09-29
Parents, beware! According to the magazine U.S.News & World Report depression has been recognized as an illness as common in teenagers as it is in adults. It is worrisome because it raises the risk of suicide, far more common among adolescents than older adults. It is estimated that 5 percent of the American teenagers suffer major depression; just 1 in 5 are getting treatment; 500,000 teens atempt suicide each year; and 2,000 succeed.
It is estimated that 121 million people around the world are affected by depression but less than 25% are treated.
09-04
- S.News & World Report has published its annual list of America's best hospitals. Here are the ones that excelled in six or more specialties:
Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore, Maryland
Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota
Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts
Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio
UCLA Medical Center, in Los Angeles, California
Duke University Medical Center, in Durham, North Carolina
University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, in San Francisco, California
Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Saint Louis, Missouri
New York-Presbyterian Hospital, in New York City, New York
University of Washington Medical Center, in Seattle, Washington
University of Michigan Medical Center, in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Stanford Hospital and Clinics, in Stanford, California
Now check the top hospital in each of seventeen different fields, according to the magazine's survey in the United States:
CANCER - University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
Cancer is a malignant tumor that tends to invade surrounding tissue and spread to other parts of the body and cannot be controlled by the body itself. Cancers can be divided into cancers of the skin or cancers of connective tissue, such as bone or muscle. They can be caused by tobacco, radiation, and many other factors. Many cancers are curable by surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation, especially if they are detected early.
DIGESTIVE DISORDERS - Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Gastroenterologists treat such disorders.
EAR, NOSE & THROAT - John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
Otolaryngologists are worried about a probable increase in hearing loss.
GERIATRICS - UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles
Geriatricians, who specialize in the treatment or study of diseases of old people, are increasingly focused on Alzheimer's and surgeries on the elderly.
GYNECOLOGY - Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
Many hospitals have gynecologists working at women's health centers.
HEART - Cleveland Clinic
Cardiologists have more heart-saving devices and better drugs at their disposal, which means fewer operations.
HORMONAL DISORDERS - Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Endocrinologists struggle to keep pace with a diabetes onslaught.
KIDNEY DISEASE - Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
Nephrologists are kidney specialists and the diabetes epidemic is causing them headaches.
NEUROLOGY - Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Neurologist is a doctor who specializes in the study of the nervous system and the treatment of its diseases.
ORTHOPEDICS - Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Orthopedics is the branch of medicine concerned with injuries and diseases of the bones and muscles. Evolution has allowed orthopedists to do less invasive surgeries.
RESPIRATORY DISEASES - National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver
Pulmonologists are busy treating those with asthma and smoking problems.
UROLOGY - Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
Urologists specialize in the urinary system and its diseases, i.e. impotence and prostate cancer, too.
OPHTHALMOLOGY - Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami
Ophthalmologists study the eye and its diseases while optometrists specialize in testing eyes and prescribing lenses.
PSYCHIATRY - Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
Psychiatrists are doctors who diagnose and treat mental disorders and behaviour. Psychologists study the mind and mental processes.
PEDIATRICS - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Pediatricians specialize in the treatment of diseases of children.
REHABILITATION - Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Physiotherapists are the rehabilitation specialists.
RHEUMATOLOGY - Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Rheumatologist is a doctor who deals with rheumatism, the pain and stiffness in the joints and muscles.
05-26
Newsweek is an important source of information related to health. It was reported back in April how the current American authorities have their priorities mixed up. It is spending a lot of money -- at least US$ 5.6 billion during a 10-year period -- to prepare the U.S. against bioterror attacks while "ancient" diseases still kill millions around the world.
SARS, the virus that first jumped from animals to humans in Asia, killed 813 last year. Ebola, 244. Anthrax, five since 9/11/2001. Smallpox, zero. Mad cow disease, zero. Tuberculosis, about TWO MILLION every year.
Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the tuberculosis bacillus, commonly infects the lungs but also attacks the bones, the skin, or the lymph nodes. TB is caught by breathing in germs or by eating contaminated food, especially unpasteurized milk. It may also be passed from one person to another, and the carrier sometimes shows no signs of the disease.
TB can be prevented by inoculation with BCG vaccine and can be cured by treatment with antibiotics. Unfortunately, the newest drug that fights TB is 30 years old.
04-10-2004
Newsweek has published an article about the common cold and the flu. Both are caused by viruses, give us stuffy noses, and neither benefits from feeding or starving.
