Posts

May 13, 2013

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8:03 AM | FDA Drug Development Workshop: Part Two

Gabby (Nielk) continues our summary of the FDA Workshop with a look at the second half of Day One – a discussion entitled “Patients’ Perspective on Treatment Approaches” The FDA Drug Development Workshop for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) took place on the 25th and 26th of April 2013. It was well attended by patients, advocates, doctors, representatives of the CDC and even a few pharmaceutical reps. The workshop was also broadcast live […]

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7:48 AM | The deceptive rebranding of aspects of science-based medicine as “alternative” by naturopaths continues apace

That naturopathy is a veritable cornucopia of quackery mixed with the odd sensible, science-based suggestion here and there is not in doubt, at least not to supporters of science-based medicine (SBM). However, what naturopaths are very good at doing is representing their pseudoscience as somehow being scientific and thus on par with conventional SBM. So [...]

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5:00 AM | CDC Reports on U.S. Sugar Intake Among Adults

U.S. adults receive approximately 13% of their calories from added sugars.

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4:01 AM | How Formula Can Complement Breast-Feeding

Good news for new mothers: A study suggests that carefully regulated formula feeding before your milk comes in will not harm your baby’s ability to breast-feed. And done properly, it may even help in the long run.

May 12, 2013

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3:39 PM | Vaccines work: By the numbers

It bears repeating that vaccines are one of the greatest of all the medical innovations ever invented. This infographic illustrates their success. Here’s the source: Why vaccinate from vaccines.com using CDC data. h/t @a_picazo Filed under: updates

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11:50 AM | Mothers Talk Poverty and Hunger: Mariana Chilton and Tianna Gaines Join Melissa Harris-Perry

A message from Dr. Mariana Chilton: This Sunday I am proud to celebrate Mother’s Day by talking about the hunger and poverty faced by too many mothers on the Melissa Harris-Perry Show (10am, MSNBC). I will be joined by another mother and member of Witnesses to Hunger, Tianna G. Tianna is a loving mother of … Continue reading »

May 11, 2013

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8:16 PM | The diabolical plot of vaccine advocates

h/t Crommunist. Filed under: updates Tagged: vaccines

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8:10 PM | The Pot President

Hendrik Hertzberg on the hypocrisy of the hip. In a blog post at the New Yorker last week, Hendrik Hertzberg spotlighted a recent joke made by the President of the United States at the White House Correspondents dinner. In reference to the rapidly changing media landscape, Obama said: “You can’t keep up with it. I mean, I remember when BuzzFeed was just something I did in college around two A.M. (Laughter.) It’s true! (Laughter.)” The days of expressing a cringing contrition for […]

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7:53 PM | Weekend Reading

Here’s what’s keeping this pharmacist engaged and sometimes outraged: Health Canada explicitly puts the financial interests of homeopathy manufacturers above broader public health goals. From the BC Medical Journal, Health Canada licenses homeopathic vaccines: Remarkably, at the same time as Health Canada focuses on influenza education, flu shots, and other proven prevention measures, that same […]

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11:00 AM | Teaching the Brain to Calm Itself

Estimates of combat-related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in U.S. veterans since the Vietnam War ranges from approximately 2& to 17%. Additional studies of combat veterans of more recent wars places the range of Iraq War returnees who suffer from PTSD between 4% and 17%. Currently, there is no one form of treatment that has been [...]

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2:06 AM | Horror on Seymour Avenue

As we get ready to celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend, we have been greeted with news of the liberation of three young women who were held in captivity for nearly 10 years in a ramshackle house located in a rundown neighborhood of Cleveland. Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry, along with her six year [...]

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12:17 AM | Weekly Round-Up: ADHD, team sports, summertime dangers, nutrition, parenting styles and more

All right, folks, this will be a whirlwind of links, but if you missed any health or science news this week related to parenting, I’ve hopefully included it below. First there’s been a bunch of news about ADHD, and none of it really that good. First, it’s hard to tell which is worse: that we [...]

May 10, 2013

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6:06 PM | Trying to Give Trauma Docs a Breather

“I want to put trauma doctors out of business.” Rhonda Holmstrom, Trauma Outpatient & Injury Prevention Coordinator, says this with a smile, knowing it’s not a realistic goal, but she –- and other members of the trauma team at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -– are reaching out...

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5:05 PM | International Awareness Day, May 12th 2013: Worldwide Protests and Events

Mark takes a look at what’s going on around the world this weekend to mark International Awareness Day May 12th is International Awareness Day for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). Awareness Day events also recognize Fibromyalgia (FM), Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), Gulf War Syndrome (GWS), Lyme Disease, and other chronic neuro-endocrine-immune diseases (NEIDs). Awareness Week runs from May 12th-18th, and the whole of May is Awareness Month. As with many […]

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4:12 PM | In a Pickle

The Recipes for Health columnist Martha Rose Shulman offers recipes for pickling less conventional vegetables.

