HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: glp@fig.citib.com (Greg Parkinson)
Subject: Re: nursing homes,strokes
Originator: glp@merlin
Keywords: nursing homes, strokes
Organization: Citibank IBISM
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 15:43:01 GMT


In article <10068@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au>, cathye@cs.uq.oz.au (Cathy Ewald) writes:

|> Any tips on how to judge a nursing home during a short visit ?
|> I expect that to be the hardest part, since things like the dedication of
|> the staff are VERY important. 

After my father had his stroke we got him into
a rehab facility.  This turned out to be a bad
move because he was developing a pretty severe
lung abcess that would have been caught sooner had
he been in a facility with better medical care.  The
rehap place was set up for people who were healthy
but were recovering from brain trauma - so I'd make
sure that if medical care is an issue you check that
part out.

As far as nursing homes - I went to three of them
with my mother.  After the first one we got back
to the car and both started crying.  My mother said
she didn't care how hard it would be to have him
at home, she couldn`t put him there.  We went to
another, and it was worse.  But the third - we knew
as soon as we walked in it was different.  It was
close to Xmas and things were decorated.  The people
were up and dressed.  The lighting was homey, not
institutional.  There was a large patio with plants
and flowers and a lot of the patients were out there.
You could just *tell*.  He's been there since then
and we are very happy with the choice.  It's not
perfect, but he gets lots of attention and is well
taken care of.  So my advice would be to trust
your instincts.  Ask questions about activities,
about rehab, about staff turnover.  But if it
feels awful it probably is.
-- 
Greg Parkinson                  Phone: 212-657-7814  Fax: 212-825-8607
Citibank,111 Wall Street        E-Mail: glp@fig.citib.com
New York, New York  10043
The opinions expressed are my own and not those of the big 'ol bank.
From: djh@osc.edu (David Heisterberg)
Subject: baboon heart recipient
Organization: The Ohio Supercomputer Center
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 18:46:30 GMT

I read that the 35 year old man who received the baboon heart has died
after 10 weeks.  I hope at least some of that time passed comfortably.
The WSJ also reported in a sentence or two that he had AIDS, and that
there was some controversy over this.  Otherwise I've seen very little
coverage of this, typical, I guess.  I think this was pretty remarkable
work, on both the medical team and patient's parts.  Is there anyone
involved, or otherwise knowlegeable who can comment of the successes,
failures, decisions, surprises, etc. involved in this case?  Thanks.
-- 
David J. Heisterberg (djh@osc.edu)       What men value is not rights
The Ohio Supercomputer Center            but privileges.
Columbus, Ohio                             -- H.L. Mencken
From: odp@ldgo.columbia.edu (carl brenner)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: CFIDS and Lyme
Date: 15 Sep 92 17:58:39 GMT
Organization: Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory

In article <1992Sep11.014922.23627@spdcc.com>, dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer) writes:
> In article <1992Sep10.042941.25913@equator.com> jod@equator.com (John Setel O'Donnell) writes:
> >>Who made this diagnosis other than you?  I'm not at all sure there is such
> >>an entity.

	Then you are obviously grossly ignorant on the subject, which is
certainly forgivable in and of itself, but which is inexcusable in light
of your next broadside:

> >>  Mental illness is pretty resistant to treatment by ceftriaxone.

	Steve, since you doubt the existence of chronic incurable Lyme,
why don't you put your health where your mouth is? Just infect yourself
with the spirochete, let it disseminate through your body for a couple of
months and then get treated and "cured." Hell, it's just like a bad
summer flu and a little fatigue, nothing that should be too bad. You can
contact me afterward, when you realize that your quality of life is
destroyed, and we can work on advocacy issues together. We could always
use someone with your articulateness and passion. You'll be welcome with
open arms, and no small amount of schadenfreude.


> I'm not in a helping profession, but regardless, taking someone at face
> value isn't necessarily the most caring thing to do.  And when you present
> with this additional totally ignorant nonsense on the prevalence of
> "abuse" and the uselessness of drug therapy for mental illness, I'm not
> inclined to give you much slack or respect.

