5 Tips for Managing Chronic Disease

Living with a chronic disease can be challenging, but there are many practical tips and tools available to help manage symptoms and improve quality of life. From making dietary changes to utilizing technology like configurable remote patient monitoring, there are numerous strategies that can make a difference in managing chronic conditions. In this article, we will explore some practical tips for managing chronic disease and how they can benefit those living with long-term health issues.

By Riley Smith

Diet

Diet plays a crucial role in managing chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders. Eating a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats can help control blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels, and inflammation. It is important to work with a healthcare provider or registered dietitian to create a personalized meal plan that meets individual needs and preferences.

Exercise

Regular physical activity is another important aspect of managing chronic diseases. Exercise can help improve cardiovascular health, strengthen muscles, boost mood, and increase energy levels. Depending on the type of chronic condition, it is essential to find exercises that are safe and effective. This may include activities like walking, swimming, yoga, or strength training. Consult with a healthcare provider before starting any new exercise routine.

Technology

Technology has revolutionized healthcare in recent years, offering innovative tools to help manage chronic diseases more effectively. Configurable remote patient monitoring devices allow patients to track their vital signs and symptoms at home and share data with healthcare providers in real time. This not only helps monitor progress but also enables early intervention if any concerning changes occur.

Stress Management

In addition to diet and exercise, stress management techniques can also play a significant role in managing chronic diseases. Chronic stress can worsen symptoms of many conditions such as asthma, arthritis, and irritable bowel syndrome. Practices like meditation, deep breathing exercises, mindfulness techniques, or therapy can help reduce stress levels and improve overall well-being.

Staying Informed

Finally, staying informed about the latest research developments and treatment options for specific chronic diseases is crucial for effective management. Joining support groups or online communities dedicated to specific conditions can provide valuable information and emotional support from others going through similar experiences.

Managing a chronic disease requires a comprehensive approach that includes lifestyle modifications like diet and exercise as well as leveraging technology like configurable remote patient monitoring devices for better symptom management. By incorporating these practical tips into daily life routines, individuals living with chronic conditions can improve their quality of life significantly.

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle, Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources (http://www.pharmamicroresources.com/)

How infections spread: the case for varied and dynamic inputs

 

Understanding infectious disease spread is problematic, given the randomness of most outbreaks. Yet attempting to predict the transmission wave is essential for mitigating the impact.

 

A key element in the fight against infectious diseases is computer modeling. Models enable epidemiologists to predict both where the next outbreak may occur and the course of an outbreak, so that measures can be taken to contain the spread of a pathogen and resources can be more usefully allocated. Examples include providing policy makers with indicators like the levels of personal protective equipment required; quantities of therapeutics and vaccines; staffing needs and work from home guidance; school closures and so on.

 

Sandle, T. (2022) How infections spread: the case for varied and dynamic inputs, Infectious Disease Hub, May 2022, at: https://www.id-hub.com/2022/05/12/infections-spread-case-varied-dynamic-inputs/

 

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle, Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources (http://www.pharmamicroresources.com/)

Disease Spotlight

A new website of interest has been launched, called DiseaseSpotlight.com

The DiseaseSpotlight.com website will focus on a number of specific conditions each week, bringing the patient and healthcare provider perspective together. These events will be enhanced further by sponsored content from commercial organisations to deliver 360 degree insight on unmet needs and new innovation. We will be covering both major and niche disease areas from Q4 2015 onwards, aligning activities to existing disease days, weeks and months, with content disseminated via our own and partner channels.

Posted by Tim Sandle

Incidences and Treatments for Buruli Ulcer

Buruli ulcer is a bacterial disease, alternatively called Bairnsdale ulcer, Searls ulcer, or Daintree ulcer. The tropical disease causes blood clots on the skin and, when untreated, leads to severe ulceration. The infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium ulcerans. It is the third most common mycobacterial disease after tuberculosis and leprosy.

The current treatment option primarily involves courses of antibiotics. More serious or untreatable cases require surgical intervention. To improve current treatment regimes, scientists are investigating alternative approaches; this article assesses some of these approaches alongside current practices.

In a short article, Tim Sandle assesses the current strategies and new treatment options for the disease.

The reference is:

Sandle, T. (2015) Incidences and Treatments for Buruli Ulcer, Journal of Ancient Diseases &

Preventive Remedies, 3 (2): 1000e122 (http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2329-8731.1000e122)

For further information or to review a copy please contact Tim Sandle



 Posted by Tim Sandle

Elderly - Growing Contributor to Tuberculosis in China

"A major contributor to the number of tuberculosis infections and cases in China will likely be the elderly over the next few decades, requiring a refocus in efforts to control a disease affecting millions of people in the country, according to preliminary new research presented today at the Fourth Global Forum on TB Vaccines in Shanghai."

This is a Eureka Science alert:

"The researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that developing a “post-infection” vaccine could reduce overall TB rates in China by almost a third by 2050.

Globally, 2050 is the target year for eliminating TB as a public health problem. China is acknowledged to have made a great deal of progress in controlling the disease over the last 20 years, but it is still hard hit by the TB epidemic. According to the World Health Organization, China has an estimated 980,000 new cases of TB every year, second only to India, and 41,000 deaths each year result from the infectious, airborne disease. More troublingly, a third of the world’s drug-resistant TB cases are found in China.

“We chose to study TB trends in China given the magnitude of the disease burden present and the anticipated increase in the number and proportion of elderly people within the population. We wanted to understand how these factors would affect the attempt to eliminate TB in the country,” said Rebecca Claire Harris, an epidemiologist with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the UK, who presented the results.

