‘This Is A Crisis’: Many Patient Caregivers Are Slow To Identify Brain Diseases In Women, Doctors Say
Diagnosing brain diseases like Parkinson's can be complicated, but doctors are more likely to treat men for the diseases and label women as having "functional disorders.'' In other public health news: air pollution dangers; sitting less; DNA database privacy issues; and skewed genetic databases.
In Men, It’s Parkinson’s. In Women, It’s Hysteria.
Once it was called “hysterical” movement disorder, or simply “hysteria.” Later it was labeled “psychogenic.” Now it’s a “functional disorder.” By any name, it’s one of the most puzzling afflictions — and problematic diagnoses — in medicine. It often has the same symptoms, like uncontrollable shaking and difficulty walking, that characterize brain diseases like Parkinson’s. But the condition is caused by stress or trauma and often treated by psychotherapy. And, in a disparity that is drawing increased scrutiny, most of those deemed to suffer from it — as high as 80% in some studies — are women. (Armstrong, 8/23)
Air Pollution Linked To Early Deaths, Study Says
Smog isn't just annoying, it's also deadly: Exposure to even small amounts of toxic air pollutants is linked to increased cardiovascular and respiratory death rates, according to a new international study. The study, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, is the largest ever undertaken to investigate the short-term impacts of air pollution on death. It was conducted over 30 years in 652 cities in 24 countries. (Rice, 8/22)
Want To Avoid An Early Death? Get Moving, A Study Says
The medical journal BMJ published a report today that links higher levels of physical activity at any intensity to a lower risk of early death in middle-age and older people. Previous studies have repeatedly suggested that any type of sedentary behavior, such as sitting still, is not good for your health. Being sedentary for 9.5 hours or more a day, excluding sleeping time, is associated with an increased risk of death. (Kim, 8/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Customers Handed Over Their DNA. The Company Let The FBI Take A Look.
The trouble started when the Federal Bureau of Investigation attorney made a personal appeal to Bennett Greenspan. Mr. Greenspan, president of FamilyTreeDNA, was used to fielding requests from genealogists, customers, even friends of friends, seeking help with DNA testing. The FBI’s Steve Kramer wasn’t among them. The company’s database of over 1.5 million customers could help solve heinous crimes, the attorney said. He wanted to upload DNA data in two cases to see if there were genetic links to other users. Turning up matches to even distant relatives might generate leads. (Marcus, 8/22)
Genetic Diversity Is Missing From Many Biobanks
When Lalita Manrai went to see her doctor for treatment of kidney disease, she noticed that some of the blood test results had different "normal" ranges for African Americans compared with everybody else. When she asked her doctor which range applied to her — a woman born in India — he said the "everybody else" category was actually based on a study of Europeans, so neither category was right. (Harris, 8/22)