Monday, July 20, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/07/19/423891071/alzheimers-drugs-in-the-works-might-help-other-diseases-too

Alzheimer's Drugs In The Works Might Help Other Diseases, Too
Jon Hamilton
Correspondent, Science Desk
July 19, 2015

Photograph -- In this colorized image of a brain cell from a person with Alzheimer's, the red tangle in the yellow cell body is a toxic tangle of misfolded "tau" proteins, adjacent to the cell's green nucleus.
Thomas Deerinck/NCMIR/Science Source

Efforts to find a treatment for Alzheimer's disease have been disappointing so far. But there's a new generation of drugs in the works that researchers think might help not only Alzheimer's patients, but also people with Parkinson's disease and other brain disorders.

Previous efforts to treat Alzheimer's have focused on a single target — usually the protein called beta-amyloid, says Maria Carrillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimer's Association. "The one-target approach is probably not going to be the answer," Carrillo says.

Instead, several teams of scientists reporting their work at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Washington D.C. this week are targeting a process in the brain that leads to toxins involved in several different diseases.

The biotechnology company Treventis is working on one of these potential drugs.

"Our ultimate goal is to discover a pill that can be taken once a day that could either stop or slow Alzheimer's disease," says Marcia Taylor, the company's director of biological research. Treventis hopes to do that with a drug that prevents the build-up of two toxic proteins.

A tangle of protein (green) in this scanning electron micrograph of a brain cell of an Alzheimer's patient lies within the cytoplasm (blue) of the cell. The tangle consists of clumps of a toxic form of tau.

These toxic substances, called beta-amyloid and tau, are the result of a process that begins when a healthy protein inside a brain cell somehow gets folded into the wrong shape.

"Sometimes it gets what I call a kink," Taylor says. Then, when the misfolded protein meets another protein floating around in the cell, "It kind of grabs onto that protein and they both kink up together," she says.

That can trigger a chain reaction that produces clumps of misfolded beta-amyloid and tau proteins that damage brain cells.

"And our compound — because it targets protein misfolding — is actually able to prevent both beta-amyloid and tau from making these clumps," Taylor says. The compound works in a test tube and is currently being tested in animals, she says.

Another potential new treatment could help people with Parkinson's and a disease called Lewy body dementia, as well as those with Alzheimer's.

Previous efforts to treat those diseases have focused on differences in the proteins thought to cause them, says Fernando Goni of New York University. "So what we said is, 'Do they have something in common?' "

Mad Cow Research Hints At Ways To Halt Alzheimer's, Parkinson's

The common element is proteins that misfold and then form toxic clumps. Goni and his colleagues decided to go after these clumps, without worrying about which protein they contain. The result is a class of monoclonal antibodies that work like guided missiles to find and neutralize protein clumps in brain cells.

Previous experiments showed that the monoclonal antibodies work on the tau and amyloid clumps associated with Alzheimer's. Studies in mice show that the treatment can reverse symptoms of the disease, Goni says.

"We took animals that already had the disease and we infused them with the monoclonals and after a couple of months they were almost as perfect as the normal mice of that age," he says. Goni also presented evidence at the meeting that these targeted antibodies work on clumps associated with Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, too.

Perhaps the most unusual potential new treatment for Alzheimer's comes from Neurophage Pharmaceuticals, a company that owes its existence to an accidental discovery.

'Looks Like Laury' Shines The Power Of Friendship On A Failing Mind

A few years ago, Beka Solomon, a researcher in microbiology and biotechnology at Tel Aviv University in Israel, realized that a virus she was using for another purpose seemed to reverse Alzheimer's in mice. So she continued to study the virus, says Richard Fisher, the chief scientific officer of Neurophage.

"Meanwhile, her son, who had just spent 10 years in Israeli special forces, goes to Harvard Business School," Fisher says. "He needs a project. And he and another colleague at the business school put together a potential company based on [his mother's] discovery."

In 2008, that potential company became Neurophage. "I was the first employee and I thought, 'Wow, this is really crazy,' " Fisher says.

But it wasn't. Scientists were able to figure out how the virus was attacking Alzheimer's plaques and use that information to create a treatment.

