Biology and Medicine - Articles - Zimbio

Lorenzo Odone Passes Away …

Sun, 2 Jun 2008 13:25:40 GMT

posted by andyqpr

Ever since I was a young boy, ‘Lorenzo’s Oil’ was one of my favourite films, even though I did not understand the science behind his wretchd disease. As I grew I researched Lorenzo’s illness, Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), and I have managed to get a loose understanding of how the degenerative disease worked.

I followed regularly updates from ‘The Myelin Project’, a project founded by Lorenzo’s parents, Augusto and Michaela and it is sad news to hear that a day after his 30th birthday Lorenzo Odone passed away. I hope that his story still helps to publisize the disease and ‘The Myelin Project’ goes from srength to strength to help sufferers in the future.

About Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD)

Adrenoleukodystrophy or ALD for short is a degenerative bioneurological disease that mainly affects men. Females are the carrier of the abnormal gene (X Chromosome) and pass the defect onto their male child. The onset of ALD is usually during early years (4-10) but can sometimes onset during adultood, but it is usually of a milder form.

ALD is part of a family of leukodystrophies that cause damage to the myselin sheath, a sheath that covers nerve cells around the brain. As this sheath degenerates, fewer and fewer impulses can be recieved so bodily functions cease to work. Unfortunately, the myelin sheath cannot be reproduced, which is what makes the prognosis from ALD and other leukodystrophies so bleak. Death usually occurs from childhood onset within anywhere from 1 to 10 years.

Lorenzo’s Oil

Despite the picture that the film, ‘Lorenzo’s Oil’ depicts, Lorenzo’s Oil is far from a cure and is a stall at best, to slow down the effects of the disease. It is most widely used as a prevention of the disease for boys known to have the responsible defect. Lorenzo’s oil is a mixture of oleic acid and erucic acid, a mixture put together by Augosto Odone. It works by lowering the amount of long-chain fatty acids in the brain and the adrenal cortex. By slowing down the break down of the adrenal gland, the symptoms can be delayed or sometimes prevented in cases where ALD is suspected yet the onset has not begun.

Although Lorenzo’s Oil is not a cure for the fatal disease, it has helped raise the profile of ALD and many other degenerative bioneurological diseases as many of thse diseases are only recently understood and needed some media attention to make foundations aware of it.

My Final Words

My condolences to Augusto Odone, the father of Lorenzo, who fought to keep lorenzo alive and never stopped trying to find a cure for him and many others. Even though Lorenzo passed away on Friday 30th May, the work that both Lorenzo and Augusto did for raising the profile of the disease is an incredible feat and will never be forgotten.

Good day to all.

Ps. I will add a link to the website for ‘The Myelin Project’ in my blogroll so you can understand more about the project and their aims.

Criminal Behavior at UC Davis Med School

Fri, 29 Mar 2008 15:34:21 GMT

posted by ConcernedCitizen
Criminal Behavior at UC Davis Med School

J. Paul Muizelaar Stuart Cohen Claire Pomeroy Allan Siefkin

(Anna Orlowski, UCMed Lawyer)

A federal lawsuit with ugly allegations is boiling over at UC Davis Medical School. Four physicians who hold top posts in the UC Davis Health System are being sued for allegedly retaliating against a young surgeon who attempted to call out the university for protecting an unlicensed department head.

Named as defendants in the suit are (pictured above from l. to r.): Dr. Jan Paul Muizelaar, chairman of neurological surgery; Dr. Stuart Cohen, chief of staff at the medical center; Dr. Claire Pomeroy, dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, and Dr. Allan Siefkin, chief medical officer at the medical center.

According to court documents: "Dr. Chang [the plaintiff] had a zero death rate, as compared to Dr. Muizelaar, who had the highest mortality rate among all five neurosurgeons [in the department]."

The suit continues: "Dr. Muizelaar has been the subject of multiple (in excess of 10) medical malpractice lawsuits and many other breaches of … standards of care, Dr. Chang has not been sued for malpractice" during the comparable period.

Between June 2004, when he went to work at the medical center, and the spring of 2006, "Dr. Chang's professional performance was considered excellent," the suit says. However, it says, that was "before he spoke out on Dr. Muizelaar's unlicensed, illegal medical practices and documented medical incompetence."

The peer review that preceded Chang's suspension "is not warranted," the suit declares. "It is a setup by those who have a vested interest in destroying the evidence of Dr. Muizelaar's practices and incompetence." Chang is being punished for whistleblower speech protected by the Constitution's First Amendment, the suit states.

