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

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

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

What Causes Autism? Is There an Autism Epidemic in the US? 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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Hidden Chemicals in Cigarettes: Uranium, Cyanide, Formaldehyde & More

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.

And on March 30, the health regulator said it will begin requiring tobacco companies to report how much of the 20 harmful chemicals are in their products.

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Celebrities With Glaucoma & the New Zioptan Drug

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

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.

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Parkinson’s Disease Treatments Progress, Thanks to Michael J. Fox’s Activism

Parkinson’s disease treatments progress, thanks to Michael J. Fox’s activism

When he first noticed his little finger shaking, Michael J. Fox put it down to a hangover. A year later — at just 30 years old — he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The Canadian-American teen idol of the 1980s, famous for his roles in the smash hit trilogy Back to the Future underwent a 360-degree turnaround. From being a movie star for five years and feeling “lucky” he was suddenly “peculiar.” Sure, he was used to being stared at, but this time, it was different. “I hated the way it (Parkinson’s) made me look,” he thought. “That means that I hated me.”

But Fox has come a long way from feeling down in the dumps since he was first diagnosed with neurodegenerative disease in 1991. Starting with a public disclosure in 1998, he then went on to become an activist for research toward finding a cure. This led him to create the Michael J. Fox Foundation — today, the leading Parkinson’s fundraiser in the United States that has been able to put US$140 million into research in the last eight years alone. On March 5, 2010, Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet gave him a honoris causa doctorate for his work in advocating for a Parkinson’s cure .

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