HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: sci.med
Date: Mon,  9 Nov 1992 18:42:42 -0500 
From: Wendy Sherman <ws1d+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Seasonal Affective Disorder - Light Treatments

I've tried reading through some of the posts about SAD to see if this
issue was covered or not. Forgive me if I repeat a question already
covered. I've built my own makeshift lightbox by mounting  a light
fixture on 2 by 4's.The fixture accomodates -4-  48" full spectrum bulbs
which I purchased from the sunbox company. These are the cheaper $8.00
bulbs and contain small amounts of UV. 

Actually,the bulbs are advertised as non-UV, but according to the guy
who sold them to me at the Sunbox Co., they have a slight amount of UV,
but the amt. is that which is considered by govt. standards to be UV.
Which makes me wonder about the govt. Gee, I'm just catching on now. 

 Anyhow, I have a plastic cover over the fixture, but I still wonder if
UV can pass through the plastic? If so, I am in danger of damaging my
retina. Common sense tells me that this should not be the case, but I'm
apprehensive nonetheless. 

To describe the cover on the fixture I'm using, it's the type of cover
you see on most florescent fixtures and is textured (I think this is
called honeycomb). The guy at the Sunbox company contradicted himself on
this, first saying that the light is non harmful, then telling me the
opposite "I should get a UV diffuser".

I was thinking of buying that clear plastic stuff used to coat windows
to cut down on the risk of UV. But logically, plastic should shield out
the rays. Is this true?

BTW, thanks again to all of you who have replied to my post regarding my
other problem. I wish all that I suffered from was hypochondriasis, but
it's really not the case.  The depression is real, the odor is real. No
more discussions here about cause and effect. My logical thinking powers
are already exhausted from all of your suggestions.  But something
should help sooner or later. Bye now.

-Wendy
From: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Weight Loss with Dexfenflouramine
Date: 9 Nov 92 22:12:26 GMT
Reply-To: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh Computer Science

In article <1992Nov03.144255.731@omen.UUCP> caf@omen.UUCP (Chuck Forsberg) writes:

>
>regain.  As the Weintraub study (discussed in Adiposity 101)
>showed, most dieters regain weight even when they do not go off
>their diets.
>
Hmmm.  I read the study and didn't get that.  Most dieters
regain because they can't stay on the diet forever.  The
drug allows them to do that.  Also, Weintraub's patients
did regain some, just not as much as those without the drug.


-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: jbright@quasar.wrc.Xerox.COM (James Bright)
Subject: Two questions (Residency/Prep course)
Summary: length of Residency and rec. for Prep course 
Organization: Xerox
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 18:13:50 GMT


Sorry if this is a re-post. As usual, I'm having problems with posting... :)

I have two questions:

1. I have a list of specialities and the usual length of the associated
residency. But suppose you go into a sub-speciality. Do you first enter 
a speciality residency, complete that, and then go a second sub-speciality 
residency (as a fellow maybe?). Or, do you go into your residency that 
you know will concentrate in your interest of sub-speciality? For example, 
suppose that someone wanted to be a Pediatrian sub-speciality 
Oncology/Hematology. (okay, okay, so that's one of my interests). How 
does that work, and how long would a typical residency last?

2. I'm investigating a Kaplan review course for the MCATs. Has anyone 
out there taken this course? I'd be very interested in hearing how beneficial 
it was (if at all) before I decide to drop $700 on it. Mostly I'm interested 
in it because I'll get many practice exams, I want to learn more about 
Organic Chem -- I won't have the opportunity to take the second semester 
of O-Chem before the MCATs. (I have had people tell me to wait until 
Sept. to take the MCAT so that I will have the second semester of O-Chem 
completed. However I feel that it would be better for me to take the MCAT 
in the spring, without second semester O-Chem and be able to apply 
earlier to schools)

Thanks in advance -- James
-- 
Disclaimer: These views are strictly my own, are not meant to
represent Xerox, its accociates, my parents, nor any pets that
I have had in the past of will have in the future.
Newsgroups: sci.med,soc.veterans
From: bill@gaza.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (William J. King)
Subject: Re: post-Vietnam mental ill. and suicide OR LETS DEPROGRAM THEM FIRST
Organization: University of Hawaii
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 22:10:04 GMT

In article <Bx7GD0.4rJ@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk> jack@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin) writes:
>
>I've heard the more-than-50,000-suicides figure many times but have no idea
>how it was arrived at or what exactly it means.  One confusing factor:
>unlike WW2 soldiers, US soldiers in Vietnam were disproportionately
>working-class, and working-class people have higher rates of every major
>illness, including mental ones.  But the rest of Mark and Ruth's postings
>make sense.
	Which means illness is a political/economic problem...
	NOt a medical one.

