Covid-19 — Navigating the Uncharted – MUST READ

March 1, 2020March 1, 2020 / SupremeCmdr / 4 Comments

This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively.²

Click here to read the full NEJM Editorial.

I’m hoping the NEJM editorial gets read and shared widely. Clearly all individuals and businesses need to be prepared for the worst case scenario. If you manage a large company, go back and review/revise your disaster recovery/business continuation plans. I’d make absolutely certain your tele-commuting platform is A+ and working as well as possible. You may even consider expanding your remote work capabilities because every one of your employees might be using it. Soon.

Corona Sales Plummet in China Amid Coronavirus Pandemic — VinePair

February 29, 2020February 29, 2020 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Despite the fact that the COVID-19 coronavirus has nothing whatsoever to do with Corona, the parent company of the Mexican lager has nonetheless suffered a crushing financial loss due to the growing pandemic. Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B InBev), the international producer and distributor of Corona beer, reported Thursday that a decline in Chinese on- and off-premise…

via Corona Sales Plummet in China Amid Coronavirus Pandemic — VinePair

Yikes!

Singapore develops antibody test to detect novel coronavirus infection — Science Chronicle

February 26, 2020February 26, 2020 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Unlike the currently used molecular test that uses oral swab samples, the antibody test developed by Duke-NUS Medical School has several advantages — it can detect past infection in people who have now recovered, it relies on blood samples, and can identify asymptomatic cases. Using an antibody test developed by the Duke-NUS Medical School that […]

via Singapore develops antibody test to detect novel coronavirus infection — Science Chronicle

Plant Protein Linked to Longer Life

September 14, 2019September 14, 2019 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Plant Protein Linked to Longer Life

Link above is to NEJM Journal Watch article.

Conclusions and Relevance In this large prospective study, higher plant protein intake was associated with lower total and CVD-related mortality. Although animal protein intake was not associated with mortality outcomes, replacement of red meat protein or processed meat protein with plant protein was associated with lower total, cancer-related, and CVD-related mortality.

JAMA Internal Medicine article (Free abstract)

Note: Study focused on Japanese adults.

Another Reason Why I Live in Oklahoma

August 21, 2019August 21, 2019 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Priced Out 2019.08.21hk

Image Credit: “A Generation Without A Future”: Millennials Struggle To Survive In Modern Hong Kong

While reading this article the graphic reproduced above caught my eye.

OKC is mentioned! I seem to recall blogging about this affordability gap here, here, here, and here.

I guess HK is out of my retirement plans.

Heavy Drinking ‘Strongest’ Modifiable Risk Factor for Dementia

March 10, 2018March 10, 2018 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

The retrospective analysis involving 30 million people in France shows that those with a history of alcohol use disorders had a threefold increased risk for dementia and that over half those with early-onset dementia had a history of alcohol problems. “This study used a phenomenally large database, and the result showing that half the cases of early-onset dementia were associated with alcohol use disorders is truly staggering,” Ballard told Medscape Medical News.

The researchers used diagnostic codes on hospital records to identify patients with dementia and those who had a history of alcohol use disorders. They found over a million cases of dementia, after excluding people with diseases that can lead to rare types of dementia and those with early-life mental disorders that can increase or confound dementia diagnosis. There were also 945,000 people with alcohol use disorders.

Results showed a strong association between a history of alcohol problems and dementia. This was especially noticeable in early-onset dementia, with 57% of the 57,000 patients who had developed dementia under the age of 65 years having a history of alcohol use disorders (66% of men and 37% of women).

In an analysis of just those patients in whom the first record of dementia occurred in 2011-2013 and adjusted for other risk factors found in the medical records, the risk for dementia was three times greater if the patient had a history of alcohol use disorders. The hazard ratio was 3.36 for men and 3.34 for women.

Read the Medscape article here. Or get down and dirty with the full study here.

Be careful with interpreting these results.

France. I’m not joking. Here’s a Global Consumption Map.