Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Tweets About Social Media

From my Twitter account:

  • "If you want to be a thought leader, blog don’t Twitter" http://bit.ly/Juy5t

  • “Thought leaders should avoid spending a lot of time in Twitter or FriendFeed because that time will be mostly wasted” http://bit.ly/Juy5t

  • Twitter/micro-streams backlash has began: "Blogging Is Still the Foundation In A World of Streams" http://bit.ly/CtB8Z

  • I review my Twitter updates at the end of every day and anything of lasting value gets transferred to my blog in a summary post.

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

  • White-Coat Hypertension Not Benign: Doubles Risk for Sustained High Blood Pressure http://bit.ly/RPdh5

  • Why the Copy and Paste Function of EMR Can be Hazardous http://bit.ly/se2pT -- EMRs degrade the quality of clinical documentation? Dr. RW has "yet to encounter an EMR generated note that effectively tells a patient’s story." http://bit.ly/2IyM0 - Not my experience.

  • Rhinotillexomania: Nose picking frequency greater than 20/d in 7.6%, 17% considered they had serious nose-picking problem http://is.gd/1iy2I

  • "People feel that placebo painkiller costing $2.50 provides better relief than if they’re told the pill costs 10 cents" http://bit.ly/qJmrM

  • Google Search Trends Suicide Watch: http://bit.ly/dWawU

  • Tips on Implementing a Modern Hospital Website http://bit.ly/yIxov

  • Twittering Your Heart Rate: sound like a good idea but your relatives might become a bit upset when Twitter crashes http://bit.ly/X77Uv

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Selection of My Twitter Favorites, Edition 70

Twitter is a microblogging service where people answer the question "What are you doing?" via 140-character messages from their cellphone, laptop or desktop. You can select the messages (called "tweets") that you find interesting, useful, amusing, or disagreeable. Here is the 70th edition of My Twitter Favorites.

  1. HowardKurtz
    HowardKurtz Just got a webcam at work to share my many media thoughts on video. Downside: having to comb my hair.
  2. Jon Brassey
    JRBtrip Gr8 quote - Murdoch summed up success in the digital age: "Big will not beat small any more - it will be the fast beating the slow."
  3. Dave Winer
    davewiner A smiley basically says "I'm a nice person, my mother loves me, please don't hit me." :-)
  4. Dave Winer
    davewiner Liberal use of smileys helps avoid misunderstandings. :-)
  5. Joel Topf
    kidney_boy @dwmoskowitz why did docs lose curiosity? Three letters: IRB. The bureaucratic overhead to curiosity breaks the back of busy clinicians.
  6. David Schronce
    schroncd I don't care for hiking. The longest hike I ever made was trying to find the car in a WalMart parking lot
  7. gruntdoc
    gruntdoc Our EMR is very dedicated: Even when it crashes: (it says “Cannot Quit”). http://tinyurl.com/nxp5to
  8. Zappos.com CEO -Tony
    zappos Twittering is like hugging. Just because it's hard to measure the return on investment doesn't mean there isn't value there.
  9. Dave Winer
    davewiner Twitter forces the whole web through a 140-character window.

  10. Scott Greenberg
    drscottgberg residency orientation is officially scaring me.
  11. Tim O'Reilly
    timoreilly Jeff Immelt: "My job at GE is to look 20 years ahead....And every time I go to China, I get a headache." #wiredlive

The inclusion of a Twitter update (tweet) in Selection of My Twitter Favorites does not represent endorsement or agreement of any kind.

If you are included in this post but you would like to have your tweet removed for any reason, please email me and will comply with your request the same day.

Micro-blogging on Twitter is easy, fun and can be useful and educational if you follow/subscribe to interesting people. You can read more here: A Doctor's Opinion: Why I Started Microblogging on Twitter and visit my account at Twitter/AllergyNotes.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Viva Las Vegas!

I'm off to Las Vegas with Senor Feminista to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary!

I'll leave you with my usual list of what I've written elsewhere:

Awearness blog:

Bitch blog:

And a reminder that I do have some scheduled posts at both Awearness and Bitch, so you won't have to miss me!

Wish us luck at the slots.

Average Andorran lives 85 years, longer than anywhere else on the planet. Why?



