Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The 5 worst teachers as medical students

Medical students face many hours of study and preparation for exams ... so hope these 5 teachers do not get in their way while they are in college!

1. Scientific
Professor of medicine is that everything becomes a scientific success, and when we say everything is everything. He explains everything in a thorough way, and knows explain whatever you ask, but gets even sex becomes something rare when it is he who explains.

2. Creative
It's that teacher that even though you went to class every day, you have the best medical notes of the class and you've done your practice again and again, when the test will get suspended. You and 96% of the class. Why? Why is an innovative teacher exam day decides to put a new thousand times more complicated case of those who have been resolved in class ...

3. The Artistic
Sometimes you wonder if Roy was Linchtenstein in his other life and is reviving in medicine classes its most abstract stage. Why? Because I love to draw and make diagrams of molecules on the board. All good if not for such schemes you understand nothing more ...

200Los 5 peores profesores según los estudiantes de biología

4. unmotivated
Professor of medicine is one that has no desire to teach at the university, but by professional issues are practically forced to do so. Its air is transmitted unmotivated medical students going to class without really understanding why. Demotivated total environment.

estudiar medicina

5. The paranoid
It is one teacher who transmits to his medical students paranoid state in which it is located. You can not touch anything because surely you catch any infectious disease, you can not go to that room dressed as you go because it's too dangerous ... A stress 

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Video: What is Acromegaly?


Contribution by Madelen Arenas club memberships white coat

Scanning the Horizon: Advances in Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer - Page 3

“Only when you need to deliver a big radiobiological punch — like when the disease is aggressive — do you go with HDR, typically not for early-stage prostate cancer,” says Dorin Todor, director of the brachytherapy program at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center in Richmond. “I think this is where brachytherapy combined with EBRT really shines.

These rules of thumb may be changing, though. According to Todor, “There are ongoing clinical trials trying to prove the equivalence between LDR treatments and one large fraction of HDR for early-stage prostate cancer. Both have the advantage of being a ‘one-stop shop,’ but during HDR, radiation is delivered for only 10 to 15 minutes, as opposed to months or years.”

Radiation can also be delivered directly to bone metastases via radiopharmaceuticals — drugs that contain radioactive elements — in patients with advanced prostate cancer. These drugs are a particularly useful approach when multiple areas of bone are involved. They can shrink painful lesions and improve quality of life with less exposure to normal tissue.

In May 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Xofigo (radium-223) to treat bone metastases, and a study published in July 2013 in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that those receiving Xofigo had improved median overall survival (14.9 months) compared with those on placebo (11.3 months).

Although there are many radiation treatment options, with the guidelines continuing to evolve, Levy is pleased that he chose HDR brachytherapy for his localized tumor.

“I didn’t want to take any chances,” he says. “Two days of treatment meant that I would likely not have any problems down the road.”

Contribution by Yaribeth Galvez club memberships white coat

Scanning the Horizon: Advances in Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer - Page 2

One option for men with locally advanced prostate cancer (in which lymph nodes or other nearby tissues are involved) is radiation therapy plus hormonal therapy, which several studies have shown is more effective at fighting the cancer than hormonal therapy alone. In addition, men with this condition and a higher risk of recurrence should be informed that radiation therapy after a radical prostatectomy decreases their risk of cancer recurrence or progression, according to national guidelines issued in May 2013. Issued jointly by the American Society for Radiation Oncology and the American Urological Association, the guidelines also state that doctors should offer “salvage radiotherapy” to patients whose PSA levels rise, or who have a local recurrence after prostatectomy but show no evidence of distant metastases.

In 2015, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) issued new guidelines for patients. These guidelines recommend EBRT as a staple of treatment for men with various stages of the disease: as a first-line treatment for those at low risk for developing metastatic disease and who are expected to live 10 years after diagnosis; as a first-line or adjuvant therapy for many categories of men at intermediate risk, and for many groups of men with high-risk disease.

