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| ©Carlos Jasso
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| Dog days: Billie-Jean at The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in Putney, south London
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As she makes her way through the hospital wards, Billie-Jean keeps up an impressive pace. She has to if she is going to see all the patients who are waiting for her. Wearing her official uniform, she looks neat and trim, and despite how busy she is, she always has time to stop if someone wants to say hello or slip her a Bonio. You see, Billie-Jean isn't a ward sister doing the rounds or a doctor bringing vital medicine, she's an Irish terrier. But despite the fact she's a canine, not human, carer, her medical value is second-to-none because she is a Pets As Therapy dog.
Washington - More than 2 million U.S. teenagers have suffered a serious bout of depression in the past year, including nearly 13 percent of girls, according to a federal government survey released on Tuesday.
On average, 8.5 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 described having had a major depressive episode in the previous year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported.
WASHINGTON - The parents of two 10-year-old boys who believe vaccines caused their sons to develop autism brought their case to U.S. federal court on Monday, arguing a mercury preservative in the shots caused a rare reaction.
Their case is the second of three being heard by a special court trying to determine if autism might sometimes be caused by vaccines. Although most medical experts say there is no link, the court can rule there is a plausible association and allow parents of children with autism to get federal compensation from a special vaccine fund.
More than 5,300 cases have been filed by parents who believe vaccines may have caused autism in their children and are seeking payment under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a no-fault system that pays out for vaccine injuries.
Under the program, someone injured by a vaccine does not have to prove the vaccine actually caused his or her injuries.
Wendy Chapkis and Richard J. Webb
NYU PressTue, 13 May 2008 03:26 UTC
The following is an excerpt from "Dying to Get High" by Wendy Chapkis and Richard J. Webb (NYU Press, 2008). (c) 2008 NYU Press.
For many modern critics, the concept of "medical marijuana" is a contradiction in terms. Medicine is standardized, synthetic, and pure; marijuana involves the unrefined and promiscuous coupling of more than four hundred components rooted in the dirt. Medicine -- in its most powerful and privileged forms -- rests in the hands of men, while the most potent form of marijuana is found in the female flowering plant. Medicine engages in heroic battles against death. Marijuana claims only to enhance the quality of life.
In response to a court case regarding Michelle Cedillo (one of thousands of families attempting to establish the connection between vaccines and their child's autism), Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania claims the apparent connection between vaccines and autism is "nothing more than a sad coincidence". Imagine being the parent (and there are many!) who watched their child's fast retreat into silence and disability following a round of vaccinations upon hearing this incomprehensible dismissal!
If you're seeking employment, get a grip. A firm handshake is key to landing a job.
In a new study, scientists put 98 students through mock job interviews with businesspeople. The students also met with trained handshake raters who, unbeknownst to the students, rated their grips. Separately, the businesspeople graded each student's overall performance and hireability. The two group's scores were then compared.
Students who got high handshake marks were also rated most hireable.
Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, held a hearing today on the potentially misleading and deceptive tactics used in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements for prescription pharmaceutical products.
The hearing, titled "Direct-to-Consumer Advertising: Marketing, Education, or Deception?" reviewed deceptive and misleading practices in three ad campaigns and explored better practices for DTC marketing. Stupak delivered the following statement:
Comment: Tell your doctor if you experience difficult or painful swallowing, chest pain, or severe or continuing heartburn, as these may be signs of serious upper digestive problems.
Side effects are generally mild or moderate and may include diarrhea, pain in the arms or legs, back, muscle, bone or joint pain, stomach pain or upset, or constipation. If you develop severe bone, joint, and/or muscle pain, contact your healthcare provider.
Women who are or could become pregnant should not handle this medication due to the potential risk of a specific birth defect. Do not donate blood until at least 6 months after stopping this medication. Tell your doctor if you have liver disease.
Tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney problems, as he doesn't know how to figure that out and you do.
Avoid stopping therapy abruptly. With certain beta-blocking agents, stopping therapy abruptly has led to chest pain and, in some cases, heart attack.
Some common side effects include shortness of breath, a slow heartbeat, weight gain, fatigue, hypotension, dizziness, or faintness.
Contact lens wearers may produce fewer tears or have dry eyes.
Heat prostration (fever and heat stroke due to decreased sweating) can occur when anticholinergics such as oxybutynin are administered in hot weather.
Tablets must be swallowed whole with the aid of liquids, and must not be chewed, divided, or crushed."
