Cascade of Dependency (AKA HOSPITAL ACQUIRED FRAILTY)

So just how fast does the Cascade of Dependency (AKA HOSPITAL ACQUIRED FRAILTY) happen?

Changes begin virtually overnight, and the stampede of systemic attacks on our bodies quickens.

Physical therapy is not just for post-operative care for, joint surgery, such as hip or knee replacement. It is a vital component for recovery from heart surgery, neurosurgery, or chronic medical conditions requiring hospitalization for several days.

UTIs, cognitive decline (no this isn't dementia), muscle wasting, pulmonary challenges, BP changes, etc., etc.

We've all seen this happen with older patients. Sometimes, they hit home a lot harder.

Here is a tragic story.

A grandmother who was VERY clearly mobile healthy, and smart as a whip 2 weeks before her hospitalization.

In 2024, we realize how detrimental bed immobility is.

For the first week in the hospital following a fall and surgery, she was to get PT 2x per day. 14 treatments ordered.

How many did she actually get? 2 times...TOTAL.

Never out of bed, never sitting up at bedside, she just laid in bed while her whole body shut down.

But she was seen by a number of 'specialists' as multiple systems were failing. Awesome, but they missed the root cause.

The family requested repeatedly therapy and even nursing help to get her out of bed. Didn't happen.

Can we at least get her sitting up for meals? Didn't happen.

I should have flown out there to help. I didn't. I trusted the hospital would keep its promises to finally start getting her up. And then it was too late.

We finally got her into skilled nursing with the help of the orthopedist. I called ahead to give them the details and to ensure they got her moving and kept an eye on her--with her cognition now she may be impulsive and try to get up.

She did try to get up (even in her state, she didn't want to be stuck in the bed) and fell all over again. Back to the hospital and back to being confined in bed.

My family lost her in 3 short weeks. Several months later the emotions for many of us are still raw.

For many older persons, hospitalization results in functional decline despite a cure or repair of the condition for which they were admitted. Hospitalization can result in complications unrelated to the problem that caused admission or to its specific treatment for reasons that are explainable and avoidable.

BOTTOM LINE

IF AT ALL POSSIBLE HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER OR CLOSE FRIEND VISIT YOUR RELATIVE TO HELP THEM SIT UP AND/OR GET OUT OF BED DAILY IF POSSIBLE.

I'm Dr. Gary Levin, a retired ophthalmologist who has dealt with many geriatric patients.

A Proactive Approach to Avoiding Seasonal Spike in Hospitalizations - Optimize Health

Brrr!

As colder temperatures approach, healthcare providers have an opportunity to practice preventative care for their at-risk patients. Colder temperatures have very real impacts on hospitalizations, especially for the elderly. One study demonstrated that for every 1 ⁰C decrease in temperature, hospital admissions increased 1.6% overall and 2.4% for the elderly (over 75). 

Seasonal Illnesses

Seasonal illnesses like the flu and Covid always spike in the winter and those with underlying chronic diseases are the most at risk for severe flu and Covid. Patients at high risk for severe flu or Covid during the winter can benefit tremendously from remote patient monitoring (RPM) and chronic care management (CCM). Now is the time to get patients onboarded and engaged with the process before the most serious winter risks set in.

Covid and the flu can cause significant spikes in blood sugar for diabetics. Patients with diabetes, even well-controlled diabetes, need to be checking their blood pressure more frequently when they are sick. A monitoring clinician with access to real-time data can help assess patients and determine if they need additional Similarly, these same illnesses can cause increases in blood pressure or fluid retention for patients with hypertension and heart failure. Using a remote blood pressure device and/or scale can catch spikes early, preventing hospitalizations or more adverse events.

Less Activity, More Eating 

According to a National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) poll, 58% of U.S. adults are less active in the winter.  Less activity combined with a season full of sugary pumpkin spice, football parties, and holiday desserts isn’t great for anyone’s weight, blood pressure, or blood sugar. And it’s especially dangerous for those with diabetes and other chronic conditions. 

