March 30th, 2010 by DaveMunger in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research, True Stories
Tags: Census Forms, Decennial Census, Gary Locke, Population Policy, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, World Population
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The U.S. is ramping up its decennial census, and a few days ago I received my census form in the mail. Or, perhaps I should say, a census form. It wasn’t really mine at all, because it wasn’t addressed to me. It was addressed to a nearby house that doesn’t get mail delivery.
You see, our street—just two blocks long—has a “north” and “south” portion. My, northern, portion was developed about a decade and a half ago, and for some reason they decided to use the same house numbers as they had on the homes down the street, just with a “north” added to the street name. So there are two homes on the street with the same number—mine and another one about 50 yards away. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Daily Monthly*
March 30th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: Gene Delivery, Gene Therapy, Genetics, In-Vivo, PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Rui Maeda-Mamiya, University of Tokyo, Water-Soluble Fullerene
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While gene therapy has always seemed just on the verge of being right around the corner, the limitation has always been delivery of the gene. How do you get the new gene to the right cells and activated?
An in-vivo mice study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) may take us closer to a usable delivery system. Rui Maeda-Mamiya of the University of Tokyo and others were able to get diabetic mice to increase their insulin levels after delivery of a insulin 2 gene by a water-soluble fullerene. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
March 30th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Better Health Network, Expert Interviews, Opinion, Research, True Stories
Tags: Calvert Memorial Hospital, Energy Healing, Erica Mitrano, Evidence Based Medicine, Gary Schwitzer, Health Coverage, Junk Science, mainstream media, Medical Writers, Reiki, Science Based Medicine, Science Journalists, Sensationalism, The Enterprise, Traditional Media, TV Health Stories
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I recently wrote about an experience that I had with a reporter (Erica Mitrano) who interviewed me about energy healing at Calvert Memorial Hospital in southern Maryland. Erica was very friendly and inquisitive, and we had a nice conversation about the lack of scientific evidence supporting any energy healing modality. I thought it would be fun to post what we had discussed at SBM, and then wait to see what trickled down into the finished piece.
When the final article appeared I was very disappointed. Not only was I not quoted, but there was no skeptical counterpoint at all. The story read like an unquestioning endorsement of junk science, and I wondered if it was worth it to continue speaking to journalists to offer expert advice. It seemed to me that this experience was emblematic of all that’s wrong with health reporting these days. (Just ask Gary Schwitzer, who has recently given up on reviewing TV health stories in mainstream media since they are generally so inaccurate.) Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
March 30th, 2010 by RamonaBatesMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
Tags: ABCD Rule, Archives of Dermatology, basal cell carcinoma, BCC, General Medicine, M&M, Malignant Melanoma, melanoma, Non-Melanoma, Primary Care, SCC, Skin Cancer, Skin Cancer Prevention, squamous cell carcinoma
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The entire March issue of Archives of Dermatology appears to be dedicated to skin cancer — melanoma and non-melanoma.
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) represents 65% to 75% of all skin cancers. Most occur on sun-exposed parts of the face, ears, scalp, shoulders, and back. Intense short-term UVB exposure is important in the formation of BCC. Clinical features include pearly translucent flesh-colored papules or nodules with superficial telangiectasias (broken blood vessels). More active lesions may have rolled edges or ulcerated centers.
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) represent 30% to 65% of all cutaneous malignancies. SCCs are most attributable to UVB exposure, long-term or accumulative exposure over years. Clinical features include crusted papules and plaques that may become indurated, nodular, or ulcerated. SCC may arise in chronic wounds, scars, and leg ulcers. Recurrent SCC development within 3 years is 18%, a 10-fold higher incidence compared with initial SCC diagnosis in the general population.
Malignant melanoma (MM) represents the most serious of all cutaneous malignancies. It is estimated that approximately 65% to 90% are caused by UV exposure, predominantly UVA. Roughly 10% of all melanoma cases are strictly hereditary. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
March 29th, 2010 by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Addiction Medicine, CDC, Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, Cigarettes, Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program, CTCP, General Medicine, New Jersey, Primary Care, Quitcenter, Stop Smoking
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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identified tobacco use as the single biggest cause of premature death in every state in the U.S. They recommended in 2007 that New Jersey state government should spend $120 million per year on tobacco control ($13.75 per person per year, and 12% of total tobacco-related revenue to the state).
Here in New Jersey, our Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) started in 2000, with annual funding of just over $30 million via the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The program was set up to follow CDC guidelines to have components for media, evaluation, community activities, youth prevention, and smoking cessation. With the post 9/11 recession causing severe budget problems for the state, funding was drastically cut by 66% to $11 million in 2004 and then in 2009 it was cut again to around $8m. The state brings in approximately $1 billion per year from tobacco sources (MSA plus tobacco taxes) and so New Jersey has recently been spending around 1% of tobacco revenues on tobacco control. Despite being drastically underfunded, the New Jersey CTCP has had many noteable achievements. Here’s just a few. Read more »
This post, Funding Tobacco Control Programs: A Dollar Well Spent, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D..
