Health Highlights is an occasionally recurring series focused on particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

• Summer Solstice: "Hot" Grand Rounds on Shrink Rap | Shrink Rap

  Shrink Rap – a blog by psychiatrists for psychiatrists – hosts a hot Summer Solstice edition of Grand Rounds.

• Why Do the Same Drugs Look Different? | Dr Shock MD PhD

  Dr. Shock briefly reviews the problem with generic drugs looking different from brand-name medications.

• Using social media to improve awareness of clinical trials in rare lymphomas – PTCL | Pharma Strategy Blog

  Social media is making its way into clinical trials. Sally Church shares an MD Anderson Cancer Center video that describes the new trials they have open for a rare form of lymphoma, Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma (PTCL).

• Mayo Clinic launches social network to connect global Mayo Clinic community | Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media

  Mayo Clinic has been at the forefront of healthcare providers using social media. Now the organization has created an online site to connect the global Mayo Clinic community.

• Genomics and the Social Web: A Timeline | her Nature his Nurture

  Genetics counselor Allie Janson Hazell provides a timeline on the social aspects of genomics that illustrates the relationship between genomics and social media.

• A Clinical Search Engine | Blitter

  Blitter is a clinical search engine with content highlighted by clinicians who blog or tweet. If they think it's important enough to comment on, Blitter considers it great content.

Health Highlights is an occasionally recurring series focused on particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

• "Get Fit" Twitter Campaign by GE Healthcare | ScienceRoll

  Berci Mesko reports that GE Healthcare has launched a Twitter-based campaign that focuses on health tips for cancer. People can share their own health tips via Twitter using the #get_fit hashtag.

• AAFP Embraces Social Media | Family Medicine Rocks – Mike Sevilla, MD

  A big step for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Mike Sevilla notes that the medical specialty society, which represents more than 100,000 family physicians and medical students, is seeking a Social Media Manager.

• On Huffington Post: Top 10 Medical Research Trends to Watch in 2011 | FasterCures

  Margaret Anderson, Executive Director of FasterCures, recently reviewed the top 10 medical research trends to watch for in 2011.

• Why Men Should Care About Their Health | HealthTap

  Many of men's biggest health risks can be reduced simply by better understanding family health history and making healthier lifestyle choices. Jordanna Joaquina reviews the disease risks from a genetic perspective.

• Energy Drinks | Science-Based Pharmacy

  Are energy drinks candied caffeine delivery systems or are they skirting drug regulations? Scott Gavura reviews the ingredients, the risks and the regulation.

• Social media in healthcare: Who is going beyond the basics? | MedCityNews

  With hospitals increasingly turning to social media to connect with patients and get their messages out, here, are a few examples of innovative uses of social media in healthcare.

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

• Why the iPad Matters for Healthcare | The Health Care Blog

  The iPad has the potential to be truly useful for healthcare. Thomas Goetz offers an optimistic forecast.

• Health Tweeder. A Neat Visual Tool… But is it Useful? | Laika’s MedLibLog

  Jacqueline reviews Health Tweeder, a visual tool to aggregate twitter messages on specific health topics.

• How Risky Are Social Networking Sites for Kids | Dr Shock MD PhD

  The results of an online survey published in the journal Pediatrics found that claims of unwanted sexual solicitation or harassment associated with social networking sites don't appear justified. Dr Shock reviews the results.

• What is the difference between health and healthcare? | Jay Parkinson + MD + MPH = a doctor in NYC

  Jay Parkinson predicts what will happen when the business model of "sickcare" – transactions between payors and providers – becomes squeezed between federal and state regulations, and the implications of such an event for brands entering the health space.

• Exercise Reduces Anxiety In Sick Patients | Healthcare Hacks

  A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine finds that regular exercise can be effective at reducing anxiety. Fred Lee runs through the results.

• Even Though Adults Still Need 8.5 Hours of Sleep Each Night, Most People Sleep 6.5 | The Patient Report

  Cheree Cleghorn reviews the results of a recent poll on U.S. sleep habits and questions why we’re a nation of sleep-deprived people.

• Is Self-Guided Research Dangerous to Your Health? | The Decision Tree

  Thomas Goetz discusses self-guided or personalized research – patients using social media to decentralize and distribute health data, and using that information to make informed decisions.