It’s easy to slide into less healthy habits in the winter and this can easily worsen health conditions. Remote patient monitoring is about more than just blood pressure or blood sugar readings. It’s about accountability and developing healthy habits with help from a monitoring clinician. 

Staying on track with lifestyle goals is more important than ever during the holidays when that last slice of pie or one more cookie is ever so tempting. Staying on track with lifestyle goals is more important than ever during the holidays when that last slice of pie or one more cookie is ever so tempting. And throughout the winter when staying on the couch is more appealing than working out. Patients who know someone is watching their vital signs are more likely to make smarter lifestyle choices.

Air Temperature and Heart Attacks

The American College of Cardiology has found that exposure to cold weather does increase hospital admissions for heart attacks.  Particularly, risks increase two to six days after cold spell exposure. The study found the risk decreases on day one of a cold spell likely because patients are staying indoors. This highlights the importance of proactive interventions to protect the most vulnerable patients from cold stress. 

When elderly or at-risk patients have an ongoing relationship with a monitoring clinician, that clinician can coach them to stay indoors and limit exposure during unsafe winter storms. At the same time, the clinician can encourage more frequent readings to check for trends in blood pressure that may require early intervention.

Air Temperature and Heart Attacks

The American College of Cardiology has found that exposure to cold weather does increase hospital admissions for heart attacks.  Particularly, risks increase two to six days after cold spell exposure. The study found the risk decreases on day one of a cold spell likely because patients are staying indoors. This highlights the importance of proactive interventions to protect the most vulnerable patients from cold stress. 

When elderly or at-risk patients have an ongoing relationship with a monitoring clinician, that clinician can coach them to stay indoors and limit exposure during unsafe winter storms. At the same time, the clinician can encourage more frequent readings to check for trends in blood pressure that may require early intervention.

Seasonal Depression

Increased indoor time, decreased physical activity, and reduced sunlight can lead to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a form of depression. This can exacerbate feelings of isolation and loneliness, which are already common among some elderly individuals. Anxiety and depression can have very real effects on blood pressure, weight, and other physical measures of health. Continuous engagement through remote patient monitoring and/or chronic care management can provide early warning signs of depression and worsening physical health due to anxiety and depression. Monitoring clinicians can watch for the physical signs of depression and also make referrals to help patients get the mental health help they may need.

A Holistic Approach to Health for Every Season

RPM and CCM provide a proactive, holistic approach to preventative health year-round. But with increased health risks – both physical and mental – during the colder seasons, having a monitoring clinician available for your most at-risk patients can save lives. 

And it doesn’t have to be taxing on your staff. Optimize Health can provide managed remote patient monitoring where our team of clinicians becomes an extension of your staff.  Contact us to learn more.

A Proactive Approach to Avoiding Seasonal Spike in Hospitalizations - Optimize Health

Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Access Model | CMS

Cell and Gene Therapy is a means for providing precision medical treatments.

The field is not without significant challenges.

Stem cell therapy is a promising field, but it also raises several controversies and ethical concerns. Here are some key issues:

Source of Stem Cells**

   Embryonic Stem Cells**: These are derived from human embryos, raising ethical concerns about the moral status of the embryos and issues related to consent and destruction.

   Adult Stem Cells**: While less controversial, they are often more limited in their ability to differentiate into various cell types.

Regulation and Oversight**

    There is ongoing debate about how stem cell therapies should be regulated. Some treatments are offered without sufficient scientific evidence of their safety and efficacy, leading to the potential exploitation of vulnerable patients.

Efficacy and Safety**

   Many stem cell therapies are still experimental, and their long-term effects are not fully understood. Cases of adverse effects, including tumor formation, have raised safety concerns.

Commercialization and Access**

    The commercialization of stem cell therapies can lead to disparities in access to treatment. High costs may limit availability to wealthier patients, raising questions about equity in healthcare.

Unproven Treatments**

    The emergence of clinics offering unverified stem cell treatments can mislead patients and divert them from proven therapies. This has led to calls for better education and regulation.

Informed Consent**

   - Obtaining informed consent can be complicated, especially if patients do not fully understand the experimental nature of the treatments or the risks involved.

