Take Heart With Stem Cells

The possibility of using stem cells to rebuild tissue of patients with heart attacks and heart failure has revived hopes. But clinical trials have produced only modest results – and not in the way clinicians expected.

Now the early results are pointing researchers toward other types of stem cells that may be better suited to repair cardiac muscle.

With over 5 million Americans now suffering from heart failure, the number is sure to rise as 76 million Baby Boomers grow older. Cardiologists, however, are expecting breakthroughs in stem cell therapy.

“We’re trying to tear pages out of nature’s playbook,” says Dr. Douglas Losordo, director of the Program in Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Initially, stem cells found in bone marrow were particularly tantalizing for heart repair.

These stem cells were successfully used to rebuild the immune systems of cancer patients, and scientists discovered the cells have the capacity to grow into heart muscle, blood vessels, and other tissues.

In just a few minutes, a heart blockage can kill at least a billion cells because of a lack of oxygen. These cells don’t grow back, scar tissue remains, and a weakened circulatory system results.

Patients experiencing heart failure have an average life expectancy of less than five years, according to Dr. Chuck Murry, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Biology at the University of Washington in Seattle.

“It’s deadlier than breast cancer,” Dr. Murry says.

New Study Paths

From 2002 to 2006, there were at least 18 randomized controlled studies involving nearly 1,000 patients.

“Everyone started putting bone marrow into the heart,” according to Dr. Christine Mummery, a researcher at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. She is responsible for studying how to turn stem cells into heart muscle cells known as cardiomyocytes.

The therapy produced only marginal results, according to Dr. Mummery. But researchers found stem cells which don’t grow into new heart cells seem to help patients in other ways, and that’s what they’re analyzing.

“It’s a little bit mysterious,” says Dr. Eduardo Marban, director of the Cedar-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles.

Dr. Marban believes transplanted cells secrete chemicals which boost heart function, not because of new tissue growth. The “stem cells are raising an alarm to resident cardiac stem cells. They seem to work indirectly,” he says.

Consequently, Dr. Marban started to study stem cells from the heart instead of bone marrow.

Unfortunately, the so-called cardiac progenitor cells naturally repair heart muscle but far too slowly to cope with catastrophic injury. These cells are rare and account for about one in 40,000 working heart cells.

But generated in larger concentrations researchers think cardiac progenitor cells might promote healing and reverse heart scarring.

“Let’s just say we’re extremely encouraged,” Dr. Marban says.

Multipurpose Helpers

In other labs, researchers are focused on more powerful, pluripotent stem cells which have the potential to grow into any type of tissue in the body.

Some labs are using embryonic stem cells, and others are studying induced pluripotent stem cells derived from adult tissues and rewound to an embryonic state.

At the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Dr. Kenneth Chien has grown mouse embryonic stem cells into a strip of mature cardiac tissue. According to the journal Science, the patch was only six or seven cell layers thick, similar to a heart “Band-Aid.”

Further, embryonic stem cells run the risk of rejection and are still a long way from being tested in humans. These cells also can form into tumors and not beat in sync with surrounding heart tissue.

Some of the most promising work with pluripotent stem cells is about ramping up the heart’s own healing abilities.

WMB believes stem cell research holds promise for improving life expectancy, especially for those with severe heart problems. More and varied research in stem cell uses should be encouraged.

TechMan

Restoring Work, Life Balance

For those who lost their jobs, were forced to change jobs or had their jobs threatened during the Great Recession, there may be a silver lining – the discovery that work is not the end-all, be-all you may have once thought.

That’s right; work is not the most important thing on the planet. There’s is more to life than “working for the man every night and day,” as John Fogerty's lyrics go in the old “Proud Mary” song of a few decades back.

The downturn years that began in December 2007 have caused workers to question career-related sacrifices, including time away from family, less leisure and fewer self-improvement activities.

They are a few of the findings of a recent study by Wayne Hochwarter (right), a Jim Moran Professor of Business Administration at Florida State University College of Business, and research associates Tyler Everett and Stuart Tapley.

They reviewed the Great Recession’s role in changing employees’ thoughts about work, commitment to their families, and the pursuit of a more balanced lifestyle.

“The objective of the study was to see if we could identify shifts in thinking, as well as the causes of these changes,” Hochwarter says.