References:
Why Andorrans live longer than everyone else. CNN.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

  • The coldest job on earth: doctor on Antarctica’s only international base http://bit.ly/18tNlV

  • Monitoring bone mineral density in the first three years after starting treatment with bisphosphonate is unnecessary, BMJ http://is.gd/1foCW

  • Report: Inexperienced doctors may fail to spot warning signs http://bit.ly/2dk6mM

  • Factors associated with mortality in patients receiving methadone in primary care, BMJ: 8% people died http://bit.ly/2SGfhq

  • Michael Jackson was on Demerol TID, Dilaudid, Vicodin, Xanax. The Huffington Post profiles one of his personal physicians: http://bit.ly/6Dek9

  • Career Advice: Ten Simple Rules for Choosing between Industry and Academia http://bit.ly/H56AH

  • WSJ comment: "Obama's Health Future: Rationing, and not only withholding care from the elderly." http://bit.ly/Iwfn9

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Tweets About Social Media

From my Twitter account:

  • Robert Scoble: Can you be a thought leader without a blog? http://bit.ly/JVDqJ

  • Wishful thinking: "lifestreaming is today's digital equivalent of Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks" http://bit.ly/Gut1T

  • "If you like clicking on links and going nowhere, then FriendFeed really is the perfect tool" by Eva Amsen http://bit.ly/ybnU7

  • RT "@Scobleizer: Putting knowledge into Twitter makes me sad because it is almost impossible to pull it out again in future."

  • Potential Benefits of an Online Presence http://bit.ly/LCZCg vs. "Doctors and the potential pitfalls of an online presence" http://bit.ly/W6PhM

  • Medicine 2.0 Microcarnival on FriendFeed http://bit.ly/qI2KK - FriendFeed format looks confusing, blogs are still better for this purpose

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Selection of My Twitter Favorites, Edition 69

Twitter is a microblogging service where people answer the question "What are you doing?" via 140-character messages from their cellphone, laptop or desktop. You can select the messages (called "tweets") that you find interesting, useful, amusing, or disagreeable. Here is the 69th edition of My Twitter Favorites.

  1. Paul Kedrosky
    pkedrosky I hate when this happens: Just minding my own robotic business, and attacked by an eagle http://bit.ly/cNHvt (via @zefrank)
  2. Paul Stamatiou
    Stammy i was wondering how this healthy choice meal is only 230 calories.. then i tasted it. apparently removing flavor also removes calories.
  3. doc_rob
    doc_rob Frustrated. Just substitute Google for a doctor, then. I know docs have dropped the ball, but don't punish those who haven't.
  4. doc_rob
    doc_rob Patients' job is to make decisions based on GOOD information. Docs job is to make sure information is good.
  5. Dave Winer
    davewiner Was asked today what mobile devices I carry. 1. iPhone 3G. 2. EeePC 1000HA. 3. Sprint/Novatel MiFi.
  6. Consultant journal
    ConsultantLive Precept #69 Don't throw away your clinical findings when they conflict with technology.
  7. Joel Topf
    kidney_boy Doctor bloggers what do you do when someone asks for medical advice in the comments of your blog? See http://xrl.in/2h34
  8. Vijay
    scanman Have you ever noticed? Anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac. - George Carlen #quote

  9. Loic Le Meur
    loic my 8 years old just asked me how you say Cinnamon in French. We have been here only 1.5 years. Scary.
  10. Texas Medical Assoc.
    texmed RT @HobbsOBG: Nielsen " Medical decisions should be kept between physician and patient. We will fight to keep this." #AMAAnnual
  11. Bryan Vartabedian
    Doctor_V I'm predicting that the AMA is going to grow to regain the power it had in recent generations
  12. Jerry McLaughlin, MD
    HobbsOBG Nielsen "Our profession should take ownership of health decisions. Not government, Not health plans." #AMAAnnual

The inclusion of a Twitter update (tweet) in Selection of My Twitter Favorites does not represent endorsement or agreement of any kind.

If you are included in this post but you would like to have your tweet removed for any reason, please email me and will comply with your request the same day.

Micro-blogging on Twitter is easy, fun and can be useful and educational if you follow/subscribe to interesting people. You can read more here: A Doctor's Opinion: Why I Started Microblogging on Twitter and visit my account at Twitter/AllergyNotes.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Visual notes: "Burmese Python's Consuming Florida"

By Jonny Goldstein, used under a Creative Commons license:



"The Burmese Python is native to Southeast Asia. Now it is thriving in Florida, due to pet owners who set them free. They have found the climate very agreeable and are now battling it out with alligators at the top of the food chain."




