Recently a French commission visited The Netherlands. It was a government commission. They were asked to look into the euthanasia legislation in France. They heard about the practice of palliative sedation and they probably think this is a solution for not having to adapt their euthanasia legislation. In France euthanasia is forbidden. That's why they came to The Netherlands to be informed about palliative sedation. A few months ago the French high court wouldn't grand a woman with a facial tumor to have euthanasia. The tumor was deforming and very painful and would kill her in a couple of months. Palliative .....read more »

In the latest Annals of Internal Medicine, and in-depth analysis of a seeding trial involving Vioxx (ADVANTAGE) revealed some very disturbing information. This document, obtained by the study's authors, is one of many that shows how this study was not done in the name of testing the medication (later withdrawn for safety concerns), but as a giant marketing ploy. An excellent post on denialism blog, about an article in Annals of Internal Medicine. This article is also discussed on Respectful Insolence. The authors of the article specifically mention three problems with seeding trials that makes them "harmful to science and society": .....read more »

In the United States adolescents presenting to an inner-city emergency department (ED) are more likely to die from violence than from any other condition for which they seek ED care. They also lack a primary care physician and irregularly attend their school. They use Internet more often than adults. This makes their visits to the ED department a great opportunity to refer them to relevant and accurate health websites especially violent prevention websites. From adolescents visiting the ED 115 participated in a survey and they were referred to a violence prevention website. The website offered tips for avoiding and resolving conflict.22% .....read more »

A person 90 years old or between 90 and 100 years old has a high risk of losing independence, but the prevalence of independence still declines only very modestly from age 92 to 100 years.This has the advantage of little societal care cost. So with the expansion of the life span at high age, above 90 years old, fear for high societal costs seems unfounded. The reason for this being that most disabled have a high mortality rate. We live longer mainly due to a reduction in mortality rates among the oldest-old. There is considerable concern, that an extension of life into .....read more »

Running at middle and older ages is associated with reduced disability in later life and a notable survival advantage. According to a recent published study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. They published the results of a longitudinal study comparing disability and mortality outcomes between cohorts of runners and control subjects initially aged 50 to 72 years after 21 years. This is important because with the rise in life expectancy, it becomes necessary to focus on improving the quality of life and functional abilities as people reach older ages. In addition to confirming an overall survival advantage and reduction in cardiovascular-related deaths .....read more »

Soon we will start with the dutch version of the grand rounds. You can submit your articles online. Deadline is 24th of August and the grand rounds will be published at the 26th of August. We will keep you posted. ..read more »

No long flights but still personal contact in a virtual congress. Not loads of paper used. The solution for the future? A successful example was the first Virtual Congress of General and Family Medicine of the Portuguese Association of General Practitioners (APMCG). They had 1574 registered participants over 65 countries. The congress existed of online symposia, e-presentations (oral presentations), e-posters, e-learning, discussion forums, and interactive sessions. All you needed was registration, online access and a computer most preferably with webcam. Registration was free, new subjects were put online every Monday and Thursday. They even had awards for the best e-poster and .....read more »

As you can see from the picture above Hello Health is new. Founded by Jay Parkinson MD Becoming a Hello Health doctor will let you use everyday technologies to differentiate yourself from an industry locked in the past. You can apply to become a Hello Health doctor or you can ask to see a hello health doctor. I didn't apply yet. I am a late adapter probably in contrast to the use of gadgets, games and computers. W'll see first. Thanks Medblog.nl ..read more »

The opinion that humanism and professionalism are one and the same carries the risk of isolating the physician from the lay public. What is humanism in the medical profession? The accordance of deep respect to humans individually, and to humanity collectively, and concern for their general welfare and flourishing In other words it is taking care of all humans equally with humanity based on the most part by experience and aimed at human welfare. What is professionalism? a group of specialized workers whose expert knowledge earns them the right to function independently as a semiautonomous minisociety. The strength of a profession as a social unit .....read more »

a BBC investigation has revealed that nearly 50 women were locked in an isolation ward in a mental asylum in Surrey - not because they had a mental illness - but because they carried typhoid and were deemed a public health risk. They were held at Long Grove Hospital - a mental asylum in Surrey - which started admitting carriers of typhoid as early as 1907 and continued through the 1940s and 1950s. Once admitted, those women never left. When you think you have heard it all. All of the women came from the London area and between 1944 and .....read more »