Opinions gathered from more than 1,100 full-time employees, across a range of occupations and career stages, showed the following:

* 48 percent reported the recession increased their appreciation of family;

* 37 percent reported the recession promoted thoughts that work isn’t as important as it once was in the grand scheme of things;

* 49 percent admitted the recession helped them recognize the value of people over things;

* 23 percent indicated the recession increased awareness of an over-commitment to work at the expense of family and recreation;

* 42 percent confirmed most of what happens at work is out of one’s control regardless of commitment and effort; and

* 43 percent agreed the recession increased motivation to be a better person rather than just a better employee.

Finally, more than 70 percent of employees acknowledged that most days at work “seem like they will never end” — a commonly held belief in work settings where increasingly more time and output is expected with less support and fewer guaranteed rewards.

The study also indicated recession-related stress tends to manifest differently in men and women.

“Digging a little deeper into the data, it was evident that men’s reflective, and often remorseful, thoughts were driven by recession-related job insecurity and its subsequent role in encouraging hostile work treatment,” Hochwarter says.

He suggests it’s common for work stress to push employees to places they would not otherwise go, in terms of thoughts and actions, when it reaches intolerable levels.

Such stress is apparent in the comment of one study participant, a 48-year-old manager of a production facility who was laid off by his longtime employer. “I broke my back for this company, missed my kids growing up, and for what? Nothing!” the man says.

Women’s thoughts, on the other hand, were triggered by conflicts between work and family obligations. Women reported job obligations have increased in recent years — in terms of time and energy — resulting in fewer hours engaged in family life.

The study also uncovered a generational divide, with those born after the mid-1970s more likely to have struck a better balance between work and personal life, especially as it relates to friends, family and leisure. Work shares equal or lesser status.

In this sense, younger employees seem to exert a positive influence on Baby Boomer co-workers in making them realize there's a bigger world outside the office. A great work ethic is important for success, but it does not guarantee it.

WMB finds the study interesting in terms of shared experiences, but the results are not really that surprising when you take a closer look.

Life stresses fall into major areas – job loss, death of a loved one, failing marriage, buying a home, having children, and being a crime victim.

Some or all of these things are part of living a long and full life; you get the good with the bad but, hopefully, more good than bad. Striking a balance between work and your personal life is the key to survival.

For those who got hammered by the Great Recession (and there are millions in this financial mess), now is a great opportunity to rebuild your life on terms more to your liking.

If parts of your old life were not working, you can start anew with something personally satisfying. Trying to reinvent the past (your old job) isn't likely to move you forward into the future.

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com. If you like this post, please share it.

Boomers Can Make The Pieces Fit

The economic outlook offers a skewed puzzle of confusing jobless figures and fleeting glimpses of the future: multi-tasking, more training and varied skills. For Baby Boomers, those born from 1946 to 1964, it means a dizzying array of choices and challenges.

The jobs crisis has brought an unwelcome discovery for many unemployed Americans, especially those in middle age. Job openings in their old fields exist, but they no longer qualify for them, according to the Associated Press. The job descriptions have changed, with new skills, certifications and other education now required.

The jobless are running into a trend that took root during the Great Recession. Companies became more productive by doing more with fewer workers. Some asked staffers to take on a broader array of duties — ones that used to be spread among multiple jobs. Now, someone who hopes to get those jobs must meet wider demands.

Employers, who hold all the cards because of so few job openings, want "two skill sets in one human being," says Harry Griendling, chief executive of DoubleStar Inc., a staffing firm outside Philadelphia.

The trend reflects the push that companies made during the recession to control costs, squeeze more output from their staffs and become more productive. Productivity measures output per hour worked. Economy-wide, it soared 3.5 percent last year. It was the best performance in six years.

"There are jobs available, but the worker just has to have more skills than before," notes Mark Tomlinson, executive director of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, whose U.S. headquarters is in Dearborn, MI, a state hammered by the Great Recession.

Even so, employers faced with slow sales and a weak economy see little reason to boost hiring. Frustrated in their efforts to find qualified applicants among the jobless, employers are turning to those who are already working to fill select openings.

"They're hiring a known quantity that already has this specific experience on their resume," said Cathy Farley, a managing director at Accenture. "It is slowing some of the re-hiring from the ranks of the unemployed."

The unemployment rate held at 9.6 percent last month, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The jobless rate has now topped 9.5 percent for 14 straight months, the longest stretch since the 1930s, when the nation was in the throes of the Great Depression.

Nearly 14.8 million people were unemployed in September. Including those who have given up looking for work, and those who were working part time but wanted full-time jobs, the so-called "underemployment" rate jumped to 17.1 percent last month, from 16.7 percent in August. That reflected an increase of more than 600,000 involuntary part-time workers.

The most rampant layoffs of teachers and other local government workers in nearly three decades more than offset weak hiring in the private sector in September, resulting in a net loss of 95,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department.

