HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: pburch@bcm.tmc.edu
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Early PREGNANCY symptoms
Date: 29 Sep 1992 21:31:54 GMT
Reply-To: pburch@bcm.tmc.edu
Originator: pburch@roc.mbcr.bcm.tmc.edu


In article <1992Sep25.184227.7577@nosc.mil>, derion@VAX309.NOSC.MIL (Toni Derion) writes:

|> Your post implies that one should believe *everything* one reads. I
|> said it was great reading (and I stand by that opinion), but like
|> any piece of "literature" or e.g. new reports, one should ponder
|> and consider and not necessarily accept the content as gospel.
|> Questions unanswered by that book (or generated by it) could be
|> verified by one's physician.  Incidentally, I'd be more inclined
|> to accept a piece of information in a peer-reviewed scientific
|> journal than what a poster in misc.kids might say.  You said you
|> checked out EVERYTHING from the public library.  How about a nearby
|> medical library that would have such journals?

You say it's great reading, I say it's crummy reading.

We're both right. Whether it's great reading depends on who is doing 
the reading, and some of those reading our posts will agree with me, 
some with you. It's best to have both viewpoints given, since they 
disagree so widely.

I say it's crummy reading due to the anxiety produced in women who 
can't follow the dietary recommendations and think they should. I 
spoke to a lot of women who felt guilty for not following the silly 
diet rules given as law by What_to_Expect_When_You're_Expecting--
they didn't know enough about nutrition to know that the rules were 
silly.

Reading What_to_Expect_When_You're_Expecting is clearly better than 
not reading anything, since otherwise most women have no idea what 
they should be doing during pregnancy--for example, whether they 
should be avoiding perms, avoiding aspartame, or whatever. At least 
it gives you an idea of what sorts of questions to ask your doctor.

I also did a ridiculous number of computer searches of Medline on 
every pregnancy-related topic I could think of, but I didn't think 
this was a good thing to recommend for everybody, since not everyone 
has access to this sort of service.

Paula Burch
pburch@bcm.tmc.edu
From: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Ocular Migraines
Date: 4 Oct 92 16:35:28 GMT
Reply-To: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh Computer Science

In article <1992Oct2.230434.24678@menudo.uh.edu> kattan@Rosie.UH.EDU writes:
>I remember a few people (several months ago) talking about their ocular
>migraines.  Could someone who has had them or knows about them tell me what
>they're like?  I think I have had a couple lately.  
>

Not a good term, ocular migraines.  There are 4 types of migraines
you might be talking about.  In order of commonality:

1) Migraines with scotomas.  The most frequent type are "scintillating"
or shimmering lights.  There may be zig-zag lines, a blind spot, arcs, or
colored spots (or just about anything else under the sun.)

2) Hemianopic migraines.  Half the visual field (left or right) 
disappears.

3) Ophthalmoplegic migraines: the eye becomes paralysed and can't
move, leading to double vision.

4) Retinal migraines.  Sudden blindness in one eye with a migraine.


Which is it?

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: dedmunds@selkirk.sfu.ca (Darran Edmundson)
Subject: shin splints
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 06:31:22 GMT

I had a problem with shin splints a few years ago that was solved with
orthotics.  Lately I have started taking karate which entails going
barefoot.  Predictably the shin splints are becoming bothersome again.
Are there specific exercises which would alleviate the problem?  Is it
time to visit a podiatrist?

Many thanks.

-- 

Darran Edmundson
darran@chaos.phys.sfu.ca
From: stone@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Glenn Stone)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: women in science
Date: 1 Oct 92 13:52:24 GMT
Reply-To: stone@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Glenn Stone)
Organization: Columbia University

(Cecilia De Blasi) writes:
>>>
>>>The situation at Wesleyan University must be vastly different than that
>>>at the University of New Mexico.
>>
>>How do you know?  Do you have any numbers, or is it just a matter of
>>impressions?
>>
>
>Just a matter of impressions...  Certainly, it is true (as your numbers 
>indicate) that there are usually more women than men in science classes.
>However, I do not believe there is a 'widespread apathy or distaste for
>science' among women; my medical school class is about 57% women.  Women 
>were always well represented in my physics, astronomy and math classes at
>UNM, and most of us held our own in those courses.  Ruth Ginzberg's claim
>is just too extreme for me to swallow...  unless the situation is different
>where she is; thus my comment.

