April 30, 2012
Dr. Bruce Lobitz, an attending physician in the emergency department at Upstate Carolina Medical Center in Gaffney, S.C., sees about 10 patients a week complaining of toothaches. “The bane of our existence,†he calls them. (NY Times)
April 30, 2012
Diseases that strike different parts of the body—and that don’t seem to resemble each other at all—may actually have a lot in common. (Wall Street Journal)
April 30, 2012
Medical devices sustain and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans. But as the over $100 billion-a-year industry pushes thousands of devices to market every year, reports of faulty devices, repeat surgeries, and recalls have increased. (Scientific American)
April 30, 2012
Less than a month old, Savannah Dannelley scrunches her tiny face into a scowl as a nurse gently squirts a dose of methadone into her mouth. The infant is going through drug withdrawal and is being treated with the same … Read More
April 30, 2012
Mike and Laura Canahuati’s blog about their nearly 6-month-old daughter, who is expected to die by age 2 because of a genetic disorder, began as an efficient way to keep family and close friends in touch about baby Avery’s health. … Read More
April 30, 2012
In 2003, back when such things remained unpredictable, a woman gave birth to a baby boy with Down syndrome. Her family was shocked. She had undergone the standard screening tests while pregnant—a blood test followed by an ultrasound—but the results … Read More
April 27, 2012
Vance Terrell offered encouraging words to his pregnant sister during visits to a western Michigan hospital. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t see or hear him, and would never hold her twin sons. (Washington Post)
April 27, 2012
Fixing a broken heart has never been easy, but damaged mice hearts can now be repaired by transforming injured cells into healthy beating muscle cells. The approach sidesteps the use of stem cells and could lead to new heart treatments. … Read More
April 27, 2012
Several states recently continued their push to implement more restrictions on when doctors are allowed to provide abortions, in some cases effectively cutting off access to the procedures, according to opponents. (American Medical News)
April 27, 2012
More than 3 million health insurance policyholders and thousands of employers will share $1.3 billion in rebates this year, thanks to President Barack Obama’s health care law, a nonpartisan research group said Thursday. (Washington Post)
April 26, 2012
Every year, millions of people are born with debilitating genetic disorders, a result of inheriting just one faulty gene from their parents. They may have been dealt a dud genetic hand, but they do not have to stick with it. … Read More
April 26, 2012
A Catholic school teacher in Indiana is suing a diocese there, claiming that she was unlawfully terminated after school officials learned she was undergoing fertility treatments to become pregnant. (ABC News)
April 26, 2012
Girls as young as 13 should be able to walk into a high-street chemist and get the contraceptive pill if they want it, an evaluation of an NHS pilot scheme has concluded. (Guardian)
April 26, 2012
It turns out you can recycle just about anything these days — even kidneys and other organs donated for transplants. (Washington Post)
April 26, 2012
Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics (Volume 40, Issue 1, Spring 2012) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Must We Ration Health Care for the Elderly?” by Daniel Callahan, 10–16. “Can Health Care Rationing Ever Be Rational?” by … Read More
April 26, 2012
Journal of Medical Ethics (Volume 38, Issue 4, April 2012) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Psychiatric ethics and the methodological virtues of bioethics” by John R McMillan. “When four principles are too many: bloodgate, integrity and an … Read More
April 25, 2012
A sophisticated new microscope makes it possible for fertility doctors to monitor the developing fertilised egg continuously for up to five days. (Telegraph)
April 25, 2012
Kristen Powers finishes packing her lunch and opens the kitchen door to leave for high school with her brother, Nate, in tow. (USA Today)
April 25, 2012
The dream of true cybernetics — merging man with machine — just got a bit closer. Scientists at Northwestern University built a device that can send signals from the brain directly to paralyzed muscles, causing them to move by thought. … Read More
April 25, 2012
Canadian couples with fertility problems can buy frozen eggs online from U.S. egg banks and have them shipped to clinics here, thanks to advances in reproductive technology and a void in government regulation. (CBC News)
April 25, 2012
Every year tens of thousands of women in Britain undergo fertility treatment, that usually involves them receiving drugs to prompt their ovaries into producing more eggs. More than 13,000 babies are born annually thanks to assisted fertility technology. (Telegraph)
April 25, 2012
The New England Journal of Medicine (Volume 366, Issue 21, September 15, 2012) is now available on-line and by subscription only. Articles include: “Is Medicaid Constitutional?” by Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, available on-line. “Registered Nurse Labor Supply and the Recession — … Read More
April 25, 2012
Journal of Medical Ethics (Volume 38, Issue 5, May 2012) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Older peoples’ attitudes towards euthanasia and an end-of-life pill in The Netherlands: 2001–2009” by Hilde M Buiting, Dorly J H Deeg, et … Read More
April 24, 2012
Policy experts complain that America has been slow to address its long-term economic problems – and unrealistic when such issues are actually discussed. But there has been even greater evasion and denial when it comes to the ethical dilemmas that … Read More
April 24, 2012
Swiss scientists have demonstrated how a partially paralyzed person can control a robot by thought alone, a step they hope will one day allow immobile people to interact with their surroundings through so-called avatars. (Washington Post)
