Social Media and Health Resources

neal — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:11:57 +0000

Everybody seems to be getting quite excited about health and social media. It’s worth reading some of the original publications that the paper’s are quoting.. they provide interesting insights, and the scientific evidence base that’s being used is perhaps not quite a tight as it could/should be..

Aric Sigman kicks it offÂ in The Biologist | Guardian Comment (worth reading) | BBC Comment

House of Lords Debate with Baroness Greenfield (infantilising minds, etc) | Guardian Comment

Newsnight interview withÂ Ben Goldacre (who also has a blog post about it), Aric Sigman and Baroness Greenfield (good old Jeremy..)

and my favourite quote so far from mind hacks:

What is it about mentioning the internet that makes the press lose their marbles? I blame it on not using the internet…

Not quite Werewolves

neal — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:03:02 +0000

A little bit of bizarre research from just around the corner in at the Western Imfirmary, Glasgow..

There were 7219 admissions during the study period, comprising 167 complete lunar cycles. Stroke admissions were evenly spread throughout lunar phases (P=.72). Admission with medically unexplained stroke symptoms was significantly increased during full moon phases (P=.023). There was no variation in admission rates during other significant dates.
CONCLUSION: There was a statistically significant association between admission to the acute stroke unit with a diagnosis of medically unexplained stroke symptoms and lunar phase. ( Ahmad F, Quinn TJ, Dawson J, Walters M Journal of Psychosomatic Research 65(2):131-3 2008)

so more people have Medically Unexplained Stoke Symptoms (MUSS) at the time of the full moon… what do you think?

limn » health

Social Media and Health Resources

Not quite Werewolves