The upper Midwest has been besieged by a bitter cold front for the past several days. Chicago recently reported wind chills of 30 degrees below zero, and several locations in North and South Dakota posted high ambient air temperatures of several degrees below zero, without wind chill. Though not exactly... Read more →

Three short years ago, the first partial face transplantation was performed in France and recently the first of these procedures to be conducted in the United States was successfully accomplished. This was only the fourth operation of its type but experts estimate that perhaps as early as next year the... Read more →

Welcome to the forty-second edition of Brain Blogging. In this round, we discuss the profession of neurology, the transforming power of stroke, whether suicidal behaviors should make the DSM V, potential location of autism genes, and many more topics. Remember, we review the latest blogs related to the... Read more →

According to a twenty-year longitudinal study of over 4000 individuals, happiness is indeed contagious. Dr. Nicholas Christakis, professor at Harvard University, compared the spread of happiness to a “ripple effect” that could affect others up to three degrees of separation away; a friend of a friend... Read more →

Eye contact is commonly considered a sign of self-confidence and a means for emotional connection. In contrast, a person who averts their gaze is often considered shy, fearful, embarrassed or lying. Many a self-help manual has touted the power of eye contact, with direct eye contact suggested to help... Read more →

On December 2nd, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report suggesting that resident physicians have further limits on work hours than those enacted in 2003 by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). While the number of hours per week would remain at the ACGME maximum... Read more →

“The sky is falling… the sky is falling!” Well, not exactly… but it certainly might feel like it given current economic circumstances. We are experiencing a financial period that has been likened only to the depression-era of the 1920s and 1930s — but still, a time like... Read more →

Before you agree with the recent JAMA report that Ginkgo biloba did not prevent dementia, you may want to consider how the study was conducted and whether or not the conclusion researchers made was legitimate. The study was a large-scale clinical trial on the effectiveness of Ginkgo in reducing the incidence... Read more →

The benefits of aerobic activity are well documented regarding overall physical health and well-being. Many studies have also shown an association between aerobic activity and cognitive function, but the mechanism was unclear. Now, we may know the reason. A new study presented at the annual meeting of... Read more →

Personal health records or PHRs are becoming more and more popular these days as health information technology capabilities become more wide-spread. Look at Google Health as one example. The federal government has picked Google Health as one of four components of a Medicare pilot program in Arizona.... Read more →

Acute pain affects more than 25 million Americans each year, and is one of the primary reasons that people seek medical care. Acute pain may result from injury, trauma, surgery, or medical procedures, and can have significant emotional, cognitive, and sensory consequences. Though acute pain, by definition,... Read more →