Where is Ebola Currently?

So, ebola has proven much more difficult to contain than we originally thought. At the moment, here are the countries with ebola patients:

1. Liberia
2. Guinea
3. Senegal
4. Nigeria
5. Democratic Republic of Congo

These are the ebola hotspots, where patient zero originated. Due to inadequate state infrastructure, a lack of access to sound healthcare, and really stupid thought processes (Liberian senators are arguing whether or not ebola is a real threat, or just a ploy to increase foreign monetary aide)

Below are the nations outside of Africa which have suspected ebola patients. 

1. Spain - A CNA has recently been diagnosed with ebola, and as of Thursday, her husband and 5 other medical workers on her case have been quarantined. Only the CNA is showing symptoms at the moment, but she seems to be doing well.
2. United States - All Americans that have contracted ebola so far, have done so via contact with African hotspots. The first American to die from ebola had just gotten back from a trip to Liberia. His family is currently being quarantined under armed guard after an escape attempt. 
3. Czech Republic? - A Czech business man has been quarantined at the moment, exhibiting ebola-like symptoms. Symptoms can often be very similar between different conditions though, so this could be something else entirely. 
4. Macedonia? - A British man died here from symptoms similar to those exhibited by patients with ebola. Lab results have yet to come in, however, to tell whether this was the case, or something else. 

You can check out a time chart of the spread here.

This is kind of interesting as well.

A Rough Look at Who's Fighting Ebola.

Ebola has continued to spread since the first outbreak was spotted, and my first post on it right here, complete with bloody eyeball video.

There were 518 confirmed deaths at that time, this past July. As of now, it's around 4000 deaths. And this particular strain isn't a 90% fatality rate as was initially spectated. It's closer to 48%. Here's some more facts on ebola.

That being said, here's a very rough look at who's doing what in the largest fight against ebola in human history.

United States

• $750 million pledged
• 4000 troops pledged, most of which come from the 101st Airborne Division
• 65 U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corp
• Around 2600 volunteers with government aid services

China

• 170 medical workers

India 

• $12.5 million pledged
• No personnel going to be sent

Russia

• 8 virologists, and protective equipment

South Africa

• A mobile ebola lab

African Union

• 75 medical workers

Uganda

• 15 medical workers

Japan

• $40 million pledged
• No personnel going to be sent

France 

• 15 French medics

United Kingdom

• 750 personnel to build clinics (1)

Doctors Without Borders, Samaritan's Purse, the Red Cross, and a host of other non-profit relief organizations are currently present as well. 

This is a major war going on over there at the moment. As mentioned before, pray!

The Cure for Cancer?

Now this is cool, so get ready.

Researchers from Juno Therapeutics as well as Novartis, both biotech companies, have found a way that they believe may be a potential cure for cancer. Close to 90% of patients with leukemia were healed after receiving experimental samples of CAR T-cell therapies.

What is this? Well, basically, blood is withdrawn from a cancer patient and the white blood cells are isolated. These white blood cells are then infected with an inactive virus that contains the genes that recognize specific cancer cells. These new and improved white blood cells are then grown in a lab for about ten days before they are put back into the original patient. The white blood cells multiply once they are within the body, and seek have a new thirst for cancer cell blood, resulting in the omission of cancer within the patient.

In short, the patient is healed.

The drawbacks? Well, there's a few.

For starters, at an estimated $500,000/treatment, this isn't going to be something that everybody can afford. Cancer treatments are incredibly expensive already between chemotherapy, radiation treatment, surgery, hospital stays, biopsies, etc. Adding an additional 500 grand to the tab isn't going to be a very practical solution.

Second, patients utilizing CAR therapies are at risk for cytokine-release syndrome, a situation in which blood pressure drops while the heart rate spikes. Two patients died in an initial trial due to this, so it is something to think about. Researchers claim that if the patient is healthy, CAR therapies should be relatively safe. The only question that then comes to mind is how is it possible to have cancer and be healthy?

Every treatment has side effects, however, as anybody who's ever watched a Zyrtec commercial can attest to. And if it really came down to it, I think that most people would agree that the risks are worth taking in this case.

Nevertheless, this is incredibly exciting. To see how God-gifted scientists have been able to find a very effective cure to certain types of cancers, is awesome to see. The therapy is currently under review by the FDA.

You can read more here.

New Insulin Pump Can Potentially Better Treat Diabetics

I'm always on the lookout for potential new cures to turn the tide against disease (it must be part of the whole grad school/public health thing), and when I found this the other day in the Wall Street Journal, I was pretty pumped.

A matchstick sized pump that gets inserted into the patient. With a year's worth of insulin, that's constantly being released into the patient in micro amounts to better regulate blood glucose levels. Now that's cool.

The little guy gets inserted right under the skin of the abdomen, and gives the patient 100% of the benefit of using the drug. No needles, no finger pricking, no anything. Just the little matchstick.

I work with a LOT of people with diabetes on a daily basis, and have seen how that disease completely transforms one's life. When a 15 year old kid comes in to see me with Type 2 diabetes, I know what lays in store for them if we can't radically change their life around for them (or they can't get their blood sugars under control). I've seen the diabetics in the nursing home. I've worked there. I've seen how they end up. Missing limbs, practically blind, or unable to talk due to the stroke that they had. It's a miserable state to be in.

Diabetes is nasty when uncontrolled.

And that's one of the reasons I love doing what I do. I get the chance to help people who are pre-diabetic be so no longer, help people be able to get off their meds, and help them to better live their lives.

Unfortunately though, exercise can't solve everything, and medications are often needed. But when you can find a way to still give somebody their meds without all the finger pricking and needle inserting, allowing them to better live their life and to have a happier, healthier one, I think that's pretty stinkin' awesome.

Random Thoughts

I've been tending to just collect clips of what I want to write about instead of just writing them due to a lack of time. So, I decided to just squish up a whole bunch of longer posts into shorter ones. Here's what I'm thinking about (be prepared for some politics).

Dengue fever stinks.

 There's no cure, it's potentially fatal, and its region grows larger day by day. But science is cool! Scientists have recently discovered a way to infect mosquitoes with a bacteria that renders them unable to carry the dengue virus, and have released hosts of these mosquitoes into the wild. The idea is that these mosquitoes will breed with wild mosquitoes (is that the right term?), resulting in offspring that can no longer carry the virus as well. Theoretically, this could eventually halt dengue virus altogether.

Eating processed red meats has been linked to heart failure and early death. Click here.

 In a recent study in Sweden, men who ate processed red meats (the meat that comes in that little plastic tub) had an 8% increased chance of death, and a 38% increased chance of heart failure compared to men that don't eat processed red meat. Scary. An earlier study showed that those who ate plastic tub meat had a 23% increased risk of stroke, and a 18% increased risk of cerebral infarction. Lesson learned. Avoid processed red meat.

Medical tourism from China is booming (bad for China, good for us)

China, a country known for its nationalized healthcare, is losing patients to overseas doctors. Why? Because nationalized health care is a stupid idea. Chinese civilians are realizing that their current healthcare situation stinks, that their doctors provide lackluster care, that corruption is present, and that they will suffer the consequences personally. As a result they're traveling abroad for important surgeries and procedures.

Many U.S. states are contemplating minimal wage increases

Resulting in employees who were previously above minimum-wage want a raise as well, resulting in everything you could ever want to buy increasing in price as well, resulting in people getting placed right back where they were at in the first place. Plus, there's inflation (the American dollar isn't worth as much). If you want to make above minimum wage, make something of yourself. The disgusting thing here isn't that people want to make more money, but that they want to be rewarded for their poor life decisions. If you want to make more money, work harder, earn a promotion, or go to school. Life isn't a Sam's Club on Sunday afternoon (ooo, free samples).

Ebola is spreading

Which is kind of spooky. Scientists are working like crazy on vaccines at the moment though.

Calling insurance companies is my new hobby

I got into a car wreck about two weeks ago (their fault, not mine), and ever since then I've spent about an hour on the phone every day trying to get the insurance stuff straightened out.

AND...We're looking for a new apartment

That's my other new hobby. Why can't my new hobbies be fun?

Johnny Cash Got Me in Trouble

Forget talking about politics or religion.

If you really want to make a room full of 80-year-olds mad, tell them that you think Johnny Cash just moans into the microphone and wasn't that good of a singer.

Holy smokes, you'd have thought I'd just insulted their spouse. You've never seen an 80 something year old hop off a treadmill so fast.

"Johnny was a... GENIUS!"

80 is Young?

I work in local gym personal training. What's that mean? It means that typically I'm working with older people all day (or people with life experience, as they like to say). I'm helping a client through their workout today, as they're telling me about their neck problems

Client: "Yes, as you get older, your body can't do what it used to do when you were young."

Me: "Yeah. People keep saying that around here."

Client: "I have to keep telling myself, 'You're not 80 years old anymore! You can't do those things!'"