Cloning and Genetic Modification**

   - The potential use of stem cells in cloning or genetic modification raises additional ethical concerns about "playing God" and the implications for human genetics.

The controversies surrounding stem cell therapy highlight the need for ongoing dialogue among scientists, ethicists, policymakers, and the public to navigate these complex issues responsibly.

Cell and gene therapy are innovative medical treatments that aim to address genetic disorders, cancers, and other diseases at the cellular and molecular levels.

### Cell Therapy

Cell therapy involves introducing, removing, or altering cells to treat a disease. This can include:

- **Stem Cell Therapy**: Using stem cells to regenerate damaged tissues or organs.

- **Immune Cell Therapy**: Modifying immune cells (like CAR-T cell therapy) to better recognize and attack cancer cells.

### Gene Therapy

Gene therapy focuses on correcting or replacing faulty genes responsible for disease development. This can involve:

- **Gene Replacement**: Introducing a healthy copy of a gene to compensate for a defective one.

- **Gene Editing**: Using techniques like CRISPR to directly alter genetic material within a patient's cells.

### Applications

- **Genetic Disorders**: Treating conditions like cystic fibrosis or hemophilia.

- **Cancer Treatment**: Engineering immune cells to target and destroy tumors.

- **Infectious Diseases**: Developing therapies to combat viral infections.

### Challenges

Both therapies face challenges, including ethical concerns, potential side effects, and the need for long-term studies to assess safety and efficacy.

Overall, cell and gene therapies represent a promising frontier in medicine, potentially providing durable solutions for previously untreatable conditions.

Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Access Model | CMS

                            

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) could affect accessibility for this advanced and expensive treatment.  Fortunately, CMS is developing criteria for this treatment.

The Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Access Model aims to improve the lives of people with Medicaid living with rare and severe diseases by increasing access to potentially transformative treatments. Cell and gene therapies have high upfront costs but have the potential to reduce healthcare spending over time by addressing the underlying causes of disease, reducing the severity of illness, and reducing healthcare utilization. 

                               

Initially, the model will focus on access to gene therapy treatments for people living with sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder that disproportionately affects Black Americans.  

The average patient with sickle cell disease life span is 20 years shorter than normal.

Sickle Cell Treatment.  CASGEVY is a one-time* gene therapy that may help people 12 years and older with sickle cell disease (SCD) and frequent vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) live severely VOC-free.†.   LYFGENIA is another gene modification technique.  

The CMS Access Model will serve as a guideline for many cell and gene treatments in the future.

Stem cell therapy has the potential to treat a variety of diseases and conditions. Some of the notable ones include:

1. **Hematological Disorders**:

   - Leukemia

   - Lymphoma

   - Aplastic anemia

2. **Neurological Conditions**:

   - Parkinson's disease

   - Multiple sclerosis

   - Spinal cord injuries

3. **Cardiovascular Diseases**:

   - Heart failure

   - Myocardial infarction (heart attack)

4. **Orthopedic Issues**:

   - Osteoarthritis

   - Bone fractures

5. **Autoimmune Diseases**:

   - Lupus

   - Rheumatoid arthritis

6. **Metabolic Disorders**:

   - Type 1 diabetes

   - Genetic metabolic diseases

7. **Eye Diseases**:

   - Age-related macular degeneration

   - Retinitis pigmentosa

8. **Skin Conditions**:

   - Burns

   - Chronic wounds

9. **Congenital Disorders**:

   - Certain inherited blood disorders

10. **Cancer Treatment**:

    - As part of bone marrow transplants for various cancers

While research is ongoing, the effectiveness and safety of stem cell therapy can vary depending on the condition and the type of stem cells used.

