Radio Health Journal
The latest in health, science, technology, and the intersection of medicine and public policy.
Vitamin B9 is an essential nutrient, and now new research shows supplementation is more important than we thought. Then, If you ever fibbed to your doctor, you're not alone, and scientists have found a specific genetic mutation that causes frontotemporal Alzheimer's. Finally, forcing kids to apologize and recent studies that show how it usually backfires.
Experts have believed that autism affects four times as many boys as girls, but the ratio may not actually be quite that high. Doctors are learning that autism shows up differently in girls’ behavior as a result of brain differences. This leaves many girls with autism undiagnosed. Experts discuss how it appears in girls and the consequences of those differences.
Experts say incest is the most common of all sexual abuse, but the least discussed openly. A noted expert on sexual abuse discusses how incest makes girls feel particularly responsible and unable to come forward, and a non-profit organization that seeks to help them.
The number of people with dementia around the world has more than doubled since the 1990s. The effects of air pollution on city dwellers. And finally, studies proving that it doesn't take long to believe your own lies.
Drug and alcohol addiction and abuse is rising. Researchers have found that “fear mongering” educational efforts to combat it in adolescents doesn’t work. New science has discovered that certain personality types are predictably predisposed to addiction risk, and that educational efforts can be targeted to them effectively. Experts discuss.
Does addiction affect all of us in some degree? A noted addiction specialist and author believes we are all somewhere on the addiction spectrum, from bad habits to full-blown addiction. He discusses how small triggers can push people to seek relief, producing deepening decline.
Death risks related to blood transfusion. Sleep studies indicating high anger responses in those who are sleep deprived. And finally, abused employees making great bosses.
In the near future, cars will be able to provide data as well as receive it, and a variety of methods are being researched to tap into this. Experts explain how cars can communicate with roads, traffic signals and central computers, and how roads themselves may collect data on the cars they carry. In the future, autonomous cars may use these links to greatly speed travel and make it much safer. …
Death rates for most major health conditions are in decline except for chronic kidney disease. Children don't just grow up faster but also age faster if they had a tough childhood, and finally, if you're a night owl, recent studies your health may suffer for it.
It's a rare thing for people to lose their memory of past events. An expert discusses why doctors believe it may occur, and a woman to whom it happened recounts her experience.
Many people with dwarfism also face skeletal abnormalities which can lead to disability. Experts, and little people themselves, discuss major causes of dwarfism, the hurdles they create, the struggle for respect, and the prospect of treatments that could one day make little people much more rare.
The reason for a decline of American lifespans, a study explaining why waiting a year between the birth of 1 child lowers complications, and finally if your desk is a mess, your co-workers probably make negative assumptions about you.
During the holidays, leftovers from gatherings and parties may threaten to take over the refrigerator. An expert discusses consumer-friendly how-to’s, including how to read labels, that can lengthen food life and help avoid food waste.
Medical campaigns account for a third of monies raised on crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, and many people who’ve fallen through the holes of the safety net have been helped this way. But new studies show that fraud is rampant in crowdfunding, with fake patients and medical providers who all too eager to take money for worthless treatment. Experts discuss these issues and the need for regulation.
Studies showing neither aspirin, nor omega 3 fish oil supplements help during a heart attack. Then, health issues related to inflammation and grief and finally, people with ADHD being recognized as assets to their employers.
With monitors surveying every part of patients’ bodies, hospital intensive care units appear to be a model of high tech. But systems engineers say ICU’s are actually models of inefficiency because few of those high tech devices talk to each other. Experts discuss how ICU’s could be improved to save lives.
During the holidays, party foods are a prime source of food-borne illness. Two food scientists discuss common ways foods become contaminated, some of the myths of food contamination, and ways to keep foods safe when you have guests to protect.
The increase in skin cancer deaths among men, a higher heart attack risk due to an immune molecule called IL-17, and finally, changes to diagnosing pain levels using EEG.
Many people who have chronic recurrent sinusitis may have an allergic reaction to fungi rather than a bacterial infection. Treatments for the two are completely different, and in some cases, fungal sinusitis can be life threatening. Two experts and a patient explain.
Most people think of science as fact-based and not as subject to bias as the rest of the world. However, studies show that gender bias is rampant in science, and that women are not taken as seriously as men, even with identical qualifications. Experts discuss the problem and possible solutions.
A study indicating how ramping up exposure to peanuts can make it safer for kids with allergies. Then, the increase of multigenerational households, and why volunteering to help out co-workers isn't always a good idea. Finally, genetic super tasters, and their likeliness to enjoy more caffeine.
Schools would be a good place for programs to screen for mental health issues in students, and to educate about mental health to lessen the pervasive stigma. Some states are making programs mandatory, but elsewhere schools and personnel may resist, seeing mental health as outside the normal role of teachers. Experts discuss how inventive programs are overcoming obstacles.
Companies instituting open offices without walls often claim they improve collaboration and interaction. Studies now show that the opposite is true—that workers put on headphones and interact via email rather than in person in order to shut out distractions and stress. Experts discuss.
Medical Notes for the week of November 25, 2018 including: The cost of non-fatal injuries annually, a possibly cause to scoliosis, why volunteering to help out a co-worker isn't always a good thing, and finally, what kind of person swears the most?
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