http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/health/ en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:09:54 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418182/posts Mild electric shocks supplied by a portable device, a process called TENS, have been used for years to treat chronic low-back pain. Problem is, it doesn't work, a new study concludes. Anyone currently getting transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) treatments should consult with their doctor about the new findings, researchers said. "The strongest evidence showed that there is no benefit for people using TENS for chronic low-back pain," said Dr. Richard M. Dubinsky of the Kansas University Medical Center. However, there is good evidence showing TENS can be effective in treating diabetic nerve pain, the researchers said. More research is... livescience.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418182/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:09:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417533/posts A day before Sen. Ben Nelson (D - NE) voted for the passage of the Senate's version of the health care reform bill, the Nebraska Senator appeared confident before reporters that his vote would not hurt him back in Nebraska. Last week, The Washington Times asked him what he expected from his constituents, when he returned home after the Senate recessed for Christmas.: "Well, two types[of constituents]. Those who are saying very positive things about this legislation and those that have the opposite point of view. There’s nothing new about that." Washington Times-Water Cooler http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417533/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:11:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417377/posts Mina Bissell will never forget the reception she got from a prominent scientist visiting Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where she worked. She gave him a paper she had just published on the genesis of cancer. “He took the paper and held it over the wastebasket and said, ‘What do you want me to do with it?’ Then he dropped it in.” That was 20 years ago, and ever since, Dr. Bissell and a few others have struggled for acceptance of what seemed a radical idea: Gene mutations are part of the process of cancer, but mutations alone are not enough.... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417377/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:53:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416291/posts CHICAGO (Reuters) - A study of internal company documents suggests Pfizer Inc altered or omitted unfavorable study findings to expand its epilepsy drug Neurontin's market, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday, offering a look at how drugmakers influence scientific research. ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416291/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:55:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416056/posts What revelations caused the biggest buzz in chemistry labs around the globe during 2009? With the help of an expert panel of journal editors, Chemistry World reviews the ground-breaking research and important trends of the year's published chemical science papers. Life in 3D DNA origami, the folding of DNA into shapes on the nanoscale, moved from 2D into 3D during 2009. Hao Yan's team at Arizona State University kicked off this craze with a tetrahedron shaped 3D container made of DNA.1 A day later, Danish researchers led by Kurt Gothelf, from Aarhus University, published details of a nanosized 3D DNA... Chemistry World http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416056/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:39:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415528/posts A revolutionary new operation which could effectively cure high blood pressure has been developed by scientists, offering hope to hundreds of thousands of sufferers. In what is being hailed as the most exciting development in the field for 50 years, doctors can treat the condition with a simple procedure in under an hour. It could allow some sufferers to come off medication completely and offer hope for those for whom existing treatments have no effect. The technique, which is relatively straightforward and cheap for the NHS, could reduce the risk of a major heart attack or stroke in such patients... Telegraph UK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415528/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 00:19:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2415523/posts Just announced on the broadcast of UNC vs. Pitt. No reason given. Meyer will be available at the arrival press conf. at their bowl game. ESPN TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2415523/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 00:03:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415460/posts There are two interesting articles in the WSJ relating to the "Health Reform" bill, one by Karl Rove and the second coming from The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Let's first talk about Karl Rove: Taxes start going up now, Medicare cuts begin after next fall's election, and spending for subsidies commences in five years. The price tag is not the first decade's announced $871 billion cost: It is $2.4 trillion. That's the cost of the tax credits in insurance exchanges, and the additional Medicaid costs the reform generates, over the first 10 years it's fully up and running,... The Market Ticker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415460/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:28:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415369/posts A day after voting for a landmark health care reform plan, Democrat Bill Nelson returned to the Sunshine State on Thursday with claims of praise from ordinary citizens for the proposed legislation. WSVN-TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415369/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:43:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415333/posts Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered that a naturally occurring lipid in the lung can prevent RSV infection and inhibit spread of the virus after an infection is established. RSV is the major cause of hospitalization for children in the first two years of life, and is increasingly recognized as a dangerous pathogen in adults with chronic lung diseases, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. Currently, there is no effective vaccine for the virus. The findings, published in the December 21, 2009, issue of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also help explain how the lipid, known as... National Jewish Medical and Research Center via biologynews.net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415333/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:25:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2415236/posts It’s not too late to prevent the worst in health care. The Senate bill must still be force-fit to the House bill during reconciliation. We still have time to discuss what requiring a new health tax means. The opportunity to sway our masters, at least a little, still exists. Time might be out for Whole Food’s chief John Mackey, however, who earlier this year wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal in which he quoted Margret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” The result: an 8.4 on the Richter scale... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2415236/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:59:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415044/posts The new health-care legislation that passed the Senate on Christmas Eve is known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A different version of health-care reform passed the House last month. There will most likely be a "conference committee" of both chambers named to work out a compromise. But if the Democrats in the House can muster enough votes, they could simply agree on the Senate version -- thereby ensuring quick action to enact the legislation before the president's State of the Union address Jan. 20. Chicago Sun Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415044/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 19:43:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414869/posts QUEENSLAND researchers believe they have found a way to to control the spread of dengue fever, which afflicts more than 50 million people worldwide every year. The team at the University of Queensland's (UQ) School of Biological Sciences, led by Professor Scott O'Neill, is investigating infecting mosquitoes that transmit dengue fever with a bacterium that shortens their lifespan, limiting their ability to infect humans with the dengue virus. Professor O'Neill said this approach may be even more effective than first thought. "In a surprising development we have found that mosquitoes carrying this bacterium - known as Wolbachia - are resistant... The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414869/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:51:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414858/posts A car crash victim who was believed to have been in a coma for the past 23 years has been conscious the whole time. Rom Houben was paralysed but could not let doctors know that he could hear every word they were saying, reports the Daily Mail. "I dreamed myself away," said Mr Houben, now 46, who doctors thought was in a persistent vegatative state. Doctors conducted a series of coma tests before concluding that his consciousness was "extinct". But three years ago, new hi-tech scans showed his brain was still functioning almost completely normally. Mr Houben said: "All that... Ananova http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414858/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 07:37:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414610/posts Merry Christmas Eve y'all! Guess what…? Our lovely Congress has just bestowed upon this nation a most wondrous gift of “universal” health care during this joyous season – a gift that will keep giving and taking. Giving in the sense that never before have we seen such blatant kickbacks and special-interest deals to put another ol’ legislative “victory” on the mantel. Taking in the sense that it’ll be we taxpayers who will reap the long-term consequences of this “reform” through more taxes, loss of medical innovation, and (most importantly) the failure of enacting true, progressive revisions to a restraining, high-cost... Thoughts From A Texan http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414610/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:10:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414605/posts No surprise here....the Senate passed their version of Socialism today: The Senate approved sweeping healthcare reform legislation by the narrowest of partisan margins early Christmas Eve morning, placing President Barack Obama just one step away from signing into law a longtime Democratic priority ~~~ The 60 to 39 tally split directly along partisan lines, underscoring not only the great divide between Democrats and Republicans but also the deftness with which Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) at long last united his fractious caucus by offering key compromises to centrists but keeping liberals in the fold. Deftness me ass. This was bribery... Flopping Aces http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414605/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:06:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414502/posts Attention Fox Network....My Christmas Wish http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414502/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:55:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414447/posts Democrats are doing a victory lap...But the Democratic celebrations are premature, as Republican despair would be. This battle isn’t over, and opponents of the legislation could still win. National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414447/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:33:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414332/posts Twas the night before healthcare and all through the night Pelosi and Reid met to unite Their lies and their bribes made with careful design Bought off many people to meet a deadline The voters at home were not sure of this ploy And the media distractions were but a decoy Obama, with teleprompter close by Was campaigning for this the odds to defy But out on the internet there arose lots of chatter We were on to these two on the health care matter Away to the chat rooms they typed up a storm Poll numbers indicate they were... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414332/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:36:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414259/posts <p>Changes to Medicare will give the feds control of surgical decisions.Changes to Medicare will give the feds control of surgical decisions.</p> <p>Democrats are touting the American Medical Association's endorsement of President Obama's health plan. But there's an important reason why the American College of Surgeons and 18 other specialty groups are opposed.</p> The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414259/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:02:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414255/posts Pushing health-care reform through the Senate will hurt Democrats. By now Majority Leader Harry Reid's explanation for how he is getting his health-care bill through the Senate has pinged its way across the country. "I don't know if there is a senator that doesn't have something in this bill that was important to them," he said this week. "And if they don't have something in it important to them, then it doesn't speak well of them." But take these comments two steps further and it becomes clear that how Mr. Reid reached unanimity in his caucus could hurt Democrats more... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414255/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:58:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413967/posts The Senate's healthcare bill is fatally flawed, a senior Democrat atop a powerful committee said on Wednesday. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Rules Committee and co-chairwoman of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, said that the Senate's bill is so flawed that it's unlikely to be resolved in conference with the bill to have passed the House. "The Senate health care bill is not worthy of the historic vote that the House took a month ago," Slaughter wrote in an opinion piece for CNN's website. Slaughter argued that while the House bill is far from perfect, the Senate... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413967/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:54:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413903/posts Republicans, emboldened by a new letter from the Congressional Budget Office, accused Democrats on Wednesday of "Bernie Madoff accounting" for double counting the savings from Medicare as a means to pay for the Senate health care bill. As the Senate prepares for a crucial vote before final passage of a massive overhaul bill that Democrats argue will reduce the deficit by $132 billion over 10 years, Sen. Jeff Sesssions, R-Ala, said the nearly $500 billion in cuts to Medicare actually will add $300 billion to the deficit "The real score on this legislation is that it would cause the deficit... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413903/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:35:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413604/posts The Ronald Reagan U.C.L.A. Medical Center, one of the nation’s most highly regarded academic hospitals, has earned a reputation as a place where doctors will go to virtually any length and expense to try to save a patient’s life. “If you come into this hospital, we’re not going to let you die,” said Dr. David T. Feinberg, the hospital system’s chief executive. Yet that ethos has made the medical center a prime target for critics in the Obama administration and elsewhere who talk about how much money the nation wastes on needless tests and futile procedures. They like to note... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413604/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:44:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412817/posts I stopped eating pork about eight years ago, after a scientist happened to mention that the animal whose teeth most closely resemble our own is the pig. Unable to shake the image of a perky little pig flashing me a brilliant George Clooney smile, I decided it was easier to forgo the Christmas ham. A couple of years later, I gave up on all mammalian meat, period. I still eat fish and poultry, however and pour eggnog in my coffee. My dietary decisions are arbitrary and inconsistent, and when friends ask why I’m willing to try the duck but not... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412817/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:39:23 GMT