And in mice, that treatment appears to work against both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Fisher says. The company plans to begin testing its treatment in people in early 2016.



http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=19101

Definition of Antibody

Antibody: An immunoglobulin, a specialized immune protein, produced because of the introduction of an antigen into the body, and which possesses the remarkable ability to combine with the very antigen that triggered its production.

The production of antibodies is a major function of the immune system and is carried out by a type of white blood cell called a B cell (B lymphocyte). Antibodies can be triggered by and directed at foreign proteins, microorganisms, or toxins. Some antibodies are autoantibodies and home in against our own tissues.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoclonal_antibody

Monoclonal antibody
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monoclonal antibodies (mAb or moAb) are monospecific antibodies that are made by identical immune cells that are all clones of a unique parent cell, in contrast to polyclonal antibodies which are made from several different immune cells. Monoclonal antibodies have monovalent affinity, in that they bind to the same epitope.

Given almost any substance, it is possible to produce monoclonal antibodies that specifically bind to that substance; they can then serve to detect or purify that substance.





“Instead, several teams of scientists reporting their work at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Washington D.C. this week are targeting a process in the brain that leads to toxins involved in several different diseases. The biotechnology company Treventis is working on one of these potential drugs. "Our ultimate goal is to discover a pill that can be taken once a day that could either stop or slow Alzheimer's disease," says Marcia Taylor, the company's director of biological research. Treventis hopes to do that with a drug that prevents the build-up of two toxic proteins. .… Previous experiments showed that the monoclonal antibodies work on the tau and amyloid clumps associated with Alzheimer's. Studies in mice show that the treatment can reverse symptoms of the disease, Goni says. "We took animals that already had the disease and we infused them with the monoclonals and after a couple of months they were almost as perfect as the normal mice of that age," he says. Goni also presented evidence at the meeting that these targeted antibodies work on clumps associated with Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, too. …. A few years ago, Beka Solomon, a researcher in microbiology and biotechnology at Tel Aviv University in Israel, realized that a virus she was using for another purpose seemed to reverse Alzheimer's in mice. …. Scientists were able to figure out how the virus was attacking Alzheimer's plaques and use that information to create a treatment. And in mice, that treatment appears to work against both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Fisher says. The company plans to begin testing its treatment in people in early 2016.”

This article mentions two different methods of attacking the misfolded and clumped protein called tau which causes several forms of dementia, and at least one is supposed to begin human testing in the next year. One company is called Treventis, whose treatment uses a class of monoclonal antibodies that work like guided missiles to find and neutralize protein clumps in brain cells.

In Israel other research is also underway involving an unnamed virus which does the same thing in mice. That company is called Neurophage. In both cases the treatments are able to reverse the effects of disease that is already underway as opposed to Aricept, which merely slows down the depositing of tau. Hopefully this will erase one of the worst results of aging on the human body. I will look for other articles on this subject.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kkk-black-justice-group-clash-south-carolina-capitol-confederate-flag/

KKK, Black Justice group clash in S.C. capitol
CBS/AP
July 20, 2015

Photograph -- Members of the Ku Klux Klan yell as they fly Confederate flags during a rally at the statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina July 18, 2015. REUTERS/CHRIS KEANE
Photograph -- In this photo provided by Rob Godfrey, police officer Leroy Smith, left, helps a man wearing National Socialist Movement attire up the stairs during a rally Saturday, July 18, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. ROB GODFREY VIA AP

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Hundreds of people taunted each other on the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse during separate rallies staged by two groups from outside the state. There were numerous reports of fights and other scuffles, although police have released few details of those kinds of incidents.

Black Educators for Justice, based in Jacksonville, Florida, held a rally Saturday on the north side of the Statehouse, where the Confederate flag was removed earlier this month. Later, the North Carolina-based Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan held a rally on the opposite side of the building to protest the flag's removal.

The S.C. Department of Public Safety estimated the crowd at approximately 2,000. Spokeswoman Sherri Iacobelli said five people were arrested and 23 people needed medical attention. A statement from Richland County Emergency Service said many of the 23 were treated for heat, but no specific number was given.

The two groups were involved in several skirmishes during the rallies, according to The Washington Post. At one point, police stopped a group of protesters from burning a Confederate flag that they had seized.

