Should the FDA approve lovemaking technique?
Everybody knows that having sex is beneficial for your health. It lowers your blood pressure, reduces risk of heart attack, improves your self esteem and reduces stress (as per webmd.com). I think that one of the most important gifts God gave us is the ability to love.
But recently I realized that there’s a problem with love: Unlike so many other things that keep us healthy, lovemaking procedure is not approved by the FDA!
There are no randomized controlled studies about the safety of lovemaking, no government recommended doses, no side effects. Nothing! So I asked myself: how can we do it without FDA and government...
Source: Doctor Kalitenko antiaging blog - June 13, 2013 Category: Physicians With Health Advice Authors: admin Source Type: blogs
Unbearable: Chinese Drugmaker Pulls IPO Over Bear Bile Protests
A highly controversial initial public offering by a Chinese drugmaker, which uses bile from captive black bears to make medicines for treating the liver and eye, has been scrapped after more than two years of sustained protests from animal-rights activists, according to The South China Morning Post.
The Fujian Guizhentang Pharmaceutical stock sale was one of nearly 270 that were pulled amid increased scrutiny of IPOs by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. But an explanation was not offered and local media were reporting the drugmaker plans to fund expansion through other means.
“This is a victory for animal welfa...
Source: Pharmalot - June 6, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
Cook’s Evolution Biliary Controlled-Release Uncovered Stent Cleared in U.S. (VIDEO)
Cook Medical received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its Evolution Biliary Controlled-Release Uncovered Stent. The bile duct stent can be positioned, nearly fully deployed, and recaptured for repositioning as needed. A mark is used to signal the point beyond which recapturing is no longer possible.The stent is designed to prevent displacement post deployment, and is touted to be flexible enough to match the duct’s curvaceous anatomy while being stiff enough to push through it in preparation for deployment. The device was cleared approximately a year ago in Europe and is now expected to become available in the U.S...
Source: Medgadget - June 5, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Editors Tags: GI Radiology Source Type: blogs
Is bear bile good for skin?
According to this study, it turns out that this ingredient is good for skin conditions like psoriasis (at least when taken orally.) In this day and age of animal-rights it would be crazy to think that any company would use bear bile as an ingredient, but one never knows.
In fact perhaps we should launch an investigation into the ingredients used in the Bare Escentuals line!
Image credit: http://pixabay.com (Source: thebeautybrains.com)
Source: thebeautybrains.com - June 1, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: thebeautybrains Tags: Questions Source Type: blogs
ProSound F75 Processors for Olympus Ultrasound Endoscopes
Olympus has announced that its ultrasound endoscopes will now be powered by ProSound F75 ultrasound processors developed with help from Hitachi Aloka Medical.The new processors promise more detailed imaging of ” the GI track and surrounding organs such as the pancreas, bile duct, liver, spleen and gallbladder as well as assessing a variety of cancers,” with improved ergonomics and a more efficient workflow. The F75 features an adjustable monitor and keyboard, DICOM integration, and backward compatibility with older endoscopic ultrasounds and endobronchial ultrasounds.Read More (Source: Medgadget)
Source: Medgadget - May 28, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Editors Tags: GI Source Type: blogs
Self-Managing Cholesterol
By David Spero
As a recent study indicates, reducing LDL (“bad" cholesterol) can help prevent complications in most people with diabetes. Why is LDL cholesterol a bad thing, and how do you get to a healthy level?
First, what is cholesterol? Discovered in 1769 by analyzing gallstones, cholesterol is a fat-like organic chemical that is an essential part of animal cell membranes. Without it, cells won't function properly.
Cholesterol is made into bile, which is needed for digesting fats. It is also helps produce the body's natural steroids, including our sex hormones and the vital stress hormone cortisol. Cholesterol ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - May 15, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Spero Source Type: blogs
Science is Hard
Yes it is. Or it certainly can be. Back in Flexner's time and right through mid-Century, obviously, even though we didn't have any high quality randomized trials going on, doctors were doing stuff. Some of it was probably helpful much of the time. For example, they knew to amputate severely injured limbs, especially if there were signs of putrescence. If there's an accessible tumor, cutting it out can be helpful. It it isn't malignant, it's curative. Digitalis was used for heart disease since the 18th Century, and it is indeed helpful. There were other so-called empirical remedies back then as well, by which we mean remedi...
