3,000 Pills Later - A Nutraceutical Experiment - TIME Video

The TIME magazine writer John Cloud took over 3,000 vitamins and supplements in a span of 5 months to see how his health would change. He was taking 28 pills a day. The results may surprise you.

He gained weight. His HDL increased but nobody was sure why. His vitamin D level increased but the follow-up level was done in June when he was spending more time in the sun anyway. That was all.

References:
Nutrition In a Pill. TIME.

$295,000 In Medical School Debt... Why do medical schools charge students so much money?

Rob Centor:

"Why do medical schools charge students so much money? It was not this way when I went to medical school. I paid an average of $1000 per year in the early 1970s.

Using an inflation calculator, that would become around $5000 per year in current dollars. Yet that same school and most state schools charge 3 times that much."

References:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/23/295000-in-medical-school_n_473601.html
http://www.medrants.com/archives/5327

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

Women in US academic medicine earn $13,000 less than male peers

A survey of 3,000 faculty members at the top 50 US medical schools has shown that women members earned $13,000 less than their male counterparts with the equivalent career position and professional activity.

There were no obvious reasons for the difference.

According to the study authors, "despite increased national attention to gender inequalities in salary, women in the life sciences at all academic ranks, both PhDs and MDs, continued in 2007 to receive lower annual salaries than did their male counterparts."

References:

Women in US academic medicine earn less than male peers. BMJ, 2010.

Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.

U.S. May Face Shortage of 150,000 Doctors in 15 Years

As ranks of insured patients expand, the U.S. may face shortage of 150,000 doctors in 15 years, according to the WSJ. That shortfall is predicted despite a push by teaching hospitals and medical schools to boost the number of U.S. doctors, which now totals about 954,000.

The greatest demand will be for primary-care physicians. These general practitioners, internists, family physicians and pediatricians will have a larger role under the new law, coordinating care for each patient.

Comments from Twitter:

@doctorwes Foreign docs are lining up.

@jmphillips Once I get into medical school, I should be OK!

@ddrullinsky ok Dr. Dimov, I'm on my way to help! thanks for posting my tweet! I hope to be there next year! Great blog BTW!

@a_singledrop but # of US residency spots remains flat. Why's this ok?

@drsteventucker I'm still not moving back!

References:
U.S. Faces Shortage of Doctors - WSJ.com.

Image source: sxc.hu

Protecting the brain from concussion: $20-helmet is a good way to protect $100,000 education

Neuropsychologist Kim Gorgens makes the case for better protecting our brains against the risk of concussion -- with a compelling pitch for putting helmets on kids: A $20-helmet is a good way to protect $100,000 education. "Mind your (brain) matter."

Just consider the following tragic story:

Former NFL payer shot himself in chest so that his brain could remain intact for examination for encephalopathy

Before he shot himself fatally in the chest Thursday, the former Chicago Bears defensive back Dave Duerson sent family members text messages requesting that his brain tissue be examined for the same damage recently found in other retired players.

As a longtime force in the N.F.L. players union, Duerson, 50, was keenly aware of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to depression, dementia and occasionally suicide among more than a dozen deceased players. He had expressed concern in recent months that he might have had the condition.

“This thing has the whole union community pretty shaken up.”

Related reading:

The protective effects of helmets in skiers and snowboarders - why 15% of neurosurgeons bought helmets right away. BMJ, 2011.

Before Shooting Himself, Duerson Asked That His Brain Be Studied, NYTimes, 2011.

Former NFL payer shot himself in chest so that his brain could remain intact for examination for encephalopathy, NYTimes, 2011.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE): Brain bank examines athletes' hard hits - CNN, 2012.