Madisons Foundation

Madisons Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality and quantity of information available to parents of children with rare, life-threatening diseases, and to facilitating effective communication among parents, physicians and medical experts through:

http://www.madisonsfoundation.org/

How to be a Doctor for Kids
http://www.madisonsfoundation.org/index.php/content/view/16/93/

Kid to Kid
Madison's second book, authored at the age of ten, speaks to other children about what to expect during a hospital stay. Being hospitalized can be a scary thing, and Madison felt it was important to give other children a fellow child's perspective on what they will expect during their visit.
http://www.madisonsfoundation.org/index.php/content/view/19/95/

Surgeons Get Help Counting Sponges

Surgery is tough enough even when everything goes perfectly. But if the surgeon leaves something inside you, well, that's just plain bad.

Those leftovers can lead to infections, pain and other complications. Then there's the possibility of another operation to retrieve the stuff. Now, more operating rooms are being equipped with new gadgets to avoid misplaced equipment.

Some research indicates about 1 in around 1,000 patients undergoing abdominal surgeries wind up with an unintended souvenir. A push to improve quality has put mistakes like those on a list of "never events," errors that just shouldn't happen — ever.

NPR Blogs October 6, 2010
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/10/06/130379163/better-safe-than-sorry-surgeons-get-help-counting-sponges?ft=1&f=1128&sc=tw

L.A. Times October 5, 2010
http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-sponge-20101005,0,7993203.story?track=rss

Plain Language Medical Dictionaries

Last week, University of Michigan Taubman Medical Library won the MLA Midwest Chapter's Jean Sayre Innovation Award for their Plain Language Medical Dictionary widget at http://www.lib.umich.edu/plain-language-dictionary.

It is based on CDC document, Plain Language Thesaurus for Health Communications, which I found online at http://depts.washington.edu/respcare/public/info/Plain_Language_Thesaurus_for_Health_Communications.pdf

More on how to use this widget is described in Patricia Andersen's blog at http://etechlib.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/plain-language-medical-dictionary-igoogle-gadgets-beyond-google/.

You can easily add to your iGoogle page.

Thanks to the University of Michigan and PF Anderson for this information.

Physician Revives a Dying Art: The Physical

Medical schools in the United States have let the exam slide, Dr. Verghese says, noting that over time he has encountered more and more interns and residents who do not know how to test a patient’s reflexes or palpate a spleen. He likes to joke that a person could show up at the hospital with a finger missing, and doctors would insist on an M.R.I., a CT scan and an orthopedic consult to confirm it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/health/12profile.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage

CAPHIS-Consumer and Patient Health Information Section

CAPHIS
CAPHIS, the Consumer and Patient Health Information Section, is a section of the Medical Library Association, an association of health information professionals with more than 5,000 individual and institution members. MLA fosters excellence in the professional achievement and leadership of health sciences library and information professionals to enhance the quality of health care, education, and research.

http://caphis.mlanet.org/

Brain cancer vaccine promising in test results

An experimental brain cancer vaccine has been found to nearly double the life expectancy of some patients with the most aggressive form of the disease.

This study comes from research at Duke university medical center and M-D Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. Karen Vaneman has one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer -- a glioblastoma, which usually claims its victims within about 15 months after diagnosis.

WebMD Brain Cancer Vaccine video
http://www.webmd.com/video/brain-tumor-vaccine

For UHM users only:

Immunotherapy of Malignant Gliomas Using Autologous and Allogenic Tissue Cells.
PMID: 20879986

http://micro189.lib3.hawaii.edu/ezproxy/details.php?dbId=2095

Brain cancer vaccine doubles survival
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39505662/ns/health-cancer/

Health Daily videos added to Consumer Health Complete

Consumer Health Complete is a comprehensive resource for consumer-oriented health content. It is designed to support patients' information needs and foster an overall understanding of health-related topics. And now they have added an array of 2,286 Health Daily videos from NBC Digital Health Network Medical Video & Animation Collection. The wide ranging topics in the Health Daily feed include such information as diverse as Allergies, Diabetes and Workplace Health.

Consumer Health Complete
For UHM only:
http://micro189.lib3.hawaii.edu/ezproxy/details.php?dbId=54700

CDC Vital Signs-Tobacco Use

CDC Vital Signs offers recent data on the important health
topics of key diseases,conditions, or risk factors. Data is
gathered  from CDC's national monitoring systems to show
progress in important  areas of public health, and the ways
people can increase their health,  prevent or control disease. 

http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/TobaccoUse/Smoking/

http://www.cdc.gov/VitalSigns/pdf/2010-09-vitalsigns.pdf  

Sage Journals free Online Access until October 15, 2010

Register for Free Online Access to all SAGE Journals until October 15, 2010

You’ll then have access to more than 290,000 articles from 560+ journals on SAGE Journals Online—one of the largest and most powerful collections of business, humanities, social sciences, and science, technical, and medical content in the world.

http://www.sagepublications.com/promos/1105082JA.htm?utm_source=SJO&utm_medium=mobileversion&utm_content=viewonline&utm_campaign=1105082JA

Tackling Allergies Can Ease Asthma Suffering

About 4 million to 5 million American children have persistent asthma, and about 90 percent of them also have allergies. Studies have found that treating the allergies can not only make asthmatic children more comfortable, but it can even keep them out of the emergency room.

