While the world is still scrambling to help the people of Haiti in the aftermath of their earthquake- another quake hits Chile. 
This quake is the fifth strongest on record since 1900 – registering at a magnitude of 8.8. The area most directly impacted is central Chile- the most major city being Concepción.
National Consumer Protection Week is almost here. You may remember a few months ago when Nicole wrote a guest post introducing the National Consumer Protection Week blog, which shared great consumer tips leading up to and through NCPW. Well starting Sunday, the big event is finally here.
To celebrate, there are all kinds of consumer awareness events taking place all over the country. Check out the list to see if there’s one in your area. If not, you can check out tips for promoting NCPW in your community to raise awareness about things like identity theft, scams and fraud.
Researchers, for the first time, have pinpointed a genetic hotspot that confers risk for both bipolar disorder and depression. People with either of these mood disorders were significantly more likely to have risk versions of genes at this site than healthy controls. One of the genes, which codes for part of a cell’s machinery that tells genes when to turn on and off, was also found to be over-expressed in the executive hub of bipolar patients’ brains, making it a prime suspect. The results add to mounting evidence that major mental disorders overlap at the molecular level.
Amidst the background hum of electrical signaling generated by neurons in the brain, scientists have found that local groups of neurons, firing in coordination, sometimes create a signal that is mirrored instantaneously and precisely by other groups of neurons across the brain. These transient episodes of coherence across different parts of the brain may be an electrical signature of thought and actions.
To conduct comparative research on the implementation and scale-up of evidence-based mental health interventions in low- and middle-income settings. Mental, neurological, and substance use disorders are common in all regions of the world, affecting every community and age group across all income countries. While 14% of the global burden of disease is attributed to these disorders, most of the people affected – 75% in many low-income countries – do not have access to the treatment they need.
NCDEU is a scientific meeting that focuses on the latest developments in psychopharmacologic clinical trials research and related methodology. Co-sponsored by NIMH and the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP), the meeting brings together over 1200 academic and industry investigators, research pharmacists, and clinicians and provides state-of-the-art workshops, panels, posters, and other special sessions devoted to advancing clinical research. Through its highly successful New Investigator Program, NCDEU emphasizes the development of research careers for those relatively new to the field of clinical research.
I have known Scott since grade school. He has always been a very gifted artist. When the rest of us were
drawing stick people, Scott was drawing superheros that looked like they came out of a comic book. By high school he was painting wonderful pictures of wildlife. It was in high school that I learned that he suffered from Type 1 Diabetes (Juvenile Diabetes).
Recently, Scott and I reconnected in Facebook. I learned that his niece, Anna, was diagnosed in 2008 with Type 1 Diabetes. He also told me that he was the recipient of an organ transplant. I found his story interesting and I asked him if I could share it in my blog. Here is
his story.
For the first time ever, everyone with Medicare, regardless of income, health status, or prescription drug usage, will have access to prescription drug coverage. This new coverage begins on January 1, 2006. While information is available now and educational sessions are taking place in communities across the country, you can’t enroll until November 15 th. By now, you should have received your Medicare & You 2006 handbook which explains in detail what prescription drug coverage means to you and which plans are available in your area.
Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans have started their advertising across the country.You may want to find out more about some of these options. It might be a good idea to save these materials for review when it gets closer to November 15, 2005.
When I was in college, students, who had a little too much to drink, were always pulling the dorm fire alarms in the middle of the night and then running off. These alarm pranks had become a real problem in my dorm and seemed to be happening weekly.
I considered myself lucky that I lived on the ground floor and sometimes I would be a little slow evacuating
my room. I assumed it was always just another prank. I had a friend in the dorm who took the fire alarm very seriously and she would come bang on the door to make sure we were getting up and going outside. She became upset with my slacker attitude about evacuating my room every time the fire alarm went off.