Well it's quite possible that UNM really does have a high % of women,
at least in medicine.  In last year's entering class, the % of women
was just below 40% nationally (41% female applicants), figures from
_Science_.  It was on the rise but it still sounds like UNM has more
than its share, as it has in the past (my MSAR says the entering class
of '88 had 47% women).  I would love to see breakdowns by school, and
I'd like to know why the percentages vary.  I know that UNM has a
particularly active womens center, and I wonder if it has affected the
numbers of females in the med school?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Glenn Davis Stone                                BITNET: stone@cunixf
  Columbia University            INTERNET: stone@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: km@cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Drug-firm sponsored research supplements (was Re: FDA - Is this true or is it a hoax?)
Date: 26 Sep 92 14:28:22 GMT
Reply-To: km@cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum)
Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh Computer Science

In article <1992Sep23.210357.21946@horizon.com> ron@horizon.com (Ron McDaniels) writes:

>Well Ken, MY doctor got to go to Scottsdale AZ, luxury hotel, expenses paid,
>including a round of golf, to hear the story of C channel-blockers and
>hypertension. Nice "little trinket" that. I'm sure that it never swayed his
>opinion (lets see, what am I taking. . . Ah, yes; VERALAN).


Well, at least he learned something, because I don't even know what VERALAN
is! I assume it is a Calcium channel blocker. Did your doctor learn
anything in Scottsdale or just play golf? And if he did learn something,
is he not allowed to play golf?

I have only been on one of these "junkets", in the years before they
became illegal with VA doctors. It was three days in Boston to hear about
captopril, which at the time was the only available ACE inhibitor. I
went on the junket more out of curiosity than anything else. I was
surprised: the lectures took up 6 to 8 hours each day, were given by
top people in the field, and really were pretty objective. A lot of
negative information about captopril was presented along with positive
information. I certainly did not feel brainwashed, but I did get a lot
more information on ACE inhibitors than I would have gotten on my own.
The only "treat" was a clam bake, otherwise it was three days in a
Boston hotel, which does not rank high on my list of things to do.

Do I prescribe captopril? Sure. I also prescribe lisinopril and
enalopril. Do I owe anything to the people who make captopril? No.

Many continuing education courses are still carried on at resorts.
There is a good reason for this: the family can go as a vacation, and
do whatever they want to while the doctor goes to class. Since many
doctors find it difficult to schedule time off, this lets them
schedule vacation and education together, and may avoid a divorce or
two. These courses are not free: the doctor pays for the course,
the hotel room, and all the airfare. 

Current VA rules disallow me from accepting anything more than 
"trivial" value from a drug detail person. Since I refuse to meet
with these people, it makes little difference. But I don't think that
all drug-company-sponsored events are sinister. And they are not that
different from what goes on in every field: I went to a dinner at
Three Rivers Stadium paid for by IBM this Spring - do you honestly
think that is going to make me buy an IBM machine? I, for one, have
never heard IBM talking of the bad things about its machines,
as the captopril people did.

If YOUR doctor is overly influence by freebies, that is a problem.
But it is not a universal problem. And some of us bristle at the
suggestion that we could be bought so easily. Golf in Scottsdale
would not do it for me. My price is higher.

 -km
From: "rick menaul" <rick.menaul@channel1.com>
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: hosp. census database
Date: 1 Oct 92 23:39:51 EST
Reply-To: "rick menaul" <rick.menaul@channel1.com>
Distribution: sci
Organization: Channel 1 Communications

I would like to know how to acquire the Hospital Census Database.

I believe it can be accessed through IQuest on CompuServe, but
where can I get my own copy on disk?

