MetaFilter posts tagged with health

Stem Cell Awareness and The Black Community

shetterly — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:17:06 -0800

Stem Cell Awareness and The Black Community "Due to genetic variance, 1 in 500 Europeans need to be on the registry, but 1 in 10 Africans should be on the registry worldwide..." 5 Fast Facts on Bone Marrow Registration and Donation. If you want to find out more about whether you can save a life, visit Be The Match (US), OneMatch (Canada), or the Anthony Nolan Trust (UK).

For those who believe, no proof is necessary.

pick_the_flowers — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:05:51 -0800

Does John of God really heal the sick? Or is it just carnival tricks? John of God aka João Teixeira de Faria is a farmer who has been healing people close to his ranch in Brazil for close to 50 years by chanelling the energy of medical spirits. Sometimes he uses visible surgery and sometimes he uses invisible surgery.

Learn.Genetics

netbros — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:35:03 -0800

grumblebee's post about cell size and scale the other day was quite fascinating. Pulling back to the home for that site, the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah delivers educational materials on genetics, bio-science and health topics ranging from stem cells to gene therapy, and from epigenetics to heredity. Explore the neurobiology of normal and addicted brains and the genetic contribution to this chronic disease.

Sen. Lieberman (I - Aetna).

markkraft — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:28:11 -0800

Joe Lieberman... Deal or No Deal?! (SLYT) A campaign ad for Ned Lamont has suddenly become very relevant, considering Sen. Joe Lieberman's recent statement threatening to block any health care legislation with a public option. "I accused him of, after 20 years, dithering on that topic," said Ned Lamont yesterday. "As far as I can tell, a filibuster is one more dither."

High medication costs make baby Jesus cry

dances_with_sneetches — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:15:46 -0800

Why do my medications cost so much? Are there ways to save money on my pills? Are generic drugs equal to the brand name? Is a generic option available for the drug I'm taking? Or maybe my medications are causing my health problems? Can I just take the expired pills in that old bottle?

Getting burned by packing heat

Blazecock Pileon — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:11:52 -0800

Does carrying a gun protect you from physical harm? Research by epidemiologists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine suggests that carrying a gun makes one 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault, than someone not possessing a gun. Resisting increases one's odds of suffering harm even greater. "On average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. Although successful defensive gun uses are possible and do occur each year, the probability of success may be low for civilian gun users in urban areas."

The "boy-killing, man-mutilating, money-making, education-prostituting, gladiatorial sport."

phrontist — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:55:54 -0800

Does american football unavoidably lead to brain damage over time? Does a culture favoring perseverance at the expense of well being begin in high school?

Aaron Beck & Cognitive Therapy

Non Prosequitur — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:05:20 -0800

“The psychoanalytic mystique was overwhelming. It was a little bit like the evangelical movement.” How Aaron Beck and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helped increase empiricism in psychotherapy.

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

knave — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:04:07 -0800

Sugar: The Bitter Truth. Robert H. Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics at UCSF, discusses the biochemical properties of fructose and makes the case for why it should be considered, essentially, a poison. [Youtube, 1.5 hours] While the cane sugar vs high-fructose corn syrup issue is frequently discussed online, the two substances are remarkably similar. Sucrose almost immediately breaks into fructose and glucose (in 50:50 ratio) in digestion, while HFCS contains both in a 55:45 ratio. In Dr. Lustig's view, refined sugar and HFCS can be considered equally bad for humans, due to their fructose content. His talk is focused on fructose, and goes into detail on the metabolism of it in the liver (since, unlike glucose, fructose can't be used directly by the other parts of the body). He also touches on USDA dietary recommendations, including the recent decades preoccupied with reducing dietary fat, as well as the commonly cited (kcal in - kcal out = weight change) equation and its shortcomings for addressing obesity.

Welcome to the jungle

pjenks — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 07:51:38 -0800

One hamburger sent a 23 year-old woman into a coma for nine weeks. When she awoke, she could no longer walk. A lengthy expose in the NYTimes follows the secretive chain of events bringing E. coli into her life. Contemporary carnivores read at your own risk... The author, a modern-day Upton Sinclair, seems to have been on the food beat as of late.

Flash mob in aisle 3!

markkraft — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:00:25 -0800

Brassed off?! (YouTube, 5 min.) Like the health care debate itself, the boycott / buycott confrontation regarding the recent article by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey may be heating up. Mackey, who was previously investigated by the SEC for making anonymous internet posts talking up his stock while trashing the valuation of an acquisition target, now faces opposition from suppliers and labor groups, a decrease in brand perception, investor calls to step down... and pesky oom-pah bands.

Psychiatric Tales

Artw — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:17:31 -0800

Schizophrenia, a story from Darryl Cunningham's forthcoming Psychiatric Tales.

The First Ripples of the Silver Tsunami

Acromion — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:18:53 -0800

Nearly 1 in 5 young adults is out of work. Student debt is the highest its ever been. With a 10 year job growth of negative 230,000 jobs, the pool of available jobs is the lowest its ever been as a ratio to available college grads. And even with this dwindling tax base, in order to sustain Medicare and Social Security by 2020, we will need to tax 1.5 workers for every retiree. The dominant media narrative now is focused on the racial tensions surrounding Obama's health care reform. But in reality, the strongest opposition to Obama now comes not from young whites, who stand to benefit the most from medical reform. It is largely from 'angry white seniors' who fear cuts in the their Medicare. Are you ready for the Silver Tsunami?

Yuk

debord — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:48:46 -0800

Traction Man is writing about the food he receives in an NHS hospital bed in England. He's got a Downfall tribute video too.

