http://canadafreepress.com/ en Canada Free Press Copyright 2008 2008-05-12T11:01:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2976 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2976#When:10:20:51 For those of us fearing eventual domination by our robotic masters (I’m getting in early with the sucking up), the latest research out of Duke University does not bode well. Engineers who have just completed a feasibility study in their laboratory, have concluded that they have made the first real steps towards creating robots that will perform surgery on patients. Medical Notes 2008-05-08T12:17:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2924 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2924#When:17:10:19 Sufferers of deep depression may finally have a solution to an illness that can literally debilitate living. Depression is now getting the sort of attention that cancer and AIDS have been getting for years, though it has no doubt affected just as many people over the decades. However even with this new attention, it is neither curable nor necessarily easy to live with.  Psychiatry 2008-05-04T19:08:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2948 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2948#When:11:27:11 How many people will travel to China for the Olympics this summer or elsewhere on this planet? I don’t know. But I do know many will raise this silent prayer to the Almighty, “Please, above all other worldly goods, grant me a bathroom”. Desperately needing a toilet is as close to panic as it gets when one isn’t available. But toilets can be the least of your worries if you fail to take other precautions when travelling.  Gastroenterology 2008-05-04T13:23:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2882 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2882#When:11:10:18 Your newborn is crying.  If it’s a cry of pain, you’re going to respond more strongly than you would to a cry of hunger – that’s the normal pattern. Psychiatry 2008-05-02T13:07:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2813 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2813#When:00:14:30 The Canadian ideal of universal healthcare isn’t all it’s cracked up to be for the estimated 80,000 – 100,000 Ontarians living with chronic hepatitis B. For many of these patients, getting access to the most effective treatments to delay the progress of their disease is impossible – the drugs are expensive and they’re not covered by the province. Medical Notes 2008-04-29T01:38:01-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2947 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2947#When:11:22:57 Why would I rather deal with the Mafia than some religious people? Because I hate hypocrisy above all other things. I know the mob has a code it follows strictly, such as it is, and it’s crystal clear to everyone what it’s all about. But religious people talk constantly about brotherly love and yet condemn fellow humans to death. It’s hypocrisy at its worst. Medicine 2008-04-20T13:19:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2676 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2676#When:11:27:19 How much of the decision making process do we actually have a say in? That’s the question being raised thanks to new research coming out of the Max Planck Institute. Using brain scanners, researchers were able to predict people’s decisions seven seconds before the test subjects were even aware of making them.  Medical Notes 2008-04-16T12:54:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2946 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2946#When:11:18:57 What does the figure 2,575,440,000 indicate?  It’s not the national debt, or the increase in the world’s population in the next 10 years. Rather, if you live to 70 years of age, your heart will beat this many times. But sometimes it gets weary and develops an irregular rate called atrial fibrillation (AF). So can chocolate help to prevent this problem? Cardiovascular 2008-04-13T13:15:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2583 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2583#When:11:51:50 Winston Churchill, Britain’s wartime Prime Minister, remarked, “To almost every question there is an answer that is clear, concise, coherent and wrong”! For years we’ve been told that anti-depressant drugs were the be-all-and-end-all for depressed patients. Now, a recent report claims that placebos are just as effective for many patients. So should doctors use placebos (dummy pills) to trick patients? The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) helps to answer this dilemma.  Psychiatry 2008-04-09T13:47:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2494 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2494#When:08:53:57 Caffeine is one of those devices that so many of us subscribe too. When you consider addictions, caffeine is not seen as a ‘bad’ addiction, just somewhat natural. And while I hope that this isn’t just me trying to justify the amount of caffeine I have consumed and will continue to consume, there is at least medical research to back up drinking some caffeine.  Nutrition 2008-04-04T10:46:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2435 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2435#When:16:04:50 New infectious diseases are popping up everywhere and becoming more and more resistant to our attempts to fight them. Superbug is one of them. It seems that the number of people infected is growing, and recently there was an outbreak in an Ontario jail.  How do we prevent them? Can we control infectious diseases?  We’ve identified some CIHR-funded health research experts to answer some of your queries about Superbug and other issues such as the importance of infection control. Dr. Allison McGeer, CIHR-finded researcher, Director, Infection Control, Mount Sinai HospitalProfessor, University of Toronto. Dr. Donald E. Low, CIHR-funded researcher, Microbiologist-in-Chief, Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai Hospital. Medicine 2008-03-31T17:57:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2434 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2434#When:15:57:44 What did former President Bill Clinton have to blush about? We all know the answer to that delicate question! Like Princess Diana, Rosie O’Donnell and the comedian W.C. Fields, he also suffered from Rosacea. Physiology 2008-03-31T17:48:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2365 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2365#When:18:21:11 Whoever remarked “Timing is everything” was right. I recently wrote about simple ways to prevent urinary infections. This triggered numerous requests from readers asking, “But what can be done when you’re constantly rushing to ‘you know where’?” Their timing couldn’t have been better. A new web site, The Powder Room, now has a bilingual Course 101 on Overactive Bladder (OAB). It contains “Everything you’ve always wanted to know about OAB and didn’t know who to ask”. Urology 2008-03-16T14:17:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2189 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2189#When:10:57:13 Recently Time ran a story focusing on new research which has shown that suicide in those suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN) is often attempted much more effectively than others. Psychiatry 2008-03-11T06:33:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2364 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2364#When:18:17:05 I’ve just returned from an educational course on Cardiology aboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship. A sea voyage is a great way to recharge your batteries. And this one also provided an opportunity to listen to a diverse group of international cardiologists discuss the nation’s number one killer. Now I know the importance of one’s postal code and “Matthew’s Law”.  And if you’re looking for a solid investment you can’t miss by buying shares in “The Goliath Casket Company”. Cardiovascular 2008-03-09T14:13:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2132 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2132#When:20:57:03 William Shakespeare wrote “A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king”. He could have added, “or fish with the worm that eventually gets us all.” This is not a pleasant thought to pass along to readers at the start of the day. But since the life of worms and other insects can be extended, it may be possible for humans to postpone that final wormy day as well.  Nutrition 2008-03-04T16:53:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2127 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2127#When:19:59:27 How many people in this country haven’t had their blood cholesterol level tested? Or had their doctor suggest a stress test or electrocardiogram to evaluate the risk of heart disease? I doubt that many have escaped some of these tests. But has your doctor ever said, “I want to measure the length of your legs?” Or examined your ear lobe? These are examples of the KISS principle, “keep it simple, stupid”. Cardiovascular 2008-03-04T15:52:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2119 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2119#When:12:56:11 When people think of the Rabies virus they will either think of rabid animals or a more recent The Office episode from America. One particular member of the Rhabdoviridae family of viruses is vesicular stomatitis virus, and it affects insects and mammals, including cattle.  Cancer 2008-03-04T08:54:01-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/2003 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/2003#When:14:14:25 “What did your husband give you for Valentine’s Day?” I jokingly asked a 55 year old patient. She replied, “He brought home the usual gift, chocolates, but that won’t solve my pain with sex. Nor can my own doctor, as he never talks about sexual matters.” This is a scenario I often hear in my office and it’s time to break the hush that surrounds this problem.  Gynacology 2008-02-24T10:08:00-05:00 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/articles-health/1931 http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article-health/1931#When:15:01:41 What sells newspapers? Bad news! And every morning I get tired of reading more of it. Good news is exceedingly hard to find, but there are exceptions.  Cardiovascular 2008-02-18T10:56:00-05:00