Brain Blogger

Health Care and Politics I - The Republicans

No matter which side of the political fence you sit on, most Americans agree that our health care system is broken. Health care costs in the United States are approximately 16% of our gross domestic product (GDP), and they are expected to reach 20% of the GDP by 2017. That amounts to a staggering $4.3 trillion! Costs are clearly out of control, yet 47 million Americans remain uninsured.

Health care reform is an important issue of the 2008 Presidential election, and both Republicans and Democrats are proposing radical changes that will change the face of health care delivery in this country. … [visit site to read more]

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Brain Blogging, Fortieth Edition

Welcome to the fortieth edition of Brain Blogging. In this round, we discuss how to beat the aging process, what really is cognition, fooling the doctors, and many more topics.

Remember, we review the latest blogs related to the brain and mind that go beyond the basic sciences into a more human and multidimensional perspective. If you were left out, just leave a comment with your blog entry. You can check our archive for every edition. … [visit site to read more]

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China’s Tainted Reputation

Call me paranoid but I am careful about what I allow in my house. When I buy toys for my son I actually look to see where they are made. The same with clothing. And ditto for food items. Although I consider these actions quite sound, there is a kink when it comes to execution.

You see, I try to buy safe items. The lead paint toy scare made me steer clear of toys from China. This was something I tried to do anyhow preferring USA manufactured items. … [visit site to read more]

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The Silent Epidemic of Health Illiteracy

Nobody questions the fact that healthcare is a confusing profession. Doctors and nurses seem to speak in foreign tongues; medicines have names and ingredients that are not even pronounceable; more and more news comes out every day about diseases and conditions that seem to contradict each other. If doctors must devote 12 years of higher education just to get a basic understanding of how the body works, how does a patient hope to know what’s wrong with them? … [visit site to read more]

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Managed Care Kills a Provider’s Reputation

One of the difficult things about having a career in medicine is that reputation is paramount. It is quite precious and is easily shattered. There are not many industries where interpersonal interaction is more important. From interactions between a provider and his patients, nurses, ancillary staff, and other providers, the professional reputation of a doctor is made. Sometimes it is fair, sometimes it is not. It’s an industry where subjective opinions of others dictates the volume and quality of referrals a doctor can get. … [visit site to read more]

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Writing Away Your Worries

I have always been a fan of the written word. Even before I started my professional writing career I wrote. In school yes, but I wrote beyond what was required for classes. I wrote fiction stories and a little poetry but I mainly spent my time filling up diaries and journals. Even though I sometimes recalled day-to-day interactions most of my entries were about my feelings, trying to sort out the racing thoughts in my mind. … [visit site to read more]

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Sleep Deprivation, Behavior, and the Young

These days, sleep is often seen as an expendable resource. With so much work to do and limited time to accomplish tasks, going to sleep later and waking up earlier seems so natural. For some people, lack of sleep was used to prove toughness and stamina. It was common for physician trainees to boast (in some cases complain) about getting little sleep. However, studies showing suboptimal patient care when residents are sleep-deprived have resulted in shorter working hours and mandatory time off after a number of hours at work. … [visit site to read more]

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Preventative Care in Medicine

Medicine and health care are classified into various categories based on different specifying criteria. One of the classifications is a distinction on the basis of preventative and curative care: primary, secondary and tertiary cares. Primary care occurs when lifestyle modification behaviors are taught and encouraged in order to maintain a state of good health before disease occurs. Secondary care is provided after a disease has occurred, with a view to prevent progression into a disability. Tertiary prevention occurs after a disability has occurred, to improve function through rehabilitation. … [visit site to read more]

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Cheating Husbands - What His Genes Tell Us

If you knew that your husband was twice as likely to be unfaithful in your marriage than another man, would you still marry him? Scientists have discovered a gene that may be able to tell just that. The question is: would you want to know if he had the gene?

We know strong emotional relationships are essential to mental health. We do not know, however, how the brain functions in establishing and maintaining such complex interactions. … [visit site to read more]

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Reduced Empathy Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Empathy is the ability and quality that allows humans to feel and understand what others are experiencing. It literally means “with [em-] suffering [-pathos]” as in suffering along with someone else. Empathy is not just emotionally suffering; it is also cognitively understanding what another person is going through; walking in their shoes, per se. Empathy connects people with each other and helps bind societies together.

In one recent study in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society the authors found that 31% of normal adults exhibited low emotional empathy scores on the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES). … [visit site to read more]

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