HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Meige Syndrome (sp?) ??
Date: 28 Dec 92 01:28:42 GMT
Reply-To: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh Computer Science

In article <3392@ncr-mpd.FtCollinsCO.NCR.COM> sdavis@khan.ColoSpgs.NCR.COM (Susan Davis) writes:
>
>Then, in 1990, she had some mild cold symptoms over a weekend.  While
>my grandfather was driving her to a doctors appt., she slumped over in
>the car.  He drove to the nearest hospital (5 min) and she was resucitated.
>She remained in a coma for about 1 week.  She lived a few days after
>being taken off the ventilator and then died.  She was 69.  One thought
>was that the syndrome had spread into her neck/thoat and caused a spasm
>that cut off her oxygen.  Maybe it was unrelated?  
>
Very rare, and unprecedented as far as I know without some previous
episodes not severe enough to be noticed.  What did the autopsy show?
Likely she had a heart attack.

>There is some evidence that this may be hereditary.  I am the only female
>descendent of hers (so far).  It is thought (in retrospect) that her mother
>may have had some of the symptoms she had.  I would really like to find
>out more about this because it may someday affect me.  I am concerned that

Unless your parent gets it, I wouldn't worry.  Most cases I've seen have
no family history.

>the general anethesia she had during her surgery (to remove an 8lb overy)
>may have triggered the onset of this.  General anethesia really scares me.

No.  Anesthesia has nothing to do with it.  It was merely coincidence
that she got it soon after the surgery.  Most patients with Meige
have no such experience with surgery or anesthesia prior to onset.

>Also, she sufferred from migraines and I also suffer from them.  Hers

This is a completely separate and very hereditary disease (Migraine, that is).
Not related to Meige.

>however were triggered monthly with her period and lasted for a few days
>and included vomitting.  Mine seem to be random coming up to 1/week to 
>going several months without one and they are characterized by visual
>disturbances in one field (auras) and numbness on one side.  I often have
>speech and hearing affected (depending on which hemisphere is affected).  I
>have only had nausea a few times.  Is there a connection between migraine
>and this other neurological disorder??

No, but you may wish to see a neurologist to help you control your migraine
as well as answering these questions.


-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: pabo@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (Eric Pabo)
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 16:40:44 GMT
Subject: Re: crohn's disease - help needed
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Loveland, CO
Newsgroups: sci.med

As a person who has been on systemic prednisone regimens (sp) of 20 mg to 120mg
per day at body weights of 140-200 lbs, your symptoms of wild mood swings, 
rapid weight gain (yes, I was the teenager who tried to eat Fort Collins) 
sound very typical.  Your reaction to the levels you are on make me think
that you are particularly sensitive to prednisone.

You have my sympathy, I detest prednisone and will only take it when the poten-
tial benefits are significant.  Best wishes and if your doctor discounts your
experiences too much you might consider another physician.  Please feel free
to contact me if I can be of further help.

Regards,

Eric F Pabo
pabo@hpsmpa.lvld.hp.com
303-679-3947
From: werner@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu (John Werner)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Advice on contact lenses wanted (especially on disposable ones)
Date: 4 Jan 1993 05:23:04 GMT
Organization: School of Education, U.C. Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: dewey.soe.berkeley.edu

In article <1773@emoryu1.cc.emory.edu> splee@pd.org writes:
>
>hard lenses :	The original, harder to adapt to, and have to be taken out
>   		for cleaning every night
>soft lenses :	Easier to adapt to, more prone to infections? Not suitable
>		for people with astigmatism. Some are extended wear.
>disposable:	Wear for two weeks and throw away. This is the one she

A few comments on soft lenses:

They are definitely easier to adapt to.  My soft ones never bothered
me at all, while hard ones *hurt* when I tried them.  I kind of doubt
the "more prone to infections" bit, but I'm not sure.  Some people
with astigmatism (me, for example) can wear "toric" soft lenses; it
depends on how bad the astigmatism is and what kind it is.  Mine don't
correct my astigmatism as perfectly as glasses would, but it's not
really noticeable, and I hate glasses.

Most soft lenses are supposed to be taken out for cleaning every
night, plus weekly enzyme treatments.  But I don't take care of mine
nearly as well as I should, and the current pair has lasted about 2
years.  They're Bausch & Lomb "Ultima" soft torics, if anyone cares.

