HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: wirth@fine.Princeton.EDU (Colleen Wirth)
Subject: Heart Disease Info/Stats Sought
Originator: news@nimaster
Organization: Princeton University
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 19:40:17 GMT

Hello,

Please excuse me if this is a frequent question, but...does anybody
have any information/statistics on heart disease? My father-in-law had a
heart attack last week and just had "quadruple coronary artery bypass
surgery" yesterday. He's in San Diego, we're in Princeton, and so we
haven't been able to get as much information as we would like.
Everything I know about heart disease I read over the weekend in
"Biology" by Helena Curtis.

First a little background: He's 68, physically pretty inactive, but not
overweight. He smoked for a while, but I don't know how long or how
much. He never looked healthy to me, but I know that doesn't mean much.
The operation "went better than expected" according to his doctor, 
although the heart was "more damaged than expected" (1/5 of it was
damaged? destroyed?). Late last night, his blood pressure dropped 
significantly, and they had to operate again (he lost more than a liter 
of blood). We're not sure what happened, but maybe one of the 
veins/arteries? that was grafted tore open?

I'm interested in knowing how much the operation will help--does this
kind of operation extend one's life? improve the quality of life? 
How long does a recovery from an operation like this take, and how long
before a person can resume normal activity, if he ever can? What are the
chances that he'll have another heart attack? If he does have another
heart attack, what will happen? Do they perform the same operation
again? Is it possible to prevent another heart attack?

I realize that each person is different and that every situation will be
different, but I'd like to get some general information and statistics 
on heart disease. I feel really, really lacking in every way on this
subject. Since this is the most common way to die in the US (according 
to "Biology"), are there some good, general books available on the subject?

Many thanks for any help,
Colleen
From: rind@enterprise.bih.harvard.edu (David Rind)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: ***Medical Advise Needed***
Date: 25 Jan 93 18:15:14 GMT
Organization: Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston Mass., USA

In article <1993Jan24.044933.8116@sol.UVic.CA> ahurd@sol.UVic.CA 
 (Albert Hurd) writes:
>I would suggest that the person concerned make a determined effort
>to locate a doctor trained to administer EDTA chelation therapy.

Feel free to provide any evidence that chelation therapy is useful
for arterial blockages.  We've discussed this in sci.med in the
past, and I reviewed several suggested papers on this topic,
none of which were in any way convincing.
-- 
David Rind
rind@binoc.bih.harvard.edu
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: carl@aoa.aoa.utc.com (Carl Witthoft)
Subject: Re: Soft contact lens problem
Organization: Adaptive Optics Associates
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 16:05:30 GMT

In article <6350023@otter.hpl.hp.com> sall@otter.hpl.hp.com (Sheelagh Lloyd) writes:
>A friend of mine has been trying to get soft contact lenses recently, but 
>has not found any that correct his vision sufficiently.  In fact, with the 
>lenses in, his vision cannot even be corrected to acceptable levels with 
>external lenses.  He normally wears glasses, and does not have the same 
>problem without the contact lenses.  The glasses are about -8 and -10 
>dioptres, and he has a very slight astigmatism (~0.25).  The optician has 
>tried four different manufacturers but although the fit varies in terms of 
>the lenses sliding around, and ease of taking the lenses out, none of them 
>corrects the vision well enough.
x
This is a bit odd: I've got -8.5 diopter w/ 0.5 (=/-) diopter
astigmatism, and have no problem at all with soft contacts.  More to
the point, my optometrist doesn't blink an eye at prescriptions
like mine, and I get the impression that she regularly fits
soft lenses in this range.
Perhaps your friend simply doesn't tolerate soft lenses. 
Also-- there's no real need to have astigmatic correcting lenses,
given his minimal correction, so maybe he should try "normal"
soft contacts with pure spherical correction (which is what I use).


-- 
Carl Witthoft @ Adaptive Optics Associates
aoa!carl@bbn.com  carl@aoa.utc.com
54 CambridgePark Drive, Cambridge,MA 02140 617-864-0201
From: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Nicotine Withdrawal Help Needed
Date: 27 Jan 93 19:33:22 GMT
Reply-To: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh Computer Science

In article <161@ky3b.UUCP> km@ky3b.pgh.pa.us (Ken Mitchum) writes:

>I also stopped smoking 8 years ago, and I do have dreams in which I am still
>smoking. But they do not involve any craving for cigarettes, and the dreams
>seem to relive more the disgust I felt when I still smoked than anything else.
>Usually, about halfway through these dreams I start thinking about whether I
>actually quit smoking or not, then I wake up, and am relieved to note that I
>quit 8 years ago. 
>
Amazingly enough, I have had dreams in which *I* was smoking, even
though I've never smoked a cigarette in my life and would never 
consider such a thing.  It was disgusting!  So I'm not sure
what it means to dream about smoking.  (Freud said dreams are
wishes from the subconscious, but everyone knows what a bull-shit
artist that fellow was).

