Medicine

Thank you for writing the article shining a light on anti-choice people who harass and humiliate people and their families who are not breaking any laws ("Abortion fight widens," May 11). To think that these people would go to a man's middle-school aged daughter's school to defame the girl and her family because the girl's dad rents space to abortion providers is deplorable. These anti-choice fanatics should get a taste of their own medicine by receiving calls and visits to their neighborhoods and schools.

Thank you for writing the article shining a light on anti-choice people who harass and humiliate people and their families who are not breaking any laws ("Abortion fight widens," May 11). To think that these people would go to a man's middle-school aged daughter's school to defame the girl and her family because the girl's dad rents space to abortion providers is deplorable. These anti-choice fanatics should get a taste of their own medicine by receiving calls and visits to their neighborhoods and schools.

The U.S. New & World Report graduate school rankings  are out and Johns Hopkins University has moved up from 3rd to a tie for 2nd with the University of Pennsylvania. They were behind top-ranked Harvard University. But they beat out Stanford University and the University of California-San Francisco. The University of Maryland was tied for 37th with Oregon Health and Science University, moving up one slot from 38th. There were 126 accredited medical schools and 23 accredited osteopathic medicine schools included in the rankings.

Concussions may have recently taken the spotlight in lacrosse sports medicine, but anterior cruciate ligament injuries are still a major unanswered issue for the sport. ACL tears are the leading cause of missed game and practice time at both the high school and college levels of play for both males and females. Concussions may have recently taken the spotlight in lacrosse sports medicine, but anterior cruciate ligament injuries are still a major unanswered issue. ACL tears are the leading cause of missed game and practice time at both the high school and college levels of play for both males and females.

A s the century's sleazy first decade coasted to a finish, medicine was perhaps the only profession to emerge unslimed. Wall Street and bond raters caused 10 percent unemployment. Businesses cooked books. Journalists fabricated. Priests abused. Intelligence analysts found fantasy nukes. But doctors, again near the top of last year's Gallup "honesty and ethics" poll, may be prepping for their own Enron moment. Allegations that hundreds of patients at St. Joseph Medical Center received what might have been unneeded heart stents would, if true, combine Bernard Madoff-style fraud with Toyota-style injury.

The Supreme Court's decision in the Westboro Baptist case follows our constitutional protections for free speech. Why don't people exercise that right by picketing there? Go to Westboro! Same-sex couples and veterans should join in a show of support for slain soldiers and denounce this bigotry with many rallies right on Westboro's doorsteps. Aren't there VFW's in Kansas? Where are they? Freedom of speech goes both ways. Ron Kuhns, Nottingham

M y husband the sports writer calls it "Team Reimer," and he says it has more members than the supporting casts behind any Olympic athlete he's ever covered. I tell him that if I was as young and fit as the athletes he writes about, I wouldn't need a team to keep me on the road. But I'm not, and so I have a yoga trainer, a massage therapist, the best hair-colorist in my town, a manicurist, a general practitioner to whom I am devoted and an aesthetician. Not that my husband knows what an aesthetician is. Now there is a new member of Team Reimer.

The results of yesterday's survey on medicine and medicine cabinets show an even split between people who store their prescriptions in the bathroom and those who choose a cooler, drier place. Professionals say that the light and moisture of a bathroom are harmful to medicine.Most people, however, do indeed follow prescription-bottle directions explicitly. Only a third of 207 callers said they bend the rules.Finally, a slight majority (54 percent) admitted to hanging on to expired prescriptions"It's Your Call" represents a sampling of opinions from certain segments of the community, but it is not balanced demographically as would be done in a scientific public opinion poll.

FOR MOST, the question of whether to legalize medical marijuana use in Maryland is an abstraction. Not for me. The Maryland House of Delegates literally will be voting on my right to live a normal, healthy life when it considers the Darrell Putman Compassionate Use Act. The bill would legalize the medical use of marijuana for seriously ill Marylanders. There is strong scientific evidence for medical marijuana's safety and efficacy. The Institute of Medicine reported in 1999, "Nausea, appetite loss, pain, and anxiety ... all can be mitigated by marijuana."

Everyone makes mistakes. The clerk at the store may give out the wrong change, or the post office may deliver your letter to the wrong address. And who hasn't gotten a wrong number on the telephone?Such errors are inconvenient or annoying. The mistakes people make in hospitals and drugstores, however, could be life-threatening. Unfortunately, they appear to be all too common.A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals a high rate of adverse drug events in two of the country's finest hospitals.

