I’m pretty well lying with that title.  I don’t have sure fire ways to make money all that quickly, certainly not in an overnight sense, and even more certainly not in quantities that will get you that signed Barry Manilow Career Boxset CD/DVD combo you’ve been eying.

But moving around the country costs money and considering that everytime I’ve moved I’ve been unemployed from anywhere between 3 weeks and 4 1/2 months, I’ve had to learn some tricks to augment my bank account.  Unfortunately, this is just not the right economy for being a gigolo.

In San Francisco, one of my roommates turned me onto the ‘Etc’ section of Craigslist (don’t ask me why it took me so long to learn about it).  Every major city has one and they can offer a whole slew of random opportunities.  I recently did a product research study for a sum total of $60 for an hours time (I sat and watched commercials and movie trailers – including the Zombieland trailer; go see that movie in theaters, it kicks ass.)
I also participated in a court trial study in which a focus group was looking to essentially create a mock jury to watch a real trial in order to provide insight into how a jury makes decisions.  I didn’t ultimately get picked for the jury (which would have paid sweet bucks for a 6 month period), but I was still paid for my time (3 hours) a total of $100.  Do the math, that’s hitman pay (you know, for those hitmen who work hourly).

Another find from Craigslist was a health study where I stayed in the hospital for nearly 2 weeks, taking 2 different drugs to find out how they would interact.  Despite some concerned friends and such who didn’t like the idea of me doing a drug trial, I have to highly recommend it.  I went a little stir crazy (I couldn’t even leave the floor I was on), and though one drug was an opiate (yay!), the other drug was meant to counteract the narcotic effect, and it worked (not yay!).  Essentially, the only side effects I had were constipation and boredom.  But for my time, I got nicely paid.  In the area of $2000.

I’m doing another medical study now (Tomatoes!), not nearly as intensive and so it pays quite a bit less, but it means groceries for a month or more.

Most medical studies pay you incrementally, based on how much you complete, with perhaps a bonus if you last the whole length of the study (for obvious reasons, a medical study can’t be considered conclusive unless the participants complete the whole regimen).

Craigslist is a good place to find these, especially as only a minority of all medical studies are open to healthy participants.  Most drug studies are meant to help with a specific condition or disease, and so they require participants with that condition.  Of course, if you are inflicted with diabetes or herpes or the dreaded Rectal Departure, science may need you (finally, somebody does).

You can always look here or on other like sites to find medical trials near you (it helps if you live near a major university).

I’ve found other ways to make money, too, like writing college papers for med students who don’t fucking need to waste time reading Dostoevsky!  (Seriously, med students, you don’t, it’s all epileptic Russians and pick axes; I’m open for business.)  I could tell you my method for arranging contacts, but then you’d probably just try to steal my business away.  Screw you, I’m in it for me!

It’s fairly easy to make a few extra bucks.  I’m not saying any of these are consistent, reliable ways to pay the rent (though, while doing the in-hospital study, I did meet someone who said he knew of groups of guys who just traveled from state to state doing trials, paying their way through with the money they made in the trials).  But if you need some extra money, or you find yourself in a new city and you’re not entirely certain when you’ll be able to find a job (damn you economy), consider research studies.  They might just buy you some time before you have to hit the streets with a snide cardboard sign asking for people’s change (“Haha, that’s funny, he is going to spend the money on booze… that witty bugger!”)

And there’s a good chance you’ll meet some freaks in the process.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine [Venous Thromboembolic Disease and Pregnancy, Paul E. Marik, M.D., and Lauren A. Plante, M.D., M.P.H., Volume 359:2025-2033 , November 6, 2008,  Number 19] states that pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis are the two components of a single disease called venous thromboembolism, and that Pulmonary Embolism is the leading cause of maternal death in the developed world.

The study also discusses graduated compression therapy treatment options and recommendations. To view the full text, please visit the New England Journal of Medicine website at http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/extract/359/19/2025.

