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 'health, medicine'. Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:53:49 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3740756&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FageKmsr_Njk%2F Video Games for Good: Healthcare providers, researchers, and video game developers are working together to use the Wii for health-oriented games, including games to help Parkinson’s patients and children with Cerebral Palsy. (via Reuters) Post from: BlissTree (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3740756 Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:08:33 +0100 3740756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3740573&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2F187908%2F Video Games for Good: Healthcare providers, researchers, and video game developers are working together to use the Wii for health-oriented games, including games to help Parkinson’s patients and children with Cerebral Palsy. (via Reuters) Post from: BlissTree (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3740573 Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:08:33 +0100 3740573 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3648492&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2Fk43srFIr_lg%2F By Archelle Georgiou. Every week, after the Fox segment, viewers can “click on the yellow chat bar” and ask me questions online. They can ask any health related question they want, even if its unrelated to the topic I covered on the air. So, what do people ask a TV doctor? Since my blogs topics have been a little heavy lately…I thought I’d lighten it up a little by sharing the ten funniest or most interesting questions I’ve received over the last two years. A preamble…. • I am not disclosing confidential patient information. These conversations occur in an online, open chat room. • The viewers’ chats are verbatim….including the spelling. • I try to respond to every single question online with evidence-based information. But, in the spirit of brevity, I didn’t includ... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3648492 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:57:49 +0100 3648492 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599323&cid=t_359312_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F26%2Ften-years-of-pubmed-central-a-good-thing-thats-only-going-to-get-better%2F PubMed Central (PMC) is a free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), developed and managed by NIH’s National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in the National Library of Medicine (NLM) (see PMC overview). PMC is a central repository for biomedical peer reviewed literature in [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599323 Wed, 26 May 2010 00:19:23 +0100 3599323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3570007&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F05%2F17%2Fdo-you-know-how-much-sugar-you-eat%2F It’s not that obvious even if you read the labels of food and drinks. Well, Sugar Stacks will help you with this by not just sharing information but also visualizing the sugar content. A few examples such as cola, ice cream and chocolate shake. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3570007 Mon, 17 May 2010 08:32:22 +0100 3570007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515304&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2Fdiy-wellness-laugh-your-way-to-good-health%2F photo: Thinkstock Laughter is the best medicine. How many times have you heard that old adage? Definitely more times than you can count, but how many times did you consider that laughter might actually be good for you? A new (albeit, small) study indicates that laughter has the same effect on hormones that exercise does. The Loma Linda University study took blood samples, and measured the blood pressure of 14 volunteers before and after watching two videos. One was from Saving Private Ryan, and the other was a clip from a comedian’s routine or a comedy flick. Post-funny clip, the hormone that controls appetite changed in the same manner that it would post-workout. Leptin, which quells appetite, decreased, and Ghrelin, which makes you hungry, increased. Volunteers did not get hungrier... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515304 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:46:39 +0100 3515304 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3502785&cid=t_359312_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F04%2F25%2Fthe-doctors-the-patient%2F Once there was a woman with secondary Addison’s disease. She took her replacement medicine (cortisol, thyrax, growth hormone, DHEAs) as she should and everything was reasonably under control. However, gradually she began to feel weak. She often disliked food, sometimes to such an extent that she had an urge to vomit. After a month or [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3502785 Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:20:30 +0100 3502785 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3386998&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F03%2F20%2Fcolonoscopy-song-best-hits%2F Kevin, MD posted a video of Peter Yarrow who teamed up with CBS to deliver a serious message about the importance of screening for colon cancer. Well, this is not the only video focusing on this issue. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3386998 Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:07:02 +0100 3386998 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3335275&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fhealthbolt%2Fdid-you-have-sex-today%2F What does “have sex” mean? That’s what researchers wanted to know. Does having sex mean oral sex? Does it mean heavy petting? Or does it mean only acts where there is penetration? While it may not seem to be terribly important to understand what the term means among different groups of people, it actually is. When discussing topics that involve sexual health or abuse, everyone who is participating in the conversation and/or treatment/management, must be on the same page as to what “having sex” is. To clarify this, or in the hopes of clarifying this, researchers from the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University wanted to see what the definition of “having sex” was to most people. This question had originally been asked in 1999, sparked by the then- U.... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3335275 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:32:20 +0100 3335275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3008038&cid=t_359312_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.annals.org%2Fcontent%2Fsuppl%2F2009%2F11%2F17%2F151.10.DC1%2Fannals_20091117.mp3 Kaleidoscope is a new series, with a “kaleidoscope” of facts, findings, views and news gathered over the last 1-2 weeks. Most items originate from Twitter, my Google Reader (RSS) and sometimes real articles (yeah!). I read a lot, I bookmark a lot, but only some of those things end op in a post. Since tweets have [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3008038 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:44:07 +0100 3008038 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3003975&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F11%2F17%2Flive-in-my-skin-campaign%2F “Live in My Skin” is one of the best health-related campaigns I have ever seen. Really creative and it will certainly reach its goal. An American pharmaceutical company transformed 5 doctors into psoriasis sufferers with the collaboration of Hollywood makeup experts. They had to walk in the streets, go to the gym, etc. in order to improve their understanding of the psychological side of the disease. This must have been a real experience for them. Click here to see the video clips focusing on this campaign on The DoctorsChannel. (Hat Tip: Advertising and Health) (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3003975 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:32:47 +0100 3003975 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2995940&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F11%2F16%2Fphysicians-night-shifts-are-dangerous%2F Conclusion: Our results highlight the association of OCD with an increased risk profile for cardiovascular disease. In addition to the acute effects observed, frequent night-calls over a longer period possibly elicit sustained alterations in cardiovascular homeostasis. Reference: Arrhythmias and increased neuro-endocrine stress response during physicians’ night shifts: a randomized cross-over trial Rauchenzauner et al, European Heart Journal 2009 30(21):2606-2613; (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2995940 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:37:06 +0100 2995940 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2912145&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fhealthbolt%2Fh1n1-fears-fakes-fda-widget-for-you%2F Fraudsters are like cockroaches – they are unwelcome and we do what we can to get rid of them, but they keep coming back. It doesn’t take long for fraudsters to jump on something that plays on people’s fears and they use that to prey on their new victims. With the H1N1 virus and the Internet, fraudsters have a good venue to find some of these new victims. Products that claim to prevent the virus or claim to heal you are making their way into people’s homes. These products are not only ripping people off of money, they are potentially very dangerous, depending on what they are made of and your health. If you are trying to find a way to stay healthy or become healthy, there are some things to remember when searching the Internet for help: If it sounds too good to be ... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2912145 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:19:54 +0100 2912145 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2800614&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F09%2F15%2Fglobal-accelerator-award%2F Just a short note about the first winner of the Global Accelerator Award: the Māori Health Innovation Fund. Winners are organizations or people who have helped put into action an idea that holds the promise of dramatically improving patient care anywhere in the world. The Accelerator Award is based on an Innovation Cell methodology that analyzes which organizations or people in healthcare have put an idea into action that has generated significant positive “buzz” or “chatter” on the World Wide Web. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2800614 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:53:49 +0100 2800614 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2615445&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F07%2F19%2Ftedtalks-better-way-to-harvest-bone-marrow%2F Daniel Kraft presented a better way to harvest bone marrow in a TED talk. (Via Living the Scientific Life) (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2615445 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 12:09:03 +0100 2615445 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611118&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F07%2F16%2Fmedical-research-experts-on-wikipedia%2F Though I haven’t been extremely busy on Wikipedia lately, I’ve been an administrator there for 3 years. I’m always glad when medical professionals come to edit articles, improve the quality and insert proper references into the medical entries. Yesterday, I saw this: The National Institutes of Health and the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that operates the Wikipedia® online encyclopedia, are joining forces to make health and science information more accessible and reliable. This collaboration is the first of its kind for both organizations. In these days when the number of page requests for flu or influenza is rising, it’s even more important to cover medical issues properly. From Wikimedia Blog: Kevin Pho from Kevin, MD wrote in a recent article... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2611118 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:29:56 +0100 2611118 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2606034&cid=t_359312_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F07%2F15%2Fencephalon-73-with-videos-channel-n%2F Every month, there’s a thing like Grand Rounds (which focuses more on health and medicine blog posts) that highlights some of the most interesting brain and neuropsychology blog posts around the net in the past month. It’s called Encephalon and Psych Central’s own Channel N is hosting Encephalon 73 with Videos. If you’re looking for some interesting reading — or viewing — this month’s Encephalon is worth checking out! Good stuff in there. (Source: World of Psychology) World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2606034 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:39:21 +0100 2606034 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2594427&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fhealthbolt%2Fa-tobacco-free-us-military%2F Looks like smoking soldiers might just be a thing of the past if Pentagon health experts have anything to do with it. They are recommending that Defense Secretary Robert Gates adopt a phased-in smoking ban in the military over a period of years. This proposal is based on the results of recent federal study done by the Institute of Medicine that shows increased tobacco use among soldiers.  The study found that… one in three servicemembers use tobacco. tobacco use in the military has increased since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started. troops dealing with repeated deployments are often relying on cigarettes as a form of ‘stress release’. the heaviest smokers are the soldiers and Marines who have done most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. about 37% of soldiers use tobac... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2594427 Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:51:50 +0100 2594427 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2593093&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fhealthbolt%2Fan-innovative-cpr-mattress%2F Hospital mattresses are soft and pliable. Great for the patient who wants to be comfortable. But not so great for medical staff if they have to perform CPR. Michigan Technology University Performing compressions on someone lying in a soft and pliable mattress will only result in the force going into the mattress and not the body. The standard answer is to get the patient on a crash board first but that requires extra time to roll the patient and position the board. Extra time that is often critical. But a group of innovative students at Michigan Tech may just have the answer. They have been developing a mattress that will allow faster and more effective cardiopulmonary resusciation (CPR). The idea: Suck the air out of the foam in the mattress and make it firm The means: some tubing, a litt... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2593093 Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:27:47 +0100 2593093 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2572917&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fhealthbolt%2Fmedical-marijuanas-warning-label%2F Based on numerous research studies that illustrated the unique benefits of marijuana in counteracting the pain, nausea and  the “wasting-effect” that often often occurs in the late stages of AIDS and cancers, Californian’s voted in 1996 to legalize medical marijuana. The state even went as far as providing marijuana vending machines to supply those who were in need and medical qualified to have it. Now the state lawmakers have decided that, while it’s of medical benefit to treat side effects of serious illnesses, it possibly can cause cancer. That doesn’t mean that medical marijuana will now be banned. Instead, the plan is to have a warning label (just like on cigarettes) informing people of it’s potential cancer-causing risks. Interesting idea, but somehow I don’t think th... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2572917 Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:53:12 +0100 2572917 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2512320&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F06%2F23%2Ffamily-history-is-the-cheapest-genome%2F Steve Murphy, the gene sherpa, published a great post on his blog yesterday. An excerpt: But more importantly, we have a healthy respect for family history in common…… This guy and his team at the CDC have been researching Family History tools and the state of the science of family history pretty aggressively. This team is a heavyweight in the field and I am blown away by what they are doing. Why? It is the cheapest whole genome, phenome, metabolome scan we have today. The best part is that it covers multiple people with just one take! Just to make sure the message is transmitted: Family history is the cheapest whole genome, phenome, metabolome scan we have today. Thank you, Steve! Couldn’t say it better. Every physician in all the medical specialties should read this. (S... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2512320 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:30:54 +0100 2512320 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2510384&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fhealthbolt%2Fthis-virtual-heart-pumps-up-the-realism%2F It looks like a real heart. It acts like a real heart. But in reality, it’s only a  super-realistic computer model. Created by a team of doctors from the Heart Hospital in London, this virtual heart is perfect for medical students to get indepth knowledge of the heart’s anatomy. It sure beats staring at a dull anatomy textbook or static model. It can be viewed from both inside and out, rotated around any axis with a simple flick or click of the computer mouse or keyboard.  