Also, WWII guys took a while to get home, they came back by boat, and
had time to 'clam down' and deprogram. 
VN vets, on the other hand could go from Jungle to hometown in 24short
hours....No deprogramming, discussions, relaxation at all.

See ch3 of Bloods for a good example of one Vets experience.
--
    bill@uhunix.bitnet 
    bill@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu 
    21.19 N.LAT by 157.52 W.LONG          
    Fish on the Byte
From: wsonnen@alnitak.usc.edu (Wayne Sonnen)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Legality/availability of l-tryptophan through import
Date: 7 Nov 1992 15:49:57 -0800
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Distribution: na
NNTP-Posting-Host: alnitak.usc.edu

In article <1992Nov7.200408.25341@spdcc.com> dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer) writes:
>Why not buy l-tryptophan thru the Sigma or other chemical supply
>catalogues?
>

Sigma does not sell pharmaceutical grade products. They will sell to 
individuals, however the individuals must be affiliated with a institution
or firm. In addition, they reserve the right to reject orders from individuals.
The reasons, i think are for insurance, tax and drug traffic control purposes.

Off hand, i don't know what the policies of other chemical companies are
(eg. Merck, Aldrich, etc.). My guess is that their policies are similar
to that of Sigma's. My instinct tell me that they won't sell you something
like this. This is beacuse they'll figure that you are going to consume
the stuff, if you become ill (however slim the chances are of that) they
might be liable. This is my opinion, but if it were me---i wouldn't
sell it to an individual (just bad business).

There is always mail order pharmacies
from abroad (Mexico, Europe, etc.). The FDA prohibits these companies from
advertising their products. However, if you write/call them and ask explicitely
for an item, they can let you know if its available from them and how much.
There are numerous mail order pharmacies abroad that sell prescription
drugs to USA citizens without a prescription. I recommend that you start
with the book:
"How to buy almost any drug legally without a prescription", by
James H. Johnson, Avon Books---New York (1990). Avon Books phone number
is: 212-481-5653. The book comes in paper back and sells for about $5.00.

Good luck

P.S.
DO NOT e-mail me requesting phone numbers and names of chemical companies.

Newsgroups: sci.med
From: Pat.Churchill@bbs.actrix.gen.nz
Subject: Re: Yoghurt producing phlegm?
Organization: Actrix Information Exchange
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 01:07:36 GMT


My old singing teacher has a list of things for singers to avoid
because they produced phlegm.  The list included milk, ine cream,
chocolate and nuts.  I would guess yogurt would have much the same
effect as milk or ice cream.
-- 
| The floggings will continue until morale improves
| Pat.Churchill@bbs.actrix.gen.nz (Pat Churchill, Wellington, New Zealand)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: amigan@cup.portal.com (R Michael Medwid)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Robodoc
Date: Mon,  9 Nov 92 22:27:07 PST
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Distribution: na

An article from the Associated Press today described a robot called 
"Robodoc" that was used during a hip-replacement operation.  It was
billed as the first time a robot had been used in surgery.
From: hank@netcom.com (Hank Roberts)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Seasonal Affective Disorder - Light Treatments
Date: 8 Nov 92 19:47:53 GMT
Article-I.D.: netcom.1992Nov8.194753.14292
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)

>>>3) For the treatment of SAD is it necessary for the eyes to be exposed

>>Be careful.  Being depressed is better than being blind and depressed,
>>according to friends of mine who've been blind from birth and also have
>>SAD.  Don't put your eyesight at any risk.

>Aha! So if one can be blind, and suffer from SAD, then it is clearly
>not necessary to _look_ at the light! -- which makes it quite easy to
>be safe.
>-- 
>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

That does not logically follow.

