Hot Topics
Written by admin2 on June 17th, 2009Filed under: Uncategorized
“Hot Topics” after the jump…
Paralyzed people could soon navigate around buildings using a robotic wheelchair that can be controlled by thoughts alone. The wheelchair is designed for people with severe neuromuscular disabilities, and can even be used in crowded or unfamiliar surroundings.
Scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia cultured corneal stem cells on extended wear contact lenses. They then cleaned the corneas of three patients—two of whom were legally blind and one with limited vision—and had the patient start wearing the lens. Amazingly, within 10 to 14 days the stem cells had reentered the cornea and began to recolonize it.
Technology company GTX Corp. and shoe manufacturer Aetrex Worldwide plan to collaborate on the creation of a shoe with a built-in GPS tracker to locate individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.
Parkinson’s patients who played Nintendo Wii showed a decrease in depression and an increase in agility.
The most exciting research in mental health today involves not how to treat mental illness but how to prevent it in the first place. Hundreds of studies that have appeared in just the past decade collectively suggest that the brain isn’t so different from, say, the arm: it doesn’t simply break on its own.
Japan’s Janssen Pharmaceutical KK, part of the U.S.-based Johnson & Johnson group, will begin marketing a biweekly injectable version of the schizophrenia drug Risperdal.
If you’re relying solely on TV ads to get drug-company pitches, you’re so last month. A growing number of drug firms are trying their luck with social media tools such as Facebook (which is being used to promote several attention-deficit-disorder drugs), YouTube (the asthma drug Symbicort), Twitter (Novartis), blogs (Alli, a nonprescription weight-loss drug) and MySpace (Addiction 411, advice on kicking the prescription painkiller habit from British drugmaker Reckitt Benckiser). A survey in November found that more than 60 million U.S. adults are consumers of…“Health 2.0.”
Officials from Indianapolis-based company Eli Lilly, the largest manufacturer of psychiatric medicines, engaged in ghostwriting medical journal studies that were favorable to the drug company’s antipsychotic Zyprexa.
A 68-year-old psychologist named Judith Henderson has surrendered her license to practice after she was accused of taking a patient shopping and traveling, then billing the activities as therapy (she charged the patient more than $300,000 in fees over 10 years).
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has revoked the license of one of the province’s top psychiatrists after it found he sexually abused one of his patients. Samuel Malcolmson was at one time the chief psychiatrist at Toronto’s Queen Street Mental Health Centre—and has a lecture theatre named after him.
As the clock ticks toward the release of the most influential of mental health textbooks (the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”), psychiatrists are asking themselves thousands of complex—even controversial—questions. The answers will determine how Americans’ mental health is assessed, diagnosed and treated.
Two years ago, Anna Ryan was diagnosed with a rare condition called Sleep-Related Eating Disorder (SRED). Doctors believe that for the past 20 years she has been getting up in her sleep, walking to the fridge and eating as many as 2,000 calories in a single night.
A state Supreme Court decision is being heralded as a victory by disability activists but termed problematic for small-business owners. The unanimous ruling changes past precedent and makes it possible for businesses to be sued for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act without proving the business did so intentionally.
Supreme Court sides with sidewalk activist: disabled man wins push to clear way.
Rosie, an Australian shepherd, is a Delta Society therapy dog who provides companionship to the residents of an assisted living community. She is also deaf. Rosie’s disability has actually benefited her as a therapy dog. She understands about two-dozen words and commands in American Sign Language, she isn’t disturbed or stressed by loud noises or crowds, and she is more focused on her task.
The real “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” is gravely ill with lupus.
According to J.D. Salinger’s longtime literary agent, the 90-year-old U.S. author is…totally deaf.
The Black Hawk Consolidated Public Safety Communications Center, in Iowa, has become the first 9-1-1 Call Center in the United States to successfully receive text messages sent directly to 9-1-1. This groundbreaking effort allows those with speech and hearing impairments to use text messaging to communicate directly with a 9-1-1 operator in an emergency.
Nina Berman is not an objective photojournalist. And she doesn’t want to be. “Marine Wedding,” her portrait of a disfigured Marine and his bride on their wedding day, is an iconic image of the war.
Suicide rate among U.S. Army soldiers continues on record pace.
A judge is facing criticism and the court of public opinion after he harassed, bullied and traumatized a teenage rape victim.
A Port St. Lucie school teacher who was suspended without pay after she allowed her kindergarten students to vote on whether a 5-year-old autistic child could remain in class will be reinstated.
Comments made by the head of the language department at a local high school in Scotland, to her friends on Twitter—”Have three Asperger’s boys in S1 class: never a dull moment! Always offer an interesting take on things”—have caused “Tweecher” outrage.
A new play called “Anne and Emmett” was set to debut at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The play is centered around an imaginary conversation between Anne Frank and Emmett Till. The deadly shooting at the museum delayed the play’s debut, but ironically has made its focus even more poignant.
Two weeks ago, Yusef Dale joined the elite ranks of the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago—believed to be the first blind federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Illinois.
Nigerian-born Prince Augustine Nnatubeugo is blind. He will be graduating Saturday having earned a degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati.
Legally blind waitress serves cheer, humor.
Eric Troup, known as @blindgeek on Twitter, is a sightless roleplaying gamer. He agreed to sit down with Examiner.com to discuss the various accessibility issues blind gamers are confronted with.
New York University graduate student Leon Lim, a Malaysian deaf artist, has been invited to hold an interactive art exhibition at the prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts (Cafa) Museum in Beijing next month.
Ex-DJ trains as sign language interpreter.
Hearing impaired couple perform at the 23rd annual Red Earth Festival.
A new website focused on Gallaudet University’s connection with the Fulbright Program makes it easy to learn about and apply for the prestigious grants.
A 22-year-old deaf sculptor from North Berwick named Horatio Thomas Lawson is causing a stir in the art world with his pioneering bid to “visualize sound.”
St. John’s University and New York City’s Department of Homeless Services have teamed up on a program that gives the homeless a chance to earn a college degree, with the aim that they eventually will make enough money to never need public assistance again.
A 1 percent Homeless and Domestic Violence Tax is collected on all food and beverage sales by establishments that are licensed by the state of Florida to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, except for hotels and motels. Only businesses with more than $400,000 in annual gross receipts are obligated to collect this tax.
He’s homeless and in dire need of a heart transplant, yet this disabled veteran is determined to make a difference: David Whittaker is driving his wheelchair across the country.
Man who survived Tiananmen Square to get new wheelchair.
A group of American and Guatemalan students have launched a company that converts used mountain bikes into affordable wheelchairs for Guatemala’s disabled community.
Baseball shortstop Khalil Greene has returned to St. Louis from his rehab assignment and will meet with Cardinals officials to determine if he’s ready to rejoin the active roster. Greene has been on the disabled list since May 29 with what the club has called social anxiety disorder.
Mark Siddall, 46, taught himself photography during the 10 years he was dealing with agoraphobia.
CBS News gets an inside look at Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
“Chain of Life”: a 3-part investigative series about kidney donation courtesy NJ.com.