There are some extended wear soft lenses, but my optometrist says
they're mostly a good way to get an eye infection.  He says even the
disposable ones should be taken out at night.

-- 
John Werner                        werner@soe.berkeley.edu
UC Berkeley School of Education    
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: robert@unlv.edu (Robert Cray)
Subject: Schizophrenia
Originator: robert@peewee.cs.unlv.edu
Organization: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 23:50:41 GMT

WRT the recent discussion about whether or not schizophrenia was a
real disease or not - there was a Frontline (on PBS) the other night
about Schizophrenia.  They interviewed several schizophrenics.  One of
the things discussed on the show was a twin study at NIMH on schizophrenics
where one twin has it and the other doesn't.  The NIMH people claimed
there was a clear brain difference on MRI between the sick twin and
the healthy twin.  They also claimed the difference was there from birth.
It was also pretty clear these people were not just "eccentric."   It
was a balanced presentation, they also discussed some of the more dubious
treatments, past & present, for schizophrenia.  Perhaps Gary Merril and
whoever else is skeptical might want to see if they can get a copy of the
show...

				--robert
--
robert@unlv.edu
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: wentzell@ace.acadiau.ca (LEEANN WENTZELL)
Subject: Re: Leeches in medical applications
Organization: Acadia University
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 13:20:58 GMT

In article <17923@pitt.UUCP> geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks) writes:
>From: geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks)
>Subject: Re: Leeches in medical applications
>Date: 28 Dec 92 01:33:38 GMT

>In article <9212161700.AA16648@cs.utexas.edu> wmartin@STL-06SIMA.ARMY.MIL (Will Martin) writes:
>>
>>Where are leeches purchased? How much do they cost? Can an individual
>>buy some and keep a breeding colony of them, or are they somehow 
>>"restricted" to be sold to medical professionals only with some form
>>of certification or ID required? (I suppose one could always just refer
>>to them as "live bait" to get around any such restriction... :-)
>>

>Just any leach won't do.  Most of the ones you find in the pond won't
                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>bite humans anyhow.  They come from England, most of them.  They
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>are not cheap, and I think they won't sell to laymen.  Don't want
>to encourage nasty S-M games, I suspect.

I don't know what pond *you* frequent, but in this part of the world (
Eastern Canada) many people keep a shaker of salt or a book of matches at 
the edge of the local "swimming hole" to quickly remove leaches. I can 
assure you that local leeches *do* in fact "bite".
Lee Ann Wentzell                          "...foodless toads in 
Biology Department                        voluptuous chambers panting
Acadia University                         crawled..."
Wolfville, NS, CAN              P. B. Shelley - Prometheus Unbound
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: jcm@mururoa (Jean-Christophe Martin(Echirolles))
Subject: Cobra Venom
Organization: IMAG Institute, University of Grenoble, France
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 08:49:56 GMT

Hi,

I'm looking for somecobra venom  applications in medicine.

Thanks.
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: sue@netcom.com (Sue Miller)
Subject: Re: What to tell child their taking?
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 21:57:59 GMT

In article <1992Dec23.202119.26585@proton.llumc.edu> dye@edison.llumc.edu (Leonard Dye) writes:
>My daughter is 6 years old and possible A.D.D. and the doctor has
>prescribed Ritalin for her. She asked what the medicine was for
>and stated "she wasn't sick". What do should you tell her the medicine
>is for? Should you tell her that they are vitamins or smart pills
>or try and explain the situation?
>
>Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated
>

She is probably aware that various people in authority (parents, teachers,
etc.) have difficulties with aspects of her behavior.  You might try telling 
her that the medicine is something that the doctor thinks might help her do 
her work.  Probably not a good idea to *promise* that the medicine will
solve the difficulties.

I may be in a similar position soon with my own 6 year old, BTW, so I
empathize with you (and her)!


Newsgroups: sci.med
From: kristy@nextasy2.eecs.wsu.edu (Kristy Yordanov - EECS)
Subject: Parkinson's disease
Organization: Washington State University
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 00:52:03 GMT

Last December 19 on PBS there was a movie regarding treatment of  
Parkinson's disease. It was shown that after transplantation of  brain  
cells from a fetus into the patient's brain a recovery was achieved.
The procedure was conducted in Sweden. 