Sick and Wrong

sensate — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:20:04 -0800

Matt Taibbi takes a look at the health care reform circus in Congress. It doesn't come off looking much better than Goldman Sachs. (more inside) Another favor to industry buried in the bills involves the issue of choice. From the outset, Democrats have been careful to make sure that a revamped system would not in any way force citizens to give up their existing health care plans. As Obama told the American Medical Association in June, "If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what." That sounds great, particularly in conjunction with the new set of standards for employer-provided insurance outlined in the House version of reform. Under the bill — known as HR 3200 — employers must provide "essential benefits" to workers or face a stiff penalty. "Essential benefits" includes elements often missing in the fly-by-night plans offered by big employers: drug benefits, outpatient care, hospitalization, mental health, the works. If your employer does not offer acceptable coverage, you then have the right to go into one of the state-run insurance "exchanges," where you can select from a number of insurance plans, including the public option. There's a flip side, though: If your employer offers you acceptable care and you reject it, you are barred from buying insurance in the insurance "exchange." In other words, you must take the insurance offered to you at work. And that might have made sense if, as decreed in the House version, employers actually had to offer good care. But in the Senate version passed by the HELP committee, there is no real requirement for employers to provide any kind of minimal level of care. On the contrary, employers who currently offer sub-par coverage will have their shitty plans protected by a grandfather clause. Which means … "If you have coverage you like, you can keep it," says Sen. Sanders. "But if you have coverage you don't like, you gotta keep it."

Toxic Waters

homunculus — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:58:17 -0800

Toxic Waters: A series about the worsening pollution in American waters and regulators' response.

“If you are bitter at heart, sugar in the mouth will not help you”

bigmusic — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:33:04 -0800

American Heart Association: American men should not consume more than 150 calories of sugar a day[pdf], American women 100 calories. paper[pdf]

NICU PTSD

swift — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:05:31 -0800

About three months after her son's birth, Ms. Roscoe asked to see a psychiatrist. She was given a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, or P.T.S.D. — a mental illness more often associated with surviving war, car accidents and assaults, but now being recognized in parents of premature infants in prolonged intensive care. (nyt)

The Stupid History of Health Insurance Regulation in the US

cimbrog — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:33:46 -0800

fxgillis at the League of Ordinary Gentlemen tells "the stupid history of how the stupid Supreme Court and a stupid Congress wound up saddling us with such a stupid system for regulating the insurance market." That is the reason that health insurance regulations look like this right now. This issue was brought up most recently by the McCain campaign as part of their health care plan, but there was criticism pdf that this plan would create a race to the bottom for coverage.

Guns and Poses?? Welcome to the Jungle....

Mastercheddaar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:28:32 -0800

The Second Amendment of the Constitution of United States of America gives us all the right to bear arms. It means that as Americans we can keep fire arms without governmental infringement. A few days ago many Americans chose to exercise this right at political Town Hall meetings on health care reform throughout the United States. Some are defending these actions. Others are not. The NRA is remaining quiet.

Fat, Depressed & 35 y.o.

ericb — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:11:52 -0800

"The average video gamer is not the stereotypical adolescent locked to a computer screen 24/7."* According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emory University and Andrews University: "A new study [PDF] says the average age of video-game players in the United States is 35 [PDF], and oh, by the way: They're overweight and tend to be depressed."

"'Health-risk factors, specifically, a higher BMI and a greater number of poor mental-health days differentiated adult video-game players from non-players,' said Dr. James B. Weaver III of the CDC in Atlanta. 'Video-game players also reported lower extroversion, consistent with research on adolescents that linked video game playing to a sedentary lifestyle and overweight status, and to mental-health concerns.'"*

Videogames: Play or "Playlike Activiy?" [PDF]

Use it or lose it - run for knee health

caddis — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:03:21 -0800

Running is actually good for your knees, if you haven't suffered knee injuries in the past. [D]espite entrenched mythology to the contrary, runners don’t seem prone to degenerating knees. An important 2008 study, this one from Stanford University, followed middle-aged, longtime distance runners (not necessarily marathoners) for nearly 20 years, beginning in 1984, when most were in their 50s or 60s. At that time, 6.7 percent of the runners had creaky, mildly arthritic knees, while none of an age-matched control group did. After 20 years, however, the runners’ knees were healthier; only 20 percent showed arthritic changes, versus 32 percent of the control group’s knees. Barely 2 percent of the runners’ knees were severely arthritic, while almost 10 percent of the control group’s were.

A very good article on health care economics

kliuless — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:40:28 -0800

How American Health Care Killed My Father After the needless death of his father, the author, a business executive, began a personal exploration of a health-care industry that for years has delivered poor service and irregular quality at astonishingly high cost. It is a system, he argues, that is not worth preserving in anything like its current form. And the health-care reform now being contemplated will not fix it. Here’s a radical solution to an agonizing problem. (via mr) BONUS -Health Care Spending and PCE -Consumer Driven Health Care Plans -4 Points on Health Care -A Public Option Isn't a Curse, or a Cure [also btw Thaler vs. Posner] -'A Plan to Swissify America' (P.Krugman) -Why We Need Health Care Reform (B.Obama) -Health 2.0 could shock the system (E.Dyson) -Mont. Clinic Aims to Deliver Top-quality Care for Less -Cleveland Clinic Chief: Lower Care Costs Must Be Focus in Reform Efforts -Healthcare lessons -The world's worst healthcare reforms

Terminally Illin'

digaman — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:49:17 -0800

Cancer is hilarious. On humor, healing, and the art of remaining human and hip in difficult circumstances. (From Newsweek.) See also here, here and here.

A rational conservative solution for health care reform

reenum — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:29:33 -0800

E.D. Kain with a moderate conservative solution to the health care crisis