Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Keeping Pace With Modern Medicine


The more I look at modern technological breakthroughs, the more I am in awe. These days, we actually have devices that are able to detect if your heart is about to fail, and then take steps to prevent a heart attack. I am referring to a device called an ICD, or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. This device is a battery run electrical pulse emitter that is connected to a patient's heart with very tiny wires and includes a component that monitors heart rate. If a patient's heart rate becomes erratic, the ICD can deliver a shock that will set the heart back into a normal rhythm. Such devices are generally recommended by doctors to patients who have had heart attacks in the past or other serious heart issues.


Credits:

ADAM. "Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillator." 16 May 2007. HowStuffWorks.com. 30 June 2009.
"Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillator Image." 16 May 2007. HowStuffWorks.com. 30 June 2009.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The Modern Stent


Modern medical technology is a wonderful thing. Now, patients suffering from poor blood flow in thier internal arteries can turn to a small piece of metal called a "stent". Stents are extremely small pieces of metal mesh that can be expanded to help hold open an artery and improve the circulation of blood throughout the body. Despite the potential for the stent to collapse, it is still probably the most effective tool against poor blood flow that doctors have today. Even if a stent collapses, it can be reopened. Patients must still take blood-thinning medication even after they recieve a stent or stents. Technology is continuing to improve stents, and one day the stent may be a medical miracle with a 100% success rate.
Credits:
American Heart Association. "Stent Procedure." AmericanHeart.org. <http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4721>. 23 June 2009.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Tempatures are rising

Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei is credited with inventing the modern thermometer. Called an air thermometer, it was a device in which a colored liquid was driven down by the expansion of air. As the air got warmer and expanded, the liquid dropped. In 1612 Italian physician Santorio Santorio adapted the device to measure the body's change in temperature due to illness. A century later, in 1714, German physicist Daniel Fahrenheit invented the mercury thermometer. Thermometers in use today, contain liquid mercury, which rises as it gets warmer.


An exceptionally rare c. 1850 surface clinical thermometer with ivory scale and original box. The end of the ivory has a small hole for placing a string to swing the instrument and allow centrifugal force to reset the mercury, an early feature.

A superb c. 1860 axilla clinical thermometer with ivory scale marked: G. TIEMANN & CO. NY. The instrument's original triangular-shaped case is present.


http://antiquescientifica.com/archive23.htm


Histoy of the Ultrasound


Today when a woman is pregnant she has the pleasure of seeing her baby via ultrasound pictures at varying stages of her pregnancy. At some point she can even chose to have a 3D picture taken. But that was definitely not the case for women giving birth 30 to 40 years ago. The definition of an ultrasound is energy generated by sound waves of 20,000 or more vibrations per second. The ultrasound started out as underwater testing of the speed of sound in the 1800's. As time went on scientists and physicists continued to discover different uses for this type of sonar. Actually most of the devices used in the 1800 and 1900's were used for Naval ships to detect if there was anything coming at them in the water. Then in the 1920's high intensity ultrasound was used for therapy on animal tissues. It was highly used in rehabilitative medicine and was even believed to be the "cure-all" for such problems as arthritis, asthma, hemorrhoids and urinary incontinence. The 1940's is when ultrasound was experimentally being used as a diagnostic tool. Then in 1949 the United States finally had their first report of diagnostic use of the ultrasound! It's amazing what can happen in over 100 years!
Since that time the ultrasound has continued to grow and flourish. And it's truly amazing what can be seen using the ultrasound now a days!

Chinese Medical Evolution

Chinese medicine, like the medical fields of many other countries, has grown tremendously in the past 100 years. It has its roots that can be traced back nearly 2400 years, beggining with acupunture and herbology. A major problem that has been facing China though is that they are reluctant to leave their old ways of practicing medicine. By the late 1980's the Chinese government realized that if they were to compete with other countries on a national level they would have to impose stricter regulations. In a country of over one billion they only found 500 doctors that were sutable to practice medicine under the new codes. China is an up and comming country that will make their name in the global economy and medical industry. They have the potentional and recources to become one of the strongest countries in the world



http://www.traditionalstudies.org/website/Chinese%20Medicine%20Evolution.html

Monday, June 15, 2009

ADHD -- New Title to an Old Problem?