	Funny, I don't let your ignorance about Lyme affect the fact
that my views on mental illness are closer to yours than John's. Should
I now reconsider my views?
	Please, lighten up a bit. Arrogance and ignorance are an ugly
combination. Especially with a side order of viciousness.

> -- 
> Steve Dyer
> dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer


Carl Brenner
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: Hair Removal for Female
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 15:53:39 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.190224.13519@hubcap.clemson.edu> you write:
>I have a friend who would like to remove what she considers some unsightly
>hair.  Specifially, she would like to remove some light facial hair above her
>lip, on her chin/neck, and around her nipples.

My wife has exactly the same problem.  It is possible to remove hair
permanently via electrolysis, a procedure that destroys the hair follicles
below the skin.  It works, but has the shortcomings that it has to be done
one hair at a time which means that you can only remove so many hairs in a
single treatment, and is somewhat painful, though I gather it's no worse
than the non-permanent wax treatments that rip the hair out by the roots.

I suppose a dermatologist could do it, but electrolysis is its own
non-medical specialty with its own certification and licensing rules.
Look in the yellow pages under electrolysis or electrologists.

It is enough of a big deal that my wife reserves it for the most noticable
hair.  For facial peach fuzz, your friend will probably find that bleach
or tweezers is adequate.  Or she could relax and live with the fact that
we mammals have hair on our skin.

Regards,
John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl
From: avr@cs.purdue.EDU (Andrew V. Royappa)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: hair loss in female
Date: 9 Sep 92 18:19:03 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, Purdue University


My wife is depressed by the fact that she loses a clump of hair every
day. She has long black hair and it is definitely much less dense than
it was three years ago. This has been going on for at least a year or
two. She is now 22 years old and in good health.

Basically when she combs each day, there's a big clump of hair on her
comb.

What factors could cause this rapid hair loss at such an early age ?
I don't know if it is something in the water (we have hard water, but
I don't seem to be losing any hair), or a nutrient deficiency. I hope
it is not a symptom of something worse.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated. I know I'd be depressed
if my hair was going that quickly at this stage (heck, I'm depressed
that *her* hair is going so quickly at this stage).

				Thanks,

					Andrew Royappa
					{pur-ee,decvax,ucbvax}!purdue!avr
					avr@cs.purdue.edu

Newsgroups: sci.med
From: p_misiak@unibwh.unibw-hamburg.de (Carlo Misiak)
Subject: Re: The null hypothesis  (was: Xanax)
Organization: University of Federal Armed Forces Hamburg
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 09:11:57 GMT

In article <18t6q7INNs8i@cs.utexas.edu> turpin@cs.utexas.edu (Russell Turpin) writes:

   In article <16446@pitt.UUCP> geb@dsl.pitt.edu (gordon e. banks) writes:
   > In science, the null hypothesis is assumed. ...

   [stuff deleted]

   > ... It is up to those who claim the null hypothesis is false
   > to prove it so. ...

   In science, it is up to those who make *any* claim to prove it.
                                                         ^^^^^
   [stuff deleted]

Any idea how to *prove* anything empirically (-:) ? 

Cheers

--
Carlo Misiak

*** All that we C or Scheme is but a mind in the machine *** (remember POE) ***

Newsgroups: sci.med
From: jod@equator.com (John Setel O'Donnell)
Subject: Re: Xanax
Organization: Equator Technologies, Inc., Seattle, WA
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 18:57:31 GMT

>
>It is rather amusing that while these anti-psychiatry people
>cite all psychiatric medications as dangerous because of their
>side effects, they say nothing about chemotherapy treatments
>for cancer, which are far more life-threatening and "toxic"
>than effects of properly used psychiatric medications. Why 
>don't they protest cancer chemotherapy?  Isn't that a 
>"dangerous" treatment?  Why not advocate "love" for treating
>person's with cancer, like an anti-psychiatry "doctor"
>advocates?
>

Psychiatric patients are given drugs to mask or numb the effects of
old traumas -- overwhelmingly, parental abuse, abandonment, or
enmeshment.  Giving the drugs allows everyone to avoid noticing or
confronting this reality.  

