Drugs ReviewedConsumer Drug Reviews

This is Matt Alsante, writing in the Wall Street Journal:

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Hormonal imbalance is becoming more and more common in younger women. Doctors are still unsure as to how to deal with it and misdiagnosis can lead to various problems with a woman’s overall health, such as heart ailments, infertility and cancer.

There are many possible causes of hormonal imbalance. One such cause is stress, where the body produces too much cortisol and other hormones are secreted to cancel it out. Another cause is an imbalanced diet. Improper exercise also leads to hormonal imbalance, as too much or too little can impede with the production of hormones. Taking hormonal supplements such as birth control pills also puts the body’s hormone balance out of whack.

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House leadership fights measure to allow Americans a three day window to read important bills (think: health bill) before Congress votes.

Baucus bill: play or pay or go to jail.

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Antioxidants are proven to be beneficial in maintaining our body’s health and normal functions. They protect the cells of the body from free radicals as well as helps in their repair. Antioxidants are also administered as medications to treat various forms of brain injury and degenerative diseases.

It is important for us to get ample amounts of antioxidants in the food that we eat to take advantage of the health benefits that we can get from them. Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of antioxidants. Of these food sources, there are five that are said to contain the highest levels of antioxidants.

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Ecstasy has been given many names throughout the decades. Before it became Ecstasy, it was known as MDMA, a by-product of the drugs manufactured by Merck to stop abnormal bleeding in the early 1900s. As early as then, scientists have already recognized the potential of MDMA as a therapeutic drug. In fact, both Germany and the United States did research on the potential of the drug as a brainwashing agent.

In 1976, MDMA was synthesized by Dr. Alexander Shulgin for use in psychotherapy. This usage was reputed to be a success. The drug was then called Adam to signify hope for psychotherapy patients. However, the drug came into the hands of non-psychotherapists who abused the drug for recreational purposes. Companies that manufactured the drug for such a purpose called it Ecstasy for marketing. The drug became so popular that it attracted the attention of the US Senate. It was then classified as a Schedule I drug that has no medical benefits.

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The song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” has long been the subject of debate among music experts and fans of the Beatles as to whether or not it is a reference for LSD. According to the official story, the song had nothing to do with LSD and was instead inspired by a painting done by Julian Lennon, the son of John Lennon, of his schoolmate Lucy O’Donnell. Lucy was also the daughter of the antique shop owner whose establishment was often patronized by the band.

However, Paul McCartney gave hints that the song was indeed a reference to the drug, as John Lennon may have composed it while he was on an acid trip. The song accurately describes the kind of high that this acid trip can bring, which includes hallucinations and seeing brilliant colors. This is the reason why “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” became slang for LSD.

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Since 2006, the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago has had a policy of fully disclosing medical errors, apologizing when they occur, and swiftly offering a financial settlement….. the number of lawsuits against the center is down 40% compared to the period between 1999 and 2004, even though the number of procedures increased 23%.

Drinking early has been found to have an effect on the genes related to alcoholism, increasing the likelihood of the subject developing a serious drinking problem later in life. Using twins, a researcher in Australia analyzed the affects of early drinking on heritable genes. When these subjects began drinking at an early age it increased the likelihood of their developing alcoholism by as much as 90% among the youngest drinkers. Those who drank at older ages were not affected in this way. While genetic changes occurred for the younger subjects for the older subjects factors like environment were much more likely to influence them in their drinking habits. The reason for this age difference having different effects isnt clear but if a younger drinking age is responsible for changing genetic traits related to alcoholism as the study shows then it does become even more important to prevent such habits from developing at a young age.

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Hospitals run by government used to be the place where people who could not afford other health care were supposed to go for treatment. In 1986, EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, turned this system on its head. It required hospitals to provide the same kind of emergency treatment to everyone, whether or not an individual had made provisions for payment.

The problems created by EMTALA are severe. They illustrate a crucial problem in health care policy: can a health care system be stable if it requires that people who do not pay be treated in the same facilities and to the same standard as those who do?

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