Tag: Medicine

Parkinson’s Disease: A Guide for Patients and Families by William Weiner MD, Lisa Shulman MD, and Anthony Lang MD

A good source of information with a surprisingly optimistic outlook on a really terrible neurological disorder. There is still no cure, but there are drug treatments that can alleviate the symptoms. I hate to dwell on such an irrelevant detail, but there was significant commentary on the effects of Parkinson’s on the patient’s sex life. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/12/05/parkinsons-disease-a-guide-for-patients-and-families/

Journey Into the Heart by David Monagan

This is an incredible story. The daring, energy, and optimism of the men who pioneered cardiology in the twentieth century are truly extraordinary. This book focuses primarily on Andreas Gruentzig, the East German cardiologist who developed and refined angioplasty. The story becomes a Greek tragedy as success leads to hubris and hubris leads to nemesis. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/09/28/journey-into-the-heart-by-david-monagan/

Cystic Fibrosis by David Orenstein

Excellent book. I started this book expecting to be depressed by accounts of patients not living past childhood, but it turns out that with currently available medical care patients can expect to live into adulthood and even to old age. They will need regular treatments and may have to make many trips to the hospital …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/09/27/cystic-fibrosis-by-david-orenstein/

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story by Ben Carson

No one can say that Ben Carson grew up in privileged circumstances, but from a young age he seems to have had an uncanny knack for making the right choices. I’m not sure the Ben Carson story can be a model for all young people, but it does reinforce my belief that parents rather than …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/09/17/gifted-hands-the-ben-carson-story-by-ben-carson/

Microbe by Alan Zelicoff

Like all the books I have read on infectious disease, this book is highly alarmist in tone. It recounts several recent outbreaks, adding a good dose of medical science for good measure, in order to advance the thesis that we need to be more prepared for the next outbreak. The author is not arguing for …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/07/29/microbe-by-alan-zelicoff/

The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett

This book is a fascinating study of emerging infectious diseases throughout the world. Like most such books, it is a bit alarmist in tone, and it is full of attacks on (mostly Republican) politicians for not taking effective policy measures to prevent and combat new epidemics. Apart from its somewhat shrill alarm-sounding, however, it provides …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2009/08/22/the-coming-plague-by-laurie-garrett/