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gordon Banks  N3JXP      | "Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and
geb@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu   |  it is shameful to surrender it too soon." 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: holly@sybase.com (Innocent Bystander)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: sprain advice
Date: 19 Jan 93 15:42:35 GMT
Reply-To: holly@sybase.com (Innocent Bystander)
Distribution: na
Organization: Sybase, Inc.



Hi.
My left thumb was sprained six days ago.  The urgent care physician
had it x-rayed to be sure it wasn't broken (he was uncertain because it
was badly bruised and swollen) and splinted it.  It's still too painful 
to use, and somewhat swollen, though most of the bruising has faded.  
My question is, is this normal, or should I seek help from a specialist?
Thanks,
holly
--
holly@sybase.com  			"No, dear... this opinion is mine."
From: stellr@smyrna (Ray Stell)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: asthma prednisone allergy
Date: 23 Jan 93 21:36:46 GMT
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

My 10 year-old son has had two exercise indused asthma attacks
before this year.  He has had three attacks since last summer
that were chronic in nature (not an event, but rather his lungs
developed a wheeze that progressively got worse).  Those three
times his gp prescribed a strong/week-long cycle of prednisone.
Each time this cleared his lungs.

The second event/treatment, last October, left him with a
chronic stomach ache, a known side-effect (we guess the
prednisone did it, they did an upper gi, in December, no ulcer 
detected).

"The Complete Book of Children's Allergies, A Guide for Parents",
by B. Robert Feldman, M. D., from Columbia Presbyterian Med
Center, ISBN 0-8129-1211-X, lists the side-effects of extended
steriod use, and my son showed most of them within days, weight
gain (5 lbs, in a week), moon face, headache, insomnia, bad
stomach ache, etc.  The text says that this is not supposed to 
happen until after two weeks of use. 

So, why does he get these side-effects?  Is the dose to strong?
I assume this will happen again, in the spring, when the plants
are active, he has always had allergies to various pollens,
dust, molds, etc.  Should we avoid prednisone?  If so, when his
lungs are stressed, what do we do?  He already takes the daily 
inhaler of cromolyn sodium (Intal) and uses albuterol sulfate
(Ventolin) when he begins wheezing.  He has taken the Intal,
daily for the last year and a half.

I don't want to give him the steriod again.  What are the
alternatives? 
======================================================================
Ray Stell		stellr@smyrna.cc.vt.edu		(703) 231-4109
From: ar710@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (William G. Martin)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Need Source for Empty Capsules
Date: 27 Jan 1993 15:19:08 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: ar710@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (William G. Martin)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


Some time ago, I began taking the herb valerian (the powdered root)
as a natural calmative and muscle relaxant for some back pain. This
was based on my chiropractor's providing some muscle-relaxant tablets
which had valerian as one of the prime ingredients. I do believe
it works. I can buy capsules filled with the powder at the health-food
store for $7.49 per 100, but I can buy powdered valerian root in bulk from
one of my wife's potpourri suppliers (San Francisco Herb Co.) for only
$3.50 per pound. The problem is that this stuff tastes foul, so I have to
put it into capsules in order to take it, as opposed to just swallowing
a spoonful. (I read that some people make tea from this stuff. They have
more fortitude than I, to swallow this despite its taste! :-)

So is there a place I can mail-order empty capsules from? I suppose they
are made of gelatin -- some substance that dissolves after you take it. I
fear the "war on drugs" may have made this a difficult item to purchase,
though -- I guess the majority of people wanting empty capsules intend to
put various illegal substances into them...

So can they be easily bought now, or not? I've never seen them advertised
in the mail-order vitamin catalogs I get... Also, is there a simple way
to fill such capsules that doesn't require expensive machinery? I
have visions of spending hours trying to dribble powder from a teaspoon
into these things...

Any info is appreciated!
-- 
Will Martin
wmartin@stl-06sima.army.mil OR wmartin@st-louis-emh2.army.mil
Xref: sparky sci.med:24519 talk.politics.medicine:727
From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Subject: Re: Nalaxone - new drug for treating alcholics
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 07:38:26 GMT

In article <1k716nINNo7o@mojo.eng.umd.edu> georgec@eng.umd.edu (George B. Clark) writes:
>My understanding is that Nalaxone, a morphine antagonist, offers new
>hope for alcoholics. According to an article in the November 1992
>Archives of General Psychiatry, Nalaxone significantly reduces an
>alcoholic's craving for alcohol. Some alcoholics can even take
>one or two drinks without feeling compelled to become drunk.

It's spelled naloxone.  This drug is ineffective orally--it needs to be
injected to have any effect.