I would greatly appreciate it if someone can tell me more about the  
organization in Sweden and the conditions to  apply for such an operation.

Kristy Ivanova
kristy@eecs.wsu.edu
From: amigan@cup.portal.com (Mike - Medwid)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Electrocardiogram question
Date: Sun,  3 Jan 93 00:24:42 PST
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Distribution: na

The EKG was recommended by a gynocologist at Kaiser HMO.  She had the EKG
performed over a year ago and noone contacted her about the results.  
She went off the HMO plan for 4-5 months.  The gyno recommended the EKG
after noticing extra heartbeats in an exam.  My friend decided to pick
up her EKG printout as a friend of hers, recently admitted to med school
wanted to try and interpret it.  So she contacted Kaiser (she's been back 
on the HMO plan several months) to get a copy.  WHen she received the
printout it had all of the comments I mentioned in the earlier post.  
Noone had called her earlier with an interpretation of the results.  

The long and the short of it is she wound up with a piece of paper with
some scarey sounding words on it and no idea of what it means or how
how serious the comments.  One might assume that if a year went by and
noone contacted her about the results that everything's ok.  Still the
comments on the printout appear ominous and I was hoping to receive
some sci.med wisdom to pass along as reassurance.  
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: sdb@ssr.com (Scott Ballantyne)
Subject: Re: Non-physician bashing
Organization: ScotSoft Research
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 16:00:41 GMT

In article <1gvpgsINNm32@im4u.cs.utexas.edu> turpin@cs.utexas.edu (Russell Turpin) writes:

   Those who embrace quack theories [...] are merely less
   than well educated or lacking in the skills for critical thought
   in the area concerned.

There was an interesting paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine,
July 1984 which studied patients and practitioners who indulged in
'alternative' (i.e. quack) theories of cancer medicine. Of many
interesting observations, particularly interesting was that most
patients were well educated (no arguments about what really
constitutes education, puleeze) and that 50% of the practioners were
M.D.s
From: wats@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM (Bruce Watson)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Adiposity 101
Date: 31 Dec 92 19:57:43 GMT
Organization: Alpha Science Computer Network, Denver, Co.

In article <17875@pitt.UUCP| geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks) writes:
|In article <dnsurber.724007610@node_26400| dnsurber@lescsse.jsc.nasa.gov (Douglas N. Surber) writes:
|
|I made no such assumption.  What I said was that no matter how few
|calories you need for maintaining your weight, if you eat more
|than that you will gain weight and therefore are overeating.
|
|| My understanding is that most human metabolism varies over a
||significant range, and it seems reasonable that the metabolism of food
|
Your understanding doesn't explain the problem.

|Well, if you build a large calorimeter, put the person into it,
|measure the heat generated, the weight changes, and the food taken
|into the calorimeter, what other complex input conditions are there?
|Seems reasonably simple to me.

I heard on "All Things Considered" that a recent study found (by
a urine analysis, How they do that I don't know) that dieters
underestimate the calories they consume--an overestimate the
amount of exercise.

So it looks like Gordon is right. Food in, energy stored in fat
or burned. The problem isn't physics. It's psychological.
 
-- 
Bruce Watson (wats@scicom) Bulletin 629-49 Item 6700 Extract 75,131
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin)
Subject: Re: Bashing, truth, etc.
Organization: Purdue University Statistics Department
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 16:12:36 GMT

In article <2311@hsdndev.UUCP> rind@binoc.bih.harvard.edu (David Rind) writes:
>>[hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu writes:]
>>>I do not need any data whatever to know that saccharin has an effect on
>>>cancer rates, or that vitamin C has an effect on longevity, or even that
>>>the most disreputable quack treatments have an effect.

>This point, which Herman Rubin makes here frequently, has its problems.
>The assumption is that everything has some effect, however small,
>on everything, and so given a large enough N, a statistically significant
>effect will be demonstrated.

>I think this ignores the randomness and finiteness of the universe.  If
>the N needed to show an effect is larger than the number of humans
>that have ever lived and can ever be expected to live over the lifetime
>of the universe, I don't think it is fair to say that we "know" that 
>a large enough N will prove an effect.  Further, given chaos in 
>the universe, it is unlikely that we could ever control things in 
>such a way that we could have any likelihood that such a small effect
>would show the same results in an experiment performed twice.