A recent medical study from the UK, titled “Effectiveness of thigh-length graduated compression stockings to reduce the risk of deep vein thrombosis after stroke (CLOTS trial 1): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial” has created plenty of confusion in the media. You can view this study at:
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60941-7/fulltext#article_upsell

The Lancet journal study suggests that thrombosis prophylaxis stockings do not have the desired medical effect when used in stroke patients. Unfortunately, this study also is using the terms “compression stockings” and “support stockings” in a confusing manner when referring to thrombosis prophylaxis [or anti-thrombosis] stockings. As a result, Eurocom, the European compression therapy association, presented the following clarification of these terms for media reference when discussing The Lancet study.

Facts: The study references compression stockings as well as thrombosis prophylaxis stockings and support stockings. However, all three terms should not be used synonymously. These three products differ significantly in their effect and usage.

Medical compression stockings are considered as the basic treatment for venous and lymphatic system diseases. The externally-applied graduated compression found in medical compression stockings acts as a layer of muscle by gently squeezing the stretched vein walls together, allowing the veins to close. The cavity of the vein is reduced, thereby restoring blood flow to a normal state, and preventing blood from pooling in the legs while aiding overall leg circulation.

Medical compression stockings are generally available in different compression strengths that offer varied, increasing levels of graduated compression pressure. Graduated compression means that the garment is tightest at the ankle, and gradually loosens as it rises up the leg. Today’s compression stockings are made of breathable, comfortable and skin-friendly materials. They come in different colors too, so fashion-conscious patients have options to choose from.

Medical compression stockings should never be used to treat thrombosis prophylaxis in bedridden patients. On the contrary, their medical effect is best when the patient is ambulatory. Therefore, the Lancet study focused on bedridden patients, and therefore only discussed thrombosis prophylaxis [anti-embolism] stockings. The Lancet study did NOT evaluate medical compression stockings.

Thrombosis prophylaxis stockings, also called anti-thrombosis stockings, are used to prevent prophylaxis thrombosis in bedridden or recently-operated patients at hospitals and nursing home facilities. For upright, walking and sedentary patients, the low pressure of these stockings is not suitable for prophylaxis thrombosis treatment or prevention. You can easily identify anti-thrombosis stockings because they are made of thin, white, knitted material.

Support stockings also should not be confused with medical compression stockings. They are suitable as a preventative measure, and used when the wearer has healthy leg veins, or has not had a significant leg vein medical event, to prevent heavy, tired legs from long periods of standing or sitting, or to prevent leg swelling or deep vein thrombosis [DVT] when travelling. Because support stockings are considered to be preventive, these products are not generally covered by health insurance. Support stockings should not be substituted for medical compression stockings for the treatment of an existing vascular disease, or to prevent the reoccurrence of another DVT.

Travel stockings/socks are a popular kind of support stockings, and are meant to be used only as a preventative measure when the wearer has healthy leg veins or has not had a significant leg vein medical event. Their medical efficacy for reducing the likelihood of leg discomfort, swelling and the risk of deep vein thrombosis [DVT] was established in a 2001 clinical study also published for the first time in The Lancet. The study showed that using the same medical principles on which medical compression stockings are based, travel stockings effectively prevent economy-class syndrome [DVT] when worn on long-haul flights. The study included more than 200 subjects, and none of participants who wore travel socks suffered a deep venous thrombosis [blood clot in the deep leg veins]. However, 10% of the participants who did not wear travel socks developed an asymptomatic deep vein thrombosis in the lower leg after their long-haul flight.

Regarding the differences in medical socks/stockings, “each sock – whether it is a medical compression, thrombosis prophylaxis or support stocking – has its intended use,” says EuroCom CEO, Dr. Ernst Pohl. “While medical compression stockings are the best proven therapy for vascular disease within ambulatory patients, anti-thrombosis stockings have already been proven for many immobile patients to effectively prevent the formation of thrombosis. These three kinds of stockings [or their names] should certainly not be lumped together in any reference or study.”