Cancer patients are given drugs to kill cancer cells.  

Cancer is a physical disease.  

Psychiatric "brain imbalances" are emotional diseases.  They are more
properly served with empathic psychotherapy.  Yes, they have physical
encodings in neurotransmitter levels, just as our entire cognition and
emotional life has physical encoding in the brain.  However, it's the
suppressed experiences which are the problem, not the encoding.  Try
to suppress the coding and you suppress the individual without healing
what's wrong.

(Overall, psychotherapy has a lousy track record precisely because many
psychotherapists are also invested in denying parental abuse.  Many
take this as an argument for the biopsychiatrists; "nothing else works."
There are good practitioners too, with excellent cure rates.)

So, in one case, a dangerous drug is being given which directly
addresses the disease process and can lead to health.  In another, a
dangerous drug is being given which leads to suppression of self and
further denial of the underlying problem.  This is destructive; that's
why I oppose it.

--

For further reading on this issue I suggest Peter Breggin's excellent
book, "Toxic Psychiatry", or Alice Miller's central work, "For Your
Own Good."  The latter documents through analysis and case studies the
lifelong effects of child abuse (going far beyond what we characterize
as "mental illness", which is only one of the possible outcomes).

--
I mentioned in my first posting on this subject that there seemed to
be a lot of ad-hominem attacks on anyone holding the views I've put
forth.  My experience since has confirmed this.  Why can this
discussion not be conducted without ridicule?

-- 
- - -
John Setel O'Donnell                      jod@equator.com
Equator Technologies, Inc.                206-328-6544 voice/fax
Seattle, WA                               Read everything by Alice Miller.
From: cam@castle.ed.ac.uk (Chris Malcolm)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Bates and myopia treatment
Date: 13 Sep 92 13:24:26 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University

In article <16444@pitt.UUCP> geb@dsl.pitt.edu (gordon e. banks) writes:

>In article <3978@sicsun.epfl.ch> basturk@nebin.cica.fr (Erol Basturk) writes:

>>In 1918, Dr. W. Bates, published a book, "A better Eyesight without
>>glasses", which seems to be the beginning of a new way of

>Not obscure.  It's because the Bates method doesn't work.

This seems rather too strong a statement. Like a number of other
scientifically-minded myopics I know, I successfully used the Bates
method to reduce my prescription (in my case by nearly a dioptre), but
gave up because Bates specifically said that myopia as bad as mine
(can't remember the figure) could never be completely corrected by his
method, and the method is very slow and _very_ tedious.

I suspect the lack of reported successful scientific studies is due to
scepticism (we know it won't work so we won't bother trying) and that
it would be hard to find experimental subjects who would actually do
the exercises properly. Without careful monitoring it would be all too
easy to "test" the method on a bunch of myopics who got fed up with
the exercises far too quickly to produce results.

Consider how the eye focusses. In general terms some muscles operate
to change either or both of the lens shape and the lens/retina
distance. The limits of focusing accomodation are set at the points
where the strength of the muscles equals the elastic reaction of the
deformation.

In general terms this also describes the limit of my hand span (e.g.
how wide an interval I can span on a piano keyboard), or the height I
can kick. We are quite happy to accept that in these cases exercise
can bring about some improvement in the range of movement, although
the exercises have to be carefully designed, and the improvement is
very slow -- sufficiently slow that many pupils of piano and dancing
teachers insist that improvement is impossible.