                             -= Rick Menaul =-
                                Boston, Massachusetts
              Internet address: rick.menaul@channel1.com
---
  DeLuxe 1.20 #5318  
--
Channel 1 (R)   Cambridge, MA

From: kingsley@hpwrce.mayfield.hp.com (Kingsley Morse)
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 19:02:39 GMT
Subject: Re: Starting an alternative medicine newsgroup
Organization: HP Western Response Center
Newsgroups: sci.med

In sci.med, geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks) writes:

> OK, John suggests we start an alternative medicine newsgroup.
> What should we call it.

> Alt.medicine would be ok

That would be fine with me. Another idea I like is sci.med.research, which 
would be widely distributed, and might encourage scientific rigour on the 
cutting edge (so to speak) of medicine. I think people drawn to research
might be open minded enough to consider alternative medicine.

> the person ramrodding it should be interested in participating
> in the group if it is formed, and I am not interested in
> participating.  Kingsley, you out there?

Count me in. Can someone else create it and notify us here?
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: luckey@rtfm.mlb.fl.us (Jon Luckey)
Subject: Re: NATURAL ANTI-cancer Remedies
Organization: We don't need no stinkin' batches!
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 17:04:38 GMT

yazz@locus.com (Bob Yazz) writes:

>mcelwre@cnsvax.uwec.edu writes:

>|                "A.I.D.S.", which is really a form of cancer similar to 
>|                leukemia.]  (See the book "Life Extension", by Durk 
>|                Pearson and Sandy Shaw.) 

>Pearson and Shaw have never said any such thing about AIDS.  In
>fact, they've never said anything so idiotic about anything.  The
>book cited doesn't even mention the illness once; _Life Extension_
>was published in 1982.

>Posting garbage is one thing; falsely attributing that garbage is
>quite something else.

Actually, I think his citation was for the BHT/Herpes connection 
also mentioned in that paragraph.  I think it was just the original
poster's 'unique' (k0f) literary style made it seem he was quoting
Pearson&Shaw regarding AIDS.

_Life Extension_ does cites cases where taking BHT lessened
the occurence of outbreaks, especially ones due to UV exposure.
But I doubt they ever claimed BHT made one immune from catching
it.
From: lzuo@byron.u.washington.edu (Li Zuo)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Medical Insurance
Date: 27 Sep 92 16:48:56 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Sep27.164856.2625
Reply-To: lzuo@u.washington.edu
Distribution: pnw
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle


Hi, everyone:

I would like to know which medical insurance plan is the best one in Seattle
area regarding the aspect of coverage to see doctors, fees, etc. This question
is for the individual who need to by medical plan by himself. Any information
will be appreciated. Thanks inadvance.
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Attention Deficit Disorder Resources
From: RGINZBERG@eagle.wesleyan.edu (Ruth Ginzberg)
Date: 6 Oct 92 18:07:32 EDT
 <1992Sep30.180321.25015@nntpd.lkg.dec.com> <1992Oct1.130847.7837@ll.mit.edu> <1992Oct5.164520.21030@aoa.aoa.utc.com>
Distribution: world
Organization: Philosophy Dept., Wesleyan University
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.20In-Reply-To: carl@aoa.aoa.utc.com's message of Mon, 5 Oct 1992 16:45:20 GMTLines: 52

Please forgive me while I impersonate a logician:

There is no inconsistency among the following premises (i.e., they COULD all be
true simultaneously -- physicists, no groans about general relativity &
simultaneousness please):

P1: ADD is a brain disorder.
P2: ADD is often incorrectly over-diagnosed.
P3: Ritalin/Cylert/etc. effectively treat ADD.
P4: Ritalin/Cylert/etc. do not effectively treat social problems.
P5: Ritalin/Cylert/etc. do not effectively treat many *DIAGNOSED* w. ADD.
P6: Diets, allergy avoidance, etc. effectively treat many *DIAGNOSED* w. ADD.
P7: Diets, allergy avoidance, etc. do not effectively treat ADD.
P8: It is morally wrong to treat social problems with medications.
P9: It is morally wrong not to treat ADD with medications.
P10:There are many reports of problems *DIAGNOSED* as ADD being helped by
	stimulant drugs.
P11: There are many reports of problems *DIAGNOSED* as ADD being helped by
	diets, allery avoidance, etc.