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2:57 PM | China virus and Washington science

Seattle and Pullman may seem far from the front lines in the battle against the emerging virus known as H7N9 in China. But scientists in both Northwest cities are watching carefully and working hard to help in [More...]

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2:36 PM | Ask Well: Replacing a Dental Crown

Crowns need not be replaced simply because they are decades-old.

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12:15 PM | The Sleep Bank

The following article is entirely made up. It’s satire. I am making fun of treatment modalities which are claimed by proponents to cure everything, from real medical ailments to fictional entities like “adrenal fatigue”. I am also poking fun at the state of medical reporting these days. If the concepts discussed seem similar to actual [...]

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7:48 AM | Arizona Pain Stem Cell Institute to begin stem cell trial

Yesterday, the Arizona Pain Stem Cell Institute announced a new, non-randomised trial involving stem cell injections. The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of injections containing amniotic stem cells combined with high concentrations of hyaluronic acid and growth factors in patients with "back and neck pain along with pain in the shoulder, knee, hip and sacroiliac joint". Read More

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6:41 AM | Mitochondrial Disease – A Neurological Perspective

Defects of mitochondrial function have been identified in several neurodegenerative diseases. These include abnormalities induced by mutations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) those caused by mutation of nuclear genes encoding mitochondrial proteins, and in some cases, exposure to mitochondrial toxins.MtDNA mutation are associated with a variety of progressive encephalomyopathies inn which there is evidence of neurodegeneration. These include Kearns-Sayre syndrome myopathy, encephalopathy, […]

McFarland R, Taylor RW & Turnbull DM (2010). A neurological perspective on mitochondrial disease., Lancet neurology, 9 (8) 829-40. PMID: 20650404

Venna N (2004). Mitochondrial neurological diseases: a clinician's perspective., Neurology India, 52 (3) 305-6. PMID: 15472416

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2:40 AM | Will thyroid medication make you a faster athlete?

Has one physician uncovered the secret to Olympic Gold medals? And is that secret as simple as undiagnosed low thyroid function? That’s the question posed in a recent Wall Street Journal column entitled U.S. Track’s Unconventional Physician. The narrative is familiar: Lone physician fighting the establishment of “conventional” medicine. This is the medical practice of […]

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12:19 AM | Comment on Will Patients Win with Transparent Hospital-Bill Mandates? by mary

Transparency means that now you know how outrageous the charges are for your hospital visit crackers, NOT that you'll pay less.

May 09, 2013

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9:26 PM | Heart Association Weighs In on Pets

The American Heart Association has a new message: Owning a dog may be good for your heart.

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8:14 PM | Merged mice lead to new heart failure treatment

Heart failure (also known as congestive heart failure) is one of the most common and debilitating conditions associated with ageing. At present, there is no real cure for the condition and treatments focus on improving the symptoms and preventing the progression of the disease. Today, a new study was published by researchers at Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) that sheds new light on the condition and proposes a potential new treatment option.Read More

Loffredo, F., Steinhauser, M., Jay, S., Gannon, J., Pancoast, J., Yalamanchi, P., Sinha, M., Dall’Osso, C., Khong, D., Shadrach, J. & Miller, C. (2013). Growth Differentiation Factor 11 Is a Circulating Factor that Reverses Age-Related Cardiac Hypertrophy, Cell, 153 (4) 828-839. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.04.015

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4:34 PM | Recent Paper from the Ricci Lab

Below, Dr. Anthony Ricci describes a recent paper by the Ricci Lab, which discusses, “how the synapse in the turtle hearing organ compares to that in the mammal.” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Communication between the inner ear sensory cells and the brain is …

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3:46 PM | Living With Cancer: Good News Soup

My oncologist is thrilled about my test results. But I worry: What if I fail her?

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3:04 PM | Comment on Will Patients Win with Transparent Hospital-Bill Mandates? by Dev Rogers

Hurrah for this transparency. Now it can be used to educate the public to press for Medicare for All, aka Single Payer.

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2:56 PM | Pressing Patients to Change Their Minds

When my patient took herself off the active liver transplant list, I had to ask myself a question: Did I have some type of duty to get her to change her mind?

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2:40 PM | What Parents Should Worry About This Week (Or Not)

Numbers to make you crazy:22% of kids still living in poverty. Science Daily1 in 6 kids bullied and if that's not enough to make you tense, 1 in 3 spend at least 3 hours a day on video games. Science DailyBut kids playing lots of violent video games aren't particularly bothered or stressed by the violence. Science Daily90% of doctors are ignoring all the guidelines for treating ADHD. Time43% of teens admit 2 txtng n drvng. 90% actually […]

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11:30 AM | Is thyroid replacement a performance-enhancing drug?

Has one physician uncovered the secret to Olympic Gold medals? And is that secret as simple as undiagnosed low thyroid function? That’s the question posed in a recent Wall Street Journal column entitled U.S. Track’s Unconventional Physician. Like the story that Steven Novella described yesterday, this narrative describes the medical practice of Dr. Jeffrey S. [...]

May 13, 2013

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