Tag Archives: medicine

The War on Brains

21 Friday Feb 2020

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This has been out for a while, maybe it’s the grey matter loss that prevented the press from realizing that smartphones rewire brains. Just like drug addiction.

Smartphone addiction physically changes the shape and size of the human brain in a similar way to the organ of a drug addict, a study has found.

Images taken by an MRI scanner revealed the brains of people with SPA (smartphone addiction) have lower grey matter volume in some key parts of the brain.

The images also revealed decreased activity in the brains of smartphone addicts compared to non-addicts.

Similar patterns and trends of dwindling grey matter have also been recorded in the mind of drug addicts.

Our diets too.

Looking Into or Behind the Coronavirus

10 Monday Feb 2020

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In the wake of mass speculation and gibbering, the White House asked experts to examine the possible origins of nCoV.

The White House on Thursday asked U.S. scientists and medical researchers to investigate the scientific origins of the novel coronavirus, as misinformation about the outbreak spreads online.

The director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), in a letter to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, requested that scientific experts “rapidly” look into the origins of the virus in order to address both the current spread and “to inform future outbreak preparation and better understand animal/human and environmental transmission aspects of coronaviruses.”

The national academies consist of private, nonprofit institutions charged with providing scientific support to the federal government.

It’s obvious that this thing overwhelmingly predominately affects Asians, particularly Asian males. Some suggest it is a weaponization. I have a developing theory, based on questioning cui bono? I’ll keep that in the pocket for now. Interesting.

Financial Sorcery = Medical Debts

10 Tuesday Sep 2019

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All of this is directly related to the satanic evil that has become of our failed economic and financial system.

Unpaid medical bills are a leading cause of personal debt and bankruptcy, with hospitals from Memphis to Baltimore criticized for their role in pushing families over the financial edge. But UVA stands out for the scope of its collection efforts and how persistently it goes after payment, pursuing poor as well as middle-class patients for almost all they’re worth, according to court records, hospital documents and interviews with hospital officials and dozens of patients.

UVA sued patients for as little as $13.91 and as much as $1 million during most of that period, until July 2017, when it restricted lawsuits to those owing more than $1,000, the analysis shows.

Every year, the health system sued about 100 of its own employees who also happened to be patients. It garnished thousands of paychecks, largely from workers at lower-pay employers such as Walmart, where UVA took wages more than 800 times.

Under a Virginia program designed to help state and local governments collect debt, it also seized $22 million in state tax refunds to patients with outstanding medical bills in the last six fiscal years — most of it without court judgments, said health system spokesman Eric Swensen.

Over many years, it filed thousands of property liens from Albemarle County all the way to Georgia.

Beyond its recovery of debts, UVA dunned some former patients an additional 15 percent for legal costs, plus 6 percent interest on their unpaid bills, which over the course of years can add up to more than the original bill.

I have experience with the medical system. Odds are you do too. No solipsism allowed. It’ not about how good or bad your doctor or hospital is or isn’t. It’s about the total hijacking of the money and the pricing models. Taxes, inflation, usury. How much more, America?

Well, Duh. Coffee Saves Lives.

02 Monday Jul 2018

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Coffee keeps you alive.

Go ahead and have that cup of coffee, maybe even several more. New research shows it may boost chances for a longer life, even for those who down at least eight cups daily.

In a study of nearly half-a-million British adults, coffee drinkers had a slightly lower risk of death over 10 years than abstainers.

The apparent longevity boost was seen with instant, ground and decaffeinated, results that echo U.S. research. It’s the first large study to suggest a benefit even in people with genetic glitches affecting how their bodies use caffeine.

Overall, coffee drinkers were about 10 percent to 15 percent less likely to die than abstainers during a decade of follow-up. Differences by amount of coffee consumed and genetic variations were minimal.

The results don’t prove your coffee pot is a fountain of youth nor are they a reason for abstainers to start drinking coffee, said Alice Lichtenstein, a Tufts University nutrition expert who was not involved in the research. But she said the results reinforce previous research and add additional reassurance for coffee drinkers.

“It’s hard to believe that something we enjoy so much could be good for us. Or at least not be bad,” Lichtenstein said.

