POCKET DIGITAL CAMERA THAT COULD BE USEFUL IN SCIENCE AND MEDICINE THE SONY DSC W120 IS NO SLOUCH WHEN IT COMES TO LOW LIGHT AND BURST MODE

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O.k I admit it. My inner geek is showing. If you look at the posts here on healty medical Blog you may have noticed several discussions about digital cameras and high definition camcorders. Digital cameras are super useful in medicine and science and frankly,they are just plain cool. Doctor or not, many times you just wish you had a camera with you to catch a great shot. Many things in science and medicine (and sports) happen in the blink of an eye. Previously I wrote about the Casio FH 20, a digital camera that can take an amazing 40 shots in one second. In my never ending quest for digital cameras that could be useful in science and medicine I have discovered a 7 megapixel pocket camera, the Sony DSC W120 that seems to be on sale at every office supply and big box retailer. You know that old saying don't judge a book by it's cover? Well I guess in this instance don't judge a camera by it's housing. This little camera packs a lot of wallop for it's size. Just for the record I don't have any ties with Sony or any other company for that matter.





The first thing that struck me about the Sony W120 was the low light ability. That is the ability to get a good picture even in low light or at night without a flash. The Fuji f31d was a pocket camera a few years back that had it's own fan club because of it's legendary low light ability. I didn't see it but this Sony W120 has got to be a contender. Usually in most cameras, to get good pictures in low light you hike up the ISO setting. But as the ISO goes up so does the noise in the picture. The W120 seems to do a good job at least up to ISO 800.



Another thing that surprised me was that this little camera had a burst mode that could take full 7 megapixel pictures at a fairly rapid pace and keep it up. If a camera has a burst mode at all,it usually involves a trade off of speed of pictures taken with size of picture. More pictures equal less size. But the W120 can take 7 megapixel shots at a fairly decent continuous rate. We aren't talking frames per second but maybe 1 to 1 and a 1/2 frames per second.



It has the obligatory face detection feature and another even more geek attractive feature, whose use in medicine I am not sure about, called the the smile shutter. You can guess from the name, this camera will "watch" your subject and snap a picture when they smile. It works! (some of the time).



Previously I wrote about the Casio FH 20,(not a pocket camera) a digital camera that can take an amazing 40 shots in one second. Many things in science and medicine happen in the blink of an eye. This camera can record them.

Video Review of the Casio FH 20 High Speed Burst Mode Camera

WATCH THESE VIDEOS ABOUT ANOTHER WAY TO SCREEN FOR BREAST CANCER ANALOGOUS TO A PAP SMEAR IN ADDITION TO MAMMOGRAM MRI AND ULTRASOUND

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For women, breast cancer is still among the scariest two words in the English language.(By the way, men can get it too) I have seen women patients who told me they had breast cancer 20 years ago and are doing fine and others who didn't do so well. Scientists and doctors continue to search feverishly for new ways to diagnose and treat breast cancer. I have been reading and watching videos about a relatively new screening test for breast cancer. Different than a mammogram or ultrasound it gets a sample of cells in the breast fluid.It sounds like it might be unpleasant,but apparently it's not. This breast cell sample is analogous to a Pap smear in a woman. According to the video, Dr. Papanicolau (inventor of the Pap Test) is the one who suggested that breast fluid could be analyzed for atypical (cells that are different). In a pap smear a sample looking for different cells is taken from the cervix, the entrance to the womb. The Halo Breast Test takes a sample from the breast fluid. It was approved by the FDA in 2005 but has been in the news lately with mentions on the Rachel Ray Show and in newspapers. You can read about the Halo Breast test here and see the videos explaining how Halo breast test works.




Video About Halo Breast Cytology Test for Breast CancerClick the Arrow











A recent TV health reporter was asked "What was the name of the new breast cancer screening technique that was mentioned during the 5 p.m. news? The test costs approximately $75 and was said to be highly effective in detecting breast problems well in advance of a regular mammogram".



"ANSWER: The device is called the Halo Breast Pap Test. I decided to consult further with one of our 10 On Your Side Health experts about whether it was worth making a trip several hours away to go through the diagnostic exam. Dr. Bill Fintel with Blue Ridge Cancer Care says, “It is new and exciting technology to be sure, and using modern molecular examination, even better than the light microscope used in PAP smears. But, there are many questions."






