MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'dr mark'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:56:14 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4544971&cid=t_242883_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fcancer-and-science-based-medicine-skepticism-vs-nihilism%2F2011.03.03 Last Friday, Mark Crislip posted an excellent deconstruction of a very disappointing article that appeared in the most recent issue of Skeptical Inquirer (SI), the flagship publication of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). I say “disappointing,” because I was disappointed to see SI publish such a biased, poorly thought out article, apparently for the sake of controversy. I’m a subscriber myself, and in general enjoy reading the magazine, although of late I must admit that I don’t always read each issue cover to cover the way I used to do. Between work, grant writing, blogging, and other activities, my outside reading, even of publications I like, has declined. Perhaps SI will soon find itself off my reading list. Be that as it may, I couldn’t miss the article that so irr... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4544971 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:00:03 +0100 4544971 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4405778&cid=t_242883_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fcranberry-juice-for-urinary-tract-infections-evidence-is-still-lacking%2F2011.01.26 It always somewhat surprises me how some interventions never seem to die. One therapy that refuses to be put to rest, or even to be clarified, is the use of cranberry juice for urinary tract infections (UTIs). PubMed references go back to 1962, and there are over 100 references. Firm conclusions are still lacking. There is a reasonable, but incomplete, basic science behind the use of the cranberry juice for UTIs. E. coli , the most common cause of UTIs, causes infection in the bladder by binding to the uroepithelial cells. To do this, they make  fimbriae,  proteinaceous fibers on the bacterial cell wall. Fimbriae are adhesins that attach to specific sugar based receptors on uroepithelial cells. Think Velcro. Being able to stick to cells is an important virulence factor for bacteri... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4405778 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 22:00:51 +0100 4405778 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245305&cid=t_242883_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Facupuncture-via-skymall%2F2010.12.09 The worst part of flying is the takeoff and landing. Not that I am nervous about those parts of the trip, it is that I am all electronic. Once I have to turn off my electronic devices, all I am left with is my own thoughts or what is in the seat pocket in front of me. Since there is nothing to be gained from quiet introspection, I am stuck with either the in-flight magazine or SkyMall. I usually choose the latter. SkyMall, for those of you who do not fly, is a collection of catalogs bound in one volume. I have occasionally purchased products found in SkyMall and thumb through it with mild interest. This time one product caught my eye, the Aculife home acupuncture/acupressure device. I had never noticed the “health”-related products in SkyMall before, usually looking for electro... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245305 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:00:28 +0100 4245305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183294&cid=t_242883_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-twinkie-diet%2F2010.11.19 “Hey…where did those cupcakes go?” Like a never-ending western North Carolina climb where each switchback reveals another uphill, and the finish is shielded by tall pines, the struggle to lose weight and to stay lean is incessant. In wrestling weight gain, competitive cyclists share the same mat as “regular” Americans. Like jockeys, all competitive bike racers strive for maximal leanness. It’s physics: Weigh less and the same number of watts push you farther and faster, especially when going uphill or accelerating from a slow speed. Remember those velocity problems in Physics 101? But is it conceivable that losing weight — even if accompanied by lower cholesterol levels — could be detrimental to long-term wellness? Obviously, the question answers itself... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183294 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:00:00 +0100 4183294 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4179319&cid=t_242883_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fpicture-your-diet-with-photocalorie%2F2010.11.18 Although I can check the calorie content of any food on WolframAlpha, it’s good to have a site that focuses only on this issue: PhotoCalorie is an application inspired by the ideas of Dr. Mark Boguski of Harvard Medical School, who realized that the current methods available to track your daily nutrient intake are monotonous and simply too complicated.  As a result, people would lose interest in tracking their diet or stop the diet all together. Our mission is to create the easiest food journal on the planet to help dieters lose weight and monitor their diet with ease. *This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4179319 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:00:48 +0100 4179319 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4172058&cid=t_242883_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fbook-review-just-like-someone-without-mental-illness-only-more-so%2F2010.11.16 I’ll cut to the chase: I loved this book. Five stars. Two thumbs up. When I read books, especially psychiatry books that I write about on Shrink Rap, I often read more carefully and sometimes more critically. I was so immersed in reading “Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So” that I didn’t stop to think, I just went on the journey. Mark Vonnegut is a pediatrician and the son of my favorite author when I was in junior high school. His memoir is a poignant and candid account of his struggles with, well, life in general, and life with a psychotic illness in particular. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder — who knows? (I’ll vote for bipolar disorder.) Some illness where he had three episodes in his twenties, then another episode 14 years later. ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4172058 Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:00:00 +0100 4172058 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3750284&cid=t_242883_154_f&fid=35946&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCanadianMedicine%2F%7E3%2FBrJgMtJWMk8%2Fdoes-steel-netting-around-bridges.html Maple Leaf Garden’s sex abuse victim Martin Kruze was but one of many to choose the Bloor Street Viaduct to end his lifeWhen someone is determined to end his or her life, choosing to jump off a bridge is a pretty good bet. The impact of falling over 30 metres at about 120-129 kilometres an hour is akin to being hit by a speeding car.To prevent the temptation by those overcome with despair and hopelessness, a barrier was constructed around Toronto’s Bloor Street Viaduct in 2003 – at a cost of 5½ million dollars. Known as the second most popular “suicide bridge” in the world (San Francisco’s Golden Gate ranks number one), some of the 400 people who’ve taken their lives there had travelled from afar to this particular bridge, since its construction in 1918.City planners were an... Canadian Medicine blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3750284 Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:57:00 +0100 3750284 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2934769&cid=t_242883_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F10%2F27%2Foprah-the-7-year-old-with-schizophrenia%2F In conclusion we would like to stress that, in our view, labelling a seven-year-old child as schizophrenic and subjecting her to powerful psychotropic medication and periodic hospitalisation is unlikely to help resolve her problems with voices. Indeed, the opposite is most probable: Jani will simply become more powerless when it comes to finding ways to cope with her voices. Because your well respected, award winning show reaches out to so many people, we are concerned that there will be many viewers who will be left with the impression that the kind of treatment Jani receives is the only one available. If this is the case then there will be children who will be subjected to an unnecessary lifetime in psychiatric care because their families believe there are no alternatives. It is very imp... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2934769 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:18:08 +0100 2934769 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441688&cid=t_242883_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F05%2F28%2Fsoldiers-ordered-not-to-kill-themselves%2F Brig. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, according to CNN, has “in effect ordered his soldiers Wednesday not to commit suicide” in the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell. Why? After nearly one soldier per week committed suicide at the post between January and mid-March, the Army instituted a suicide prevention program that “seemed to be having good effects” until last week, when two more suicides occurred, he said. Yes, these are not positive numbers and the Army needs to do more to combat the stigma of seeking help for a psychological concern such as depression. They can begin by promising soldiers that such treatment seeking will have no negative effect on their ability to move up in the Army and get promoted in the future. You wouldn’t hold someone from getting a pro... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441688 Thu, 28 May 2009 23:41:14 +0100 2441688