American Buddhist Net

Facilities in Los Angeles and Tustin allegedly churned thousands of indigents through their sites and billed Medicare and Medi-Cal for costly and unjustified medical procedures.

By Cara Mia DiMassa, Richard Winton and Rich Connell, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
August 7, 2008

On a Sunday afternoon two years ago, five homeless people being dropped off on Los Angeles' skid row by an ambulance caught the attention of police officers.

The officers videotaped what they thought was a case of hospitals dumping patients in a section of the city where few would notice or care.

But as investigators began to unravel the incident, they say they found something far different: a massive scheme to defraud taxpayer-funded healthcare programs of millions of dollars by recruiting homeless patients for unnecessary medical services.

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By Melissa Dahl
Wed., Aug. 6, 2008

When Bill Russell tells people that his severe depression was relieved by shock therapy, the most common response he gets is: "They're still doing that?"

Most people might be quicker to associate electroshock therapy with torture rather than healing. But since the 1980s, the practice has been quietly making a comeback. The number of patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy, as it's formally called, has tripled to 100,000 a year, according to the National Mental Health Association.

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August 04 2008
By Dick Pelletier

Imagine living in an ageless, disease-free body with youthful looks, superhuman strength and a brain that can out-think computers. Now further imagine an affluent, happy, crime-free population residing in a world terraformed for comfort without dangerous storms, tsunamis, or unbearable weather.

This is the vision many forward-thinkers believe humanity can achieve during this century. Although life seems to rush by at rocket speeds today, the future will advance even faster. Author James John Bell, in his Exploring the Singularity article in The Futurist says, “We won’t just experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century – it will be more like 20,000 years.”

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PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have determined every type of cancer contains unique gene mutations that give it Darwin's "survival of the fittest" advantage.

The researchers from Princeton University and the University of California-San Francisco said they discovered the underlying process in tumor formation is the same as for life itself: evolution.

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STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) .....she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening

Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00 pm Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die.... they end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this...

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by Sally Stride

New science indicating fluoride’s dangers to the brain and other organs will be presented by prominent fluoride research scientists during back-to-back conferences of the International Society for Fluoride Research (ISFR) and the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) in Toronto August 7-11, 2008.

Fluoride, added to water supplies to prevent tooth decay, is also in virtually all non-organic foods and beverages. Fluoride's brain effects were never examined prior to water fluoridation.

..."The best way to lower children’s fluoride intake, as Health Canada suggests, is to stop fluoridation," says Connett. "It makes no sense to prescribe fluoride drugs to children via the water supply at levels which are between 150 and 250 times higher than the level in mothers’ milk.”

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By Shanthy Nambiar and Suttinee Yuvejwattana

Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Paiboon Marvin started wearing dresses and makeup before he became a teenager. Now 16, he wants to be castrated as the next step toward becoming a woman.

Until recently, that wouldn't have been a problem: Boys of any age in Thailand could have their testicles removed for as little as 5,000 Baht ($150) with no questions asked. Now Paiboon may have to wait two years because the procedure will be outlawed for those under 18, after pressure from gay rights activists who say youngsters may follow a trend and regret it later.

``I don't think I'm too young to do it,'' says Paiboon, wearing a green-ribboned top, shorts, mascara and pink lipstick. ``I know I won't change my mind. I've known since I was a kid that I'm not male.''

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This is an excellent source of information on anthrax and the recent Ivins case. ABN
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By GEOFF NICHOLSON
Published: August 3, 2008

So, it has come to this. It’s official. My doctor has confirmed what I had suspected for some time, that despite some “nonstandard presentation” and my solid belief that this sort of thing happens only to other people, I have gout. I am a member of that shadowy, shameful group, the “gout community.”

Now, obviously there are worse diagnoses than gout, yet for someone who still likes to think of himself as a nimble-footed, hipsterish bon vivant, as someone who thinks of himself as a “good walker” and who (for Pete’s sake) has written a book about the significance and multiple meanings of pedestrianism, it’s pretty devastating.

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Are your beauty products killing you? In a new book Kate Lock reveals what's really in the bottles.

04th August 2008

...All well and good, but there's a lie in these ointments, and it is this: the very products that are promoted as making us look younger, sexier, healthier and more attractive may ultimately be doing the opposite.

Getting Lippy, a groundbreaking report by the Women's Environmental Network published in 2003, claimed that cosmetics and beauty products may contain ingredients that impair fertility, increase the effects of ageing and are linked to cancer, allergies and other health problems.