If, as the conventional scientific wisdom asserts, the Bates method
not only does not work, but wouldn't be expected to work anyway, just
what is it that is different about the limits of focussing
accomodation that make it so different from most other ranges of
elastically limited muscular movement?
-- 
Chris Malcolm    cam@uk.ac.ed.aifh          +44 (0)31 650 3085
Department of Artificial Intelligence,    Edinburgh University
5 Forrest Hill, Edinburgh, EH1 2QL, UK                DoD #205
From: mchadwick@galaxy.gov.bc.ca
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Depression: Nutritional treatments
Date: 10 Sep 92 13:27:28 -0700
Organization: BC Systems Corporation

In article <PHR.92Sep9131450@soda.berkeley.edu>, phr@soda.berkeley.edu (Paul Rubin) writes:
> What about megavitamins. Is there any evidence that these will effectively
treat depression ?
I know someone who is having weekly injections of Vitamin b13 and has just
started taking 3000mg of Vitamin C a day. Will they do anything for Him?
From: oispeggy@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Peggy Brown)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: hair loss in female
Date: 9 Sep 92 18:41:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <19478@ector.cs.purdue.edu>, avr@cs.purdue.EDU (Andrew V. Royappa) writes...
> 
>My wife is depressed by the fact that she loses a clump of hair every
>day. She has long black hair and it is definitely much less dense than
>it was three years ago. This has been going on for at least a year or
>two. She is now 22 years old and in good health.
> 

A friend of mine had the exact thing and it started also in her 
early 20's.  Doctors checked her for everything, found nothing 
wrong, and told her to live with it.

Then she saw a dermatologist and started taking rogaine - a cream 
for male pattern baldness that stimulates hair growth.  Her hair
grew back where it had been quite thin - almost bald.

Good luck!

- Peggy -
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: young@serum.kodak.com
Subject: Re: nutrasweet or saccharin?
Originator: young@sasquatch
Reply-To: young@serum.kodak.com
Organization: Clinical Diagnostics Division, Eastman Kodak Company
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 22:01:20 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.011329.22901@u.washington.edu> wendy@milton.u.washington.edu (Wendy Grant) writes:

[...]

>But I just heard that the fountain version of d.c. has saccharin (sp?)
>and not nutrasweet! It had never occurred to me that it wasn't the
>same as what I could buy in the can or bottle.
>
> Does anyone know if this is true?

[...]

	It IS true: the "fountain" versions of most diet soft drinks contain
	both aspartame AND saccharin.  Only the bottled versions contain only
	nutrasweet.  I'm not sure of the reason for this, but it would be
	interesting to hear the logic behind it.


-Rich Young (These are not Kodak's opinions.)
From: geb@dsl.pitt.edu (gordon e. banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Prevalence of Hyperobesity
Date: 11 Sep 92 19:48:35 GMT
Organization: Decision Systems Laboratory, Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA.

In article <1992Sep10.163211.23530@cbnewsk.cb.att.com> rjb3@cbnewsk.cb.att.com (robert.j.brown) writes:
>
>Yeah, but what kind of carbs are we eating in the USA ?
>
>
>I believe (without data) that the reason our carb consumption is much
>higher than them Furriners is that we are eating Ding Dongs and Ho-Hos
>while they are eating sweet potatoes and brocolli and maybe a croissant
>here or there.  The fantastic consumption of calorie laden carbs in
>this country is my guess as to why we have more hyper-obese in the
>USA than some other places.
>
Certainly in France, but in Britain, by my experience, sweets are
very much consumed.  Bakeries abound, and trifle (yum) and other
desserts are a standard.  Teeth are rotten far more often than
here, perhaps from too much candy.  Cadbury chocolate is another
staple of the British diet.  Scandanavia also has a lot of
bakery type stuff, and Austria is known for its desserts, but
there they seem to be for special occassions and not daily fare.
In Southern Europe sweets are not very commonly eaten, I don't think.
-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Weight loss => arthritis?
Date: 11 Sep 92 22:39:56 GMT
Article-I.D.: spdcc.1992Sep11.223956.8483
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA

In article <18r1b2INNi5q@darkstar.UCSC.EDU> kjell@cse.ucsc.edu (Kjell Post) writes:
>About a year ago I lost 60 lbs over a period of a few months.
>My current weight is now 180 lbs which is considered normal for my frame.
>But now I'm experiencing arthritis-like symptoms: tender feet, swollen
>toes and fingers etc.  
>Can this possibly have something to do with the release of toxins
>from fat cells?  

No.  See your doctor.


