From the editor’s desk: Articles of note for people dealing with pituitary disease. Here are a few information nuggets we thought might be interesting to share; a few things to think about, to chew on, so to speak. You might find them helpful. Read on!
Imagine if we could correct around 89 percent of the genetic mutations that cause heritable human diseases. It is safe to say, as I look at my three beautiful granddaughters and ponder on the generations to come, this is one of those things I think about often. I am utterly fascinated, albeit quite ignorant, with genes and chromosomes, genetics, the chemistry of mutations, the advances in our understanding of the human genome, and all things DNA. That is why whenever I see an article about CRISPR techniques, my antennae go up. CRISPR is a revolutionary class of molecular tools that allows the precise targeting and cutting of any genetic material. You can read more about CRISPR here. As Megan Molteni, the author of this compelling article in Wired Magazine writes: “Why is that a big deal? Because with such fine-tuned command of the genetic code, prime editing could, according to Liu’s calculations, correct around 89 percent of the mutations that cause heritable human diseases.” Read more here, definitely worth it!
Intermittent fasting. Does it work? The people that think a lot about nutrition and weight loss have been talking about intermittent fasting. That is when you choose not to eat for half a day (12 hours) or a more extended period. Predictably, there is a fair amount of debate on the subject. As we have written before, it’s difficult to tell what’s what here, so we’ll stick to our thinking that the best approach is a balanced nutritional diet low in carbohydrates, rich with everything green, and, of course, with a healthy dose of physical activity. Never-the-less, we thought we’d share this interesting discussion about the pros and cons of an intermittent fasting diet from a recent New York Times article.
A discussion on excessive worrying and stress was recently the subject of an engaging article by Jelena Kecmanovic from the Washington Post. A scan of pituitary related social media channels would indicate that people with pituitary conditions understandably worry a lot. We all worry about things, so in some measure, worrying is a routine activity of our daily lives. But excessive worrying, according to the author, can seriously affect our lives, and when it becomes persistent can lead to something called generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which is characterized by irritability, lack of concentration, muscle tension, and fatigue. This article does a great job discussing the issues with GAD and offers helpful information to understand it better and deal with it.
Sleep is another one of those things that we see our readers talking about often. Sleep is essential to our overall health. The consensus appears to be that you need to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep at night to remain healthy. This article and video from Noah Friedman, a senior producer at Business Insider, features the University of California Berkeley neuroscientist Mathew Walker as he discusses the severe issues related to sleep deprivation.
Back to the subject of sleep, and since so many pituitary patients also deal with sleep apnea, we found this article; “Insurance companies are spying on patients through their sleep apnea machines to make sure they’re using them” definitely worth a look. Read the complete article here. If you use a CPAP machine, this is an engaging article not just about ensuring that patients use their CPAP’s, which is understandable to a certain extent, but about the tactics health insurers are using to sell more replacement parts, which is a bit more troublesome. Thus, as the authors point out, these practices “make the therapy more expensive or even price it out of reach” and, more critically, restricting access can produce severe, even deadly consequences for patients. Read more here.
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