People who are blind do indeed sometimes have circadian rhythm problems
 [the human clock runs on a 25-hour cycle; daylight resets it each day]

People who are blind are sometimes depressed

Some blind people have benefited from chemicals that reset the body
clock (melatonin) or that affect serotonin pathways related to this.

    I can't see anything in what I know here, from which you can draw
the conclusion that it's not necessary to look at the light; and the
literature _of_which_I_am_aware_ has not demonstrated any improvement
in SAD from illuminating any other part of the body.

See if these cites cast any light on the question:

Opthalmic implicatoins of seasonal affective disorder
Paramore, JE and King, VM
J. Am. Optom. Assoc. Jul 1989 60 (7) p. 508-10
"A review of sseasonal affective disorder (SAD) is presented with a
discussion of its standard treatment of phototherapy.  A number of opthalmic
implications related to SAD are proposed.  These implications relate both
to the condition and the phototherapy used in its treatment, especially
\the use of "full spectrum" light which contains ultraviolet and near
ultraviolet radiation"  [MEDLINE abstract; all I've seen -- HR]

If you want a tan, despite the skin cancer warnings, that's your business.
I just caution you not to try to treat SAD using sunlamps

Bright Light Treatment: are we keeing our subjects in the dark?
Dawson, D; Campbell, SS
Institute for Circadian Psychology, Boston, MA
Sleep Jun 1990 13 (3) P. 267-71

"This study examined proximity and gaze behavior during illumination as a
source of variation in response ...at best subjecte exposed to a
transmitted illuminance of 10,000 lux perceived only 20% of the
transmitted light, and this dropped rapidly to between 1 and 2% when
subjects were more than 3 feet away and not gazing directly at the light
source.  These results suggest that light treatment protocols may be
compromised
by lack of attention to compliance and  ... these issues may account for
much of the response variance observed previously."

I would be _very_ interested in cites to any successful phototherapy for
depression for blind people, or without looking at the lights. Please post.
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: schiles@valentine.us.oracle.com (Suzanne Chiles)
Subject: word play
Reply-To: schiles@us.oracle.com
Organization: Oracle Corporation
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 01:19:47 GMT
X-Disclaimer: This message was written by an unauthenticated user
              at Oracle Corporation.  The opinions expressed are those
              of the user and not necessarily those of Oracle.

Can someone please explain the difference between epidemic and pandemic?

thank you,
Suzanne

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Suzanne Chiles				schiles@us.oracle.com
415-506-6194				Oracle Corporation
		      Honor Diversity
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: km@cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: War on cancer a failure???
Date: 10 Nov 92 14:19:16 GMT
Reply-To: km@cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum)
Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh Computer Science

In article <Bx5q8y.KHB@wpg.com| russ@wpg.com (Russell Lawrence) writes:

|I agree with you that persons afflicted with cancer should seek 
|advice from qualified professionals, but I would also argue that 
|a patient's right to informed consent entitles him to a _realistic_
|appraisal of the probable outcome.   

Absolutely. I gather, from some of these postings, that there is
a feeling that oncologists are pushing treatment when it is not
appropriate. That has not been my experience at all with the
oncologists that I have consulted in the few years that I have been
treating people. If there is nothing to be done, then nothing is done.
There are certainly times when it is difficult for the patient to
accept this, and this is the reason that alternative therapies abound.
There are other times when therapy could be beneficial, but it is
withheld until actually needed. An example of this is radiation for
lung cancer, which often is reserved until the cancer actually obstructs
a major bronchus. In this case, since the object is not to cure the
cancer but to treat a complication, and only a certain total amount
of radiation can be given, it is appropriate to withhold the treatment
until it is actually needed.

The reason that I speak of the "disservice" that people do when they
spread the idea that there have been no improvements with cancer is
that many patients use this as a reason to avoid seeking diagnosis
and treatment. A major problem with early detection is getting people
to realize that there might be a problem, and that it might be cancer.
There is tremendous amount of denial here. Anyone who doubts this should
see the woman who hides her breast cancer from herself, and finally comes
in, years later, with a lesion that has eaten its way through her chest
wall and into her ribs. 

Cancer must be demystified, and put back in the context of other
diseases, some of which we can do something about and some of which we
can't.