Gene therapy has the potential to treat a range of diseases, particularly those caused by genetic mutations. Some of the key conditions include:

Genetic Disorders**:

   - Cystic fibrosis

   - Duchenne muscular dystrophy

   - Hemophilia

   - Sickle cell disease

   - Tay-Sachs disease

Eye Disorders**:

   - Leber congenital amaurosis

   - Retinitis pigmentosa

Neurological Disorders**:

   - Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)

   - Huntington's disease

Cancer**:

   - Certain types of leukemia and lymphoma

   - Solid tumors (using oncolytic viruses or CAR T-cell therapy)

Infectious Diseases**:

   - HIV/AIDS (experimental therapies)

Metabolic Disorders**:

   - Gaucher disease

   - Fabry disease

Cardiovascular Diseases**:

   - Genetic causes of heart disease, such as familial hypercholesterolemia

Immune Disorders**:

   - Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)

Some of these Gene therapies are still largely experimental, and ongoing research aims to improve their safety and efficacy for various conditions.

Next time you are thirsty, Drink Water, or Real Fruit Juice

These are some of the health reasons
that I remind myself of
to help me avoid drinking sodas
despite all the pleasure
it used to give me.

The number of AI medical devices has spiked in the past decade | MedTech Dive

As a healthcare consultant, the most frequent requests I receive are for information about Artificial Intelligence.

Fortunately, there are many resources for that information.  My feeds, Twitter, Facebook, and others such as Doximity, and Sermo are filled with important late-breaking information

LinkedIn also provides several interest groups for Artificial Intelligence and LLMs

Paul Baier and GAI WeeklyVideo

The weekly live stream from GAI affords a deep dive from many fields of interest, moderated by Paul Baier

The number of AI medical devices has spiked in the past decade | MedTech Dive

University of Iowa Health Care tries AI

Your doctor may soon be more energized.  Watch how AI has helped at the University of Iowa

With new artificial intelligence (AI) products emerging (seemingly) every day—generative AI is increasingly becoming part of the healthcare process.

But what does it actually look like to implement an AI program into a health system?

University of Iowa (UI) Health Care in Iowa City has teamed up with Nabla. This Boston-based company develops ambient AI assistant technology, to roll out the company’s new technology that transcribes appointments and reduces clinicians’ time spent on documentation, according to Nabla. UI Health Care rolled out the tech to all its clinicians in September and provided video training for the staff on how to use Nabla. James Blum, an anesthesiologist and chief health information officer at UI Health Care, said.

In 2024, about 62% of clinicians reported that “excessive documentation requirements” is a leading cause of burnout, according to Athenahealth, a health tech and electronic health record (EHR) company. The American Medical Association reported in January that primary care physicians, for example, can spend up to 45.7 minutes on documentation for every 30-minute appointment.

In March and April, UI Health Care ran a five-week pilot program in which a cohort of clinicians used the autonomous scribe to document 2,300 patient visits. Providers reported a 4.3 out of 5 clinical note rating, and saw a 26% reduction in reported burnout rate, according to a press release.

About 78% of office-based physicians and 96% of acute care hospitals had an EHR system in 2021, according to HealthIT.gov, a federal organization that researches health technology and information. By comparison, only 34% of office-based physicians and 28% of hospitals were using EHRs in 2011.

“We, unfortunately, over the last couple of decades, have introduced more and more burden on our providers to document various things,” Blum said. “A technology like ambient [AI] fundamentally changes the game, as it removes that documentation burden, and it removes the cognitive burden when you’re sitting with the patient…If you know that note’s going to be generated, and it’s going to be a high-quality note that you can then edit, that enables you to engage with the patient more readily.”

 

Nabla also built in a customization feature called Magic Edit, which allows clinicians to make notes more concise or add details about a visit.

“Customization is really our core differentiator regarding the product. We want to customize the product to specialties, but also each physician,” Groll said.

Aside from Nabla, Blum said that the system also uses Evidently, a chart-summarizing cognitive AI tool, alongside other predictive technology to detect conditions and improve early intervention care.

Choosing tech. The built-in privacy measures were a major reason UI Health Care decided to work with Nabla, according to Blum. In addition to not recording the conversations, the company says Nabla automatically deletes UI Health Care transcripts from its system after 14 days, and it does not train its models on information the technology engages with from the health system.

“We take regulation, safety, data privacy, [and] transparency very seriously at Nabla,” Delphine Groll, co-founder and COO of the tech company, told Healthcare Brew. “This is very important for us to have this kind of policy when we partner with health systems, because for them, it’s also a matter of trust.”

Nabla is fully supported in English, Spanish, and French—with 32 more languages available in beta versions—and covers at least 55 specialities, like cardiology, according to the company. In addition to UI Health Care, about 70 health organizations and 30,000 clinicians have deployed Nabla, Groll said, including the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Carle Health in Illinois.

About one month since the roll-out, nearly 1,000 providers at UI Health Care now use Nabla, according to Blum.

Zoom out. Nabla is not alone in the ambient listening tech space and competes with AI-assisted healthcare documentation products from Abridge, Insight Health, and Nuance Communications. Ambient AI, according to a 2023 report from the Mayo Clinic, has “great potential to become mainstream over the next 10–15 years.”

University of Iowa Health Care tries AI

Implausibility of radical life extension in humans in the twenty-first century | Nature Aging

 Humanity is hitting the upper limit of life expectancy, according to a new study.

What is life expectancy?

Here’s a simple overview of life expectancy trends over recent years for different regions. This can help you understand how life expectancy varies globally.

### Life Expectancy by Region (2021 Estimates)

| Region               | Life Expectancy (Years) |

|----------------------|-------------------------|

| Global Average       | 72.6                    |

| North America        | 79.1                    |

| Europe               | 77.9                    |

| Asia                 | 73.5                    |

| Latin America        | 75.0                    |

| Africa               | 64.5                    |

| Oceania              | 78.5                    |

### Key Points

- **Global Average**: The average life expectancy worldwide has been gradually increasing but varies greatly by region.

- **North America and Europe**: Generally have higher life expectancies due to better health care and living conditions.

- **Africa**: Typically has the lowest life expectancy, influenced by factors like health crises (e.g., HIV/AIDS, malaria) and economic challenges.

For the most current and detailed statistics, you can consult resources like the World Health Organization (WHO) or the World Bank.Life expectancy refers to the average number of years a person is expected to live, based on statistical averages. It is often calculated from birth, but can also be measured at different ages, such as life expectancy at age 65. Factors influencing life expectancy include:

Health Care Access**: Availability and quality of medical services.

Lifestyle Choices**: Diet, exercise, and habits like smoking or alcohol consumption.

Socioeconomic Status**: Education, income level, and occupation.

Genetics**: Family history and inherited health conditions.

Environmental Factors**: Pollution, housing conditions, and community safety.

Life expectancy varies significantly between countries and regions due to these factors. For example, developed countries often have higher life expectancies compared to developing countries. Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live, assuming death rates at that time hold constant. It is one of the world’s most important health measures, but it is also imperfect: It is a snapshot estimate that cannot account for deadly pandemics, miracle cures, or other unforeseen developments that might kill or save millions of people.  Advances in medical technology and genetic research — not to mention larger numbers of people making it to age 100 — are not translating into marked jumps in lifespan overall, according to researchers who found shrinking longevity increases in countries with the longest-living populations.

“We have to recognize there’s a limit” and perhaps reassess assumptions about when people should retire and how much money they’ll need to live out their lives, said S. Jay Olshansky, a University of Illinois-Chicago researcher who was lead author of the study published Monday by the journal Nature Aging.

In the new research, Olshansky and his research partners tracked life expectancy estimates for the years 1990 to 2019, drawn from a database administered by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. The researchers focused on eight of the places in the world where people live the longest — Australia, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, and Switzerland.

The U.S. doesn’t even rank in the top 40. But it also was included “because we live here” and because of past, bold estimates that life expectancy in the U.S. might surge dramatically in this century, Olshansky said.

Why life expectancy may not be able to rise forever

The study suggests that there’s a limit to how long most people live, and we’ve about hit it, Olshansky said.

The ranks of centenarians will likely grow in the decades ahead, experts say, but that’s because of population growth. The percentage of people hitting 100 will remain limited, likely with fewer than 15% of women and 5% of men making it that long in most countries, Olshansky said.

Global Life Expectancy reveals significant difference between countries, races, income and sex.