"We have to keep doing everything we can to accelerate this recovery," President Obama says. "The only piece of economic news that folks still looking for work want to hear is, `You're hired.' And everything we do is dedicated to make that happen."

The combination of weak hiring by businesses and more governments layoffs expected means unemployment could rise to 10 percent again this year or next. When Obama took office in January 2009, the unemployment rate was 7.7 percent, the AP notes.

Still, the Obama administration is promoting stronger partnerships between two-year public colleges and big-name U.S. employers, such as McDonald's and The Gap, as a way to help better match workers with jobs during the economic recovery and beyond.

Whether the "Skills for America's Future" initiative will gain any traction nationally remains to be seen since, traditionally, community colleges have focused on local employer/worker needs.

For their part, community colleges are short of cash, jammed with laid-off workers and students who in better times would attend four-year schools, and spending heavily on remedial education for students ill-prepared for college.

So what does all this economic turmoil mean for graying Boomers?


WMB believes it means we have to find ways to balance our needs, along with that of our children and our own aging parents. The what-next is key in our consideration of choices that address each of these generations. It’s a tough juggling act for sure and the road ahead, of course, is filled with potholes.

If our job or industry vanished/downsized during the Great Recession, do we train for a new career (assuming something is of interest and reflects one’s aptitude) or do we attempt to rebuild our former career with more education? Reinventing one’s self sounds great, but what does it take to accomplish it and do we have the will to see it through?

Given the speed and breath of the recession’s devastating impact on jobs across many industries, there are many of us mulling the answers to these questions right now. But there is no one-size-fits all when it comes to solutions. In some cases, it’s going to be trial and error (and I’m no exception to this rule).

Make no mistake, there is hope because Americans, on the whole, are a resilient people who dream big things, regardless of the obstacles. That separates us from many other cultures on the planet. Some older folks call it the “can-do” attitude, the idea of achieving something bigger than us.

The Boomers sought to remake the world into something better (not just a bunch of self-absorbed, spoiled, drug-taking kids, as some critics still insist). The Boomer ideals have shifted and changed with the times, but the early lessons learned still apply and resonate.

WMB believes Boomers can leave a legacy by reclaiming our lives and recovering from a downturn that is one for the history books. An earlier generation overcame the Great Depression and led us into a post-World War II prosperity.

It’s our turn now. Whatever you do, get inspired!!!

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com. If you like this post, please share it.

America’s Dirty Secret Revealed

Age discrimination is alive and well in America. Sure, we have laws against it, but this type of bias hides in an employer’s nooks and crannies, and it takes the form of smiling faces and knowing eyes. And it’s not just older workers, those over the age of 50, but lots of younger people, too.

For the older job seeker, it comes down to a simple equation for the employer: Experience means higher salary, bigger health insurance costs, and (this one really gets under a person’s skin) too set in your ways. The hiring authority will tell you that you’re “over qualified,” a polite way of saying the gray hair means get lost.

For the younger worker, the opposite holds true. You have tattoos, piercings and a different hairdo, but those pimples scream inexperience, immaturity, and possible substance abuse. Nice clichés, but they’re the reasons you are “under qualified,” a sneaky way of saying come back when you grow up, or not at all.

If you think these are simplifications of exceptions, not the rule, you might want to check out the story of Jack Gross, whose age discrimination battle has gone to the highest court in the land. What happens in this milestone case could affect all workers for generations to come.

Gross, whose situation is detailed in bylined opinion piece in this month’s issue of AARP Bulletin, offers a cautionary tale for workers who try to do their best in playing by the rules, yet suffer in silence when wronged.

“This all began in January 2003. When my employer, Farm Bureau Financial Group (FBL Financial Services Inc.) in Iowa, merged with the Kansas Farm Bureau, the company apparently wanted to purge claims employees who were over age 50. All the Kansas claims employees over 50 with a certain number of years of employment were offered a buyout, which most accepted. In Iowa, virtually every claims supervisor over 50 was demoted.

“Being 54, I was included in that sweep, despite 13 consecutive years of top performance reviews. The company claimed this was not discrimination but simply a reorganization. In 2005, a federal jury spent a week hearing testimony and seeing the evidence. The jurors agreed with me, and determined that age was a motivating factor in my demotion. Since then, the case has taken on a life of its own, including an appeal to the 8th Circuit Court and a U.S. Supreme Court hearing and decision.

