Tag Archives | Medicine

Neurons to Nirvana: Understanding Psychedelic Medicines

By on April 29, 2013 in News 0

Lets help bring to mainstream awareness a professional documentary with the potential to radically alter our cultures profound misconceptions surrounding psychedelic medicines and their value to humanity.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1055048000/neurons-to-nirvana-understanding-psychedelic-medic-0

Help share the TRUTH. Spread the word about NEURONS TO NIRVANA, a new documentary that dares to break the taboo surrounding psychedelic medicines and explores their proven potential to heal and alleviate suffering on a global scale.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

NEURONS TO NIRVANA: UNDERSTANDING PSYCHEDELIC MEDICINES.

This is the most important thing you will experience today. This is from Wikipedia about Ayahuasca:

“People who have consumed ayahuasca report having massive spiritual revelations regarding their purpose on earth, the true nature of the universe as well as deep insight as how to be the best person they possibly can. This is viewed by many as a spiritual awakening and what’s often described as a rebirth.  It’s nearly always said that people experience profound positive changes in their life subsequent to consuming ayahuasca and it is often viewed as one of the most effective tools of enlightenment.”

NEURONS TO NIRVANA: UNDERSTANDING PSYCHEDELIC MEDICINES is a richly-illustrated feature documentary about the resurgence of psychedelics as medicine.… Read the rest

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Hospital Debuts Sound Therapy Room Designed By Brian Eno

By on April 22, 2013 in News 0

brian enoWill the worlds of medicine and ambient music be more closely joined in the future? Via SPIN:

English doctors are instructing patients to heal themselves with Brian Eno’s restorative music.

Orthopedic surgeon Robin Turner has teamed with the hugely influential producer/sound wizard to create a “quiet room” where people can “think, take stock, or simply relax.” The £34 million private Montefiore hospital (in Hove, England) also features an Eno light and music piece in its reception area. Turner says he came up with the idea in 2010 after seeing how peaceful his normally “fidgety” mother-in-law became after visiting Eno’s audio-visual 77 Million Paintings installation.

“It seemed a natural step as I’ve been dealing with this idea of functional music for quite a few years,” said Eno, a firm believer in the idea that music can alter moods. “In the last couple of days I’ve met patients and staff who have said, ‘I really like that room, it makes a big difference.’”

… Read the rest

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The Strange Case Of Edward Mordake’s Two Faces

By on April 21, 2013 in News 0

edward mordakeThe physical manifestation of what we all possess inside? Wikipedia on historical figure Edward Mordake, who allegedly had a second, “evil” face which would spasm, cry, and make horrid expressions:

Edward Mordake was reportedly the 19th century heir to an English peerage. He supposedly had an extra face on the back of his head, which could neither eat nor speak, although it could laugh and cry. Edward begged doctors to have his “demon head” removed, because, supposedly, it whispered satanist language to him at night, but no doctor would attempt it. He committed suicide at the age of 23.

This is the story as told in Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine:

He was a young man of fine attainments, a profound scholar. But upon the back of his head was another face, that of a girl, ‘lovely as a dream, hideous as a devil’. The eyes would follow the movements of the spectator, and the lips ‘would gibber without ceasing’.

… Read the rest

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Animals Self-Medicate Far More Than Previously Realized

By on April 17, 2013 in News 0

animals self medicateScience Daily on animal pharmacology as part of the ecosystem:

It’s been known for decades that animals such as chimpanzees seek out medicinal herbs to treat their diseases. But it now appears that the practice of animal self-medication is a lot more widespread than previously thought, according to University of Michigan ecologist Mark Hunter and his colleagues.

Animals use medications to treat various ailments through both learned and innate behaviors. The fact that moths, ants and fruit flies are now known to self-medicate has profound implications for ecology and evolution.

Wood ants incorporate an antimicrobial resin from conifer trees into their nests, preventing microbial growth in the colony. Parasite-infected monarch butterflies protect their offspring against high levels of parasite growth by laying their eggs on anti-parasitic milkweed. Lacking many of the immune-system genes of other insects, honeybees incorporate antimicrobial resins into their nests.

“Perhaps the biggest surprise for us was that animals like fruit flies and butterflies can choose food for their offspring that minimizes the impacts of disease in the next generation,” Hunter said.

… Read the rest

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Eight Cures That Did More Harm Than Good

By on April 13, 2013 in News 0

Leeching-largeArallyn Primm writes at Mental Floss:

No one likes to be sick or suffering. Humans have tried to fight against disease and affliction since we could first comprehend “Hey, I ate that root, and now I don’t feel like death!” In the course of trying to find new cures for medical problems, or perceived medical problems, we’ve stumbled more than a few times along the way. Most of the time, treatments simply didn’t work, and were no more harmful than what they were meant to “cure.” Sometimes, though, the medicine was even worse than the condition itself.