Many Types of EBRT

Most radiation options fall under the umbrella of EBRT, which is typically administered over a seven- to nine-week period, according to the ACS. Among EBRT therapies, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is the most common and has been adopted extensively over the past 15 years. This approach uses a machine that moves around the patient, shaping the beams and aiming them from several angles. In this way, the dose of radiation can be adjusted, directing higher doses to the places where there are cancerous cells.

Other high-tech options include three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), image-guided radiation therapy and intensity-modulated arc therapy. The shared element among these therapies is a careful mapping of the exact size, shape and location of the prostate gland and tumor using imaging tests, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans or X-rays. This information helps doctors determine precisely where to aim higher and lower doses of radiation for maximum effectiveness and minimum side effects. One recent comparative study showed that IMRT offers a disease-control advantage over 3D-CRT.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), which is often referred to by the names of the machines that administer the radiation, including CyberKnife, Gamma Knife and X-Knife, is a form of EBRT that delivers large doses of radiation to the prostate. Although the benefit of SBRT is that its entire treatment course is days and not several weeks, some studies have shown side effects to be worse with this form of therapy.

Another promising, yet controversial, form of EBRT is proton beam therapy, which aims protons (the heavy, positive parts of atoms) at tumors and releases their energy after traveling a specific distance, thereby causing less damage to tissues they pass through. Although research is inconclusive about whether proton therapy reduces sexual complications, one study did find that men aged 60 or younger treated with this modality experienced little sexual dysfunction; in comparison with the findings of other studies cited in the paper, the amount of dysfunction was comparable to that in populations treated with EBRT in general, but better than that in men treated with prostatectomy.

But other research has suggested limited advantages of proton therapy. A 2012 study comparing IMRT with proton therapy found that the newer therapy was no more effective in getting cancer in check. In addition, experts warn that proton beam therapy is not only more expensive than other forms of radiation (primarily due to costly machinery), but also might not be the best choice to treat prostate cancer because “critical structures, such as the rectum and urethra, will still get radiation no matter how perfect your particle is,” Yu explains.

LDR AND HDR Brachytherapy Round Out Options

Men with early stage, slow-growing tumors who would prefer fewer radiation treatments — or even just a single treatment — might be candidates for traditional brachytherapy, which places radioactive seeds directly, and permanently, into the prostate gland during a short surgical procedure. Radiation is then delivered slowly, for months, at a low-dose rate (LDR); eventually, the seeds lose their radioactivity.

HDR brachytherapy, a newer approach, is administered through temporary catheters, in which a high-activity source is placed for just minutes to deliver HDR radiation.

Photo by Liza Bishop, VCU Massey Cancer Center
[Photo by Liza Bishop, VCU Massey Cancer Center]
Experts have placed some caveats on these treatments. Current guidelines from the NCCN recommend that brachytherapy as a standalone treatment be limited to low-risk or intermediate-risk cases. 







Contribution by Yaribeth Galvez club memberships white coat

Scanning the Horizon: Advances in Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer - Page 1

After James Levy finished his high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy to treat his localized prostate cancer, he celebrated by getting a tattoo that included the StandUp2Cancer logo, the date his treatment ended and the word “radioactive.” It was his way of acknowledging his successful treatment with this relatively new approach.

“I’m a big fan of HDR brachytherapy,” says Levy, of Richmond, Va. “I went in Friday and was back at work on Monday. There was nothing to it.”

HDR brachytherapy, which involves placing strong sources of radioactivity in or near the cancerous tissue for a few minutes and then removing them, joins other, more established forms of radiation as a treatment option.

These techniques include one other type of brachytherapy and many forms of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), which sends beams of radiation into the prostate from outside the body. In addition, for men whose prostate cancer has metastasized to the bone, a fairly new radiopharmaceutical is available. These approaches give patients a variety of choices if they select radiation treatment as either a first-line or follow-up therapy.

The common variable that internal and external radiation share is their increasing ability to deliver higher doses to the prostate while reducing exposure to nearby healthy tissues. Nonetheless, the treatments can cause side effects, including temporary fatigue or later development of permanent urinary incontinence, bowel problems and erectile dysfunction, among others.

