• Improving the accuracy of news stories about medical treatments, tests, products and procedures.
• Helping consumers evaluate the evidence for and against new ideas in health care.

The reviewers use a standardized rating system to evaluate the quality of stories making therapeutic claims about:

• Specific treatments
• Procedures
• Investigational drugs or devices
• Vitamins or nutritional supplements
• Diagnostic and screening tests

The site is searchable by date, news organization, number of rating stars and keyword. Email updates and an RSS feed are available.

The founders support and encourage the “ABC’s of health journalism”: Accuracy,  Balance and Completeness.

The website is modeled in part on the Media Doctor Australia, a website launched by an Australian team in 2004. 

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, an autism expert at the University of Cambridge, responded to the research:

“There may be many factors leading to these conditions either being underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed in females, or leading females to require a diagnosis less often.”

As of this report the research had yet to be published.

Autism ‘may be missed in girls’ was posted by BBC News on September 16, 2008

The study results led authors to offer these preliminary treatment guidelines:

• Generally, it is better to start treating patients as early as possible, rather than waiting for a more complete neurological recovery.
• Even older patients (age 55 and up) may benefit from cognitive rehabilitation, particularly if the brain injury is due to stroke.
• Clinicians should focus their efforts on direct cognitive skills training in specific cognitive domains (such as attention or visuospatial processing). More holistic, non-targeted interventions appear to be less effective.

Every other Monday, we’ll explore living with disability; its challenges and solutions. Topics cover disability both overt and hidden, chronic and temporary, including: visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological.

The matron, Linda Hockaday, was charged with reckless endangerment and fired. The Associated Press reported:

Hockaday told police she knew Rivera hadn’t been dropped off and was asleep on the bus when she got off, the complaint said. But she didn’t tell the driver because she was headed for an appointment and didn’t want to go back to Rivera’s East Harlem home, according to the complaint.

CNN reports that Hockaday, 51, faces charges of first- and second-degree reckless endangerment. 

Several organizations have reported that the driver, Walter Gibbs, 41, has been arrested dozens of times, as recently as August 5, 2008, and that his employer, Outstanding Transport Bus Company, may have failed to seek a background check, as required by law. (NYDailyNews.com and the New York Post stories do not agree.)

Mr. Rivera was hospitalized for hypothermia, and released on Monday, January 4, 2009.

A photo of Josef Stiak (Czech Republic) hurling the discus in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games made National Geogrphic’s list of the best news photos for 2008. Stiak was one of 4,000 athletes from 150 countries to compete in the games.

Photograph by Jason Lee/Reuters (courtesy of National Geographic)

The following drugs were covered by these studies:

• Carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol XR)
• Felbamate (Felbatol)
• Gabapentin (Neurontin)
• Lamotrigine (Lamictal)
• Levetiracetam(Keppra)
• Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)
• Pregabalin (Lyrica)
• Tiagabine (Gabitril)
• Topiramate (Topamax)
• Valproate (Depakote, Depakote ER, Depakene, Depacon)
• Zonisamide (Zonegran)

The FDA said that although they only analysed these drugs, they fully expected the increased risk of suicidality to be present in all antiepileptic drugs, including those not shown here.

More recent posts include articles about professional surfer Scott Dunton, singer Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, and American Idol’s Elliot Yarmin.

DiabetesHealth.com is affiliated with DiabetesHealth Magazine.

Famous People With Diabetes - Diabetes Health.

In an article on her website Special Needs and Special Gifts, Judy Bonnell describes a new technique to help parents prepare for IEP meetings: Write a Portrait. This method was adapted from a U.S. Department of Education approach for documenting a child’s present level of performance (PLOP). The Write a Portrait technique has received positive feedback from school administrators.

Writing what amounts to a portrait of your child is a powerful tool for parents to use. Such a document can help keep the team directed towards your child’s strengths, weaknesses, and educational needs. It is important to get your child front and center quickly at an IEP meeting. By reading your “Portrait” at the very beginning of the meeting you will immediately see the focus shift to its appropriate place, the needs of your child.

According to Ms Bonnell the portrait enables parents to be sure that no strengths, weaknesses, or needs know to them are overlooked by the team. She recommends parents give a copy to each IEP team member, and also read the portrait at the beginning of the IEP meeting. She suggests omitting recommendations from the portrait, which will encourage the team to focus on the parents’ observations at the outset. Parents should document recommendations they wish to propose in a separate document, to be presented when the team collectively considers service and placement.

Special Needs and Special Gifts has Ms. Bonnell’s Instructions for Writing a Portrait of special needs children. The site includes a sample portrait, available with the parents’ permission. The site summarizes the rights of every child under Special Education law and contains additional resources for parents. Ms. Bonnell’s contact information is provided.

This news story from: MedWorm: Dyslexia

The owners maintain a list of well-known people with disabilities, including a list of well-known amputees. Advocates should use this list to encourage a child or adult amputees, and to equip relatives, teachers, healthcare professionals and caregivers to do the same.

Famous Amputees

The owners maintain a list of well-known people with disabilities, including a list of well-known people with hearing impairment. Advocates should use this list to encourage a child or adult with hearing loss, and to equip relatives, teachers, healthcare professionals and caregivers to do the same.

Famous People with Hearing Loss

The owners maintain a list of well-known people with disabilities, including a list of well-known people with Asperger’s Syndrome. Advocates should use this list to encourage a child or adult with Asperger’s Syndrome, and to equip relatives, teachers, healthcare professionals and caregivers to do the same.

Famous People with Asperger’s Syndrome

The owners maintain a list of well-known people with disabilities, including a list of well-known people with asthma. Advocates should use this list to encourage a child or adult with asthma, and to equip relatives, teachers, healthcare professionals and caregivers to do the same.

Famous People with Asthma

The owners maintain a list of well-known people with disabilities, including a list of well-known people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Advocates should use this list to encourage a child or adult with OCD, and to equip relatives, teachers, healthcare professionals and caregivers to do the same.

Famous People with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder