August 28th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Opinion, Research
Tags: Bonk, Curious Science of Life in the Void, Dan Buckland, History of Cadaver Research, History of Sex Research, Mary Roach, Medical Research in Spaceflight, NASA, National Space Biomedial Research Institute, NSBRI, Packing For Mars, Space Programs, Space Travel, Stiff
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Book review by Dan Buckland
(Dan Buckland is an editor at Medgadget and an MD/PhD student at Harvard Med/MIT whose thesis deals with diagnosing back injury in spaceflight using ultrasound.)
Mary Roach, author of previous entertaining books Bonk (a history of sex research) and Stiff (a history of cadaver research), has turned her considerable talents in translating decades of research into a readable review of human (and animal) spaceflight experimentation.
The title of her new book, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, is a bit of a misnomer — only the last chapter is devoted to the medical advances needed for a trip to Mars. However, it is a great layman’s history of the biomedical results of both the American and Russian space programs.
Through my own research and academic career I’ve been peripherally involved with many of the recent studies she mentions in the book, and I know many of the people she interviewed, so I give her credit for taking some fairly complicated concepts and distilling them to relevant anecdotes and asides. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
August 21st, 2010 by DrPeggyPolaneczky in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Health Tips, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Antibiotics, Bladder Infection, Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert, General Medicine, Gynecology, Health Tips for Travelers, Honeymoon Cystitis, International Travel, Macrodantin, Post-Coital Cystitis, Primary Care, Reproductive Health, Safe Sex, Sexual Activity, Sexual Health, SMTP, Sulfamethoxazole with Trimethoprim, Travel Habits, Urinary Tract Infection, Urology, UTI, Women's Health
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I really didn’t expect to like Eat, Pray, Love. In fact, since its publication in 2006, I’d been avoiding it like the plague. “Typical new-agey, Oprah-y, girly-book,” I thought. Nothing in it to speak to me.
Then I saw the trailer for the movie, and I was hooked –- probably because I, like mostly everyone, love Julia Roberts. I immediately downloaded the book on my iPhone using the Kindle App and began to read.
First, let me say that Elizabeth Gilbert writes exceptionally well, and the book is actually a joy to read. I, of course, loved the Italy eating part. But more surprising to me, I wasn’t turned off by the whole yoga, Guru, find-yourself stuff. This is because Gilbert writes it all with a reporter’s curiosity and a skeptic’s eye, and frames it not as a belief system, but as a tool for self-discovery and peace. (Plus, I’m really good at skimming if I get bored.)
Too bad Gilbert’s curiosity and skepticism does not extend to the healthcare she receives while in Bali. She accepts the curative powers of a warm leaf placed on an oozing, infected cut without even wondering what leaf it might be or how it might have worked. Was it the heat (most likely) or something else (possibly)? I was dying to know.
She Xeroxes pages and pages of traditional medical treatments without sharing a single one with us in any meaningful way. While I’m pretty sure 99 percent of what was in there was bunk, there might be a few gems that would serve medical science. Unless Lizzie made a second copy, we’ll never know, will we?
But it was the UTI that really got to me. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at tbtam*
July 17th, 2010 by DrHarrietHall in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Age-Related Deaths, Aging Gene, Alive Forever, Anti-Aging Products, Anti-Aging Research, Anti-Aging Revolution, Antioxidants, Calorie Restriction, Cell Damage, CR, David Stipp, Degenerative Changes, Evidence Based Medicine, Extending The Lifespan, Fountain Of Youth, Free Radicals, General Medicine, Geriatrics, Getting Older, Longevity Clinics, Longevity Research, Miracle Pill, Ponce de Leon, Prolong Life, Rapamycin, Ray Kurzweil, Resveratrol, SBM, Science Based Medicine, Telomerase, The Youth Pill, Why We Die
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Wouldn’t it be great if we could find a way to prolong our lives and to keep us healthy right up to the end? Ponce de León never found that Fountain of Youth, but science is still looking. What are the chances science will succeed? How’s it doing so far?