Protestors against the Ku Klux Klan tear a Confederate flag during a rally at the statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina July 18, 2015. REUTERS/CHRIS KEANE
Several people carried the Confederate flag along the margin of the crowd at the black educators rally. About 40 members of the KKK marched up the Capitol steps and waved flags. Many in the crowd jeered.

Two men who were involved in a scuffle were led away by police. During the rallies, Leroy Smith, director of the S.C. Department of Public Safety and who is black, was seen helping a white man wearing a T-shirt bearing a swastika get out of the heat.

Gov. Nikki Haley earlier in the week urged residents to avoid the KKK rally, adding that doing so would honor the nine people shot and killed at a predominantly black church in Charleston last month. Haley has taken a lead role in removing from state property the Confederate symbol, which first began to see widespread use in Southern states during the Civil Rights movement last century.

Even more rallies and protests are planned for this weekend, and security is still on high alert, as it has been for weeks, reports CBS affiliate WLTX in Columbia.

Last month, bloody clashes also broke out near the statehouse during rallies for and against the banner.

"The blood on my teeth, the blood on my hands is no comparison to the Southern blood that runs through my veins," apparent fight participant Joe Lindler told CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller.

He was hit during the brawl and said "racism has no part" in the flag.

"I'm gonna tell you one thing, I ain't sitting down; this'll just make me walk taller," he said.



The website http://www.jsevillaphotography.com/Client/CTAOBURAKKKR/i-vNXqLkq gives the only information I found on Black Educators For Justice, stating that they are “a Florida organization linked to the New Black Panther Party. See Wikipedia article below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Black_Panther_Party

New Black Panther Party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (NBPP) is a U.S.-based black political organization founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1989. Despite its name, NBPP is not an official successor of the Black Panther Party.[2] Members of the original Black Panther Party have insisted that the newer party is illegitimate and have firmly declared, "There is no new Black Panther Party".[2]

The New Black Panther Party is currently led by Hashim Nzinga.[1] Malik Zulu Shabazz announced on an October 14, 2013 online radio broadcast that he was stepping down and that Nzinga, then national chief of staff, would replace him.[1] Chawn Kweli, who, initially, served as NBPP national spokesman replaced Nzinga as national chief of staff. Still, the NBPP upholds Khalid Abdul Muhammad as the de facto father of the movement. When former Nation of Islam (NOI) minister Khalid Abdul Muhammad became the national chairman of the NBPP from the late 1990s until his death in 2001, He, Shabazz, and many other, breakaway members of the NOI followed minister Muhammad to the NBPP during this period. Nzinga served as personal assistant to minister Muhammad.

In April 2010, Malik Zulu Shabazz appointed French Black leader Stellio Capo Chichi as the representative of the movement in France.[3] Capo Chichi has been holding the position of head of the francophone branch of NBPP.[4]

The Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights consider the New Black Panthers to be a hate group.[5][6][7]




The New Black Panther Party should not be confused with the Black Panthers, which still exists and has no relationship with them. This group is international, though begun in the US, and is apparently confrontational. More importantly, the Anti-Defamation League and the SPLC, both of which I respect highly, have called it a “hate group.” Their presence at the SC statehouse, though they are faced off against the KKK, is disturbing. I don’t want groups like that to stir up violence. The NAACP or other more legitimate group would be welcome, as the SC church massacre was terrible indeed, and should be investigated to the fullest. If Roof is directly related to any racist group that connection should be exposed, and those people prosecuted. If he conceived and carried out the attack alone, then the case is over. Racist groups that merely spew hate rhetoric are one thing, but if their website makes connection with interested readers, that looks like collusion to me. Such groups should be prosecuted.





http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/beloved-toll-collector-says-he-was-fired-for-paying-someones-toll/ar-AAdeOWC?ocid=iehp

Beloved Toll Collector Says He Was Fired For Paying Someone's Toll
The Huffington Post
Ed Mazza
July 20, 2015


A Florida community is rallying around a local toll collector, saying that he was fired unjustly for paying someone else's toll.

Vladislav "Sam" Samsonov had been collecting the toll at the Gasparilla Island Bridge, which takes motorists into Boca Grande, near Fort Myers, for nearly 30 years.