It can even be made to simulate irregular heart beats and mirror the effects of various conditions and diseases. (source and image) Post from: Healthbolt (Source: Healthbolt) Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2510384 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:48:40 +0100 2510384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2512905&cid=t_359312_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2Ffepf3FPC29I%2F Even having gone through the gamut of researching strange-sounding healing methods when I was first diagnosed with cancer, I am still astonished at how resistant many people are to proper science and how it is done both in the medical field and in other areas. Here is one example. Unfortunately, a frequent topic on SBM has been the anti-vaccine movement, personified these days by celebrity spokesmodel for Generation Rescue Jenny McCarthy and her dimmer than dim boyfriend comedian and actor Jim Carrey. Unfortunately, it is a topic that is unlikely to go away. We’ve all speculated why the anti-scientific emotion-based notion that vaccines somehow must cause autism persists in spite of mountains of evidence to the contrary, but I think the question goes much deeper than that because it’s ... white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2512905 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:09:33 +0100 2512905 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2376579&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FEgigvk3AQBc%2F Just seconds after Jill announced from the bathroom that Alex could squeeze out the toothpaste by himself I hear her announce, “And we have bleeding gums!” I’ve always been grateful for any toothbrushing that Alex did for himself. They taught him at school, and after an initial shakedown - he had to remember to brush the tops as well as the bottoms - at least it was another task he could handle by himself. But bleeding gums? My gums bleed sometime during dental cleanings, but I’m 47. Alex is 10. So now we turn to all those things they say you’re supposed to do and all of us feel guilty for not doing enough. Floss. A Waterpik on the low setting. Elemental teeth care, which in our case will be taught against the wall of sand that is autism. “Ned,” I... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2376579 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:11:22 +0100 2376579 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2349216&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F04%2F17%2F2009-diabetesmine-design-challenge-contest%2F Amy Tenderich at Diabetes Mine is one of the most famous diabetes bloggers worldwide. She also runs a fantastic contest: Welcome to the 2009 DiabetesMine™ Design Challenge, an online competition to encourage creative new tools for improving life with diabetes. Do you have an idea for an innovative new diabetes device or web application? This is your chance to win up to $10,000 to realize your design concept, and potentially help transform life with diabetes for millions of people. You can read more about the details here. And don’t forget about the Diabetes 2.0 Package on Webicina.com that helps you which web 2.0 tools can provide support or reliable health information, which communities to join and which quality blogs to read. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2349216 Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:56:10 +0100 2349216 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2324262&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FysXapJWQuTc%2F I wouldn’t give Alex just anything that dissolved in water, despite how Jill chose to put it. But soon after we (mostly Jill) broke the glass ceiling of Alex drinking medicine from a little metal cup a few years ago, I began to wonder what supplements he might take. The trend started with melatonin and continued with his Topamax. He takes also nothing that I don’t take, and not much of that. (The exception is folic acid and multivitamins, which I heard from Dr. Internet were bad for men older than 45.) Image: Nassaulibrary.org Alex’s schedule includes one tablespoon of liquid Vitamin Shoppe children’s multivitamin every morning. Then I give him stuff alphabetically, the only way I can keep it straight, two a day, starting with one teaspoon of children’s acidop... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2324262 Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:58:05 +0100 2324262 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2324265&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fm_JbiCJpzrs%2F Jeff is talking about supplements, of which Alex gets several. Potassium, B12 vitamins, plain old ground cinnamon (he buys these in expensive capsules that he breaks open and dissolves), selenium. I really don’t know where he gets his information. Oh, that’s right, that big old database called the world wide intertubes, which is so known for the reliability of its content. (Confession: I take turmeric capsules because I read somewhere that it was a good anti-inflammatory that could offer protection against heart disease and other conditions.) “If it dissolves in water and I can get it at the Vitamin Shoppe,” Jeff says, “I’ll give it to him!” I know why he does it. Alex’s diet (Hebrew National franks and Utz Extra Dark Specials and Pepperidge... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2324265 Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:08:56 +0100 2324265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2296870&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FiIk6LloVkHo%2F I spoke on Friday morning to a group of family-practice residents. Their faces seemed impossibly young, like early spring flowers, as I rattled off some of the gems that doctors said to Jill and me 11 years ago: “I’ve seen kids get this and get over it, and I’ve seen kids get this and not get over it … The aggressive questioning by you and your wife during Alex’s time under our care altered the course of his treatment to his detriment … I just don’t want you to think you’re ever going to have a normal baby.” Mentioned too were our positive doc moments: the pulmonologist who held Jill’s hand; the resident who stroked Alex’s tiny head and kept saying “We’re sorry” as he drew blood; the smiling doc with the bu... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2296870 Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:21:14 +0100 2296870 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249293&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F03%2F07%2Fnavigenics-what-my-genome-tells-me-to-do%2F A few months ago, Navigenics.com offered me to analyze my saliva sample and genome. I happily accepted the offer and was curious to see what they could tell me. After graduating from medical school, I will start PhD training in personalized genetics this September so I’m quite into this emerging field of medicine. I sent my saliva sample back to their laboratory this January and received the results in about 3-4 weeks. I clicked on View my results and saw what kind of risks I have for certain medical conditions such as glaucoma, heart disease, prostate cancer, Crohn’s disease or osteoarthritis (9 conditions all together). When I check one medical condition, I see something like that: They tell me my risk compared to the whole population. And how that medical condition is af... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249293 Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:15:28 +0100 2249293 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2210419&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2009%2F02%2F22%2Fbook-review-seductive-delusions-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-stds-and-were-afraid-to-ask%2F Did you know that in the United States alone, there are 19 million new sexually transmitted disease (STD) cases diagnosed each year? Scary numbers. But most people will look at those numbers and say, ‘yeah, but that won’t happen to me. I’m safe. My behavior is not risky.” Unfortunately, it could easily happen to you. All it really takes to get a sexually transmitted disease is one instance of unprotected sex. Which is why I suggest that anyone who is sexually active or intending to become sexually active read Seductive Delusions: How Everyday People Catch STD’s by Jill Grimes MD. It’s an easy to read book that focuses on real life stories of young adults as a way of educating and instructing everyone on how to recognize, treat, and prevent STD’s ... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2210419 Sun, 22 Feb 2009 06:45:04 +0100 2210419 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2173766&cid=t_359312_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencebase.com%2Fscience-blog%2Fhealth-and-medicine-on-twitter.html My good friend Jo Brodie who works at DiabetesUK and twitters as @JoBrodie was crucial in helping publicise my recent scientists on twitter page. She recently gave the list a shout out on the PSCI-COM science communicators discussion group and added a few science tweeps of her own and a few in the health and medical communications area. So, here, with permission is Jo’s list: BBC Health Cheltenham Science Festivals Nature Blogs NHSChoicesTalk British Medical Association Science Museum India’s moon-landed robot psci-commer Jodrell Bank McDawg TRIP database AM Cunningham GP and clinical lecturer Dav Munger science writer Helen Jaques medical writer Chris Tyler Doctor Blogs Pharma Focus News Medical News Pharma Gossip OpenMedicine* David Bradley Jo points out that if you’r... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2173766 Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:00:23 +0100 2173766 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2173771&cid=t_359312_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencebase.com%2Fscience-blog%2Fcatching-obesity.html UPDATED: Is it possible that obesity, like the common cold is infectious? You’d think so if you believed research that’s been carried out over the last decade and hits the tabloid headlines again this week. The research suggests that a highly infectious virus might be behind some cases of obesity. There is constant talk of an epidemic of overweight in the developed world. Overindulgence, lack of exercise, sedentary lifestyles are usually blamed. Occasionally, the words genetics or glands are mentioned, but rarely is the obesity epidemic thought of as a disease like, flu or winter vomiting virus, a disease you can “catch”, in other words. But, this research detracts from those genuine causes of overweight and might even do more harm than good, giving those with a les... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2173771 Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:03:43 +0100 2173771 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2074308&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F3k-pX4_KwHk%2F Starting January 5, 2009, voting for the 2008 Weblog Awards begins—–and this blog, which I’ve been writing since April of 2006, is among the finalists for best Medical/Health Issues Blog. I’m included in some good company, including Respectful Insolence—-The Differetial—-Junk Food Science—-Stirrup Queen. Thanks to everyone for reading Autism Vox, writing in, sounding off—-it’s been a great year and onward into a new one (very very soon!). Tags: asd, autism, autism blog, awards, blog, blogger, disability, Health, Medicine, pdd-nos, Science, weblogShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2074308 Wed, 31 Dec 2008 23:32:52 +0100 2074308 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2061070&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FYm9YlU9_soE%2F “Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities”—-these are noted in one of the DSM-IV criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder. A study published in the December 10th Neuron has found that reducing the activity of the gene FKBP12 in the brains of mice affected their synapses, and increased obsessive behavior and “fearful memory.” As noted in today’s Science Daily: The protein FKBP12 regulates several important cell signaling pathways, and decreasing its activity enhances long-term potentiation in the hippocampus, said Dr. Susan Hamilton, chair of molecular physiology and biophysics at [Baylow College of Medicine] and a senior author of the report. (Long-term potentiation means the enhancement of the synapse or commu... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2061070 Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:00:11 +0100 2061070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2078999&cid=t_359312_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencebase.com%2Fscience-blog%2Frx-reviews-redux.html A new(ish) website has launched that aims to provide unbiased patient-generated data on the benefits of 7000 prescription medications and their side-effects. Rateadrug.com hopes to do for pharma products what dooyoo and ciao do for gadgets by bringing the crowd to the debate. Patients can anonymously rate and review any of the prescription drugs they take and view other people’s experiences for free. “All information on this site is unique, community data that is not biased by pharmaceutical or corporate objectives,” says spokesman Jack Dowd. He adds that, “The site provides patients with truly independent survey results about the risks and benefits of their medications. The more people that start using the site to rate their prescription medications (a quick 5-minu... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2078999 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:00:05 +0100 2078999 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021278&cid=t_359312_86_f&fid=34461&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdigicmb.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fmednar-search-innovative-medical-search.html Just read a post from the AltSearchEngines site about Mednar : "Yet another impressive achievement of the firm Deep Web Technologies, which already has a stellar record of achievement providing the underlying technology of Scitopia.org, Science.gov, WorldWideScience.org and the brand new Biznar a free, publicly available business research site." Good enough to make into a widget: if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('df7c845c-8e7e-412d-a409-576d99db9d08');Get the Mednar widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! This item is automatically generated from the DIGICMB Blog of Guus van de den Brekel (Source: DigiCMB) DigiCMB blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021278 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 12:59:00 +0100 2021278 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017889&cid=t_359312_105_f&fid=36199&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoctorz.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F12%2F06%2Fwill-someone-please-tell-me-what-to-do-with-my-life-thank-you%2F I’ve enjoyed the celebrity status of having just passed PACES. Consultants are coming up to me in the corridor and congratulating me, and they also keep asking me an awkward question? ‘So what are you doing next?’ We’ll I’d be really grateful if someone could tell me. In the immediate future I started reading books that weren’t about medicine and doing some sleeping. But the purpose of having MRCP isn’t so you can sleep again - it’s also so you can be a registrar.  Help! I’m the MedReg  I’m going to be the on call Med Reg the weekend after next. This is quite scary. It’s the equivalent of when you have passed your driving test and then find that you have to drive a car on your own. I was the Med Reg for two horrible hours,... FtM Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017889 Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:33:56 +0100 2017889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2006972&cid=t_359312_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F472493237%2F I will be hosting the December 9th edition of Grand Rounds blog carnival. Please email me your excellent health & medicine posts, indicating Grand Rounds in the subject line: afernandez at sharpbrains dot com Thank you! blog, blog carnival, Grand Rounds, health, medicine (Source: SharpBrains) SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2006972 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:06:12 +0100 2006972 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005917&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fi9vsZdA3f80%2F The UC Davis-M.I.N.D. Institute’s MARBLES study ( Markers of Autism Risk in Babies’ Learning Early Signs) is following some 100 women who have a biological autistic child and who are pregnant, or who are planning on becoming pregnant, to investigate possible biological and environmental agents that children are exposed to prenatally and post-partum. It seems that maternal health during pregnancy—what expecting mothers do or do not do—will remain an area of scrutiny in the search for autism’s causes: A study published in the December Neurology shows that children whose mothers took Epilim, an anti-epileptic drug, during pregnancy were seven times more likely to develop autism, as compared with children whose mothers did not take such a drug, as reported in Reut... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005917 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:48:19 +0100 2005917 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005881&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F12%2F01%2Ftop-10-amazing-biomedical-videos%2F Wired Blog published a list of 10 amazing biomedical videos featuring some really great animations, but they missed a few others: And many more at MolecularMovies.org:        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005881 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:24:06 +0100 2005881 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1999121&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F12%2F01%2Fworld-aids-day-2008-bloggers-unite%2F December 1 is the World AIDS Day so it’s time to dedicate a post to this important disease. From Wikipedia: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a set of symptoms and infections resulting from the damage to the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. HIV is transmittedmucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid, and breast milk. This transmission can involve anal, vaginal or oral sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby duri... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1999121 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:00:44 +0100 1999121 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1999123&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F29%2Fmygeneticist-i-want-to-know-about-my-dna%2F Steve Murphy, our gene sherpa, informed us about a new site, MyGeneticist.com which …is a service that empowers you to understand the information stored in your DNA, so you can use this knowledge to make healthy life choices. Founded and operated by scientists, myGeneticist’s mission is to complement existing healthcare systems and to make a positive impact on society by helping people make informed decisions. myGeneticist will be launching soon. We need such services… I can’t wait to see how it actually works.        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1999123 Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:30:50 +0100 1999123 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996380&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F28%2Fdoc2doc-community-site-from-bmj-group%2F It’s very important for medical journals and groups to be open to the opportunities web 2.0 provides. BMJ group made a good step and created Doc2doc, a medical community site. But to be honest, I don’t see now why and how it’s different from other community sites. Why should I join? According to their mission statement: doc2doc has a range of tools to help you network with other doctors on a professional and social level. On our clinical forums you can discuss interesting or puzzling cases and discuss any aspect of medicine. You can also create your own forum and build a community around your own interests or place of work. You can find people you work with, used to work with or want to get to know through our people search. The functions: People search to find friends ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996380 Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:04:03 +0100 1996380 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996381&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F28%2Fwhat-can-science-networking-online-do-for-you-slideshow%2F Neil Saunders published a fantastic presentation:        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996381 Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:28:42 +0100 1996381 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984939&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F24%2Fslideshow-health-and-medical-eduation-in-second-life%2F Guus van den Brekel published a slideshow about the medical educational opportunities Second Life provides: Further reading: Medicine in Second Life (e-course preview on Webicina.com) Top 10: Virtual Medical Sites in Second Life! How and Why to use Second Life for Education? Scientific Events in Second Life?        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984939 Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:59:59 +0100 1984939 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980898&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FB2ffZZCHCNg%2F One of the main concerns that people raise in regard to giving medication to autistic children, and to children more generally, is that there’s a lack of information about the long-term effects of the medication on a child. According to a new study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Duke University Medical Center, two medications commonly prescribed for treating ADHD—methylphenidate and amphetamine—do not cause chromosomal damage in children. (My son briefly—very briefly—took Ritalin; while taking it, he became so focused that he became extremely anxious, lost his appetite and looked—this is the best word—skittish; we discontinued the medication after less than a week.) From Science Daily: The current study included 63 ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980898 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:00:04 +0100 1980898 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968950&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FmYGKhOuS2lU%2F More than 389,000 children and teenagers were treated with Risperdal—an atypical antipsychotic—last year. And, 240,000 of them were 12 years old or younger, the November 18th New York Times reports. A panel of federal drug experts stated that medications like Risperdal are ” being used far too cavalierly in children” and that “federal drug regulators must do more to warn doctors of their substantial risks.” Risperdal has been approved for treating irritability in autistic children. The New York Times notes that “in many cases, the drug was prescribed to treat attention deficit disorders,” for which it has not been approved for: The meeting on Tuesday was scheduled to be a routine review of the pediatric safety of Risperdal and Zyprexa, popula... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968950 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:30:32 +0100 1968950 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968910&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F18%2F23andme-poem-enough-to-make-you-spit%2F A reader (beerbelliesuk) just left a comment on one of my posts. It’s a poem about 23andMe, the Google-sponsored genetic company. I have no idea who wrote it but is quite ironic. Psst, you want eternal life? On Sale Now: from Sergey and his wife. All you need to do is pay For them to own your DNA. In return they’ll give you back Information that you lack Genetic risk for this and that: You won’t know what you’re looking at. Some of it will be plain wrong Or else you knew it all along: But you can bet they’ll make it pay Now they have your DNA. If you’re at risk of getting fat You’ll soon be clicking on an ad: There’s always something you can buy To treat you so you will not die. It’s personalised marketing: The latest trend, the hottes... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968910 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:43:52 +0100 1968910 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1969049&cid=t_359312_105_f&fid=36199&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoctorz.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F11%2F18%2Fon-death%2F The deaths stop getting to you after a while. When you are a medical student you don’t think much about death. Like being sued it’s something that happens to other doctors. At first when people start dying you spend ages stewing - going over things again and again wondering what went wrong. What could I have done differently. I once called the coroner, almost in tears, because I was convinced I contributed to the death. The nice man from the coroner’s office calmed me down and explained that it wasn’t really my fault at all, and they weren’t going to do a post mortem because of my guilt trip. But the thing is, we, the medics, work with the people that aren’t fit for anything else, they have renal failure, liver fa... FtM Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1969049 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:20:13 +0100 1969049 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968957&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FcS4aI67rjkI%2F While studying drug abuse and addiction, researchers at the Ohio State University College of Medicine have found a link between nicotine addiction and autism. Neurexins are proteins that, along with neurologins, are thought to play a key role in the formation and functioning of synapses, of connections between nerve cells. In the new study, a protein made by the neurexin-1 gene was found to have a very particular role, as noted in today’s Science Daily: The discovery identified a defining role for a protein made by the neurexin-1 gene, which is located in brain cells and assists in connecting neurons as part of the brain’s chemical communication system. The neurexin-1 beta protein’s job is to lure another protein, a specific type of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, to the synaps... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968957 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:20:37 +0100 1968957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1964098&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F15%2Fpersonalized-medicine-report-of-us-presidents-advisory-committee%2F I’ve recently come across the newest US report on personalized medicine on the site of PHG Foundation. It’s definitely worth reading it. The report explains some of the barriers preventing widespread adoption of personalised medicine such as ambiguous regulation, lack of translational research and limited coverage by health insurers, as well as potential mechanisms to overcome them. Much of the report echoes and re-iterates the PHG Foundation’s findings in relation to the evaluation of genetic tests and molecular biomarkers, which is an area of ongoing focus at national and international levels. With more diagnostic tests becoming available all the time, it is becoming increasingly important to produce appropriate mechanisms to assess and evaluate them, to distinguish between... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1964098 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:29:53 +0100 1964098 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1964099&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F15%2Fwhat%25e2%2580%2599s-on-the-web-15-november-2008-national-dialogue%2F STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction): A minute-by-minute guide from a doctor from the first symptoms to the diagnosis. SearchMedica.com Earns 2008 WebAward: Best Directory or Search Engine National Dialogue on health information technology and privacy The goal of the week-long Web-based dialogue is to solicit input from health care stakeholders and the American public on health IT, which is a top priority of the federal government. The forum seeks to answer the question: How can the country best use health IT to improve patient interaction with the health care system while sufficiently safeguarding patients’ privacy? (Source) My Health: A new personal health records system. Tips for New Medical Bloggers: How to Get Noticed? (Clinical Cases and Images) Strength... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1964099 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:16:21 +0100 1964099 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1955287&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F12%2Fstay-smart-stay-healthy-lets-reform-healthcare%2F Two days ago, I posted a great video focusing on the major problems of healthcare systems. Then Brendan left a comment for us and introduced the Stay Smart, Stay Healthy website, the creator of the video. Stay Smart Stay Healthy is a Humana new-media venture designed to deliver guidance, and to support awareness and understanding of the healthcare industry. Our goal is simple: to educate consumers on the healthcare system by removing the usual complexities and replacing them with an informative and engaging series of videos. Two of their many unique videos are published on Youtube. How Does Insurance Work? Why Is Healthcare So Expensive? Give them feedback, promote them on your blogs and join their project on Facebook or Youtube.        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955287 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:44:38 +0100 1955287 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1951962&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F12%2Fgoogle-flu-trends%2F Yesterday, the official Google Blog introduced Google Flu Trends, an interesting tool that might change the way infectious diseases are monitored these days. Our team found that certain aggregated search queries tend to be very common during flu season each year. We compared these aggregated queries against data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and we found that there’s a very close relationship between the frequency of these search queries and the number of people who are experiencing flu-like symptoms each week. As a result, if we tally each day’s flu-related search queries, we can estimate how many people have a flu-like illness. Based on this discovery, we have launched Google Flu Trends, where you can find up-to-date influenza-related ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1951962 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:20:30 +0100 1951962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1927842&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F02%2Fmedicine-20-microcarnival-edition%2F The 34th edition of Medicine 2.0 blog carnival is a bit unique because it will be a microcarnival edition for the first time in its history. You can check all the posts and news about the world of medicine 2.0 and health 2.0 out in the Friendfeed room of the carnival. This is something like an experiment. I used to keep in touch with friends and collegues via e-mail, now I use Twitter. I used to write blog carnival editions as blogposts, now I use Friendfeed if it’s better and easier to update. You will decide… Why to use Friendfeed as a blog carnival format? You can comment on each of the submissions. You can submit your best articles automatically. It is being updated all the time. Medicine 2.0 is a blog carnival about the impact of web 2.0 on medicine and healthcare. Med... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1927842 Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:51:06 +0100 1927842 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1926545&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F01%2F10-reasons-why-i-use-twitter%2F Yesterday, Dan Weberg was curious how and why medical students use Twitter, a microblogging service. Jen McCabe Gorman directed him to me so now I thought I should list my reasons here. 1. I can contact fellow medical students and professors easily. 2. I get answers for my medicine-related questions from educators from around the world. 3. I get feedback easily so I always post there my ideas and projects. 4. I’ve recently started to read the Presentation Zen book and I really liked the foreword from Guy Kawasaki. Today I could contact him on Twitter. It feels good to be so close to the world. 5. It can replace RSS as bloggers share their newest posts with us (e.g. Kevin, MD). I can also follow health news aggregators and services on Twitter. (e.g. Eye on FDA, ICMCC) 6. I will gradu... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1926545 Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:21:08 +0100 1926545 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1924525&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F10%2F31%2Fhealth-tweeple-to-follow%2F First, the word of the month award goes to tweeple (people on Twitter, the microblogger service). Second, Mark Hawker made a list of the top 30 health twitterers to follow on his tumblr blog (screenshot below). He later wrote a post about other interesting health twitterers as well. Twitter creates an easy way to get answers rapidly and make contacts easily. There is a huge health/medicine 2.0 community there. Add me to your contacts on Twitter and let’s discuss the future of health.        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1924525 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:09:01 +0100 1924525 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1924526&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F10%2F31%2Fbest-invention-in-2008-23andme-or-hype%2F TIME magazine published the complete list of the top 50 best inventions of 2008. The winner is 23andMe, the Google sponsored genetic company that provides SNP genotyping. Spittoon, the official blog of 23andme also covered the subject. While I think their service is important, Medgadget shared some major points with us and I must say they were right. These are the truest words I’ve ever read about direct-to-consumer genetic testing. We say, TIME was probably sucking up to people whose lives have become a never ending effort to hype things onto the common man. You see, whether you take 23andme’s Anne Wojcicki and her husband Sergei Brin (co-founder of a website Google.com, an advertising agency with no customer service), or 23andme’s investor movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1924526 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:50:51 +0100 1924526 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1918039&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F10%2F30%2Fwebicina-how-to-attract-patients%2F Somehow medical professionals tend to order Medicine 2.0 Packages while patients do not. The mission of Webicina is to open the world of web 2.0 not just for doctors and nurses, but for patients as well. That’s why we will dedicate the month of November to patients with new prices and opportunities. Medicine 2.0 Package is a personalized set of web 2.0 tools designed to solve your problems. Such a package contains all the quality blogs, blog carnivals, community sites, video sites, microblogging sites, search engines, slideshows and many many more tools/services/websites that focus on one medical condition or medical specialty. Details on the Webicina blog.        