The problem is even worse.  For any N, there is a positive probability
that a "statistically significant" result will occur, even if there is
absolutely no effect; this is what is usually called the significance
level. 

>That is not to say that this is not a relevant real world problem in 
>statistics.  Frequently large studies do demonstrate statistically
>significant but clinically insignificant results.  I am commenting
>more on the specific philosophical position that leads to the
>position that we can be certain that saccharin has an effect on
>cancer rates (either to raise or to lower them).

Again, there is the confusion due to the misuse of the word "significant."
Whether something is clinically significant is not dependent on the size
of the sample, but on the magnitude of the effect.  Even this is an 
oversimplification; it is unlikely that there is a 0-1 statement 
possible that something is or is not clinically significant.  If a
treatment is effective, the clinical, or practical, significance is
present BEFORE the data is collected, although the statistical
significance is not.

That there is a racial effect on the secondary sex ratio is 
statistically significant, but has little, if any, practical
significance.  On the other hand, that a drug has not been shown
to have statistically significant effects does not mean that its
effects are not practically significant.  The problem is one of
which action to take, and statistical significance, confidence
intervals, etc., do not provide the answer.  There are procedures
which take into account the relevant information, and they should
be used.

-- 
Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907-1399
Phone: (317)494-6054
hrubin@snap.stat.purdue.edu (Internet, bitnet)  
{purdue,pur-ee}!snap.stat!hrubin(UUCP)
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: tas@pegasus.com (Len Howard)
Subject: Re: plaque
Organization: Pegasus,  Honolulu
Distribution: sci
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 01:18:59 GMT

In article <1992Dec21.022239.5438@spdcc.com> dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer) writes:
>In article <ARA.92Dec20190931@camelot.ai.mit.edu> ara@zurich.ai.mit.edu (Allan Adler) writes:
>>In what ways is dental plaque different from the plaque that accumulates
>>in arteries?
>
>They're identical.  In fact, a common cause of early senility is
>atherosclerotic plaques which come from too infrequent brushing,
>hence the term "mental floss".

I ran into that fact in a recent article I was reviewing for the
Journal of Irreproducable Evidence, Steve.  This article was on the
benefical effects on plaque reduction in post-menopausal women
provided by daily use of a mouth wash containing proteins extracted
from the urine of pregnant female horses.  The square cm of plaque in
those women using the mouthwash was 40% less than those who did not
use the wash.  I think this bodes well for the product. 
>
>I prefer a professional cleaning done twice a year by my favorite
>cardiothoracic surgeon or neurosurgeon, depending on which arteries
>are dirtier.  _Don't_ let a dental assistant try this; they tend to
>mess up, especially when their instruments get caught on a particularly
>tenacious plaque.
>
There is also a new laser plaque remover, but the F&DA has not yet
approved it for general use. 
 
>-- 
>Steve Dyer

Len Howard, tas@pegasus.com

Newsgroups: sci.med
From: john@anasazi.com (John R. Moore)
Subject: Re: Physician's Incomes
Reply-To: john@anasazi.com
Organization: Anasazi, Inc.  Phoenix, Arizona USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 22:35:10 GMT

Keywords: 

In article <gdavis.724952283@griffin> gdavis@griffin.uvm.edu (Gary Davis) writes:
]
] There are a lot of things in professional education that would be
]nice,but probably are not cost effective. Allowing the priviledge
]of persuing any discipline as an undergraduate pre-med student
]probably IS one of them. I'm not sure that this four years of

I don't think that level of education is the issue beyond the following:
an MD is usually (but not always) a postgrad degree because of the need
for a number of college level courses in biology, chemistry, etc
before med school. Furthermore, after graduation there is Internship
and usually residency, so a typical MD has as many years invested in
education as any PHD.

HOWEVER, MD's often make big bucks for two reasons:
  >Supplies limited due to difficulty of getting the education 
  >Fee for service

I would point out that the same applies to lawyers and lots of other
professionals doing personal service work.