In his new book The Youth Pill: Scientists at the Brink of an Anti-Aging Revolution, David Stipp tries to answer those questions. From the title of the book, I expected hype about resveratrol or some other miracle pill, but instead it is a nuanced, levelheaded, entertaining, informative account of the history and current state of longevity research. It makes that research come alive by telling stories about the people involved, the failures and setbacks, and the agonizingly slow process of teasing out the truth with a series of experiments that often seem to contradict each other.
Anti-aging can mean several things. Extending the average lifespan is not the same as extending the maximum lifespan. Extending lifespan is not the same as preventing the degenerative changes characteristic of aging. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
June 26th, 2010 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Health Tips, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Cheryl Alkon, Endocrinology, Gestational Diabetes, Healthy Baby, Healthy Mom, Moms-To-Be, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Pre-Existing Diabetes, Prediabetes, Pregnancy, Prenatal Care, Six Until Me, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Women's Health
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For anyone who has been reading my blog since my engagement three years ago, you know that motherhood has been on my radar for a long time. Longer than marriage. That quest for a decent A1C, that desire for a “normal” pregnancy, and that hope for a happy and healthy baby.
Part of the reason I wanted to write about my pregnancy here on SUM is because there wasn’t a lot of information out there about pre-existing diabetes and pregnancy. There was a LOT of information on gestational diabetes (obviously), and type 2 diabetes got some good press, but type 1 diabetes was sort of swept under the rug. Thankfully, there were a few diabetes bloggers who had chronicled their journeys, and I wanted to add my voice to that hopeful chorus.
But also thankfully, Cheryl Alkon had taken the topic to her publisher, and she penned the first book on managing pre-existing diabetes and pregnancy. And I’m very honored to have been both featured in her book (as a woman preparing for pregnancy) and to have her contributing here on Six Until Me (SUM). Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
June 25th, 2010 by DrBryanVartabedian in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Opinion
Tags: Fulfillment of Fantasy, General Medicine, How Doctors Think, How Patients Think, Jerome Groopman, Patient Empowerment, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Physician Hero, Physician-Centric, Reading, The Decision Tree, Thomas Goetz
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If you want to see the difference between how doctors and patients think, read Jerome Groopman’s “How Doctors Think” and Thomas Goetz’s “The Decision Tree.” The contrast is striking.
“How Doctors Think,” while offering a comprehensive review of the cognitive missteps made by physicians, is terminally physician-centric in its analysis of the relationship we share with patients. ”The Decision Tree,” while offering a novel blueprint for self-reliance in health, seems almost sheepish in its recognition that physicians are even really that important. The muted physician cameos of “The Decision Tree” stand in stark contrast to Groopman’s Harvard-trained masters of the universe. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
May 31st, 2010 by GruntDoc in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, True Stories
Tags: Army Nurse, Army Reservist, Army Surgeon, Battle-Zone Care, Col. Susan Luz, Combat Medicine, Dr. Dave Hnida, Family Medicine, Family Physician, Iraq, MASH, Paradise General, The Nightingale of Mosul, Wall Street Journal, Wartime Medicine
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When Americans think about wartime medicine, “MASH” reruns and the comic antics of Hot Lips Houlihan and Hawkeye Pierce are likely to come to mind. A decidedly more authentic view can be found in “Paradise General” and “The Nightingale of Mosul,” books by a real-life Army surgeon, Dr. Dave Hnida, and an Army nurse, Col. Susan Luz. Both authors served in Iraq during some of the bloodiest days of the war in 2006 and 2007.
At an age when people often retire from the military, 48-year-old Dr. Hnida, a family physician in Littleton, Colo., volunteered for service, answering the Army’s call for doctors. Col. Luz was a 56-year-old Army reservist—her previous tours had included delivering babies for military families stationed in Germany and bringing humanitarian aid to South America—when she was deployed to active duty in the bloody urban 
battleground of Mosul.
– via Book Review: Paradise General; The Nightingale of Mosul – WSJ.com.
So, my summer book list is set.
