Medicine
j7uy5 | January 15, 2009There is a thought-provoking editorial in the openly-accessible Journal of Psychiatry of Neuroscience (JPN): Has the time come for clinical trials on the antidepressant effect of vitamin D?
(45 KB PDF). In it, the editor of the the Journal, Simon N.
Young, PhD, argues that there is enough evidence to justify increased
research efforts.
He points to a recent article in the Archives of General Psychiatry to support this view:
Depression Is Associated With Decreased 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Increased Parathyroid Hormone Levels in Older Adults
Witte J. G. Hoogendijk, MD, PhD; Paul Lips, MD,…
clock | January 14, 2009
The interest in the conference was overwhelming this year. When we opened the registration back in September we did not expect that we would have to close it in less than three weeks, already over our maximal number of 200. As a result, our waitlist got bigger and bigger and, occasionally, as someone would cancel, we could invite someone from the waitlist to register.
About a dozen people held off until the end, hoping they would still be able to make it, but had to cancel over the last week or two. In their place, we invited several people from the waitlist (and yes, we are still over…
dgmacarthur | January 13, 2009Following the dramatic appearance of the field of personal genomics just over a year ago the major players in the field have worked hard to distinguish themselves from their competition: 23andMe has emphasised the intellectual joy of learning about genetics, and also attempted to actively engage its customers in the company's research projects; deCODEme has leaned heavily on the impressive academic credentials of its parent company, deCODE Genetics; Navigenics has committed itself utterly to an image of sober, responsible reflection on the medical information present in its customers' genomes…
oracknows | January 13, 2009About four weeks ago, I wrote what I thought to be an amusing piece about how our blog "buddy" J. B. Handley, antivaccine advocate extraordinaire and now second fiddle in the organization he founded (Generation Rescue) to a Jenny-come-lately former purveyor of Indigo Child woo previously best known for being Playboy Playmate of the Year, a game show hostess on MTV, the star of her own short-lived sitcom, and a gross-out comedienne known for eating her own vomit or sitting in a pool of her own menstrual blood. Unfortunately, along with her A-list boyfriend Jim Carrey, this former D-list star…
oracknows | January 12, 2009The seemingly never-ending quest of advocates of unscientific medicine, the so-called "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM) movement is to convince policy makers, patients, and physicians that, really and truly, it no longer deserves the qualifier of "alternative," that it is in fact mainstream and even "scientific." That very search for respectability without accountability is the very reason why "alternative" medicine originally morphed into CAM in order to soften the "alternative" label a decade or two ago. Increasingly, however, advocates of such highly implausible medical…
sb admin | January 12, 2009There's no way a day can be entirely predictable, but I do like sharing a glimpse into the personal/professional life every once in a while. You see, the personal and professional can't be so easily disentangled, and whether you are a physician, scientist, grad student, or barrista, you only have one "real life".
0600: Pager. Nurse reports Mrs. M. has a very high fever and foul-smelling urine. I order cultures and antibiotics, and wander sleepily toward bathroom.
0605: Offspring bursts into bathroom excitedly. "Daddy, I had an accident and I was a little wet and I changed my diaper and my…
cwilcox | January 9, 2009Screw Tetris.
More and more research seems to be accumulating to support MDMA (or Ecstasy, to the street-wise reader) for the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
MDMA, or 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine, is well-loved by drug enthusiasts for its experiential effects which include feelings of intimacy, lack of fear or anxiety, and, of course, the feeling of euphoria it is named for. It does this by increasing oxytocin in the brain, a hormone which is otherwise released after orgasm, dopamine, and 'stress hormones' like noradrenaline and cortisol. Though its mechanism isn'…
mikethemadbiologist | January 9, 2009In an excellent review blasting the false dichotomy of more versus less regulation (for additional commentary, see Amanda and Ezra Klein), economist Dean Baker proposes that the government get into the drug development business directly:
...the government could pay for the research upfront and make all research findings and patents fully public. It already spends $30 billion a year financing biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health, an amount almost as high as the pharmaceutical industry claims to spend on its research. NIH research is highly respected, with almost all…
clock | January 8, 2009Let's see what's new in PLoS Genetics, PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Pathogens and PLoS ONE this week. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Predicting the Herd Immunity Threshold during an Outbreak: A Recursive Approach:
The objective was to develop a novel algorithm that can predict, based on field survey data, the minimum vaccination coverage required to reduce the mean number of infections per infectious individual to less than…
jstemwedel | January 8, 2009There's an interesting story on The New Republic website at the moment, "Going Under" by Jason Zengerle, that relates the sad story of a young anesthesiologist's descent into addiction. What I find interesting about it is the larger questions it raises about why this particular anesthesiologist's story is not so unusual. Indeed, the article offers an:
Observation: Anesthesiologists seem to suffer from addiction in greater numbers than physicians in other specialties.
