Monthly Archive for June, 2008
Opinion | By June 30, 2008 | By Nirupama Shankar, PT, MHS | 43 Comments
Vaccines - A Two-Edged Sword
Recently, I accompanied my sister to a pediatrician’s office — for the first (of many) vaccination appointment for her twin 8-week old girls. Fortunately for my sister, the nightmare ended after a few pokes of the needle and a few throaty bawls of protest. Sadly, not every parent’s ordeal ends the same way. Each day, parents around the world take their children on this routine with faith that this will protect their children against deadly and potentially life threatening infections. But what if this very tool that is intended to protect becomes a lethal source of disability? Read more →
- Prescriptive Authority - Are Pharmacists “Write”?
- Should Patients with Schizophrenia Receive Free Medication?
- Should Doctors Unionize?
- Blood Glucose and the Brain: Sugar and Short-Term Memory
- Should Doctors be Paid by Drug Companies for Research?
- How Do We Feed Our Children?
- Ethics 101 - Patients Who Hide The Truth
- Food Additives, Hyperactivity, and Common Sense
- Concierge Medicine - The Future or the Past?
- Brain Blogging, Thirty-Fifth Edition
- Are Placebos A Betrayal?
Pharmacists are integral members of the health care team in the US. The profession is composed of highly-educated, well-trained health-care providers. Pharmacists promote themselves as “drug experts” for good reason: the four-years of education required to obtain the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)... Read more →
A recent study from Harvard Medical School found that restrictive drug programs might cause schizophrenia patients to stop taking their meds. Nearly 80% of patients without antipsychotic medication will have a serious recurrence of their illness within a year. The study focused on Medicare beneficiaries... Read more →
In this time of financial strain on physicians and the government reimbursement system we once again need to address the question — should doctors unionize? Recently, a group of physician picketed Capitol Hill to denounce continue reimbursement cuts. This results in a temporary stay of a planned... Read more →
Millions of older adults suffer from significant memory loss, despite the lack of a diagnosis of dementia-causing disease. This memory loss can lead to a significant decline in quality of life and often remains undiagnosed and untreated. Recently, however, scientists have begun to study the role of glucose... Read more →
As research has moved away from the realm of universities and into the private sector, more physicians are being paid by drug companies to enroll and monitor patients during clinical trials. Private corporations have been the largest sponsors of pharmaceutical research in both Canada and the United Sates... Read more →
Tonight my son ate a sweet potato. And a few pieces of pasta. And a sauteed mushroom. And some watermelon. And a few kidney and Garbanzo beans. Oh and a few bites of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. It was a good eating day. Some (read between the lines: most) days sitting down to eat looks more like... Read more →
In this series of posts we are examining the ethics behind medicine. This includes the entire ethical spectrum of behavior by doctors, patients, nurses, and the entire medical system. Here we present another case scenario about a patient. A 36 year old man presents to his plastic surgeon for cosmetic... Read more →
A BMJ editorial, Food additives and hyperactivity, discusses the recent attention that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has been giving to the possible link between food additives and childhood hyperactivity. Apparently the EFSA had to re-evaluate studies regarding this possible connection after... Read more →
The current US healthcare system is broken. Few would argue this point. Rising costs, decreasing reimbursements, more lawsuits, insurance hikes, and an aging population are just some of the difficulties that face both physicians and patients today, and the situation doesn’t seem to be improving. One... Read more →
Welcome to the thirty-fifth edition of Brain Blogging. In this round, we cover the power of brain tumors in self identification, unconventional uses for classic anti-psychotics, the chemical nature of anger, and debate whether stress is real, and if so, how to deal with it. If you were left out, just... Read more →
In recent years, there’s been a resurgence of interest in placebos. Not the kind that are used to minimize bias in clinical trials, but the kind that doctors knowingly give to patients. In a recent survey of more than 200 doctors practicing in academic medical centers, 45% reported that they had... Read more →
Monday, October 13, 2008
- The Anti-Psychiatry Movement
- Should Doctors Have Guns?
- Vaccines - A Two-Edged Sword
- Extremist Muslim Doctors Do More Than Heal
- Woman Comparable to Men in Domestic Violence: Stereotypes and their Consequences
- God And Religion: Is It All In Our Heads?
- The Bipolar Trend
- Anti-Smoking Campaign Doesn't Mess Around
- The Implications of Implanted Chips
- The Science of Brain Freeze
- The Biopsychosocial Model of Health & Illness
- Is War A Psychosis?
- Unhinging from Theory: Autism and Opinions
- Mind-Body: We Want Evidence, Don't We?
- Are You Vegetarian? How Do You Get Enough Protein?
- Meditation for Troubled Minds: Can the Mind Heal the Mind?
- Encephalon, Thirty-Third Edition
- Acknowledging Vaccination Concerns
- Usually It's Cheaper to Pay Than to Go To Court
- Integrating Schizophrenia Management
- ADHD - A Very Incomplete Puzzle
- Stop Talking, You Might Get Cancer
- Health Care and Politics II - The Democrats
- Health Care and Politics I - The Republicans
- Brain Blogging, Fortieth Edition
- China’s Tainted Reputation
- The Silent Epidemic of Health Illiteracy
- Managed Care Kills a Provider’s Reputation
- Writing Away Your Worries
- Sleep Deprivation, Behavior, and the Young
- Preventative Care in Medicine
- Cheating Husbands - What His Genes Tell Us
- Reduced Empathy Following Traumatic Brain Injury
- Craniosacral Therapy – Healing Through Touch
- Brain Blogging, Thirty-Ninth Edition
- Are Doctors Super Human?
- Taking Care of Those Who Take Care of Us
- Water - How Much is Too Much?
- Involving Physicians in Military Interrogations
- What Does Your iPod Say About You?
- We've been non meat eaters now for over 10 years. I use the term advisedly, as ...
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnY7utiMwG0
Please see the about YouTube where...
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnY7utiMwG0
Please see the about YouTube where...
- Electro Convulsive Therapy - or as many mentally ill patients refer to as LRT - ...
- It depends on situation like, a doctor with lots of money and patient from wide ...
- Your health is a commodity...
Police, fire-safety, roads, education (rudimentar...
- Kathleen,
found the info,
thanks,...
- thanks for the feedback Kathleen.
I looked on your website but did not find s...
- I want the government to stop being everyone’s father. Grow up, get a job, and b...
- We need to set up a healthcare system and in that a government that has the publ...
- tran, how old are you, 12?...
- Actually, our organization, CodeBlueNow! has been asking the public what they wa...
- ..."Most Americans are willing to pay higher taxes to make health care reform po...
- I am one of the minority who is _not_ willing to pay higher taxes to make health...
- Deregulation, thats McCains plan. Well heck, it worked so well for the financia...
- And just what kind of "health coverage" are we talking about here, with either c...
- Obama's plan is infinitely better but this problem will never be fully solved un...
- Great articles!
Doctors are now busy with schedules. They are running with clo...
- Let's think about John McCain's plan from the prospective of a lower income indi...
- .Who is really paying health insurance aka desease care in America.
Folks lets ...


