Medicine

World Pneumonia Day!

Surprisingly, just about every 20 seconds a child under age 5 succumbs to the disease pneumonia. ?áIn its 2nd year of existence, the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia is raising awareness about the disease. It is preventable and there are effective and affordable options that help protect children. The symptoms include but are not limited to: cough, shaking chills, fever, fatigue, and muscle pain. Its symptoms often mimic those of the flu but when it doubt, get checked out.

?áFor more info, visit:

http://worldpneumoniaday.org/

Hair Professionals Might Save Lives

Hair professionals in the front line of early skin cancer detection

Have you ever considered that your hair stylist might be one of your greatest advocates in the battled against skin cancer?

Probably not, but according to an article published by amednews.com (published by the American Medical Association), ÔÇ£Nearly 60% of 203 hair professionals surveyed at 17 salons in the Houston area said they already had recommended at least once that a customer see a health professional for an abnormal mole.ÔÇØ

The article goes on to suggest the benefits of training Hair professionals on how to detect the early signs and appearances of scalp, neck and face cancer. Good to know there is one more benefit to taking a little time
for pampering!

Read the full article here.

Saints Loss Due to Norovirus?

A new study in the December 1st issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases exams the spread of the Norovirus among NBA players in the 2010-2011 season.

Let’s blame the Saints loss last Sunday to the Rams on a stomach bug and hope they’re better this week for their game against the Buccaneers.

Link to the pdf of the article is available to LSUHSC faculty, staff & students. It can be accessed off-campus with a valid LSUHSC library barcode & PIN. You can find more information at our remote access webpage.

Halloween Candy Warning

The Food and Drug Administration issued an update last week on the health hazards of eating too much black licorice.

From the update: If youÔÇÖre 40 or older, eating 2 ounces of black licorice a day for at least two weeks could land you in the hospital with an irregular heart rhythm or arrhythmia.

FDA experts say black licorice contains the compound glycyrrhizin, which is the sweetening compound derived from licorice root. Glycyrrhizin can cause potassium levels in the body to fall. When that happens, some people experience abnormal heart rhythms, as well as high blood pressure, edema (swelling), lethargy, and congestive heart failure.

I wonder if this applies to black jelly beans too?

LSU Clinics & NO Musician’s Clinic

The former St. Charles General Hospital is the new location for the LSU Healthcare Network Clinics. It is located at 3700 St. Charles Ave with free parking at 3715 Prytania St. The offices officially opened on Monday, October 10th. This is also the location of the New Orleans Muscian’s Clinic. WWL-TV featured the opening on it’s nightly broadcast.

NIH $9 Million Grant Awarded

Congratulations to School of Medicine faculty, Judd Shellito, who has been awarded approximately $9 million in grant funding to develop a vaccine against Pneumocystis.

Take the DPT Health Fair survey

The Doctor of Physical Therapy students, Class of 2013 will host the 5th Annual LSUHSC Health and Wellness Event on October 21, 2011. They want to find out what you, the LSUHSC community, would like to get out of the event this year. They will use the responses we obtain from the survey to formulate our event. They would like the opinions of everyone in order to maximize the experience for those attending.

Please click on the survey link below and complete a short survey. Your feedback is important and will contribute to the success of the event.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/77BZXNT

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Displays: Magneto Electric Machine

If you have ever visited the library commons, more likely than not you have noticed the collection of antique medical equipment on display. The display cases boast a wide and interesting array of Old & Rare inventory . . . so interesting in fact many wonder what these items were used for. And when.

In order to solve these mysteries the Isch?® Library plans to give brief history lessons about items in the display case via our blog.

First up is Davis & KidderÔÇÖs Patent Magneto Electric Machine for Nervous Disorders.

This particular machine is dated August 1, 1854 and like each Magneto Electric Machine created, the label inside the box lid provides detailed instructions for proper treatment.

ÔÇ£Directions: Connect two Metallic Cords or wires with the socket in the ends of the box, and apply the handles connected with the other ends of the metallic cords or wires to any part of the person through which it is desirable to pass the current of electricity.ÔÇØ For the full instructions (trust me, they are interesting and a bit scary) click here.

