Trials and Errors

     Travelling to Calgary with three dogs and a husband who forgot his cell phone, dark glasses and computer every day or two has been quite an opportunity to develop patience! On the other hand, seeing “West Side Story” at the Shakespeare Festival Theater in Stratford, Ontario was a delightful new stop along the way and definitely one we will make again - along with Newport, Ipswich, Surry and Quebec City. Middlebrook and Charlottesville, Virginia are always favorite stopovers which we’ll keep on the itinerary because we get to see our dear friends of 40-plus years.

     Now, onto this week’s stories...

     Did you know the U.S. Army paid 19th century volunteers $100 in gold to contract yellow fever? Check out this week’s report on current day human guinea pigs, and how twenty million Americans are recruited into 40,000 clinical trials annually, with 50 to 93 percent of the healthy recruits saying money is a significant motivator. Find out how much money a clinical trial guinea pig can make, and how to protect yourself if you’re tempted to volunteer.

     Also take a look at our story on the darker side of drug development, where a new study finds that two percent of scientists admit they have falsified or altered data to improve the outcome of drug tests at least once, and 35-percent admit to questionable research practices. Another sobering report on the site this week talks about the fact that we in the U.S. are spending $2 trillion on health care – more than any other country in the world - but we live shorter lives than people in Japan, Switzerland, Canada and Britain, and rank 29th in infant mortality, tied with Slovakia and Poland. Check out the story to find out how Americans are still managing to kill themselves and how the number one cause of death is preventable.

     Couples who have a known family genetic disorder and who are interested in a chance at a healthy head start for their baby will want to read about a new genetic test that can screen for thousands of specific genetic defects all at once. Getting through life with less pain is the topic of our In-Depth Doctor’s Interview with Ivica Ducic, M.D., Ph.D., a plastic surgeon at Georgetown University Hospital, who explains a new procedure for easing nerve pain for amputees and other surgery patients. Make sure you also see our report from New Orleans on a new study which says that Hurricane Katrina may well have been as damaging to residents’ hearts as it was to their homes.

    In case you missed them, you may want to check our past reports, Premium Content in Archives Seeing Breast Cancer Clearly or Premium Content in Archives Cyberknife For Prostate Cancer. Premium Content in the Archives may be purchased for as little as $9 for 24-hour, unlimited access. If you would like to access Premium Content for the first time click here.

     By the way, Ivanhoe has completed another informative DVD. This one presents a compilation of reports we’ve done on infertility, with each report covering information every woman should know if she is trying to start a family. Click here to see the topics.

Marjorie Bekaert Thomas