There you have it: “Coffee is the fountain of youth.” You probably already knew that. I’m sure this woman is still alive thanks to coffee:

A South African woman was mistakenly brought to the morgue and stored in a fridge after she was declared dead following a car accident.

The unnamed woman was discovered breathing by a morgue worker who was reportedly writing a report and checking on the body, according to TimesLive, a South African news site. The Distress Alert paramedics who brought her in said that she had shown “no form of life.” She is currently being treated at a hospital.

The fountain of youth and it also revives the dead.

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Watchfit.

Tipping the Scales: Think of the Children

30 Thursday Nov 2017

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It’s a growing problem: the rounding of America. 57%+ of our children are on track to be obese by age 35:

More than 57 percent of children in the United States will be obese by age 35 if current trends in weight gain and poor eating habits continue, researchers warned Wednesday.

The risk of obesity is high even among children whose present weight is normal, said the report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“Only those children with a current healthy weight have less than a 50 percent chance of becoming obese by the age of 35 years,” said the study, led by researchers at Harvard University.

Some 36.5 percent of the US adult population is now considered obese, a condition federal health officials define as having a body mass index of 30 or higher.

This future prediction mirrors existing adult trends, with over 70% of our population either just overweight or outright obese. If 57% of the next-gen adults are in the later category, how many will fall into the former? What’s the overall chart going to look like? 80%? 95? All of ’em??

A seemingly unrelated story about a lobster might explain part of the trouble. Might. The Pepsi part, maybe:

“I’m a Pepsi fan 100 per cent. I drink one cup of coffee in the morning and then Pepsi all day. On average it would be about 12 cans.”

12 cans. That’s like 2,000 calories and a month’s worth of sugar. Working on a lobster boat might help burn it. Sitting by the TeeVee or the Xbox will not.

Get up. Move. Exercise. Eat responsibly. Not that hard.

Or, if things, health wise, go south, then go South – to Mexico:

My son had an attack of appendicitis late Saturday night. I knew that the Obamacare inflated prices for surgery in the U.S. would be ridiculous and that the service would likely be impersonal, involve long waits, and be nerve-wracking. I have friends in the medical field so I inquired just for grins. The price for the latest routine appendectomy in my area was, my jaw dropped, $43,000. I read on-line that the average cost for an appendectomy in the U.S. is $33,000. I am not near some of the great direct-pay medical facilities in the U.S. like the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, but I am near Mexico. I chose that option since I have often utilized foreign medical and dental facilities in the past and find the service and prices to be outstanding.

The main first rate hospitals in this part of Arizona are run by the Catholic Church. They, of course, operate under the constraints of Obamacare and other onerous U.S. rules and can’t offer pure free-market rates. So, they are pricey along with all the others.

I opted for the nearby private Catholic hospital in Mexico driving past a Catholic hospital in the U.S. en route. I also drove past the state run socialist hospital in Mexico which of course has deplorable service and doesn’t serve Americans anyway. Most of the private hospitals in Mexico have great service, modern equipment and procedures, and affordable prices. You can actually have extensive conversations with surgeons and the rest of the medical staff. They are very patient, respectful, and understanding. We arrived on a Sunday morning. This counted as an emergency after-hours visit. The fees listed below are higher because of the Sunday call-out for surgical personnel and the extra fee for the emergency room doctor that could have been avoided if I had come during normal business hours.

$43,000 in the US, or $3,000 in Mexico – in a modern, efficient Mexico. Medically efficient, that is; they must be getting the government and insurance rackets wrong with prices like that. Something to work towards, amigos.

Think of the children, especially if you don’t live near the border. The roly-poly, not-so-little children…

Also think of that poor, delicious lobster. I wonder if you could successfully add Pepsi to the butter?

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Hey! Hey! Hey! It’s fat lobster! Fat Albert/Bill Cosby.

More Obama/TrumpCare Goodie$ Coming in 2018!

04 Monday Sep 2017

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Another year, another round of massive price increases.

Millions of people who buy individual health insurance policies and get no financial help from the Affordable Care Act are bracing for another year of double-digit premium increases, and their frustration is boiling over.

Some are expecting premiums for 2018 to rival a mortgage payment.

