Medical Science

I would appreciate hearing from any members who have /are using Avandia & any adverse experiences they may have had . This request is in light of recent (contested ) reports . I am a type 2 diabetic ( 12 years now , age 78 )& have been taking 2 times 5 mg / day for several years now ( along with glucophage , glucotrol & 35 units insulin ( Lantus ) daily ) -- all so far w/o any problems & reasonable blood sugar control . My feeling is that croaking from a heart attack is a better option than from the ravages of diabetes .

Apparently buckyballs form naturally in minute quantities under extreme conditions such as lightning strikes. They are potentially as bad as asbestos dust is to our lungs. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080527091910.htm So, my question is are the lightening making rooms that many science museums have, could they be potentially hazardous due to the buckyballs that are created within them? Or does lightening need specific material present for the carbon-60 to be formed? Or, are we at greater risk just by going to something like a sandy beach where silica is supposedly an issue?

Hi! Something that could be promising in the future... For example, garlic could have an effect on high blood pressure so there are studies going on to see if it could be turned into a vaccine to hypertension...(that's a lame example).... It could have to do with anything (genomic, biotechnology...even geology), as long as it could have a potential in improving a health problem. Thanks in advance.

Sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong section, first time visiting and all. Anyways, I recall reading about something in the news within the past year, about some sort of protein, compound, enzyme, or what have you, that when topically applied to cuts, would heal the cuts around twice as fast. Also, it would minimize scar tissue on wounds that other wise would have had massive scar tissue. I also seem to remember it being derived from stem cells somehow. It figures that I can't remember the name. I do think it was a whole mess of letters and numbers though. If anyone has ANY idea what I'm talking about, some more information or a link would be greatly appreciated. …

hi i just registered because for years this question of mine has intrigued me and I don't know the answer or who to ask... Hopefully this is the right section of this forum Okay so here is my question/how to set this up. close your eyes and put your hands to cover them in order for there to be no light near so you see full darkness, dont push hard on your eyes, just covere them and sort of zone out or do not attempt to focus anything, now what i see when i do this is a bunch of dots moving across like if i was traveling and they go past me as in they come from the center and go to sides, these dots very small are by colors in a spectrum form, usually they go…

Here are two methods currently being used in the US http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/daily/graphics/sexselection_121404.html It costs a few thousand dollars, but many families think it is worth it for what they call "balance". Like for instance they already have 4 boys and the mother really wants a little girl. Or they do it because of some genetic problem that runs in the family and is only expressed in males, or passed down in the male line, so they choose to have daughters to avoid an inherited handicap. And maybe other families do it for what you might think were frivolous reasons. But anyway it is legal and clinics that do it advert…

In Proton therapy machine, the high energy protons will hit the material brass(which is used for aperture). What would be the reaction when such high energy protons hit brass ? are there any range-energy tables for protons considering the brass material ? what would be the penetration of protons in brass or up to what extent brass can absorb or reject the protons ? what would be the exact phenomena that will occur when protons come in contact with the brass material ?

Chicken is actually worse for you than beef or pork, because it is high in arachidonic acid. All you have to do is leave the fat off. I found this audio tape which succinctly summarizes many of the issues related to this area of concern. And it's not just for people recovering from surgeries or in chronic pain situations. There is a lot of evidence that our everyday diets, whether leaning to a net inflammatory or anti-inflammatory effect, plays a crucial role in the development of many common diseases, such as heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, arthritis, and hypertension, and also how some of them that you wouldn't suspect are li…

We all know that smoking tobacco has serious health hazards, including increased risk of lung cancer, strokes, and heart attack. People are not quite so aware that other forms of smoke also carry health risks. For example : incense http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1467409.stm "Burning incense, popular in places of worship and in people's homes, could be a cancer risk. Researchers in Taiwan found that the smoke produced by burning incense is laden with cancer-causing chemicals." Example two : cancer of the stomach and smoked meat http://www.purlife.com/Stomach.htm "The people in Iceland eat a lot of smoked fish and smoked meat. Investigat…

The premise of my question here is fairly simple. One of the basic ways drugs are evaluated is to see if they work better than a placebo. It strikes me, then, that the placebo might be of some use. Many traditional medicines rely heavily on this in fact, and practitioners are quite up front about that. So why shouldn't Western medicine take similar advantage of the power of human perception? Are there circumstances where subscribing a medicine with no actual medicinal properties (a sugar pill, basically) would be perfectly appropriate and the best for the patient?