For Levy, 57, who completed treatment about a year ago, side effects have not been an issue. “I’ve had none of the common long-term effects, like incontinence, erectile dysfunction or bowel issues,” says Levy. This is likely because of HDR’s ability to direct radiation specifically at the tumor and avoid nearby tissue and organs — and its short duration.

Photo by Liza Bishop, VCU Massey Cancer Center
To treat his localized prostate cancer, James Levy chose high-dose-rate brachytherapy, and has not experienced any long-term side effects. [Photo by Liza Bishop, VCU Massey Cancer Center]
While that outcome is compelling, HDR may not be right for everyone. In fact, sifting through possibilities to arrive at the best radiation option for each patient can be challenging, says James B. Yu, a radiation oncologist at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. The decision, he says, is as individual as the man and his cancer.

“It depends on what you’re looking at — cure rates or complications,” he says. “Patients care about some complications more than others, such as erectile dysfunction, so the choice of treatment is intensely personal.”

Questions about the relative value of newer radiation methods may, in particular, give men pause.

For instance, in administering EBRT, “Physicians are looking at shortening the number of radiation treatments by increasing the dose per treatment,” Yu explains. He says there continues to be concern that giving more intense radiation treatments, even if there aren’t as many, could be more toxic overall. Adding to the confusion is that current research is mixed, highlighting “the complexity of comparing these treatments and saying that one is better than the other.”

Yu urges patients to learn as much as they can about the pros and cons of various treatments before making a decision, and to discuss any questions they might have with their health care providers. Levy agrees, adding that “the Internet makes it possible to become really well-informed.”

When is Radiation Appropriate?

For men with localized prostate cancer (meaning it hasn’t spread outside the gland), often the first step after diagnosis is choosing between active surveillance (particularly for lower-grade tumors, as indicated by the level of prostate-specific antigen [PSA] in a man’s blood and the Gleason score doctors use to describe aggressiveness); surgery to remove the prostate gland (called a radical prostatectomy), or radiation therapy. If a man has localized prostate cancer and plans to undergo treatment, he should know that surgery and radiation are considered equally effective when it comes to preventing the advancement of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society

Contribution by Yaribeth Galvez club memberships white coat

Monday, September 7, 2015

5 ticks suffering medical students

A medical students are united not only billet notes ... you have to study these 5 tics also suffering most of them! You too wrong?

1. Tic notes
Medical students have a tic that affects his notes. It is the tic of taking notes with a green pen. Do not you know why? Because that any medical student can photocopy the notes because the copy will not be anything that is written ...

2. tic aloud
Medical students studying blooms and billets medical notes which tend to memorize and then repeat aloud. This mania affects medical students and sometimes in their daily lives talking to themselves.

5 tics que padecen los estudiantes de medicina

3. Tic diseases
The medical student will look several times a week in the mirror looking at your body any symptoms of the diseases that have explained to them that week in class. If you do not, it's likely to end up imaginándoselos.

4. Tic Family
It is also called as "tic no". It is that as your relatives come asking some questions about your medical record or a symptom of a disease that apparently believe tic ... you only let you answer one thing: "no". Sometimes accompanied by a: "I'm not a doctor," "I do not care I will not serve" or "to go to the doctor first have to make an appointment."

5 tics que padecen los estudiantes de medicina

5. Tic coverall

A medical student has the tic of her robe, either white, green or color it. The tic is to want to wear the gown 24 hours a day, even when the hallway of his house. It is a tic linked to self esteem, as the medical student is convinced that the fact of wearing this robe will automatically give a certain status.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Important Human Organs and their functionality presented with the help of GIFs

Human anatomy is a scientific study of human body systems and the internal organs. Organs are the reason that our body functions properly. There are 22 organs in the human body and each organ has its own specific function. Although an organ has a specific function, organs also function as part of a group, called an organ system. The organ system is the organizational unit by which medicine is studied, diseases are generally categorized, and treatments are planned. The article features the animations of the organs that have the utmost importance in the human body.

