Category: Health / Medicine

Ethics and the California octuplets case

When news about a woman who had given birth to octuplets last week first hit the airwaves, the story was that all had survived the premature Caesarean delivery, and the eighth kid was one doctors hadn’t even known was coming! Surprise! Within days, however, as we learned more about the birth family – that the mother was single and already… Continue Reading Ethics and the California octuplets case

UNCP books now available in small doses through DailyLit

It’s an old idea that now has a very modern twist, like a newspaper serial for the 21st century. . . . Want to read a book but don’t have large blocks of time for settling in and curling up? We’ve found a solution for you with DailyLit — the first e-book vendor to send easy-to-read segments of books to… Continue Reading UNCP books now available in small doses through DailyLit

Dr. Hadler responds to new study promoting the use of statin drugs

Dr. Nortin Hadler, author of Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America, writes regularly for abcnews.com. Yesterday, he responded to the release of new study results showing that a cholesterol-lowering drug could be beneficial for patients who don’t even have high cholesterol. Hadler begins: On March 31, 2008, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca trumpeted the early closing of its… Continue Reading Dr. Hadler responds to new study promoting the use of statin drugs

Dr. Hadler Advises to Think Twice about That Colonoscopy

Dr. Nortin Hadler, author of Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America, writes occasional commentaries for ABC News online. In his most recent piece, published Friday, Hadler discusses the screening of health conditions that may — or may not — significantly affect your lifespan or your quality of life. He suggests you think twice before signing up… Continue Reading Dr. Hadler Advises to Think Twice about That Colonoscopy

International AIDS Conference in Latin America

The XVII International AIDS Conference takes place this week (Aug 3-8) in Mexico City. This is the first time the bi-annual conference has been held in a Latin American city. As we learn from Shawn Smallman, author of The AIDS Pandemic in Latin America, Latin American countries represent a mosaic of policies, cultures, and infection rates that offer some valuable… Continue Reading International AIDS Conference in Latin America

(UNCP + State of Things) x 2 = Today

What, headline too cryptic? How much does UNC Press love The State of Things? We love it twice as much as yesterday, but only half as much as tomorrow. Today’s show will feature TWO segments with a UNCP author in each segment. No, we are not paying them off. But both UNC Press and The State of Things work to… Continue Reading (UNCP + State of Things) x 2 = Today

New Project Aims to “Publish the Long Civil Rights Movement”

Cool activist-esque things to do through the years: early 1960s: register African American voters in the South; late 1960s: protest Vietnam War/attend large-scale concert in upstate New York; 1970s: burn bra while reading Erica Jong; 1990s: wear a red ribbon on an expensive tuxedo; 2008: get involved in the electoral process. Considering the upcoming election season, significant change seems possible,… Continue Reading New Project Aims to “Publish the Long Civil Rights Movement”

Hear Spencie Love on today’s State of Things

Last week, the American Medical Association issued a formal apology for its history of discrimination against black doctors. Today on The State of Things, Frank Stasio and guests will discuss race and health care – particularly, this history of racial discrimination and its ongoing effects, including under-representation of black doctors in the health care profession and the widening of health… Continue Reading Hear Spencie Love on today’s State of Things

How healthy is “healthy”?

Yesterday’s New York Times offered a fantastic point/counterpoint book review pairing Nortin Hadler’s Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America with Nancy Snyderman’s book Medical Myths That Can Kill You: And the 101 Truths That Will Save, Extend and Improve Your Life. According to Hadler, a professor of medicine at UNC and attending rheumatologist at UNC Hospitals,… Continue Reading How healthy is “healthy”?