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 'interaction'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:04:56 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125743&cid=t_167947_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fer-nurse-explains-what-its-really-like-to-be-an-rn%2F2011.08.12 You want to be a registered nurse? Let’s cut through the B.S. and get real about it. Put a hold on all this soft-focus “I live to care!” or “It gives my life meaning…” Here’s the reality. *** You will study your butt off. Nursing science is based on biology, chemistry, microbiology, anatomy, physiology, psychology, sociology and philosophy. Yeah, every single one of them. You will incorporate those into every decision you make in your practice. It’s called critical thinking. You master it and become a professional, or you don’t and you become a robotic technician. Bottom line. Your choice. Oh, and the studying doesn’t stop after you graduate. Nursing school is just the warm-up. *** The work is physically exhausting and emotionally demanding. (more…) *... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125743 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:00:35 +0100 5125743 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4742468&cid=t_167947_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F22%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-april-22-2011%2F Happy Earth Day! And Happy Early Easter! We’ve got lots to celebrate as tomorrow is also our new monthly, “Ask the Therapist Live event” on Facebook. Here are the details: When? Saturday, April 23 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm ET (11:00 am – 1:00 pm PT). What? Our Live event is your chance to “Ask the Therapist” your questions on everything from career to relationships. Who? Our therapists from the Ask the Therapist page, me and you! Where? Facebook. Read below for more information on how to join our Psych Central Ask the Therapist group to participate in tomorrow’s event. How? Ask your question as a Facebook update and our therapists will respond in the comments. This time I created an Psych Central Ask the Therapist group, which will help keep thin... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4742468 Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:05:41 +0100 4742468 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676790&cid=t_167947_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-future-of-the-doctor-drug-rep-relationship%2F2011.04.03 Patient care is increasingly under third party control.  And as a consequence I make fewer decisions regarding the brand of medication used in my patients. So the role of a pharmaceutical rep comes into question.  If I don’t choose which medication my patients will use, why would a representative call on me?  And as American medicine becomes more centralized and standardized, I wonder how and why industry will connect with treating physicians.  Pharma it seems is asking the same question: Of the core medications I prescribe, I see far fewer reps these days and our relationships are markedly different from a decade ago. I don’t miss the pitch.  But I find the element of human support to be important.  For example, recently the FDA issued a black box warning for the concomitant use... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676790 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:00:59 +0100 4676790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642728&cid=t_167947_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F03%2F25%2Fmobile-vs-computer-and-the-patient-interaction%2F “It’s Friday, Friday! Gotta get down on Friday. Fun, fun, fun, fun. Looking forward to the weekend.” – Friday Music Video by Rebecca Black Dang those viral videos, but I have to admit that I’m grateful that today is Friday and I have a weekend to catch up on things. I’m sure that many of you can relate to this feeling. As we head to the weekend, I’ll leave you with a little something to think about and discuss in the comments. Someone at HIMSS pointed this out to me and I thought it was worth sharing. Think about the patient interaction in the exam room. For some reason, doctors don’t and haven’t had any problem pulling out their mobile phone (or previously their PDA) in order to pull up Epocrates (or some other similar app) while in t... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642728 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:14:29 +0100 4642728 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450294&cid=t_167947_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdifficult-patients%2F2011.02.08 Physicians see nearly one in five patients as “difficult,” report researchers. Not surprisingly, these patients don’t fare as well as others after visiting their doctor. Researchers took into account both patient and clinician factors associated with being considered “difficult,” as well as assessing the impact on patient health outcomes. They reported results in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Researchers assessed 750 adults prior to their visit to a primary care walk-in clinic for symptoms, expectations, and general health; for how they functioned physically, socially and emotionally; and whether they had mental disorders. Immediately after their visit, participants were asked about their satisfaction with the encounter, any unmet expectations, and... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450294 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0100 4450294 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445802&cid=t_167947_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fcan-your-avatar-affect-the-way-you-live%2F2011.02.07 If you own a Nintendo Wii, have played World of Warcraft, or seen James Cameron’s cinematic spectacle, then you probably know what an avatar is. And because an avatar is simply a representation of yourself that you design, your avatar’s attributes could be as similar or different to you as you wish. [This editor's avatar is 6' 8", has six-pack abs, wears only fine European clothing, and has the voice of YouTube sensation Ted Williams.] Do online avatars have any influence on their real-world counterparts? Researchers at the new Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL) at Stanford University think so. According to VHIL, while avatars tend to be idealized versions of their users, evidence has suggested one’s virtual avatar does indeed influence a person. In one experiment, a fe... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445802 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:00:16 +0100 4445802 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4372044&cid=t_167947_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-good-is-your-doctor-at-diagnosing-you%2F2011.01.19 We’ve all been there. It often starts with some kind of recurring pain or dull ache. We don’t know what’s causing the pain or ache. During the light of day we tell ourselves that it’s nothing. But at 3:00am when the pain wakes you, worry sets in: “Maybe I have cancer or heart disease or some other life-ending ailment.” The next day you make an appointment to see your doctor. So now you’re sitting in the exam room explaining this scenario to your doctor. Based on your previous experience, what’s the first thing your doctor would do? A. Order a battery of tests and schedule a follow-up appointment. B. Put you in a patient gown and conduct a thorough physical examination, including asking you detailed questions about your complaint before ordering any test... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4372044 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:00:07 +0100 4372044 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4355772&cid=t_167947_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F16%2Fworld-of-psychology-one-of-top-50-blogs-of-2010%2F We, like most people, enjoy it when we receive recognition from others. Who doesn’t appreciate the occasional pat on the back? So to start our new year off right, we were kindly named one of the Top 50 Blogs — of the millions of blogs online today! — by Regator. Who is Regator? Regator.com is a website designed to help you find quality blog posts. It does this by using highly selective human editors to find well-written, topical blogs on more than 500 topics then a combination of semantic algorithms and user interaction to find the most interesting, timely, and noteworthy posts from those blogs. Regator provides you with tools to monitor keywords, find related content, view trends, keep track of favorites, and share with friends. If anyone should know a thing or two abo... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4355772 Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:38:30 +0100 4355772 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4259227&cid=t_167947_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F15%2Flooking-at-you-looking-at-me-the-effect-of-clinical-encounters%2F I’ve been browsing the databases for information on clinical encounters. I do this because while I’m well aware of many papers produced on the topic of patient-related predictors of outcome, the swing towards considering clinician characteristics as predictors of outcome means I hope to see more published on this incredibly important topic. A wee while I ago I wrote about patient self-report measures of chronic pain clinical encounters (Stomski, MacKintosh & Stanley, 2010), in which I discussed the lack of reliable, valid measurement tools in which people with pain are asked about their clinical encounters – and worse still, the glaring omission in any of the reviewed measures of actually asking people with chronic pain whether the constructs being assessed actually m... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4259227 Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:53:00 +0100 4259227 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151878&cid=t_167947_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F11%2F09%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-november-9-2010%2F I’ve had quite a bit of visitors in the month of October. And while it was fun and I was grateful for their company, it was exhausting. It reminded me of the upcoming holiday season. Giving me a preview of what’s to come in the next few months. The good thing is that I learned something during the parade of October visitors that may help you get through the season with friends and family peacefully. Conflict often occurs because of misunderstanding and miscommunication. You may, for example, have gone to therapy and learned ways to take care of yourself. But your family hasn’t done the same. Returning to the home you grew up in and the life you used to live sometimes means that those who knew you before, may not know how to interact with you now. Here’s where my tip... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151878 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 11:59:46 +0100 4151878 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706730&cid=t_167947_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F06%2F28%2Fgood-versus-evil-in-strength%2F You have to hand it to Kurt Gray, a doctoral student at Harvard. He knows how to spin a set of three small experiments he conducted to make headlines. Here’s what Gray had to say about his findings: “By perceiving themselves as good or evil, people embody these perceptions, actually becoming more capable of physical endurance.” and “But in fact, this research suggests that physical strength may be an effect, not a cause, of moral acts.” Did Gray actually measure a person’s inherent “goodness” or capacity for evil (or did he measure artificial situations created in a lab that may or may not actually mimic these qualities)? And if so, did he also measure physical strength (or simply one small aspect of strength, physical endurance)? In the three exper... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706730 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:33:44 +0100 3706730 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3656812&cid=t_167947_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhen-you-get-sick-the-character-of-those-around-you%2F2010.06.12 There’s an endless list of bad things about being sick. But what happens to the relationships you have with people around you when you become ill? Let me tell you about a man I know. I will call him Bill, even though that’s not his real name. Bill is a vital man in his 60s with two grown daughters. A few years ago, he was diagnosed with a serious illness. His illness isn’t going to kill him right away, but it has profoundly affected his ability to work and enjoy all the things he used to enjoy. Worse, he has had a difficult time with his doctors figuring out what exactly is wrong and the best way to proceed. But all of this isn’t really the hardest part for Bill. The hard part for Bill is how his friends and family have reacted. (more…) *This blog post was ori... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3656812 Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:00:32 +0100 3656812 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607792&cid=t_167947_147_f&fid=39202&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnicolaziady.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F27%2Fsocial-media-vs-advertising%2F In order to prove the value of social media, it’s important to understand how it differs from traditional advertising. If you’re like most hospitals or medical schools, you’ve already moved into the social media arena. But now, you may be getting questions from your CMO or COO about how it’s working. Or you may be trying to decide if you’re allocating the appropriate resources to social media. How can you know if it’s really working? I recently read a post by Katie Saffey that features a side-by-side comparison and offers a good starting point for social media measurement. Engagement vs. impressions Social media success relies on engagement vs. advertising’s traditional number of impressions. The ability to engage one-on-one with your audience can allow you to deliver custom... Nicola Ziady blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607792 Fri, 28 May 2010 04:16:05 +0100 3607792 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3546885&cid=t_167947_107_f&fid=36698&url=http%3A%2F%2Fminingdrugs.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fmolecular-design-and-molecular-modeling.html After a recent question on Blue Obelisk Exchange and ChemPedia Lab about molecular drug design (see also cross-post) and a recent book about molecular modeling basics I thought it is time highlighting more information on that topic.Drug design principles, molecular modeling, and use in medicinal chemistry:C. Bissantz, B. Kuhn, and M. Stahl, A Medicinal Chemist’s Guide to Molecular Interactions, J. Med. Chem., 2010, Article ASAP. DOI 10.1021/jm100112jBioisosterism and bioisosteric design principle articles.J. H. Jensen, Molecular modeling basics, 2010.Summary slides about molecular modeling (quantum chemistry) of Noel O'Boyle: (Source: Mining Drug Space) Mining Drug Space blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3546885 Sat, 08 May 2010 19:21:00 +0100 3546885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511609&cid=t_167947_111_f&fid=39123&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fnursingcomments%2Ftdtc%2F%7E3%2Fy_fl2QFkSP8%2F           Autism is a developmental disability that comes from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain.  It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication skills, social skills and reasoning.  Males are affected four times as often as females.  Children may appear normal until around the age of 30 months.  Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) varies significantly in character and severity, it occurs in all ethnic and socioeconomic groups and affects every age group.  Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have ASD.  The cause of autism remains unclear, but a psychological one has been ruled out.  Neurological studies seem to indicate a primary brain dysfunction, and a genetic component is sugges... Nursing Comments blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511609 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:35:04 +0100 3511609 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3482954&cid=t_167947_111_f&fid=39123&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fnursingcomments%2Ftdtc%2F%7E3%2Fg2DjJtRj8Zc%2F           It’s common sense that you should be educated about any drugs you use.  But how knowledgeable is the average person when it comes to interactions, side effects or recommended dosages – factors that are even further complicated by age? Too often manufacturers, pharmacists and caregivers are either unaware of these factors, or don’t explain them properly.  From coughs and colds to fever, aches and pain, heartburn and other common ailments, we often use nonprescription or “over-the-counter” (OTC) medicines to treat our symptoms.  But even though OTCs are safe when taken as directed, they are also serious medicines.  That is why it is so important to be Drug Wise when buying and taking OTC medicines.            Over-the-counter (OTC) medi... Nursing Comments blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3482954 Sun, 18 Apr 2010 16:21:29 +0100 3482954 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3443513&cid=t_167947_139_f&fid=38879&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.virology.ws%2F014_W3310_10.mp4 Download: .wmv (343 MB) | .mp4 (94 MB) Visit the virology W3310 home page for a complete list of course resources. (Source: virology blog) virology blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3443513 Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:26:47 +0100 3443513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3404145&cid=t_167947_150_f&fid=38374&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FePharmaSummit%2F%7E3%2FK9qlZpk7kKc%2Fcould-social-networking-be-used-more.html (Source: ePharma Summit) ePharma Summit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3404145 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:28:00 +0100 3404145 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2962879&cid=t_167947_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2009%2F11%2Flentiviruses.html comprise a genus of diverse viruses in the Retroviridae family which are united in their ability to infect and persist in macrophages. Infections are characterized by immune system dysfunctions following sometimes lengthy incubation periods. The viruses in this genus include primate lentiviruses such as HIV as well as animal lentiviruses including equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). An intriguing feature of lentiviruses is their ability to hijack macrophages so that they are simultaneously involved in the dissemination and control of virus spread throughout the host, leading to disease induction and/or transmission to a new host. Macrophage biology is at an exciting stage with a wealth of new information being generated as their role in parasitic, viral and bacterial infections as well... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2962879 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:54:00 +0100 2962879 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2712388&cid=t_167947_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F19%2Fits-not-what-you-say-its-the-way-that-you-say-it%2F I have a bit of a theme happening – health care interactions. I think it’s because this week I’ve been talking about this with patients, and it seems to be something that either raises the hackles or fills them with gratitude! Anyway, I was glad to find this paper the other day on ‘perceived quality of doctor–patient interaction in rehabilitation’. This is slightly different from the usual focus, which is often on interactions in primary care. It’s an interesting paper written by a group of researchers in Germany. They describe the use of a newly-developed rating instrument, the ‘P.A.Int-Questionnaire’, which stands for (in German) ‘Patient-Arzt-Interaktion’. I’m guessing that’s German for ‘patient-doctor inter... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2712388 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:54:41 +0100 2712388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2630174&cid=t_167947_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F07%2F23%2Fwho-uses-internet-dating%2F Ever wonder who uses Internet dating services like Match.com and eHarmony.com? The answer may surprise you. I think, “Well, gee, everybody uses them!” But that’s not the case. There’s a particular psychological profile that researchers have discovered of users of Internet dating services. The researchers (Kim et al., 2009) surveyed 3,345 people in the U.S., of which 1,588 (47.5 %) were men and 1,757 (52.5 %) were women. Ages ranged from 19 to 89 with a mean of 48 years old. They gathered their data using a number of standardized questionnaires and psychological measures. The researchers found that people who are more “sociable are more likely to use Internet dating services than are those who are less sociable. This finding challenges the stereotypical profili... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2630174 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:00:35 +0100 2630174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2348536&cid=t_167947_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F04%2F19%2Fguidelines-for-good-listening%2F My publisher, Guilford Press, reminded me to tell you about The Lost Art of Listening: How Learning to Listen Can Improve Relationships, just released in its second edition. The book by Dr. Mike Nichols explores the ways in which poor communication skills have robbed us of the comfort and security that can only come from genuine human interaction. He then offers “a wealth of practical techniques, simple exercises, and easy-to-reference tips for becoming a better listener and establishing solid lines of connection with those around us.” Listening, as I noted recently in a blog entry about improving your communication skills in a relationship, is a core component to a healthy relationship. Many relationships fail simply because one or both partners in a relationship aren’t ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2348536 Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:46:40 +0100 2348536 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2313535&cid=t_167947_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F04%2F08%2Fgetting-started-with-yoga-in-3-easy-steps%2F Midweek Mental Greening I used to be into yoga. Like, really into yoga. So much so that a few of my friends teasingly called me “Yogi.” (Though, don’t misunderstand – I was nowhere near being the “accomplished practitioner” the name suggests. I just really liked yoga and I think they thought the name was cute.) I don’t know why I fell out of yoga, but I’ve been making some serious attempts to get started with it again. I’ve noticed, though, that despite how into yoga I was before, getting started with it again offers some of the same challenges that getting started with it the first time offered. Why is it I want to do this again? What will I gain? Am I ready? Do I have time? Because I’m not a “Yogi,” I’m not going to attempt to teach you how to pr... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2313535 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:51:22 +0100 2313535 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2312608&cid=t_167947_107_f&fid=36698&url=http%3A%2F%2Fminingdrugs.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fopen-innovation-in-drug-design-i-do-not.html Triggered by slides and a discussion from Cameron Neylon was I wondering, to which degree people believe in open innovation for the drug design community?Though the principle seems valid for a few software companies, is there little support for life sciences on this topic."It's an area that's just not been explored much. The usual flow is very much linear. Can be developed in academia, is then licensed via tech transfer." [Deepak]"The question is whether a business can make money by a route that doesn't involve patents (or copyright). There are examples of that, O'Reilly publishing being the most obvious but they are pretty thin." [Cameron]In other words, if you do not need the money, do whatever you like openly. If you need the money, e.g. for clinical trials, then please make sure stayin... Mining Drug Space blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2312608 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:30:00 +0100 2312608 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2177558&cid=t_167947_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FYg5ZDdpEYRE%2F Autism researchers have long believed that there is more than one gene involved in autism, and that these genes are interacting with one another to create the spectrum associated with the disorder. For the first time, scientists at MIT found that mice carrying mutations in two candidate genes for autism have more severe symptoms than those with only one mutation. The two genes studied were PTEN and serotonin transporter. In female mice, mutations in PTEN impaired sociability while those who also had mutations in the serotonin gene had worse symptoms. "We found that two genetic risk factors for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) act cooperatively in mice to influence brain size and social behavior, both of which are altered in ASDs," said Damon T. Page, a Picower Institute postdoc... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2177558 Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:38:14 +0100 2177558 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2134822&cid=t_167947_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2Fk5n1HQOj_qg%2F As we get older we are less likely to throw things away. This was a great problem with my mother, if she couldn’t use something well maybe someone else could. I remember going into her medicine chest to get an aspirin and all of these bottles fell out, scary isn’t it? Upon looking at her medications, I found that some were outdated others written by different doctors, they were also purchased at different pharmacies. I had to convince her to let me toss the outdated medications, we also called the doctors and pharmacies to see if she was putting herself in harms way. If you see more then one doctor you should always supply them with a complete list of your medications. The list needs to include vitamins as well as herbs, because they may react to other prescriptions, always use the sa... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2134822 Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:00:00 +0100 2134822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1951970&cid=t_167947_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FiBEQ6gEpCqQ%2F I chanced upon this article - Genetic testing under the microscope - in the Los Angeles Times of an interview with the President of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, Angela Trepanier, and she presents an interesting perspective on the future of personalized medicine. In the near future, Trepanier says that genetic testing will become a routine part of healthcare. Right now, access to one’s genetic information can be had for at least $400, and one is able to find out which diseases and conditions your genetic makeup may be association with. But the company doesn’t offer any medical opinion or diagnosis, obviously. Trepanier asks rhetorically, "If your only source of information is the company selling the test, is that really the most credible source of informatio... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1951970 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:03:48 +0100 1951970 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1802641&cid=t_167947_132_f&fid=35006&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnsaunders.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F18%2Fnot-as-many-structures-as-you-might-think%2F In the midst of preparing a talk for next Monday. It occurred to me that perhaps we don’t see more protein structure-based prediction in bioinformatics because - there aren’t enough structures.pdbstatsSure, the PDB has grown a lot in the past 5 years or so and 53 103 structures (as of now) looks impressive. However, if you’re interested in protein-protein interaction, you want at least 2 chains: which more or less halves the dataset. If you want two different protein chains, you lose almost another 75%. Let’s specify a reasonable minimum resolution for X-ray diffraction data and there go ~ 3 000 entries. We probably don’t want multiple, similar proteins so let’s remove sequence identity at a redundancy of 90%. We’re left with about 2% of the origin... What You're Doing Is Rather Desperate blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1802641 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:14:26 +0100 1802641 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1788829&cid=t_167947_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2F389936187%2Falcohol-and-medicine-when-drugs.html Is it okay if I drink with these pills?We've all seen the warnings; the labels on prescription bottles telling us not to mix the pills with alcohol. The warnings tell us that alcohol may blunt or enhance or nullify the effect of the prescribed drugs.But what's so bad about mixing alcohol with common medications? What, really, can go wrong? "Nausea and vomiting, headaches, drowsiness, fainting, or loss of coordination," according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). "It can also put you at risk for internal bleeding, heart problems, and difficulties breathing. In addition to these dangers, alcohol can make a medication less effective or even useless, or it may make the medication harmful or toxic to your body."The NIAAA reminds consumers that certain medicines,... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1788829 Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:05:00 +0100 1788829 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1200442&cid=t_167947_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F228928113%2Fturn_talk_into_tasks_through_q.html Imagine yourself listening to  long … intensive … conversations where words tumble into your brain as fast as rice spills into a crock pot. Ever felt bored when a person pours out more words than you can respond to from your own experience? Yes, we’ve all been there. Life and learning is a volley that takes back and forth words – with actions attached. We learn best by rolling ideas and experiences and bits of information to and fro in flexible exchanges. The brain is built to engage.  