Why is it that only within the past two centuries that young active little boys have now been considered to have a problem? What happened to the times when 'boys will be boys'? I don't understand that now, out of the entire history of human evolution, have active boys now suddenly have an affliction called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? Maybe it's a new cancer spreading out through the youth of America. Perhaps it's a made-up illness used to sedate the children of parents who need some quiet time after they realized kids are a lot of work. Whatever it is, I would bet anything that this 'ADHD' is nothing new, and parents have dealt with rambunctious kids for centuries, but only now has medicine progressed enough that we can silence the children if we choose to. I submit that these advancements in science need to be considered long and hard by ethics committees all over the world. Even more so, it's too early to tell if the new found drugs they are giving these children have any long term effects (40, 50, 60 years from now). I'm not trying to say that ALL kids diagnosed with ADHD should live without this medication, I'm simply saying that many kids that are normal and simply have active outbursts from time to time are being treated hastily with medication they don't need!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Incredible, Yet Simple Band-Aid

Eighty-eight years ago, Earle Dickson, an employee of Johnson & Johnson invented the band-aid. Dickson wanted to find a better bandage for his wife who was constantly getting small cuts on her fingers while she was working in the kitchen. Composed of a piece of tape, a small piece of gauze on the tape, and some crinoline to keep the whole thing sterile, the simple band-aid would eventually become a staple in most households in America. Seriously, how annoying would it be if you had to go back to the old way of things, cutting gauze and medical tape to fit your cut? Now, you can just pick the right size band-aid to fit your needs out of a box of assorted sizes. Here is a modern day commercial for Dickson's invention.



Credits:
Bellis, Mary. "History of the Band-Aid." About.com. <http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventions/a/bandaid.htm>. 13 June 2009.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s34b8T44514 (video)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Exercise does not Improve Sleep

SEATTLE, June 9 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers were surprised to find study participants sleeping less on days they exercised.


Lead study author Dr. Arn Eliasson of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington says results of the study were the opposite of their expectations. Quality of sleep did not improve after days of increased exertion and sleep efficiency did not vary according to the amount of exertion during the day, the study said.

"It has long been recommended, even championed, that getting exercise is part of the recipe for improved sleep. Our data do not support that notion," Eliasson said in a statement.

"The longest sleep and best sleep efficiency occurred after days with low non-exercise exertion -- better rested subjects got less exercise and had less calorie expenditure. After relatively more sleep -- more than six hours -- all measures of exertion decreased."

The study included 14 subjects who wore actigraphy armbands for 23 days. Data regarding total sleep time, sleep efficiency, total energy expenditure, exercise, energy expenditure, non-exercise activity steps and body mass were collected.

Seven subjects had a normal body mass and seven were overweight. Paradoxically, the researchers say, the group considered overweight had a higher total energy expenditure, and took more steps per day.

The study was presented at Sleep, the annual meeting of the Association of Sleep Professionals in Seattle.

SOURCE - http://www.upi.com/health http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Vc41rmR_4

Napping 4-year Olds less Anxious


June 9 (UPI) -- Young children between ages 4-5, who did not nap were found to be more hyperactive and anxious than children who napped.

The study, presented at Sleep (the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Seattle) found children who did not take daytime naps had higher levels of: hyperactivity, anxiety, and depression than other children.

The researchers suggest napping may have a significant influence on young children's daytime functioning and should be encouraged.

"There is a lot of individual variability in when children are ready to give up naps," lead study author Brian Crosby of Pennsylvania State University in said in a statement.

"I would encourage parents to include a quiet 'rest' time in their daily schedule that would allow children to nap if necessary."

For the study, caregivers for 62 children reported typical weekday and weekend bedtime/rise time, napping patterns, family demographics, and completed a behavioral assessment of the child. It's possible that there could be some minor consequences to children who aren't given the same amount of rest as normal children their same age. It's too early to tell if sleep deprivation at this age could lead to conditions like A.D.D. and A.D.H.D, but it is known that sleep at this age should be a very important part of their daily routine.

Type II Diabetes Found In Children

U.S. scientists and researchers have now documented the early signs of type 2 diabetes in children as young as age seven.

Melinda Sothern from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans documented previously unknown signs for obesity, heart disease and diabetes -- collectively called Metabolic Syndrome -- in very young children.

Metabolic Syndrome involves risk factors for diabetes such as blood pressure, obesity and decreased high-density lipo-protein, known as the "good" cholesterol.

Data was collected on 118 healthy children, ages 7-9, enrolled in an ongoing study.

The study found a child's current fat weight is the strongest predictor for poor insulin sensitivity, which is a risk factor for type two diabetes. Low-density lipo-protein, the "bad" cholesterol, was also strongly associated with insulin sensitivity in the prediction model.