What they pay is tied to the price of coverage on the health insurance markets created by the Obama-era law, but these consumers get no protection from the law’s tax credits, which cushion against rising premiums. Instead they pay full freight and bear the brunt of market problems such as high costs and diminished competition.

On Capitol Hill, there’s a chance that upcoming bipartisan hearings by Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., can produce legislation offering some relief. But it depends on Republicans and Democrats working together despite a seven-year health care battle that has left raw feelings on both sides.

The most exposed consumers tend to be middle-class people who don’t qualify for the law’s income-based subsidies. They include early retirees, skilled tradespeople, musicians, self-employed professionals, business owners, and people such as Sharon Thornton, whose small employer doesn’t provide health insurance.

Insurance premiums to rival mortgages. Thank God we have dedicated servants like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan fighting hard for the banks and insurers us. They will surely fix this. And soon. Hold your breath.

INSURANCE-RATES-OUT-OF-CONTROL

Margulies.

Tales from the Healthcare (VIDEO): Anecdotal Evidence of the Nothing

19 Wednesday Jul 2017

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My rant yesterday about the state of the American healthcare system, if any.

Perrin Lovett/YouTube.

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Hundreds or thousands of dollars for nothing. Or, $3 for a fast cure. Thank you, Obama and the GOP. Folks, you’re on your own.

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Some Happier Updates

05 Wednesday Jul 2017

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Two things:

First, as an add-on to my Opposite of Free Market Medicine, the sad story of little Charlie Gard of the UK, President Trump offers assistance, if possible:

President Trump on Monday offered to help a critically ill British child who has become a flashpoint in the United Kingdom debate over whether the government should have a say in individual matters pertaining to life and death.

Trump tweeted his support for Charlie Gard, a 10-month-old infant on life support due to complications from a mitochondrial disease. The controversy around Gard has engulfed the Vatican, which infuriated some on the right by not immediately siding entirely with the parents, who want to seek experimental medication in the U.S. or bring their child home to die.

“If we can help little #CharlieGard, as per our friends in the U.K. and the Pope, we would be delighted to do so,” Trump tweeted.

Let’s hope there’s something more official than a tweet behind this measure.

The Pope and the Vatican also weighed in. Oddly the “pro-life” Church seems to imply a big dose of Romans 13 is the cure here.

The Vatican has weighed in, saying “we must do what advances the health of the patient, but we must also accept the limits of medicine” and “avoid aggressive medical procedures that are disproportionate to any expected results or excessively burdensome to the patient or the family.”

“Likewise, the wishes of parents must be heard and respected, but they too must be helped to understand the unique difficulty of their situation and not be left to face their painful decisions alone,” Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia wrote.

“If the relationship between doctor and patient (or parents as in Charlie’s case) is interfered with, everything becomes more difficult and legal action becomes a last resort, with the accompanying risk of ideological or political manipulation, which is always to be avoided, or of media sensationalism, which can be sadly superficial.”

I suggest that “dying with dignity” when a possible cure is available might not be lawful authority. Also, “sadly superficial” would seem to encompass the Vatican press office.

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Vader does not bear the light saber for no reason.

Secondly, yesterday I plugged for Gary North’s (correct) position on the Fourth of July, the Revolution for higher taxes and all. He also recently posted some good advice for getting over your adolesent self.

I know people who, at age 16, did not have a strong self-image, and they have been afflicted ever since. The sooner anyone can shake this negative self-image, the better.

I recommend that at some point you should take leadership in some area of your life. In some area, you are in a position to exercise leadership. You may not have found this yet, but you are way ahead of the curve in terms of what most of your peers are aware of today. You will be in an even stronger position as the economy becomes less predictable and more threatening to millions of Americans. In a time of crisis, influence and power flow to those who take responsibility. That’s why the good guys had better be willing to take responsibility.

Read the whole thing. It’s good. You’re not 16 anymore (unless you really are). Move on.

There you have it: 13 and 16. Numerologists, make of that what you will…

Perrin coming soon to Patreon. Be part of the Revolution!

The Opposite of Free Market Medicine: Coming Soon to a Dying Nation Near You

30 Friday Jun 2017

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American proponents of communism – let’s call it what it is – frequently point with enthusiasm to nations with national government healthcare. The UK’s NHS is a usual suspect.