1. To cure rabid human or dog bite

To his credit, Pliny the Elder discounted many purely-magical folk cures in his Natural Histories (not to mention writing entire chapters against the eating of infant brains), and was a proponent of several treatments which we now know to have some merit, such as aloe vera to dress burns.

… Read the rest

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One In Five Teenage Boys Is Now Diagnosed With ADHD

By on April 1, 2013 in News 0

The New York Times on mentally-imbalanced becoming the new normal:

Nearly one in five high school age boys in the United States and 11 percent of children over all have received a medical diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to new data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The figures showed that an estimated 6.4 million children ages 4 through 17 had received an A.D.H.D. diagnosis at some point in their lives, a 16 percent increase since 2007 and a 53 percent rise in the past decade. About two-thirds of those with a current diagnosis receive prescriptions for stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall, which can drastically improve the lives of those with A.D.H.D. but can also lead to addiction, anxiety and occasionally psychosis.

Even more teenagers are likely to be prescribed medication in the near future because the American Psychiatric Association plans to change the definition of A.D.H.D.

… Read the rest

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Deadly Virus Goes Missing From Texas Laboratory

By on March 31, 2013 in News 0

Via CBS News, how the end of the world begins:

Officials say a vial containing a virus that can cause hemorrhagic fever has gone missing from a research facility in Galveston, but say there’s no reason to believe there’s a threat to the public. Officials suspect the missing vial containing the Guanarito virus was destroyed during the lab’s cleaning process but the investigation continues.

The University of Texas Medical Branch branch says the virus, native to Venezuela, is transmitted only through contact with Venezuelan rats. It is not believed to be able to survive in U.S. rodents or to be transmitted person-to-person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was immediately notified after the vial was discovered missing Wednesday.

… Read the rest

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British Woman Allegedly Recovers After Dying For 45 Minutes

By on March 25, 2013 in News 0

The question is, to where did her consciousness migrate during that time? Biblical heaven? A flying saucer? The black lodge from Twin Peaks? The BBC reports that she does not recall:

A 63-year-old woman who was expected to die after her heart stopped for 45 minutes is recovering well. Carol Brothers, from Easterton near Devizes, collapsed outside her home from a heart attack, last month.

Mrs. Brothers was returning home from a shopping trip with her daughter when she collapsed, said her husband David: “She was flat out on the floor, just changing colour – a horrible colour and basically I panicked.”

Paramedics managed to restart her heart after 45 minutes and she was airlifted to hospital. Mrs. Brothers is now recovering at home but says she has no memory of her ordeal.

… Read the rest

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Should Medical Marijuana Be Legalized For Dogs?

By on March 7, 2013 in News 12

Pet website Dogster.com writes that veterinarians are awakening to the miraculous abilities of cannabis to heal sick animals:

Christine L.’s Rottweiler, Sampson, had a rare form of blood cancer. After giving Sampson cannabis flower-bud material mixed with virgin coconut oil, whereas before Sampson had been too weak to walk, almost overnight he became a born-again youngster. “He was a puppy again, happy and playful,” Christine recalls. “Cannabis saved my dog’s life,” she says. “It brought him back from the brink.”

Since Sampson’s passing, Christine consoles herself by reaching out to others in a similar situation. Online, she found Dr. Doug Kramer, whose mission is to improve pets’ quality of life by outlining safe and effective dosing guidelines.

Kramer’s become an outspoken, tireless advocate of pain control for animals and has established a veterinary practice, Enlightened Veterinary Therapeutics, specializing in palliative and hospice care. He’s the first vet in the country to offer cannabis consultations as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for pet patients.

… Read the rest

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Cure For Child Born With HIV Virus

By on March 4, 2013 in News 138

No one can explain how, but the first human with the HIV virus has been cured reports the Guardian:

Doctors in the US have made medical history by effectively curing a child born with HIV, the first time such a case has been documented.

The infant, who is now two and a half, needs no medication for HIV, has a normal life expectancy and is highly unlikely to be infectious to others, doctors believe.

Though medical staff and scientists are unclear why the treatment was effective, the surprise success has raised hopes that the therapy might ultimately help doctors eradicate the virus among newborns.

Doctors did not release the name or sex of the child to protect the patient’s identity, but said the infant was born, and lived, in Mississippi state. Details of the case were unveiled on Sunday at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

… Read the rest

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