---etc.  The point here is that, technically, you don't yet have a disagreement
at all.  Everything everyone has said so far *MIGHT* be true. There are
zillions of possible scenerios under which all these might be true at once. 
E.g.: (not an exhaustive listing, but a sample)

?All the folks who've been relieved of their ADD by diets etc. had incorrect
	diagnoses of ADD in the first place. The treatment(s) they received,
	while not appropriate treatments for ADD, *were* appropriate treatments
	for whatever was actually wrong with them.
?ADD is like (e.g.) diabetes.  Some (milder) forms can be controlled with diet,
	exercise, & behavior modification.  More severe cases require meds.
?ADD is like (e.g.) depression.  It can be successfully treated by either (or
	both)    behavior/counseling/etc.,etc. OR/AND with medications.
?ETC.

I believe that many of the examples and/or studies comparing "natural" and
"stimulant" treatments compare & contrast cases in which the "other" treatment
method DID NOT help the patient, but the preferred one DID.

In order to really have a counter-example here, you need cases  in which a
single patient *successfully* used one method of treatment, & then tried the
other.  Any # of instances of patients giving up an *unsuccessful* treatment
program in favor of a better one aren't counter-examples, because they could
merely be evidence that we're dealing with two different conditions,each of
which has a different preferred treatment, but both of which mimic one another
often.

Ah, the heck with it.

------------------------
Ruth Ginzberg <rginzberg@eagle.wesleyan.edu>
Philosophy Department;Wesleyan University;USA
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: georgec@eng.umd.edu (George B. Clark)
Subject: Re: Sinus Headaches
Date: Thu, 01 Oct 92 14:56:46 GMT
Organization: University of Maryland

In article <DLB.92Oct1101449@fanny.wash.inmet.com> dlb@fanny.wash.inmet.com (David Barton) writes:
>
>                                   My migraines were mis-diagnosed as
>sinus headaches for two years (by myself, not a doctor) until I
>finally wised up and asked someone who would know.
>
>Pain in the sinus region which is cyclic is not necessarily sinus
>headache.  If you are under a doctor's care, ask him about the
>appropriate medication.

How did your doctor determine your headaches were migraine and not sinus?

I get headaches, around my eyes. The pain alternates from one eye to the
other, but usually not both eyes at the same time. I suspect it's
related to the sinuses that are behind the eyes. Sometimes it is
accompanied with nausea. I lived with it all my life.

Can change in barometric pressure cause a sinus headache? I seem to
get headaches when it rains.
From: James_S._Bright.wbst129@XEROX.COM
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: obscure blood diseases
Date: 6 Oct 92 11:52:13 GMT
Reply-To: JBright.Wbst129@xerox.com


Any hemotologists out there? (or anyone else who has information :) I have a
couple of zebras that I'm trying to track down. A good friend of mine has two
extremely rare blood diseases, and I'm trying to help her out by gathering
information about them. I plan on going to U of R's medical library this
weekend, but I was hoping that maybe someone out there could give us some
information on the subject (every little bit helps). I will describe the
diseases to the best of my ability, but some of the information may not be
totally accurate.

She has two genetic blood diseases, thromocytopenia and van Willebrand's
disease. From what I understand, thromocytopenia is extremely rare. It has
symptoms similar to hemophilia. Apparently van Willebrand's disease has
something to do with a low factor count. To me these diseases seem related, and
I have a hard time differentiating between the two. One of her brothers also
suffers from a blood disease (maybe both, I don't know). Needless to say, my
friend bruises very easily, has a hard time clotting, and runs into many other
types of problems (under no conditions is she to have any type of surgical
procedure unless it's a life or death situation).

If you have any information on these diseases, we both would appreciate hearing
about it. We're both students, (with sufficient biology/chemistry background
for a semi-technical discussion) and fear that when we find information on the
subject it may be too medically oriented for our understanding (she has found a
brief article on each, but it's difficult to understand, and is only a couple
of paragraphs long). Even just explaining the mechanism in which blood clots,
or fails to clot, would help. Also, maybe giving suggestions on how to start
searching for these particular diseases would help (maybe that's something that
should be in the FAQ -- how to approach searches for particular problems. Those
of us who are new to medical libraries probably would benefit from knowing how
to start).

