions of the Affordable Care Act, by Year: 2011. HeathCare.gov. Accessed 2010 Dec 5.
4. Healthcare Reform Law: Impact on Pharmaceutical Manufacturers. Morgan Lewis. 2010 Apr 15.
5. Provisions of the Affordable Care Act, by Year: 2012. HeathCare.gov. Accessed 2010 Dec 5.
6. Provisions of the Affordable Care Act, by Year: 2013. HeathCare.gov. Accessed 2010 Dec 5.
7. Health Care Reform Law Will Increase Demand for Preventive Services, Say Experts. American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) News Now. 2010 Jul 28.
8. Provisions of the Affordable Care Act, by Year: 2014. HeathCare.gov. Accessed 2010 Dec 5.
9. Explaining Health Care Reform: What are Health insurance Exchanges? Focus on Health Reform. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. 2009 May.
10. Provisions of the Affordable Care Act, by Year: 2015. HeathCare.gov. Accessed 2010 Dec 5.