A cold happens year-round, is caused by 200 types of virus, and goes away after about one week. Contrary to popular belief it has no cure. Not even high doses of vitamin C can stop your nose from running. Because colds are caused by many germs, they're difficult to target with pharmaceuticals.
The flu, on the other hand, results in fever and aches, thrives in the winter, and just two viruses can cause it. Antivirals may stop the symptoms in days.
11-18
Sleeping more than nine hours or less than six a night may shorten your life expectancy. People who regularly get between seven and eight hours of sleep a night are likely to live longer.
Nearly half the population believes that the brain rests when the body sleeps. In fact, sleep allows the brain to go to work, filing and storing the day's events. When we are asleep and no more information can be put in our brain it can then file away the data. According to a report published in Newsweek, the sleeping brain turns the rush of daily events into long-term memories, not mere facts and images but elaborate mental processes, like how to tie shoelaces or prove Pythagoras' theorem. That's why good students, who sleep well, tend to do better than those who cram facts into their heads all night before the next day's exam.
11-17
Vitamins are organic substances essential for normal growth and activity of the body and are obtained naturally from animal and plant foods. Vitamin D regulates the body's ability to use calcium, which is required to build teeth and bones. Sunlight is the main source of vitamin D for humans, 15 minutes in the sun three times a week being enough to supply all our body needs. Other sources: vitamin D-fortified milk, orange juice, wheat products, butter, egg yolk, and salmon.
Partially because people are scared that the sun's rays may cause damage to our skin, and possibly cancer, and because the digestive intolerence to milk seems to be growing, rickets is making a comeback, especially in North America. Rickets -- almost eradicated in the US in the 1930s -- is a serious disease, caused by a deficiency in vitamin D, in which children's bones soften and break.
09-03
Back on July 28 the periodical U.S. News & World Report published their annual ranking of America's best hospitals in the fields of cancer, digestive disorders, otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat), geriatrics, gynecology, heart, hormonal disorders, kidney disease, neurology, orthopedics, respiratory disorders, rheumatology, urology, eyes, pediatrics, and rehabilitation. It's a good guide for those seeking treatment in the U.S.
08-29-2003
AIDS is a serious disease but did you know that malaria afflicts up to 500 million people a year and kills about 2.7 million of them, mostly children in sub-Saharan Africa?
03/3
Pregnant women (Why not everyone?) beware of fish which may prove dangerous due to their contamination with mercury, which at certain levels can harm a fetus's developing brain. This is an American FDA warning.
02/19
Here are some health notes for you taken from the "Health and Medicine" section of U.S. News & World Report:
Kidney Stones - To avoid them doctors have always recommended a low-calcium diet but it seems men on a diet low in salt and animal protein did much better.
Depression - The proportion of Americans taking antidepressants has soared. Those receiving psychotherapy has dropped a bit. But it seems that talk therapy is as good as drugs for mild and moderate depression. A combination of both drugs and therapy is most effective for major depression.
Hormone Replacement Therapy - Medical wisdom about menopause therapy is coming under question. It seems it isn't doing much to help either the bones or heart. A whole generation of women are on these drugs but there are no really good studies compiled yet, especially concerning the relationship to breast cancer. You're probably not placing yourself at high risk if you take HRT for a few years, but for a lifetime that's different!
February 10, 2001
Now we're in for Bush's reign...may it be a happy one, but it sure "ain't" starting off exactly with a big bang (I'll leave a discussion about his appointments to another time).
Just take a look at his/their decision to deny US aid to family-planning organizations abroad that inform women about medical options including ABORTION! "The president does not support using taxpayer funds to provide abortions." Clinics in developing countries will lose funds if they even discuss abortion with their patients!
He/they also intend to close the office of National AIDS Policy. So much for trying to bring this epidemic under control in the US!
Speaking of AIDS, did you see the last issue of TIME magazine with the cover and special report on the devastation caused by AIDS in Africa? Very impressive and so unbelievably sad!
However, I could come up with one point favorable to the big Bush man. His new drug czar is supposedly in favor of the "war" against drugs giving more emphasis to treatment rather than imprisonment as a way to reduce the numbers of those addicted. On the other hand, who knows where the US is going with their involvement in Colombia! (By the way, be sure to see the movie TRAFFIC because it gives a fine perspective on this so-called drug war!)