The study found that fat in liver cells and in skeletal -- leg -- muscle cells also predict poor insulin sensitivity and high insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, along with an impaired fat-burning ability in the muscles.

These relationships were only found after the researchers considered the child's current fat weight, so the strongest predictor is whether or not these young children are currently overweight or obese.

The finding was presented at the American Diabetes Association annual scientific session meeting in New Orleans.

SOURCE - June 10 (UPI) http://www.upi.com/health
http://www.healthspablog.org (picture)

Uncovering our Earliest Ancestor

In Germany, Scientists have uncovered a 47-million-year-old fossilized skeleton of a primate thought to be the missing piece in the puzzle of human evolution.



Ever since the idea of Human Evolution was proposed by Darwin hundred of years ago, the general population and skeptics have asked for proof. The search for a direct link between humans and animals has taken over 200 years - not long ago it was unveiled to the world at a news conference in New York.

The most fascinating part of the discovery is how intact the sample really is! Nearly a 95% complete 'lemur monkey' (named Ida) is thought of by many in the scientific field to be an absolutely groundbreaking discovery for the world of science. Ida is bringing quite a lot of buzz with scientists hoping she will be able to bring the answers to the questions that have been asked for the past couple centuries.

Many researchers believe that this fossil can complete the 'holes' in Darwin's evolutionary theory for which there had previously been no proof to substantiate. Sir David Attenborough said Darwin "would have been thrilled" to have seen the fossil, and believes Ida can tell us who we are and where we evolved from.

"This little creature is going to show us our connection with the rest of the mammals," he said.
"This is the one that connects us directly with them.
"Now people can say 'okay we are primates, show us the link'.
"The link they would have said up to now is missing - well it's no longer missing."

SOURCE: Sir David Attenborough, SKY NEWS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ2mqA7HG1E

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The Evolution of AIDS Treatment

This video examanies the ever changing AIDS treatment. It was a video made in 1996 by the program from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Bisola Ojikutu, director of the Office of International Programs of the Division of AIDS at Harvard Medical School. They examine evolutions of medicine in the AIDS field.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Teenage Depression


Researchers from the universities of Vermont and Minnesota have found that children who start to socialize at a young age will grow up with less anxiety and will be less likely to become depressed at any stage in their life. The social pressure that is put on American teenagers can be unbearable. If the children are encouraged to socialize at a young age they will find it easier to adjust throughout life.

Adjusting and adapting at an early age is a key thing that people need to learn or it will plague them for the rest of their lives. If they learn how to function in relationships they will also learn to not internalize problems. The internalizing of problems will lead to anxiety and possible depression. Although depression can now partially be treated threw drugs and therapy it is something that parents have to help prevent at a young age.

Vitamin D Deficiency May Soften Baby's Skull

In early 2008 The World Health Organization discovered that a deficiency of Vitamin D in the pregnant women may cause the baby to be born with a soft, and often problematic. They also found that if the vitamin deficiency continued threw breast feeding that it could aggravate the situation and may cause serious health issues later in the baby's life and will increase the child's chance of getting type 1 diabetes.

The troubling part about this situation is the fact that these studies were conducted in the United States, which is a very rich country. Where most of its citizens are getting and many times exceeding the required amount of nutrition in any given day. It is easy to see how this can be increasingly problematic in less civilized nations. The researchers found that out of the 1120 newborns that they evaluated nearly 22% of them were born with soften skulls due to Vitamin D deficiency. This however has an easy fix, the women that are taking care of their children just need to increase the intake of vitamin D.

Women`s issues: Then and Now!




The article addressed the matherhood issue comparing the Victorian British Aristocracy with the Modern Day Britain. 3 subjects are addressed: the reasons to have babies, taking care of the babies and labor and delivery



“New technology and discoveries directly effect every aspect of human life including labor and delivery. Motherhood in the Victorian British aristocracy is different than the ideals and practices associated with modern day motherhood, and change will continue as it , like reproduction, is inevitable”.






Works Cited
Lewis, Judith S.In the Family Way: Childbearing in the British Aristocracy, 1760-1860 . Rutgers University Press. New Brunswick, NJ, 1986.

