Shoulder pain: a randomised trial shows that "subacromial decompression" surgery may be no more effective than placebo.

Arthroscopic subacromial decompression for subacromial shoulder pain (CSAW): a multicentre, pragmatic, parallel group, placebo-controlled, three-group, randomised surgical trial

Beard, David JAhrens, Philip et al.

The Lancet

Summary

Background

Arthroscopic sub-acromial decompression (decompressing the sub-acromial space by removing bone spurs and soft tissue arthroscopically) is a common surgery for subacromial shoulder pain, but its effectiveness is uncertain. We did a study to assess its effectiveness and to investigate the mechanism for surgical decompression.

Interpretation

Surgical groups had better outcomes for shoulder pain and function compared with no treatment but this difference was not clinically important. Additionally, surgical decompression appeared to offer no extra benefit over arthroscopy only. The difference between the surgical groups and no treatment might be the result of, for instance, a placebo effect or postoperative physiotherapy. The findings question the value of this operation for these indications, and this should be communicated to patients during the shared treatment decision-making process.

More at The Lancet

http://thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)32457-1/fulltext

Raw milk cheese linked to two listeria deaths in Northeast US

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39229635

Two people have died and four more have fallen ill following an outbreak of listeria linked to recalled cheese in several eastern US states.

Officials say it was probably caused by a soft raw milk cheese called Ouleout from Vulto Creamery in New York state.

The cheese was stocked by a Whole Foods shop in Fairfield, Connecticut, and may also have been available in specialised cheese shops.

The creamery recalled several soft cheeses on Tuesday.

Six cases of listeria have been recorded in Connecticut and Vermont, where the deaths occurred, as well as in New York and Florida.

More at the BBC News article

Scientists Say the Clock of Aging May Be Reversible

Scientists Say the Clock of Aging May Be Reversible 

Impaired muscle repair in mice, left, compared with improved muscle regeneration seen after reprogramming. CreditThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Scientists reveal that they have used a technique, now 10-years old, that had been shown to reset cells to stem cell state to rejuvenate aged cells. Original research using this technique had led to disastrous consequences with some test animals dying due to cells loosing their identity (stem cells can become any cell in the body) and others due to cancer (cancer is essentially rapid, runaway cell growth). 

Since those disastrous tests scientists have realized that cells don't use the full suite of steps in becoming stems cells but rather use a subset to prime cells for regrowth (and rejuvenation) without loosing their identity.  

See opening paragraphs below and follow the link for the entire story.

By NICHOLAS WADE NYTimes.com DEC. 15, 2016
At the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif., scientists are trying to get time to run backward.

Biological time, that is. In the first attempt to reverse aging by reprogramming the genome, they have rejuvenated the organs of mice and lengthened their life spans by 30 percent. ...

More at NYTimes.com

How to Become a ‘Superager’

How to Become a ‘Superager’

For people who have mentally age well, their brains show thicker regions in specific areas relative to those suffering from classic aging signs. But - drop notions of this being the outer regions of the brain which are classically presented as the region of higher function. This "triune brain" frame is incorrect and has been for awhile within brain research. Rather, it is in the more inner regions where the brain works to bridge the analytical with the emotional that are shown to be enhanced. In the end the researchers do not know what it is that leads to this outcome but nonetheless they have recommendations. They state that people should work those regions of the brain through strenuous work. Be that analytical, physical or emotional work. The researchers say pushing oneself into those areas that are challenging and difficult (to a point) are what leads to benefit. In other words - don't take the easy path. (Is this our underlying puritan meme coming out? Or an actual benefit... ?)

From the New York Times by LISA FELDMAN BARRETT DEC. 31, 2016

Think about the people in your life who are 65 or older. Some of them are experiencing the usual mental difficulties of old age, like forgetfulness or a dwindling attention span. Yet others somehow manage to remain mentally sharp. My father-in-law, a retired doctor, is 83 and he still edits books and runs several medical websites.

Why do some older people remain mentally nimble while others decline? “Superagers” (a term coined by the neurologist Marsel Mesulam) are those whose memory and attention isn’t merely above average for their age, but is actually on par with healthy, active 25-year-olds. My colleagues and I at Massachusetts General Hospital recently studied superagers to understand what made them tick.

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