Archive for 'Health' Category
120lb journey
How running changed one man’s life.
Humility and healthcare in the US
Some people in the US seem to think Obama is Hitler, because he wants to reform their healthcare. If only Hitler had stuck to being a healthcare reformer, instead of annexing the Sudetenland… The majority of US citizens think US health care is the best in the world. Therefore it is understandable that they would [...]
PSA testing
Norman recently posted about the news that ministers would be reviewing whether PSA testing was sensible on the basis of a study reported in the media, with a further update by a reader here. His link takes you to an article by Sarah Boseley in the Guardian. Unlike some other papers, she at least notes [...]
When to weigh the options
Norman Geras discusses a US decision to advise against PSA testing for prostate cancer: I’m in no position to comment on the medical evidence either way. But men who discover they have prostate cancer too late to benefit from curative treatments are unlikely to be convinced by the arguments against screening. Most of them will [...]
Health in Zimbabwe: surge in injuries
The following communication has been sent from the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (from Normblog). Cases of Systematic Violent Assault and Torture Overwhelm Health Professionals 17 June 2008 ZADHR is deeply concerned about the continuing violent trauma being inflicted on the Zimbabwean population. The escalation in numbers and severity of cases of systematic [...]
Obesity epidemic?
The BMJ have two alternate views on whether the obesity epidemic is exaggerated. The YES view: Some in the public health community believe that deliberate exaggeration or, indeed, misrepresentation of the risks of diseases or certain behaviours or our capacity to prevent or treat them on a population-wide basis is justified, if not demanded, in [...]
The mother of all hairballs
Those of you that have cats may have experienced hairballs. Here’s a nice set of pictures of a 4.5kg hairball formed in a 18-year-old girl with a trichophagia habit.
Selling obesity
A couple of days ago a BBC news report on the radio suggested obesity was a potential crisis on the scale of climate change. It was immediately followed by another item concerning a potential mechanism for developing a cure for obesity. Today the news is that obesity is not an individual’s fault, but a consequence [...]
Race based medicine
Scientific American has an interesting editorial and article by Jonathan Kahn on drugs licensed for use in particular races. Kahn argues that looking at racial targeting, rather than true individualized medicine, may lead to a “trend that may segregate medicine and fatten the profits of drugmakers without addressing the underlying causes that are killing so [...]