Thanks.

jbright.wbst129@xerox.com

disclaimer: These views are strictly my own, are not meant to represent
Xerox, its associates, my parents, my school, nor my dog's.
From: rind@binoc.bih.harvard.edu (David Rind)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: SHINGLES
Date: 6 Oct 92 13:21:21 GMT
Organization: Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston Mass., USA

In article <1992Oct6.023312.4063@netcom.com> sue@netcom.com (Sue Miller)
 writes:
>Stupid question time:  my SO contracted chicken pox in his teens.
>During his illness, his father got a flaming attack of shingles.
>Did the first event possibly set off the second?  His father was
>around 50 at the time, and had had chicken pox as a child.

I don't know of anything to suggest that exposure to chickenpox can
provoke an episode of shingles.  Presumably this was just a coincidence,
though I guess you could postulate some strange immune mechanisms by
which this might happen.  Perhaps someone else knows of some evidence
that this can occur.



-- 
David Rind
rind@binoc.bih.harvard.edu
From: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: epidural anesthesia questions
Date: 29 Sep 92 17:22:37 GMT
Reply-To: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh Computer Science

In article <1992Sep24.205400.10358@oakhill.sps.mot.com> amym@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Amy Moseley Rupp) writes:
>Just curious...what are the maternal mortality rates for 
>
>1) demerol

Less than that for meteor strikes

>2) epidural anesthesia

Less than the chance of getting run over by a bus.

>3) general anesthesia (C-section)
>
Probably around 1/50,000 or so.

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: young@serum.kodak.com
Subject: Re: FT4 thyroid function?
Originator: young@sasquatch
Reply-To: young@serum.kodak.com
Organization: Clinical Diagnostics Division, Eastman Kodak Company
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 15:21:33 GMT

In article <BvJ0Mx.34J@unix.amherst.edu> akcobb@unix.amherst.edu (acapella) writes:
>
>I had my thyroid function tested a while ago, and in it included FT4.
>I'm wondering what this is, and what it means if it is abnormal.
>Specifically, if anyone knows if I should go right away to a doctor,
>because I'm not seeing one now and it would be hard to arrange an
>appointment with one.  Any help?  Thanks..

	T4 is one of two hormones secreted by the thyroid gland; it is
	also known as thyroxine (3,5,3',5'-L-tetraiodothyronine).  The other
	is known as T3, or tri-iodothyronine (3,5,3'-L-triiodothyronine).[2]

	"Although thyroid hormones have many actions[1], the primary one
	is to increase energy expenditure in many tissues (as indicated
	by oxygen consumption).  Thyroid hormones are indispensible for
	growth, development, and sexual maturation.  Other actions include
	stimulation of heart contractions, maintenance of body weight,
	stimulation of protein synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism,
	increase in the synthesis and degradation of cholesterol and
	triglycerides, increase in vitamin requirements, and enhancement
	of sensitivity of the beta-receptors to catecholamines."[2]

	"Total T4 levels in serum are not wholly indicative of thyroid
	function since it is the level of FREE hormone (free T4, or FT4)that
	determines clinical status.  An INDIRECT assessment of free hormone
	concentration can be obtained by computing a free thyroxine index
	(FT4I), which usually correlates with FT4 concentrations..."[2]

	If elevated, it can indicate HYPER-thyroidism; if depressed, it
	can indicate HYPO-thyroidism.  The reference range for FT4 is
	0.8 - 2.4 ng/dL.  T3 and T4, along with TPG (thyroxine-binding
	globulin) are usually measured together, and determinations of
	thyroid function are made using a combination of direct and
	derived values.[2]

	REFERENCES:

	[1] Sterling, K.: Thyroid hormone action at the cell level (in two
		parts); NEJM, 300:117-123, 173-177, 1979.

	[2] FUNDAMENTALS OF CLINICAL CHEMISTRY: Norbert W. Tietz, Ph.D., ed.;
		W. B. Saunders Company, 1987.


-Rich Young (These are not Kodak's opinions.)
Newsgroups: sci.med