 -km




Newsgroups: sci.med
From: nicholl@cs.uiuc.edu (Sheldon Nicholl)
Subject: Experience with a doctor?
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 05:42:52 GMT


I'm trying to track down the reputation of a doctor and his treatments.
If anyone has had any experience with:

(1) Dr. Harvey Bigelsen, M.D.
    Center for Progressive Medicine
    Scottsdale, Arizona

or:

(2) The "Enderlein" method of treating
    chronic diseases,

please let me know.



E-mail, please. Thanks,

--Sheldon Nicholl
nicholl@cs.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: M20614@mwvm.mitre.org (Hugh Pritchard)
Subject: Re: Prostatite: what is it?
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean VA 22102
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 16:15:01 GMT

In article <1992Nov9.024456.3747@dxcern.cern.ch>
emanuel@dxcern.cern.ch (Emanuel Machado) writes:
 
>   [writing about prostatitis]
>        My question is basically this: What could have caused this? Stress?
>A virus? A bacteria? Something I drank? And why is it common (according to
>literature) in guys of roughly my age (around 30)?
 
Prostatitis is an infection of the prostate gland.  A common cause is not
having sex frequently enough, hence the prostatic fluid isn't emptied out
often enough, so that the prostatic fluid provides a medium for the growth
of bacterial infection.
 
The prostate is wrapped around the urethra, at the base of the penis.
If it swells for any reason, that will constrict the urethra.
 
Symptoms can include difficulty urinating, and lower back pain.
 
Many men get this, at any time after puberty.  I've heard estimates that
from 50% to 80% of all men get prostatitis some time in their lives.
 
It's fought with antibiotics and/or prostate massage.
 
A preventive measure is getting laid more often.
 
It's alleged that drinking cranberry juice kills off some of the bacteria
hanging around in the bladder and urethra, for both men and women.
 
[I'm not a physician, so please don't consider this as "medical advice."]
 
**  Hugh Pritchard,  hapritch@mitre.org,  703/883-6616
From: tracy@horizon.com (Tracy Benelli)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: toxoplasmosis
Date: 12 Nov 92 00:55:09 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Science Horizons, Inc.



My husband and I are hoping to start our family soon,
and have 4 cats.  Recently, several of my friends
have made remarks about parasites that humans can
"catch" from cats taht can cause severe birth`
defects and in some cases death of the fetus.

I grew up with cats as pets and have never had
any problems with becoming ill from soemthing
the cat dragged in.  Our cats are indoor/outoor,
and there is a kitty litter box for night-time use.
I usually clean it, and am careful to wear rubber
gloves and to wash both my hands and the gloves
afterwards.  The cats have had on occassion
tape-worms, and the vet assured me that humans
do not get tape worms from cats, and that in 
the cats case it is usually caused by injesting
fleas.  I am unaware of any other worms/
parasites that cats can have - other than 
heart-worm - and wanted to know if anyone
out there could tell me what the symptoms are
of toxoplasmosis, and how does a human become
ill with it?  Can humans be tested for it?

Any other information would be helpful.  I
don't know whether to tell my well-meaning
friends that they are off-base or to panic
and go to the doctor for tests.

In that I do not have regular access to the
net, all responses should be emailed to me
at:

tracy@arfalas.horizon.com


Thanks very much for any and all information.


Tracy Benelli



neslI in
Organisation: European Space Operation Centre (E.S.O.C)
Date: Monday, 9 Nov 1992 13:52:42 CET
From: <RFLOOD@ESOC.BITNET>
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: a disease called "cri-du-chat"
Distribution: world
 <1992Nov4.154133.686@vms.huji.ac.il>

The British satellite station 'Sky News' ran a feature on the cri-du-chat
syndrome during October. The program lasted about 15 mins and I think was
British in origin. I sort of half watched it, and I remember there was
some sort of c-d-c organisation in the U.K. (The noises that the sufferers
make are wierd and certainly sound like a cri-du-chat.)
RaF
Xref: sparky sci.med:20802 alt.psychoactives:1476
From: mdkline@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Mark D. Kline)
Newsgroups: sci.med,alt.psychoactives
Subject: Re: Zoloft (antidepressant) -- cost compared to Prozac?
Date: 11 Nov 92 00:59:08 GMT
Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

Somemone recently wrote:
>>>... Zoloft is more selectively blocks serotonin-reuptake than Prozac does.
>>>Thus, there are supposedly fewer side effects, and I guess you can block 
>>>serotonin-reuptake better than Prozac, (I guess).  

