Category: science

  • FDA Approves Updated Covid-19 Vaccines to Better Protect Against Currently Circulating Variants

    FDA Approves Updated Covid-19 Vaccines to Better Protect Against Currently Circulating Variants

    On August 22, 2024, the FDA authorized new Covid-19 vaccines (2024-2025) “to include a monovalent (single) component that corresponds to the Omicron variant KP.2 strain of SARS-CoV-2. The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have been updated with this formula to more closely target currently circulating variants and provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization…

  • Thoughts on the Homeless Mentally Ill

    Thoughts on the Homeless Mentally Ill

    The homeless man who lives on the sidewalk outside our hotel reminds me of a couple of things. One is Dr. Gerard Clancy, MD who is University of Iowa Health Care Professor of Psychiatry, Professor of Emergency Medicine, and Senior Associate Dean of External Affairs. I remember Gerry, who was in the department of psychiatry…

  • Alcohol is Bad for Old Guys

    Alcohol is Bad for Old Guys

    I took a quick peek at the study published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that a few news agencies are reporting on which says alcohol in moderation is bad for older persons. So much for moderation. Actually, the full abstract is: Ortolá R, Sotos-Prieto M, García-Esquinas E, Galán I, Rodríguez-Artalejo F. Alcohol Consumption Patterns…

  • Thoughts About Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy

    Thoughts About Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy

    I read the Psychiatric Times article “FDA Issues CRL to Lykos for MDMA-Assisted Therapy.” The short story is that the FDA essentially told the drug company Lykos that their study of the efficacy of MDMA-assisted treatment of PTSD needs more work. I tried to wade through the on-line documents of the FDA’s meeting on June…

  • Verbal De-escalation: University of Colorado School of Medicine Video Series cont. Chapter 5

    Verbal De-escalation: University of Colorado School of Medicine Video Series cont. Chapter 5

    Simpson, Scott & Sakai, Joseph & Rylander, Melanie. (2019). A Free Online Video Series Teaching Verbal De-escalation for Agitated Patients. Academic Psychiatry. 44. 10.1007/s40596-019-01155-2.

  • Verbal De-escalation: University of Colorado School of Medicine Video Series cont. Chapter 4

    Verbal De-escalation: University of Colorado School of Medicine Video Series cont. Chapter 4

    Simpson, Scott & Sakai, Joseph & Rylander, Melanie. (2019). A Free Online Video Series Teaching Verbal De-escalation for Agitated Patients. Academic Psychiatry. 44. 10.1007/s40596-019-01155-2.

  • Verbal De-escalation: University of Colorado School of Medicine Video Series cont. Chapter 3

    Verbal De-escalation: University of Colorado School of Medicine Video Series cont. Chapter 3

    Simpson, Scott & Sakai, Joseph & Rylander, Melanie. (2019). A Free Online Video Series Teaching Verbal De-escalation for Agitated Patients. Academic Psychiatry. 44. 10.1007/s40596-019-01155-2.

  • Verbal De-escalation: University of Colorado School of Medicine Video Series cont. Chapter 2

    Verbal De-escalation: University of Colorado School of Medicine Video Series cont. Chapter 2

    This is Chapter 2 of the free verbal de-escalation video series. This one is “Basic elements of verbal de-escalation.” Simpson, Scott & Sakai, Joseph & Rylander, Melanie. (2019). A Free Online Video Series Teaching Verbal De-escalation for Agitated Patients. Academic Psychiatry. 44. 10.1007/s40596-019-01155-2.

  • CDC Covid Information

    CDC Covid Information

    Often, I see news agency headlines claiming to have insider information about what’s going on with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), FDA, etc. I respect the opinions of others about government agencies. On the other hand, I like to get information straight from the horse’s mouth. With that in mind, here’s what the CDC…

  • Are These Compass Flowers?

    Are These Compass Flowers?

    I have misidentified plenty of plants and the compass flower is one of them. We were walking the Clear Creek trail the other day and saw what I thought was a patch of compass flowers. See what you think, judging from the featured image. Anyway, I thought the flower itself pointed in a particular direction,…