NBC Video: Pythons on the loose in Florida

Related reading:

It's Open Season On Florida's Pythons. NPR, 2009.
Hunters and Tourists Stalk Pythons in Florida http://nyti.ms/cbtBBh
The day may come when doctors literally prescribe snake oil for heart disease - NYTimes,2011.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.


Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Friday, June 26, 2009

TED Talks: Surgery's past, present and robotic future



"Surgeon and inventor Catherine Mohr tours the history of surgery (and its pre-painkiller, pre-antiseptic past), then demos some of the newest tools for surgery through tiny incisions, performed using nimble robot hands. Fascinating -- but not for the squeamish."

Ack!

I have no idea why my template keeps messing up everyone. I'm going to try to find a new template for this baby because well, it's pissing me off. I changed the font so you can read it, but if the template bug fixes itself, you won't be able to read it again. ack!!

And if you are a blog designer...leave a comment. I may need to speak to you soon.

Thanks for reading folks!

EVENT: Children and Suicide

I can't make this event, but if you, please report back! Can't wait to see the film. You should also note that Kevin Roy of ABC7 is hosting this event. He won an Emmy a few years ago for a segment on his own trial with the suicide of his mother. Should be a great event.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
HBO and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Host Chicago Premiere of the HBO Documentary Film

“BOY INTERRUPTED” on June 26

Filmmaker Dana Perry will attend and participate in Panel Discussion

What: In the wake of recent suicide deaths involving children and teens in Cook County, HBO and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), will host a preview screening of the HBO Documentary Film “BOY INTERRUPTED” with special guest, filmmaker Dana Perry.

The screening will take place the night before the AFSP’s National Out of Darkness Overnight walk, an 18-mile walk from sunset to sunrise to raise funds and awareness for suicide prevention, education and research programs.

Where: Swiss̫tel Chicago Р323 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL

When: Friday, June 26, 2009

5:00 p.m. – Reception – Zurich ABC

6:00 p.m. – Screening – Zurich D

Who: Panel Discussion to follow with:

Dana Perry – Filmmaker and mother of Evan Perry, subject in film

Paula Clayton M.D. – Medical Director, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Moderated by: Kevin Roy – Weekend Anchor, ABC 7

Details: “BOY INTERRUPTED” tells the heartbreaking story of Evan Perry, a 15-year- old boy who took his own life after a lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder. An official selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, the documentary recounts Evan’s life and death in the words of his parents, filmmakers Hart and Dana Perry, and others who knew him. Illustrating how one family deals with generations of loss and grief, this moving film illuminates the stigma associated with mental illness and suicide among children.

“BOY INTERRUPTED” premieres on HBO on August 3.

Video and more information at: www.hbo.com

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

  • Study: Overweight People (BMI 25-29.9) Live Longer - Obesity (BMI greater than 30) Linked to Earlier Death http://bit.ly/GdkdH

  • Mayo Clinic Grand Rounds Webcasts http://bit.ly/17R8VJ

  • Systemic and intrathecal chemotherapy obviates need for prophylactic CNS irradiation in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia http://bit.ly/T0bEe

  • CMS's Landmark Decision on CT Colonography — NEJM Examining the Relevant Data http://bit.ly/95TP2

  • 50 doctors, health care executives indicted, dozens arrested by FBI in a $50 million Medicare fraud case in Michigan http://bit.ly/71xXO

  • "The Texas Paradox: What Really Goes On In McAllen" http://bit.ly/Lsynl

  • "In health care, depending on your payer source, many doctors see 10%, 20%, 30% or more of their patients for free" http://bit.ly/8qjgh

  • Paulo Coelho knows the doctor who tried to save Neda. Here's his story: http://bit.ly/Rrqva

  • How much access should patients have to their med record? http://bit.ly/qux3V See the comments too - My answer: pts should have full access

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Google Voice opens for everybody, invites on their way

From Google blog:

Google Voice is a service that gives you one phone number to link all your phones and makes voicemail as easy as email. If you requested an invitation on the Google Voice site or previously on GrandCentral, keep your eye out for an invite email.

