Is PTSD Linked to Violence? What’s an Effective Cure for PTSD?

April 16, 2012 | Author: HCZ

Post-traumatic stress disorder in the limelight

The case against a United States soldier who is accused of going on a shooting rampage earlier this month in two Afghan villages that left women and children dead has focused global attention on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other “invisible wounds of war” and of traumatic events like rape.

The suspect in the case, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, 38, is being held in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, even as a military investigation into his case continues. The case has also triggered a system-wide review of mental health facilities in the U.S. defense system.

Court records show that Bales had gone on four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan after he enlisted in the military after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. His lawyer, Attorney John Henry Browne, has said he will cite PTSD to defend the serviceman.

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Posted in Mental Health | Leave a Comment


What Causes Autism? Is There an Autism Epidemic in the US?

April 16, 2012 | Author: HCZ

Advocacy group Autism Speaks says: “Autism is now officially becoming an epidemic in the United States. We are dealing with a national emergency that is in need of a national plan.”

When figures a few years ago showed that as many as one child in 110 in the United States had autism, leading autism research advocates called for health officials to declare a new “national emergency” and an “epidemic” that needed urgent attention.

Today, the situation is even more dire: One out of 88 children is believed to have autism or a related disorder, according to health officials who said on March 29 that autism appears to be on the rise, with the rate rising 23 percent in two years.

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Posted in Maternal and Child Health | Leave a Comment

Hidden Chemicals in Cigarettes: Uranium, Cyanide, Formaldehyde & More

April 16, 2012 | Author: HCZ

FDA bares teeth, requires tobacco companies to list levels of 20 hazardous chemicals

Uranium-235? Uranium-238? Vinyl acetate? Polonium-210? Mercury? Hydrogen cyanide? Coumarin? Formaldehyde? Did you even know that these chemicals exist in the cigarette you’re smoking?

Yes, they do — along with 93 other chemicals that the United States Food and Drug Administration classifies as “harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs)” in tobacco products and tobacco smoke under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

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Posted in Is it Safe | Food Drug Medicine Safety | Leave a Comment

Celebrities With Glaucoma & the New Zioptan Drug

April 16, 2012 | Author: HCZ

What do soul musician Ray Charles, astronaut John Glenn, tenor Andrea Bocelli, Canadian visual artist Tony Max, guitarist Jose Feliciano, and over other 60.5 million people in the world have in common?

Glaucoma. The second leading cause of blindness globally after cataracts, it’s a common but deadly eye disease.

What’s particularly insidious about glaucoma is that it causes vision loss that’s progresses so slowly that by the time you notice it, it’s a bit too late—the disease is at an advanced stage. And even with treatment, 10 percent of sufferers still end up blind.

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Posted in Blindness Eye Disease | Leave a Comment

Dick Cheney’s HeartMate II: Famous People With Heart Transplants

April 16, 2012 | Author: HCZ

Cheney transplant puts spotlight on heart failure treatments

Former United States vice president Dick Cheney’s ongoing recovery from a long awaited and “lifesaving” heart transplant, combined with his 20-month survival after receiving the HeartMate II — a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) — has rekindled interest in interventions that can extend the lives of patients with advanced heart failure.

Doctors interviewed by MedPage Today, Reuters, Agence France Presse, Associated Press and the New York Times all agree that Cheney’s situation has enhanced public awareness of advanced heart failure and available treatment options.

“Cheney’s situation demonstrates that we can provide really great care for patients with advanced heart disease and it no longer needs to be considered a desperate situation,” Dr. Clyde Yancy, a past president of the American Heart Association (AHA) and chief of cardiology at Chicago’s Northwestern University told MedPage.

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Posted in Celebrity Health | Leave a Comment
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