Monthly Archive for May, 2009
Death and Dying in Tough Economic Times
Cash-strapped states and private health care providers are looking for ways to cut costs and save money in these economic times. While across-the-board cuts in spending are intuitively appealing and a seemingly straightforward method for saving money, it turns out that some health care expenditures actually lead to cost savings. Spend money to save money -- at least when patients are dying.One of the newest areas of specialization in health care is hospice and palliative care. (The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) just began recognizing hospice and palliative care early in 2009.) This new specialty focuses on treating not just physical symptoms, but psychological, social, and spiritual suffering that accompanies a terminal illness.
Medicate or Educate? – Just Pop a Polypill
At this moment, a trial is underway in India. This trial, named the TIPS trial, involves a new medication -- a so-called “polypill” -- which contains three antihypertensive drugs, a statin, and aspirin. Its researchers enthuse that it may cut the risk of cardiovascular disease by half in healthy people. So far, the study has shown that the side effects of this medication are minimal, or at least not any worse than those of any of the individual components alone. It’s also demonstrated small but significant reductions in blood pressure and cholesterol. The bigger question is: why do we think we really need this medication in the first place?
Dressing for Success? – the White Coat Dilemma
For nearly 200 years, the white coat has served as a symbol of the medical profession. Originally, the white coat was worn to symbolize hope and life -- an absolute contrast to the black of death and mourning that was widespread at the time. Hospitals, and the physicians who worked in them, became places of hopefulness and healing, and the white coat embodied these sentiments.As the medical profession evolved into a scientific discipline, the white coat began to represent the physician as a scientist. It also epitomized a feeling of cleanliness, and served as a barrier between the physician and his patient.
What is Free Will?
This post continues my discussion of free will and determinism in neuroscience. Due to the relatively brief nature of these posts, this discussion is incomplete. However, I hope it spurs additional discussion. I believe addressing free will and determinism allows us to understand the underlying theories and implications of neuroscience and social science research as well as the practical application of that research.For this article, the main questions are: "Is behavior biologically determined?" and "Do humans have free will?" I will not address in this post the argument between compatibilism and incompatibilism. In response to comments and questions about my previous post, I thought it necessary to attempt to define free will before I write further posts on this general topic of free will and biological determinism in the neurosciences.
Popular Posts
- The Love Drug
- Women After Sex
- Fatty Acids and Suicide Risk
- Mind Games - Science's Attempts at Thought Control
- Risks of Personalized Medicine
- Mental Health Disorders Prevalent Among Youth Worldwide
- Is Giftedness Nothing More than Good Genes?
- Behind the Masks - The Mysteries of Dissociative Identity Disorder
- The NeuroSocial Network
- Inside Your Brain on Holiday
Future Posts
- The Brain’s Buying Power
- Aging Intelligently
Latest Posts
- A Nicotine Patch a Day Keeps the Cognitive Impairment Away
- The Many Emerging Roles of Astrocytes
- Diabetes Impairs Cognition
- Media Violence Leads to Real Violence
- Intelligence – Are You Holding Back Your Brain?
- Childhood Aggression Predicts Health Care Use Later in Life
- The Brain’s Border Patrol – Blood Brain Barrier
- Risks of Personalized Medicine
- BED-head and Obesity – Food for Thought
- Salvia Divinorum – DEA Control over Magic in the Mint
Comments
- Scapadas Amorosas: Lets patent it, package, marke
- sumeshmavungal: Advice on buying a car?
- Emily Haines, MSc, PhD student: Thanks for your comments, Matt
- Emily Haines, MSc, PhD student: Thanks for your comments and s
- Alex: While we have our eyes glued t
- Richard Kensinger, MSW: Carla,You are absolutely c
- Soraya L. Valles: I'm interested in astrocytes.
- Raymond Tallis: Dear Kitty, I have come to you
- Steven: After smoking for 17 years dai
- Matt: I'm just interested in hearing
- Carla Easley: If everyone adopted the "Growt
- Isabel (retired RN): I second that query for resear