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1918039 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:39:23 +0100 1918039 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1892030&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F10%2F20%2Fcardiopulmonary-resuscitation-with-bee-gees%2F You know well how important it is to know the rules of cardiopulmonary resuscitation properly. Now the University of Illinois medical school suggested to use the rhytm (103 beats per minute) of Stayin Alive, the famous song of Bee Gees. “Properly performed CPR can triple survival rates for cardiac arrest, but many people hesitate to jump in because they don’t feel confident about maintaining the proper rhythm,” Matlock says in a news release. “Our research subjects felt that listening to “Stayin’ Alive” improved their ability to perform chest compressions at the proper speed, and indeed their performance even five weeks later was excellent,” Matlock says. First, how to perform adult CPR and save a life according to the British Red Cross: And... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1892030 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:27:33 +0100 1892030 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1888276&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F10%2F18%2Freaders-poll%2F As WordPress just acquired PollDaddy.com, I thought I would create my first poll ever about the professions of the readers of Scienceroll. View Poll        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1888276 Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:28:43 +0100 1888276 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1886430&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F10%2F17%2Fcustomize-medical-search-with-scienceroll%2F The recent relative lack of posts is due to my upcoming neurology exam. Only a week left, so fingers crossed… But here is a new post mentioning Scienceroll Search, our personalized medical search engine. Advancing medical search for health professionals is a hot topic. We have already reviewed SearchMedica, GoPubMed, Hakia PubMed and Semantic Medline Cognition -now we turn our attention to ScienceRoll Search Engine. Personalized search home pages such as BuildaSearch, Rollyo and Samfind are not new to the search genre, but well structured medical search engines with credible sources are hard to find. Science Roll is a medical blog run by Bertalan Meskó who, with the help of Polymeta.com has created a well structured medical search database.        (So... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1886430 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:45:13 +0100 1886430 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1870867&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F10%2F11%2Ftwitter-directory-find-professionals-easily%2F I’ve recently come across a useful Twitter Directory, Just Tweet It, on the Open Thinking & Digital Pedagogy blog. A few categories that you may find interesting: Education Health Bloggers Twitter is a microblogging tool where you can post SMS-like messages (only 140 characters). It’s a great channel to interact people from the same field of interest; get answers fast or to make new contacts.        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870867 Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:30:42 +0100 1870867 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1856094&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FpltZ5UlUJRE%2F When I was young my mother would ask me to help her pollinate some of her prized orchids. She would name them ‘var X var’ and the new plant would be slightly different than the one it came from. Little did I know that I was being introduced to genetics. When I got into high school Biology and fell in love with the Punnett square, the rest was history. I pursued Mendel and trained with the leading scientist /adviser in plant breeding in the Philippines, the same professor who trained my mother in college. It was exciting to study the chromosomes of ancient corn species, and later to find the genes that let rice adapt to flood-prone fields. But it was my love for medicine that brought me away from plants and my jade mountain. I went 3000 miles away to the east coast, USA to study... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1856094 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:42:46 +0100 1856094 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1844785&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F10%2F01%2Fmyrl-connecting-virtual-lives%2F Old form of world wide web: We contacted people by e-mail. Web 2.0: We’re connected to each other by social networks. Myrl: Our virtual lives (avatars) are connected to each other. I’m a regular Second Life user but know there are other virtual worlds as well with many different avatars. Why not to connect them to each other? Myrl just does it. Myrl is a social gateway for virtual worlds that allows you to share your virtual life on the web. Discover, browse and play across multiple worlds with Myrl. Live report about what you are doing in your virtual life. You also get a profile for your avatar. And of course, they have a Second Life residence as well: I can’t wait to see how many users they will have in some months…        (... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1844785 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:39:25 +0100 1844785 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1833252&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F09%2F27%2Fwhat%25e2%2580%2599s-on-the-web-27-september-2008-ping-pong-balls-and-forecasting-the-future%2F Woman spots baby’s eye cancer online (MSNBC) It wasn’t easy for Madeleine Robb to send an e-mail to another mom warning that her baby might have a deadly form of eye cancer (retinoblastoma). 2008 NSF Scientific Visualization Awards Announced (Medgadget) Stripped Science: A scientific comic blog from Viktor S. Poór who I met yesterday at the Researchers’ Night in Budapest. Ping pong ball used in surgery (CNN) The Superstruct Game: the world’s first massively multiplayer forecasting game. (PIMM and FMSG)        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1833252 Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:42:02 +0100 1833252 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1833255&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F09%2F27%2Fmeet-a-cancer-survivor-in-second-life%2F First, there will be a medical exercise/intern meeting today at the Ann Myers Medical Center in Second Life at 10:00 SL time. (Teleport link) Topic: marburg. And you can also find a poster at the AMMC about an event organized by the American Cancer Society. Meet a cancer survivor (Child hood Leukemia) on the 28th of September at noon SL time. Details on the poster.        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1833255 Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:34:51 +0100 1833255 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1833698&cid=t_359312_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F403898526%2F Here you have the latest editions of two excellent blog carnivals. Pay a visit if you are interested in meeting some great education and health bloggers. - Carnival of Education #190, by Steve Spangler. - Grand Rounds: this time, hosted by KevinMD and Kim on behalf of Dr. Val. Enjoy! blogs, Education, health, medicine (Source: SharpBrains) SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1833698 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:16:09 +0100 1833698 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1825797&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F09%2F23%2Fgoogle-founder-parkinsons-disease-and-good-marketing%2F Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google, wrote about his genetic predisposition for Parkinson’s Disease on his personal blog. Of course, he shared information from his 23andMe account, what else. His wife, Anne Wojcicki is the co-founder of 23andMe, a personalized genetic company. Because there are only a small number of genes which are known to have a very substantial effect on health (e.g. 10 times the average risk), I felt the possibility of discovering something very important to my health was just a hypothetical exercise. So, when my wife asked me to look up G2019S in my raw data (23andMe scientists had had the forethought to include it on their chip), I viewed it mostly as entertainment. But, of course, I learned something very important to me — I carry the G2019S mutation ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1825797 Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:39:46 +0100 1825797 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2382505&cid=t_359312_107_f&fid=38577&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbiosingularity.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F22%2Feating-veggies-helps-with-chronic-lung-disease%2F You know it’s good for you in other ways, but could eating your broccoli also help patients with chronic lung disease? It just might. According to recent research from Johns Hopkins Medical School, a decrease in lung concentrations of NRF2-dependent antioxidants, key components of the lung’s defense system against inflammatory injury, is linked to the severity [...] (Source: Biosingularity) Biosingularity blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2382505 Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:22:01 +0100 2382505 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1798197&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F09%2F17%2Fhealth-news-in-second-life-new-classes-and-new-guidelines%2F First, here is a review about virtual worlds published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. Fall Classes in Second Life (Alliance Library System) UIUC GSLIS and the Illinois Alliance Library System are pleased to offer a series of non-credit continuing education courses for librarians, educators, and others interested in libraries, learning, and teaching in virtual worlds such as Second Life. Rosania’s Second Life Lab Highlighted in Science 2.0 Presentation (SL at the University of Michigan) Healthcare giants: have clue, will build (Metaverse Health) Second Life: psychology and virtual reality (Dr. Lorenzo Magri): Other psychologists instead propose Second life as a psychoanalytic tool, useful for understanding how the patient perceives as would be and act, what to s... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1798197 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:23:36 +0100 1798197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1782691&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F09%2F10%2Fthe-evolving-health-blogosphere-report%2F Conclusion? As I stated in my recent slideshow from the Medicine 2.0 Congress, do not blog anonymously. And just one more comment about bloggers who publish content from PR people. They send me a letter about a new medical service, I write about it so I can inform my readers, PR guys get promotion, everybody is happy. That’s how web 2.0 is supposed to work… (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1782691 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:11:00 +0100 1782691 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1754774&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fx7BUrH3HJiQ%2F So as you may not, or may, have noticed, there is still some wonkiness going up with this blog. The good folks who handle are matters technological, software-related, and the like, have been working hard to migrate b5media’s blogs over to a new server and all should be well, webpages should load and updates occur, very soon. One (”adverse effect?“) of the server migration has been that the sidebar (to your right) has not been updating with recent posts and recent comments. So if a comment is left on a post written a couple weeks or months ago, unless you’ve decided to sit down and read every single post (which I don’t recommend; some posts are more post-worthy than others), some good comments will go missed. I’ve rounded up a few of them below, with a bi... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1754774 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 05:00:45 +0100 1754774 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1739218&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F08%2F29%2Fmynetresearch-the-newest-addition-to-the-squad%2F The newest addition to the List of Community Sites for Scientists and Physicians is MyNetResearch. Our purpose is to assist you in maximizing your research productivity through global collaborations. We all have outstanding colleagues, yet have felt the disappointment of these colleagues not sharing our research interests and passions. This is not modern research-at least it’s not what research should be in the 21st century. Why be limited to local research collaborations when there are hundreds or even thousands of research experts across the world with whom you could have highly productive collaborations? (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1739218 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:41:15 +0100 1739218 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1739221&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F08%2F27%2Fgenomic-medicine-on-cd%2F Helix Gene, The Foundation for Genomic Health Education just released two Clinicasts on CDs to let us listen to valuable discussions about genomic medicine while sitting in a traffic jam. An excerpt from the mission statement: The foundation’s mission is to educate all healthcare participants about the promise of genomic medicine and enable its delivery to the patient. You can order those here. CliniCast #1: How Genomic Medicine Is Changing the Management of Breast & Ovarian Cancer CliniCast #2: How Genomic Medicine Improves the Accuracy of Warfarin Dosing (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1739221 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:02:57 +0100 1739221 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1734039&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F08%2F25%2Fhealth-news-in-second-life-government-and-virtual-patients%2F Virtual patients in Second Life (Resilient Ambassadors of Change): A great compilation of examples why SL is useful in education. University of Arkansas Researchers Combine Technologies to Heal Patients, Virtually Fat people get online chance to lose weight People who are obese in the real world will get the opportunity to participate in a research project conducted entirely in the virtual world to help their avatars - and hopefully their real-life selves - lose weight and get in better shape. The New World Grid: Where is the future of Second Life? Virtual Ability Island Grand Opening! (Health & Medicine in Second Life) A Second Life for government? (Extended Reach): Just one example, global language learning: (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1734039 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:54:12 +0100 1734039 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1704752&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F08%2F14%2Fdisaster-map%2F There is an interesting, interactive map of disasters and emergencies worldwide. You can also see and read more about recent epidemic hot points. It was created by the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications; Emergency and Disaster Information Services (EDIS); Budapest Hungary. You can order free AlertMail or event report. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1704752 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:10:45 +0100 1704752 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1700780&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F08%2F12%2Fscientific-events-in-second-life%2F What can you do if you would like to know what kind of scientific and health events you should attend in Second Life? Here are some useful links: Calendar of SL Health Events: Maintained by the SlHealthy Wiki Home of Second Nature (island of NPG): All the events organized on the island of Nature Publishing Group Scifoo lives on series: The last event was organized for 23andMe. SL Science Center: a public Google Calendar with listings of all upcoming science-related events in Second Life (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1700780 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:38:36 +0100 1700780 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1696247&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F08%2F11%2Fmedicine-20-carnival-at-sharpbrains%2F The 30th edition is up at the SharpBrains blog! Check out all the posts and news about the world of medicine 2.0 and health 2.0. Thank you, Alvaro Fernandez, for hosting Medicine 2.0! Medicine 2.0 is a blog carnival about the impact of web 2.0 on medicine and healthcare. Medicine 2.0 editions so far: Edition #1: Scienceroll Edition #2: Scienceroll Edition #3: Medical 2.0 Edition #4: Healthline Connects Edition #5: The Health Wisdom Blog Edition #6: Sharp Brains Edition #7: DavidRothman.net Edition #8: Constructive Medicine Edition #9: Clinical Cases and Images Edition #10: Highlight HEALTH Edition #11: The Health Wisdom Blog Edition#12: Medical 2.0 Edition #13: Web 2.0 and Medicine Edition #14: Medical Education Blog Edition #15: MedBlog.nl Edition #16: Monash Medical Student Edition #17... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1696247 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:11:30 +0100 1696247 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1688977&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F08%2F07%2Fdonating-eggs-to-make-financial-ends-meet%2F CNN writes in a recent article, Dim economy drives woman to donate eggs for profit, that fertility clinics across the country are reporting they are fielding more calls lately from women interested in egg donation that this time last year. They cite people like Robin von Halle, president of Alternative Reproductive Resources, who reports that her Chicago agency is currently getting up to 50 calls a day. This time last year, they were only recieving 10 to 30 calls a day. But is it hard cold cash or increased awareness that is fueling this apparent surge in egg donation interest? Given that these are tough economic times and an egg donor can recevie compensation in the range of $5000 to $10000, it stands to reason that there is a strong financial motive behind becoming an egg donor. But whil... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1688977 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:30:50 +0100 1688977 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1679392&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34935&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedicine.com.my%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D3922 We now know, due to the pioneering work of Warren and Marshall (the duo won the Nobel prize in Medicine in 2005) that Helicobacter pylori is the cause of most stomach ulcers. It has also been linked with stomach cancer. But will eradication of Helicobacter pylori prevent the development of stomach cancer? Previous trials in this area have shown inconclusive results. Recently, Japanese workers published work in The Lancet which shows that eradication of H. pylori has an impact on preventing recurrence of gastric cancer. The BBC reports: Patients with early stomach cancer underwent a procedure to remove the cancerous cells and surrounding tissue. Half of them were then treated with a course of drugs designed to eradicate H. pylori - lansoprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin - and half rec... Malaysian Medical Resources blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1679392 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1679392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1605963&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F332021835%2F A new study in the July 2008 issue of Autism finds that acetaminophen use after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination was associated with autistic disorder: The present study was performed to determine whether acetaminophen (paracetamol) use after the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination could be associated with autistic disorder. This case-control study used the results of an online parental survey conducted from 16 July 2005 to 30 January 2006, consisting of 83 children with autistic disorder and 80 control children. Acetaminophen use after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination was significantly associated with autistic disorder when considering children 5 years of age or less (OR 6.11, 95% CI 1.42—26.3), after limiting cases to children with regression in development (OR 3.97, 95% CI 1.11—14.3... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1605963 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:00:17 +0100 1605963 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1563948&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F07%2F03%2Fpubmedfight%2F You definitely know Googlefight where you can compare the number of search results returned by Google for two terms or expressions (Wikipedia). What about a similar tool in health science? Here is Pubmedfight, a French tool, with which you can compare authors by their number of publications in Pubmed. It’s more than funny… (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1563948 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:47:30 +0100 1563948 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1551318&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F06%2F27%2Fzap-your-migraine-away-with-magnets%2F In this study,  researchers worked with 201 people who suffer from “migraine with aura” migraines. Half of them were given a genuine magnetic stimulation device and the other half a ‘pseudo’ magnetic stimulation device that was unable to provide a magnet current. Both groups were told to place the device to the back of their heads as soon as the aura feeling began. The test results showed that 39% of those using the genuine magnetic device remained pain-free two hours after using the device, whereas only 22% of those with the ‘pseudo’ device remained pain-free. The results, researchers say, are promising. As migraine sufferers know, there is no definitive treatment for migraines. Currently there are three main treatment options… Migraine avoid... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1551318 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:33:02 +0100 1551318 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1543513&cid=t_359312_105_f&fid=36199&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoctorz.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F06%2F25%2Fon-targets%2F I’ve been thinking recently about targets. In general in the NHS it’s considered that ‘Targets’ are a bad thing. If for instance you have a pet loving Minister of Health set a target that all hospitals should see all people who have a pet dog at home within 33.3 minutes of arrival, then low and behold it will happen. Because that’s where the money will go. Now this is excellent for the people with dogs but not for the people with exotic fish who will be waiting for 3 hours 59 minutes in A and E with everyone else. Now take MRSA bacteriaemia - this is a bad thing. Of course so the government sets targets that hospitals should try and avoid it. So hospitals discover that if you don’t do blood cultures you... FtM Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1543513 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:28:49 +0100 1543513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1535797&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F06%2F21%2Ftwitter-for-health-and-medicine%2F I’m a fan of Patricia F. Anderson. For the reason why, see this slideshow about the role of Twitter in medicine and healthcare. (Via Emerging Technologies Librarian) If you want to follow me on Twitter, click here. If you want to follow Patricia, click here. If you want to follow Tim O’Reilly, click here. If you want to read every news about Second Life, click here. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1535797 Sat, 21 Jun 2008 10:53:38 +0100 1535797 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1526102&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F06%2F18%2Frevisit-lakshmi-the-girl-born-with-eight-limbs-this-weekend-on-national-geographic-channel%2F Remember Lakshmi Tatma, a Indian girl who was born with four arms and four legs. We first wrote about her in December 2007, saying… The people of her rural Indian village did not see this as a deformity. They believed that she was a ‘gift from God’, christened her ‘Lakshmi‘ after the four-armed Hindu Goddess of wealth, and queued outside the house to be blessed by the girl. But the actual cause of the extra limbs was that the girl had a twin who hadn’t fully developed and instead became attached to Lakshmi’s body at the pelvis. Lakshmi made headlines around the world last month when a team of surgeons spent 27 hours removing the extra limbs, separating her spinal cord and kidney from the twin, re-orientating the bladder and genital systems, and then closing up the pelvic ... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1526102 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:11:14 +0100 1526102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1494443&cid=t_359312_105_f&fid=36199&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoctorz.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F06%2F05%2Fhow-do-i-title-this-one%2F Gran is tired, all she’s doing is sitting on the sofa, and in pain. She’s sleeping most of the day. Since Christmas she’s had suspicious symptoms that might be cancer. She’s refused tests. And now she’s getting worse. Her neighbours are worried, she’s stopped collecting the milk, she’s stopped going out,she’s even stopped looking after her beloved tortoises properly (though the neighbours are helping with that). She won’t go into hospital, or have any tests. Her Doctor’s visiting today - to see if there’s anything that can be done if there is we don’t know if we can get her to take medication. She may, we hope consent to a blood tests, she’s just given up. She needs someone to stay with... FtM Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1494443 Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:42:05 +0100 1494443 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1492119&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F06%2F03%2Fscholarznet-for-better-research-and-academic-writing%2F Scholarz.net, as stated on their website, is an online-software for better research and academic writing. It offers reference management, knowledge organisation, social knowledge and research community. I’m pretty sure this video will explain it all: You can: display your knowledge multi-dimensionally capture your ideas assign data to exactly where you need it search the public knowledge base build your research community It seems to be a useful tool but I have to use it for more to see whether it’s better than Connotea or 2collab. Here are some other similar sites. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1492119 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:39:38 +0100 1492119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1472444&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F05%2F27%2F8-drugs-doctors-wouldnt-even-take-do-you%2F Image details: Thinkstock Single Images served by picapp.com Well now, here’s something you don’t see every day: an article stating the names of meds that doctors wouldn’t take. Yikes. These must be really nasty then, eh? Well, we make no claims as such, but there surely is fair enough warning against them that we thought we’d pass ‘em along to you. For the hows and whys, read the entire article. But for now, here’s a quick look. 1. Advair (for asthma) 2. Avandia (for diabetes) 3. Celebrex (for arthritis / pain releif) 4. Ketek (antibiotic) 5. Prilosec (for heartburn) 6. Nexium (for heartburn) 7. Visine Original (for eyes) 8. Pseudoephedrine (decongestant) Yikes! I see a couple on this list that I have taken or used before, how about you? If so, be sure ... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1472444 Tue, 27 May 2008 18:22:19 +0100 1472444 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1467009&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F05%2F24%2Fcommunity-sites-for-scientists-and-physicians-the-list%2F I’ve already come up with lists of the best medical places in Second Life; the best medical wikis and the best services with medical videos/animations. So it’s time to dedicate another one to community sites created for scientists and physicians. This idea came to my mind when I read the post of Bora Zivkovic. ResearchGATE: Registered users of the free-of-charge platform can present their research work in a personal profile, exchange messages and build groups for peer-to-peer discussions (more). Nature Network: Nature Network is the online meeting place for you and fellow scientists to gather, talk and find out about the latest scientific news and events. Science is an international endeavor and deserves a global stage for discussion. SciLink: an online community with t... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1467009 Sat, 24 May 2008 20:33:11 +0100 1467009 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1466022&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F05%2F24%2Fsexbolt-saturday-put-down-the-viagra-if-youre-shooting-for-baby%2F Sorry, all, but if hopes of a little Junior is in your future, the fellas may need to look to a more natural way to treat their Erectile Dysfunction, as opposed to reaching for those new-fangled prescriptions. See, while standbys like Viagra, Levitra and Cialias are great for bringing willy to attention, it seems this class of drugs (PDE inhibitors) are not so great on a man’s swimmers. According to a test-tube study by British researchers, a typical dose of an ED drug doubles the risk of premature damage to sperm, compared to sperm which was not treated. This means that the outer layer of the sperm head breaks down before it reaches the female egg, preventing the sperm’s grand entrance, and thus, conception. Of course, while you may not be a case who assumes the double risk,... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1466022 Sat, 24 May 2008 11:00:41 +0100 1466022 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1454559&cid=t_359312_105_f&fid=36199&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoctorz.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F20%2Freasons-why-its-fairly-useful-being-a-transsexual-doctor%2F As opposed to any other sort of transsexual. Christ (who, incidentally, I don’t believe was the son of god) knows why I decided to post these, but I thought they’d be interesting facts. I realised today I was grateful to have my career, not just because it involves a lot of interesting thinking and also helping people, though mainly thinking to be honest. But also because it makes being trans sooo much easier. If there’s a war you can sign up and fight and be a man without a lack of upper body strength preventing you. Because you don’t actually have to be a bio man to be a military field doctor Good history James Barry for instance and women have been disgising themselves as men to become Doctors for years. Control - if you c... FtM Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1454559 Mon, 19 May 2008 23:36:10 +0100 1454559 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1433779&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F05%2F10%2Fthe-21st-century-in-medicine-what-will-it-look-like%2F Jeffrey Dach used one of my recent posts (Personalized Medicine: Real Clinical Examples!) as a reference in his article describing the future of medicine. It’s a quite detailed and comprehensive essay about several fields of medicine and he doesn’t forget to mention personalized medicine and its impact on the future of healthcare: Personalized Medicine is the combination of these two new powerful forces, Orthomolecular Medicine and Genetic Testing. In the future, Personalized Medicine will expand and ultimately play a dominant role in medicine. Example: Warfarin Genetic Testing allows improved calibration of coumadin dosage to avoid bleeding complications. Drug metabolism testing allows for personal modification of drug dosage. Orthomolecular and personalized medicine together?... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1433779 Sat, 10 May 2008 21:37:30 +0100 1433779 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1429102&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F285843297%2F The decision to put an autistic child on medication is never easy for a parent to think about. When the medications in question are antipsychotics (like Risperdal) and antidepressants (like Zoloft), and when the child is disabled and has little or no language to explain how he feels while on the meds, a parent has to proceed with caution. Weight gain is a frequently reported side effect of taking Risperdal and a new study on the use of antipsychotic medications in children indicates that taking these drugs results in an almost immediate increases in body mass index (BMI) and triglyceride levels, as reported in the May 7th WedMD. John Newcomer, MD, the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, presented preliminary research from a study of children taking Zyprexa, Risperdal, or... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1429102 Thu, 08 May 2008 04:55:24 +0100 1429102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1426498&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F05%2F07%2Fpersonalized-genetics-privacy-and-the-virtual-gene%2F Here is the regular post about the recent improvements of individualized medicine. This week, T. Ryan Gregory at Genomicron attempted to define the term genome. While The New York Times tried to redefine disease, genes and all. Daniel MacArthur at Genetic Future reported the low technical error rates for personal genomics companies: Of the 560,299 sites analysed by both companies (23andMe and DecodeMe), just 23 showed a different result between the two scans! Funny number, isn’t it? Another privacy threat: personal genome projects (Kyose Blog): What if a unauthorized person get access to the 23andme database? He will have a lot of information about many people. Ok, they can use strong encrypting algorithms but we know there is no 100% secure system. Maybe providing a anonymous se... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1426498 Wed, 07 May 2008 08:36:47 +0100 1426498 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1413481&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F05%2F01%2Fhealth-news-in-second-life-virtual-conference%2F Second Life is a virtual world with more and more educational resources and in this series, I try to keep you up-to-date about these. Second Life, Education: Health Science Endeavors in Second Life? Always growing! (EBM and Clinical Support Librarians@UCHC):A really comprehensive compilation of what we have now in Second Life in the medical field. Search in Second Life Opens Up! (Health & Medicine in Second Life): The new build-in browser in SL opens up massive opportunities to search in web-based resources out there on the Web. The site of Second Nature on Nature.com is quite impressive: International Virtual Association of Surgeons (iVAS) Conference in Second Life (Resilient Ambassadors of Change): No travel arrangements, no hotel, no last minute flight hassles, no cost, no... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1413481 Thu, 01 May 2008 18:39:13 +0100 1413481 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1413482&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F05%2F01%2Fthe-mission-of-navigenics-interview%2F Navigenics is a company focusing on personalized genetics and it launched its service just weeks ago. Dr. Dietrich Stephan, a human geneticist at Navigenics, agreed to answer some of my questions. As a co-founder, why did you take part in constructing such a service? My mother died of breast cancer when she was in her early 30’s due to a missed lump. This shaped my career and guided me toward developing effective early diagnostics and new knowledge-based therapies for human disease. I have been working in academia for the last 15 years to identify gene variants that cause human disease. My group has been involved in identifying the gentic basis of a dozen monogenic diseases that now allows early genetic testing following the established principles of medical genetics and genetic c... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1413482 Thu, 01 May 2008 18:16:30 +0100 1413482 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1413433&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F05%2F01%2Fre-mission-a-video-game-that-helps-kids-fight-cancer%2F Fighting cancer is no game. But thanks to HopeLab, there is a video game designed to help empower kids with cancer. The video game is Re-Mission and it features an intrepid nanobot called Roxxi who journeys through cancer patients bodies, destroying the cancer cells, fighting the infections, and dealing with the side effects usually associated with different cancers and cancer treatments. If you think it’s just another video game, think again. To ensure that Re-Mission was on track to help cancer suffers, a controlled research study was undertaken prior to the game’s release. 375 cancer patients between the ages of 13 and 29 from the United States, Australia, and Canada were recruited to test the games effectiveness. Here are the results… “Re-Mission significantly enh... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1413433 Thu, 01 May 2008 10:27:25 +0100 1413433 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1402328&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F04%2F27%2Fthe-sunday-sidebar-11%2F From Reuters…. “Rumours of penis theft began circulating last week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo’s sprawling capital of some 8 million inhabitants. They quickly dominated radio call-in shows, with listeners advised to beware of fellow passengers in communal taxis wearing gold rings.” Black magic, it seems, is alive and well in Congo. Thirteen suspected sorcerers have been arrested and accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men’s penises. The victims claim that these ’sorcerers’ touched them and that made their genitals shrink or even disappear. Fact or Fiction?  Could the ‘curse’ become the cure? Japanese scientists at Keio University have harvested connective tissue from menstrual blood and from it managed to gr... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1402328 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:39:29 +0100 1402328 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1379426&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F04%2F17%2Fpatient-stories-post-polio-syndrome%2F I’ve been planning to write this post for a while, so it is time to show you some links about a condition that affects about 25 percent to 50 percent of polio survivors. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, post-polio syndrome: Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is a condition that affects polio survivors years after recovery from an initial acute attack of the poliomyelitis virus. PPS is mainly characterized by new weakening in muscles that were previously affected by the polio infection and in muscles that seemingly were unaffected. Symptoms include slowly progressive muscle weakness, unaccustomed fatigue (both generalized and muscular), and, at times, muscle atrophy. Pain from joint degeneration and increasing skeletal deformities such as scoliosis are... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1379426 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:43:55 +0100 1379426 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1369097&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F04%2F13%2Fthe-sunday-sidebar-10%2F Lots of interesting news this week. Let’s talk transplants… US doctors at John Hopkins Hospital recently performed what is believed to be the world’s first simulanteous six-way kidney transplant. Can you imagine that? Twelve people were operated on at the same time, with kidneys removed from six people and transplanted into six other people. Why all at once? In the words of Jeanne Heise who received a kidney from one donor while her husband was donating a kidney to another patient… “The waiting list for a kidney is very long and too many people die while waiting. With this group procedure, more and more people can beat kidney disease and live long productive lives.” John Hopkins Hospital helped pioneer this system which matches up several groups of peopl... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1369097 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 11:06:34 +0100 1369097 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1360551&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F04%2F09%2Fblood-sucking-beauty%2F Leeches - nature’s blood-suckers - have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Egyptian medics believed that by sucking out the bad blood, leeches could help cure patients of everything from fevers to flatulence. And in medieval Europe, leeches were so commonly used by the the medical profession that the physicians themselves were called ‘leeches’. Today, leeches are often used in plastic and reconstructive surgery because of their anticoagulant properties which help fights against blood clots. In other words, leeches really do have a place in the world of health and medicine. But leeches as a ‘beauty treatment’ ? Who would have thought ? Not many of us until Demi Moore let slip that she recently participated in ‘leech therapy’ to... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1360551 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:44:40 +0100 1360551 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1352163&cid=t_359312_105_f&fid=36199&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoctorz.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F04%2F05%2Fi-woke-up-this-morning-with-rheumatoid-arthritis%2F I woke up this morning to find I had developed Rheumatoid Arthritis. A symeterical arthritis in a slightly different distribution to RA, and thankfully sparing my hands. I was stiff all over, it hurt my ankles just to weight bear. I lay in bed for a while wondering what to do. Thankfully my hands were spared but they  might be affected in the future. If I was going to be like this all the time then how am I ever going to work? I can’t run to a cardiac arrest like this, and I can’t perform CPR. I decided to not mention the pain to anyone and go and buy income protection insurance so I could at least still pay my mortgage. Then how would I get treatment? I could do a blood test myself for RF and CRP, and ESR and HLA B27 (just in case it’s Ank Spond). There there’s tr... FtM Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1352163 Sat, 05 Apr 2008 09:37:14 +0100 1352163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1327534&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F258161026%2F A study in the March 2008 volume of Pediatrics on psychotropic medication use among Medicaid-enrolled children with autism spectrum disorders noted that there is “ongoing debate” about the uses of psychotropic medications. Only Risperidone, an atypical neuroleptic, has received FDA approval to treat autistic children for aggression and irritability. The AAP study also noted that “medication use is common among children with ASDs and seems to be increasing.” The study sample included 60,641 children under the age of 21 with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis or an Asperger syndrome diagnosis. Most of the children in the study were 6-11 years old (45%); most were male (78%) and white (50%); and most were eligible for Medicaid because of disability (71%). Of these c... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1327534 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:55:09 +0100 1327534 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1317796&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F03%2F20%2Fpersonalized-genetics-the-user-aspect%2F As personalized genetics is still rising, users start to write more and more posts about these genetic services. And this user aspect should and will play a major role in the future of genomic medicine. Spit Challenge: Fill Tube With 2.5ml of Saliva in Under 146sec: He just recieved the 23andMe saliva kit. Hsien at Eye on DNA had an important message for us: Do not trust any genetic testing company that does not make it clear what genetic variants they are analyzing. Never let anyone take your DNA unless they are clear about what they plan to do with it, what information they will give you from the analysis, and what they’ll do with the DNA after all the testing is complete. You are the consumer. You have the right to choose and the right to say no. Steve Murphy asks an interestin... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1317796 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:32:53 +0100 1317796 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1261615&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F02%2F27%2Fno-needles-pleaseim-belonephobic%2F                                            (photo credit) Liberty posted last week about a great way to deal with injections. “Next time you find yourself with a needle barreling toward any one of your body parts, revert back to your toddler days and begin counting out loud to anyone who will listen. And why is that? Because Japanese researchers were good enough to find that counting may effectively numb you to injection pain. “ It’s a great idea and will probably work for the majority of people having to face the needle. But for a small percentage of us (and yes, I include myself), the idea of injections and needles turn us into quivering, irrational messes. We are needle phobic and it’s no laughing matter. There’s an... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1261615 Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:46:13 +0100 1261615 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1237613&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F236362329%2F Neon-bright marquees and music (from B.B. King’s theater–Buckwheat Zydeco is playing) and tour buses driving up halfway onto 42nd street and Russian Spanish Korean Twi being spoken and the smell of the gyros and steam from the subway grates: That was what Charlie walked through, holding Jim’s arm and grinning, with my parents and me bringing up the rear on Saturday afternoon in New York City. Too much going on, same as the topics for the past two weeks’ posts. What’s It All About, Eli? (2): Keeping the FaithWhile the court case that the main character of ABC’s legal drama, Eli Stone, successfully argues in the show’s first episode involves vaccines and “mercuritol,” a stand-in for thimerasol that is claimed to have caused a child to b... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1237613 Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:03:25 +0100 1237613 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1229227&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F02%2F13%2Frehab-or-wii-hab%2F                                   Rehabilitation therapy is an integral part of recovery for those suffering from accident injuries, combat wounds, and medical conditions such as strokes. But it involves routine, repetitive, and boring exercises such as stretching, lifting, and balancing - physical tasks that many patients find stressful and tedious. Nintendo’s Wii video game system is changing all that. Using the game consoles motion sensitive controller, Wii games such as baseball, golf, and tennis involve body movements akin to those of traditional physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Not only that, the Wii gaming system is so engrossing, that patients often forget the pain while they’re playing the game. In fact, wii-hab is becoming a big hit wi... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1229227 Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:25:48 +0100 1229227 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1192817&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F02%2F01%2Ftoday-is-national-wear-red-day%2F                         February 1st is National Wear Red Day throughout America. Forget your usual working suit and dig out that red dress, shirt or tie and put it on.  Wear red to indicate your awareness that heart disease is the number one killer of women. And I’m not talking broken heart here. Believe it or not, you can recover from a broken heart (How to Get Over a Broken Heart). I’m talking about coronary heart disease which usually develops over many years causing narrowing and blocking of the arteries. If undetected and untreated it can easily result in heart attack and death.  Here’s some scary statistics: • Heart disease is the #1 killer of American women. • One in every three women dies of heart disease. One in 30 dies of breast ... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1192817 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 08:56:53 +0100 1192817 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1189989&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F01%2F31%2Fis-super-bowl-sunday-bad-for-your-health%2F                                     (photo credit) Remember the old joke that many wives across America become ‘football widows’ on Super Bowl Sunday. Well, a new study published a couple of day ago in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that for some this could well become a reality. The acute stress and emotional rollercoaster that dedicated fans embark on when watching important sporting events could have serious side effects for anyone with a history of heart problems. Researchers studying the occurrence of cardiac events (heart attack, irregular heart rhythms, and cardiac arrest) suffered by German soccer fans watching games during the 2006 World Cup in Germany found that the number of cardiac events more than doubled on the day... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1189989 Thu, 31 Jan 2008 06:54:54 +0100 1189989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1182779&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F01%2F28%2Fsneak-preview-of-baghdad-hospital-inside-the-red-zone%2F Anyone ever see Baghdad ER, the award winning HBO documentary that focused on a American military hospital treating wounded soldiers. Raw and often graphic, it exposed us to the reality of war. Well, HBO is about to air a new documentary, only this time the focus is on a Iraqi hospital treating civilian Iraqis wounded by gunfire and explosives. Here’s how HBO describes it… BAGHDAD HOSPITAL: INSIDE THE RED ZONE is the story of Dr. Omer Salih Mahdi, who put himself and his colleagues at risk to film inside Al-Yarmouk hospital, whose emergency room is too dangerous for an American crew. With the documentary’s HBO debut, Dr. Mahdi reveals his identity to the world for the first time. Until now, he has remained anonymous to protect himself and his family. Dr. Mahdi’s fac... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1182779 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:34:12 +0100 1182779 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1176064&cid=t_359312_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F01%2F24%2Fmedical-googler-or-cyberchondriac%2F                                                                 Cyberchondriac (sy bur KA WN dree ak) n. - a person who imagines they have a particular disease because their symptoms match those listed on an Internet health site. You’re spending an extraordinary amount of time on the internet seeking out information on medical conditions, digging yourself deeper and deeper in into the abyss. Does that make you a medical googler or a cyberchondriac? Here’s a clue - do you feel better or worse at the end of your search? A medical googler, such as myself who seeks out medical information for the purpose of writing will feel great at the end of the search. Having found something interesting and informative to to write a... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1176064 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:15:29 +0100 1176064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1146417&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F01%2F11%2Fpersonalized-genetics-lets-get-it-started%2F I didn’t expect to see so many articles dedicated to personalized genetics in the first days of 2008. Recently, I’ve found too many to include all of them in my series. That’s why I tried to share only the most interesting thoughts/opinions/blogposts about individualized medicine with you. Be prepared for plenty of links and quotes! An emerging field always gets some more attention when a serious article is published in a quality journal. This time, the New England Journal of Medicine wrote a report on these genetic companies. The skepticisim in the article is really correct: For the patient asking whether these services provide information that is useful for disease avoidance, the prudent answer is “Not now — ask again in a few years.” You can also listen t... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1146417 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:49:04 +0100 1146417 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1131709&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F01%2F05%2Fnew-tips-how-to-search-for-genetic-conditions%2F Last year, I came up with a list containg 10 tips on how to search for genetic conditions. Now, after weeks of tagging and browsing, I’d like to improve that list with some new tips. But this time, I’d like to show you databases dedicated not only to genetic conditions, but gene-disease associations and human genome epidemiology as well. Human Genome Epidemiology Network (HuGENet™ ): A global collaboration of individuals & organizations committed to the assessment of the impact of human genome variation on population health & how genetic information can be used to improve health & prevent disease. HuGE Navigator: It provides access to a continuously updated knowledge base in human genome epidemiology, including information on population prevalence of gen... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1131709 Sat, 05 Jan 2008 20:01:14 +0100 1131709 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1122161&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F12%2F30%2Fpersonalized-genetics-the-last-words-in-2007%2F I promise these will be the last words about personalized genetics thiy year. The “hypest” topic of 2007 was individualized medicine, no doubt about it. When I first read the announcement of 23andMe, I wanted to use their service, but as a European, it’s still impossible. So here are others who have recently recieved their results. Personal Genome Results from 23andMe and deCODEme (Eye on DNA) Everything you need to last you two lifetimes (Free Association) Have you been thinking about the medical breakthroughs of the year? Well, Science described some of them: It’s All About Me: Personal Genomics Human Genetic Variation Individualized medicine has serious scientific aspects: Personalized molecular medicine may revolutionize treatment of genetic disorders Imp... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1122161 Sun, 30 Dec 2007 21:14:05 +0100 1122161 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1108715&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F203686639%2F Back in June, scientists at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) genetically manipulated mice to have Fragile X Syndrome: Then, by inhibiting a brain enzyme, p21-activated kinase, or PAK (which “affects the number, size and shape of connections between neurons and the brain”), the scientists found that the “brain abnormalities in the FXS mice were reversed.” These findings were reported in the June 25-29 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Fragile X is the most common form of heritable mental retardation and the leading identifiable cause of autism (responsible for about 5% of cases of autism). Today, the journal Neuron reports on the correction of Fragile X syndrome in mice. Many of the symptoms... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1108715 Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:04:58 +0100 1108715 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1097237&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F12%2F15%2Freggie-bibbs-and-the-just-ask-neurofibromatosis-campaign%2F Fellow Wikipedia editor and friend, Michaël Laurent, has recently asked me to take part in a great project: to interview Reggie Bibbs on his life with neurofibromatosis. I only wrote a short description of the condition, the work was totally done by Michaël and the interview was conducted by Lou Congelio. You should check out the whole story at WikiNews. Here is an excerpt. Reggie Bibbs is a 42-year-old-man living in Houston, Texas. Mr Bibbs was born with a genetic disease called neurofibromatosis (NF), which causes him to develop tumours on his body. NF can be a subtle disease, but in Bibbs’ case it has left him with a disfigured face. But he is happy with the way he looks, and doesn’t want to change his appearance to please other people. He has launched a succesful campaign... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1097237 Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:19:27 +0100 1097237 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1068052&cid=t_359312_113_f&fid=36671&url=http%3A%2F%2Fopen.medicdrive.org%2Fblog%2F2007%2F12%2F03%2Fpersonal-health-record-offline-vs-online%2F Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll. The recent surge in activities around Personal Health Record business sector has been burgeoning.After the planned entry of Google Health by Google ,which was anticipated to change the health care system in North America,there was increased media speculation about Microsoft being left behind.But,Microsoft had their own plans with the entry of Microsoft Health Vault.There are numerous myths about the battle fought between Microsoft and Google on Health Sector.Microsoft Health Vault is just a platform,it is a collection of different vendors selling PHR products.Microsoft offers a environment in which all these vendors of PHR products could be together.What Google plans is going to... Constructive Medicine 2.0 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1068052 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:48:17 +0100 1068052 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1064902&cid=t_359312_93_f&fid=36200&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.jammedph.com%2Fmenstrual-blood-as-source-of-stem-cells%2F Stem cells have been considered as promising breakthrough as cancer treatments. Potential sources such as skin cells, bone marrow cells, etc., have been widely researched. It seems that there is addition to these sources as researchers from a biotechnology firm in Arizona discovered the endometrial regenerative cells. Ethical issues have been raised regarding this new form of medical treatment. Stem cells come from two main sources: embryos or adult tissues. Embryonic stem cells can give rise to virtually any cell type in the body, but they are controversial because conventional procedures for obtaining them involve the destruction of an embryo. Adult stem cells, such as those found in bone marrow, do not pose the same ethical concerns, but they have limited powers and collecting them ca... Jammed: Full into Capacity blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1064902 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:19:33 +0100 1064902 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1063577&cid=t_359312_105_f&fid=36199&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoctorz.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F12%2F01%2Fi-predict-another-riot%2F My friend who is Associate College Tutor went to a meeting yesterday. As you know after the MTAS debacle I was one of the lucky ones who was offered run through training in Medicine. This felt like a good thing. So I turned down the offer of a job in the Southern Hemisphere where I’d have learnt lots of medicine and by now be able to do a C-Section and an anaesthetic. At the same time. So now I have this job. Except there are 27 medical specialities and you have to allocate the 81 trainees amoung them. In the era of Pre-Modern Medicine this is how you would go about getting a training number in your choosen speciality: Pass MRCP Get a stand alone SHO job in your chosen speciality if it’s not been on your Medical Rotation Do some research in sai... FtM Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1063577 Sat, 01 Dec 2007 10:17:03 +0100 1063577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1005596&cid=t_359312_107_f&fid=36585&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FHighlightHealth%2F%7E3%2F180099754%2F This article was published on Highlight HEALTH. (Source: Highlight HEALTH) Highlight HEALTH blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1005596 Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:59:50 +0100 1005596 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=979208&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F25%2Fpersonalized-genetics-coffee-cancer-and-a-pharmacogenomic-therapy%2F Even if I should study emergency medicine now, I would like to share interesting and useful links with you. Here are the most important articles, announcements of personalized genetics from the last few days. This edition focuses on breast cancer: Pharmacogenomics Rising (The Gene Sherpa): LabCorp will study the role of polymoprhisms in cytochrome p450 2D6 and women’s response to breast cancer. Individual Genetics, Coffee Consumption, BRCA1 and Breast Cancer (Highlight HEALTH): An other fantastic review from Walter Jessen. A recent report suggests that caffeine protects against breast cancer in women that have a BRCA1 gene mutation. Medicare and Genetic Testing for Cancer Risk (Cancer and Your Genes): Check out the article for the explanation: A cardinal rule in clinical cancer... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=979208 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:03:39 +0100 979208 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=961684&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F18%2Fthe-mother-of-the-year%2F We need to educate laypeople about their own health. It’s the responsibility of medical professionals to educate those who don’t know too much about their own health. Here is a good example: (Hat tip: BoingBoing) What should you watch if you’d like to know more about your own health? Let’s start with some exceptional blogs: Genetics and Health Healthbolt Highlight Health Med Journal Watch Sleep Doctor the story of healing Healthline Connects Oh and what is the problem with the picture? Jauniaux E,Burton GJ. : Morphological and biological effects of maternal exposure to tobacco smoke on the feto-placental unit. Early Hum Dev. 2007 Sep 25; Active and passive maternal smoking has a damaging effect in every trimester of human pregnancy. Cigarette smoke contains sc... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=961684 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:43:11 +0100 961684 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=949725&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthegenesherpa.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F10%2Fmedicine20.html I am sitting here listening to "Genetic Screening. What the PMD needs to Know" It is a presentation given by Monica Giovanni. Monica is a genetic counselor who works at Harvard. She is helping Dr Mike Murray build an "Adult Genetics" clinic. They have recently applied for governmental funding to set up a pharmacogenetics clinic.I am prepping for my talk that I will be presenting at noon. The conference is called The Genetic Basis of Adult Disease. It is a CME course at Harvard and I am excited to see that we have about 140 physicians sitting in this ballroom. There are physicians from as far away as China and as near as Boston. I hope that they will take away one message......It is time to learn genetics.What is my talk on? Adult Cystic Fibrosis. I know, you may be saying "Why not personal... Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=949725 Sun, 14 Oct 2007 12:19:00 +0100 949725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=947386&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F168998712%2F “A childhood free of serious illness is now taken for granted.” So writes Paul Howard in an op-ed in today’ Washington Post that is entitled On Vaccines, Immune to Reason. Howard is Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute Center for Medical Progress, is Editor of the daily blog Medical Progress Today. It is this assumption—belief—-that Howards suggests is one reason that, despite more and more scientific evidence to the contrary, many still think that there is a link between vaccines and autism. Howard concludes: ….critics are effectively demanding that scientists prove that thimerosal does not cause illness — an impossible standard. The very success of vaccines has become their downfall. As Dr. [Paul] Offit writes in Vaccinated, “When [vacc... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=947386 Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:05:44 +0100 947386 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=791399&cid=t_359312_99_f&fid=35344&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzackarysholemberger.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F08%2Fincrementalism-versus-single-payer.html Incrementalism versus single-payer health care reformDifferent routes to the same solution.Cross-posted to Clinical Correlations (with some edits there) Health insurance positions: The obvious imperfections of our current health care system have inspired a number of solutions. They can be organized into two broad categories, incremental or single-payer. Each of these solutions is advocated by a single-issue lobbying group. National medical organizations support these solutions in greater or lesser measure.Advocacy groups: Physicians for a National Health Program provides information about the benefits and practical implications of a single-payer health care system. The list of members of its advisory board includes their organizational affiliations, but (as its name indicates) the group... Zackary Sholem Berger blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=791399 Fri, 10 Aug 2007 01:39:00 +0100 791399 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=714775&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F130593676%2F Dr. Michael Fitzgerald states “There’s nothing in it” regarding the MMR-autism theory in Spiked today. Fitzgerald focuses on London-based molecular biologist Stephen Bustin’s testimony in the autism omnibus “vaccine court” hearings in Washington, D.C. in June. Fitzgerald cites the 2002 claim made by a team led by Dublin pathologist John O’Leary, that measles RNA had been found in gut biopsies of children with autism—-a claim which “appeared to provide powerful vindication for Wakefield’s hypothesis that a distinctive inflammatory bowel condition – dubbed ‘autistic enterocolitis’ – was the mediating link between MMR and autism”—-but not so. Bustin, writes Fitzgerald, comprehensively exposed the unreliability of O’Lea... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=714775 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 00:05:51 +0100 714775 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=698153&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F128196096%2F Says Jim Laidler, MD, the father of two autistic sons, about his experience using such biomedical treatments for autism as the gluten-free casein-free diet and various nutritional supplements. Dr. Laidler is quoted in an ABC News story about the research of Mark Geier and David Geier, “the father and son duo argue in study after study that symptoms of autism are caused by mercury once widely used in vaccines.” The Geiers will be interviewed tonight on Nightline at 11.35pm EDT—–Significant Misrepresentations: Mark Geier, David Geier & the Evolution of the Lupron Protocol by Kathleen Seidel of Neurodiversity.com provides some thorough background and critique about the Geiers. Says Laidler: “What [parents] are getting in exchange for their hope, they’... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=698153 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:45:44 +0100 698153 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=675991&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F06%2F12%2Fawesome-genetic-announcements%2F I’ve always had a dream: I enter a centre of genomics where I get my DNA sequenced in one week for cc. 1000$ then my geneticists tell me what kind of diseases I will definitely acquire through my life and what kind of diseases I have elevated risk for. Then I can change lifestyle, diet, I can do more exercises or repair some genes (gene therapy) so I could be much more optimistic about my future. After reading some recent announcements and publications, it seems that my dream is getting closer and closer to reality. A Nature article, Genome-wide association study of 14,000 cases of seven common diseases and 3,000 shared controls have studied seven common familial diseases by genome-wide association analysis in 16,179 individual: Bipolar disorder Coronary artery disease Crohn’s... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=675991 Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:08:43 +0100 675991 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=629297&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F118796559%2F Store this one away for the next time you hear “anecdotally” that some herbal supplement, special tactile technique, some biomedical treatment, or some marvelous device, has effected miraculous results and changes in an autistic child, even to the point that that child is said to be “no longer autistic.” From Conspiracy Factory; the writer and his wife are both biologists; she was 38 years old when they started to try to get pregnant: We prepared for fertility treatments over the next month. We both were tested for a variety of sexually transmitted diseases, and had our Rh factors checked. Around this time we changed the brand of toothpaste that we use, as the toothpaste that is available in CostCo changes from day to day. Four weeks before we started fertility trea... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=629297 Tue, 22 May 2007 19:28:00 +0100 629297 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=620238&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F117268469%2F Consistency is golden for children with autism is the title of a May 16th story about 6-year-old Ryan Bates and his family who live in Cobourg, Canada. Ryan has autism and “has difficulty with change. Any break in routine - which [his sister] 4-year-old Katie would take in stride - brings Ryan to tears. He can’t understand why things have to change.” True indeed: Sushi is one of Charlie’s favorite foods and, to celebrate his 10th birthday, we took him out to a restaurant and ordered some California rolls. The rolls came out on sculpted ceramic platters and Charlie ate them, but with a most serious look on his face: He would prefer, I think, to have had his sushi come in a plastic pack from the supermarket; he did not eat all of his sushi, and gave Jim the last piece... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=620238 Wed, 16 May 2007 21:59:41 +0100 620238 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=589750&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F05%2F04%2Fptc124-a-drug-against-genetic-diseases-overview%2F I’ve already written about the Times Online article (Daily pill to beat genetic diseases), but I would like to give a clear overview of this “miracle-drug”. The story of PTC124 is not new, it goes back to 2004. Anyway, what is it about? PTC124 is a novel, orally administered small-molecule compound that targets a particular genetic alteration known as a nonsense mutation. Genetic disorders occur as a consequence of mutations in an individual’s DNA. Nonsense mutations are alterations in the DNA that, when transcribed into mRNA, introduce a premature translation termination codon. This change halts the ribosomal translation process at an earlier site than normal, producing a truncated, non-functional protein. So PTC124 binds to the ribosome, ignores the nonsense muta... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=589750 Fri, 04 May 2007 16:37:06 +0100 589750 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=580546&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F113219717%2F Back in January 2006, I spoke on a panel following a production of a play entitled The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Robot by Edward Einhorn; the play was part of NEUROfest with Untitled Theater in New York City. The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Robot is described as “a Pinocchio tale in reverse, presented as a fairy tale from a foreign culture—the culture of people with Asperger’s Syndrome” and featured “puppetry and design elements inspired by the work of autistic artists.” I was thinking of the play today—and of the use plastic rollers for part of the robot’s anatomy—in reading about two autistic boys and their robots: Middle-schooler Kyle Gilland (Arizona) helped to make a miniature robot with his fellow students and some engineering students. 12-y... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=580546 Tue, 01 May 2007 00:18:31 +0100 580546 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=560422&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F04%2F22%2Fthe-best-genetics-of-the-week-and-a-medstudent-who-loves-vagina%2F Here are the best genetic and clinical genetic blogposts and news of the week with a superb animation about stem cells. Let’s start with two major findings, two hopes for two serious genetic conditions. DNA repair as key to Huntington’s disease Mayo Clinic researchers, along with collaborators from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and University of Oslo, Norway, have discovered that a miscue of the body’s genetic repair system may cause Huntington’s disease, a fatal condition that affects 30,000 Americans annually by destroying their nervous system. Restoration of muscle function in muscular dystrophy Using a new type of drug that targets a specific genetic defect, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, along with colleagues at PTC The... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=560422 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 19:33:26 +0100 560422 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=547565&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F109481786%2F Knowing more about your risk of type 2 diabetes is just a keyboard click away at DNA Direct. Together with deCODE diagnostics, DNA Direct is now offering deCODE T2, a genetic test that examines the presence of the “T” allele of SNP rs7903146, located within the transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene. Almost twice as many people with type 2 diabetes have two copies of the TCF7L2 gene variant. As far as I can tell, the SNP is not known to cause a functional change in the activity of the gene, but is associated with reduced insulin secretion. Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE: Understanding one’s risk of T2D is the first step toward enabling more effective prevention. The principal risk factors for T2D are well known - obesity, unhealthy diet and lack of exercise - and by addressi... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=547565 Tue, 17 Apr 2007 02:00:53 +0100 547565 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=546288&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F109481786%2F Knowing more about your risk of type 2 diabetes is just a keyboard click away at DNA Direct. Together with deCODE diagnostics, DNA Direct is now offering deCODE T2, a genetic test that examines the presence of the “T” allele of SNP rs7903146, located within the transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene. Almost twice as many people with type 2 diabetes have two copies of the TCF7L2 gene variant. As far as I can tell, the SNP is not known to cause a functional change in the activity of the gene, but is associated with reduced insulin secretion. Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE: Understanding one’s risk of T2D is the first step toward enabling more effective prevention. The principal risk factors for T2D are well known - obesity, unhealthy diet and lack of exercise - and by addressi... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=546288 Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:34:57 +0100 546288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=537290&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F108298593%2F Just ten minutes after 26-year-old Rebecca Burchell returned home from visiting a doctor, she had a fatal fit and died two days later in the intensive care at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro in the UK, on April 3. Rebecca had autism and her parents, Tony and Jackie Burchell, think that she had meningitis; basic checks (for temperature and blood pressure) were not performed by the doctor, according to today’s WestCountry.co.uk. While the official cause of Rebecca’s death is still being determined, her father says that an autopsy determined that she died of epilepsy. A funeral service and celebration of Rebecca’s life will be held tomorrow; her family plans to focus on the positive side of Rebecca’s life - such as her sense of humour. This was demonstrated just a... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=537290 Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:57:35 +0100 537290 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=535437&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F108067760%2F Brendan McRae is a 14-year-old who goes to public school in Chatham, south of Springfield, Illionois. Brendan was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the age of 9. An article in today’s The Telegraph tells his story and opens and closes with two observations that can’t be said enough: The next time a child throws a tantrum in a store, be careful not to immediately label the child as undisciplined or spoiled. The child’s typical appearance could be hiding the face of autism. “Having a diagnosis of autism or Asperger Syndrome can seen devastating, but it isn’t the end of the world,” said [Tina McRae, Brendan’s mother]. I have to second that—-it’s just the beginning, the first step into a whole new journey, in great company. (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=535437 Tue, 10 Apr 2007 20:14:00 +0100 535437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=529137&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F107434937%2F I was sitting at the pool talking to another mother whose son is in Charlie’s classroom and the conversation turned to medical issues, and then to medication (Charlie takes Zoloft and Risperdal), and then to what doctor we take him to. I could see my friend reaching for a pen and paper to note his name; then I said “he’s with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia”—-we live in central New Jersey and, while it takes just over an hour to get to the doctor’s office, it is not exactly convenient. This doctor was the first—-and, I think more and more, is the only—-doctor that Jim and I have been able to establish a good rapport and understanding with (in part because he has personal experience raising special needs children). As the doctor hims... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=529137 Sun, 08 Apr 2007 05:25:24 +0100 529137 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=524706&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F107033409%2F Autism Speaks to merge with DAN!………. That is not true, or not yet true: It is a prediction I made half-seriously to a friend last week after I saw that Autism Speaks was promoting the Discover Magazine article on autism not being just in the head. “Autism Speaks congratulates these researchers for their important contributions to changing the way autism is conceptualized,” the Autism Speaks website noted, and then “It will only be through support of such innovative research [on ‘brain and non-brain systems’] that the causes and biological basis of autism will be resolved.” I had this statement in mind as I watched the new Autism Speaks video, A World Where….., with its absolutist pronouncements of “making autism a word for t... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=524706 Fri, 06 Apr 2007 06:47:25 +0100 524706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=523353&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F106893151%2F Please read this comment from Amanda Baggs about this post. For myself, I do not equate “mild” autism with PDD-NOS and regret that this was not clear in my original post; I have added sentences in boldface and I thank Ms. Baggs very much. Amanda Baggs at Ballastexistenz just put a post that lays out what PDD-NOS officially means in careful detail. Baggs notes how “indistinct” PDD-NOS is as a term, and—in addition to reviewing evolving DSM criteria—lists how the term gets used as a kind of catch-all diagnosis if a “person does not fit the doctor’s stereotype of autism even though they might meet official criteria for autism or Asperger,” and as a “milder” diagnosis than so-called “full-blown autism.” She ends her post... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=523353 Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:55:47 +0100 523353 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=523354&cid=t_359312_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F106808684%2F “Teach the Controversy!” is the title of a post on Pharyngula about a certain college’s insistence on the teaching of creationism in courses in biology, the Bible, and other areas—–vs. teaching something more “controversial” such as evolution. The question of “what causes autism” has yet to be played out in the courtroom, though mention “mercury” or “vaccines” (and related “cures” such as chelation) in the same context as autism and rancourous debate may well ensue: Autism has its controversies, for sure. Studies providing evidence about the genetics of autism can arouse especial ire among some proponents of an environmental cause for autism. Neurologist Steven Novella who teaches at the Yale School ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=523354 Thu, 05 Apr 2007 10:09:39 +0100 523354 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=519311&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F106358725%2F A new, not yet understood genetic mechanism that leads to prostate cancer has been discovered. Researchers have found genetic variations on chromosome 8 that are associated with a five times greater risk of prostate cancer and may account for as much as two-thirds of African-American cases and one-third of cases in Caucasian-Americans. These DNA variations could be potential biomarkers that can be used to identify high risk individuals who need to be more vigilant about cancer screening. On a related note, Guardian Unlimited has a profile of Bruce Ponder, professor of oncology at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute. He led the international consortium that discovered the BRCA1 gene and its role in breast cancer. Here he talks about the estimate that 30% of breast cancer cas... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=519311 Tue, 03 Apr 2007 17:44:09 +0100 519311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=516577&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F106136077%2F Layering DNA is a hot technique. Over the weekend, I wrote about coating organs with DNA to improve transplant success. University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers have also developed nanoscale films made up of DNA and water-soluble polymers. The design allows them to deliver DNA directly into cells as a form of gene therapy. The DNA film can be manipulated by adding multiple layers with each layer capable of carrying a different type of DNA sequence. The time point of release can be manipulated by altering the polymer structure. Thus far, they’ve applied the DNA films to cardiac stents which are typically used in angioplasties to open clogged arteries. Some types of cardiac stents have a coating of drugs that help to prevent the growth of smooth muscle cells over the stent (restenosis... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=516577 Mon, 02 Apr 2007 22:35:01 +0100 516577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=509403&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F105213170%2F A mutation in the hemochromatosis gene (HFE) has been associated with a three times higher risk of stroke in a group of 9000 people in Denmark. The H63D mutation (His63Asp) changes the size or function of the HFE protein so that it can’t play a part in regulating the amount of iron that enters cells. If the HFE protein does not bind to the transferrin receptors at the cell surface, excessive amounts of iron enters the cell and leads to iron overload. Those with two copies of the H63D HFE gene variant had a 180% great risk of stroke than those with two normal copies. The exact role of the HFE gene in stroke risk isn’t understood. Coincidentally, I finally got around to starting Sharon Moalem’s Survival of the Sickest and the first chapter deals with hemochromatosis. From a... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=509403 Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:15:09 +0100 509403 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=498778&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F104075988%2F On March 1, Senators Gordon Smith and Edward Kennedy introduced to the Senate the Laboratory Test Improvement Act (S. 736) which will ask that direct-to-consumer DNA tests go through FDA assessment for accuracy and reliability. A public database is proposed that would contain information on FDA approval, laboratory certification, and whether the test has any clinical validity to diagnose or screen diseases or conditions and whether it can be used to make decisions about medical care. Some of the concerns raised about at-home genetic testing: More is UNknown about genes and their function than IS known. But I would counter that to say that for genes, such as BRCA for breast and ovarian, we know enough to predict a person’s risk fairly accurately. Is it fair to lump all genes togeth... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=498778 Sat, 24 Mar 2007 12:22:46 +0100 498778 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=486296&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F03%2F19%2Fgoogle-vs-pubmed-and-genes-of-autism-alcoholism-and-diabetes%2F Here are the best writings, the most interesting gene related announcements from the last days: Researchers Identify Autism Gene (PhysOrg.com) Yale School of Medicine autism experts Fred Volkmar, M.D. and Ami Klin are part of a global research consortium from 19 countries to identify a gene and a region of a chromosome that may lead to autism in children… The researchers found neurexin 1, part of a family of genes that plays a role with the neurotransmitter glutamate, which has been previously linked to autism. They also found a gene on chromosome 11 that may be linked to autism susceptibility. That gene has not yet been pinpointed. Computer Key Unlocks Heritable Disorders (MedicalNewsToday) Danish and Belgian researchers have found a computer key that maps genes underlying heri... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=486296 Mon, 19 Mar 2007 07:42:31 +0100 486296 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=486424&cid=t_359312_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F102611883%2F This Sunday’s New York Times article about genetic testing for Huntington’s disease made me cry. It features Katharine Moser, who tested positive for the huntingtin gene, and tells her family’s experience with the disease. Katharine’s friends, Colleen and and Chris Elio, are amazing people too and have offered to take care of her once she develops symptoms. If you’re curious to know what it’s like to have a gene that 100% guarantees you’ll have a debilitating and deadly disease during what is normally a person’s most productive years, don’t miss this article and accompanying videos. In fact, all of us will eventually know more about our future risk of disease than we ever anticipated once the genome revolution brings personalized medici... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=486424 Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:15:02 +0100 486424