• Worrying: WordPress shut down a Blog of a Student Critizing the Naturopath Christopher Maloney | Laika’s MedLibLog

  The complementary and alternative medicine movement has a great deal of influence over healthcare consumers. Jacqueline expresses worry over the tactics recently taken by alternative practitioners to silence critical science writers.

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

• Health Sites: Some Are More Equal Than Others | e-Patients.net

  One of Google’s initiatives is to guide consumers to credible health information. However, Google Health’s OneBox doesn’t treat all health sites the same.

• Alcohol causes cancer, and here’s the evidence | Cancer Research UK – Science Update

  Although everyone knows about the short-term effects of excessive drinking, the long-term effects are often overlooked. Ed Yong at Cancer Research UK discusses the science of alcohol and cancer.

• iPad For Medicine Is About The Software | Doctor Anonymous

  In the midst of excitement surrounding the Apple iPad, Dr. Anonymous reminds us that, when it comes to medicine, it’s all about the software.

• 5 Ideas About Feedback & Behavior Change, Supported by Evidence | The Decision Tree

  Thomas Goetz discusses the benefits of feedback and behavior change, and the research to support each claim.

• What kind of Internet user are you? | BPS Research Digest

  Does your Internet use reflect your personality? BPS Research Digest reviews a study that evaluated how people with certain personality types use the Web.

• Exercise Today, Reap The Benefits Later In Life! | Healthcare Hacks

  A new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that development of age-related chronic diseases and disabilities is not inevitable if people are physically active in their midlives.

• Andrew Wakefield “Acted Unethically” | NeuroLogica Blog

  Following a two-and-a-half year ethics investigation, the General Medical Council (GMC), which registers doctors to practice medicine in the UK, has concluded that Andrew Wakefield, the UK researcher who suggested a link between autism spectrum disorders and MMR vaccination, acted “dishonestly and irresponsibly” in his research.

• 17 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight | Mark’s Daily Apple

  Do you exercise? Are you currently on a diet but can’t seem to shed the pounds? Mark Sisson runs down the reasons you’re not losing weight.

• Two drugs show best treatment possibility for MS | Mind Hacks

  A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine reports on two new drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis that are more effective than existing modalities. Vaughan Bell reviews the findings.

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

• Journal of Participatory Medicine Launches at Connected Health | e-Patients.net

  A new academic journal is being launched this week. The Journal of Participatory Medicine will move the field from anecdote to science, with articles on principles, methods and evidence-based outcomes.

• Doctors have a duty to engage in social media | KevinMD.com

  This is how we fight health misinformation on the Web. Are you a physician, nurse or medical professional? It’s time to start using social media.

• What happens to neurology patients with symptoms “unexplained”? | BPS Research Digest

  What happens when neurology patients are told that their symptoms have no identifiable physical cause? Researchers followed patients for a year and a half to see if and how their diagnoses changed.

• Clean Those Surfaces! More Ways to Prevent Flu | Pulse + Signal

  No matter how many times you wash your hands, if your keyboard, desk or doorknob has flu germs on it, you have a problem.

• What the FDA sees that doctors and patients may never know | Schwitzer health news blog

  Gary Schwitzer notes a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine that focused on how critical drug information from the FDA may fail to be included on the drug label or in relevant journal articles.

• New PubMed Video (U of Manitoba) | davidrothman.net

  The PubMed website has been redesigned. David Rothman posts a short video tutorial showing where you can find some useful tools in the new interface.

• In The U.S., Where You Live Determines The Healthcare That You Get | Healthcare Hacks

  The State Scorecard study shows that there are wide variations among states in the areas of access, quality, cost, equity and ability to live long and healthy lives.

• More About Patients and the Press | Doctor David’s Blog

  Participatory medicine is a model of medical care in which the active role of the patient is emphasized. Some patients not only take an active role, they push the boundaries of medicine and publish a case report describing their experience.

• Side-effects from placebos can be drug specific | Mind Hacks

  Have you ever wondered if patients given a placebo during a clinical trial experience side effects? It turns out they do. What’s more, a recent study examining the side effects reported by patients taking placebos in clinical trials to test migraine medications found that the placebo side effects are specific to the side effects that would be expected from the comparison drug.