To learn more about Google Voice, check out the video below. If you haven't signed up for a Google Voice invite, make sure to get on the list by leaving us your email address at www.google.com/voiceinvite.



I use Google Voice widget as a contact tool on my biographical website and would encourage you to sign up for this useful and free service.


Nexus One - Google Voice

Updated: 01/18/2010

Twitter and Facebook will not replace medical blogs

"The long tail of blogging is dying" according to The Guardian: http://bit.ly/NuYon.

Yesterday I joined the Pulmonary Roundtable group on Facebook http://bit.ly/B7c0I - a continuation of Pulmonary Roundtable blog http://bit.ly/Bxtya. The original site stopped publishing in 2008 and was added to the list of "dead blogs" by GruntDoc.

I see people starting to use Facebook as a substitute platform for a blog or a personal page (AAAAI, KevinMD's fan pages) and I am not sure this is the best approach. On the very basic level, you are working for somebody else (bringing page views and AdSense dollars) on a closed platform with very limited features.


Blogging is hard, requires more involvement than micro-blogging on Twitter. Image source: Xkcd.com, Creative Commons license.


Twitter is easier than blogs. Image source: WeBlogCartoons, Creative Commons license.

In happier news, the
Medlibs Round blog carnival is alive and well with its latest edition: PubMed and Discoveries http://bit.ly/tMWy9. This edition is hosted by a med librarian at the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) who writes in her blog bio: "I am not an acronym, I am a free woman" http://bit.ly/tMWy9

Related:
How to deal with the information overload from blogs, RSS and Twitter?
Some thoughts on medical blogging vs. Twitter
Is Blogging Dead or Dying? Will Twitter Replace Blogs?
Why Do I Blog?
Why Physician Blogs Close Down?
Another blogger quits due to "blog fatigue"
Using a Blog to Build an Educational Portfolio

7% of people know what a browser is, or is that a search engine?

Here’s a video some NY-based Google employees put up on YouTube a while ago, titled ‘What is a browser?’:



References:
Yeah, What Is A Browser Anyway? by Robin Wauters.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

  • Health Data Rights http://bit.ly/yWZXa - I'll say it again - if you use EMR, print your note for your patient - it's their note too. When I use EMR (Cleveland Clinic, VA, etc.), I always try to engage the patient - "write the note together" - esp. assessment and plan.

  • Video Library of Clinical Communication Skills (Anderson Cancer Center) http://bit.ly/11aS4P

  • President Obama says "absolutely" will reform health care in 2009, Reuters: http://is.gd/1bUQ5

  • Cleveland doctor who diagnosed herself with breast cancer in Antarctica in 1999 dies at 57, CNN: http://bit.ly/11T6hS

  • NASA’s Caffeine Web Findings http://bit.ly/6Ltm

  • MGMA: Physician Compensation Trails Inflation http://bit.ly/SAKh5 -- Doctor in WSJ: "What other profession has experienced a reduction in reimbursement over the last 20 years?" http://bit.ly/nUVax

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Girls just wanna have a nap!

I'm not one for all the LOLCats stuff, but me thinks I need one to describe today. Whooooweee!

The day started off by being named one of the top Latina/os to know in Chicago. Quite an honor, especially since I get to share it with the husband.

Then I had an op-ed published at NPR.com on Sonia Sotomayor's decision to quit a women's group:

As a vocal feminist, my opinions are often antagonistically questioned at parties and backyard barbecues. What is it about wanting to support women and women's rights that makes others, especially men, so uncomfortable? I find myself asking this same question in light of U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor's recent decision to leave a women's networking club.

And then of course still dealing with the blow back from discussing that Palin supporters were in attendance at the NOW Conference and what that might mean for the organization and feminism itself.

All of this then gets me off of my very tight writing schedule. I have much more to say, but not here! Off to the Bitch blog...