>Anyway, all the above is something I heard on the radio. I don't
>know whether doctors are actually prescribing Nalaxone at this time,
>but I've been telling my alcoholic friends about it.

There is related drug, naltrexone, which is orally active.  However,
at least in high doses, it is hepatotoxic, a somewhat undesirable
characteristic in a drug used in alcoholics, since these people often
have compromised liver function to begin with.

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: epusey@eng.clemson.edu (epusey)
Subject: cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs)
Keywords: CTDs
Reply-To: epusey@eng.clemson.edu
Organization: College of Engineering, Clemson Univ.
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 18:22:24 GMT


--------------------------------------------------------------

	I am currently working on a thesis in the field of human factors 
and need any information regarding cumulative trauma disorders (CDTs).  Sources of information (articles) regarding factors leading to CTDs such as occupational, environmental, operator related, and equipment related factors are very much needed.  Also needed are case studies and descriptions of what exactly this type of disorder is (eg. nerve compression, soft tissue disorder of the upper 
extremities, ect...)



	I am developing a software which will assess the level of risk 
an individual is subject to based on the aforementioned factors and any other that may arise.


	Help.





please send information to:

				epusey@eng.clemson.edu


Newsgroups: sci.med
From: kpc@pluto.arc.nasa.gov (k p c)
Subject: CT scan vs. other tests for sinuses
Originator: kpc@zog.arc.nasa.gov
Reply-To: kpc@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center AI Research and Aero Branches;
	Sterling.
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 21:58:40 GMT

i'm wondering whether somebody can tell me the relative information
gained and risks associated with CT scans vs. MRI, ultrasound, etc.

the goal is to learn something about sinus problems.

if one has had a lot of dental x-rays, would a CT scan be risky?

thanks a lot.
-- 
i'm open to comparing research career notes with other cogsci/cogneuro people.
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: an4140@anon.penet.fi
Subject: Canadian healthcare system
Organization: Anonymous contact service
X-Anonymously-To: sci.med
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 13:00:23 GMT


I heard a radio program extolling the virtues of the Canadian national
health care program.  The guest could find nothing wrong with it, and
said it ought to be the model for the US. 

Surely there must be another side to this argument.  Are there no
shortcomings to the Canadian system?   And even if that were so, is
it adaptable to the US?  

Please post responses to sci.med, as my email address is about to change.

Thanks.

Terry
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help@anon.penet.fi.
Due to the double-blind system, any replies to this message will be anonymized,
and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned.
From: ballt@ucs.orst.edu (Teresa Ball)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Questions to ask during a Physical
Date: 27 Jan 93 15:34:27 GMT
Article-I.D.: gaia.1k6a23INNh3g
Distribution: world
Organization: University Computing Services - OSU
NNTP-Posting-Host: ucs.orst.edu

I have scheduled a physical for my son for next monday.  But I need
to know if there is anything I should be asking the doctor.

A small background:  My son is 14 and normally healthy.  However,
during the last several months, he seems to be unable to get enough
sleep.  He has missed, accumulative, over a month of school since
school started in Sept.  I leave for work in the morning before he
has to leave for school and he will frequently go back to sleep, miss
the bus and not go to school.  He is getting at least 8 hours of 
sleep a night, but on the mornings when he falls back asleep, he
gets from 12 to 16 hours.  He says that even when he is getting
this much sleep he feels sleepy most of the day.  In fact, he says
he only feels really awake for about 4 hours.

He is going through a growth period.  He has grown around 6 inches
since last August.  I want to be sure, when I talk to the doctor
that the growth period is discussed, but I also want to be sure
that any other problems which could cause this sleep problem
are addressed.

If anyone has any ideas, I would appreciate if they would send
me E-mail, as I don't read this group often.  Thanks for your time.

Terry
From: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: vitiligo
Date: 27 Jan 93 19:23:49 GMT
Reply-To: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh Computer Science

In article <dubin.726512995@spot.Colorado.EDU> dubin@spot.colorado.edu writes:
>Does anyone know the current status of the theories about the
>basis of the skin condition vitiligo, and/or have a good
>reference to such information?

I believe it is thought to be an autoimmune disorder in which
melanocytes are attacked and destroyed by the body.


-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gordon Banks  N3JXP      | "I have given you an argument; I am not obliged
geb@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu   |  to supply you with an understanding." -S.Johnson
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xref: sparky sci.med:24265 ca.earthquakes:1607
From: king@reasoning.com (Dick King)
Newsgroups: sci.med,ca.earthquakes
Subject: earthquakes during surgery
Date: 21 Jan 93 23:26:01 GMT
Organization: Reasoning Systems, Inc., Palo Alto, CA


I could imagine that it would be disconcerting, to say the least, to have the
ground shake while you're meticulously cutting and repairing a patient.

