NEDA Hotline (Hyperlink) To properly understand anorexia nervosa, you’ve got to understand the historical background. The first recorded examples of human “self-starving” themselves – i.e. choosing to withhold food intake rather than having food intake being restricted by external factors (environment, competition, economics, etc.) – is during the spread of Christianity. The National Library of Medicine writes that Christian hermits believed in purification of the soul through self-starvation, to the point where a Roman girl died from starvation after believing the preaching of Saint Jerome. Catherine of Siena is a later example of self-starvation, during the 13-16th Centuries, where extreme … Continue reading Eating Disorders: History of Anorexia and Teens

First, let’s define the difference between “hard drugs” and “soft drugs.” In an article by Gateway Foundation, “The Difference Between Hard and Soft Drugs,” hard drugs are loosely defined as substances seen as “both potent and toxic” to a person’s … Continue reading “Hard Drugs” and Teens

There are a number of ethical concerns that come into play surrounding race-based choices on healthcare. In an article by Melina Kim, “Patients Choosing Healthcare Provider Based on Race: Ethical Issues and Considerations,” it is noted that patients are allowed … Continue reading Ethics of Patients Choosing their Healthcare Providers Based on Race

I came across a really cool application of CRISPR today, in Rob Stein’s NPR article, “First Sickle-Cell Patient Treated with CRISPR Gene-Editing Still Thriving.” If you’re interested, I highly suggest you give it a read — but I’ll summarize the findings here. Victoria Gray, a 36-year-old mom and wife, volunteered for a clinical trial where doctors took cells out of her bone marrow, edited a gene in those cells using CRISPR, and then reinfused the modified cells back into her body. The idea of this method was that the edited cells would produce a protein called fetal hemoglobin, and alleviate … Continue reading CRISPR Used to Treat Sickle-Cell Anemia