John Lloyd Bergbower, a Johns Hopkins Medicine security vice president who as a city police commander battled drug buyers in Southwest Baltimore, suffered a fall at his North Baltimore home Sunday and died later that day at Sinai Hospital. He was 60. "He didn't need to run into a burning building or take on an armed gunman to know that John Bergbower was a courageous man," said Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, who served under him in the Southwestern District nearly 15 years ago. "He was a very smart, capable person with an air of confidence about him that made an impression on a young sergeant like myself.

The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland continue to boast some of the best graduate programs in the country, according to rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report. The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine rose one spot to a tie for No. 2 with the University of Pennsylvania in the magazine's annual ranking of research-oriented medical programs. The University of Maryland School of Medicine also moved up a spot to No. 37 on the list, which was topped by Harvard.

The U.S. New & World Report graduate school rankings  are out and Johns Hopkins University has moved up from 3rd to a tie for 2nd with the University of Pennsylvania. They were behind top-ranked Harvard University. But they beat out Stanford University and the University of California-San Francisco. The University of Maryland was tied for 37th with Oregon Health and Science University, moving up one slot from 38th. There were 126 accredited medical schools and 23 accredited osteopathic medicine schools included in the rankings.

Despite the fact that marijuana remains a controlled substance that is illegal in the United States under federal law, 16 states and the District of Columbia have legalized "medical marijuana. " Del. Cheryl Glenn's HB15, the "Maryland Medical Marijuana Act," was introduced and first read on Jan. 11, the first day of this year's General Assembly session. Two more bills calling for legalization of medical marijuana have been introduced since. We would like to make the case that medical marijuana, as currently "prescribed," makes a farce of medicine.

Maybe it's time we change the name of the birth control pill. What Rush Limbaugh doesn't understand is that women are not always about men. The so-called "pill" has been out for over 50 years now, and we aren't going to give it up. It changed our lives. We are in control, and it's not always about not getting pregnant. It really should be called "the regulator," or perhaps the "health pill. " There are many benefits for going on this course of medicine. We can control our periods (something men don't understand)

Dr. Michael Victor Edelstein, whose career at Sheppard Pratt Health System spanned nearly 30 years and whose hobbies were auto repair and listening to gospel music, died of a heart attack Monday at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Cockeysville resident was 66. Dr. Edelstein was on his way to work Monday morning when he was stricken. He was taken by medics to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. "I've know Michael since I came to Sheppard Pratt in 1986, and he was one of the most remarkable doctors I've ever worked with," said Dr. Steve Sharfstein, Sheppard Pratt Health System president.

Dr. Lee Tannenbaum has opened an office in Bel Air to diagnose and treat addiction disorders. A specialist certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, he concentrates on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of many forms of addiction, including those related to alcohol, nicotine, prescription painkillers and heroin. About 3,500 physicians nationwide are certified in addiction medicine, he said. "Addiction isn't a personal failing or voluntary behavior that can be easily controlled," Tannenbaum said.

Cleaning out the medicine cabinet probably is not what you were thinking of doing Christmas Eve; it's probably not something you particularly want to do any time at all.And that's exactly why you ought to do yourself a favor by getting rid of the medicinal leftovers as soon as you can: Unlike aged wine, aged medicine can be hazardous to your health.It's easy enough to figure out what to get rid of. In this state, all drugs -- prescription and over-the-counter -- are labeled with expiration dates.

Two recent bulletins place progressive outrage about voting rights in interesting perspective. Item No. 1: The latest "Pew Center on the States Report" found 24 million invalid voter registrations and nearly 2 million dead people still on U.S. voter rolls. Item No. 2: South Carolina has sued theU.S. Department of Justiceas a result of the DOJ's decision to block the state from requiring voters to show government-issued identification in order to vote. For many of us, this juxtaposition is a head scratcher.

A new survey of integrative medicine centers shows that the most commonly treated ailments are chronic pain, gastrointestinal conditions, depression and anxiety, cancer and chronic stress. The survey was conducted at 29 centers, including the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine , by the Bravewell Collaborative , a nonprofit foundation that advocates for and researches integrative medicine. This kind of medicine purports to treat the whole patient - physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc. -- through use of alternative and complementary therapies such as acupuncture and massage.