News Briefs: Omega-3s; Antibiotic-Resistant Infection; DaVita
Seafood-Derived Omega-3s May Promote Healthier Aging
A team of U.S. researchers led by Tufts University investigated the association between circulating blood levels of n-3 PUFAs (omega-3s) and aging among older adults. They found that higher blood levels of omega-3s found in seafood were associated with a higher likelihood of healthy aging. The study, published in the October issue of The BMJ, included 2,622 adults average age 74 who were taking part in the U.S. Cardiovascular Health study from 1992 to 2015. Blood levels of omega-3s were measured at baseline, six, and 13 years. These included eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), and alpha linolenic acid (ALA). The main dietary sources of EPA, DHA and DPA come from seafood, while ALA is found mainly in plants (nuts, seeds, and leafy green vegetables). Through a review of medical records and the diagnostic tests, researchers discovered that 89 percent of the participants experienced unhealthy aging over the 23-year study period, while 11 percent with higher blood levels of omega-3s experienced healthy aging, defined as survival free of major chronic diseases and without mental or physical dysfunction. Study authors point out that this was an observational study, so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. But, a possible explanation for this effect is that omega-3s help to regulate blood pressure, heart rate, and inflammation.
Genetically Engineered Viruses Clear Antibiotic-Resistant Infection
Scientists have successfully used an experimental therapy that relies on bacteria-infecting viruses (bacteriophages or phages) collected, in part, through a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) program to fight a Mycobacterium infection in a 15-year-old girl. The girl had cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that clogs the lungs with mucus and bacteria. For eight years she struggled with bacterial infections, and traditional antibiotics were no longer working. The experimental treatment used genetically engineered bacteriophages to kill the infection. The work is the first to demonstrate the effective use of engineered bacteriophages in a human patient. But phage therapy is not new. The therapy has been used to kill pathogens such as Shigella dysenteriae, which causes dysentery, as early as 1919. Logistical and technical obstacles led to the decline of this therapy after the discovery of antibiotics. Traditionally, the therapy relied on using naturally occurring phages found in soil, water and air. They play a vital role in regulating environmental bacteria, and it’s estimated there are more than a nonillion (that’s a quadrillion times a quadrillion) phages. HHMI scientists tested and mixed thousands of phages until three prospects were found to treat the girl. They tweaked the phages’ genomes, combined them, and gave them to the patient intravenously twice daily for nine days. After six weeks, a scan revealed that the infection had essentially disappeared. The study appeared in Nature Medicine in May 2019.
For-Profit Dialysis Provider DaVita Charges Private Insurers More
Private insurers covering people receiving dialysis treatment paid four times more than government insurance programs for the same service, according to a recent UCLA study published in the May 2019 issue JAMA Internal Medicine. The study found that government programs paid, on average, $248 per dialysis session, compared with $1,041 per session for people with private insurance. Medicare covers treatment for all dialysis patients, not just those 65 and older, and pays a fixed rate for dialysis care. However, if patients have private insurance, such as through their employer, the dialysis treatment is paid by the private insurer instead of Medicare. Unlike Medicare, private insurers must negotiate with dialysis clinics on the prices they will pay. Two for-profit companies, DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care, control about 75 percent of the U.S. dialysis market. DaVita alone controls 37 percent of the market, operating more than 2,500 U.S. clinics, the researchers say. The study has some limitations. For instance, some private insurers may pay more or less than the averages listed above, and the results may not apply to for-profit or not-for-profit dialysis providers other than DaVita. Previous research has shown that the prices paid for medical care in the United States are higher than all other developed nations. This study corroborates these findings in the dialysis market and could lead to policies that
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