Clinical studies
jtoney | May 9, 2012
Hunter_de_Rat
Scientists funded by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) organization are reportedly guiding Chinese officials towards their "very first non-animal test method for cosmetics ingredients." Given that PETA is an organization not known for either ethics or science, I am deeply skeptical about whether this initiative, if true, would promote biomedical research.
From their press release:
PETA Grant Enables Scientists to Guide Chinese Officials in Non-Animal Test Use
Norfolk, Va. -- Chinese officials are in the final stages of approving the use of the country's…
jtoney | January 29, 2012Diffusion MRI Tractography in the brain white matter.
Some drugs work well because they are designed to hit a single, well understood target. Consider penicillin.
In a simplified sense, penicillin destroys a single enzyme that bacteria need to divide and to infect you, thereby killing the harmful bacteria. But what about psychiatric drugs? Is there a comparable, single target in the brain to treat depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder (ADD)? No.
So, it is no wonder that the popular drug Ritalin, used to treat ADD for millions of children and adolescents is, by some standards,…
jtoney | December 23, 2011
Photo source.
Sometimes science can sound strange, at least until you understand its drive to understand nature at a deeper level. Mayo Clinic researchers wanted to test whether blocking a particular protein would be useful in treating heart failure, and ended up testing elderly dogs on viagra. Let me explain.
Published in the journal Circulation, and described in a press release: {with my emphasis}
Viagra against heart failure: Researchers at the RUB and from Rochester throw light on the mechanism
How sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, can alleviate heart problems is reported…
jtoney | January 18, 2011Figure 2: Evidence for dopamine release during pleasurable music listening.
Listening to music invokes our emotions, ranging from pleasure to disdain. It is one of our most human experiences, sometimes so profound that words cannot convey the intensity. One of my closest friends, a professor of musicology, once asked me in a moment of self doubt, "You're a scientist, you do important things...what good is music?" Like many creative souls, he had no idea how important the contribution of art is to our very being.
Canadian scientists have documented in a study published in Nature…
jtoney | January 10, 2011
Photo by Bruteitup.
A DOG or cat owner spends roughly $10,000 on the care and feeding of his pet over its lifetime. (Dogs cost more per year, but cats make up for it by living longer.) What does he get for this investment?
Surveys indicate that what most pet owners mainly want is companionship, unconditional love and a play pal. In recent years, however, we have also begun to regard pets as furry physicians and four-legged psychotherapists.
Hal Herzog, Op-Ed in The New York Times ("Fido's No Doctor, Neither Is Whiskers")
No one would question the emotional value of pets as our companions,…
jtoney | January 5, 2011View full size
Tanya Kovacs of Iselin holds her 20 month old son Caleb as they take part in a rally in front of the State House opposing new vaccine mandates by the state for children. TONY KURDZUK/THE STAR-LEDGER
As reported by the Associated Press and in The New York Times this evening {"filed 7:50 pm}:
The first study to link a childhood vaccine to autism was based on doctored information about the children involved, according to a new report on the widely discredited research.
The conclusions of the 1998 paper by Andrew Wakefield and colleagues was renounced by 10 of its 13 authors and…
jtoney | January 5, 2011
Predicted Median Life Expectancy by Age and Gait Speed
(Studenski, S. et al. JAMA 2011;305:50-58).
Staying active, along with a balanced health diet, is probably the best way to age gracefully. An elegantly simple study was just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that clearly demonstrates the relationship between longevity and walking speed. Researchers studied close to 35,000 people aged 65 years or above (a mean of 74 years) with data taken from six to 21 years.
I love studies such as this - ask a simple question, propose a clear experimental design, and…
jtoney | December 24, 2010Today's announcement of a giveaway of 2,011 Nike shoes...well well!
Give it a try!www.sharecare.com/static/nike giveaway
If you are an Oprah fan, you already know that she will be launching a new network on New Year's Day 2011. Oprah has recruited a "dream team" of go-to experts:
Dr. Phil, Suze Orman and Dr. Oz -- will be answering questions about health, wealth and mental well-being as part of the original series, "Ask Oprah's All Stars," premiering Sunday, January 2.
The recently launched webpage HuffPost Health is asking readers to submit questions for possible use on the show's launch…
jtoney | December 16, 2010
Adult human breast stem cells (red) are found in ductal regions. Lineage-restricted progenitor cell types (green) reside outside
Scientists based at a medical center in Berlin have accomplished something extraordinary: they have used stem cells to prevent viruses to grow in a patient infected with HIV. This patient had been taking antiviral drugs but discontinued them for the study. Since this patient had been on chemotherapy, the stem cell "transplant" was given to boost his immune system.
Here's the basic idea: A key part of our immune system is comprised of T cells. Some of these…