PHE - Resources

"Physicians sometimes grouse about Dr. Google - about the way untrained patients search the internet for information, not always reliable, and come to conclusions, not always sound. A few physicians have taken to drinking their coffee from a cup emblazoned with the words "Please do not confuse your Google search with my medical degree." By now, however, most have made the inevitable accommodations; they suppress the eye roll."

"Is it ethical to edit your child's DNA - or your own? Does the answer depend on whether you're perfectly healthy or have a condition like vision loss or are dying of a degenerative disease? And does it matter whether you've got a PhD or never set foot in a college classroom?"

Interview with Dr. Norman Doige, part of a series of interviews on Brain Plasticity, Healing and "The Brain That Changes Itself".

Dr. Michael Kurisu D.O. recommended Doidge's book, "The Brain That Changes Itself" to me several years ago. Reading the rich and detailed case studies in his book opened me to so many intriguing ideas. In particular, his explanations of how the placebo effect relates to neuroplasticity.

"If there's one thing you do want to catch from a trip to your doctor, it's her optimism. A new study, published Monday in the journal Nature Human Behavior, finds that patients can pick up on subtle facial cues from doctors that reveal the doctor's belief in how effective a treatment will be. And that can have a real impact on the patient's treatment outcome."

"Abstract Placebo effects are beneficial effects that are attributable to the brain-mind responses to the context in which a treatment is delivered rather than to the specific actions of the drug. They are mediated by diverse processes - including learning, expectations and social cognition - and can influence various clinical and physiological outcomes related to health. Emerging neuroscience evidence implicates multiple brain systems and neurochemical mediators, including opioids and dopamine. We present an empirical review of the brain systems that are involved in placebo effects, focusing on placebo analgesia, and a conceptual framework linking these findings to the mind-brain processes that mediate them. This framework suggests that the neuropsychological processes that mediate placebo effects may be crucial for a wide array of therapeutic approaches, including many drugs."

Keywords: neuroscience reading

"Fast ForWord has 21 studies that meet WWC Evidence Standards for Adolescent Literacy, Beginning Reading and English Language Development - the most of any reading intervention evaluated. Positive effectiveness ratings and improvement indices were found for: Alphabetics Reading Fluency Comprehension English Language Development (largest improvement index of interventions evaluated) When compared to other interventions evaluated by WWC, Fast ForWord is the only intervention with positive effects for English Learner AND Literacy Outcomes for students grades K-10 in individual, small group, and whole class settings."

Keywords: neuroscience reading

"The story of Scientific Learning begins with four research scientists: Michael Merzenich, William Jenkins, Paula Tallal, and Steven Miller. When the work of these four scientists intersected, their collaboration proved that the underlying cognitive processes that influence speech and language problems could be identified-and permanently improved. These findings led to the development of the Fast ForWord program, a groundbreaking computer-based reading intervention. The scientists then founded Scientific Learning to bring their program out of the lab and into the lives of struggling readers."

Keywords: neuroscience reading

"PLACEBO STUDIES"

Keyword: Placebo

"PUBLICATIONS" Ted J. Kaptchuk is Professor of Medicine and Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Harvard-wide Program in Placebo Studies and the Therapeutic Encounter (PiPS) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts

Keyword: Placebo

"Can our thoughts and feelings really miraculously heal, or slowly destroy our physical health and well being? Join us as we interview top researchers, best-selling authors, and field experts about the astonishing ways the mind can affect the body. Powered by Curable, an online program that uses mindbody techniques to relieve chronic pain."

Keyword: Placebo

"Computer scientist Larry Smarr and osteopathic physician Michael Kurisu present a vision for healthcare that combines the best of allopathic and osteopathic medicine by using a more personalized, hands-on, systems-based approach to treating patients. They demonstrate this proof of concept with details on how Smarr diagnosed his own Crohn's disease by using blood and stool tests to track changes in his body. And when the symptoms became too severe, Smarr collaborated with his surgeon, Sonia Ramamoorthy, MD, to plan the operation based on 3D images of his organs created at his research institute, Calit2 at UC San Diego. Kurisu then introduces Project Apollo, a group of patients inspired by Smarr who are collecting their own data to develop personalized treatments for their particular conditions. Series: "The UC Wellbeing Channel " [7/2018]"

"A Workshop for the Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity Initiative When: November 6, 2019 (1:00 PM ET) - November 8, 2019 (12:30 PM ET)" Join us via webcast for a 2-day public workshop that will examine the social, behavioral, and environmental enablers for healthy longevity. Workshop participants will discuss the challenges and opportunities, as well as potential solutions and disruptive approaches to enhance social structures that would enable healthier and socially fulfilled lives and ultimately create thriving societies around the world.

Recommended by Kabir. Free registration for the teleconference. The agenda speaks to the core values of Project Apollo.

Results Of the 74 studies identified, the majority were reviews of a single or a group of similar apps (n = 66, 89%), nearly half related to disease management (n = 34, 46%). A total of 80 safety concerns were identified, 67 related to the quality of information presented including incorrect or incomplete information, variation in content, and incorrect or inappropriate response to consumer needs. The remaining 13 related to app functionality including gaps in features, lack of validation for user input, delayed processing, failure to respond to health dangers, and faulty alarms. Of the 52 reports of actual or potential consequences, 5 had potential for patient harm. We also identified 66 reports about gaps in app development, including the lack of expert involvement, poor evidence base, and poor validation.

"Pocket-size ultrasound devices that cost 50 times less than the machines in hospitals (and connect to your phone). Virtual reality that speeds healing in rehab. Artificial intelligence that's better than medical experts at spotting lung tumors. These are just some of the innovations now transforming medicine at a remarkable pace."

"When so many are struggling for connection, inspiration and hope, Fantastic Fungi brings us together as interconnected creators of our world. Fantastic Fungi, directed by Louie Schwartzberg, is a consciousness-shifting film that takes us on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet. Through the eyes of renowned scientists and mycologists like Paul Stamets, best-selling authors Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, Andrew Weil and others, we become aware of the beauty, intelligence and solutions the fungi kingdom offers us in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges. Official Website: https://fantasticfungi.com Showtimes & Tickets: https://fantasticfungi.com/screenings Take Action: https://fantasticfungi.com/action Help Spread the Word: https://fantasticfungi.com/participate Saw the film? Leave a Review: https://fantasticfungi.com/reviews"

"Nature's beauty can be fleeting -- but not through Louie Schwartzberg's lens. His stunning time-lapse photography, accompanied by powerful words from Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast, serves as a meditation on being grateful for every day."

"David A. Broniatowski et al. "Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate", American Journal of Public Health 108, no. 10 (October 1, 2018): pp. 1378-1384. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304567"