He's known to have treats on hand for dogs, and lollipops for the kids.

"After 29 years, you can't help it. I gave children suckers 20 years ago," the veteran told NBC-2 "Now I'm giving those children suckers for their children."

But it all came to end when he was fired last week after accidentally undercharging a driver and paying the difference out of his own pocket.

"He broke the rules by putting $5.50 into the cash register from his pocket after he realized he missed a trailer being pulled by a vehicle and wanted his register to balance with the axel counts and was caught on tape putting money from his pocket into the register," his daughter, Patricia Samsonov Gillis, wrote on Facebook.

Since the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority told the NBC station it does not comment on personnel matters, it's not clear if that's the true reason he was let go.

What is clear is that the firing has upset many in the community, who have launched a Facebook page to show their support for the toll taker and posted messages for Samsonov on their own pages as well as those of the local media.

It's not everyday that people like a toll collector so much they have their own photos of him to share, but that has been the case with Samsonov.

Samsonov's daughter said she had been sharing the messages posted online with her father.

"I called him this morning to read your comments to him and he was tearing up," she wrote.

She also said that he wasn't fired immediately, but was instead offered the option of working two days a week.

He refused the offer.

"If I can't be trusted for five days, how can I be trusted for two days?" he told the NBC station.

The local Boca Beacon newspaper printed a farewell to Samsonov:

"You represent part of what so many like about Boca Grande – a person can be gone for years, but once they cross that bridge they’re back in the land of familiar faces. It’s people like you that we took for granted would always be there in the booth on weekday mornings."

While some are calling for Samonsov to get his job back, his daughter indicated he was ready to move on.

"Please know that this is Sam's second retirement after also having been in the military for 26 years and he is well taken care of with benefits," she wrote. "As we spoke yesterday, he stated he would reach out to the local hospital to become a volunteer a few days a week to keep him busy."




This a one of those sad stories. Samonsov is not beaten, however. He plans to apply to the local hospital for volunteer work to keep him busy. He seems to have sufficient income for his needs, so that’s good. “What is clear is that the firing has upset many in the community, who have launched a Facebook page to show their support for the toll taker and posted messages for Samsonov on their own pages as well as those of the local media.”

“Proverb[edit] -- no good deed goes unpunished
1.Beneficial actions often go unappreciated or are met with outright hostility. If they are appreciated, they often lead to additional requests.

Synonyms[edit]
eaten bread is soon forgotten

In the beautiful and powerful poem by Mother Theresa the answer to this quandary is stated perfectly. She says “Do it anyway.”





http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/19/424408003/japans-mitsubishi-to-apologize-for-using-u-s-pows-as-laborers-in-wwii

Japan's Mitsubishi To Apologize For Using U.S. POWs As Forced Labor In WWII
Scott Neuman
July 19, 2015

Photograph -- In this 1942 file photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, Japanese soldiers stand guard over American prisoners of war just before the start of the Bataan Death March following the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. Some of those who survived the death march were later forced to work for Japanese industry.
AP

Japan's Mitsubishi corporation is making a big apology. It's not for any recall or defect in its products, which include automobiles, but for its use of American prisoners of war as forced labor during World War II.

James Murphy, 94, is traveling from his home in Santa Maria, Calif., to the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, where a ceremony is to be held and a senior Mitsubishi executive will make the apology in person.

James Murphy, World War II veteran and prisoner of war, is photographed at his home in Santa Maria, Calif., on Thursday. Murphy received an apologize from a senior Mitsubishi executive for being forced to work in the company's mines during the war.

James Murphy, World War II veteran and prisoner of war, is photographed at his home in Santa Maria, Calif., on Thursday. Murphy received an apologize [sic] from a senior Mitsubishi executive for being forced to work in the company's mines during the war. Mr. Murphy will represent all the American POWs who were put to labor in the then-company's mines in Japan," a Mitsubishi spokesman told the AFP news agency.

Murphy told The Associated Press that he spent a year at a copper mine in Japan and that the experience was a complete horror, "slavery in every way."

NPR's Sam Sanders says Murphy was the only former prisoner-of-war made to work for Japanese conglomerate who was able to make the trip.