Implausibility of radical life extension in humans in the twenty-first century | Nature Aging

Charted: The cost of weight-loss drugs in the US vs. other countries

According to a new report from KFF, the United States pays significantly more for weight-loss drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy, than peer nations, with U.S. prices sometimes being 10 times higher. 

This should be no surprise, just about all drugs are more expensive in the USA.

5 catalysts that Will Impact the Future of Weight Management Drugs

The weight management medication market is facing a crucial turning point. Learn about the five game-changing moments that will affect the use of GLP-1s for weight loss — from expanded indications to Medicare coverage — and find out what stakeholders should do now to prepare for the future. 

Catalyst 1: FDA approval of new weight management drugs

Weight-management drug competition is ramping up. Though currently only one GLP-1 has been approved for weight management (Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide—also known as Wegovy), early reports from Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide show that the drug may outperform semaglutide in recipients’ percentage of weight loss and percentage of lean muscle mass retained. Furthermore, additional anti-obesity drugs are likely to hit the market in coming years that appeal even more to patients. If the FDA approves these drugs, they will likely have a positive impact on the perception of GLP-1s overall and ease some of the access and price concerns held today.

Ripple effects

Supply chain issues will lessen as more treatment options increase supply

Steeper rebates for health plans as pharmacy benefit managers gain the upper hand in negotiations with manufacturers

Net costs are likely to decrease, but patients may face cost-sharing barriers from persistently high list prices

Catalyst 2: SELECT trial results

Novo Nordisk’s SELECT trial for semaglutide seeks to demonstrate the drug’s efficacy in reducing major cardiovascular events for individuals with established cardiovascular disease. Researchers and clinicians seem confident that results will be positive, making it likely that the FDA will update the drug’s indicated use to include cardiovascular risk reduction in addition to chronic weight management for those above a designated BMI threshold.

Ripple effects

Increased pressure on commercial health plans and employers to cover semaglutide (and future competitors) given the demonstrated relation to cardiovascular health

A new mechanism for Medicare to provide coverage for semaglutide for patients with established cardiovascular disease

Force competitors with drugs in the pipeline to expand their trials to also focus on cardiovascular disease and/or other related health outcomes

Catalyst 3: New data on prescribing and utilization rates

Today, we have little real-world data on how GLP-1s are prescribed and used, limiting the ability of decision-makers to form long-term strategies. In the coming years as more data becomes available, payers and providers will be able to make more informed moves, influencing how these drugs are prescribed, managed, and reimbursed.

Ripple effects

Providers will have a better sense of the overall patient population and more insight into how to manage follow-up care to improve outcomes

Payers will develop more informed coverage policies to limit low-value use of the drugs

Patient medication use and adherence patterns will reveal the scale and clinical impact of drug-related weight cycling (patients take the medication, lose weight, go off the treatment and regain weight, and then get on the medication again)  

Catalyst 4: Patient outcomes from wrap-around services for weight management drugs

Some payers are responding to the demand for GLP-1s and weight loss services by directing members to obesity centers of excellence to ensure the right patients are receiving weight management medications as part of holistic obesity care. At the same time, wellness companies like WeightWatchers and Noom are expanding into prescribing with new telehealth offerings that increase subscriber access to GLP-1s in combination with behavioral interventions. The success (or failure) of these wrap-around service models will likely shape how patients access these drugs and obesity management services in the future.

Ripple effects

If wrap-around service models improve patient outcomes and experience long-term, more payers and wellness companies are likely to employ these models, solidifying this as a new model for obesity care that will come with its own risks and rewards

If these early wrap-around models aren’t successful, healthcare leaders will likely experiment with different ways to facilitate the use of weight management medications as part of holistic obesity care to improve long-term outcomes. Whether via wrap-around services or some alternative model, weight management drugs are unlikely to have a positive impact unless healthcare leaders find a way to integrate them into holistic obesity care  

Catalyst 5: Medicare weight loss coverage reversal

Right now, Medicare cannot legally cover weight-management medications. Advocates have been lobbying to reverse this restriction for years and lawmakers are likely to reintroduce a bill that would do so later this year. The bill had bipartisan support in the past; however, its passage is uncertain given Medicare cost implications. If lobbyists are successful, the change will increase access to these medications—not to mention costs to Medicare and patients, increasing fears about the financial impact of GLP-1s.  