'There is increasing evidence that we are all victims of a great big con,' the report concluded.

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...Mortality/Morbidity

* Since the introduction of the antidote NAC, the mortality rate from APAP toxicity has been low. Most patients do not have clinically significant sequelae if they are treated in a timely manner with antidotal therapy and appropriate supportive care.

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The Use Of Cannabis “Ought To Be None Of The Government's Business,” Lawmakers Say At Capitol Hill Press Conference

July 31, 2008 - Washington, DC, US

Washington, DC: Members of Congress called on lawmakers to enact legislation that would limit the government's authority to arrest and prosecute adults who possess marijuana for their own personal use.

The federal government should “not lock people up or use scarce federal resources to arrest people for using or possessing … marijuana,” Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) announced at a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday. “The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government's business. I don't think it is the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time.”

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Aug 1, 2008

SYDNEY - AUSTRALIAN doctors have raised concerns about clinics offering vaginal cosmetic surgery, warning the trend towards so-called 'designer vaginas' may be exploiting vulnerable women.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said procedures being offered included 'vaginal rejuvenation, revirgination, designer vaginoplasty and G-spot amplification'.

'What is involved in these procedures is often unclear since recognised clinical nomenclature is not being used,' it said in a position paper released this week.

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...At the FDA, he was known as a loyal friend of the very industries the regulatory agency is charged with monitoring. "Under Mr. Troy, the agency began filing amicus briefs opposing lawsuits against drug and medical-device makers, saying that having met the FDA's approval and labeling standards, manufacturers should be protected from state-based suits for damages." His move to GSK is another example of the revolving door between government and industry. GSK said of Troy, "His wealth of experience in the regulatory legislative area will be of enormous benefit to us, and ultimately to patients."

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A Record Year for the Pharmaceutical Lobby in '07: Washington's largest lobby racks up another banner year on Capitol Hill

By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: August 1, 2008

Can you enjoy the benefits of exercise without the pain of exertion? The answer may one day be yes — just take a pill that tricks the muscles into thinking they have been working out furiously.

Researchers at the Salk Institute report they have found two drugs that do wonders for the athletic endurance of couch potato mice. One drug, known as Aicar, increased the mice’s endurance on a treadmill by 44 percent after just four weeks of treatment.

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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
By LEE MCGUIRE

HOUSTON -- There is real hope that what’s happening in a Houston lab might lead to a cure for HIV.

“We have found an innovative way to kill the virus by finding this small region of HIV that is unchangeable,” Dr. Sudhir Paul of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston said.

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By Tan Ee Lyn - Wed Jul 30

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Strict laws and conservative attitudes are making the fight against HIV/AIDS harder in predominately Muslim Malaysia as they drive high-risk groups deeper underground.

Soliciting and sodomy are outlawed and there are heavy penalties for illegal drug use.

While lobbying from activists has won government support for HIV/AIDS prevention programs, distributing condoms and clean needles, implementation is far from easy.

Celine Ng, who runs a program distributing clean needles to drug addicts, knows that only too well.

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Facts on the Cost of Health Insurance and Health Care

By several measures, health care spending continues to rise at the fastest rate in our history.

In 2007, total national health expenditures were expected to rise 6.9 percent — two times the rate of inflation.1 Total spending was $2.3 TRILLION in 2007, or $7600 per person.1 Total health care spending represented 16 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

U.S. health care spending is expected to increase at similar levels for the next decade reaching $4.2 TRILLION in 2016, or 20 percent of GDP.1

In 2007, employer health insurance premiums increased by 6.1 percent - two times the rate of inflation. The annual premium for an employer health plan covering a family of four averaged nearly $12,100. The annual premium for single coverage averaged over $4,400.2

Experts agree that our health care system is riddled with inefficiencies, excessive administrative expenses, inflated prices, poor management, and inappropriate care, waste and fraud. These problems significantly increase the cost of medical care and health insurance for employers and workers and affect the security of families.

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Health Insurance Rules May Cost You Your Life

American Buddhist Net News
Alvin Revere
July 31, 2008

Let's do a quick thought experiment.

Please consider the following situation--you either have or do not have health insurance.

Here's the question. You think you may have a medical problem: Should you go to a doctor for diagnosis and treatment?

If you do NOT have medical insurance, the answer in many or even most cases would be no because your visit may lead to an entry on your medical record showing that you now have high blood pressure, depression, or some other not-so-serious ailment. On the basis of this new record, you could very well be denied medical insurance in the future when your finances are in better order and you can afford it.

