July 24th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: American Users, Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, East Coast, Harvard Medical School, Health of Americans, How Words Make People Feel, Mood of the Country, Mood Scores, Nation's Mood, National Institute of Mental Health, NIMH, Northeastern University, Psychiatry, Psychological Health, Psychological Word-Rating System, Psychology, Public Mood, Tweets, Twitter, U.S. Health, West Coast, Word Analysis
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A team from Northeastern University and Harvard Medical School has been analyzing words used in tweets by American users in an attempt to gauge the public mood around the country.
What they discovered was that users on the West Coast seem to be quite a bit jollier than those on the East Coast. It’s not clear whether the data was collected during the summer or winter months and accordingly adjusted, for that surely would affect the readings.
Researchers were able to infer the mood of each tweet using a psychological word-rating system developed by the National Institute of Mental Health’s Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention. The system ranks words based on how they make people feel. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
July 24th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Caffeine, Coffee, Fetal Health, Miscarriage, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Pregnant Women, Preterm Birth
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The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has issued a statement that moderate caffeine consumption (<200mg/day — about a cup of coffee) does not increase a woman’s risk for miscarriage or preterm birth. The review of recent studies was published in Obstetrics and Gynecology and should reassure women about drinking coffee when pregnant.
Caffeine does cross the placenta, but there was no difference found between the moms who drank caffeine while pregnant and those who did not.
If you wonder how much caffeine is in certain drinks or foods, click here.
One fact the study did not mention is that many women have a natural aversion to coffee when they are pregnant. Maybe nature knows best.
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
July 22nd, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
Tags: Aesthetic Surgery Journal, Cosmetic Surgery, Dermal Filler, Facial Plastic Surgery, Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kathleen Stegman, Maxillofacial Surgery, Midwest Medical Aesthetics, Orthopedics, Plastic Surgery SmartBrief, Platelet-Rich Fibrin Matrix, PRFM, PubMed, Selphyl, Skin Rejuvenation, Skin Volume, Soft Tissue Regeneration, Twilight Movie, Vampire Craze, Vampire Facelift
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I first saw mention of the “vampire facelift” two weeks ago as a news article listed in the July 9th issue of the Plastic Surgery SmartBrief: “Vampire facelift” uses patient’s platelets and fibrin in dermal filler.”
The article begins:
Instead of a traditional facelift, patients are being offered another option to get rid of wrinkles. It’s called Selphyl or the “vampire facelift,” and it uses a person’s own blood to sculpt the face.
Selphyl, according to the company’s website:
The patented SELPHYL® System enables the safe and rapid preparation of an activated Platelet-rich Fibrin Matrix (PRFM). A small volume of the patient’s blood is collected and the platelets and fibrin are concentrated during a simple centrifuge process. The resulting product (liquid, gel or membrane) can be applied to a treatment area of the face or body to stimulate natural, new tissue growth. SELPHYL® prepared PRFM has been shown to increase skin volume and rejuvenation.
SELPHYL® ensures a preparation of fibrin and platelets, with virtually no red or white blood cells. Studies have shown these platelets to be viable and intact. Platelets will release proteins, which have been reported to trigger cell migration, proliferation and differentiation over time.
With over 45,000 procedures performed world-wide, this technology has been extensively used for soft tissue regeneration in plastic surgery, orthopedics and maxillofacial surgery.
So how does Sephyl create any face-lifting effect? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
July 22nd, 2010 by AndrewSchorr in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
Tags: Avandia, Avastin, Bevacizumab, Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Breast Cancer Treatment, Breast Cancer Trials, Cancer Research, Diabetes Drug, Diagnostic Radiology, Duke University, False Hope, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, GlaxoSmithKline, Medical Credentials, Medical Errors, Medical Mistakes, Oncology, Pathology Errors, Patient Harm
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The news wasn’t good this week for women concerned about breast cancer.
First came the story that some women were diagnosed with breast cancer, very early stage, had treatment –- including disfiguring surgery -– and then found out they never had cancer in the first place. The pathologist goofed, maybe even a second pathologist also misread the biopsies.
How does this happen? Not surprisingly it comes back to the clinical experience of the doctor. Properly diagnosing breast cancer, whether through radiology scans or pathology biopsies is not always easy. And in many communities the general radiologists and pathologists just don’t have enough specialized experience. This leads to mistakes, especially when the suggestions of possible cancer are subtle and minute. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*
July 22nd, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Humor, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Anesthesia & Analgesia, Anesthesiology, Biodiesel, Earth's Atmosphere, End Of The World, Environmental Contaminants, Environmental Health, Gas Content, General Surgery, Global Warming, High Fresh Gas Flow Rates, Inhaled Anesthetics, N2O, Ozone Layer, Sevoflurane, University of California-San Francisco, University of Oslo
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In a development that may have you undergo your next medical procedure the old-fashioned way, two researchers from the University of California-San Francisco and the University of Oslo are reporting that inhaled anesthetics significantly contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and add to the overall global warming gas content in the atmosphere.
Moreover, the study’s authors conclude with some valuable advice for your own practice: “From our calculations, avoiding N2O and unnecessarily high fresh gas flow rates can reduce the environmental impact of inhaled anesthetics.”
We’d like to venture even further. Not only would we recommend closed-circuit, low-flow anesthesia even with sevoflurane (damn those kidneys!), we’d also suggest that patients arrive by bicycle or, if absolutely necessary, a biodiesel-powered ambulance.
Press release: Study Shows Global Warming Impact of Anesthetics …
Abstract in Anesthesia & Analgesia: Global Warming Potential of Inhaled Anesthetics: Application to Clinical Use
Image: brutal
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
