August 2018 Newsletter
Blue Skies, Humidity, Hot Sun! Summer is still here!
Monthly Motivator
Your work is to discover your skill and then with all your heart to give yourself to it. Be thankful for the opportunities given to you to make a difference in the world. That's the mark of a true professional.
We will be running Monday-Thursdays as normal in August. The kids do go back to school though! So for some parents this is a holiday! We will be closed on Monday September 3rd, for Labor Day and will run vans Tuesday through Friday that week. Fun fact: The month of August was named for Julius Caesar’s adopted nephew Gaius Julius Caesar Octavius, who held the title “Augustus.” He named the month after himself. The “dog days of summer” refer to the weeks between July 3 and August 11 and are named after the Dog Star (Sirius) in the Canis Major constellation. The ancient Greeks blamed Sirius for the hot temperatures, drought, discomfort, and sickness that occurred during the summer. We in Texas can relate to these things.
August Bizarre and Unique Holidays
1 National Girlfriends Day
3 International Beer Day - First Friday in August
3 National Watermelon Day
4 National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
4 U.S. Coast Guard Day
5 Friendship Day - First Sunday in August
5 Sisters Day - First Sunday in August
10 National S'mores Day
13 Left Hander's Day
15 Relaxation Day - now this one's for me!
16 National Tell a Joke Day
21 Senior Citizen's Day
26 National Dog Day
26 Women's Equality Day
31 National Eat Outside Day
Summer Dysphagia Beverage Recipe – Thickened Cranberry Margarita - www.simplythick.com
Thickened Ice Cubes 1 cup/8 oz.
Cranberry Juice 1 cup/8 oz.
Tequila 6 Tbsp/3 oz.
Lime Juice 2 Tbsp/1 oz.
Honey 2 tsp.
SimplyThick® EasyMix™
Nectar consistency: 3 (6g) Nectar Packet OR 3 strokes
Honey consistency: 3 (12g) Honey Packet OR 6 strokes
Lime & Brown Sugar for rimming glass, Optional
Prepare 1 cup/8 oz. of Thickened Ice:
Rim glass with lime and dip in brown sugar (if desired).
Thicken tequila, cranberry juice, lime juice and honey by combining and shaking in a container with a lid for 10 seconds or whisking with a fork or kitchen whisk for 20-30 seconds.
Pick your favorite style of margarita:
• Chilled: Combine thickened cranberry mixture and thickened ice cubes in shaker.
Shake vigorously to chill, then strain into glass.
• On the Rocks: Fill glass with thickened ice and pour thickened cranberry mixture directly over ice.
• Frozen: Combine thickened cranberry mixture and thickened ice in blender. Blend until frothy and well combined.
Pour into glass and enjoy.
Critical Control Points (CCP): Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate to internal temperature of 41 F or lower for later service.
Dysphagia Tidbit – New Dysphagia Research could help doctors to better understand and manage diseases affecting the larynx
In a first-of-its-kind study, Mount Sinai researchers have used sensory mapping to discover that the posterior part of the larynx (closest to the swallowing tract) is the main area of the voice box to protect the airway from potentially dangerous swallowed or inhaled substances. This novel finding can potentially help doctors better understand and manage diseases affecting the larynx and lead to new, targeted treatments. The results of this study have been published in the June online edition of The Laryngoscope. The human voice box ('larynx') is arguably one of the most life-sustaining organs in the body, yet there is still much we don't know about its basic functions. This study sheds light on a critical protective function of the larynx that we have not had definite proof of until now," explained author Catherine Sinclair, MD, FRACS, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "Understanding this aspect of basic larynx physiology is essential to help us diagnose laryngeal disease, manage it appropriately, and create new therapies."
Dr. Sinclair, along with Sedat Ulkatan, MD, Director of Intraoperative Neurophysiology at Mount Sinai West, and Maria Tellez, MD, Neurophysiologist at Mount Sinai West, started this research to find out if different areas of the human larynx had different abilities to elicit a protective airway reflex termed the "laryngeal adductor reflex" (LAR), which is an involuntary protective response to stimuli in the larynx. This is important because many conditions affecting the larynx, including cancer, reflux, laryngomalacia ('soft larynx' in infancy), and laryngospasm (uncontrolled contraction of the larynx), likely impair or over activate our ability to elicit the LAR, which in turn can impair airway protection, putting patients at increased risk of aspiration and pneumonia. Researchers analyzed 10 patients while under general anesthesia. All had normal laryngeal function. The team used a probe to deliver a low-intensity electric stimulus to different areas of the larynx and recorded whenever this stimulus was able to elicit the LAR and cause vocal cord contraction. They discovered that stimulation of the back part of the larynx produced vocal cord contraction in all patients. No other areas of the larynx produced consistent results. This proved that the back of the larynx is a highly sensitive area and the one to most easily elicit the LAR. Before this study, it was widely known that if patients had the back part of their voice box removed or affected by certain diseases, they had a more difficult time protecting their airway. The research showed at a physiological level why that is the case. Researchers also found that the vocal folds themselves do not elicit a reflex to low-intensity stimulations. This knowledge is essential to facilitate our accurate diagnosis and treatment of a variety of upper-airway diseases. These results will allow us to refine existing and develop new techniques for the diagnosis of diseases such as aspiration, dysphagia, and laryngospasm," said Dr. Sinclair. "The study results may also give us insight into unexplainable diseases including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). We hope to use the results of this study to develop new diagnostic tests for laryngeal diseases. ."This study will help to transform our current understanding of the protective function of the larynx, conceivably opening new exploration opportunities in various human respiratory disorders such as SIDS and patients with high risk of aspiration undergoing general anesthesia," said Dr Ulkatan. "We will be able to explore new diagnostic tests and possibly some therapeutic neuromodulation due to the new groundbreaking physiologic principles uncovered in this research," added Dr. Tellez.
Source:
https://www.mountsinai.org/about/newsroom/2018/mount-sinai-researchers-use-sensory-mapping-to-define-sensitivity-variations-in-human-voice-box