January 24th, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, News, True Stories
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Bayer Pharmaceuticals, the maker of the Mirena IUD, has teamed up with the Mommy marketing site “Mom Central” to sponsor house parties to sell women the Mirena IUD.
According to a warning letter sent to Bayer by the FDA about the worded content of the events –
The Mirena program is a live presentation designed for a consumer audience of “busy moms.” The program is presented in a consumer’s home or other private setting (e.g. private restaurant party) by a representative from Mom Central (a social networking internet site) and a nurse practitioner (Ms. Barb Dehn). The Mirena program submitted to FDA also references a presentation given by a fashion stylist (Ms. Angela Hastings) that immediately follows Ms. Dehn’s presentation regarding the use of Mirena. The script of Ms. Hastings’ presentation regarding fashion tips was not submitted to FDA.
The events start with an intro by a Mom Central rep – Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog that Ate Manhattan*
January 24th, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
2 Comments »
I’ve lived in Massachusetts almost my entire life. So, like everyone else, I was surprised by last night’s stunning election results. To think, in Massachusetts we elected a Republican to serve out the rest of Ted Kennedy’s term. It’s one of the few times where I would say it’s possible that a dead man is actually rolling in his grave.
The explanations – coming mostly from out-of-staters – are already coming in. Coakley was a bad candidate. Brown worked hard and showed he wanted it more. It’s the economy. These are all reasonable, and probably true, but I think they miss what the election was really all about. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
January 23rd, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Medical Art, True Stories
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An awesome case of pareidolia:
Mind Hacks:
The case of the haunted scrotum. A 45-year-old man was referred for investigation of an undescended right testis by computed tomography (CT). An ultrasound scan showed a normal testis and epididymis on the left side. The right testis was not visualized in the scrotal sac or in the right inguinal region. On CT scanning of the abdomen and pelvis, the right testis was not identified but the left side of the scrotum seemed to be occupied by a screaming ghostlike apparition (Figure 1). By chance, the distribution of normal anatomical structures within the left side of the scrotum had combined to produce this image. What of the undescended right testis? None was found. If you were a right testis, would you want to share the scrotum with that?J R Harding Consultant Radiologist, Royal Gwent Hospital
And I might add that “The Haunted Scrotum” would be a great name for a punk rock band.
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
January 23rd, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, Quackery Exposed
2 Comments »
The newest media Doc on the block is Dr. Mehmet Oz. When he was first seen on Oprah, he seemed engaging and answered some interesting questions in a real and professional way. The audience loved his blue scrubs and boyish clean cut open style.
That was then.
Let’s face it…the media spotlight seems to corrupt even the best physicians. Dr. Oz now has his own show and website and production company. That is a pretty big infrastructure to maintain and we know that the public is fickle. So what does he do?
His “Real-Age” website got 27 million people to sign up and take a health quiz. That information was sold to pharmaceutical companies who used the direct emails for marketing. Real-Age also sends the participants a series of emails about conditions they may (or may not) have and drugs they can use to treat it, based on their answers to the on-line health quiz, sponsored by drug companies of course. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
January 23rd, 2010 by Bongi in Better Health Network, True Stories
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After having spoken about when you seem to know more than your consultant, I was reminded of another incident from my internship year where a colleague of mine taught me that sometimes it is best to do certain things under cover of darkness.
The patient (a sangoma) turned up at the surgery clinic one day. My colleague asked her what the problem was. Without uttering a word she lifted up her shirt to expose her breasts. The left one had a massive tumour that had fungated through the skin probably some time ago. There was a large stinking cauliflower-like mass with central ulceration that caused a fist sized cavity right up to the chest wall. The smell was also remarkable. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at other things amanzi*