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

  • HR, BP and blood flow change in response to musical crescendos (increase in volume and intensity) and decrescendos. HR, BP response seen even w/o emotional responses to the music, may synchronize "inherent cardiovascular rhythms" http://bit.ly/108iDs

  • First-Degree AV associated with increased risks of AF, pacemaker implantation, and all-cause mortality. http://bit.ly/YLFs7

  • 2009 marks the 100th anniversary of the first description of Pneumocystis, JAMA: http://bit.ly/xmhlR

  • "Public should be cautious and wait for study findings before jumping on the bandwagon to take megadoses of vitamin D" http://bit.ly/BGsUO

  • "Six Patient Behaviors That Drive Doctors Nuts" http://bit.ly/vfLVf

  • How to Use Social Media: An Interview with Lee Aase of Mayo Clinic http://bit.ly/NTl7b
  • "Unpublished Data, No Pictures Please" http://bit.ly/cMZ3N - If your data are so secret, may be you should not present them either... :)

  • Email logs can provide advance warning of an organisation reaching crisis point. http://bit.ly/16vEeg

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

LRG urine test may help diagnose appendicitis

From Reuters:

Appendicitis is the most common emergency in childhood, yet 3-30% of appendectomies may be unnecessary. Urine test for leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein (LRG) may help diagnose appendicitis in children.


Inflamed appendix removal by open surgery. Image source: Wikipedia, Dr Vgaikwad, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.


An example of a leucine-rich repeat protein, a porcine ribonuclease inhibitor. Image source: Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.

Twitter comments:

Howard Luks
hjluks better to remove a few normals than miss an appy that perforates.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

  • Study: Failures to inform patients or to document informing patients of abnormal outpatient test results are common http://is.gd/1abf3

  • MGMA: Experienced physicians migrating to Florida and Texas, medical residents head for North Carolina and Illinois http://is.gd/1abyn

  • "Is it becoming dangerous to NOT blog?" http://is.gd/1abBc - Of course not. It can be interesting and useful though. Start on Twitter. Alternative point of view: "Scientific Researchers and Web 2.0: Social Not Working? -- Good scientists don't blog" http://is.gd/1abKM

  • Dr. Wes: "There are fewer touchier questions inside the White House than this: Is Mr. Obama still smoking?" http://is.gd/1acbx -- CNN video: President Obama: "I'm 95% cured of smoking, as a former smoker, I constantly struggle with it... " http://bit.ly/10qBby

  • Forbes slideshow: 11 Ways To Boost Your Energy. "SNACC program: cut out all SNACCs (Sugar, Nicotine, Alcohol, Caffeine and Chemicals) for a week" http://is.gd/1acoL

  • Dr. Centor's tips for interns: "I’ve learned to work very hard when I work, but to try not to overwork." http://is.gd/1acLC

  • “Why Social Media are Essential to the Future of Health and Science Communication” http://is.gd/1adPQ

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

  • U.S. physicians don't tell tell patients about abnormal tests 7% of the time (1 out of every 14 tests), EMR did not help http://bit.ly/MreUd

  • Solitude Speeds Effects of Aging - conversely, social activity keeps motor skills sharp among the elderly http://bit.ly/18g2oR

  • McAllen,Texas follow-up by the same auhtor: How should Obama reform health care? by Atul Gawande http://bit.ly/vGfkp

  • Social research: you lose about half of your friends and replace them with new ones after about 7 years. "Half of All Friends Replaced Every 7 Years -- to put it another way, the half-life of friendship is 7 years" http://bit.ly/zt6n9

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

  • Vinegar May Aid in Fat Loss: acetic acid may turn on genes that produce proteins that help the body break down fats. http://bit.ly/AYxVp

  • 80% of U.S. HIV cases are clustered in 20% of counties -- comprised heavily of minority populations http://bit.ly/UIsKF

  • Keep Getting MRSA? Check the Family Pet http://bit.ly/8qvxL and http://bit.ly/4BbiFl

  • Top 5 medical journals impact factor: 1) NEJM 50; 2) JAMA 31.718; 3) LANCET 28.409; 4) ANN INTERN MED 17.457; 5) BMJ 12.827

  • Everywhere you look, there is a medical social networking service - how many are you going to join my dear friends? http://bit.ly/15TfbH -- There is no clear winner in the medical social network space - no Twitter/Facebook/YouTube-type success. Let's see what happens....

  • Heat In Parked Car Turns Deadly In Minutes - 106.2 degrees in 10 minutes http://bit.ly/1uolo

  • "What's wrong with Steve Jobs?" The regular speculation post by Orac http://bit.ly/QnNyR

  • 25 ways to teach with Twitter: http://bit.ly/VEOdM - Alternative title: 25 ways to spend your academic time producing nonacademic work.