They Say to Us, Lean on Me


Can you believe that humans have been using crutches for nearly 5,000 years?! Well its true, the concept of the crutch dates back to ancient Egyptian times with the evidence carved in the walls of some of ancient Egyptian's tombs. Although crutchtes have gone from being made from more natural materials such as wood to metal alloys in present times, the basic design has remained the same. The basic crutch has always been some type of stick like device with something attatched to the top to help you keep your upper body balanced and stabilized. There are three main types of crutches used to aid people who have difficulty walking: auxillary crutches, forearm crutches, and platform crutches. Forearm and platform crutches are used in more serious cases, with the auxillary crutch being the most common one used. The crutches in the picture are an example of auxillary crutches.Past, present, or future, the crutch is where mankind leans when it has trouble making its way in the world.


Credits:

Hartmann, Michael*. "Crutches". 10 August 2005**. http://www.emedicinehealth.com/. 08 June 2009. http://www.emedicinehealth.com/crutches/article_em.htm.


* Michael Hartmann is the main author of the article referenced in this post. There are several other coauthors and editors that can be viewed at the URL listed above that helped write it as well. Michael Hartmann has the following qualifications: DO, Staff Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Darnall Army Community Hospital.


**This is the date of the last editorial review.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Who Invented Vaccination?

NY faced last U.S. smallpox outbreak


Diseases from the past didn’t disappear.
CNN: “The 1947 smallpox cases led to doctors' immunizing residents at a rate of eight injections per minute - 500,000 in one day”.
And here it came back again in 2002 in NYC.


Watch the video…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZW588a0p7g


Or read the article…


Work cited:
NY faced last U.S. smallpox outbreak, Garrick Utley and Sanjay Gupta, CNN, December 14, 2002, http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/12/13/smallpox.ny/

MMR: 3 in 1...


It appears that in the past immunization was safer… There is no evidence for combining 3 vaccinations into one. In the past medicine seemed to give priority to safety rather than to convenience.


Getting a Clearer Picture of Medicine


The microscope has allowed for some incredible advancements in the field of medicine, such as the discovery of germs and even helped form the field of microbiology. Actual magnifying lenses may date back to as far as ancient Roman times, but the microscope as a complete tool began to take shape towards the end of the 16th century and into the 17th century. Near the close of the 1500's, the Janssens, a Dutch father and son who made glasses a living, noticed that placing glass lenses on either end of a tube could make objects appear much larger to the human eye. In the 1600's, Anton van Leeuwenhoek created what are known as "light microscopes" which used natural light in conjunction with polished glass lenses to magnify objects many times their size. The image to the right is what one of these early microscopes looked like. Over time other scientists would improve the design of the light microscope and technology would even allow new types of microscopes to be created, such as the electron microscope. However, without the basic light microscope none of that other advancement would have been possible, and we would still believe that there is no such thing as germs! Here is a link to see what a basic microscope looks like today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuDcge0Zuak

Credits:
Bellis, Mary. "History of the Microscope". About.com. 04 June 2009. http://inventors.about.com/od/mstartinventions/a/microscope.htm http://z.about.com/d/inventors/1/G/H/Q/compound_microscope.jpg (picture)

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Seeing Medical History in Our Very Own Bones


Many, many years ago one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in human history happened on accident. The X-ray was stumbled upon by German physicist, Wilhelm Roentgen, while he was conducting a separate experiment utilizing electron beams. Roentgen noticed that while he had the electron beam powered on, he could view things through a flourscent screen. One of the first things he looked at through the flourscent screen, you guessed it...bones (in his own hand). From that moment forward the X-ray has never looked back and has been helping doctors diagnose broken bones and care for patients for more than a century now. This is an excellent example of how a technological breakthrough in the past can still remain relevant today.
Credits:
Harris, Tom. "How X-rays Work." 26 March 2002. HowStuffWorks.com. 02 June 2009.

Medical Tools of the Past...Not so Different Today


Even in the past, it seems that ancient Greek and Roman doctors were on the right track as far as surgical tools go. This image of ancient surgical hooks show just how little has changed in the basic design of these tools when compared to their present counterparts. In addition, it is also believed that the use of such instruments remains largely the same today as it was in ancient times. These hooks would be used for various surgical activities such as dissection, removal of tissue, moving blood vessels around, and more.


Despite the age of these tools, modern medicine has not changed much in the design of them. The image on the right shows what a surgical hook looks like today compared to the ones from ancient times on the left. I guess technology does not always advance as much as refine certain things in our lives. However, technology has rapidly advanced medicine in many areas and this blog eventually take a look at how that has happened, but for now it is interesting to see how sometimes there is very little change over a great period of time.
Credits:
Demand, Nancy. "Greek and Roman Surgical Instruments." 19 May 2000. Indiana.edu. <http://www.indiana.edu/~ancmed/instr1.html> 02 June 2009.