Sometimes it’s simply an acknowledgement that a point has been made … other times it’s a story back to expand on the insight from a personal perspective. Do you ever wish you could respond to a fast talking speaker … or try out a cool new idea whe... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1200442 Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:36:43 +0100 1200442 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1147422&cid=t_167947_107_f&fid=36698&url=http%3A%2F%2Fminingdrugs.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F11%2Fonce-upon-cyclopentyl-cyclohexyl.html via The Curious WavefunctionOne common strategy used by medicinal chemists for enhancing potency is to add a methylene carbon in a ring that's fitting into a lipophilic pocket. A methylene group usually contributes about 4 kJ/mol of affinity....or maybe not.Gerhard Klebe's group at Marburg are studying inhibitors of thrombin in which they replace a cyclopentyl group by a cyclohexyl group. To their surprise they observe (DOI: 10.1002/anie.200701169) no change in binding affinity. Crystallography indicates no electron density for the part occupied by the cyclohexyl group but robust density for the cyclopentyl. The authors conclude that while the cyclohexyl binding is enthalpically unfavourable, entropically the six-membered ring can flip and twist and dance, which is favourable, and also doe... Mining Drug Space blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1147422 Thu, 08 Nov 2007 22:14:00 +0100 1147422 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1147428&cid=t_167947_107_f&fid=36698&url=http%3A%2F%2Fminingdrugs.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F10%2Fsupertarget-matador-chemspider-when.html Although the first version of SuperTarget with all the search and discovery tools around drug-target relations is already an extensive resource for both large-scale research and in depth analysis, the captured knowledge is still far from complete and we would like to invite the community to help in increasing quality and quantity of the records. SuperTarget offers an option to upload and incorporate drug-target relations into a working queue. Uploaded entries will be reviewed and approved by an annotation team comprised of graduated scientists. Both SuperTarget and Matador can be used as knowledge sources, discovery tools or training sets for various applications in chemical biology and elsewhere. [DOI 10.1093/nar/gkm862]Dear community, as already highlighted earlier is it a logical step t... Mining Drug Space blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1147428 Tue, 23 Oct 2007 23:50:00 +0100 1147428 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1147432&cid=t_167947_107_f&fid=36698&url=http%3A%2F%2Fminingdrugs.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F10%2Fquotes-from-neighbors-october-2007.html ==Taverna Workshop, Day 1 Update (chem-bla-ics)==The second part of the morning session featured a presentation by Sirisha Gollapudi which spoke about mining biological graphs, such as protein-protein interaction networks and metabolic pathways. Patterns detection for nodes with only one edge, and cycles etc, using Taverna. An example data she worked on is the Palsson human metabolism (doi:10.1073/pnas.0610772104); she mentioned that this metabolite data set contains cocaine :) Neil Chue Hong finished with an introduction on the OMII-UK which is co-host of this meeting.After lunch Mark Wilkinson introduced BioMoby, which we actually use in Wageningen already. I have tried to use jMoby to set up services based on the CDK, but failed sofar. Will talk with Mark on that. Next was my presentati... Mining Drug Space blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1147432 Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:39:00 +0100 1147432 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1147434&cid=t_167947_107_f&fid=36698&url=http%3A%2F%2Fminingdrugs.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F09%2Fpathguide-light-in-pathway-and.html I found today in my del.ico.us network a bookmark from Egon to PathguidePathguide contains information about 231 biological pathway resources. Click on a link to go to the resource home page or 'Details' for a description page. Databases that are free and those supporting BioPAX, CellML, PSI-MI or SBML standards are respectively indicated.This is a fantastic collection of interaction/metabolic/signaling pathways and networks!Though, I was astonished and a little bit disappointed about the low number of databases, which support open standards.14 PSI-MI (Proteomics Standards Initiative - Molecular Interactions)13 BioPAX (Biological Pathways Exchange)13 SBML (Systems Biology Markup Language)3 CellML---------43 databases use open standardsThat are only 18.6% of all databases! In other words, t... Mining Drug Space blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1147434 Sat, 15 Sep 2007 13:50:00 +0100 1147434 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=872390&cid=t_167947_149_f&fid=35780&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwalkerma.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F09%2F14%2Fintermolecular-ch-pi-interaction%2F  Dissecting out interactions between hydrophobic organic residues, particular those made in the context of a ligand binding to a protein (eg. enzyme or receptor) is difficult since it is hard to seperate the energy contributed by dissolution of the molecule from the energy of interaction with the protein.  A recent Angewandte article (Angewandte Int. Ed., 2007, 6833) by Craig Wilcox from the University of Pittsburgh describes an interesting “molecular tool” for measuring weak “hydrophobic” interactions between organic residues which also takes into account the desolvation of the substituent. The system is referred to as a “molecular torsion balance” and in some ways it resembles an old fashion two-pan balance. The actual molecule is a little more comp... one in ten thousand blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=872390 Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:46:45 +0100 872390