Keywords: SIGVARIS, medical compression stockings, support stockings, compression therapy, venous disease, continuing education, health education, health fair, deep vein thrombosis, graduated compression stockings, compression stockings, compression hosiery, support hose, spider veins, varicose veins, DVT, thrombosis prophylaxis stockings, anti-embolism stockings, The Lancet, clinical trial, medical study, CLOTS trial 1

This article from Reuters reporting on an article in Pediatrics journal:

Calls to poison control centers for U.S. teenagers who have overdosed on attention deficit drugs rose 76 percent over eight years, researchers reported on Monday.This is nearly the same as the 80 percent rise in prescriptions for such drugs, Dr. Jennifer Setlik and colleagues at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center reported.

continued here

The Dairy Reporter announces this:

Childhood food sensitivity ‘normal’, says study

The occurrence of food hypersensitivity in children is common, and not necessarily linked to allergy, says a new study from Denmark.

According to findings published in Allergy, there also exists a discrepancy between sensitisation, self-reported food-related symptoms and confirmed food hypersensitivity.

Results from the Danish Allergy Research Centre cohort study indicate the need for better testing of children, as well as deepen our understanding of childhood sensitivity to certain foods, particularly milk, egg, and peanut.

“Sensitisation to foods in young children without food allergy seems to be a normal phenomenon,” wrote the researchers from Odense University Hospital.

Comments to come…

Here’s a link to an American Medical Infromatics Association (AMIA) article about a 2005 study comparing dictated operating reports with operating reports that were created using electronic templates.  Entitled “Efficiency, Comprehensiveness and Cost-effectiveness when comparing Dictation and Electronic Templates for Operative Reports,” the purpose of the study was to see which reporting method was more time efficient and captured better data.

In order to determine the strengths of each method, the study evaluated 369 surgical reports for OB/GYN procedures  – 198 individual reports generated by the “dictation group” and 171 for the “template group.”  At the conclusion of the study, the doctors found that while the operative reports created using electronic templates weren’t perfect, they did pose a significant improvement in many areas when compared with the reports generated by dictation.

Speed of Initial Entry

It did take longer to enter the dictated report than to complete the electronic template generated report – BUT, the average time difference between the two is both minimal and a bit misleading.

The average time it took a subject to enter the dictated report was 5.96 minutes (roughly 5 minutes and 57 seconds) while the average time it took a subject to complete the electronic report was 6.77 minutes (or roughly 6 minutes and 46 seconds).  So the difference in how long it takes to initially enter the information is an average of 49 seconds – that’s less than a minute!

But the real flip side is that while it’s technically (and nominally) faster to enter a report via dictation, that initial entry is only a small part of the entire timeline of an operative report.

Turnaround Time

Dictated reports may be “entered” faster, but they are not “completed” any faster.  After a report is entered through dictation, it is merely the beginning of a complicated process.  As the authors point out:

After operative reports were dictated, transcribed and accepted by the system, they were considered “complete” only when housestaff verified the electronic copies, corrected mistakes and signed them electronically. With unverified reports, housestaff frequently needs to be contacted, but returning pages are not always certain. When documents are not “completed” or cannot be located, there are delays in coding and, eventually, reimbursement.

Meanwhile, the electronic templates allowed for the surgeon to approve the finalized report and enter it into the patient’s record upon sign-out.   In addition to taking up less time and energy in the future for the surgeon, this also vastly improves the response to the patient.  In fact the study “found that the use of templates resulted in the presence of a verified operative report in the patient’s medical record (on average) within less than half of an hour compared to over 14 days for the standard dictation process (an 800-fold difference).”

In addition to the automatic filing, the electronic templates also code the procedure for recordkeeping/research purposes and also to speed up the billing process to ensure timely reimbursement to the hospital and the surgeon.

Data Capture/Comprehensiveness of Report

The team set up fifteen required sections that they believe the report had to include.  To see the listing and comparisons between comprehensiveness of the two reporting systems, please view the table here.  Out of the fifteen required sections, the electronic reports had an inclusion rate of 97% versus the 85% of dictated reports that included those same sections.

The study also brought up an interesting fact I hadn’t previously considered: by being more comprehensive and capturing more data, electronic reports can improve the billing process.  As the authors write:

There are also likely indirect financial benefits, since payment for procedures may be deferred or denied altogether when certain components of the report are not fully documented. One published study determined that 76% of dictated operative notes were deficient from a billing standpoint.

Not only does the increased data capture and required section help improve quality assurance and possible future research, but it can speed up billing and ensure proper reimbursement.