1) Brain

Image Courtesy: www.worldlifeexpectancy.com
Image Courtesy: georgi-georgiev.com
This organ is the master of all the actions and the organs in the human body. It is located in the head, usually close to the primary sensory organs for senses such as vision, hearing, balance, taste, and smell. In humans the largest part of the brain contains 15–33 billion brain cells known as neurons. These neurons communicate with one another by means of long fibers called axons, carrying trains of signal pulses to distant parts of the brain or body targeting specific cells.

2) Heart

Image Courtesy: bmelab.ou.edu
Heart is an important organ of the human body without which human survival is next to impossible. It acts like a pump which circulates blood in the body. Blood containing carbon dioxide is provided to lungs for the exchange of gases whereas blood containing oxygen is supplied to the human body through veins. A normal heart usually weighs 250 – 350 grams and is about the size of a fist.

3) Lungs

Image Courtesy: www.netanimations.net
Being the most important organ related to respiratory system, these organs are located on the either sides of the heart. They are like air bags. Breathing in, expands them and breathing out contracts them. Their function is to exchange oxygen with the carbon dioxide present in blood.

You may also like these Educational GIFs:

4) Liver

Image Courtesy: embryology.med.unsw.edu.au
Image Courtesy: www.surgery.usc.edu
Liver is one of the most important organ and the largest gland of the body weighing 1.5 kg. It is located in the central position of the abdomen. It receives 30 % of the blood every minute. It has importance which is crucial to one’s life like storing of vitamins, sugar and iron to give body energy, controlling the production and removal of cholesterol, clearing the blood of waste products, drugs, and other poisonous substances. It also releases and important substance called “bile “which is necessary to digest food and absorb nutrients.

5) Stomach

Image Courtesy: gifsoup.com
Playing an important role in the digestive system, this organ lies between food pipe and the small intestine. It releases enzymes, acids and gastric juices which help in digestion by breaking food into smaller segments and converting them into breakable and adaptable organic substances.

6) Kidney

Image Courtesy: gifsoup.com  Image Courtesy: renux.dmed.ed.ac.uk
These bean shaped organs, located in the abdominal cavity, are essential for the urinary system. They deal with the essential liquids in the body. You can say that they work as water purifiers. They filter the water present in the body. The unwanted fluid is passed out where as the desired part is regulated in the body. Not only do they clean water, but they also act as filter for cleaning blood.

You may also like these Educational GIFs:

7) Eyes

 Image Courtesy: archive.org
Image Courtesy: www.klbict.co.uk
These round shaped organs work as a communication medium. What you see is converted into electro-chemical pulses that can be read by neurons (or the brain cells) and thus produce the desired action.

8) Intestines

Image Courtesy: dxndrrathnam.blogspot.com
Image Courtesy: gifsoup.com
These organs are like pipes that connect stomach to anus. They release gastric juices and other liquids which separate the unwanted materials from the digestive food.

9) Spleen

Image Courtesy: teachingcases.hematology.org
Image Courtesy: www.merckmanuals.com
Spleen is an organ which most of us don’t pay attention to.  Spleen is a vascular organ that contains many fluids and blood which is circulated inside the body. It recognizes and removes old, malformed, or damaged red blood cells. Spleen filters out worn out cells and in the process of destroying these cells, spleen breaks them down and returns the needed iron back to the body. Spleen is even used to store platelets and it even manufactures red blood cells, which are necessary at the last month of fetal life.

10) Pancreas

 Image Courtesy: gifsoup.com
Image Courtesy: oeasis.deviantart.com
Ever imagined that pancreas was also an important organ. It is located in the abdomen and it helps in the conversion of food into fuel for body cells. The pancreas also regulates blood sugar and does this through its process of creating insulin. The pancreas also creates glucagon which has the opposite effect of insulin and also helps to maintain blood sugar levels.

You may also like these Educational GIFs: