More and more people are seeking injections of anti-inflammatory steroid medications for back and neck pain. In 2011, the last year for which complete information is available, doctors pushed the plunger on 2.3 million steroid injections into the spine — and that’s just among people covered by Medicare. These injections deliver drugs that mimic the effects of two hormones, cortisone and hydrocortisone, to reduce inflammation and help relieve pain. When they work — they don’t always — such injections can bring profound relief. “If you are in severe pain with a ruptured spinal disc and you get a steroid injection, you are going to feel better sooner,” says Dr. James P. Rathmell, professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School. “That’s the good
Category: health Journal
TBT: Turf versus Access to Care
This week’s TBT post was written during last year;s National Nurses Week. Although the situation has improved there still is a ways to go. The post is a good reminder of what nurses do and how an expanded role for them would improve the health care system. This is Nurses Week, often a time when health care organizations patronize nurses with free food and tchotchkes. We’d rather have the right to be able to contribute our talents and expertise to improving the health of people by being able to practice to the full extent of our education and training. Last week, the New York Times published a commentary on The Opinion Pages by cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar that continued to prop up the old and inaccurate
Nurses are consumers’ trusted partners-in-health
In honor of National Nurse’s Week we will be running posts on nurses and all the work they do for patients and the health care field. The following post originally ran on Health Populi and can be accessed here. The two most trusted health professionals in the eyes of U.S. consumers are nurses and pharmacists, and both of these health workers will be key partners for people wanting to engage in health/care. That was my introductory message kicking off the annual conference of ANIA, the American Nursing Informatics Association, in Philadelphia on April 24, 2015. Meeting in the City of Brotherly Love gave ANIA the opportunity to theme the meeting a “Declaration of Nursing Informatics,” carrying that theme through the exhibition hall with a Benjamin
Pets can help their humans create friendships, find social support
Pets can provide their owners with more than companionship. A new study shows they can also help create human-to-human friendships and social support, both of which are good for long-term health. That’s old news to dog walkers, most of whom routinely meet neighbors, other dog walkers, or strangers on their rambles. “I didn’t meet many people when I moved into my new neighborhood,” says Dr. Elizabeth Frates, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. “But that changed when we got Reesee, our goldendoodle. She opened the door to a new universe of people.” A new study, published online in the journal PLoS One, shows that other kinds of pets, including cats, rabbits, and snakes,
Dr. Collins interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Paul Basken
Dr. Collins speaks with the Chronicle of Higher Education about NIH’s FY2016 budget and the Precision Medicine Initiative.
Feeling Grey About Fifty Shades
The following post originally ran on Huffington Post Women on April 16th and can be seen here. The author is Aimee Gallagher, MPH, MS the Scientific Program Manager at the Society for Women’s Health Research. The much-anticipated release of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie and its novel series precursor struck chords of concern among women’s health advocates. While the book sold over 100 million copies worldwide and has been heralded as an erotic romance novel that is sexually liberating, the nature of the protagonists’ relationship is troubling because of its multiple aspects of domestic violence. Domestic violence affects approximately one in three women [1]. Stalking, manipulation, intimidation, and rape all are forms of domestic violence and abuse. Anastasia Steele, the lead character in
Dr. Robert W. Eisinger to serve as Acting Associate Director for AIDS Research, NIH
Announcing the selection of Robert Eisinger, Ph.D., as Acting Associate Director for AIDS Research and Acting Director, Office of AIDS Research (OAR).
Developing Standards ‘Of, By, And For’ Older Adults: Reflections On Patricia Gabow’s Narrative Matters Essay
Imagine three people: a healthy 30-year-old, a 60-year-old with high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis, and a 90-year-old who is frail and has dementia advanced to the point where her speech often doesn’t make sense. If I lined them up, any doctor could instantly tell me which was which. Ditto if each broke a bone and I showed the physicians only their x-rays. And if I asked the clinicians to predict each patient’s risk of complications and adverse events based on nothing more than the few words above, they would again rapidly and reliably make accurate assessments. Yet, for the most part, our health system lumps these three people into a single “adult” category, an approach that flies in the face of anatomy,
Statement on NIH funding of research using gene-editing technologies in human embryos
Francis S. Collins statement on NIH funding of research using gene-editing technologies in human embryos.
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace Power Player of the Week
Dr. Collins is Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace’s Power Player of the week, discussing NIH’s vital role in moving biomedical research and discovery forward.
Statement on the retirement of The Children’s Inn Co-Founder and CEO Kathy Russell
On behalf of everyone at the NIH, we wish you the very best as you begin your new chapter. Thank you for everything you’ve done for our patients and their families.