***

This is just one study.  I’m constantly searching the internet trying to find more examples of people comparing the electronic reporting with dictated operative reports.  By seeing the difference between the two – where one is lacking while the other succeeds – we can better understand how to improve a future model of reporting for medical professionals.

Has anyone seen other studies like this?  What do you all think about these results?  Please comment below.

Scar revision for hair transplant patients applies to the correction or minimizing of the scar that was left behind by their hair transplant by strip procedure. One patient from a different clinic brought up this topic when he asked about correcting one side of the scar that got relatively wider. “Is it better to do only half and not touch the good side so to speak?”

When it comes down to hair restoration, there are a couple of options available for almost given situation including scar revision. The most common technique used is a simply removing and reclosing the scar itself. This alone can minimize the scar width. Some patients may even consider using BOTOX injections around the scar to prevent future stretching. Trichophytic closure is a special technique used to allow hairs to grow into the scar to further minimize the scar’s appearance and the last option available is an FUE (follicular unit extraction) procedure. With and FUE, we can selectively extract hair grafts and transplant them into the scar itself to eliminate scar visibility.

Scars can take anywhere from 6 or more months to mature or heal completely. This timely phenomenon limits how soon scar revision can take place. We highly recommend in our clinics not to revise any existing months until at least 6 months after the scar was created. Most hair transplant surgeons in Orange County and medical spa offices in Encino Los Angeles California offer Botox treatment and rejuvenation options. You can get professional answers from physicians in our free medical forum.

Propecia is the only hair loss treatment FDA approved to be safe to use for male pattern baldness. Many hair transplant surgeons have used and prescribed Propecia because of its effectiveness. Propecia is a safe product but some patients have experienced a few side effects. This has raised some concern in many of our patients whom are considering Propecia for the first time. Here are a few questions some patients have submitted:

• Will I still be able to get my partner pregnant?

Propecia has no adverse effect on sperm count whatsoever. Although Propecia may decrease your desire to have sex, fertility is not affected.

• How would I know if my libido was affected by Propecia?

Even if your libido has decreased, some patients have reported to continue using Propecia regardless of its adverse effect on their sex drive. In addition, most of these same patients have reported a progressive increase in their libido with continued use. You have the option to discontinue the use of Propecia if you do experience sexual side effects. Considering the above statement, you may not need to do so unless the effects are substantial. A placebo test on Propecia has shown that an increase in functionality occurred at the same rate as with those on the placebo pill.

• Even after a hair transplant surgery, do I still have to use Propecia tablets?

Of course. Having a transplant does not mean that the rest of your hair will not fall out. The hair normally lost due to male pattern baldness will continue to recede while the newly transplanted hair stays intact. At least compared to Rogaine, Propecia does not make a patient experience what is known as catch up hair loss. This is a phenomenon in which hair follicles regained through the medical treatment are lost again in a short period of time.

For more details, our Hair Restoration Office in Orange County and Newport Beach can help educate you in the advances of hair restoration surgery. Medical Spa services in Encino, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Orange County are also available. For general questions regarding plastic surgery, skin care, health and wellness, fitness and hair transplants CosmeticTown.com has many answers to your questions. Content provided by professional physicians and surgeons.

Orange County Hair Transplant Clinic recently received an email from one of our patients who was concerned about having experienced some hair shedding after taking Propecia. His concern is if the medication will continue causing hair shed and if there are additional side effects associated with Propecia. Also if having been “malnutrition” at the time and having a family history of hair loss might be the reason for his current situation.

Propecia is a hair loss treatment supplement that has been clinically tested and proven to aid in hair restoration and is the only FDA approved drug for safe consumption in males with male pattern baldness.  In some cases, an increase in hair shedding may be evident during the first few weeks or months.  Within or after 6 months of taking Propecia, hair growth should become more evident.  It’s highly suggested not to be discouraged so early in the treatment and not to expect results too early as well.  As for sexual side effects associated with Propecia, they have only been recorded in 1 out of every 100 patients tested and continued use has shown that side effects become minimal or non-existent.  If sexual side effects continue, you can take a lesser amount of Propecia or discontinue its use.

