Category: Medical Studies

Reframing schizophrenia as a neurodevelopmental syndrome: The scientific and social imperative

Jason Shafrin

That is the title of a paper published today with co-authors Arundati Nagendra (from the Schizophrenia and Psychosis Action Alliance), Raquelle Mesholam-Gately and Matcheri Keshavan (both at the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School). The abstract is here: Background Schizophrenia is traditionally classified as a serious mental illness (SMI), emphasizing chronicity and disability. However,…

Helping the paralyzed move

Jason Shafrin

Technology is amazing. From The Economist: Fourteen years ago, Melanie Reid, a journalist, fell off a horse and broke her neck. The injury to her spinal cord left her paralysed, limiting the function of her four limbs and torso—a condition known as tetraplegia. For more than a decade her left hand was incapable of either…

What are the 4 pillars of medical ethics?

Jason Shafrin

The 4 pillars of medical ethics are: Beneficence means that practitioners should act as they believe is in the best interest of the patient. Unlike non-maleficence, it goes beyond simply doing no harm and encourages to actively help others. Beneficence is important because it ensures that healthcare professionals consider individual circumstances and remember that what…

Nobel Prize in Medicine

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David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian have won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work “for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.” Here is a summary of Professor Julius’ contribution from the BBC: Prof David Julius’s breakthrough, at the University of California, San Francisco, came from investigating the burning pain…

Physician Decision Fatigue

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When should you schedule an appointment with your doctor or dentist? I had always thought that being one of the first appointments of the day was beneficial because the doctor’s aren’t yet tired from a long day of work. For instance, I try to schedule my dentist appointments early in the morning just for this…