  • New Ph.D.s Look Abroad for Jobs - WSJ http://bit.ly/UYWPH

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Eltrombopag (Promacta) is a New Treatment for Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)

The pathogenesis of chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) involves antibody-mediated platelet destruction and reduced platelet production. Stimulation of platelet production may be an effective treatment for this disorder.

Eltrombopag is an oral thrombopoietin-receptor agonist.


Eltrombopag is a small molecule agonist of the c-mpl (TpoR) receptor, which is the physiological target of the hormone thrombopoietin. Image source: Wikipedia, public domain.

A NEJM study from 2007 reported that eltrombopag increased platelet counts in a dose-dependent manner in patients with relapsed or refractory ITP.

Promacta® (eltrombopag) was approved by the FDA in November 2008 as the first oral medication to increase platelet production in ITP.

BOXED WARNING

PROMACTA may cause hepatotoxicity. Because of the risk for hepatotoxicity and other risks, PROMACTA is available only through a restricted distribution program called PROMACTA Cares.

References

Eltrombopag for the Treatment of Chronic Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura. NEJM.
FDA approves Promacta® (eltrombopag), the first oral medication to increase platelet production for people with serious blood disorder. GSK.
Eltrombopag. Wikipedia.

Monday, June 22, 2009

The day after...

Thanks to everyone who has linked here about the NOW conference, even those of you who I don't agree with. I think it is a healthy thing to have a debate over issues.

I do want to make one thing very clear - I do not think that Terry O'Neill is a Palin supporter. I have no idea. There have been comments flying in the blogosphere and Twitter that the Palin people were a rumor. I took pics of at least one of them. One of the women I took a pic of has a blog that has ripped Kim Gandy for having NOW support Barack Obama.

Now some might say, "Hey we're Clinton supporters!" But if you truly supported Hillary Clinton and what she stands for, I can't see how or why you would trash Barack Obama or vote for McCain. Furthermore, I don't see how trashing Kim Gandy and Ellie Smeal is productive. They came together VERY early in the primary race to endorse Clinton. Again, far earlier than I would have preferred. I wanted to see the endorsement taken to the conference or even announced at the conference so that Clinton would come to our conference.

More soon.

CNN video: Self-diagnosing on the web

Asprin prevents hearts attack but causes bleeding - do risks outweigh benefits?

From The Lancet:

The risk of serious vascular events dropped from 0·57% to 0·51% per year by the use of aspirin, but that it increased the risk of major bleeds from 0·07% to 0·10% per year. They therefore concluded that aspirin is of uncertain value for primary prevention.

From WebMD comment on a new study:

  • Same people who are at increased risk for coronary heart disease are also at increased risk for bleeds

  • Aspirin therapy reduced the risk of nonfatal heart attacks by about a fifth

  • Aspirin therapy did not significantly lower stroke risk in the patients with no history of heart attack or stroke.

  • Aspirin was associated with an increased risk for internal bleeding by a third in the primary prevention trials

  • Aspirin therapy prevented 5 nonfatal heart attacks for every 10,000 low-to-moderate-risk patients treated, while one 1 hemorrhagic stroke and 3 extra GI bleeds occurred

References:
Debate Grows on Aspirin for Heart Risk. WebMD, 2009.
Image source: Coated 325 mg aspirin tablets, Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Sunday at NOW 2009

This isn't a live blogged post.

The election is over and Terry O'Neill is the next President of NOW.

Terry was a VP when I was on the board. I respected her leadership style and her as a feminist. I am excited to see what she brings to our organization in this time of change. I say that not as a diss to her or her slate. I say that because we can all see around us that things are changing. We need to continue to move forward in order to get anything done.

The Sarah Palin supporters swung this election. The election was certainly close enough - less than 10 votes separated the two slates. Then again, if Latifa's supporters had been able to bring just a handful of additional supporters, we'd have an entirely different picture to discuss. The Palin people out organized us, plain and simple.

There are things I won't say here. I know far too many people are reading this and that this is my professional blog not just a personal blog. But I will say that I feel like Chicken Little in some respects. If only...

I haven't seen Latifa this morning, but I did see Janice. She looks good.

Someone asked me how long it would take to implement the internet changes that were promised from both sides. Terry's slate promised a site where every chapter could be hosted on the NOW website - something that sounds like an idea that was floated years ago and was quickly squashed - and I think that sounds like at least one year to be launched.