However, i understand there to be devices that can give you perhaps a fifteen
seconds warning of an impending 'quake.  They work because it takes a while for
the shock to travel from the fault to elsewhere, so a device mounted on a fault
can send a radio signal that can be picked up.  I suspect that fifteen seconds
would help a lot if you want to avoid cutting random wiring or plumbing within
the patient.

Does anyone know what is done about the possibility of an earthquake during
surgery, in the real world?

-dk
From: gw@hpscit.sc.hp.com (Gordon Wilson)
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 18:11:00 GMT
Subject: Re: Re: Medline Connection (or Medline on CD-ROM)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Clara, CA
Newsgroups: sci.med

In sci.med, jfh@netcom.com (Jack Hamilton) writes:

> If you plan to use PaperCHase more than one of two times, you should
> investigate the various pricing options.  I looked into the
> pch.bih.harvard.edu method, and decided I would stick with access through
> CompuServe.  The hourly rate at CIS is higher, but there's no additional
> charge for looking at a citation or abstract.  Those extras can reallly add
> up fast. 

Can you give a phone number or address for Compuserve?
thanks
gordon
gw@hpdtc.dtc.hp.com

> -- 

> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Jack Hamilton   jfh@netcom.com   P. O. Box 281107   SF, CA   94128-1107
From: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Getting the hustle  (was: Reynaud's Syndrome)
Date: 26 Jan 93 22:12:47 GMT
Reply-To: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh Computer Science

In article <1993Jan14.204406.5881@island.COM> green@island.COM (Robert Greenstein) writes:

>But the biggest scams are conducted by MD's. And I'm not talking about the
>guys in Tijuana, either. I mean, heart-bypass, angioplasty, lots of
>mainstream cancer therapy, and on and on. We're talking billions here.
>How can anyone compare that with someone's ginger farm?

If the heart bypass, etc. were frauds, would that make it OK to do
more fraud in the form of ginger farms?  There's no question
that MDs are more sophisticated and able to pull off bigger
-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gordon Banks  N3JXP      | "I have given you an argument; I am not obliged
geb@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu   |  to supply you with an understanding." -S.Johnson
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: stone@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Glenn Stone)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Lower back treatments
Date: 27 Jan 93 16:56:40 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.1993Jan27.165640.4471
Reply-To: stone@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Glenn Stone)
Organization: Columbia University

I need information on the differences in how different categories of
physicians approach back problems.  I hurt my back in the lower lumbar
area playing squash.  It's definitely not just a muscle strain.

I talked to a rehab doctor who told me to stay away from orthopedic
surgeons, and to see a rehab doctor like himself, who would either
give the treatment necessary or instruct a therapist on what was
needed.  I asked my internist to refer me to whoever he thought
appropriate, and he gave me some stretching exercises himself and said
he'd send me to a therapist if that didn't work (it didn't).  I talked
to a (non-surgeon) neurologist who said to stay away from
neurosurgeons, that he was the best person, and that what he couldn't
fix would be taken care of by a rehab doctor.  Someone also suggested
a chiropractor, "unless there's something seriously wrong".

We all agree that the next step is an MRI but I have to decide who I'm
going to do it with.  I'm leaning towards the neurologist (partly
because I know him socially and he's a good guy), but I would
appreciate any information or insights that may help me choose and/or
evaluate the treatment I'm getting.  For instance, are there
characteristic patterns in the diagnoses you get from these different
categories of doctors?  Are there problems that one category tends to
treat even though it should be referred to someone else?


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Glenn Davis Stone                                BITNET: stone@cunixf
  Columbia University            INTERNET: stone@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 11:56:08 EST
From: <DGS4@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Physician's incomes

In article <C1A2r3.9Lq@wpg.com>, russ@wpg.com (Russell Lawrence) says:

>Nice anecdote, but is it true?   It's surely not representative
>of physicians as a whole.  I don't have the latest figures,
>but Louisiana's "high-risk" professionals (ob-gyn specialists) paid
>an average of $16,400 apiece for malpractice coverage in 1987, a
>sum that was considered stratospheric by Louisiana physicians in
>other fields.

That's a little low (but not much) compared to other areas of the
country, I think.  I have the numbers from a recent study published
in Health Affairs which I'll post tomorrow.

>We know that the average US physician _nets_ 160K per annum, or
>thereabouts, after deducting the cost of doing business.  Does
>anybody have the latest figures on the average cost per physician
>for malpractice insurance?  Last time I checked the figures
>showed that all liability costs including the sums paid by
>hospitals and clinics, represented roughly 1 percent of the total
>US health care budget.




Dennis G. Shea, Penn State
<<DISCLAIMER>>
Ain't nobody's bizness but my own. I'll be happy to accept all
the credit for anything I've written.  It's funny, however, how
employers only acknowledge the profitable ideas.
Newsgroups: sci.med