Health
RFK Jr. Orders Search for New Measles Treatments Instead of Urging Vaccination
With the United States facing its largest single measles outbreak in 25 years, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will direct federal health agencies to explore potential new treatments for the disease, including vitamins, according to an H.H.S. spokesman. The decision is the latest in a series of actions by the nation’s top health official that experts fear will undermine public confidence in vaccines as an essential public health tool.
The announcement comes as Mr. Kennedy faces intense backlash for his handling of the outbreak. It has swept through large areas of the Southwest where vaccination rates are low, infecting hundreds and killing two young girls. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 930 cases nationwide, most of which are associated with the Southwest outbreak.
Critics have said Mr. Kennedy has focused too much on untested treatments — such as cod liver oil supplements — and offered only muted support for the measles vaccine, which studies show is 97 percent effective in preventing infection.
The decision to put more resources into potential treatments, rather than urging vaccination, could have grave consequences at the center of the outbreak.
“We don’t want to send the signal that you don’t have to get vaccinated because there’s just a way to get rid of it,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Scientists have already thoroughly studied various vitamins and medications as potential treatments for measles, said Michael Osterholm an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota.
Decades of research have turned up no miracle treatment for the measles virus, which can cause pneumonia, making it difficult for patients to get oxygen into their lungs, and brain swelling, which can cause blindness, deafness and intellectual disabilities.
“It’s not that there’s been a lack of studies,” he said.
Measles patients are typically offered “supportive care” to help make them more comfortable while the virus runs its course, like Tylenol to bring down their fever, supplemental oxygen and IV fluids.
The decision to look for new treatments is meant to help people who chose not to vaccinate, the H.H.S. spokesman, Andrew Nixon, said. He added that the C.D.C. still recommends the measles, mumps and rubella shot as the most effective way to prevent measles.
But, he said, “Our commitment is to support all families, regardless of their vaccination status, in reducing the risk of hospitalization, serious complications and death from measles.”
As an example of such a community, Mr. Kennedy pointed to the Mennonites in West Texas, who have experienced the brunt of the cases and hospitalizations in the current outbreak.
Mr. Nixon said the C.D.C. will collaborate with universities to test new treatments for a “host of diseases,” which may include a combination of existing drugs and vitamins. The news of this effort was first reported by CBS News.
Public health experts were baffled by Mr. Kennedy’s decision to hunt for new treatments, rather than endorse shots that have decades of safety and efficacy data. They said this seemed to contradict his longstanding focus on disease prevention instead of treatment.
“This is akin to saying, ‘Go ahead and eat whatever you want, don’t exercise, smoke like a chimney — we’re going to invest all of our resources in heart transplants,’” said Dr. Jonathan Temte, a former chairman of the C.D.C.’s vaccine advisory committee.
Over the course of the current measles outbreak, Mr. Kennedy has offered inconsistent, and at times contradictory, messaging about the M.M.R. shot. At some points, he has described the vaccine as “the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.”
Other times, he has questioned its safety: “We don’t know the risks of many of these products because they’re not safety tested,” he said in an interview with CBS News last month.
Doctors in West Texas have said Mr. Kennedy’s focus on treatments, rather than vaccines, has already made their jobs difficult.
Early in the outbreak, he said on Fox News that he had heard of “almost miraculous and instantaneous recovery” with treatments like cod liver oil, which he said was “the safest application of vitamin A.”
While doctors sometimes administer high doses of vitamin A in a hospital to manage severe measles, experts do not recommend taking it without physician supervision.
Shortly after, doctors said they had encountered measles patients who had delayed critical medical treatment in favor of staying home and treating themselves with some of the supplements Mr. Kennedy promoted. Some children with measles were given toxic levels of vitamin A, they said.
Dr. Osterholm said Mr. Kennedy’s plan also assumed that people’s beliefs about vaccines were fixed, when in reality, clear information about their purpose and safety had encouraged thousands of vaccinations in past outbreaks.
Despite Mr. Kennedy’s claims that Mennonites have “religious objections” to shots because they contain “fetus debris,” historians who study the community say it has no religious doctrine that bans vaccination, and vaccine experts say there is no fetal tissue in the M.M.R. shot.
Local doctors have instead pointed to misinformation about the safety of the shot — which Mr. Kennedy has helped perpetuate — as the primary reason their Mennonite patients opt their children out of vaccination.
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A simple lifestyle adjustment could potentially slow down the body’s biological aging process, according to new research.
The study, published in the journal Aging, investigated how a diet change and easy exercise regimen affected men between the ages of 50 and 74 over a three-month period.
Researchers designed a clinical trial involving 48 overweight men in Japan. Over a 12-week period, half of the participants followed a strictly structured wellness routine, while the other half maintained their usual habits.
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For the intervention group, the routine required consuming 100 grams of plain yogurt every day.
This group also received individualized dietary counseling that advised them to curb overeating, avoid excessive snacking and cut out sugary drinks.
A simple lifestyle adjustment could potentially slow down the body’s biological aging process, according to new research. (iStock)
They were also instructed to walk or use a stepper machine for roughly 30 minutes a day, at least three days each week.