People with a family history of hair loss may be more prone to male or female pattern baldness than most others.  On the plus  side, when caught early the effects of hair loss can be prevented, slowed or corrected.  Malnutrition can cause some hair loss but that can only be attested to severe vitamin deficiency.  Just be sure to maintain a well balanced diet and vitamin deficiency should not be an issue.  If your body is lacking in vitamins, vitamin supplements can help reverse that.

A proper diagnosis for his current hair loss is still necessary but once that is done we can better assess his personal situation and give him the options he needs to prevent or correct his situation.  We at our Hair Transplant Center of Orange County recommend that he start setting up a good relationship with a hair transplant surgeon to help monitor his progress and to suggest ways to prevent or correct current or future hair loss.

If you would like more information or a FREE CONSULTATION, call our Los Angeles Main Office at 888-302-USHR (8747) to schedule your consultation. Our Encino CA Medical Spa of Los Angeles can also help restore your youthfulness with Fillers, Botox and Laser treatments. If you have any medical spa or surgical general questions, our forum can provide you with professional information from doctors all over Southern California. Our offices use state of the art technique and handles most to all of your hair loss and rejuvenation needs.

Although patients understand the benefits of hair restoration surgery, they sometimes seem to be taken back because of the remaining scar caused by follicular unit transplantation. Follicular unit transplant through strip technique is considered the golden standard for hair restoration in both men and women suffering from male or female pattern baldness and it continues to be practiced and used on thousands of patients around the world. The only remaining con to this procedure is the linear scar that remains in the donor area.  But for those who go through with their transplant, especially men, they ask if there is another way to avoid having such a visible scar or not have a scar at all? What are the chances of the scar widening and becoming more visible? These are questions regularly asked in our Clinic for Hair Restoration Surgery in Orange County, CA.

The linear scar that is left after a hair restoration procedure through strip technique can be made less visible. Most facilities that do hair transplantation practice a technique known as trichophytic closure for their patients. Trichophytic closure is a technique used where hair follicles will penetrate through the donor scar minimizing its visibility and detect ability. Stretching or widening also has a preventative plan. A study conducted has shown that BOTOX can be used to prevent further stretching or widening of the donor scar and must be applied by a professional physician for BOTOX injection for best results. Hair transplant surgeons have practiced this technique on some of their patients.

Most male patients like to keep their hair at a shorter length but the length of hair is obviously up to the patient’s best disclosure. In some cases, any hair length under 1/4” or #2 buzz clip may make the scar more apparent. A hair stylist can also give you better suggestions on hair length and combing techniques depending on the width of the scar and density of hair.

Another technique available to minimize scarring is a different hair transplant procedure called follicular unit extraction (FUE). This technique is done by selectively extracting follicular units and refining them for hair transplantation. The result is undetectable and the downtime is a fraction of that of follicular unit transplantation through strip technique. Findings on this type of procedure were originally published when conducted on patients with neurological scar revision. This procedure can also be used to fill in existing scars where hair use to grow or the donor scar area.

They say the Internet has revolutionised the way the world is doing business and undergoing education. That’s true in medicine as well – gone are the days that medical students cut up human cadavers and lug around Gray’s Anatomy. The use of virtual 3D models and optical discs has made studying medicine a bit more bearable; but even these technologies will fall by the wayside in the future.

Smartphones..the most important tool after the stethoscope

A recent study Taking The Pulse v9.0 issued by Manhattan Research found that 64% of doctors, more than double the number eight years ago, are using smartphones — iPhones, BlackBerrys, Treos and other hand-held devices.

How can smartphones help? Some examples:

• A doctor seeing a patient for the first time can be astounded by the variety of pills given by previous doctors. By feeding in the shape, colour and probable use of the pill into a software called Epocrates, one is able to obtain a list of medications and images that match those criteria, allowing the doctor to identify the pill.
• While dining in a restaurant, a doctor can receive an attachment by email showing an ECG done by a colleague of a patient about to get a heart attack. Previously, he would have had to stay at home and wait by the fax machine.
• By the bedside, a doctor can check immediately the dosages of medicines, drug interactions and even show images to help the patient understand better.