If you DO have medical insurance, the answer in many or even most cases would still be no because you might lose your job and your policy and thus find yourself in the position outlined above.

As long as you have group coverage and as long as you keep it, you are more or less fine. But once you lose your job or decide to become self-employed, you will find yourself--along with 18 million other Americans--shopping for an "individual" health insurance policy. And if you have any of a slew of medium-serious conditions, you may be considered "unisurable."

If I trusted the FDA, which I do not, or the government, which I do not, I would be fine with this. There is much good that can be done--mainly remove unnatural additives from retail tobacco products and polonium from tobacco fertilizers. It should also be widely recognized that nicotine itself has never been shown to cause cancer but rather has been shown to have many benefits. It's smoke that causes the problems. So why is anyone discussing "reducing nicotine to nonaddictive levels?" All that will do is get people to smoke more, thus damaging their health even more. The rational thing to do is pursue a policy of harm-abatement where people are gradually encouraged to switch from cigarettes to far less harmful forms of smokeless tobacco. Nicotine has been shown to control ADHD, prevent Parkinson's disease, help with Alzheimer's, improve memory, prevent ulcerative colitis, and more. Let's hope the FDA does not throw the baby out with the bathwater, but instead puts real energy into understanding why people use nicotine and what it does for them. Also, since I favor the legalization of marijuana, it is tough to support what almost certainly will become the criminalization of tobacco. If I trusted the government, I would be fine with this. But I don't. ABN
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By STEPHANIE SAUL
Published: July 31, 2008

...The bill specifically states that the F.D.A.’s new powers would stop short of the ability to order the elimination of nicotine from tobacco products or place an outright ban on all tobacco products.

But the agency could reduce nicotine to nonaddictive levels if it determined that doing so would benefit public health. The F.D.A. could also require changes in tobacco products, like the reduction or elimination of other harmful ingredients.

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July 30, 2008

Using newly developed voltage-sensitive nanoparticles, researchers have found that the previously unknown electric fields inside of cells are as strong, or stronger, as those produced in lightning bolts. Previously, it has only been possible to measure electric fields across cell membranes, not within the main bulk of cells, so scientists didn't even know cells had an internal electric field.

This discovery is a surprising twist for cell researchers. Scientists don't know what causes these incredibly strong fields or why they' are there.

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By Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter
30 July 2008 12:45 pm ET

WEDNESDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News -- The brain mechanism that turns off traumatic feelings associated with bad memories has been identified by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, who said their finding may lead to the development of new drugs to treat panic disorders.

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Wednesday, Jul. 30, 2008
Ian MacKinnon

Worship is generally not a life-threatening pursuit. But devotees across Asia could be taking their life into their hands every time they go to a temple to pray, according to a study by a Thai doctor.

Burning joss sticks lit as an offering in shrines and temples fill the air with cancer-causing toxins that are every bit as deadly as traffic fumes and cigarette smoke, says Dr Manoon Leechawengwong.

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I'd be more interested in the genetic factors that predispose humans to MENTAL sloth. I can go out and walk 10 miles at a brisk pace, no problem. But I can't bring myself to meditate earnestly for a measly half-hour straight. Jeesh, some Buddhist I am. Robyn
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Wednesday, Jul. 30, 2008
By DEIRDRE VAN DYK

Have you ever wondered why you can't get off the couch and exercise — despite paying for an expensive gym membership, despite your New Year's resolutions, even despite the doctor's scolding at your last check-up? Turns out that your inertia may be coded right into your genes.

Based on some intriguing, preliminary studies in animals, J. Timothy Lightfoot, a kinesiologist, and his team at University of North Carolina, Charlotte, suggest that genetics may indeed predispose some of us for sloth. Using mice specially bred and selected according to their activity levels, Lightfoot identified 20 different genomic locations that work in tandem to influence activity levels in mice — specifically, how far the animals will run. Lightfoot's team is the first to identify these genetic areas, and the first to figure out that they function in concert...

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30/07/2008
By Roger Highfield

Religions thrived to protect our ancestors against the ravages of disease, according to a radical new evolutionary theory of the genesis of faith.

Prof Richard Dawkins the atheist and sceptic, has condemned religion as a "virus of the mind" but it seems that people became religious for good reason - actually to avoid infection by viruses and other diseases - according to a study published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences.

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