In some of my posts I use statistics to explain benefits or disadvantages from certain treatments researched in the discussed articles. Not always realizing that relative risk reduction or even number needed to treat such as in a recent post might be overwhelming to most readers. In the past year critique by highly valued readers of this blog reminded me of the importance of adding my own opinion to the discussion of the research. Usually I add my own opinion to the posts, if not please keep reminding me. In an open access article: Laypersons' understanding of relative risk reductions: a .....read more »

On this blog a lot of posts are about rapid Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), in short Dr Shock is not convinced that rTMS is effective in depression. On Therapeutic Modulation there is an abstract of a recent published study in the Journal of Affective Disorders about the cost effectiveness of rTMS versus electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Their conclusion: Informal care costs were higher for the rTMS group. Total treatment, service and informal care costs were also higher for the rTMS group. The cost-effectiveness acceptability curves indicated a very small probability that decision-makers would view rTMS as more cost-effective than ECT. Related posts: rTMS: old versus .....read more »

The wonderful Nellie McKay sings "Mother of Pearl" (with the immortal first line "Feminists don't have a sense of humor") and "If I Had You" Became a fan of her since Clonie Related posts: The Evil of Science: Clonie Cute, sexy, sweet and funny — an evolutionary riddle Livescribe Smart Pen, A Review ..read more »

Responsiveness to the emotional state of another plays a fundamental role in the patient doctor relationship (PDR) as well as in other human interaction. Sympathy and empathy are not the only responses in the PDR. Other responses can be consolation, kindness, politeness,compassion, and pity. Empathy and sympathy: at first glance, the 2 concepts fit perfectly with medical practice. Clearly, these are emotions competent clinicians must know how to display; they are a part of good bedside manner. This is the first post in a series about the Patient Doctor Relationship.The next post will be on Saturday, July 19th. Next post on this subject: .....read more »

Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it? To learn more about our very real, very physical need for romantic love, Helen Fisher and her research team took MRIs of people in love -- and people who had just been dumped. This talk starts slow but soon the information becomes very interesting. More about the Science of Love on the BBC, thanks Dr Confabula Key Points from the science of love: There are three phases to falling in love and different hormones are involved at each stage Events occurring in the brain when we are .....read more »

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT! That’s right folks, this week I shall be dishing as much dirt on the latest rumours, gossip and scandal that the blogosphere can handle, and all from a rather slanderous angle!A promising introduction for this weeks Grand Round on Unprotected TextRelated posts: Grand Rounds Volume 7, Number 26: The Emotional Edition Grand Rounds 5.14 Holiday Edition Shrink Rap Grand Rounds: The iPhone 3G Edition ..read more »

Chronic hypokalemia due to excessive cola consumption, a case report in Cases Journal A 52-year-old man was noted to have severe chronic hypokalemia despite discontinuation of diuretic treatment for hypertension and aggressive oral potassium supplementation. His serum potassium normalized temporarily when he was hospitalized, but hypokalemia recurred after discharge. He complained of generalized weakness and fatigue, and occasional loose stools. Physical examination showed mild generalized muscle weakness. Laboratory testing ruled out renal potassium wasting. A dietary history revealed that he was consuming 4 liters of cola per day, with a calculated fructose load of 396 grams per day. Since fructose .....read more »

A recent systematic review and meta-analysis shows that at worse antidepressants are not effective for juvenile depression and at best better research might proof this conclusion wrong.Juvenile meaning depression among children and adolescents.The figure above is the forest plot of this systematic review:Forest plot of rate ratios (RR, with 95% CI) of responses to drug or placebo in 30 randomised double-blind placebo-controlled comparisons of rates of ‘response’ to antidepressants v. placebo, with overall pooled RR (1.22; 95% CI 1.15–1.31; blue diamond).Antidepressants of all types showed limited efficacy in juvenile depression, but fluoxetine might be more effective, especially in adolescents. Studies .....read more »

Digestion breaks down lipids into hydroperoxides. (Cooked meats are worse.) The stomach acts as a "bioreactor"-- the longer time the food/fat spends there, the greater the lipid peroxidation. An experiment with rats found that eating a meal soaked in red wine completely blocked the the generation of malondialdehyde, a common lipid peroxidation cytotoxin.Humans who ate the meal and drank a 200ml (1/4 bottle) of wine had a 75% reduction in MDA as compared to no wine.From The Last PsychiatristHe also explains why wine is not healthy due to it's antioxydants, but luckily he found another "healthy" .....read more »

rTMS is using electromagnetic fields to influence the brain,on this video you can see magnetic fields although not related to rTMS. The comment is very technical but the video is amazing, even scary.From: Environmental graffitiCombining their scientific experience with artistic instinct in sound, animation and programming they have created a ‘magnetic magnum opus’ - a ‘tour de force’ of immense invisible force brought down to human scale. And it is precisely the meeting of scale that makes the work so fascinating - to think that these tiny pulsating currents surround our planet on a scale inconceivable to man is not .....read more »