Source: Stayin' Alive - May 14, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs
Internet reviews about doctors: threat or opportunity?
This is an article which I wrote for the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. This was a comment on the paper, Daniel Strech. Ethical principles for physician rating sites. J Med Internet Res. 2011;13(4):e113). doi:10.2196/jmir.1899
For most doctors (though perhaps not for the readers of this
journal), the field of medical ethics remains an abstract subject which
is of interest only to academics. However, ethics is applied to the
resolution of conflicts in real life. This interesting paper uses the
timeless principles of medical ethics to help to resolve a very modern
conflict: how can we make sure that physician rati...
Source: The Patient's Doctor - May 12, 2013 Category: Obstetricians and Gynecologists Tags: reviews malpani reviews Dr Malpani complaints Source Type: blogs
Feeding tubes and weird ideas
My favorie BADD post: Tube-ageddon.
I haven't had much time to write anything here about the hell I went through getting my GJ tube. I had every indication for a GJ tube. I had gastroparesis so bad it was starting to affect my breathing, in a way that doctors said was likely to result in infection after infection until I died. From the emergency room onward, doctors were saying my best hope was to get a feeding tube.
Yet the pressure I got from doctors, while in the hospital for one of those infections, was to just keep getting infections, go home, wait to die. Most of them wouldn't say that outright. But so...
Source: Ballastexistenz - May 2, 2013 Category: Autism Authors: Amanda Tags: Abuse Autism Bullying Cognitive disability Degradation Developmental disability Disability Rights Discrimination Ethics Ethics, justice, etc. Food Hatred Medical Medical stuff Outside Perceptions Physical disability Power Source Type: blogs
Complications and Profits
This paper from JAMA had the health blogosphere in a tizzy recently. The Boston Consulting Group reviewed surgical discharge data from a 12-hospital system in the southern US to see if there was a "relationship" between surgical complications and hospital profits. Their findings were obvious and unsurprising:
When a privately insured patient experiences one or more complications -- such as blood clots, stroke, infection, septic shock, pneumonia or cardiac arrest -- hospitals' profit margins are 330% higher compared to a patient with no complications, the report found.
For Medicare patients with complica...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - May 1, 2013 Category: Surgeons Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD Source Type: blogs
Complications and Profits
This paper fromJAMA had the health blogosphere in a tizzy recently. TheBoston Consulting Group reviewed surgical discharge data from a 12-hospital system in the southern US to see if there was a "relationship" between surgical complications and hospital profits. Their findings were obvious and unsurprising:When a privately insured patient experiences one or more complications -- such as blood clots, stroke, infection, septic shock, pneumonia or cardiac arrest -- hospitals' profit margins are 330% higher compared to a patient with no complications, the report found.ForMedicare patients with complications, h...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - April 30, 2013 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
MRCP: Stop Already.
Conclusions
MRCP has a high rate of false normal results compared with IOC and is not as accurate as more invasive techniques. There is no need for preoperative MRCP in patients with suspected choledocholithiasis caused by stones.
MRCP (magnetic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) is a costly imaging modality (although one would have no idea how much it costs due to pricing opacity and lack of published data---I spent 30 minutes googling "how much does an MRCP cost" without finding a reliable estimate, try it yourself). I have found it to be one of the most overused studies in modern American medicine. T...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - March 23, 2013 Category: Surgeons Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD Source Type: blogs
MRCP: Stop Already.
ConclusionsMRCP has a high rate of false normal results compared with IOC and is not as accurate as more invasive techniques. There is no need for preoperative MRCP in patients with suspected choledocholithiasis caused by stones.MRCP (magnetic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) is a costly imaging modality (although one would have no idea how much it costs due to pricing opacity and lack of published data---I spent 30 minutes googling "how much does an MRCP cost" without finding a reliable estimate, try it yourself). I have found it to be one of the most overused studies in modern American medicine. Typica...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - March 22, 2013 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
