Health & WellnessS


Health

Air Pollution May Increase Risk Of Appendicitis


Science Daily
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:41 UTC
Could there be a link between high levels of air pollution and the risk of appendicitis? New research presented at the 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Orlando, suggests a novel connection.

"Adult onset appendicitis is a common condition whose cause is unclear and almost universally requires surgery," explained Dr. Gilaad G. Kaplan of the University of Calgary.
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Syringe

As parents question vaccinations, the number of reactionaries increases

Julie Deardorff
Chicago Tribune
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:49 UTC
Measles cases in the United States are rising, and parents who reject vaccination are shouldering much of the blame.

Nearly half of the 131 cases so far this year involved unvaccinated children. Fourteen cases were reported in California through the first seven months of this year.

Comment: 131 cases out of a population of nearly 300 million that's almost an incidence of .00005%! Considering the amount of media attention this is getting don't you think there are more pressing concerns? For example, you have a better chance of dying in an Iraqi road side bombing than of getting a relatively harmless case of measles.

As you read the rest of this propaganda piece, though it has its moments of objectivity, consider the analogy of blaming the warm weather on the number of broken bones in children playing outside. While it may be true that vaccines can reduce the incidence of measles in some cases, perhaps ignoring the long term health consequences of vaccines is more damaging than the "cure."


Comment: And if you're concerned about getting diseases, then eat a healthy diet and take Vitamin A and D supplements, especially during the winter months.

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Ambulance

Paul Krugman: McCain's health plan amounts to "health care destruction"

Paul Krugman
The New York Times
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:01 UTC
Sarah Palin ended her debate performance last Thursday with a slightly garbled quote from Ronald Reagan about how, if we aren't vigilant, we'll end up "telling our children and our children's children" about the days when America was free. It was a revealing choice.
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Magnify

A Switch to Turn Off Autism?

Susannah F. Locke
Scientific American
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 08:36 UTC
Researchers have found a way to slow overactive brain cells that may be triggering neurological disorders

Scientists say they have pinpointed a gene in the brain that can calm nerve cells that become too jumpy, potentially paving the way for new therapies to treat autism and other neurological disorders.
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Magnify

Rare Genetic Disorder Gives Clues To Autism, Epilepsy, Mental Retardation


EmaxHealth
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 08:35 UTC
A rare genetic disorder called tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is yielding insight into a possible cause of some neurodevelopmental disorders: structural abnormalities in neurons, or brain cells. Researchers in the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Children's Hospital Boston, led by Mustafa Sahin, MD, PhD, and Xi He, PhD, also found that normal neuronal structure can potentially be restored.
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Family

Long-term psychotherapy is superior, study finds

Shari Roan
Los Angeles Times
Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:26 UTC
Therapy session
© Geoff Manasse / Getty ImagesAn illustration of a therapy session
Psychotherapy lasting for at least one year is more effective than shorter periods of therapy for people with complex mental disorders, such as personality and chronic disorders, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. The success of dedicated psychotherapy may matter little, however, because fewer doctors are offering the service and fewer insurers are covering it.

In long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, the therapist provides continued, close support for the patient while the pair work through problems and interventions. The JAMA study, from researchers in Germany, was an examination of 23 studies on the success of psychotherapy. It found that longer-term therapy (one year or longer) was superior to shorter-term methods in regard to overall outcome and personality functioning. On average, patients with complex mental conditions who were treated long-term were better off than 96% of the patients in the comparison groups.
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Syringe

Extreme rehab: Inside the world's most radical drug clinic

Nick Harding
The Independent
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:06 UTC
Andre Waismann
© GettyMiracle man? Dr Andre Waismann argues that opiate addiction is a medical problem and that his fast-track neural treatment works far better than counseling and methadone. Drug agencies disagree
Dr Andre Waismann is rewriting the rulebook for rehab, with incredible success. So why is the medical establishment ignoring his work? Nick Harding investigates

Dr Andre Waismann looks out of the window towards the Gaza Strip. Speaking in a medical centre in the Israeli town of Ashkelon, a few miles north of the heavily fortified border and constantly under threat from Kassam rocket attack, he explains his vision. "My goal," he says, "is that any drug addict in the world will one day be able to turn up at their local general hospital and say, 'good evening, I am hooked on opiates'. They will then lie down on a treatment table and be cured quickly before going home healthy. It will be as simple as taking a trip to the dentist."
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People

Medical student gender and self-confidence: Females underestimate their abilities and males tend to overestimate theirs


Indiana University
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:20 UTC
Despite performing equally to their male peers in the classroom and the clinic, female medical students consistently report decreased self-confidence and increased anxiety, particularly over issues related to their competency. A new study published in the September 2008 issue of Patient Education and Counseling found that female medical students also appeared less confident to patients.

"We observed third-year medical students interacting with individuals simulating patients and gave the students a battery of tests measuring non-verbal sensitivity. Female medical students self reported less self confidence than the male medical students and were also observed by trained raters to be less confident. Despite objective test performance that is equal to or greater than their male classmates there was something about the way in which the female medical students were observed and experienced their communication with patients that made them less confident" said the study's senior author Richard M. Frankel, Ph.D., professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and a Regenstrief Institute research scientist.
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Bulb

Musicians use both sides of their brains more frequently than average people


Vanderbilt University
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:11 UTC
Supporting what many of us who are not musically talented have often felt, new research reveals that trained musicians really do think differently than the rest of us. Vanderbilt University psychologists have found that professionally trained musicians more effectively use a creative technique called divergent thinking, and also use both the left and the right sides of their frontal cortex more heavily than the average person.

The research by Crystal Gibson, Bradley Folley and Sohee Park is currently in press at the journal Brain and Cognition.

"We were interested in how individuals who are naturally creative look at problems that are best solved by thinking 'out of the box'," Folley said. "We studied musicians because creative thinking is part of their daily experience, and we found that there were qualitative differences in the types of answers they gave to problems and in their associated brain activity."

One possible explanation the researchers offer for the musicians' elevated use of both brain hemispheres is that many musicians must be able to use both hands independently to play their instruments.
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Family

Autism genes can add up to genius

Jonathan Leake
The Times
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:36 UTC
Intellectual gifts and certain brain disorders are closely related

Some people with autism have amazed experts with their outstanding memories, mathematical skills or musical talent. Now scientists have found that the genes thought to cause autism may also confer mathematical, musical and other skills on people without the condition.
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