The Inside Scope Winter| 2018 On behalf of the Care Extender Program, In this Issue: 1 Pros and Cons of 1 Drinking Yerba Mate 2 Care Extender Committees 4 The Top 10 Medical Advancements of 2017 6 UCLA Health page 7 Creative Arts Program 7 5 Healthy Morning Habits 9 Outstanding Care Extenders for this Rotation 11 Important dates to keep in mind Pros and Cons of Drinking Yerba Mate Yerba Mate has become the next in a calabasa gourd with a metal straw, popular beverage. The herbal tea comes otherwise known as a bombilla. in various forms, and has gained its popularity by claiming to provide What are some of the benefits of consumers with a jitter free energy Yerba Mate? boost. Drinkers of Yerba Mate claim that the How is Yerba Mate made? drink has increased their mental awareness without causing the “jittery” Yerba Mate is prepared by steeping the side effect associated with caffeinated leaves of the yerba mate tree, which is beverage. The drink enhances mood, the descent of the Holly tree and is memory, and alertness. It is known to Photo courtesy: Thebarlow.net found in the rainforests of South stimulate the production of dopamine, America. Once the leaves are steeped in a neurotransmitter that is thought to hot water, the tea is traditionally served more on 2 1 The Inside Scope: Care Extender Internship Program Winter| 2018 drink contains a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Each serving of Yerba “If Yerba Mate contains high concentrations of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, C, E, calcium, iron, magnesium, Mate is your phosphorus potassium, selenium, sulfur and zinc. cup of tea What are some current health risks associated with Yerba enjoy it in Mate? Carcinogenic Food Contaminants, moderation. a journal focused on cancer investigation, listed yerba mate as But as an agent with a moderate level of carcinogenicity. Furthermore, in May 2008, Cancer Epidemiology always, Photo courtesy: also reported that high www.freshdesignpedia.com concentrations of a type of check with carcinogenic compound were control motivation and found in Yerba Mate leaves. The productivity. The drink is also mate is found to contain the known your doctor useful for those who suffer from carcinogenetic, polycyclic aromatic mental or physical fatigue. It hydrocarbons (PAHs). Some before contains about 85mg of caffeine studies indicate that people who per 8 ounces, which is relatively drink large amounts of Yerba Mate between the caffeine content of over prolonged periods may be at trying an tea and coffee. Additionally, the increased risk of some types of product” -Dr. Katherine Zeratsky (mayoclinic. org) Photo courtesy: bebrainfit.com (continued) 2 The Inside Scope: Care Extender Internship Program Winter| 2018 cancer. These cancers include, What is the general cancers of the mouth, esophagus, consensus? and lungs. To address this, the Pan American Journal of Public The simple truth about Yerba Health examined the role of hot Mate is that there needs to be mate in increasing the risk of more research done in order to these cancers. One these studies make a valid claim on the benefits from Urguay in 2003 found a and risks of consuming the drink. 300% increased risk of Although there have been studies esophageal cancer for the mate showing the negative effects of drinkers within a group of prolonged and excessive Yerba approximately 800 adults Mate consumption, there is a lack (fitday.com). In addition, of findings on the long-term smoking in combination with effects of moderate intake of the yerba mate has been shown to beverage. further increase cancer risk. Yerba Mate is also known to have Doctors such as Katherine side effects such as insomnia, Zeratsky advise to drink the nervousness, restlessness, beverage on occasionally until nausea, vomiting, increased heart further research is done. rate, high blood pressure, Photo courtesy: www.mowielicious.com headache, and irregular heartbeats. Care Extender Committees Department Coordinator Greeters Committee Admissions Committee Assistant (DCA) Position Those in this committee must train These members must DCAs must perform “sweeps” incoming Care Extenders to get them facilitate the interview at Ronald Reagan or Santa more acquainted with the hospital. process by checking in Monica Hospital to gain The tours consist of taking Care applicants, taking photos, feedback from staff and Care Extenders to the most visited places giving health requirement Extenders. DCA’s must also in the hospital. presentations, and make sure Care Extenders are answering applicants’ attending shifts and are in questions. proper uniform. Project Health Literacy Recruitment Committee (PHL) Committee These leaders must spread the Members will conduct data word about the Care Extender collection for a UCLA Program by emailing Health research study under professors, visiting the the supervision of Dr. Neil school’s career center, making Parikh. class announcements, etc. 3 The Inside Scope: Care Extender