Not true.  Both drugs are highly specific serotonin reuptake blockers.
Zoloft has slightly greater affinity for the serotonin reuptake pump
than Prozac - this is of uncertain clinical significance.  

>>My understanding is that there are two distinct serotonin pathways and
>>that Prozac and Zoloft on different ones. There's a real consequence to
>>this if you suffer from migraine: Prozac is quite likely to exacerbate
>>migraine, while Zoloft will, for many, tend to alleviate the frequency and
>>severity of the headaches.

Where does this information come from?  Zoloft and Prozac are not known
to act on different serotonin pathways.  I am unaware that anyone has
published a comparative study of Zoloft and Prozac in migraine; but
perhaps some neurologists have accumulated a lot of experience.  Both
drugs can transiently increase the frequency of migraines, before
reducing them.  There is no reason to think that one drug would be
better for migraine than the other that I know of.  
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: king@reasoning.com (Dick King)
Subject: T4 and T8 counts
Organization: Kestrel Institute, Palo Alto, CA
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 19:18:46 GMT


The blood bank at which i donate regularly called a couple of weeks ago.

They said:

  * we tested donors for T4 counts in 1984.  Yours [mine] was in the 290's,
    which is about half the bottom of the normal range.  Your T4/T8 ratio was a
    very low 0.45 [minimum normal is 0.85].

  * We tested again in 1985.  Your T4/T8 was 1.0 then.  This is normal.  We did
    not take absolute measures in 1985.

  * You continue to donate, and your blood continues to come up clean and even
    CMV negative [premature infant-worthy]

  * could you give us another small sample?

So i gave them a small sample and answered about 40 minutes worth of questions:
i get about one cold per year, i looked up my sick leave records since 1984 [5
days, incl. 1 1/2 days from getting hit by a car], and in general i feel well.

Apparently the NIH has asked them to retest all people who tested with low T4
counts in 1983 or 1984, but still donate regularly [3-4/yr in my case].  This
blood bank had a couple of hundred low T4 counts, 2% of which turned out to be
HIV+ and all but six of which have stopped donating at THIS PARTICULAR blood
bank since 1984.  They made no attempt to distinguish those who became
unhealthy from those who got tired of donating, or found the hours better at
the bank across the street, or moved out of the area.

The new small sample showed a T4/T8 = 0.40, well below the minimum of the
normal range [0.85], and they asked for a pint.  I told them that i have a
tournament this weekend so i need all my blood until then; please wait until
Monday.  They couldn't; there's a blood bank convention next week, and they
want to wrap this up.  They settled for 60 cc.


They say that there's nothing to worry about, and that there's no reason to
skip my next scheduled donation in a couple of weeks.  I therefore am not
consulting with any doctor, but could any net.hematologists comment on all of
this? 


Perhaps it's an experiment to turn healthy folks into hypocondriacs ;-) ?


-dk
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: artificial insemination?
From: RGINZBERG@eagle.wesleyan.edu (Ruth Ginzberg)
Date: 12 Nov 92 11:23:26 EDT
Distribution: world
Organization: Philosophy Dept., Wesleyan University
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.20In-Reply-To: dedmunds@selkirk.sfu.ca's message of Thu, 12 Nov 1992 02:45:29 GMTLines: 17

In <dedmunds.721536329@sfu.ca> dedmunds@selkirk.sfu.ca writes:

> Rather than adopt a second child, my wife is willing to be artificially
> inseminated with a fertilized egg from her sister and brother-in-law.
> [...]
> Is this procedure feasible?  

Only if someone has a HUGE savings account & is willing to spend it for this.

:=(

Seriously:  I bet it'll cost you all in excess of $35,000 to do this, & I bet
virtually none of it will be paid by canadian health service.

------------------------
Ruth Ginzberg <rginzberg@eagle.wesleyan.edu>
Philosophy Department;Wesleyan University;USA