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Biomedical subjects

R V Lee

Publications and source records attributed to R V Lee.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Gestational nose.

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Journal Article↗

Heavy metal hazards of Asian traditional remedies.

In recent years there has been an increase in the use of traditional Asian medicines. It is estimated that 30% of the US population is currently using some form of homeopathic or alternative therapy at a total cost of over $13 billion annually. Herbal medications are claimed and widely believed to be beneficial; however, there have been reports of acute and chronic intoxications resulting from their use. This study characterizes a random sampling of Asian medicines as to the content of arsenic, mercury, and lead. Traditional herbal remedies were purchased in the USA, Vietnam, and China. The Asian remedies evaluated contained levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury that ranged from toxic (49%) to those exceeding public health guidelines for prevention of illness (74%) when consumed according to the directions given in or on the package. Heavy metals contained in Asian remedies may cause illness of unknown origin and result in the consumption of health care resources that are attributable to other causes. The public health hazards of traditional herbal Asian remedies should be identified and disclosed.

Arsenic↗

Evaluation and management of infertility in women: the internists' role.

Interventions for infertility have greatly increased in number and sophistication. Women with multiple medical problems and women near or beyond menopause are now able to conceive. The internist will be called on to assess the risk that infertility interventions pose and to counsel patients accordingly. Knowledge of the medical illnesses associated with infertility, the types of infertility treatments available, and the medical complications of these interventions are required to properly assess this risk. Medical complications of infertility interventions can be direct effects of related drugs and technologies and indirect consequences of the induced pregnancy, multiple gestation, or associated medical conditions. This article reviews the definitions and scope of infertility, the interventions used for treatment of infertility, the medical complications of these interventions, the potential risks of fertility treatment in women unable to conceive spontaneously, and important issues for preconception counseling.

Counseling↗

Doctoring to the music of time.

What patients believe about time has much to do with their notion of health and medicine. Synchrony of time sense between physician and patient shapes the objectives and the content of care and compliance; asynchrony leads to frustration and failure. Traditional time is circular, a regular repetition of events and ideas. Traditional time is driven by the environment in that planets, stars, and spirits appear to control the cycles of nature. There is no apocalypse, no salvation or damnation; rather, there is a continuous cycle of reincarnation that can be stopped or escaped only by extraordinary action. Traditional time leads to a static, stable world. In this view, changes are transient because things that were will be again; progress is fiction, a conceit of the proud. Renaissance notions of the perfectibility of humankind, the importance of individuality, and the possibility of progress originated with a sense of time as a straight line leading to "an end of time" and apocalypse, rather than a circle. The present Christian calendar is the product of 16th-century attempts to unify the calendrical expectations for the apocalypse held by diverse Christian sects and to rectify the discrepancies between the old calendar timing of Christian holy days and the natural seasonal cycles. Millenarian and scientific time have a future; traditional time is, in a sense, timeless.

Culture↗

Mixed signals.

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Communication↗

Histiocytosis X and pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Histiocytosis X, a clinically heterogeneous infiltrating disorder, is rarely associated with pregnancy. Diabetes insipidus is a common manifestation of histiocytosis X. CASE: A 27-year-old pregnant woman was diagnosed with histiocytosis X by biopsy. At 31 weeks' gestation, she developed diabetes insipidus and required treatment with intranasal 8-D-arginine vasopressin. A hypothalamic mass was noted on magnetic resonance imaging. She delivered a 363-g male at term by cesarean. Two months postpartum, after a motor vehicle accident, she developed a T6 sensory and motor deficit. An intramedullary spinal cord mass was diagnosed and surgically removed. She was treated postoperatively with radiation therapy to the spine and hypothalamus. Despite systemic chemotherapy, the disease progressed, and the patient died 18 months after delivery. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy in patients suffering from histiocytosis X is rare. When pregnancy and histiocytosis X do coincide, diabetes insipidus may appear or worsen. Treatment with intranasal 8-D-arginine vasopressin does not pose risks for the fetus or for premature labor.

Accidents, Traffic↗