-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: djh@osc.edu (David Heisterberg)
Subject: Re: baboon liver recipient
Organization: The Ohio Supercomputer Center
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 18:55:23 GMT

In article <5761@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP> doyle+@pitt.edu (Howard R Doyle) writes:
>(if we had gotten over our apprehension). The transplanted liver, originally
>about 600 cc (or the size of a small child's liver) grew almost enough to
>fill out the space that a normal human liver would occupy. More importantly,

First, thanks for the update.  It seems like there's hardly any follow-up
on issues like this in the general media.

But this I find interesting.  How can I ask this without sounding completely
ignorant?  Was the liver from a young baboon?  That is I wouldn't have thought
that a mature organ would grow.  Also, in a mature baboon and human, what are
the relative sizes of the livers?  Is the final organ size determined only
by the organ itself, or is there interaction with other organs and tissues?
-- 
David J. Heisterberg (djh@osc.edu)       What men value is not rights
The Ohio Supercomputer Center            but privileges.
Columbus, Ohio                             -- H.L. Mencken
From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: FDA/ Amino Acids/ Smart Drugs
Keywords: amino acids   FDA   alternative approaches
Date: 11 Sep 92 14:00:57 GMT
Article-I.D.: spdcc.1992Sep11.140057.16921
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA

In article <1992Sep10.192654.0644940@locus.com> yazz@locus.com (Bob Yazz) writes:
>Banning tryptophan because it's dangerous in combination with Prozac
>is like banning Tums because it's dangerous in combination with
>tetracycline.

Tryptophan is off the market because of its association with EMS, that's all.
It has nothing to do with Prozac or any other drug.  Sheesh.

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: tim@maths.tcd.ie (Timothy Murphy)
Subject: Re: stroke
Organization: Dept. of Maths, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 23:52:43 GMT

M20614@mwvm.mitre.org (Hugh Pritchard) writes:

>Of the 66 who live, 50 will continue to have some major lack
>of function for the rest of their lives.

If my memory serves me right,
Pasteur had a massive stroke while relatively young,
and did much of his greatest work after that.

-- 
Timothy Murphy  
e-mail: tim@maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.med.occupational,news.answers
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Beta Carotene
From: Maurice.Broverman@f210.n163.z1.fidonet.org (Maurice Broverman)
Date: 1 Sep 92 04:51:18 GMT
Organization: FidoNet node 1:163/210 - Ned's Opus, Ottawa ON

Have any studies been done that would suggest that the usage of beta carotene 
in massive quantities can retard or reverse stomach cancer; also whether there 
is a negative correlation between its usage and the incidence of stomach 
cancer?



 

--  
Internet: Maurice.Broverman@f210.n163.z1.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: greg@zehntel.com (Greg Boyd)
Subject: Back Surgery and Alternatives
Organization: Teradyne Inc, ATE Division, Walnut Creek, CA
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 21:24:00 GMT

My wife suffers from degenerative arthritis in her spine.  We have tried
several varieties of physical therapy, massage, heat/cold treatments,
electrical stimulation, and anti-inflammatories, but now find ourselves
considering surgery.

Can anyone:

1. Suggest other alternatives?  Would cortisone injections help?  Does
anyone know anything about prolotherapy?

2. Let us know the current state of back surgery practices?  Most commonly
practiced is spinal fusion, done with bone grafts from the hip.  But lately
I have heard mention of alternative methods.  Can someone fill me in on
these?  Are there prospects for successful rebuilding of shriveled disks?

3. Point us to places to find out more about the above?

Thanks.
Greg
greg@zehntel.com
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: lindae@netcom.com ()
Subject: Re: Dr. Dean another Ophra?
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 05:30:56 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 

>Dean Edell propagates a lot of misinformation.  I remember once on local
>TV (he has a spot on the local ABC affiliate) when posed a multiple-


Thank you!!!!  I've been saying this for a long time!!  And have you
ever noticed that when he doesn't know the answer to something, he'll
fudge it as much as possible and then disconnect the caller before they
can say anything else!  "So, that's the solution.  O.K.? Bye, bye!"


>