RedScrubs
The Resource for Medical Professionals

Stanford researchers have published the results of a study that reinforces the link between postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy and increased incidence of breast cancer.

According to the study results, women who take combined estrogen plus progestin hormone therapy for at least five years after menopause, have twice the annual risk of developing breast cancer. The risk of breast cancer is not associated with women who only take estrogen.

Read the entire blog for the rest of the study highlights.

Albuterol inhalers that contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) will not be sold in the U.S. after December 31, 2008. Albuterol inhalers that contain hydrofluoroalkanes (HFAs) will take the place of albuterol CFC inhalers. Here are some questions and answers to help you understand the change.

This blog highlights why certain inhalers are being taken off the market, cleaning, potential problems, priming and other aspects of caring for the inhaler and understanding the reasons for change.

Data suggests the efficacy of selenium for prevention of colon cancer in humans. The source of selenium may be an important factor as well since selenium in broccoli does not accumulate in the body as fast as other forms of Selenium.
In one experiment, rats (n = 45) were assigned to torula yeast-based diets supplemented with the following: 1) no Se; 2) selenium as selenate; 3) selenized broccoli. In another experiment, rats were assigned to same basal diet supplemented with the following: 1) no added Se; 2) selenium as selenite; 3) selenium as as selenite + low Selenium broccoli; and 4) selenized broccoli.
This is a short and sweet blog about nutrition and our health and how the form our nutrients are in may make a difference in medical outcome.

We still hear a lot about the “autism epidemic”. I suppose it’s only to be expected, since it is repeated so often and by so many people. And clearly, there has been an increase - a steady increase - in the number of children reported as “autistic” by educational sources and social service providers.
But is it a real epidemic?
This is a serious question because, if the rise in autism prevalence is real, then we need to find out why? Likewise, if the “autism epidemic” is an artifact of changes in awareness, diagnostic criteria, social implications, etc., then we should stop expending time, effort and - most of all - money trying to find the cause.
This blog covers the above information in five graphs, easy to understand and the opinion just as easy to comprehend.

That was how my week ended. My patients were doing well, fluffed and buffed, but elsewhere on the unit, there was a cloud.

No, not the “happy cloud” the instructors told people to go to in the class some of our cohorts took, but a pall of the doom you know is coming.

One patient came in and within a couple of hours got his first order of vitamin K and some more elaborate diagnostic tests. Someone was drinking a little more than they let on…

Today I received an email from the hivemind, saying, in part:
In his first speech as President-elect last November, Barack Obama reminded us of the promise of “a world connected by our own science and imagination.” He recently stated, “promoting science isn’t just about providing resources–it’s about protecting free and open inquiry… It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient–especially when it’s inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us. That will be my goal as President of the United States.” And today, in his inaugural address, President Obama cemented his commitment to this ethos and culture by vowing to “restore science to its rightful place.”

What is being asked is this: help define the rightful place of science in our world. The answer is this: Literature, Science, and the Arts. The three noble human endeavors. Each necessary; none sufficient; each overlapping; none mutually exclusive.

Science is one leg of the three-legged table that elevates all mental sustenance out of the mud.

In February 2007, I wrote a post in which I described evidence that Lilly’s antipsychotic olanzapine (Zyprexa) was marketed off-label for dementia. The evidence I discussed was based on documents generously and bravely hosted at Furious Seasons. At the time, I was careful to avoid labeling the practices as illegal — they were definitely unethical but I couldn’t really say for sure what if a law was broken. However, a law firm known to represent Lilly was regularly visiting my website at the time, which made me think that Lilly was seriously concerned about legal troubles. I suppose they had good reason to be worried. Read this blog to see why they should be worried and how much money Lilly settled for in their law suit. Off-label marketing of Zyprexa for dementia is downright criminal according to this blogger.

Amazon.Com: Patient, Heal Thyself: How the “New Medicine” Puts The Patient In Charge: Robert Veatch: Books
That’s what this book is about: fitting the recommendation to the client’s values, not the other way around.

This theme connects the chapters of the book. Veatch argues that doctors should not have a decision-making role because (a) they simply don’t have all the information, (b) they are not qualified to make decisions involving resource allocation and (c) they cannot override an individual person’s values.

This is an interesting, however brief, blog of a book on the role patients can play in the healing process.

A study in the December 2008 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry concluded that almost half of college aged Americans suffered from a DSM-IV disorder over a one-year timeframe. Yes, I am behind the curve on this one — Furious Seasons was all over this last month (1, 2). Rather than rant about the very odd idea that half of young adults are suffering from a mental disorder, I want to start by mentioning one aspect of the study — perhaps the most important one. Let’s look at how the diagnoses were assigned. To quote from the study:
All of the diagnoses were made according to DSM-IV criteria using the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule–DSM-IV version, a valid and reliable fully structured diagnostic interview designed for use by professional interviewers who are not clinicians.
This blog takes a closer look at some of the downfalls of the article published in the Archives of General Psychiatry highlighting the fact that we need to scrupulously review the articles that we read and the methodology that was used in the study to glean the real essence of the study conclusion.