Video About Halo Breast Cytology Test for Breast CancerClick the Arrow

ASK KAREN: Is breast screen a good idea?

Paper about the Halo test

WITH THE NEW JUPITER STATIN LOWERING HEART ATTACK STUDY SHOULD WE PUT CHOLESTEROL MEDICINE IN DRINKING WATER

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Statins are the most powerful and popular cholesterol lowering drugs. You don't need to be Einstein to notice how much is written about them. Just search here on healty medical Blog or read a newspaper. The latest wrinkle in the statin story unfolded last week when a "study was released showing that the cholesterol-lowering drug rosuvastatin (Crestor) reduced heart attacks and strokes in patients without high cholesterol but with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels" C Reactive Protein is the name of a chemical in a blood test. A high CRP, (C Reactive Protein) is tied to inflammation. What does inflammation have to do with a heart attack? Having a heart attack is more complicated than just having a lot of cholesterol in the arteries (though you don't want that).




Video About Heart Attack Risk and C Reactive Protein and StatinsClick the Arrow












Inflammation is also involved with the formation of a blockage in the coronary arteries,the blood vessels that feed the heart muscle itself. The study found that the cholesterol lowering drug lowered heart attacks even in people with not so high cholesterol but who had an indication of inflammation as seen by higher CRP. So as Parker-Pope asks in the NY Times, is it time to put cholesterol-lowering statin drugs in every medicine cabinet? It depends who you ask.





"The JUPITER Study (Justification for the Use of statins in Primary prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin) was designed to determine if treating patients with no evidence of pre-existing cardiovascular disease and low to normal LDL-C( low density lipoprotein the so called bad cholesterol) but elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) with CRESTOR 20mg once daily would reduce major cardiovascular events. CRP is a recognized marker of inflammation and is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events".




According to the article in the Times "This (finding of the Jupiter Study) was definitely a pretty stunning result," said Dr. Steven E. Nissen, chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. “I, for one, will be checking CRP in more patients. If it’s elevated, we will be treating them.” On the other hand "This study does not indicate that we should be putting statins in the drinking water or fortifying cereal with statins,” said Dr. Goldberg, of N.Y.U. “There are millions of people who haven’t gone in and even gotten their cholesterol checked, but everybody wants the new thing. They want to believe the new thing will be the total answer."




Video About Crestor and the Jupiter Study Click the Arrow






There have been reports before that statins may help the heart in other ways. There have even been suggestions that statins might lower the chance of Alzheimer's with the evidence going back and forth. This isn't the first battle in the war of the statins. So what to do? Well statins definitely lower cholesterol and have been shown to lower heart attacks in people with high cholesterol. But they can have nasty side effects in some people such as rhabdomyolysis, dangereous muscle breakdown that may come without warning and can lead to kidney failure. Also statins work by blocking a chemical in the liver and the liver should be monitored on a regular basis for signs of any problems.



"As a result, of this new study, some doctors say they will start testing for CRP (actually many doctors have been testing for it already but weren't sure how useful the result was) and will offer statin therapy to patients whose levels are high".



"Doctors said one worrisome trend did emerge in the study. In the statin group, 3 percent of the people developed diabetes during the study period, compared with 2.4 percent in the placebo group. Moreover, because the study was stopped early (so those in the placebo group could begin taking statins for their presumed heart benefits), it did not yield much insight into the drugs’ long-term safety. Nor is it clear that the early benefit shown in the statin group would have held up over a longer period or whether other risks might have emerged".

WHAT ABOUT TAKING A STATIN DRUG AND OMEGA 3 FOR HIGH CHOLESTEROL AND HIGH TRIGLYCERIDE SOME STUDIES SUGGEST FOR COMBINED DYSLIPIDEMIA

Call to Caution

Statins Side Effects Under Fire

Take More Vitamin D Stay Healthier?

A VIDEO ABOUT A NEW EXPERIMENTAL WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY NO ABDOMINAL INCISION UNLIKE OTHER GASTRIC BYPASS BARIATRIC SURGERY

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"The surgeons had just stapled her stomach to form a thumb-sized tube that would hold only a small amount of food. The operation resembled others done for weight loss, with one huge difference". In this there was no cutting. "Instead, the surgeons had passed the stapler down her throat and stapled her stomach from the inside". What if you could get gastric bypass weight loss surgery without making an incision, cutting open the abdomen? For sure, many people are pleased with the outcome of gastric bypass weight loss surgery. Bariatric surgery, as it's called is often successful but like any surgery it is not risk free.




