While people living in Goma and sheltering in nearby camps continue to live in fear of new clashes between an armed group called the M23 and loyalist forces, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is witnessing increased violence in Masisi, some 80 kilometers (48 miles) to the northwest. In this isolated area of North Kivu,…
Health and Medicine
TOO MANY DENTISTS, TOO FEW PHYSICIANS
From The Japan Times November 28, 2011 The Japan Medical Association (JMA), once the most powerful lobby group with mighty political clout, still clings to its position of staunchly opposing any scheme to increase the number of doctors, in order to protect its own vested interests. At a recent series of meetings of a study…
Y’all Be Careful, Now.
Salmonella kills people but only now and then. 38% of people who ingest it need to be hospitalized, but is that bad? The USDA is not sure. Last year, the USDA discovered serious contamination of turnkeys in the Cargill, Inc. turkey plant in Arkansas. Accordingly, it issued the warning to Cargill – y’all be careful,…
IT CAN’T GET MUCH WORSE, CAN IT?
No doubt that the attack in Oslo killing at least 91 persons is the shock story of the story but the news out of Somalia is, in some ways, even worse. The famine Somalia, and the Horn of Africa generally, is experiencing is growing and the statistics are so overwhelming that they are numbing. 11.5…
BREAKTHROUGH ON THE AIDS FRONT
The general fuss being made about this research is that it suggests that drugs for the treatment of AIDS may be useful for the prevention, too. Robert M. Grant, M.D., M.P.H., Javier R. Lama, M.D., M.P.H., Peter L. Anderson, Pharm.D., Vanessa McMahan, B.S., Albert Y. Liu, M.D., M.P.H., Lorena Vargas, Pedro Goicochea, M.Sc., Martín Casapía,…
THAT’S CAPITALISM
God bless America and free enterprise. 1. Abbott Laboratories has raised the U S price of its protease-inhibiting drug Norvir from about $1,500 to $7,800 annually. In Belgium, it costs less than $720. Abbott justifies its price hike by explaining that patients are using smaller doses of Norvir than originally expected. The price increase was…
IN JAPAN, DEATH BECOMES THEM
Japan Times Justice Minister Keiko Chiba allowed journalists for the first time Friday to enter the Tokyo Detention House’s execution chamber. Chiba, who has long been opposed to the death penalty, has taken various measures to promote public discussion on capital punishment by making it transparent, while like many other justice ministers she fulfilled her…
CANCER RESEARCH DONOR LOBBIED AGAINST DESIGNATION OF FORMALDEHYDE AS A CARCINOGEN
From propublica.org A prominent philanthropist, cancer survivor, and American businessman, David Koch, has given millions to the cause of cancer research, while his company—Koch Industries—has lobbied against formal recognition of formaldehyde as a carcinogen, The New Yorker reported in a piece published today. In article published on August 25, New Yorker magazine had this to…
CHRISTIANS – ONE; OBAMA – ZERO
In March 2009, President Barack Obama removed restrictions on embryonic research that were put in place by President George W. Bush. But Drs. James Sherley and Theresa Deisher and the Christian Medical Association, sued the Department of Health and Human Services last year to block the application of the new guidelines on human stem cell…
SMOKE IF YOU’VE GOT ‘EM
When a company of soldiers is standing “At Ease”, the company sergeant will often bark out, “Smoke if you’ve got “em.” At least that’s how it was in my Army days. Nowadays, you can’t even smoke in your own backyard because your neighbors will get you arrested. Richard Peto and Richard Doll, world-renownded epidemiologists, studied…
MEDICARE FRAUD
From the Government Accounting Office. GAO-10-844T Why GAO Did This Study GAO has designated Medicare as a high-risk program since 1990, in part because the program’s size and complexity make it vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse. What GAO Found GAO has identified challenges and strategies in five key areas important in preventing fraud, waste,…
THE SECRET CODES OF MEDICINE
It is always a shock to learn that medical practitioners (those who call themselves “doctors” and have convinced 98% of us to call them that, too), have codes of ethical conduct. Thus, it is welcome news that an umbrella organization for specialty groups has adopted a new code of conduct that seeks to limit industry’s…
MEDICAL UPDATES
Statin therapy prescribed to lower cholesterol also appears to lower testosterone, according to a new study that evaluated nearly 3,500 men who had erectile dysfunction. For full story, CLICK HERE. Robotic aids can help stroke patients make small but significant improvements in their ability to move their limbs, and gain a better outlook on life,…
“I’VE BEEN RICH, I’VE BEEN POOR.” RICH IS BETTER
So spoke Mae West, and we should not laugh but take heed. Health Day News………………………………………..Tainted produce is a common problem for low-income shoppers, U.S. researchers say. They compared levels of bacteria, mold and yeast on identical produce products sold in six Philadelphia-area neighborhoods, three of which had the city’s highest poverty levels. Stores in these…
STICKS AND STONES AND SCARY WORDS WILL BREAK YOUR BONES
Reprinted from medicinenet.com. Study Shows Words Alone May Activate Pain Response in the Brain By Jennifer Warner WebMD Health News Reviewed By Laura J. Martin, MD April 2, 2010 — Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can hurt you too, according to new research. A new study suggests merely saying, “This may…
MEDICAL NEWS
To read any of these articles, just CLICK HERE Rules Kids Need to Break What Motivates Kids Who Are Bullies? Only Rare Fractures Linked to Osteoporosis Drugs Incontinence After Childbirth May Last Years Health Tip: Treating Plantar Warts Health Tip: Help Heal Your Ulcer What’s Cookin’? It Could Be Air Pollution Poll Finds Americans Blame…
THE SOCIALIST PERSPECTIVE
Whether you are a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, a left-leaner or a right-leaner, or a down-the-middle conservative, you are getting and expressing just one side of the coin. You need to subscribe to www.wsws.org to widen your perspective. Read it at least once each week. Without permission, I take the liberty of presenting its…
HEALTH CARE BILL PASSES
It is much overrated but, finally, after 400 days of fighting, Congress passed a bill overhauling health care insurance. In the beginning, Republicans objected to an option that would allow people under the usual age for medicare to purchase into the system. The Democrats gave that up. Some Democrats (led by Dennis Kucinich) wanted a…
EATING LETTUCE WON’T FIX YOUR BROKEN LEG
The British Parliament has come out strongly against homeopathy. Now, it is true that homeopathy is nothing but a load of garbage with wings but the fact that Brit politicians have condemned it adds nothing to what we know. Here is an article I have ripped off from British Standard without asking permission to reprint…
HEALTH CARE AND ALL THAT JAZZ
I am bored out of my mind with the subject of health care but just in case you aren’t, here are some pieces that once upon a time I would have said, “These are interesting.” 1 The Latest Same Old Obama Care Bill 2. On Health Care, Do it. 3. Dems Can’t Give Up on…
HAITI AND DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
The crisis is not over and money is still desperately needed. Donate! Even if you have done so, already. Doctors Without Borders is the best, PERIOD. Sure, UNICEF, Care, Oxfam, American Red Cross and Project Hope all do solid work but none of them has ever received the Nobel Prize and I don’t think any…
SMOKE ‘EM IF YOU’VE GOT ‘EM
“Smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em” was the directive U.S. Army sergeants gave their enlisted men on their breaks. What’s good enough for American soldiers is good enough for the whole nation of Japan. Japan Times – The Yokohama District Court on Wednesday dismissed a damages suit filed by three former smokers who argued they…
BACK TO HAITI
Charity Navigator is my guru on all matters related to charity. Here is what it says about the Haiti situation. Do Not Send Supplies – Knowing that millions of people are desperately in need of food and water, it is hard not to want to pack up a box of supplies and send it to…
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