November 21st, 2009 by DrCharles in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
Tags: Desiree Jennings, Dystonia, Flu Vaccine, H1N1, Neurology, Safety, Swine Flu
1 Comment »
In my efforts to have a rational discussion about the H1N1 flu shot I have been increasingly confronted with the following fear, expressed most commonly by concerned mothers and teenagers:
Did you see that video on Youtube about the cheerleader who got the flu shot? Something called dystonia? She can’t walk unless she goes backwards. I don’t want to risk ending up like that.
Apparently Inside Edition broadcast a story featuring a woman who claims to have a movement disorder she attributes to an adverse effect of the seasonal flu shot. I had to take a look at this video along with the millions of other viewers. Here it is: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Examining Room of Dr. Charles*
November 18th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Audio, Expert Interviews, News, Research
Tags: ACS, Breast Cancer, Dr. Avrum Bluming, Guidelines, Mammogram, Oncology, Radiation, Radiology, Screening, Treatment, USPSTF
No Comments »
Dr. Avrum Bluming is a medical oncologist and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Southern California. He is also a dear friend, scientist, and careful analyzer of data. I asked him to help me understand the current mammogram guidelines debate, and what women (now faced with conflicting recommendations) should do about breast cancer screening. Please listen to his fascinating discussion captured here:
[audio:https://getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mammogrambluming.mp3]
What I learned is that the guidelines must be tailored to each woman’s unique situation. The variables that must be considered are incredibly complex, as breast cancer risk factors include everything from when and if one has given birth, to a history of smoking, drinking, overweight, breast cancer in the family and even the age of your parents when you were born. Beyond risk factors, new research suggests that some breast cancers spontaneously resolve without treatment, but our technology is not advanced enough to distinguish those from others that will go on to become life-threatening tumors – so we treat all cancers the same. Read more »
November 17th, 2009 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: Analysis, Audio, Cold, COPD, Cough, Flu, Infectious Disease, Pulmonology, Sound, STAR Analytical Services, Technology
1 Comment »
DiscoveryNews is reporting on a Bedford, Massachusetts company developing software that can detect the difference between a typical cough and one caused by a cold, flu, COPD, or a number of other respiratory diseases. STAR Analytical Services is working with a database of pre-recorded coughs to determine signatures that point to underlying conditions.
The final 100 to 150 milliseconds of the cough contains the distinctive sounds that could help doctors and nurses remotely diagnose a cough as the common cold or more serious pneumonia.
Even with a limited amount of data, scientists can distinguish between a healthy, voluntary cough and the involuntary cough of a sick person. Healthy people have slightly louder coughs, about 2 percent louder than a sick person. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
November 17th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, News
Tags: Accutane, Acne, Dermatology, Discontinued, Emotional Scars, FDA, Internal Medicine, Nodular, Pediatrics, scars, Severe, Side Effects, teens
1 Comment »
The physical scars will be nothing compared to the emotional scars that will haunt the children. I recently read that the effective acne treatment Accutane was pulled off the market this summer quietly ending access to an excellent and effective acne treatment for millions of self conscious teens and young adults. Accutane, or isotretinoin as it’s known, was used to treat severe nodular acne.
It turns out that Accutane was linked to inflammatory bowel disease, and other side effects resulting in thousands of lawsuits. It spent twenty five years on the market embroiled in controversy.
Approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 1982, Accutane has been the subject of controversy for years. It first garnered attention in the late eighties for causing severe birth defects. It has also been known to cause psychiatric problems, and has been linked to hundreds of cases of suicide in the United States. Accutane has also been associated with problems of the liver, kidneys, central nervous system, and pancreas, as well as the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and auto-immune systems.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
November 13th, 2009 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News
Tags: Accent, Baby, Crying, French, German, Language Learning, Parenting, Pediatrics, Psychology, Speech and Language Pathology
No Comments »
French and German scientists decided to analyze the crying of newborns from the two countries for differences in intonation. Turns out that German babies have a different “accent” to their cry compared with those from France, which implies that language learning perhaps begins even in the womb.
The analysis of crying conducted under the supervision of the psychologist Kathleen Wermke from the ZWES showed that the newborns tended to produce the intonation pattern most typical for their respective mother tongue. The crying patterns of the German infants mostly began loud and high and followed a falling curve while the French infants more often cried with a rising tone. This early sensitivity to features of intonation may later help the infants learn their mother tongue, the researchers say. “When they begin to form their first sounds, they can build on melodic patterns that are already familiar and, in this way, don’t have to start from scratch”, says the neuropsychologist. The evolutionary roots of this behaviour are older than the emergence of spoken language, the researchers believe. “The imitation of melodic patterns developed over millions of years and contributes to the mother-child bond” says Friederici.
Press release: Babies with an accent …
Abstract in Current Biology: Newborns’ Cry Melody Is Shaped by Their Native Language…
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
