Should Aging Athletes Consider These Treatments?
In 2009, older patients spent more than $72 billion on products that purportedly slow the aging process. That figure is expected to rise to an estimated $114 billion in 2015. Here are some of the treatments that are touted to help older athletes stay active:
Antioxidants: Examples include vitamins C & E, carotenes, and flavonoids. Antioxidants prevent cell damage that occurs with oxidative reactions, but we don’t know enough to conclude that they can effectively treat or prevent disease.
Human Growth Hormones: Naturally secreted by the pituitary gland, hGH supplements could theoretically reverse age-related physical decline. But hGH hasn’t been proven to improve muscle strength, bone density, or athletic performance.
Testosterone: Testosterone replacement in older men can increase lean muscle mass and bone density and decrease body fat. The most concerning side effect of testosterone replacement is the hormone’s potentially harmful effect on the prostrate. Scientists are exploring testosterone-boosting approaches that sidestep the potential side effects.
The Role of Orthopaedists in the Boston Bombing
On April 15, 2013, on a sunny day in Boston, thousands gathered to watch the oldest marathon in the US. They were cheering family, friends and colleagues who were accomplishing a feat they had trained for all year. No one expected the next wave of events – two bombs exploded near the finish line of the race, killing three people and injuring more than 260. The pictures and images looked like a warzone. What followed next was also unprecedented. Orthopaedists, first responders, trauma surgeons, other medical professionals, runners, and spectators jumped in to help the bomb victims, many using tourniquets to stop the bleeding.
Many of the surgeons treating these victims had previous military training, helping 14 people who ended up with amputations and a dozen other victims whose limbs so far have been spared. According to Dr. James Ficke, chairman of the department of orthopedics and rehabilitation at San Antonio Military Medical Center, “a multidisciplinary approach that involves everyone from plastic and orthopedic surgeons to therapists is important.”
According to NBC News reporters, Bill Dedman and John Schoen, from a financial perspective, the Boston Marathon bombing will cost as much as $333 million in losses to the local economy and infrastructure damage. The total cost of care for 70 hospitalized patients could exceed $9 million, according to one calculation. Read more.
A Look Back at Politics in 2013
2013 has been a year filled with news impacting the world of orthopaedics. Terry Canale, MD, Editor-in-Chief of AAOS Now, has compiled a top ten list:
- The Affordable Care Act
- No Fiscal Cliff or Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) Fix
- The Value of Orthopaedics
- Operation Walk USA
- Metal-on-metal
- Concussion and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
- Orthopaedic medications
- Yale Open Data Access (YODA) results
- Boston Marathon bombings
- AAOS initiatives
Publisher’s Note from Kent Anderson, CEO and Publisher of JBJS
The Internet has fundamentally changed how orthopaedic surgeons discover and share information, but it has also put greater emphasis on the need for quality information. The editorial teams at JBJS work exceptionally hard to ensure that the information we publish is reliable, evidence-based, and trustworthy. Our peer review process is one of the tools we use.
Peer review has been under pressure lately. Some publishers have decreased the steps involved. Others have eliminated roles such Editor-in-Chief from journals they publish. Still others have even started journals with professional editors and then, once they began to receive enough submissions, simply fired the professional editor and replaced him or her with a staff person. Standards for acceptance vary more than ever, with some publications publishing works if they are “methodologically sound” or even if “they are science.” These definitions are clearly inadequate, especially when patient care is involved.
We don’t want our readers to be confused about what “peer review” means for the core articles in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, so we’re introducing a new feature on each article starting this month – the peer review statement.
This statement lays out in just a few sentences who reviewed the article, from the Editor-in-Chief to the Deputy Editors to the outside reviewers and experts in methodology and biostatistics. We also mention the talented and experienced staff editors who help authors fine-tune the language and keep the numbers straight. It’s all part of achieving “Excellence Through Peer Review.” You can read more about this new feature in editorial published this month in The Journal.
In an age where everyone’s a publisher, quality matters more than ever. We remain committed to ensuring that you can trust what we publish, and we are proud to describe the process we use to get the best and most reliable information to you. Thank you for translating this information into superior outcomes for the patients you treat every day.
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