Although the Japanese government has already apologized to prisoners of war for their brutal treatment during the war, this is the first time that a Japanese company has done so.

"As far as I know, this is a piece of history," Rabbi Abraham Cooper, an associate dean at the center, was quoted by the AP as saying. "It's the first time a major Japanese company has ever made such a gesture. We hope this will spur other companies to join in and do the same."

According to the AP: "Some 12,000 American prisoners were shipped to Japan and forced to work at more than 50 sites to support imperial Japan's war effort, and about 10% died, according to Kinue Tokudome, director of the US-Japan Dialogue on POWs, who has spearheaded the lobbying effort for companies to apologize."

The move comes at a time when the Japanese government appears to be trying to put the country's wartime atrocities behind it as part of a larger push to restore its ability to project military power abroad — something that had been prohibited by its post-war constitution.

"As far as I know, this is a piece of history," Rabbi Abraham Cooper, an associate dean at the center, was quoted by the AP as saying. "It's the first time a major Japanese company has ever made such a gesture. We hope this will spur other companies to join in and do the same."

According to the AP: "Some 12,000 American prisoners were shipped to Japan and forced to work at more than 50 sites to support imperial Japan's war effort, and about 10% died, according to Kinue Tokudome, director of the US-Japan Dialogue on POWs, who has spearheaded the lobbying effort for companies to apologize." The New York Times writes: "The vote was the culmination of months of contentious debate in a society that has long embraced pacifism to atone for wartime aggression. It was a significant victory for Mr. Abe, a conservative politician who has devoted his career to moving Japan beyond guilt over its militarist past and toward his vision of a "normal country" with a larger role in global affairs."

Abe has made multiple visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, which honors Japan's dead from World War II, including war criminals. His government has also sought to downplay or deny the wartime use of so-called "comfort women" in military brothels that impressed mainly Asian girls and women into prostitution.

In a Times opinion piece written last year, Mindy Kotler, the director of Asia Policy Point, a non-profit research center, wrote: "Mr. Abe's administration denies that imperial Japan ran a system of human trafficking and coerced prostitution, implying that comfort women were simply camp-following prostitutes."




“Japan's Mitsubishi corporation is making a big apology. It's not for any recall or defect in its products, which include automobiles, but for its use of American prisoners of war as forced labor during World War II. James Murphy, 94, is traveling from his home in Santa Maria, Calif., to the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, where a ceremony is to be held and a senior Mitsubishi executive will make the apology in person. …. "As far as I know, this is a piece of history," Rabbi Abraham Cooper, an associate dean at the center, was quoted by the AP as saying. "It's the first time a major Japanese company has ever made such a gesture. We hope this will spur other companies to join in and do the same." According to the AP: "Some 12,000 American prisoners were shipped to Japan and forced to work at more than 50 sites to support imperial Japan's war effort, and about 10% died, according to Kinue Tokudome, director of the US-Japan Dialogue on POWs, who has spearheaded the lobbying effort for companies to apologize." …. It was a significant victory for Mr. Abe, a conservative politician who has devoted his career to moving Japan beyond guilt over its militarist past and toward his vision of a "normal country" with a larger role in global affairs."

There have been several news articles about hostile interactions between Japan and China over some of the South China Sea islands. Both nations are trying to expand their power. I hope that doesn’t become a large problem as it did in WWII. This isn’t the only case of nationalistic and even hate language within countries around the world, especially Europe. The far right is agitating here in the US, too. I put it down mostly to hard economic times as occurred in the 1930s. People are looking for scapegoats. Both the Jews and the Islamic refugees have come under pressure, not from governments, but from the public, though some rightwing candidates have also been winning in elections on both sides of the ocean. I do hope we aren’t in for another world war. This time there is an ever-present nuclear threat.





http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/07/19/423882899/siren-song-of-tech-lures-new-doctors-away-from-medicine

Song Of Tech Lures New Doctors Away From Medicine
Christina Farr
July 19, 2015

Photograph -- Amanda Angelotti (left) and Connie Chen, both graduates of University of California, San Francisco's medical school, opted for careers in digital health.
Josh Cassidy/KQED

Even as a young child, Amanda Angelotti dreamed about becoming a doctor.