And, it lays out
Three hypotheses as to why this might be so:
H1: Anesthesiologists have greater access to the addictive…
dmunger | January 8, 2009As a young child, my family was poor and we had to go to a public clinic for dental work. Since we were being seen by dental students, often the process was painful and took much longer than it should have. It was a tremendous relief when my uncle opened a swanky dental practice with a lake view, and soothing '70s rock wafted out over the audio system. I'm pretty sure my uncle was a better dentist than the students who had been seeing me before, but it also seemed like just the environment in his office contributed to me feeling better when he had to do an awful procedure like filling a…
gregladen | January 7, 2009The government of Iran sucks.
Doctor Arash Alaei and Doctor Kamiar Alaei are two Iranian physicians who have reportedly been detained in Iran by Iranian authorities. The physicians, who are brothers, were apparently arrested at the end of June, 2008 and their current whereabouts are unknown. Physicians for Human Rights calls on the government of Iran to disclose their whereabouts, provide them access to lawyers and family, and either to charge them with an internationally recognized crime or release them immediately.
Doctor Arash Alaei and Doctor Kamiar Alaei have played a role in putting…
revere | January 6, 2009I will admit to a prejudice that may disqualify me from civilized company. I don't like the game of golf. When I was a youngster the first paying job I had (if I don't count delivering newspapers) was as a golf caddy at a ritzy country club (the kind that didn't admit people like me as members, even if we could afford it. However people were generally nice to me, so I can't complain.). No one had golf carts in those days (early 1950s) so the caddy carried the bags, often leather, usually with 16 clubs in each, and sometimes two bags at a time (one on each shoulder). Maybe it doesn't sound so…
sb admin | January 5, 2009As the unemployment rate climbs, many of the newly unemployed are losing insurance coverage. Candice Choi of the Associated Press summarizes the options for replacing employer-sponsored health insurance: extending benefits for up to 18 months through COBRA; getting an individual policy; and, for those who qualify, getting coverage under a government program like Medicaid.Â
As weâve noted here before, securing an insurance policy on the individual market can be difficult and expensive â especially if youâre a woman. Medicaid eligibility varies from state to state. Childless adults generally…
terrasig | January 4, 2009In preparing for the ScienceOnline'09 session on Gender in Science - Online and Offline, one planned discussion point will be how to enlist allies representing the dominant power structure to enhance equality and diversity in the STEM disciplines. No one ally can do it all but a combination of like-minded people can make a huge difference.
Here is a terrific example of an ally, written by superb higher ed reporter, Eric Ferreri, of the Raleigh (NC) News & Observer, on Dr Henry Friedman and CAPE, the Collegiate Athletic Pre-Medical Experience:
Georgia Beasley was practicing her jump shot…
clock | January 1, 2009
Let's highlight some more of the participants of this year's ScienceOnline09 conference:
April L. MacKellar is a doctoral student in the Department of Biochemistry at Duke.
Rick MacPherson works for the Coral Reef Alliance and blogs on Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, and Sunsets. He will be on the panel Blogging adventure: how to post from strange locations and will co-moderate the session Hey, You Can't Say That!
Robin Mackar is the News Director at the National Institute of Environemental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
Kelly Malcom is the Editor for Internal Communications at Duke University Health…
purepedantry | December 31, 2008PhRMA -- the association of pharmaceutical companies -- has agreed to a voluntary moratorium on drug paraphernalia given to doctors:
Starting Jan. 1, the pharmaceutical industry has agreed to a voluntary moratorium on the kind of branded goodies -- Viagra pens, Zoloft soap dispensers, Lipitor mugs -- that were meant to foster good will and, some would say, encourage doctors to prescribe more of the drugs.
No longer will Merck furnish doctors with purplish adhesive bandages advertising Gardasil, a vaccine against the human papillomavirus. Banished, too, are black T-shirts from Allergan adorned…
terrasig | December 30, 2008I see you - I've been there.
You're sitting in the lab the day before New Year's Eve looking at what you've done over the last year - or last six years - and thinking about how you're ever going to turn this postdoc or extended grad school period into some gainful career. The economy is for hell no matter where you live and you're wondering if this is all worth it.
Well, as I've said before, don't limit your options until you explore them. The US drug, medical device, food, cosmetic regulatory and safety agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), can provide a really satisfying…
terrasig | December 28, 2008The tagline is from Elaine D'Farley at Self magazine talking about the FDA's then-pending approval of Allergan's Latisse™ for cosmetic growth of longer, thicker eyelashes treatment of hypotrichosis of the eyelashes. While not expected until early 2009, Jacob Goldstein at the WSJ Health Blog clued me in to the approval last Friday (Allergan press release here).
Whether Ms. D'Farley intended, the choice of the brandname, Latisse, conjures up images of the design of the same name used on handbags and area rugs.
Allergan is a leader in "medical aesthetic products" such as botulinum toxin type A…
oracknows | December 23, 2008I'm happy to say, I've never watched an episode of The Doctors, at least if the episode segment I've just been sent is any indication of the quality of the science and medicine discussed on the TV show. The episode, which aired on December 11, featured a segment on autism featuring an old "friend" of the blog. The fact that he was featured on a television show ostensibly designed to discuss medicine and make it accessible to a general audience tells me that not only the producers but the physicians who do the show are utterly without a clue. No, it wasn't J.B. Handley or Jenny McCarthy, but…