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    Monday, February 28, 2011

    RISKY HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE USE

    H.G.H. is among the drugs prescribed some doctors to athletes.

    The United States, however, determined that potential harm from H.G.H. is so great that federal law puts it in an unusual category of drugs that doctors cannot prescribe for unapproved, or off-label, uses. (No such ban exists in Canada.)

    Its approved uses are not conditions common among professional athletes: it can be used in children with severe growth problems, H.I.V. patients may receive it if they have muscle wasting, and it can be prescribed to offset exceptional weight loss in people who have had much of their small intestine surgically removed.

    Physicians and medical researchers who have studied people with medical conditions that lead to growth hormone overproduction said that available evidence suggested that athletes who cheat by using costly" human growth hormone (HGH) as a performance-enhancing drug may "simply wind up" exposing themselves to "cardiovascular problems, an increased risk of diabetes, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, glucose intolerance, colon polyps, skin growths, excessive sweating," and "serious headaches," as well as "abnormal bone growth in the face, head, hands, and feet," and possibly even cancer.

    Growth hormone does not act directly. Instead it prompts the body to produce insulin-like growth factor 1, or I.G.F.-1, which then triggers growth. The overwhelming majority of I.G.F.-1 is produced by the liver and delivered through the blood stream. Evidence shows, however, that growth hormone can prompt local I.G.F.-1 production in other cells of the body

    Please remember, as with all our articles we provide information, not medical advice. For any treatment of your own medical condition you must visit your local doctor, with or without our article[s]. These articles are not to be taken as individual medical advice.

    Deepen your understanding of "medical malpractice"... www.MedMalBook.com

    For more health info and links visit the author's web site www.hookman.com

    Sunday, February 20, 2011

    Stuttering may have "strong" genetic component

    While environmental factors and stress can play roles in stuttering, new research provides further evidence of a strong genetic component." Led by geneticist Dennis Drayna, PhD, at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers "have discovered the first genes linked to stuttering -- a complex of three mutated genes that may be responsible for one in every 11 stuttering cases, especially in people of Asian descent." "The takeaway message of this is stuttering is not a social or emotional disorder. ... It is not the fault of a bad parent, or unwilling child. It is a serious disorder and worthy of treatment."

    Please remember, as with all our articles we provide information, not medical advice. For any treatment of your own medical condition you must visit your local doctor, with or without our article[s]. These articles are not to be taken as individual medical advice.

    Deepen your understanding of "medical malpractice"... www.MedMalBook.com

    For more health info and links visit the author's web site www.hookman.com

    Friday, February 4, 2011

    Hospitals Continue To Leave Foreign Objects Inside Patients

    "Utah hospitals continue to mistakenly leave equipment such as sponges inside patients -- many of them women undergoing obstetrical or gynecological surgeries," according to data "on 'sentinel events'" released by the Utah state health department and the state hospital association. Notably, "out of 101 sentinel events reported in 2009 -- up from 80 reported in 2008 -- 58 were related to surgery," which "could include performing the wrong surgery on the wrong patient, death during surgery, and retention of foreign objects." Sponges -- large pieces of gauze used to stop or absorb bleeding -- are the most common items left inside patients because they can be hard to spot after surgery."

    Please remember, as with all our articles we provide information, not medical advice. For any treatment of your own medical condition you must visit your local doctor, with or without our article[s]. These articles are not to be taken as individual medical advice.

    Deepen your understanding of "medical malpractice"... www.MedMalBook.com

    For more health info and links visit the author's web site www.hookman.com