Category Archives: Transhuman News

Monroe, LA (PRWEB) April 14, 2015

Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NE Delta HSA) hosted its annual Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Services Public Forum today with Louisiana DHH officials. NE Delta HSA Executive Director Dr. Monteic A. Sizer welcomed guests and led a dialogue that enabled healthcare providers and other attendees to voice some of the greatest concerns and issues our region faces.

Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Assistant Secretary/Medical Director, Dr. Rochelle Head-Dunham, MC, FAPA, updated guests in regard to the upcoming fiscal year 2016 transition to the Bayou Health Managed Care Organizations (MCO) model, which goes into effect on December 1, 2015. We will all have to do business much differently to expand services to our population, she said. Our goal is to not only meet our citizens needs, but also improve their health outcomes by decreasing morbidity and mortality and increase longevity.

Were working with DHH to effectively navigate this transitional period, making sure our clients are not lost, said Dr. Sizer. Were seeking to build a stronger network which is being delivered every step of the way with our three tenets: greater access to services, delivered by quality, competent providers with excellent customer service.

Additionally, we are seeking to establish new service agreements with all five Bayou Health Plan organizations in an effort to maximize service opportunities for our clients, said Dr. Sizer. But most importantly, we will strive to utilize innovation and collaboration to ensure that our citizens health will prosper across our region.

NE Delta HSA Director of Clinic Services, Martha Phillips and Regional Prevention Coordinator Jean Hartzog presented the State of the Region by explaining substance abuse, addiction and prevention services available to citizens.

Avius Carroll-Zimmerman, NE Delta HSA Research & Development, gave the attendees an update about NE Delta HSAs Primary and Behavioral Health Integration Model, which is centered around regional partnerships with primary care organizations and hospitals to provide integrated behavioral and primary healthcare services.

At the conclusion of the presentation, Forum attendees had the opportunity ask questions about how changes in statewide healthcare will affect the way they serve consumers.

NE Delta HSA administers its Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the federal agency that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation.

To see photos from the Public Forum on our Facebook page, click here.

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Northeast Delta HSA and Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) Provide Healthcare State of the Region at ...

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com @BednarChuck

From legends of the Fountain of Youth to classic comedy skits about people who have lived for more than two millennia, age has long captured the imagination of people all over the world who wonder just how far science may one day be able to stretch the limits of longevity.

Following last weeks death of 116-year-old Arkansas native Gertrude Weaver (who briefly was the worlds oldest living person), Discovery News posed the question, given new kinds of drugs and technology, can we push the limits of human lifespan beyond 130, to even 200 years?

Technology might keep us alive for even 1,000 years

According to the website, Aubrey de Grey, editor-in-chief of the academic journal Rejuvenation Research and Chief Science Officer of the SENS Research Foundation, claims that by finding a cure for a handful of diseases and developing new treatments for aging, we could one day wind up with humans who live for upwards of 1,000 years.

De Grey, who received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Cambridge and who is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the American Aging Association, and his SENS colleagues explain on their website that they not only fund studies on aging, but also conduct experiments of their own at their California-based research center, fund researchers through educational grants, and host conferences to discuss medical issues.

SENS explains that its goal is to address the cellular and molecular damage to a persons body that is responsible for aging without altering the metabolism. Instead, the group said that it is seeking new therapies that target and repair this damage treatments that apply techniques from regenerative medicine to the damage of aging called rejuvenation biotechnologies.

Age-related research projects: are they worth it?

However, as Discovery News pointed out, SENS is not the only organization looking to find the scientific equivalent to the Fountain of Youth. Dr. Joon Yun, a board-certified radiologist and the managing partner and president of investment management firm Palo Alto Investors, LLC, has recently offered a $1 million dollar prize to scientists who can reverse the aging process.

Similarly, Google launched a research division known as Calico Labs last year to study ways to slow the aging process and to combat age-related diseases. In March, that company reached a four-year deal with the University of Californias QB3 biotech institute to conduct research into longevity and age-related diseases. The goal, Calico said in a statement, was to better understand the biology of aging and to develop new therapies for treating age-related diseases.

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Will we ever see a 200-year-old human?