I’m going to make a departure from the usual Brain Blogger content today to discuss an event that has arisen in my personal life which I wanted to share. When I was in college, there was a student on campus who had leukemia, and the campus held a drive asking students to donate some blood to be... Read more →

Welcome to the thirty-eight edition of Brain Blogging. In this round, we cover a series on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), how the brain continuously repairs itself, and a recently approved anti-psychotic drug Invega. Remember, we review the latest blogs related to the brain and mind that go beyond... Read more →

War is hard. It is hard on the economies of the countries involved; it is hard on the leaders of governments; it is hard on the families of those left behind for deployment; it is especially hard on the soldiers. It is no secret that, for generations of wars and military conflicts, soldiers have experienced... Read more →

You know, there’s a reason why famous sayings are, well, famous sayings. It’s because they’re true and they usually sum up this truth is just a few words so as to package their neat truism in a tidy little box. BMJ’s article, New York’s road to health, quickly brought to mind one of those sayings... Read more →

America is arguably one of the most diverse nations in the world. While such diversity can provide opportunities for unique social and cultural interactions, it can also present opportunities for poor medical care. Many studies show that ethnic and cultural minorities do not receive the same level of... Read more →

I previously posted a few times about conflicts of interest within the medical profession. A friend of a friend who reads my posts posed the simple question to me: Isn’t the entire medical profession in conflict because it is profit driven? This is an interesting question. After all, doctors make... Read more →

Do you remember the dreaded sex talk given to you by your parents? Most likely you fall into one of two camps. You belong in the first camp if your only memory of this talk is the recollection of a flushed, burning face staring at the carpet hoping-no, praying-that this moment would mercifully end…... Read more →

One of the more intriguing aspects of human behavior comes packaged in an extremely natural and habitual act — sleep. Most of us take this routine of sleeping as part of the day, and slide in and out of it rhythmically, systematically. When we do, though, our bodies and minds enter this realm of... Read more →

Researchers at UCLA recently announced the results of a study of mindfulness medication among people with HIV. This isn’t the first team to look at the use of stress-reducing psychological and spiritual practices among people with HIV/AIDs. But it is the first team to look at the right outcome... Read more →

Arguably, one of the greatest public health advances in the last century has been the advent of safe and effective vaccines for deadly diseases. Today, several vaccine-preventable diseases have all but disappeared from our lives, thanks to all 50 states mandating vaccination for school children and making... Read more →

It is that time of the year again when medical students start appearing on the wards. If you are a third year student you are now likely starting your clinical rotations. If you are a fourth year student you are probably embarking on away rotations to the specialty of your choice. Every physician has... Read more →