"For the vast majority of children with asthma, allergies are a very important, if not the most important factor in causing symptoms and determining risk for hospitalizations and emergency room visits," says asthma expert Dr. William Busse of the University of Wisconsin.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125759694

Role of Viral Respiratory Infections in Asthma and Exacerbations
For UHM only:
PMID: 20816549


Mast Cell Phenotype, Location and Activation in Severe Asthma: Data from the Severe Asthma Research Program
For UHM only:
PMID: 20813890

New pill aimed at preventing diabetes

A recent surge in obesity is putting diabetes on track to become one of the country's most feared epidemics. Here at home, the John A. Burns School of Medicine is at the forefront of stopping the illness." They estimate 57 million people in this country have pre-diabetes,” said Dr. Terry Shintani. And many who live in Hawaii are at risk." The pacific islanders, the Asian populations are at very high risk and these rates increase with increasing age,” said Dr. Beatriz Rodriguez, principal investigator. At the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, a clinical trial is underway to stop diabetes before it starts.

Researchers are looking for adults 40-70 years old who have early signs of type 2 diabetes, but are not on any medication." And we're looking for people who are less than 250 pounds,” said Dr. Rodriguez. "We want men and women all races."

Patients who complete the study will receive $400.

Call #692-0908 for more information or visit http://www.yourhealthsite.org.

http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/New-pill-aimed-at-preventing-diabetes/BKKbKH8Aw0GWA4ZmaYlKgA.cspx

AIDSinfo® Launches Mobile Site

AIDSinfo (http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov/), a US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) project managed by the National Library of Medicine, now offers a mobile site that allows users to access its resources and information on-the-go. The AIDSinfo mobile site is available at: http://m.aidsinfo.nih.gov.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/so10/so10_reprint_nlm_aidsinfo_mobile.html

Sports-related concussion in adolescents

Clinical Report- Sports-related concussion in adolescents
Pediatrics Vol. 126 no. 3 September 2010, pp 597-615
PMID: 20805152

Sport-related concussion is a "hot topic" in the media and in medicine. It is a common injury that is likely under reported by pediatric and adolescent athletes. Football has the highest incidence of concussion, but girls have higher concussion rates than boys do in similar sports. A clear understanding of the definition, signs, and symptoms of concussion is necessary to recognize it and rule out more severe intracranial injury. Concussion can cause symptoms that interfere with school, social and family relationships, and participation in sports.

http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;126/3/597

The Biomechanical Properties of Concussions in High School Football.

Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2010 Mar 25.
PMID: 20351593

Sport concussion represents the majority of brain injuries occurring in the United States with 1.6 to 3.8 million cases annually. Understanding the biomechanical properties of this injury will support the development of better diagnostics and preventative techniques.

For UHM only:
http://micro189.lib3.hawaii.edu/ezproxy/details.php?dbId=2095

CTE is a real risk for football players

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102703547.html

Concussion Worries Renew Focus on Football Safety
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130081779&sc=fb&cc=fp

TEDMED 2010

Created by Marc Hodosh and Richard Saul Wurman, TEDMED celebrates conversations that demonstrate the intersection and connections between all things medical and healthcare related: from personal health to public health, devices to design and Hollywood to the hospital. Together, this encompasses more than twenty percent of our GNP in America while touching everyone's life around the globe.

http://www.tedmed.com/what

Cigarette Smoke May Affect Fertility

Smoking may provide an explanation for reduced fertility, results of two studies suggested.

The first, by Claus Yding Andersen, MD, of the University of Copenhagen, and colleagues, found significant reductions in germ and somatic cells in the testes of male embryos from mothers who smoked during pregnancy, possibly related to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in cigarette smoke.

"This effect may have long-term consequences on the future fertility of exposed offspring," the authors wrote online in Human Reproduction.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Smoking/22069

Primary source: Human Reproduction
Source reference:
Mamsen L, et al "Cigarette smoking during early pregnancy reduces the number of embryonic germ and somatic cells" Hum Reprod 2010; DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deq215.

Additional source: Human Reproduction
Source reference:
Hammadeh M, et al "Protamine contents and P1/P2 ratio in human spermatozoa from smokers and non-smokers" Hum Reprod 2010; DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deq226.