Ripple effects

A large group of patients would gain access to medications covered by their Medicare Part D plans, reducing access disparities

Increase in Medicare Part D plan premiums to accommodate for high cost and projected high utilization of weight management drugs

11 years after FDA approves each weight-management drug, Medicare could negotiate its price as long as generics are not developed

So what should stakeholders be doing now as we wait to see how these catalytic moments transpire?

Providers, especially those unused to providing obesity care, can brush up on clinical guidelines and ensure that patients seeking out weight management drugs receive holistic care. Purchasers can start collecting claims data on prescribing and utilization practices, and surveying members and employees about how likely they are to seek access to these medications.

Charted: The cost of weight-loss drugs in the US vs. other countries

Home - BioViva Science

A new anti-aging treatment for antiaging, using viral vectors.

As people age, their cells gradually become less effective at carrying out their daily functions and repairing damage. This micro-cellular decline can then lead to life-threatening macro-effects such as organ failure and disease. Traditionally, medicine focuses on treating the symptoms of this damage - such as cognitive decline or high cholesterol. However, ambitious biotechnology company BioViva is instead centering its attention on fixing the root cause of it all: cellular aging.

BioViva is implementing personalized, regenerative gene therapies to slow down and reverse biological aging. The firm has a patent on a gene delivery process known as adeno-associated virus (AAV). AAV, which uses the natural ability of a virus to deliver genetic material into cells, and therefore, can be used as a vehicle to carry therapeutic genes into human cells.

In addition to this, the biotechnology company has a patent pending on CMV, a gene delivery method with the capacity to support larger genetic loads due to its greater genome size and unique ability to incorporate multiple genes. CMV thus minimizes the number of treatments needed because more genetic information can be delivered at once. In initial animal studies, CMV treatment was seen to extend lifespan by over 41%. It has been proven to be a potent delivery vector and is being utilized as a part of multiple immunotherapies, including treatments for cancer, AIDS, and malaria.

Through this innovative form of gene therapy, BioViva is setting out to extend humans' health spans - which is the amount of time spent in good health - rather than focusing purely on improving lifespans. This is an issue that grows more critical as the global elderly population expands, particularly due to their increased susceptibility to COVID-19 and susceptibility to aging-associated diseases. Although life expectancy has increased by around three months per year in recent decades, UK data highlights that men are expected to spend around 16 years in ill health while women are expected to spend 19 years in poor health at the end of their lives. As a result, armed with its new gene therapy, BioViva is striving to narrow the gap between our health spans and our lifespans.

The older population's vulnerability is largely due to their immune system being in cellular senescence, where cells no longer divide and repair themselves; this comes as a result of the shortening of telomeres - which can be likened to shoelace-caps located at the ends of our DNA strands - that inevitably comes with biological aging. This damage is associated with diseases such as osteoporosis, heart disease, dementia, Alzheimer's, and cancers.

"Today, we are living longer than ever - which is great. But the caveat is that this means we are also in ill health longer than ever," says Liz Parrish, the CEO of BioViva. "Biological aging is the biggest killer on the planet. Not only does it impact the individual, but the effects of aging-related diseases ripple through to family members who have to see their loved ones struggle with these illnesses - illnesses that we believe will one day be preventable. This is what continues to inspire the entire team at BioViva to find solutions to aging-related decline and to reduce the detrimental impact of disease." Parrish has undergone gene therapy twice with positive results, underlining her conviction in the effectiveness of these treatments.

BioViva's gene therapy presents an opportunity to stop a disease in its tracks before it has been given a chance to spread; the company hopes this could offer cures to conditions that we now consider incurable. The company is now working with five gene candidates and expanding its gene candidates yearly.

 As of my last knowledge update in October 2023, Bioviva's gene therapy products had not received FDA approval. Bioviva has been involved in various gene therapy projects, but specific approvals can change over time. For the most current information, it's best to check the FDA's official website or Bioviva's announcements.

Home - BioViva Science