"Important Product Information
. . . . . . . Since the product was first introduced, the following have been reported in patients:
* Serious Infections
* Many occurred in people prone to infection, such as those with advanced or poorly controlled diabetes
* Some serious infections were fatal
* Rare cases of tuberculosis
* Do not start medication if you have an infection or are allergic to the medication or its components
* Tell your doctor if you are prone to infection
* Stop the medication if a serious infection occurs
* Tell your doctor if you have ever been treated for heart failure
* Rare reports of serious blood disorders (some fatal).
* Contact your doctor immediately if you develop symptoms such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness
* In medical studies of all TNF inhibitors, a higher rate of lymphoma (a type of cancer) was seen compared to the general population, however, the risk of lymphoma may be up to several-fold higher in RA and psoriasis patients.
You should not use this medication if you have certain disorders of the esophagus (the tube connecting the mouth with the stomach), are not able to stand or sit upright for 30 minutes or have severe kidney disease.
Tell your doctor:
* if you have had any infection in the past that keeps coming back, or if you have any problems that increase the risk of infections,
* if you feel any numbness or tingling,
* if you have ever had a disease that affects your nervous system such as multiple sclerosis, or
* if you have ever been treated for heart failure.
Tell your doctor right away or seek emergency care immediately if you have an allergic reaction such as a bad rash, swollen face, or trouble breathing. Tell your doctor right away if you have signs of a blood disorder such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding or paleness.
You and your family should watch closely and call the doctor right away, if you have worsening depression, thoughts of suicide, or sudden or severe changes in mood or behavior (for example feeling anxious, agitated, panicky, irritable, hostile, aggressive, impulsive, severely restless, hyperactive, overly excited, or not being able to sleep), especially at the beginning of treatment or after any change in dose.
Other side effects may include infection, diarrhea, dry mouth, constipation, decreased appetite, sleepiness, dizziness, sexual side effects, nervousness, tremor, yawning, sweating, weakness or insomnia.
Some side effects can be serious. The following symptoms are uncommon, but if you experience any of them, call your doctor immediately:
* leg pain or swelling
* shortness of breath
* coughing up blood
* cough that doesn't go away
* blue-grey color or darkening around mouth or nails
* dizziness
* fainting
* blurred vision
* temporary confusion
* slow or difficult speech
* loss of memory or ability to concentrate
* hallucinating (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)
* extreme tiredness
* seizures
* weakness, numbness, heaviness, or tingling in arms or legs
* floppiness or loss of muscle tone
* lack of energy
* increased or rapid heart beat
* irregular heart beat
* chest pain or tightness
* excessive sweating
* fever, sore throat, chills, cough, and other signs of infection
* rash
* hives
* itching
* swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, eyes, hands, feet, or ankles
* wheezing
* difficulty breathing or swallowing
* hoarseness
Warning: Life-threatening if taken within 2 weeks of taking a MAO inhibitor.
In addition, the following side effects have been reported: anxiety, blurred vision, colitis, confusion, decreased levels of sodium in the blood, depression, fluid in the lungs, hair loss, hallucinations, increased levels of potassium in the blood, insomnia, low blood cell counts, menstrual disorder, palpitations, pancreatitis, ringing in the ears, severe increase in blood pressure, tingling sensation, unusual headache with stiff neck (aseptic meningitis), vertigo, worsening of epilepsy.
Call your doctor today for a free trial sample.
Jared A. Favole
CNN MoneyThu, 08 May 2008 19:19 UTC
Officials from several large pharmaceutical companies defended their direct-to-consumer television advertisements before a powerful House committee Thursday that is calling for stronger legislation to rein in false and misleading ads.
At a hearing entitled, "Direct to Consumer Advertising: Marketing, Education or Deception?" Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., showed three television ads and said, "These are three examples of drug companies acting improperly."
SNMWed, 07 May 2008 17:31 UTC
Researchers Find Link Between Altered Dopamine Activity and Social Anxiety Disorder According to an Article in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), researchers in The Netherlands were able to detect biochemical differences in the brains of individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia), providing evidence of a long-suspected biological cause for the dysfunction.
The study, which was reported in the May issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, compared densities of elements of the serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitter systems in the brains of 12 people diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, but who had not taken medication to treat it, and a control group of 12 healthy people who were matched by sex and age.
Both groups were injected with a radioactive compound that binds with elements of the brain's serotonin and dopamine systems. Once administered, the radiotracer revealed functional alterations in these systems by measuring the radioactive binding in the thalamus, midbrain and pons (known to be acted upon by serotonin) and in the striatum (known to be acted upon by dopamine). The altered uptake activity in these regions indicated a greater level of disordered function.
