September 26th, 2011 by Steve Novella, M.D. in Health Policy, Opinion
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It is an unfortunate truth that there is money in pseudoscience, particularly medical pseudoscience. Money both attracts charlatans and also funds their activities, which includes marketing pseudoscience and defending their claims from scientific scrutiny. In this way the game is rigged in favor of pseudoscience.
With0ut effective regulation, sites like ours are forced to play whack-a-mole with the medical pseudoscience du jour. The latest case in point is Titanium Ion Bands – which are just another version of the Power Balance bands that have been previously exposed as nonsense. The idea is that by wearing a small bracelet on one wrist you will experience improved athletic performance. This sounds impossible – because it is. But companies have successfully bamboozled enough of the public to rake in millions.
The marketing strategy is three-fold. First, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
September 26th, 2011 by Medgadget in News, Research
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A couple years ago, a team of researchers from the University of Utah managed to create a wireless network made from standard home automation devices to “see” through walls.
Now, the engineers are using the same technology to monitor breathing in patients with sleep apnea, post surgery, and babies at risk for SIDS. The system consists of Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
September 26th, 2011 by PJSkerrett in Health Tips
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The death of Kara Kennedy, the only daughter of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, at age 51 from an apparent heart attack while exercising, was yet another tragedy for one of the country’s most prominent political families. It also offers a reminder of the possible long-term effects of cancer and its treatment.
In 2002, Kennedy was diagnosed with lung cancer that her doctors initially said was inoperable. Her father refused to accept that diagnosis, according to an article in the Boston Globe. He found doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who thought they could treat the cancer. They removed a portion of Ms. Kennedy’s right lung and then administered radiation and chemotherapy. She lived for another nine years, in apparently good health.
While the cause of Kennedy’s death has not yet been confirmed, the long-term effects of her lung cancer treatment could have played a role. Cancer survivors are often at increased risk of heart disease. That’s because the treatments used to fight cancer—drugs, radiation, and hormones—can damage the heart and arteries. (These are detailed in a Harvard Heart Letter article on cancer therapy and heart disease.)
If life were completely fair, cancer survivors would be exempt from future health problems. Sadly, that isn’t the case. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
September 26th, 2011 by Dinah Miller, M.D. in Opinion
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My hat goes off to kiddy shrinks. It’s a tough field, full of issues we don’t see in adult psychiatry.
Our comment section often buzzes with talk about the over-diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children and the ethics of giving psychotropic medications to children. The Shrink Rappers never comment on these things. Why? Because we don’t treat children. I have no idea if the children being treated are mis-diagnosed, over-diagnosed, wrongly-diagnosed, or if the increase in treatment represents a good thing—- perhaps children who would have suffered terribly now are feeling better due to the option of medications. I’ve certainly had adult patients tell me their children were treated with medications, the children have often eventually stopped the medications and emerged as productive adults. Would they have outgrown their issues anyway. Or did the treatment they received switch them from a bad place to a good place and enable them to carry on in a more adaptive way? Ugh, my crystal ball is on back-order at Amazon!
Why I’m Happy I’m Not A Child Psychiatrist: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*
September 26th, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Opinion, True Stories
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Whenever a patient asks whether they can exercise, or go here, or there, I liken it to them asking whether they can live life. My answer is always the same…YES. The alternative seems terrible.
In this regard, moving on in the face of illness, let me share with you the writings of a very famous twitteratti, my friend, Melissa T (or @drSnit). Her post today about “doing sick well” struck my optimistic neurons.
You may wonder, how it is possible; putting sick and well together in the same sentence? Let me share her writings…
Dr Snit, author of the blog, “Living with Lupus–But Dying of Everything Else,” should know. She lives with the disease called Lupus–a mysterious ailment known for its flares of inflammation. These spasms of joint, muscle and overall body aches make a post-ride soreness feel like nothing. It’s a tough lot having Lupus.
But yet, Dr Snit stomps forward in life–in defiance of the most inflamed of the inflammatory diseases. She writes Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*