Some have asked why Palin supporters weren't allowed to speak during the plenary yesterday. Plain and simple, during a plenary isn't a time to vent anyone's grievances. There is a way to do that. Interrupting an invited guest's talk is not the place nor is it a way to gain respect from people who you might win over. The disrespect was overwhelming to people who were somewhat sympathetic.

One of the grievances I heard about was how to address the inclusion of pro-life feminists in NOW. *big ass sigh* If pro-life feminists want to be in NOW, I welcome them. Yes, I welcome them. I welcome them and say, "Join NOW. Join us in our fight to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Join us in pushing for single-payer health insurance so that women don't worry that even if they wanted to be a mom, they couldn't afford to take their baby to well-baby appointments or the immunizations. Join us in winning paid family leave so women can recover from birth and bond with their newborns. Join us crafting a system where college students can be moms and students with affordable infant care on campus. Join us on making choice a real choice. You don't have to escort at clinics, you just need to help us make everything else better."

As a student of feminist history I can't help but think of all the other times when the movement was at a cross-roads, especially when it was pitted as an "old regime versus new generation" battle. We go thru these periods, we battle each other and even with all our bruises, we end up going forward anyway. Our battles may set us back a few years and cost us valuable time, but I also feel that debate is necessary for a healthy movement.

The 2009 election report is as follows:

* 404 total ballots
* 72 ballots not used (meaning ballots printed but not used)
* 1 ballot voided
* 203 votes needed to elect slate
* 198 for NOW is the Times slate
* 206 for Feminist Leadership NOW slate


Now that the results are in, I need to sneak out of here and pack up to head home and celebrate Father's Day with the family.

Thanks to everyone who followed my reports, tweets and even Facebook updates. I'll get around to following people back on Twitter this week. If there are additional questions about this weekend, don't hesitate to ask.

Round-up of my live-blogging from the weekend:

Live blog: 2009 NOW Natl Conference - Plenary V

Live blog: 2009 NOW Natl Conference - Political Institute

Live blog: 2009 NOW Natl Conference - Candidate Speeches

Live blog: 2009 NOW Natl Conference - Friday Plenary II

Health News of the Day

Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day.

  • Vitamin D one of oldest hormones on earth, you'll be surprised that many people are deficient of it! http://bit.ly/ZsiDz
  • Pediatrics: Increased intake of caffeine among adolescents living the 24/7 lifestyle - http://bit.ly/dt502
  • Snake Bite in Ohio: A Small Puncture Can Create a Large Problem http://bit.ly/H1NB2 -- Snakebite - JAMA Patient Page, 2012 (PDF).

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Do you suffer from Information Overload Syndrome?

A video by Xerox:



Related:

The American Psychological Association still has doubts if the Internet addiction exists but it looks pretty much for real in this Google video:



Don't work (or browse) so hard. Beware of Internet addiction, 2006.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Live blog: 2009 NOW Natl Conference - Plenary V

Scheduled to speak: Rev. Dr. Katherine Ragsdale, Dr. Julianne Malveaux and Kim Gandy


**edited on Sunday, June 21, 2009**

sorry to anyone who came to view a live blogging of this session. I made an executive decision to skip this plenary for many reasons. One of which had to do with getting dinner early so I could vote early and then the kid and I could hit the pool. The other was that my arms and hands were tired.

Of course I do wish I had attended, not just for the speakers, whom I heard were excellent. But because apparently, from what I gather, Kim Gandy was asked about a handout that was circulating that showed NOWs finances plummeting. She said that it was a product of Sarah Palin followers. I was told it was from the O'Neill campaign. Someone told me they heard that Kim said that anyone backing the O'Neill campaign were Sarah Palin backers. Again, I did not attend this event.

I doubt that Kim said everyone who backed the O'Neill campaign were Sarah Palin supporters. I do know that there is enough evidence in the blogosphere, which I won't link here, shows that there were Palin supporters supporting O'Neill's campaign. Does that make O'Neill the Palin campaign? No. But it does mean that the Palin supporters are still angry that NOW and Kim Gandy did so much to elect Barack Obama.

I'll be in attendance to see the 9 am plenary this morning because I do owe it to my readers. I owe it to Latifa Lyles campaign. And I do respect Terry and Erin. I need to get to know Allendra, but one of my dear NOW friends has high respect for her, so I have high hopes for her leadership.