On the whole, such a system just might be able to deliver more consistent, if not better, care than the current U.S. Obama-Trump-Ryan-insurance cabal racket approach. It certainly couldn’t cost any more.

However, it would inevitably lead to cases like this:

The parents of 10-month-old Charlie Gard are reported to be “utterly distraught” after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) denied them a final effort to save their dying son.

After losing a battle in the UK’s Supreme Court, they had appealed to the court in France to fight the decision of British doctors at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, who argued the baby could not be saved in the U.S. and must “die with dignity”.

Chris Gard, 32, and Connie Yates, 31, had raised more than £1.3 million to take Charlie to the U.S. for partially untested, “experimental” treatment, which they claim could save his life.

Britain has a socialised healthcare system, and despite the fact his parents raised private funds for treatment, the courts could have acted as what some in U.S. politicians call a “death panel”, decided who is and who is not worth saving.

“We strongly feel as his parents that Charlie should get a chance to try these medications. He literally has nothing to lose but potentially a healthier, happier life to gain,” the mother wrote on a crowd-funding page.

Die with dignity, peasants!

So, your child is terminally ill. Death is certain. There’s a potential treatment which might work in another country. You have the financial means to try the treatment. You want to save your child, if that’s at all possible; you want to try the experimental way. What’s the risk? What’s the harm?

The risk is to the centralized power of your ever-benevolent government. The harm is that you might use freedom to solve a problem or simply that you might attempt to do so. That does little for the collective. It does nothing to keep certain people in positions of life-or-death power.

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GoFundMe.

Therefore, rather than live free and make decisions for your family, you instead succumb to the agony of Nazi-style eugenics. The unfit will die. But, in England, they get to die with dignity!

In America, ObamaCare was put into place (and TrumpCare is debated [quietly]) for two overt reasons: 1) give more power to Washington; 2) prop up the leaching insurance syndicate. The covert reason for both these doomed-to-a-less-than-dignified death was(is): pave the way for universal government healthcare, like the NHS.

It’s coming, like it or not – probably within ten years or so. There are ways a partial government system could be made to work – maybe and not with much hope – in the USA. The Swiss and the Kiwis have systems that, while under state mandate, rely almost exclusively on privatization. They work extremely well. That probably wouldn’t work at all, here, due to demographic differences and the base evil of D.C.

Some with surely get their birth control pills and trans vegetable surguries for free under the coming programs. They may even find a way to scheme free tattoos into the graft (tattoo removal for the remorseful grifters). Others will surely watch a child die, with dignity or otherwise.

In the wake of such a program, and following the not-so-long-after collapse, we should look for fitting solutions to those problematic persons who give such gifts of dignity. Nature would seem to dictate rope.

Maybe Not a Good Idea? Zombie Medicine

06 Tuesday Jun 2017

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I think, I hope, I know where these people are going with this concept – sold, here, as reanimating the dead. Maybe it’s extended CPR for the brain. Dunno.

The first attempts to bring people back from the dead are slated to start this year.
Bioquark, a Philadelphia-based company, announced in late 2016 that they believe brain death is not ‘irreversible’.

And now, CEO Ira Pastor has revealed they will soon be testing an unprecedented stem cell method on patients in an unidentified country in Latin America, confirming the details in the next few months.

To be declared officially dead in the majority of countries, you have to experience complete and irreversible loss of brain function, or ‘brain death’.

According to Pastor, Bioquark has developed a series of injections that can reboot the brain – and they plan to try it out on humans this year.

They have no plans to test on animals first.

Zombie, Inc.: “We’re going to make some zombies!”

India: “No. You’re taking your stuff and leaving our country. Now.”

I read this article with The Ramones’ Pet Sematary playing in my head:

I don’t want to be buried in a Pet Sematary,
I don’t want to live my life again.
I don’t want to be buried in a Pet Sematary,
I don’t want to live my life again.

No idea what to think about this, really. I just don’t get a warm, re-animated feeling from it. It will probably be a good, logical next-step life-saving procedure. That, or fodder for a good sci-fi novel…

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 “Fronkensteen.” Brooks / 20th Century Fox.