But by her third year at the University of California, San Francisco medical school. Angelotti couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing.

During a routine shift at the hospital, making rounds with her fellow students, Angelotti said her thoughts kept drifting.

"I was supposed to be focused on the patient's vital signs and presenting a summary, but I was consumed with thoughts about how to improve the process of rounds," she said. Most striking to her was the patient's absence from the discussion. "I kept asking myself, 'How could we change things to involve the patient more?'"

Just a stone's throw from UCSF Medical Center, a small group of entrepreneurs at Rock Health, a business accelerator program that is now a venture firm, were thinking about how to shake up the health care process with technology. These startups were developing new wearable devices and mobile apps to help patients take more control of their own health.

The timing was right to bring new ideas to the sector. By 2012, hospitals around the country were rapidly moving away from paper-based medical records to electronic systems, a first step to moving health care into the digital age.

Angelotti graduated the following year, but she didn't apply for any residency programs. Instead, she went to work at Rock Health as a researcher and writer and later joined the medical review site Iodine, one of an exploding number of digital health startups in San Francisco.

By the end of that year, Rock Health projected that venture funding for digital health funding had exceeded $1.9 billion, a 39 percent jump from the prior year.

Angelotti is far from alone in making the leap from medical school to digital health.

Bay Area-based medical students from Stanford and UCSF have among the very lowest rates of pursuing residency programs after graduation compared to the rest of the country. Stanford ranked 117th among 123 U.S. medical schools with just 65 percent of students going on to residencies in 2011, according to Doximity, a physician-network that generates data for the U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings. UCSF is 98th on the list, with 79 percent of its graduating students going on to residency. (Some students may have opted to apply to residency after taking a few years off. The 2011 figures haven't yet been updated to reflect that.)

"We've seen that many of these Bay Area-based medical students are drawn to startup opportunities," said Jeff Tangney, CEO of Doximity. "It used to be biotech, and now it's more often digital health."

Many of the top digital health companies are eager to hire new grads straight out of medical school, even though they lack years of clinical experience.

As Sean Duffy, the CEO of Omada Health and a Harvard Medical School dropout put it: "I wanted to understand what's in the trenches, so I could redefine the trenches." Omada Health offers an online help for people looking to change their behavior to avoid developing diabetes.

Duffy is part of a private Facebook group called "dropout doctors," which includes some of the biggest names in digital health. It functions as a support group, of sorts, and meets every few months for dinner or drinks. Some members, like Angelotti, said they find solace in the group as it can be difficult and lonely to opt out of clinical medicine for a different path.

The members includes Angelotti, who now works at primary care chain One Medical; Duffy, CEO of Omada Health; Connie Chen, the co-founder of Vida Health; Shaundra Eichstadt, medical director at Grand Rounds; Abhas Gupta, a health-focused venture capitalist with the firm Mohr Davidow; Molly Maloof, a medical advisor to DoctorBase; and Rebecca Coelius, the director of health at Code for America.

'I Never Thought I Would Leave Medicine'

There's both a push and a pull motivating young doctors to seek opportunities in technology.

Many of the students at the top Bay Area medical schools, Stanford and UCSF, are exposed to entrepreneurial thinking during their education, which can be a major draw.

"I never thought I would leave medicine," said Eichstadt, who now works at Grand Rounds Health, a San Francisco-based startup that helps patients access second opinions from top medical experts online. "But there's such a rich opportunity at companies here."

Eichstadt graduated from Stanford and pursued several years of residency, specializing in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

"I realized that the system isn't designed for doctors to make the real change you would like to for the patient." Eichstadt concluded that she could make a bigger impact elsewhere.

Many of the dropout docs say they want to improve the doctor-patient experience. Several said they spent very little time administering care during medical school, and they felt that patients were too often kept out of the loop.

A recent study found that doctors-in-training spend an average of just eight minutes with each patient. This is a drastic decrease from previous generations and is linked to more record-keeping requirements and restricted on-duty hours.

Connie Chen still practices medicine a half-day each week. But shortly after medical school, Chen co-founded an app called Vida, which connects people who have chronic diseases with virtual health coaches, like nutritionists and nurses.

