Bio-adhesives are a reasonable alternative to sutures for repair of perineal lacerations sustained during childbirth, according to a poster presentation at last week’s annual meeting of the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine. Researchers at the Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center… Read full post »

Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter
National broadcast premiere
PBS World’s AfroPop series on February 9, 2011 at 7 pm.
Check local listings for additional dates and times
(The film will be shown multiple times )

Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter follows the tale of a Malian woman protecting her daughter from… Read full post »

Yet another study showing that abortion does NOT lead to future psychiatric problems.

In Denmark, where termination of pregnancy is legal and freely available until the 12th gestational week, we found no significant increase in the incidence rate of psychiatric contact in the 12 months after an induc

… Read full post »

Comedian Tim Minchin takes on the alternative medicine, pseudo-science, medical woo crowd as he recounts, in rhyming beat, a dinner party encounter with a beautiful tattooed girl called Storm.

The anti-woo rant starts around 2:15. But find nine minutes and listen to the whole frickin’ thing.… Read full post »

Diffuse adenomyosis as seen on transvaginal ultrasound

Adenomyosis is a benign condition in which the glands that normally line the inner cavity of the uterus grow within its muscular walls, causing uterine enlargement, heavy, painful menses and anemia. Adenomyosis can be likened to endometri/… Read full post »

Our findings indicate no consistent association between EHR and clinical decisions and better quality. These results raise concerns about the ability of health information technology to fundamentally alter outpatient care quality.

(Arch Intern Med. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2010.527)

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Yet another study documenting the endocrine-disrupting effects of Bisphenol-A, this time in Chinese males with and without occupational BPA exposure -

Urine bisphenol-A (BPA) level in relation to semen quality.
Li DK, Zhou Z, Miao M, He Y, Wang J, Ferber J, Herrinton LJ, Gao E, Yuan W.

RESULT(S): Aft

… Read full post »

Partners in Health is building a state of the art teaching medical facility in Mirebalais in Haiti’s underserved Central Plateau.

My niece Annie helped design the waste and water treatment parts of the project as part of her engineering internship with Northeastern University, and and will be jo… Read full post »

Kudos to the Philadelphia Grand Jury for seeing past the politics of abortion that could have divided their opinion, and recognizing this case for what it is – the prosecution of a bad doctor delivering dangerous and horribly bad medical care to poor minority women under the oversight of a negl… Read full post »

In a well-done placebo controlled study published in this week’s JAMA, use of Escitalopram (Lexapro) reduced hot flashes in post-menopausal women.

Investigators enrolled 205 women, randomizing them to either Lexapro 10 mg or placebo, with instructions to increase to two pills a day if nee… Read full post »

My favorite thing about the annual Medblog Awards is that I get to discover wonderful blogs that somehow slipped past my radar in the past year. Nominations are barely open, and already I’ve added three sites to my blogroll.

• The Sterile Eye
• White Coat Underground
• Life in the Fast Lane
• Scienc
  
  
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Google is an amazing thing – it occasionally tosses you a link that lands you in an alternate universe of folks you’d never encounter in real life.

Like cattle ranchers.

I’ve just wasted the good part of an hour wandering their world – reading about their concerns (wate… Read full post »

I’m no hoarder. In fact, I’m pretty darned good at throwing stuff out.

At least once a year, I go through my closets and rid myself of the clutter. In doing this, I adhere to the first commandment from my bible – a 30-year old, dog-eared paperback called Getting Organized.

If you

… Read full post »

If God exists, God made this. Look at it. Face it. Accept it. Adjust to it, because this is the truth and it’s probably not going to change very much. This is how God works. God would probably want you to look at it. To learn about it. To try

… Read full post »

A friend of mine was teaching her 4 year old daughter the nuances of feminine hygiene the other day. Here’s how it went down -

Mom – Okay, honey, you have to be very careful when you wipe. Go from the front to the back.

Daughter –  Why?

Mom – So

… Read full post »

The media is abuzz over recent reports of pregnancies occurring in women using Implanon, a single rod progestin-only contraceptive inserted under the skin of the upper arm and lasting for up to three years.

The headlines make it sound horrifying – “Hundreds Become Pregnant Despite… Read full post »

Cute packaging and product placement in the check out lane at Duane Reade will get you generic Tylenol for a price equivalent to 50 bucks for 100 tabs, as opposed to $6 per 100 count in the usual package.

A perfect way to usher in the New Year with lunch and an afternoon walk in the Bronx Botanical Garden with good friends.

I’ll let the pics speak for themselves. A Happy and Healthy New Year to all!

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And just in case you’re wondering what a dongle is.(I had no idea)…

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A spa in California is offering vaginal steam baths , in which spa-goers squat or sit on open stools over a tub of hot steam, as a cure-all for menstrual disorders, digestion and mood -

The V-Steam. Inspired by an ancient ritual practiced for many years

… Read full post »

Nice to know tacky Christmas carol arrangements will live on into the I-future…

Thanks to Annette for sending this link on to me.

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Thanks to sister-in-law Joan, who I like to call the Quinoa Queen, for instructing and encouraging me on using the wonderful grain.  I’ve tried to make it on several occasions, but found myself with mushy quinoa. Turns out I was peaking and stirring, a real no-no if you want fluffy qu… Read full post »

There’s a new kind of music playing in the soundtrack of my life, and it’s coming from a wonderful little pub in Riverdale called An Beal Bocht Cafe, where Irish singer Mary Courtney holds court on Friday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Mr TBTAM and I celebrated our 25th/… Read full post »

The Warren Commission reconvenes to discuss the WHI findings

I swear, if I read one more article rehashing the Women’s Health Initiative, or one more theory to explain its findings, I’m going to ask the Warren Commission to reconvene and settle this thing once and for all.

The la… Read full post »