There are a lot of people who think we should all eat organic food. Some for nutritional reasons, some for ecological reasons, and some for animal welfare reasons. What do you think? Should we all be eating organic food? Some organic food? if so, which? Or is the issue silly?

when i woke up this morning, my midtorso is as red as a tomato, my belly and my backside too. also, there are white spots randomly distributed as if these areas have been left out by blood. Last night, i drank more than usual. I don't know if it might be related. do you have an explaination about this?

Even if you eat full, balanced, diverse meals on a regular basis, it is extremely hard to satisfy all of the USDA recommended daily allowances for anything and everything, pretty much impossible to do it every day without supplementation. Are there any mechanisms in the body which somehow compensate for nutritional deficiencies, or does everybody wind up with weak spots depending on what areas they are deficient in? Is genetics much of a factor at all or is it mostly just a factor if there is a problem? For several years now, I have been keeping up a pretty good diet, but I don't go out of my way to make it as diverse as I should. I stick to a core set of fruits …

As a sleep aid is my current use of it, so mainly the comparison i am wondering about. An OTC pill called Sleep Md incorporates Salicin from White Willow, as well as Valerian and Passionflower. Sleep Md used to work very well for me, but i think ive built a tolerance, so ive been experimenting with different amounts of the various herbs, as seperate supplements. I found that Aspirin is a similar compound to Salicin, so i am just wondering if there is much difference between the two if i am making my own sleep cocktail from the individual chemicals. Information about other effective sleep aids is welcomed of coarse. But I dont find Diphenhydramine particularly effective fo…

How would I go about asking to be tested for toxoplasmosis without sounding like a total hypochondriac?

Hi! I am reading a document about "Innovation in Intervention" but I know very little about medical words. Here are some and could you explain these word in a simpler way, I am not so good at English 1. Fluoroscopy 2. Infusion (HAI) 3. Embolization (HAE) Thanks !!!

We can put man on the moon but we can't treat the common cold. Why? And why is the medicine field the slowest progressing field in science apart from any socio-politics?

What kind of minerals or substances that are present in guava seeds can be beneficial to our health? :confused:

I am a smoker who has been trying to quit. I have been smoking about 2 packs a day. I often get very stressed out anywhere 1-2 days without a cigarette and break down out and get a pack and tell myself i'll try to quit after that pack. I have never made it past 3 days with no cigarettes. its very stressful, i tend to be bound to my bed for that time, and i tend to want to give myself a break by not quitting. I am wondering if nicotine gum is a good way for serious smokers like me to quit ? seeing as i can't get past 3 days i'm wanting to use an aid instead of quitting cold turkey thinking i might be sabotaging my success. I also worry alot about cancer. …

so we've all heard of the solution to this problem by simulating gravity through centrifugal force, but has anyone considered perhaps maybe there is simply a way in theory (as yet undiscovered) to prevent the body from shedding bone and muscle mass through medicine? perhaps there is a chemical agent that can be taken to trick the body into not shedding bone and muscle, or a way to alter the gene in the DNA (if its genetic) that tells the body to respond to a low gravity environment in the manner of "hey i dont need so much bone and muscle anymore, let me loosen my grip on it". is there any research into this, or is it even feasible theoretically?

I am one who likes bugs. But then again don't most science geeks. MY question is do they still use Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT)? It is when then put disinfected maggots on and open wound to kill the dead skin and heal the wound. Thanks, Nick

I was already on to this before I had my surgery. I had this great nutritional website that would tell me how any food affected inflammation (practically half of all natural foods fall at least slightly under the inflammation radar). I was making lots of salad dressing with flax oil. I'm not exactly sure why I was getting inflamed, but I guess that is irrelevant. Of course, now, I'm still recovering from this surgery and I'm much more sensitive. I was wondering. It's been about a month and a half and I've been reading a bit on inflammation. I've been eating good, though a bit calorie starved for the first couple of weeks out of the hospital. At this point, afte…

I was answer that it is to prevent noise in image but not clearly, could you tell me why ? Thanks !!!

There was an article about BiDil, the "race-based" drug for congestive heart failure in in August's Scientific American. What are some opinions on the concept of race-based medicines? Personally, I think it's a terrible idea. It's supposed to be part of pharmacogenetics, medicines tailored to a person's specific genome, which is fine, but race is a horrid proxy for genetics. Race is a concept with genetic factors, but more importantly cultural and historical ones. If 20th century anthropology has produced anything, that realization is it. The story behind BiDil isn't encouraging either, but that's anecdotal. We should be highly skeptical of drugs of this sort even wit…

The physiological effects of NO on the vascular system is well known but I am puzzled by how it remains as NO & is not oxidised to toxic NOx . How does it avoid this in the body & presence of oxygen carrying blood ?