My favourite - the Blackberry Bold - largely because many medical programs are Windows-based

Such is the popularity of these devices that some medical schools, like Georgetown University in Washington DC  already require their students to each use a smartphone. This is a trend catching on fast and it looks like a matter of time before they are used in all med schools.

But with any new technology, there are reservations. Take privacy concerns, for example..all this patient stuff in a smartphone can fall into the wrong hands and create confidentiality issues. There are concerns too by some patients that it would be quite annoying talking to a doctor who’s busy peering into the small screen and apparently not paying attention to what is being said!

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With the amount of products available for the treatment of hair loss, there is only one that we recommend and prescribe to our male patients: finasteride. Finasteride, also known as the brand name Propecia®, is a DHT or dihydrotestosterone suppressant. Most men understand the benefits of finasteride but also understand some of the risks associated with finasteride especially those involving young and unborn children. In a recent email received in our Orange County Hair Loss Center our patient asks, “can finasteride causedamage to pregnant women health or to the health of the developing fetus?” and if finasteride can be found in body liquids such as men’s saliva, sweat or sperm?”

DHT is the culpret in male patterned baldness in adult males but DHT is a crucial hormone in the development of a male fetus and their external genitalia. The same applies to young adult males which is why it is not recommended for young adult males to take finasteride for hair loss while maturation of external genitalia is not fully developed.

As a precaution, Merck pharmaceutical adds this disclaimer on the Propecia® label: “Women who are or may potentially be pregnant must not use PROPECIA and should not handle crushed or broken PROPECIA tablets because the active ingredient may cause abnormalities of a male baby’s sex organs…” This includes handling broken or cut tablets which can increase the chance of inhalation of small finasteride particles which can have negative effects on the external genitalia of their unborn male baby. It is true that there is trace of finasteride in male body secretion like saliva, sweat and sperm but the amount present is considered negligible or safe for pregnant women. Women who are pregnant can be exposed to male secretion while male is currently taking finasteride for hair loss treatment. We suggest to all our patients of our Hair Replacement Centers of Orange County to continue using finasteride for hair loss treatment but should practice safe handling and storage of finasteride around their pregnant wife or partner.

Bimatoprost has been used in the medical field to help control the progression of glaucoma and manage ocular hypertension as well as reduce intraocular pressure. But one of the known side effects of bimatoprost is its ability to lengthen eyelash hair. In December of 2008, bimatoprost was approved by the FDA to be a safe to use product for eyelash lengthening. This product is named Latisse. As unusual as it may seem, this is not the first time an unusual side effect is put to good use.

Although it may seem strange that a product be used specifically for its side effect properties, it is not the first time this has happened. Minoxidil is another example of a drug side effect being put to use. Minoxidil was originally designed to be used as a blood pressure medication but as a result of its use, the side effect documented was re-growth of hair. Minoxidil is the active drug in Rogaine hair topical and is also an FDA approved product for the treatment and prevention of hair loss.

There are great alternatives available for all people who have short or thinning eyelashes. Eyelash restoration through hair transplant is also a viable solution. The best candidates for eyelash hair restoration are patients whom do not have any or part of their eyelashes and the restoration process is generally done through surgery using scalp hair that is implanted in the eyelash area. Orange County Clinic for Hair Restoration sees a good number of patients with both types of medical need and we orient our patients in the right direction to future restoration. Latisse is highly recommended for all other patients that still have eyelashes but want to enhance them.

Latisse is available by prescription only and by an authorized physician as well. USHR MedSpa specializes in these services and is a reseller of Latisse™ eyelash enhancer.

I’m really confused about the backlash against comparative effectiveness research (CER). Hilzoy looks at this (and links to this paperby Jerry Avorn) and is as confused as me:

You’d think that doing research to figure out which treatments are most effective would be an obviously good thing. But no: it is, apparently, the first step on the road to socialized medicine. A lot of the attacks rely on this “first step” argument. For instance, the Heritage Foundationwrote that “The type of information collected by CER could eventually be used inappropriately if a “Federal Health Board” was created to decide which types of treatment would be available to whom and when.”