“Since the Age Discrimination in Employment Act was passed in 1967, courts had ruled consistently that the law protected individuals if their age was a factor in any employment decision. But in my case, the Supreme Court (in a 5-4 decision in 2009) unexpectedly changed course and ruled that age had to be the exclusive reason for my demotion, even though that wasn’t the question before them. They simply hijacked my case and used it as a vehicle to water down the workplace discrimination laws passed by Congress.”

Gross says the key now is for Congress to pass the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (H.R. 3721) because it would provide the same protection for older people as that given to people of color, women, or people of different faiths.

“Many of my friends are also farm or small-town ‘kids’ who feel like they are the forgotten minority,’’ Gross writes. “Many have been forcibly retired or laid off. Some have been looking for work for months, only to find doors closed when they reveal the year they graduated. Others are working as janitors despite good careers and college degrees. They all know that age discrimination is very real and pervasive.”

We at WMB believe Gross is absolutely correct about the widespread nature of the problem – and make no mistake, this issue will boil over as the Baby Boom generation (those born from 1946 to 1964) grows older, living and working, in theory, much longer than previous generations.

Our culture emphasizes the importance of youth, beauty and vitality but looks down on older and elderly people as somehow less valuable, unworthy of employment and, in short, disposable.

Why should you care if you’re younger and don’t make much money? If Congress does not act, you may find yourself one day confronted by the same age discrimination that targeted Jack Gross.

The wheels of reform, generally, turn slowly in America, but age discrimination is one area that should drive bipartisan support. It’s an opportunity, as Gross says, to do something positive on a cause that is bigger than ourselves. Well said.

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com. If you like this post, please share it with family, friends and colleagues!

Social Insecurity Looms For U.S.

Social Security, created in the 1930s as a social program to help alleviate poverty and unemployment during the Great Depression, is now funded through dedicated payroll taxes via the Federal Insurance Contributions Act.

The program covered unemployment insurance when the act was initially signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 as part of his New Deal reform. Today, the benefit areas cover retirement, disability, survivorship and death.

By payout, Social Security is the largest government program in the world and the single greatest expenditure within the U.S. budget. Its expenditure now is about 37 percent of the government budget, 7 percent of our gross domestic product, and the program is in serious trouble.

The program’s annual surplus nearly evaporated during 2009 for the first time in 25 years, according to USA Today. The Great Recession has led hundreds of thousands of workers to retire or claim disability insurance, and caused further stress on the system.

The recession’s impact is projected to be even greater this year and next according to the Congressional Budget Office. If unemployment continues in the double digits, Social Security may be paying out significantly more than it’s currently planning.

Steven Goss, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration, was quoted as saying: “Things are a little bit worse than had been expected. Clearly we’re going to be negative for a year or two”.

Since 1984, Social Security has taken in more in payroll taxes than it has paid out in benefits, resulting in a $2.5 trillion trust fund. However, since the government uses the fund to pay for other programs, it has had to increase taxes and implement spending cuts. If Social Security can’t stay in the black, it will have to borrow money from other sources to make up the shortfall.

Experts following this situation claim this reinforces the concern that Baby Boomers (Americans born between 1946 and 1963) will create a deficit in the system by 2016 or 2017.

“The moment of truth has arrived,” says U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, a leading member on the House Budget Committee. He says it’s “a wake-up call” of things to come.

Last year, Social Security took in only $3 billion more in taxes than it paid out in benefits. That’s about a $60 billion decline from 2008, according to federal data. The decrease in revenue occurred much sooner than expected for three basic reasons:

• Previous to the recession, payroll taxes were growing at an annual rate of 4.5 percent along with wages but flattened during 2009 because of high unemployment and disappearing pay hikes.

• During the same period, the number of retired workers increased by 20 percent and those taking disability jumped to 10 percent.

• Monthly benefits were increased by 5.8 percent because of a spike in energy costs compared with the previous year.

Social Security previously was saved from bankruptcy in 1983 by a bipartisan agreement that increased payroll taxes and gradually shifted the retirement age to 67. This move was supposed to keep the system solvent until at least 2058, but the forecast has slipped to 2037, according to government actuaries.

The impact of the current recession has been much longer and deeper than most analysts projected. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget , says, “Money has to be found to repay these trust funds.”

President George W. Bush proposed a voluntary private account in 2005, but the effort was rejected and stalled by Congress. President Obama has proposed a bipartisan budget commission be formed.

Obviously, the system is under severe stress and our quality of life is under siege. Instead of the bipartisan budget commission, we think a bipartisan employment commission is needed to create new jobs – and soon!

Note: This post comes to We Mean Business from TechMan, a contributor who blogs on a variety of business and business-related topics.