Watch Video about Trial of Less Cutting Weight Loss Op Transoral Gastroplasty Click the Arrow









I know two teens who after struggling with their weight had weight loss surgery and have successfully become thinner and are happy with the results. However, just read some the older posts here on healty medical Blog about gastric bypass and bariatric surgery and you'll realize it requires careful thought and planning. Could there an alternative? Maybe the answer is Toga as in transoral gastroplasty. As you can see in this video about weight loss surgery, a company called Satiety is getting clinical trials of it's experimental no abdominal incision method of weight loss surgery called TOGA, Transoral Gastroplasty.Transoral, trans oral, get it? means through the mouth, while the word “gastroplasty” means shaping of the stomach.





A company called Satiety is getting clinical trials of it's experimental no abdominal incision method of weight loss surgery called TOGA, Transoral Gastroplasty. "The TOGA Procedure is performed without surgical incisions using a flexible device that is passed through the mouth and down to the stomach. Using specialized instruments, doctors are able to manipulate the stomach and staple it from within to create a small pouch. This pouch is intended to give patients a feeling of fullness after a small meal".






The NY Times had an article about a 25 year old woman's experience with the new type of bariatric surgery. "In Mexico and Europe over the past two to three years, 98 patients have had the new weight-loss surgery, named Toga (for transoral gastroplasty). On average, those who have passed the one-year mark have lost about 40 percent of their excess weight. Only time will tell whether they will be able to avoid gaining it back". "There are older, well-established operations that produce more weight loss, and in the United States 200,000 people have them each year. Known as bariatric surgery, it is often done through slits".

Weight Loss No Cutting

TOGA Clinical Study

5 Posts about Gastric Bypass and weight Loss

A VIDEO AND A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SAYS EATING THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET KEEPS PEOPLE HEALTHIER AND HELPS THEM LIVE LONGER

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A new meta analysis study, which is a kind of super statistical analysis of other studies, of the Mediterranean diet has been published. I have written a lot here in healty medical Blog about the Mediterranean diet. People who lived in countries around the rim of the Mediterranean Sea consume (or at least they used to before they switched to fast food) certain foods such as olive oil that seemed to keep them healthier and live longer. The Mediterranean diet is low in saturated fat. However, it views two types of fat, omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats as healthy and places no restrictions on their consumption. The Mediterranean diet does not regard all fat as bad. In fact, the focus of the Mediterranean diet is not to limit total fat consumption, but rather to make wise choices about the type of fat in the diet.



Watch a Video on the Mediterranean Diet Click the Arrow






A new meta analysis study, which is a kind of super statistical analysis of other studies, of the Mediterranean diet has been published. The authors of the meta-analysis conclude that their analysis "shows that adherence to a Mediterranean diet can significantly decrease the risk of overall mortality, mortality from cardiovascular diseases, incidence of or mortality from cancer, and incidence of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease". That study is called Adherence to Mediterranean diet and health status: meta-analysis.







The Mediterranean diet is low in saturated fat. However, it views two types of fat, omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats as healthy and places no restrictions on their consumption. The omega-3 fatty acids are found in fatty fish (e.g, salmon, trout, sardines, tuna) and in some plant sources (e.g, walnuts and other tree nuts, flaxseed, various vegetables). Monounsaturated fat is abundant in olive oil, nuts, and avocados. Eating plenty of fruit, vegetables and fish instead of meat, not to mention olive oil rather than saturated fats.

Adherence to Mediterranean diet and health status: meta-analysis

More from PMB on How to Eat Like You Live on the Mediterranean

Videos On Studies Recommending Taking More Vitamin D for Health

VIDEO WHAT WAS REPORT ABOUT THE CHOLESTEROL DRUG CRESTOR ROZUVASTATIN AND POSSIBILITY OF LESS HEART ATTACK EVEN IN PEOPLE WITH NORMAL CHOLESTEROL

A study suggested that people with a high level of a chemical marker for heart trouble but normal cholesterol seemed to be helped by the cholesterol drug Crestor. As you may know, the most famous and most powerful class of cholesterol lowering drugs are the class called statins, with names like Zocor, Lipitor and Crestor. It's been demonstrated pretty clearly that they do work to lower cholesterol and doctors use them effectively to lower the numbers in people with high cholesterol. But what about people with normal cholesterol?