U.S. Judge Rules Against Obama’s Stem Cell Policy

The National Institutes of Health issued a notice late Monday on the federal district court injunction blocking the federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. The notice confirms the information provided by Dr. Francis Collins last week in a call with the media. The notice states that grant awards that were funded on or before August 23, 2010, are not affected by the preliminary injunction order, and award recipients may continue to expend the funds awarded to them prior to the date of the injunction. However, pending competing and noncompeting continuation hESC awards and contracts are suspended until further notice, and the peer review of all pending competing hESC applications and proposals also are suspended.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-10-126.html

NIH has ordered the termination of all NIH intramural human embryonic stem cell research. Deputy Director Dr. Michael Gottesman wrote in an email to intramural scientists, "HHS has determined that the recent preliminary injunction ordered by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in the matter of Sherley v. Sebelius is applicable to the use of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in intramural research projects. In light of this determination, effective today August 27, 2010, all intramural scientists who use hESC lines should initiate procedures to terminate these projects. Procedures that will conserve and protect the research resources should be followed."

The new issue of The New Yorker features an article on Dr. Francis Collins, director of the NIH, and the recent injunction barring federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/09/06/100906fa_fact_boyer?printable=true#ixzz0y6432cDX

A new supplement released Monday to the September issue of Academic Medicine highlights the innovations in medical education curriculum since 2000. “A Snapshot of Medical Student Education in the United States and Canada” coincides with the centennial anniversary of the landmark Flexner report and examines advances in medical education curriculum at 128 U.S. and Canadian medical schools. In addition to the school reports, articles on the history and future of medical education and how the health care system has affected the development of the medical education system are included from authors such as Lois M. Nora, M.D., J.D., M.B.A., Brian David Hodges, M.D., Ph.D., Barbara Barzansky, Ph.D., Susan E. Skochelak, M.D., M.P.H., and Donald M. Berwick, M.D., M.P.P.
http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/pressrel/2010/100830.htm
http://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/toc/2010/09001

An article distributed by Bloomberg on Tuesday discussed the impact stimulus funding has had on research and how the ending of such funding is causing some pain.
http://tinyurl.com/27sho62

An editorial in Monday's Chicago Sun Times highlights the University of Chicago's Urban Health Initiative. The editorial states, "...we see some reason to believe the project is making successful inroads in redirecting a significant number of people away from the ER and toward the clinics and community hospitals. If those numbers grow, and if the quality of care at the referral sites is demonstrably high, this project could serve as a model for similar efforts across the nation. We sincerely hope so. Bold efforts such as this are essential if the United States is to get a grip on the spiraling cost of health care."
http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2651142,CST-EDT-edit30.article

The Wall Street Journal on Monday featured an article titled, "Cash-Poor Governments Ditching Public Hospitals." The article reports, "More than a fifth of the nation's 5,000 hospitals are owned by governments and many are drowning in debt caused by rising health-care costs, a spike in uninsured patients, cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and payments on construction bonds sold in fatter times. Because most public hospitals tend to be solo operations, they don't enjoy the economies of scale, or more generous insurance contracts, which bolster revenue at many larger nonprofit and for-profit systems.Local officials also predict an expensive future as new requirements—for technology, quality accounting and care coordination—start under the overhaul, which became law in March."
http://tinyurl.com/268jtd9

from Tony Mazzaschi
AAMC

Library Closed on Labor Day - Mon, Sept 6

The Health Sciences Library will be closed on Monday, September 6, 2010 in observance of Labor Day.

Modified Hours for HSL

The Health Sciences Library has modified hours for 3 dates in September due to staffing issues.

Hours will be from 8:00a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the following dates:

Wed, Sept 1
Mon, Sept 13
Wed, Sept 15

We apologize for the inconvenience.

UH Voyager Server Maintenance Mon 9/6 (Labor Day)

UH Voyager Server Maintenance Mon 9/6 (Labor Day)

Server maintenance will be done on the UH Voyager library catalog system this Monday September 6th (Labor Day Holiday) for approximately 2 hours starting around 5am. This will require the UH Voyager library catalog to be unavailable. In addition, access to all online journals and databases will be unavailable, because this includes maintenance to the proxy server that allows you to login to UH journals and databases.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime

Digital devices deprive brain of needed downtime

The New York Times reports that at the University of California, San Francisco, scientists have found that when rats have a new experience, like exploring an unfamiliar area, their brains show new patterns of activity. But only when the rats take a break from their exploration do they process those patterns in a way that seems to create a persistent memory of the experience.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/technology/25brain.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&hpw=&adxnnlx=1282932017-5FE6/gPiCwZSjjibtyshjg

The NY Times journalist of the story above was interviewed by NPR's Fresh Air and describes a scientific retreat he was able to attend with scientists studying the brain and gadget use. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129384107