In the November 14, 2023 edition of the show #știința360 on Radio Romania Cultural, Dr. Marius Geantă, President of the Center for Innovation in Medicine, commented on the latest news from the medical field published on Raportuldegardă.ro. You can listen to the show live every Tuesday at 14:00.
Here are the news of the week discussed in this podcast:
“The Council of the European Union has added three more types of cancer to the list of cancers that can be screened for, in addition to what we knew so far (breast, colorectal and cervical cancer) lung cancer, prostate cancer and gastric cancer have been added which we are talking about today. The recommendations refer to screening, programs implemented on a large scale, population programs aimed at early detection of cancer cases, in this case gastric cancer.
Here there have been discussions over time, and as the evidence has become stronger and stronger about the association between gastric cancer and Helicobacter pylori infection on the one hand, and on the other hand, as the tests available to highlight this bacterium have become more and more efficient and affordable. There are, for example, tests that can highlight antigens specific to the bacterium in faeces or there are respiratory tests. Sure, we also have blood tests, but the first two qualify for widespread use. These conditions being fulfilled, this recommendation came naturally, with the mention that the area from which the respective people come must also be taken into account.
It is obvious that such a screening program is much more effective and much more appropriate to be implemented in regions where the number of cases, the incidence, the prevalence of gastric cancer are higher. Another recommendation concerns how precancerous lesions should be monitored, and from this point of view there is an opportunity because endoscopy can highlight in high-risk individuals these precancerous lesions, and their follow-up can also be done through these imaging means over time. I’ll say it again, the ability to detect as early as possible translates into longer survival and a much better quality of life. From this point of view, testing for Helicobacter pylori was done and is done in Romania as well.”
“We discuss a lot about the area of cancer, first of all because it represents a very big problem, on the other hand, in the last decades we have also had an extraordinary advance in all aspects, from prevention, to early detection, not to mention about diagnosis and treatment. When we look at the mortality tables, we find that cardiovascular disease remains, has always been, except in a few countries, the leading cause of mortality. That this prediction of increased cases should not surprise us.
I think it’s normal, but we need to pay attention to what this article says, namely the impact of the environment and especially climate change on cardiovascular health. It basically identifies three categories of people exposed more than others to this risk, namely: the elderly (we know that cardiovascular diseases have a higher prevalence as we age, a characteristic of all non-communicable diseases), for the African-American population ( probably other cultural elements related to lifestyle or certain biological characteristics also come into play here). Very important to today’s discussion – this increase in deaths will be highlighted in metropolitan areas.”
“The difference between 7,000, 8,000, 9,000, 10,000 steps is small. If you reached an average of 7,000 steps per day, I think it’s very good, it’s a big plus for health in general. The benefits of physical activity, of walking, are multiple: from the activation of the immune system, to a state of well-being, benefits in the area of mental health, also benefits in metabolic health, a lower risk of obesity, diabetes.
The idea is precisely this, how do we achieve such an average for each of us. Then I am absolutely convinced that the number of steps in combination with other determinants of health will give us a much more accurate profile. It may be that certain people who live in less polluted areas and have access to quality and timely health services may not even need 7,000 steps, 5,000 steps would could be enough. I think we will have more and more personalized recommendations. The point is that walking is good for health, and if I were to connect with what I discussed earlier, with cities, actually cities need to help people relearn how to walk. For this we need sidewalks, such physical infrastructure, but I think we also need another type of
Other news discussed on the show:
The show can also be listened to on the YouTube channel Raportuldegardă.ro:
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2023-11-18 09:04:10
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