Watch this Video on the JUPITER Study of Crestor ROZUVASTATIN and Normal Cholesterol Click the Arrow







The Heart Association reported on a study called the Jupiter Study of people who have normal level of the so called bad cholesterol LDL cholesterol but a high CRP. CRP stands for C Reactive Protein, a chemical that doctors have been viewing as a possible proxy for a heart disease marker. In other words, a high CRP means a higher risk of heart problems. The Heart Association said "Study results were released today showing that the cholesterol-lowering drug rosuvastatin (Crestor) reduced heart attacks and strokes in patients without high cholesterol but with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels".





Watch this Video C Reactive Protein Cholesterol and the Heart Click the Arrow







"The JUPITER Study (Justification for the Use of statins in Primary prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin) was designed to determine if treating patients with no evidence of pre-existing cardiovascular disease and low to normal LDL-C( low density lipoprotein the so called bad cholesterol) but elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) with CRESTOR 20mg once daily would reduce major cardiovascular events. CRP is a recognized marker of inflammation and is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events".




"In JUPITER, investigators identified a further group of patients with elevated hs-CRP levels (a marker of inflammation) but with lower risk than is currently recommended for cholesterol-lowering treatment (those with an LDL < 130mg/dl), and demonstrated a benefit for lowering LDL further with a statin. The group was mixed in terms of other risk factors, such as hypertension, metabolic syndrome, smoking, abnormal glucose tolerance, and a positive family history of premature heart disease".



“This study demonstrated a significant reduction in heart attacks and strokes in treating this group, selected from an initially screened group of more than 89,000". As is the case for just about all medicines, statins can have side effects. Side effects include liver problems or muscle damage

American Heart Association Comment on JUPITER trial

Crestor Outcomes Study JUPITER Closes Early Due To Unequivocal Evidence Of Benefit

SCIENTISTS GET JEWISH WOMEN TO SPIT IN STUDY OF BRCA1 BRCA2 BREAST CANCER GENES AND A VIDEO ON THE RECOMMENDATION MRI FOR SOME BREAST CANCER SCREENING

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Scientists are going around the country getting Jewish women to spit and thus give DNA samples for a study of breast cancer. Spitting vs older blood tests for gene study. The breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are among the most famous and most studied of cancer genes. When they are mutated,i.e an alteration in the genetic sequence of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 they are associated with a heightened risk for a number of cancers. According to a recent newspaper article in the Forward , "For researchers looking at what have become known as the “Jewish breast cancer genes,” much of the last decade has been spent identifying women who have the gene mutations and finding medical procedures to battle the breast and ovarian cancers that result".



"BRCA1 and BRCA2, are about five times more likely to be defective, or mutated, in Ashkenazic Jews (Jews who have tended to live in Europe and North America vs Sephardic Jews) than in the general population. Until now, though, scientists have largely been in the dark about why some women with the mutation get cancer and why some do not, as well as how the cancer-causing process might be stopped".

Read About a Pap Smear for Breast Cancer



In 2007 the Cancer Society recommended that certain women with possible increased risk of breast cancer get an MRI scan of the breasts. See the video.

Video about Recommendation for MRI for Breast Cancer Click the Arrow









"One of the new studies that is looking for answers is the Jewish Women’s Breast and Ovarian Cancer Genetics Study, which launched in late September. The study, which is being run out of New York University, is working from the knowledge that some women who have a defective version of BRCA1 and BRCA2 live long lives without ever developing cancer...Now many of the same scientists are striking out in bold new directions, in search of the finer mechanics of how the gene causes cancer, and in some cases, looking at how the cancer might be prevented altogether..A research team is setting out across the country to collect DNA samples from thousands of older Jewish women".

Why Women Hate Pelvic Exams

Scientific Advances Looking To Stop Cancer Gene

Whats Difference Between Screening and Diagnostic Mammogram