Internship Program Winter| 2018 The Top 10 Medical Advancements of 2017 Photo courtesy: www.carecentricworld.com 2017 served to be a remarkable solution for patients year of growth for the field of suffering from spinal medicine. Here are just a few of the deformities. The implants are most exciting advancements. constructed from titanium powder and manufactured to 1. Regenerative medicine include rough surfaces and porous components. This A technology by the name of Tissue structure allows the implant Nano Transfection was first to be more readily accepted introduced by researchers at The and integrated into the body. Ohio State University. The technology aims to reprogram skin 4. Deep brain cells to repair organs and blood stimulation for vessels. The procedure involves strokes sending an electrical current Photo courtesy: www.alivecor.com Deep brain stimulation is through a tiny chip placed on the skin. The process has been tested has too much or too little potassium commonly utilized in on animals such as mice, and is in the blood, indicating risk of patients with Parkinson’s expected to begin human trials in sudden death. The company aspires disease. However, the 2018. to create a device that can be Cleveland Clinic has attached to the back of a pioneered this treatment as a 2. A smartphone heart smartphone. therapy for stroke patients. monitor After deep brain stimulation, 3. 3D printed spinal implants the patients were shown to AliveCor is collaborating with the regain more motor function Mayo Clinic to develop an artificial Scoliosis affects more than 3 million than expected. This outcome intelligence system that can record individuals in the US per year. 3D and EKG and predict if a patient spinal implants are a high-tech (continued) 4 The Inside Scope: Care Extender Internship Program Winter| 2018 has generated the possibility of ability to easily monitor their fostering new neural own health, and perhaps connections and improving quickly diagnose illnesses that plasticity in the brains of stroke can cause harm over patients. prolonged periods of time. 5. Virtual reality as a pain 9. Liquid Biopsies relief Liquid biopsies are being Aside from serving as developed as a method to entertainment purposes, virtual analyze blood samples for reality has shown potential as a Photo courtesy: www.orthofeed.com evidence of cancer. Most pain relief method. Patients recently, the method is being who watched uplifting videos used to detect changes in through virtual reality goggles beneficial to those with diabetes patients suffering from reported their pain levels to as it can help patients monitor metastatic cancer. The drop by 24%. The technology blood glucose level, and would technology offers the works by overwhelming the eliminate the need for regular potential to be eventually brain with positive experiences finger pricking. used to aid in the early that divert the brain from diagnosis of new cancers, at a focusing on the pain. There is 7. No-Drill Tooth Repair stage in which they are more treatable. predicted to be a push for The Dental Institute at King’s development of virtual reality College made a profound clinics in the near future, as the 10. Photosynthesis as a discovery regarding tideglusib heart saver technology offers promising and tooth repair. Tideglusib is results. an Alzheimer’s drug that’s is The chair of cardiothoracic 6. Beyond vision contact currently being used in clinical surgery at Stanford University lenses trials. The researchers at King’s has found another method to College found the drug to deliver oxygen to failing Oregon State University promote the growth of dentin. hearts. By injecting mice with scientists have discovered a new Dentin is rooted under enamel photosynthesizing bacteria method to monitor health: and is the material utilized in and succumbing them to contact lenses. The lens health tooth repair. Using a tideglusib- light, Dr. Woo was able to monitors are predicted to soaked sponge applied to the increase the oxygen levels of measure levels of blood sugar, tooth pulp, researchers were rodents 25 times higher than uric acid and other substances. able to restore dentin in mice those that were untreated. This new technology is most within a matter of weeks. 8. Voice analysis to detect disease A study done by the Mayo Clinic found there to be more than a dozen voice features associated with heart disease. Similarly, the company Sonde Health is aspiring to create software that can predict depression by examining millisecond long vocal changes that humans can’t perceive. Through voice analysis, patients could gain the Photo courtesy: www.prevention.com Photo courtesy: www.prevention.com 5 The Inside Scope: Care Extender Internship Program Winter| 2018 UCLA Health Creative Arts Program Recently, UCLA Health launched sudoku, stickers, small Lego the UCLA Health Creative Arts sets, markers, crayons, pens, Program. The program aims to pencils, origami, coloring foster comfort among patients in a books.