Coming to an end

I can no longer sustain this blog w/ school and upcoming baby responsibilities. It has been a brief but fun adventure. This will be the last week that it's here. Ciao amici,

Larry

Maher pronounced like car

I attended a Matt Maher concert in Virginia last week that was really awesome. As the vibrating pre-show music and undulating lights suddenly froze and faded, a spokesman emerged from the shadows beyond the stage to spotlight the sponsor of the event, Catholic Relief Services. We were touched to hear of their great mission to “the most vulnerable members of the human family.” If you’re interested in issues of sustainability, education, emergency relief, and world peace, I think you’ll be impressed with the breadth of their work. I plan to plug into some of their public policy resources, and I’ll try to share any gems I gleam.

Peace.

Snips in Health Policy News

You may be aware of the funding chasm that novel drug candidates must cross in order to make it to US markets. Most drugs never see the light of day because of this multi-billion dollar hurdle and the rigorous testing that follows. In an effort to do this job more efficiently, the FDA has made slight modifications, which I'll try to blog about in greater detail at some point. A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that quicker may not be safer.

I have not read this yet, but USAtoday has an article comparing the presidential candidates' health care plans.

Holy Thursday

Happy Holy Thursday to all. The above picture is Simon Ushakov's The Mystical Supper, which you can find a tidbit more about by clicking the picture.

Moving in the Right Direction
In recent news, UK's Royal College of Psychiatrists is recognizing the potential mental health risks involved in abortion. A review of the available literature has caused a revision of their previous 1994 statement. A Times article sites that greater than 90% of the abortions performed by British physicians are based on the doctors' belief that carrying the child to term results in greater mental anguish for the mother. In the past week, I've heard several anecdotal accounts of a woman's suffering post-abortion. This woman's story, featured in the article, is indeed heart-wrenching.

May this Easter Triduum be a time of prayer, reflection, and expectation for you and yours.

Regresaremos

I'm back. After conferring with friends and reading more of my favorite blogs, I've found a type of focus for this online forum. I hope to get into a groove and eventually take this inchoate blog to full maturity.

In science policy:

Mismanagement of Medicine Among the Elderly
For those of us with elderly friends and family, this article is especially disconcerting. Patient compliance with a doctor's prescribed drug regimens is often problematic for many reasons. It's easy to get tired of constantly taking pills for chronic conditions and often people are not aware of the reasons to complete a course of antibiotics even though they feel better. This article draws attention to the particularly difficult circumstances of our elderly. I think this article is especially pertinent as we consider the state of health care in the US.

Don't Drink the Water
It's amazing how prophetic Dave Matthews can be at times. I heard this on the news this morning and found several papers reporting the story. Sex hormones, mood stabilizers, and antibiotics are being detected in our drinking water. While I've heard many voices in the past 1.5 yrs speaking of the "ridiculous" billion dollar H2O industry when we perfectly good drinking water in our sinks, this certainly seems to suggest a case can be made to the contrary. It may be early to link this with the prevalance of any conditions we now see, but according to the EPA's assistant administrator for water Benjamin Grumbles this is a recognized concern that they are "taking seriously."

Sources: Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle

Hola friends. Not sure what to do with this space... (thinking)...