Comment: Tell your doctor if you experience difficult or painful swallowing, chest pain, or severe or continuing heartburn, as these may be signs of serious upper digestive problems.
Side effects are generally mild or moderate and may include diarrhea, pain in the arms or legs, back, muscle, bone or joint pain, stomach pain or upset, or constipation. If you develop severe bone, joint, and/or muscle pain, contact your healthcare provider.
Women who are or could become pregnant should not handle this medication due to the potential risk of a specific birth defect. Do not donate blood until at least 6 months after stopping this medication. Tell your doctor if you have liver disease.
Tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney problems, as he doesn't know how to figure that out and you do.
Avoid stopping therapy abruptly. With certain beta-blocking agents, stopping therapy abruptly has led to chest pain and, in some cases, heart attack.
Some common side effects include shortness of breath, a slow heartbeat, weight gain, fatigue, hypotension, dizziness, or faintness.
Contact lens wearers may produce fewer tears or have dry eyes.
Heat prostration (fever and heat stroke due to decreased sweating) can occur when anticholinergics such as oxybutynin are administered in hot weather.
Tablets must be swallowed whole with the aid of liquids, and must not be chewed, divided, or crushed."
"Important Product Information
. . . . . . . Since the product was first introduced, the following have been reported in patients:
* Serious Infections
* Many occurred in people prone to infection, such as those with advanced or poorly controlled diabetes
* Some serious infections were fatal
* Rare cases of tuberculosis
* Do not start medication if you have an infection or are allergic to the medication or its components
* Tell your doctor if you are prone to infection
* Stop the medication if a serious infection occurs
* Tell your doctor if you have ever been treated for heart failure
* Rare reports of serious blood disorders (some fatal).
* Contact your doctor immediately if you develop symptoms such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness
* In medical studies of all TNF inhibitors, a higher rate of lymphoma (a type of cancer) was seen compared to the general population, however, the risk of lymphoma may be up to several-fold higher in RA and psoriasis patients.
You should not use this medication if you have certain disorders of the esophagus (the tube connecting the mouth with the stomach), are not able to stand or sit upright for 30 minutes or have severe kidney disease.
Tell your doctor:
* if you have had any infection in the past that keeps coming back, or if you have any problems that increase the risk of infections,
* if you feel any numbness or tingling,
* if you have ever had a disease that affects your nervous system such as multiple sclerosis, or
* if you have ever been treated for heart failure.
Tell your doctor right away or seek emergency care immediately if you have an allergic reaction such as a bad rash, swollen face, or trouble breathing. Tell your doctor right away if you have signs of a blood disorder such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding or paleness.
You and your family should watch closely and call the doctor right away, if you have worsening depression, thoughts of suicide, or sudden or severe changes in mood or behavior (for example feeling anxious, agitated, panicky, irritable, hostile, aggressive, impulsive, severely restless, hyperactive, overly excited, or not being able to sleep), especially at the beginning of treatment or after any change in dose.
Other side effects may include infection, diarrhea, dry mouth, constipation, decreased appetite, sleepiness, dizziness, sexual side effects, nervousness, tremor, yawning, sweating, weakness or insomnia.
Some side effects can be serious. The following symptoms are uncommon, but if you experience any of them, call your doctor immediately:
* leg pain or swelling
* shortness of breath
* coughing up blood
* cough that doesn't go away
* blue-grey color or darkening around mouth or nails
* dizziness
* fainting
* blurred vision
* temporary confusion
* slow or difficult speech
* loss of memory or ability to concentrate
* hallucinating (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)
* extreme tiredness
* seizures
* weakness, numbness, heaviness, or tingling in arms or legs
* floppiness or loss of muscle tone
* lack of energy
* increased or rapid heart beat
* irregular heart beat
* chest pain or tightness
* excessive sweating
* fever, sore throat, chills, cough, and other signs of infection
* rash
* hives
* itching
* swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, eyes, hands, feet, or ankles
* wheezing
* difficulty breathing or swallowing
* hoarseness
Warning: Life-threatening if taken within 2 weeks of taking a MAO inhibitor.
In addition, the following side effects have been reported: anxiety, blurred vision, colitis, confusion, decreased levels of sodium in the blood, depression, fluid in the lungs, hair loss, hallucinations, increased levels of potassium in the blood, insomnia, low blood cell counts, menstrual disorder, palpitations, pancreatitis, ringing in the ears, severe increase in blood pressure, tingling sensation, unusual headache with stiff neck (aseptic meningitis), vertigo, worsening of epilepsy.
Call your doctor today for a free trial sample.