To measure the impact of these changes, the scientists collected blood samples from all participants before and after the study, and also analyzed DNA for chemical changes that act as indicators of cellular age.
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Specifically, they used a measurement tool called DunedinPACE. Rather than assessing a person’s chronological age in years, this tool calculates the precise rate at which an individual’s body is currently aging.
The men who consumed the probiotic yogurt, adjusted their diets and exercised showed a statistically significant reduction in their pace of aging compared to the control group, the researchers said.
The anti-aging benefits cannot be attributed to any single component on its own due to the variety in the study, the researchers noted. (iStock)
On average, the speed of their biological aging slowed by approximately 2.2%. This reduction is roughly comparable to the slowing of biological aging observed in a previous two-year U.S. study, in which participants reduced their daily calorie intake by 25%.
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This reduction in aging speed happened independently of weight loss , meaning it did not directly correlate with changes in the participants’ body mass index or the exact number of exercise sessions they logged.
The researchers also recorded a noticeable improvement in a specific DNA marker that is linked to kidney function.
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Because this study combined three distinct factors — probiotics, diet and exercise — the authors concluded that the anti-aging benefits cannot be attributed to any single component. Instead, the slowed aging rate appears to be the result of a combined effect.
The reduction in aging speed happened independently of weight loss, the study found. (iStock)
The researchers also acknowledged clear limitations of the study, including its small sample size and short duration. Also, the participant pool was restricted to overweight men of a single nationality.
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More research is needed to determine whether these short-term biological shifts can translate into permanent, long-term health benefits, the study stated.
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The simple act of noting how fast your heart is beating while you’re at rest may be the key to measuring your overall health.
Resting heart rate is defined by Mayo Clinic as the number of times your heart beats each minute while you’re awake, calm and not moving.
A normal resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute for adults. A slower resting heart rate means the heart does not have the work as heard to pump blood through the body — something typical of someone who is more fit.
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Athletes who are very fit may have a resting heart rate closer to 40 beats per minute, according to Mayo Clinic.
Your resting heart rate can vary due to a variety of factors, including age, physical activity levels, sleep health, smoking, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, stress, anxiety, hormones, body type and certain medications.
A normal resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute for adults, according to medical experts. (iStock)
But a resting heart rate that’s often too high or too low may signal a health issue.
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A high resting heart rate, even if it’s slight, is usually a sign that something else may be going on in the body, such as anemia, an infection or a thyroid problem, according to Cleveland Clinic.
A high resting heart rate, even if it’s slight, is usually a sign that something else may be going on in the body. (iStock)
If your heart rate is regularly above 100 beats per minute, this is a sign to talk with your heart care provider.
The same advice applies if you are not a trained athlete and your resting heart rate is frequently below 60 beats per minute.
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Talk to your doctor if other symptoms such as fainting, dizziness or shortness of breath occur.
How to measure your heart rate
You can check your own heart rate by tracking your pulse on your wrist or neck. The best time of day to measure resting heart rate is first thing in the morning, says Mayo Clinic.
Place your index and middle fingers inside the wrist below the thumb, to feel the radial artery; or, do so on the side of the neck, to feel the carotid artery.
Place your index and middle fingers on the side of the neck, to feel the carotid artery — and count how many beats per minute. (iStock)
Count the number of times your pulse beats in 15 seconds, then multiply this number by four to calculate beats per minute.
Wearable devices can also detect and track resting heart rate, although this may not always be accurate.
How to lower your heart rate
If your resting heart rate is higher than normal, there are a few ways to work toward lowering it.
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Vigorous exercise is “the best way” to lower your resting heart rate and increase the heart’s aerobic capacity and max heart rate, according to Harvard.
For those who don’t exercise regularly, it’s important to work your way up in difficulty when following a new workout routine.
Vigorous exercise is “the best way” to lower your resting heart rate, Harvard Health says. But it’s vital to work your way up carefully. (iStock)
Some medications, such as beta blockers, can also lower heart rate. In the same way, managing stress through holistic methods such as meditation or yoga can also help.
Cleveland Clinic also recommends cutting back on harmful substances such as drugs and alcohol, which can dehydrate you and raise your heart rate.
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Adequate sleep can also help bring your heart rate down, in addition to maintaining a healthy weight.
Cardiologist Tamanna Singh, M.D., shared with Cleveland Clinic that lowering your heart rate takes time as various lifestyle changes kick in.
Managing stress through holistic methods such as meditation or yoga can help lower your resting heart rate,
“Just like building your biceps and triceps, it takes time for your heart to become stronger,” the doctor said.
Singh recommended focusing on heart rate patterns rather than dialing in on just the number.
Take note of how your heart rate changes after eating certain foods, when you’re dehydrated or after you’ve begun a new exercise or stress management routine.
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“If you notice that your heart rate is consistently over 100, mention it to your doctor, especially if you’ve tried making lifestyle changes and they don’t seem to be working,” she said.
“Your resting heart rate isn’t the be-all, end-all of your health, but it’s definitely a marker that you should pay attention to.”
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