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As we emerge from the recession, we find the nation in crisis. Think of the bursting of the housing bubble and the loss of credit as like a wound. Now the nation has to endure the pain of unemployment with more people living in poverty in 2010 than at any other time since we began keeping records. To give you an idea of just how bad the situation is, a recent survey of the hundred most prosperous city areas by the Brookings Institute found only 16 have managed to replace more than half the jobs lost during the recession itself. That means increasing financial pressures to pay unemployment benefits at a time when tax revenues are low. Except, ask yourself whether just paying unemployment benefit is a sufficient treatment. If your body had just received a wound, would you think it sufficient if the only treatment was sewing you back together and leaving you to get better? No! You would expect there to be follow-up treatment through physical therapy to help rebuild muscles and improve mobility. If there was continuing pain, you would expect experts to help you find better ways to live your life with less discomfort. This might involve redesigning your home, changing the way you work, offering you various drugs to keep the pain under control, and so on.

When you move beyond the original cause but still have consequences flowing from it, you hope and expect there will be an expert in consequences. Just talking to the surgeon who sewed you up is not really the right person to be talking to. That’s why we’re all frustrated with Washington right now because none of the politicians can agree how to treat the pain. The result? There’s no treatment for the pain as they fight among themselves about whether FEMA should have money to deal with emergencies like hurricanes and other minor issues. Read the rest of this entry »

When our grandparents were growing up, there were microscopes but, by modern standards, they were primitive. There were moderately sophisticated chemical tests for different medical problems and conditions. Sadly, they were not very precise. So, when a doctor or any other scientist made announcements, the numbers were very general. We found this acceptable. No one expected science to develop into the modern wonders of today where we can measure the presence of trace elements as parts-per-million. We may even have discovered an atomic particle capable of traveling faster than the speed of light. Einstein would be turning in his grave to get a better look at this magic neutrino that might just shoot down one of his best known theories.

Because we’ve moved from general statements that there were traces of a chemical to a precise measurement there were 39 parts-per-million, many now believe even minute traces can be dangerous. We’ve lost the sense of scale. When we can detect the presence of particles at a subatomic level, we want to believe science has more answers. It’s going where no one has been able to go before, therefore it must know more than those who tried to go before. Except, science doesn’t work like that. The best it can do is say people have been able to replicate the same results from experiments, so this suggests a theory is correct. But the theory is only correct until a better theory comes along with experimental evidence to back it up.

When the erectile dysfunction drugs were going through their clinical trials, there were some effects noted on eyesight. This fell into two classes. First, some men experienced a slight color shift so many objects appeared tinged with blue. Second, some men experienced photosensitivity, i.e. their eyes were painful in bright light. This affected between 3 and 10% of all men going through the trials, and the effects were duly noted on the labels and accompanying patient information. Suddenly, there were stories about men going blind. As a knee-jerk reaction, the FDA required the manufacturers to change the labels to include a warning.

In a sense, this is the precautionary principle at work. As a responsible regulator, the FDA prefers not to take any chances. Except, just how many verified cases of vision loss were there to encourage the FDA into action? The answer comes in a new piece of research. A team went through all the published reports in the peer-reviewed literature. All the results were analyzed using the international probability scales. The result? Between January 2006 and February 2011, there were eight reported cases. Eight cases over five years! And even in these cases, there’s no certainty the loss of vision was due to the use of an erectile dysfunction drug. There were other equally valid explanations. Read the rest of this entry »

Any man that has experienced premature hair loss and balding, or is experiencing such problems at the moment, will know just how debilitating this can be. Whilst some people may think that hair loss is just an aesthetic problem and that men should just get over it and play the hand that they have been dealt, this is actually a problem that can go much further than just aesthetics. Of course, some men have no qualms about losing their hair and to them it really is plain and simple aesthetics. However, for many other men losing their hair can have a profound effect on the way they feel. Many men lose their self esteem and confidence along with their hair and this can make a big difference to their overall quality of life.

Propecia is a drug that is manufactured by the pharmaceutical giant Merck, and it is designed to help men who are experiencing hair loss and baldness. This medication is aimed at helping to stop any further hair loss, so the earlier men consider taking it the better. However, many men may already have bald patches by the time they start taking Propecia. The good news is that this medication is also able to help stimulate hair regrowth on bald areas of the scalp in some men, which means that even those that have already become bald in some areas could benefit.

There are in fact a number of main benefits that come with this hair loss treatment and some of these include:

• This medication may be able to stop any further hair loss in men that have been losing their hair. It can therefore prove very effective for men who start taking it early before too much hair is lost
• For some men this medication will also result in the regrowth of new hair in areas of baldness, as it can help to stimulate the follicles that have stopped producing new hair in order to get them working effectively again
• Propecia comes in the form of a small pill, which only has to be taken once a day in order for men to start benefitting from its effects. This means that there is no need for inconvenient ointments that have to be rubbed onto the scalp each day. It also means that you can take your medication discreetly even when you are away on holiday or business
• Whilst there are side effects that are associated with this treatment many men experience no side effects at all from taking Propecia, and instead enjoy only the benefits of the treatment Read the rest of this entry »