Just Because It Doesn't Have A Name, Doesn't Mean It's Not Real

Sun, 23 Jul 2007 15:25:00 GMT

posted by smithtownds

I have Restless Leg Syndrome.

I always knew it was something. It just didn't have a name until recently.

From early childhood on, I've had a this itchy, crawly, need-to-move-my-legs-thingy that would occur at night. I was told it was "nothing" and the old stand-by that the symptoms were just "in my head".

Despite being told that my symptoms were imagined, I always believed they had a neurobiological origin. I learned to cope with my "Jimmy Legs" (Seinfeld, 1997)and went on with life. But Restless Leg Syndrome is a real disorder. Recent research tells us that it is genetic in origin and is associated with low iron counts. See, it was real!

Many other illnesses and syndromes that now have names, used to perplex doctors and patients alike. Often, individuals were told that their symptoms had no medical underpinnings and were of mental origins. Here are just a few:

Fibromyalgia

Epstein Barr

Colitis

Chronic Fatigue

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Celiac Disease

The reason for this post is to help empower readers to know their bodies and trust their instincts. It is important to learn how to describe symptoms, in detailed and expressive ways, so the person listening can understand the phenomenon. Research your symptoms with the help of the Internet, find support groups and most of all, understand how your psyche can press on the workings of your body.

It takes time for the medical and health fields to recognize, name and treat illnesses. For example, Parent Alienation Syndrome is not yet recognized diagnostically in the DSM-IVTR , but it certainly is an observable symptomatic phenomenon. And though many 9/11 first responders were told that their life threatening illnesses were stress related, data now shows that there's a medical reason for their suffering.

Just because it doesn't have a name, doesn't mean it's not real.

Compensation

Sat, 12 Aug 2007 13:16:00 GMT

posted by parameddan

As we all know, one of the most important aspects of any job or career is compensation. On average, in the US, a paramedic makes 36,970 $ Per year according to Salary.com. Some may say that is good money and others may look at it and laugh. More than likely you will begin laughing pretty soon.

The average paramedic also works 24 hour shifts every third day. That equals out to 10 shifts per month. Before you say, "you only work 10 days a month" here me out. It's not all roses, actually there are no roses involved at all. On average that is 52 hours per week. In actuality every third week will be a 48 hour week and the rest are 72. The bread and butter in this profession is overtime, as you can see. The first forty hours are compensated at a very dismal hourly rate that is as low as 9$ per hour and only after the second shift in a week does the pay increase by one half. This makes it imperative to work every shift because any vacation time that is received completely negates the necessary overtime pay and decreases take home pay dramatically. This can quickly lead to milk and bread shortages (and maybe even beer).

Of course they are other ways that paramedics are paid. One of my favorite is something I dub Chinese Overtime. This method is based on a salary type pay scale but has some really nasty consequences. The pay is set at a yearly amount with the thought that the paramedic will work every shift without time off. If there is unscheduled overtime the base rate is divided in half and the paramedic receives comp time. This is basically a nice way of screwing people while they are asleep and unsuspecting. Overall, the more hours that are worked the less the medic makes per hour until they are no longer increasing their take home pay. The other nasty part is the fact that the comp time that is received is compensated at the base rate so you lose the overtime and are basically working 72 hours a week at the dismal base rate mentioned above.

One more pay method and I will stop. This method is used more with firefighters luckily and not paramedics but it sucks nonetheless. In short, the 24 hour shift is broken into a 16 hour block and an 8 hour block. You are paid for the 16 hours of "Awake" time but are not compensated for the 8 hours of "Sleep" time after midnight. Basically, you are asked to sleep in a foreign bed and remain ready to run an emergency call at any time with the expectation that you will be awake and in the ambulance rolling out of the station within one minute WITHOUT being compensates. Ugly, I know.

So that is how and how much a paramedic is paid. Tune in next week to see what they are paid to do.

Wikipedia's definition of paramedic: a medical professional, usually a member of the emergency medical service, who responds to medical and trauma emergencies in the pre-hospital
environment, provides emergency treatment and, when appropriate,
transports a patient to definitive care, such as a hospital, for
further assessment or follow-up care.

Welcome to our blog about Biology and Medicine

Fri, 1 Jul 2006 00:08:37 GMT

posted by The_Zimbio_Team
This is our group blog, which is unique because any Zimbio member can post an entry to it. Some members blog about recent news and trends related to the portal topic, others recount relevant personal stories. You can also comment on and rate existing blog entries, to voice your opinion and to help the community identify which members and entries on the portal are must-reads. Got an interesting idea or story to share with other members of this portal? Well, then put on your journalist's cap and add your own blog entry!