What should they make IMHO? I think that given the long hours and
heavy responsibilities on many physicians, coupled with the significant
education, they should make a pretty high salary (experienced 747 captains
make ~$150,000 last time I checked!). Currently there seem to be large
distortions (some specialties making big money without having to
do hospital visits or taking midnight calls from patients - such as
Radiologists - while primary care folks are making much less). Reforms
in the health care system are likely to fix this over time. It's clear
to me that the guy who does nothing all day but Radial Keratotomy
and earns millions per year is getting overpaid, and using only a tiny
fraction of his education!

-- 
John Moore NJ7E, 7525 Clearwater Pkwy, Scottsdale, AZ 85253  (602-951-9326)
john@anasazi.com ncar!noao!asuvax!anasaz!john anasaz!john@asuvax.eas.asu.edu
 - - Comment too controversial for management - Deleted :-) -
 - - Support ALL of the bill of rights, INCLUDING the 2nd amendment! - -
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: vince@cps.umhc.umn.edu (Vince Netz)
Subject: Scanning patient questionnaires into a database
Keywords: SF-36, scan, questionnaire
Organization: University of Minnesota
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 04:47:23 GMT

These days the healthcare marketplace is getting more demanding and 
hospitals now must demonstrate that the often expensive therapies are
worthwhile.  In our case, we're planning to use the SF-36 patient
outcomes questionnaire for selected groups of patients.  I'm interested
if anyone out there in netland has had any experience implementing its
use - and more specifically as a document that can be scanned into 
a database.  Currently I'm projecting that having data entry personnel
take care of the forms will be more cost effective than a scanner
and the applications interface necessary to make it work.  But, as the
populations we survey expand then the volume may in time justify
investing in one.  If you have some helpful tips garnered from
experience I'd appreciate it!  I'd ofcourse appreciate input if you've
dealt with any kind of healthcare data collection forms as scanned
documents, but the SF-36 is what I'm really looking for.  Thanks!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
______  
\    /  Vince Netz                             vince@cps.umhc.umn.edu
 \  /   Senior Consultant                      Office: (612)-626-3136
  \/    University of Minnesota Hospital       FAX:    (612)-626-3524
Newsgroups: sci.med,alt.self-improve
From: m23364@mwunix (James Meritt)
Subject: The senses
Organization: MITRE Corporation, McLean VA
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 15:57:59 GMT


How can I improve my senses?  There seem to be many ways to make them worse
(a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, for instance! ;-), so it seems not
unreasonable that there should be ways to improve them - or at least their
functioning.

Thanks.


--
James W. Meritt:  m23364@mwunix.mitre.org - or - jmeritt@mitre.org
The opinions above are mine.  If anyone else wants to share them, fine.
They may say so if they wish. The facts "belong" to noone and simply are.
From: mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Tuberculosis
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 92 08:59:13 PST
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
  <1992Dec26.044012.18619@maths.tcd.ie>

> >BCG vaccine
> >has been recommended for medical personnel, but its reported effectiveness
> >ranges from 0% to 77%, and it destroys the usefulness of the PPD skin test.
> 
> What does this 0% mean?
> Are you saying (or reporting)
> that BCG was found to have _no_ effect in some trial?
> Where was this trial?

The reference provided in the article I quoted is to _Science_,
1992; 257:  1055-1064.  I have not seen the referent article.
From: crittew@agora.rain.com (Walt Crittenden)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Generic drug store brands.
Date: 4 Jan 93 02:58:53 GMT
Article-I.D.: agora.C0B6y6.LtL
Organization: Open Communications Forum

mrl@nerus.pfc.mit.edu writes:

>Is it worth the money to pay for brand name drugs such as Tylenol versus drug
>store brands?  Am I simply paying for the name?  I notice a difference in the
>non-active ingredients.  Are they significant?

IMHO, yes, generic drugs are the way to go... IN MOST CASES.  There are
exceptions - well known exceptions - but most of the time, generics are
just fines.  As for the different ingredients, those are the chemicals that
physically hold the tablet together, help it dissolve in the stomach, etc.
(The latter example can cause problems with generics - if you are taking
a slow-release drug, and the generic isn't well made, it may not dissolve at
the proper rate, as an example.)

Regards, 
Walt Crittenden, R.Ph.

Note:  Yes, I am a pharmacist, but I work in a hospital, and we don't dispense
for profit, so this is a non-biased view.
Newsgroups: sci.med