What purpose did this machine serve? The best description is found at Dr. Olgierd Lindan’s Collection of Unusual Medical Devices & Antique Electronics explains in simplest form that and electric current passed through the patientÔÇÖs body ÔÇ£generated by a pair of solenoids that spin against the poles of a large horseshoe magnet.ÔÇØ The electricity was believed to stimulate a healing reaction within the human nervous system.

Did it work? According to the above mentioned website, the treatment of this device is questionable. ÔÇ£The therapeutic value of the treatment, if any, was likely due to the placebo effect. With the electric shocks coursing through his body as he gripped the hand electrodes, the patient definitely felt that ‘something was being done’ about his complaint. Electricity was a new and novel force in the 1800’s and most patients had no prior exposure to it, adding to its curative mystique.ÔÇØ

Fun facts- each Patent Magneto Electric Machine was signed by the production company to ensure genuine authenticity of this machine. Testimonials were also printed on the inside lid delighting in the marvel of this machine.

Surgery without Sutures?

Yesterday i09, a blog that focuses on the fascinating world of futurism, shed light on a medical marvel- Poloxmer 407.

According to the blog post (information pulled from the full-text article in Nature Medicine) doctors and engineers at Stanford have developed the use of Poloxmer 407 as a way to join blood vessels after surgery- all without the need for sutures.

It seems Poloxmer 407 starts off in liquid form but once heated to a few degrees above body temperature the liquid becomes a cohesive solid.

Pretty awesome right?

To read more visit the full article in Nature Medicine.

Link to the pdf of the article is available to LSUHSC faculty, staff & students. It can be accessed off-campus with a valid LSUHSC library barcode & PIN. You can find more information at our remote access webpage.

La Family Physician of the Year

Kim Edward LeBlanc, Marie Lahasky Professor and Head – LSUHSC Department of Family Medicine, has been named the Louisiana Family Physician of 2011 by the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians. Congratulations!
Kim Edward LeBlanc

Kim Edward LeBlanc

Welcome back 2nd year med students!

Is summer vacation already over? Welcome back to our second year medical students, for whom start classes tomorrow.

Class is the other way

Class is the other way!


Image from a 1938 issue of The Tiger, the student newspaper of the LSU School of Medicine. The entire run of the paper is available for free online from the Louisiana Digital Library.

Remarkable Woman in Medicine

An obituary for Dr. Ruth Aleman, a revered New Orleans pediatrician, was recently added to the LOUISana Digital Library. Dr. Aleman made amazing strides for women in medicine in the early 1900ÔÇÖs, most noted is her status of being the only woman to head staff at Hotel Dieu.

Over a span of many years Dr. Aleman served as nurse during World War I, graduated from Medical School and worked as an instructor of pediatrics at the Hotel Dieu School of Nursing and Tulane University. For sixteen years she participated in private practice and between 1930 and 1945 she remained a visiting physician at Charity Hospital.

To read more about her accomplishments before her death on November 11, 1958 visit the LOUISiana Digital Library Collection or click here.

Interestingly enough, Dr. Aleman is also a relative of one of the circulation associates at the John P. Isch?® Library.

F as in Fat

The Trust for America’s Health has released a new report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011 which finds that adult obesity is increasing across the Nation. Louisiana is the 5th most obese state with 31.6% of its adult population being obese; we are one of the 16 states with an obesity rate above 30%.

FDA’s Scoop on Silicone

Today the FDA highlighted various resources regarding Breast Implants on their website.

The information is available to encourage continuous education for those who have already undergone forms of breast augmentation, in addition to providing authoritative information for those considering Breast Implants.

Within this page readers can find a link to the Update on the Safety of Silicone Gel-Filled Breast Implants (2011) – Executive Summary that supplies interesting facts about ÔÇ£Preliminary data from the post-approval studies; a summary and analysis of adverse events reported to FDA since approval; and a review and analysis of recent clinical publications about the safety and effectiveness of silicone gel-filled breast implants.ÔÇØ

Even though this procedure has been around for quite a while it is good to know that current resources are available.

Emergency Med oral boards help

Academic life in Emergency Medicine blog linked to a resource out of University of Maryland that EM residents will find useful.

The Emergency Medicine Oral Boards Training Video Series covers general principles of the exam, along with 2 case studies and medical pearls. These 6-10 minute movies should play on any computer browser.