Chen said learned very little about nutrition at medical school. But digital health opened up opportunities for Chen to educate herself about wellness.

"Traditional health care is really oriented to make the life of the provider easier," she said. "Your patients cycle in and out of the hospital, and very often, no one makes enough of an effort to communicate with them."

Lack of Opportunities

Other dropout docs said they felt pushed out of medicine, due to the lack of career opportunities or earning potential. Family practitioners, who serve on the front lines of health care, are paid the least.

"I loved working with patients but I looked around me and realized that I didn't want the jobs of anybody who had 'succeeded' as a clinician," said Rebecca Coelius, who graduated with a medical degree from UCSF.

Coelius now advises a number of health-tech startups, including Doximity and previously worked for HealthLoop, which was founded by Jordan Shlain, another entrepreneurial doctor. She's also worked for the government as a medical innovation officer.

"Tech culture is very appealing when juxtaposed against the hierarchy and myriad hoops to be jumped through in clinical medicine," she said.

Christina Farr is the editor and host of KQED's Future of You blog, which explores the intersection of emerging technologies, medicine and health care. She's on Twitter: @chrissyfarr




"I was supposed to be focused on the patient's vital signs and presenting a summary, but I was consumed with thoughts about how to improve the process of rounds," she said. Most striking to her was the patient's absence from the discussion. "I kept asking myself, 'How could we change things to involve the patient more?'" Just a stone's throw from UCSF Medical Center, a small group of entrepreneurs at Rock Health, a business accelerator program that is now a venture firm, were thinking about how to shake up the health care process with technology. These startups were developing new wearable devices and mobile apps to help patients take more control of their own health. …. The timing was right to bring new ideas to the sector. By 2012, hospitals around the country were rapidly moving away from paper-based medical records to electronic systems, a first step to moving health care into the digital age. …. Duffy is part of a private Facebook group called "dropout doctors," which includes some of the biggest names in digital health. It functions as a support group, of sorts, and meets every few months for dinner or drinks. Some members, like Angelotti, said they find solace in the group as it can be difficult and lonely to opt out of clinical medicine for a different path. …. Many of the dropout docs say they want to improve the doctor-patient experience. Several said they spent very little time administering care during medical school, and they felt that patients were too often kept out of the loop. A recent study found that doctors-in-training spend an average of just eight minutes with each patient. This is a drastic decrease from previous generations and is linked to more record-keeping requirements and restricted on-duty hours. Connie Chen still practices medicine a half-day each week. But shortly after medical school, Chen co-founded an app called Vida, which connects people who have chronic diseases with virtual health coaches, like nutritionists and nurses. …. Other dropout docs said they felt pushed out of medicine, due to the lack of career opportunities or earning potential. Family practitioners, who serve on the front lines of health care, are paid the least. "I loved working with patients but I looked around me and realized that I didn't want the jobs of anybody who had 'succeeded' as a clinician," said Rebecca Coelius, who graduated with a medical degree from UCSF. …. "Tech culture is very appealing when juxtaposed against the hierarchy and myriad hoops to be jumped through in clinical medicine," she said.”

Several years ago on the news the commentator brought the cameras into a hospital setting in which a robot which had for a face a CRT screen showing “the doctor” -- who was actually in his office rather than being available personally for his patients. It was an interactive system so that he could see and talk to the patients okay, but it struck me as cold compared with a face to face consultation. How could such a doctor listen to my carotid artery to see if the blood flow was slow, or take a close look at the color of my face? Personally, I’m glad that I’m getting old and won’t be around for much more of these technologically trending societal changes.

If I do win the lotto in my late years, I think I may buy at least ten acres in a rural area outside a full sized city such as Chapel Hill, NC and start an elder commune there with small private cabins for each person or couple, and cater to aging ex- hippies, racial and cultural groups of all kinds, and lots of animals. We would have a bus for transportation into town and several resident professionals on site for practical help of all kinds such as housekeeping, and of course for medical needs that may come up. A small private pharmacy would also be good, and maybe a library. There would be tennis courts, etc. for exercise and fun and a restaurant and bar. For those who want to go to church or synagogue there would be the private bus which would go back and forth into town several times daily.