“This is the first time the possible impact of giving new TB vaccines to older adults has been considered in any setting, and could inform how future clinical trials and vaccine deployment plans are developed,” said Harris.

Preliminary study results predict that the elderly (those aged 65 years and above) contribution to TB infection transmission in China may increase from 18 percent to 53 percent, and their burden of TB disease may increase from 13 percent to 71 percent of all new TB cases.

“Our preliminary findings suggest that in China it may be useful to increase TB control efforts for preventing disease in older adults and the elderly, and that development of new TB vaccines aiming to protect this population could have substantial impact,” Harris said. “Targeting older adults is a departure from the current thinking in the field, which mostly focuses on developing vaccines for children and adolescents. This also may be different from other parts of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, where there is much more disease in young adults.”

According to the researchers, a combination of the success in China in bringing down TB transmission and the increasing size of the elderly population are contributors to this expected trend. The population that will be elderly during 2025 to 2050 may have been infected back in the pre-1990 era when transmission was still very high. As they get older, their risk of reactivation of infection increases, so they are more likely to develop disease and contribute to disease figures. Whereas because disease transmission has declined so much in recent years, younger people are now infected in relatively lower numbers, so the number of younger people developing disease will also become lower since most disease in this group is due to recent infection.

The researchers used mathematical models to explore the potential impact of new TB vaccines and found that some types could reduce the rate of TB in China by up to nearly a third by 2050. An effective vaccine option of those explored for China was found to be one that could be given to older adults, including those who have already been infected by the bacteria that cause TB but who haven’t yet developed TB disease. Such a vaccine, if it had 80 percent efficacy, 20 years duration of protection, and covered 70 percent of people aged 55-64 in 2025-27 and then 55 year olds as part of a routine program, could reduce the rate of new TB cases in China by 31 percent by 2050, avoiding up to 3.7 million cases between 2025-50, the results suggest. Even at lower efficacy and coverage, such a vaccine given to older adults could prevent hundreds of thousands of TB cases.

“If our research continues to validate results to date, it would highlight the importance of ensuring TB vaccine trials include these older age groups and that China begins to plan how a vaccine or other interventions to prevent infected people developing TB could be delivered to people of this age group,” said Harris. “However, these early results suggest that even the most effective older adult vaccine will need to be part of a wider control package to reach the WHO 2050 TB elimination goal in China.”

The global quest for new vaccines

BCG, the nearly 100-year-old existing TB vaccine, works most consistently in infants and is largely ineffective against the most common and contagious form of the disease, that is, TB in the lungs. Decades of widespread use of this vaccine has failed to control the global TB epidemic, leading researchers globally to work on development of new, more effective TB vaccines.

The two nonprofit organizations at the forefront of this vaccine development work, the U.S.-based Aeras and the Netherlands-based TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), helped organize the international gathering of TB and TB vaccine experts in Shanghai this week.

“Tuberculosis is a major public health threat, tied with HIV as the leading cause of death globally among infectious diseases, with antibiotic resistance a major treatment challenge, yet we are years behind where we should be in vaccine development due to lack of acknowledgement of the TB health threat and the resultant lack of investment in new tools,” said Tom Evans, CEO of Aeras. “One of the reasons the global TB vaccine community is excited to meet in China is the level of commitment we’ve seen from the authorities here to innovative research, including developing the world’s only TB vaccine candidate currently in a Phase 3 trial.”

The Phase 3 trial of the Chinese vaccine, called Vaccae^TM, is sponsored by Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biologic Pharmacy Co., Ltd. Scientists running the trial of this vaccine, are providing an update on progress at the TB vaccine Forum. According to Aeras, aside from Vaccae^TM, there currently are 14 vaccine candidates in various stages of clinical testing, including GSK’s M72+AS01E candidate, which is currently in Phase 2b testing at sites in Africa.

“The global clinical trial pipeline for TB vaccines is more robust than ever before, yet at the same time there is still much we need to learn about how TB exactly attacks the body and manages to evade the natural immune response,” said Tom Ottenhoff, member of the scientific team of TBVI. “Fortunately, the TB vaccine community has managed to come together at these forums in order to coordinate joint research efforts so that the relatively little funding available for our efforts is used in the most effective manner possible.”

 TB can affect anyone but often strikes those who live in poverty, have poor nutrition, limited access to healthcare, and live in overcrowded conditions. In China, out-of-pocket TB treatment costs account for more than half of the average annual household income for the rural poor, according to Aeras. And because each individual with active TB typically infects between 10 and 15 others, entire families and communities are at risk."

Posted by Victor Grayson

Laboratory Techniques with Applicability in Medical Practice

A new book of interest has been published, edited by Tamás Kőszegi and Antonella Chesca. The book presents medical information containing clinical and experimental data referring to state-of-the-art methods used in laboratory medicine for diagnostic and follow-up purposes.

The book includes chapters on microbiological screening methods, bacterial endotoxin, genome sequencing, sepsis investigations, orosomcoids, tumour cells, electrophoreses, and melanocytic nevi.

The book includes a chapter by Tim Sandle on endotoxin testing and the LAL assay:

Sandle, T. (2015) Bacterial Endotoxin Testing using the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate Assay. In Kőszegi, T. and Chesca, A. (Eds.) Laboratory Techniques with Applicability in Medical Practice, Lambert Academic Publishing, pp19-32

For further details, please contact Tim Sandle

Posted by Tim Sandle