I’ll watch the HBO series with an open heart and mind – I swear I will. But the reviews are certainly daunting. The whole point of Forget Memory is that there is MORE to Alzheimer’s than tragedy. That there is HOPE in science, but there is also HOPE in human beings – in our ability [...]
Archive for the ‘medicine’ Category
“Hope at the expense of caution”: NYT’s reviews HBO’s Alzheimer’s Project
Posted in cultural phenom, film, medicine, public education, tagged alzheimer's, forget memory, HBO Alzheimer's Project, memory loss, NYT's review on May 9, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Brain Training a Bust?
Posted in cultural phenom, medicine, science of memory, tagged cognitive exercise, cognitive fitness on February 11, 2009 | 5 Comments »
There’s been lots of hype about cognitive fitness, with a slew of computer games and programs comign out to help older people train their brains. They hint that cognitive fitness can delay or prevent the onset of dementia. But this article suggests that the computer programs don’t have any more effect than doing a crossword [...]
The problem with pills
Posted in cultural phenom, history of memory, medicine, public education, science of memory, tagged alzheimer's, antipsychotics, dementia, improving care, NYT's science section on June 24, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I would love to read a good history of pharmaceuticals in this country. Just when did we become convinced that it is cheaper to medicate than to provide actual care or change behaviors? How is it that we arrive at the numbers that tell us this is so? And why do we believe them? There’s [...]
A Buzz on Enbrel
Posted in cultural phenom, medicine, public education, science of memory, tagged alzheimer's, dementia, Enbrel, miracle cure, peter whitehouse on April 15, 2008 | 1 Comment »
There’s a lot of electronic activity going on about “video proof” of a “miracle cure” for Alzheimer’s – the anti-arthritis medication Enbrel. I think it’s important to listen to all the voices out there on this one. The impulse is to fly into action and proclaim a cure. But there’s a lot of science that [...]
On the trail of memory loss…
Posted in cultural phenom, medicine, public education, science of memory, Uncategorized, tagged carved in sand, Catherine Jakobson Ramin, dementia, forgetting, Jane Brody, memory loss on December 11, 2007 |
For two weeks in a row now, Jane Brody’s Personal Health column in the Science Times section of the New York Times has focused on aging-related memory loss. In the first, “Cracking the Code to the Memory Vault,” she talks about how it haunts her and her husband, who is older than she is, but [...]
a great book…
Posted in cultural phenom, medicine, public education, tagged alzheimer's, dementia, forgetting, mental illness, Stephen Hinshaw, stigma, The Mark of Shame on November 6, 2007 |
Well, at least I think it’s a great book. I’m only on page 22. Stephen Hinshaw’s The Mark of Shame: Stigma of Mental Illness and an Agenda for Change is new from Oxford University Press. I just got it through interlibrary loan and am drinking up his careful distinctions between stigma, stereotype, and prejudice; and [...]
Psychiatrists rally to combat stigma
Posted in medicine, public education, tagged alzheimer's, dementia, memory, public health, remembering, stigma on September 19, 2007 |
I came across this website/effort today– Changing Minds. The Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK and the Republic of Ireland are tackling the problem of stigmatization of people with mental illness. The effort addresses Anxiety, Depression, Schizophrenia, Dementia, Alcohol and Drug Addiction, and Eating Disorders. Seems like a good idea for a project in [...]
