All Articles by Jennifer Gibson, PharmD
Dr. Gibson, PharmD, is a practicing clinical pharmacist and medical writer/editor with experience in researching and preparing scientific publications, developing public relations materials, creating educational resources and presentations, and editing technical manuscripts. She is the owner of Excalibur Scientific, LLC.
Risks of Personalized Medicine
Anyone who has taken high school biology has probably heard one of the corniest biology jokes around: How do you tell a girl chromosome from a boy chromosome? Pull down its genes. While this has been a useful (if not really funny) mnemonic for teaching students about life science, now individuals are beginning to play genetic versions of I'll-show-you-mine-if-you-show-me-yours by actually examining their genes. Not much more than a decade has passed since the completion of the Human Genome Project, but, already, direct-to-consumer (DTC) genome mapping and genetic testing are available with little more than a cotton swab and an envelope between you and your DNA.
Economic Burden of Poor Mental Health
In today's economy, workers across all sectors are seeking steady, gainful employment. Likewise, employers are seeking productive, consistent workers. For individuals with mental illness, this may be an impossible job description to fill. A recent report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) claims that common mental health conditions lead to decreased workplace productivity and substantial economic losses.
Shyness and Social Phobia
Personalities come in all shapes and sizes. Boisterous and docile. Flamboyant and reserved. Extroverted and introverted. Sociable and shy. But, when does a normal variation in personality characteristic, such as shyness, become a medical condition? Not as often as you might think, according to a new study that observed little connection between shyness and social phobia among adolescents.
Risk Factors for Recurrence of Depression
Depression is a common mental health disorder that negatively affects daily functioning and quality of life. Unfortunately, depression is often a recurrent disorder. Current treatment guidelines are based on clinical features of the disease, but new evidence points to sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics that influence the severity and prognosis of depression. Specifically, a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal highlights smoking and a feeling of lack of control over one's life as significant predictors of a negative long-term prognosis of depression.
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- The Brain’s Buying Power
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