She also links to crazies who think the Nazis came into power in 1930 and think Mengele did research. Jerry Avorn gives one of the main reasons CER is needed:

The contested provisions were designed to support studies comparing the efficacy and safety (and, by extension, the cost-effectiveness) of alternative ways of addressing common clinical problems. Interventions to be evaluated will include pharmaceuticals, devices, procedures, and diagnostic approaches, such as imaging studies. This research will fill important information gaps facing clinicians, patients, and payers concerning what works best. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) often approves new medications on the basis of modest-sized studies involving patients with relatively few coexisting conditions who are followed for brief periods. Sometimes the only efficacy requirement is a demonstration that a new product works better than placebo in improving a surrogate outcome measure, such as a laboratory-test result, rather than achievement of an actual clinical benefit. The bar is set even lower for medical devices such as pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, which may only have to be shown to be similar to previously approved products or simply not to be dangerous. For new surgical procedures or imaging studies, there may be almost no evidentiary bar at all.

As he notes, many studies to get medication approved are done on ‘otherwise healthy’ patients. This makes the studies cleaner and cheaper (for example if you testing an allergy medication and included people with asthma, you would probably have to add groups to see how it interacts with asthma medication). This is fine, but we do want to know what happens when patients who are not otherwise healthy are given the medication.

I think it would also be nice to know which medication actually works better (you know, because it would save lives). And the cost/rationing argument is just silly–almost everyone who has insurance already has a group that will disallow them some treatments because of cost (never mind those without insurance who might not be able to afford any treatment).

I often consider that, because “mulatto” doesn’t really “exist” in the world at large, medical studies that cite race as a qualifier of the subjects studied mean absolutely nothing for me.  Am I to assume that the ills that typically plague African Americans are apt to plague me, or those of Caucasians?  Or neither?  Or both?  I mean surely our DNA does not take into account the one drop rule and decide that I have only black genes.  For these reasons I was very pleased to hear of the Bogalusa Heart Study…

The Bogalusa Heart Study is the longest and most detailed epidemiologic study of a biracial (black-white) population of children in the world. The study focuses on understanding the early natural history of coronary artery disease and essential hypertension. It is the only major program studying a total and geographically well-defined, biracial and semi-rural community. http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/552027/

We’ve been asked by a patient in our Orange County Hair Transplant clinic why we have such a strict policy about sun exposure. We clarified his question when we showed him an article published by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology providing findings by the Department of Dermatology at the University of Lübeck in Lübeck, Germany and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. Their research was based on the possible effects of excessive exposure to UV Radiation (UVR). It has been found that UV Radiation is one of the most harmful environmental influences on human skin. We take this particular study into account due to the nature of our practice: hair transplant surgery. This article was published in January, 2009.

Findings made by the two universities were based on the use of a human organ model, which is a living human tissue interaction system under physiologically relevant in situ conditions as normal skin and hair would be. When irradiated with UVB light, one of two common types of Ultra Violet light, reduction of the hair shaft elongation, premature catagen entry and reduced hair matrix keratinocyte proliferation were observed as the major damages caused by UV Radiation.

Also noted was if using low or high amounts of radiation, apoptotic cell death and necrotic cell death either prevailed or was a completely dominant effect. Both university investigators concluded that UVR does play an intricate role in modifying hair growth and cycle, can promote cell death and encourages regulatory events in human hair follicles in vitro. Data collected from the human organ model encourages its further use for general investigation of UV-induced effects and for testing possible agents for their UV-protective agents.

These finding have made it clear that UVR is a damaging natural occurrence and urge our patients to take precautionary steps to further prevent hair loss. We highly recommend to all our patients and visitors to also apply sun block or at least minimize overexposure to the sun on unprotected parts of their body and especially the scalp area. Another recommendation made by USHR Medical Spa is in the event of sun damage to your skin, laser and medical options are readily available for qualifying candidates. For more information, check out the CosmeticTown.com Web Forum. Our Orange County Hair transplant clinic has a “no sun exposure” policy within 6 months after hair restoration surgery for all patients.

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From time to time, internet news will catch my eye.  Glowing dogs, what?  Bye-Bye glow sticks, gimme my dawg!  Click the picture above for article.

SandiO