*This blog post was originally published at GruntDoc*
May 25th, 2010 by drval in Book Reviews
Tags: Neurology, Olajide Williams, Stroke, Stroke Diaries, Stroke Survivors
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I had the distinct pleasure of reading Stroke Diaries this past week. Its author, Dr. Olajide Williams, is a dear friend and contributor to this blog. I first met Dr. Willliams (or Jide, pronounced “gee-day”) as a young neurology resident at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. I was in my third year of medical school and rotating through the neurology service.
A few things struck me about Jide back then. First, he was the only resident who never got an answer wrong when put on the spot (aka “pimped”) by his superiors. I was in awe of his knowledge base — something he’d developed by disciplining himself to do additional reading long after his peers were asleep.
Second, Jide was always immaculately dressed — his stylish, brightly-colored shirts and ties complimented his dark skin and cheerful, British accent.
And third, his love for his patients and medical students was abundantly clear, as he always went out of his way to educate them in the most friendly and sensitive of ways. In short, Jide was an inspiration to me — as a teacher, a neurologist, and a friend.
Stroke Diaries is a reflection of Jide’s character — a perfect blend of poetic vignette and straightforward science. This short book (130 pages) chronicles the true life stories of various patients who’ve suffered strokes. Read more »
May 23rd, 2010 by DrJosephScherger in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Health Tips, Humor, Opinion
Tags: An Eater's Manual, Balanced Diet, Diet and Nutrition, Dietetics, Dietitian, Eater's Guide To Food, Family Medicine, Food and Nutrition, Food Rules, General Medicine, Global Health, Health Of The Planet, Healthy Diet, Human Nutrition, Internal Medicine, Michael Pollan, Primary Care, The Omnivore's Dilemma, Weight Management
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Michael Pollan has become one of our most important writers about human nutrition. His book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma (2006), spelled out why the almost eight billion humans on this planet had better balance what we eat – for our own health and the health of the planet.
He published a small book in 2009 (Penguin Books) called Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. His rules are around seven words in three brief statements: “Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants.” How simple and wise is that?
These three statements make up the three parts of this small book, with lots of practical “rules.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at eDocAmerica*
May 20th, 2010 by DrDavidKroll in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Opinion, Research
Tags: Forensic Medicine, Government, Jazz Age, Medical Examiner, New York, Poisoned Citizens, Poisoning, Profit, Prohibition, Punishment, The Poisoner's Handbook, Toxicology
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This is going to be a quick welcome to Deborah Blum who has just moved her blog, Speakeasy Science, to ScienceBlogs.
Why quick?
Because I am only 22 pages away from finishing her latest book, The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York.
This engaging tale of the race of science and medicine against chemical poisonings for profit and punishment features the true story of NYC chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler.
Of course, the other actors are arsenic, methanol, chloroform, thallium, and radium, among others. In the teens through the mid-1930s, long before benchtop atomic absorption spectrophotometry and LC/MS instruments, Norris and Gettler devised methods to detect poisons in human tissues with high sensitivity. These advances led to the prosecution of some, the absolution of the wrongly-accused, and revealed that our own government poisoned citizens who dared to challenge Prohibition. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Terra Sigillata*
May 10th, 2010 by DrBryanVartabedian in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion
Tags: DNA, Empowers Doctors, General Medicine, Genes, Genetics, Health Blueprint, Health Infosphere, Healthcare Consumers, Healthcare Decisions, Medical Destiny, Medical Technology, Naysayers, New Era, Patient Empowerment, Patient Liberation, Patient Responsibility, Personal Genomics, Personal Roadmap, Personalized Health, Personalized Medicine, Primary Care, Rodale, Self-Care, Silly Old Doctors, Stewards of Our Own Health, Taking Control of Your Health, The Decision Tree, Thomas Goetz
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What’s amazing is that despite the vocal movement to empower patients, no one has put together a well-referenced, readable book to help patients understand how they should use personalized medicine to influence their health — until now.
Enter The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in the New Era of Personalized Medicine (Rodale 2010), something of a blueprint of patient liberation written by Thomas Goetz, executive editor of Wired magazine. It offers constructive narrative not only about the importance of the decisions we make but how to apply the concept of an old-fashioned decision tree in making those decisions. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
