Getting the Haves to Come out Behind: Fixing the Distributive Injustices of American Health Care

Hyman criticizes an article by Havighurst and Richman regarding the distributive injustices of US health care. Hyman also offers a guide for implementing policy reforms based on the analysis by Havighurst and Richman

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Hippocampal Activation During Silent Mantra Meditation

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to investigate whether moderately experienced meditators activate hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex during silent mantra meditation, as has been observed in earlier studies on subjects with several years of practice. Methods: Subjects with less than 2 years of meditation practice according to the Kundalini yoga or Acem tradition were examined by functional magnetic resonance imaging during silent mantra meditation, using an on-off block design. Whole-brain as well as region-of-interest analyses were performed. Results: The most significant activation was found in the bilateral hippocampus/parahippocampal formations. Other areas with significant activation were the bilateral middle cingulate cortex and the bilateral precentral cortex. No activation in the anterior cingulate cortex was found, and only small activation clusters were observed in the prefrontal cortex. Conclusions: In conclusion, the main finding in this study was the significant activation in the hippocampi, which also has been correlated with meditation in several previous studies on very experienced meditators. We propose that the hippocampus is activated already after moderate meditation practice and also during different modes of meditation, including relaxation. The role of hippocampal activity during meditation should be further clarified in future studies, especially by investigating whether the meditation-correlated hippocampal activity is related to memory consolidation.Original Publication: Maria Engström, Johan Pihlsgård, Peter Lundberg and Birgitta Axelsson Söderfeldt, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Hippocampal Activation During Silent Mantra Meditation, 2010, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, (16), 12, 1253-1258. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/acm.2009.0706 Copyright: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. http://www.liebertpub.com/</p

Mantra meditation suppression of default mode beyond an active task : a pilot study

Within the field of neuroimaging, the discovery of a constellation of brain regions silently active when we are “resting” has provided a new view into the elusive effects of meditative practice. This network, called the default mode network (DMN), has been shown by functional neuroimaging to be active when an individual is at rest. Meta-analyses of the fMRI neurocorrelates of meditation have shown that across diverse practices, the most common general effect appears to be modulation of regions within the DMN. The specific ..

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Longitudinal study of cognitive function in glioma patients treated with modern radiotherapy techniques and standard chemotherapy

Introduction: Cognitive function is an important outcome measure in patients with brain tumor, providing information about the patient’s clinical situation, treatment effects and possible progressive disease. The aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate effects of the currently used radiation and chemotherapy treatment on cognitive function and to investigate associations between cognitive function at baseline and progression as well as overall survival. Methods: 32 patients newly diagnosed with malignant glioma were evaluated at baseline with CNS Vital Signs (CNS-VS), a computerized standardized neuropsychological test battery, prior to arc-based radiotherapy and concomitant chemotherapy with Temozolomide. CNS-VS measures the cognitive functions known to be affected in patients with brain tumor, covering nine cognitive domains. Follow-up cognitive evaluations were performed in 26 patients after 3.5 months and in 13 patients 1 year after treatment start. Results: Overall cognitive scores were lower in the studied patient cohort at baseline compared to standardized domain scores. At 3.5 months follow-up cognitive functioning was slightly decreased, but only in 1/9 cognitive domains–visual memory–where significant changes were found compared to baseline test results. Similarly, at 12 months follow-up no significant changes in cognitive test results were seen compared to baseline examination, except for a decrease in the visual memory domain. In relation to early progression, the most significant cognitive deficits were dysfunctional visual memory and low executive functioning at baseline. Low executive function at baseline correlated most significantly with shorter overall survival. Conclusion: The present study suggests that the currently used arc-based radiotherapy and chemotherapy might affect cognitive function less negatively than previously described during treatment and in the first year after treatment in malignant glioma patients. In general, a high cognitive test score at baseline was associated with longer time to progression and with longer survival

Разработка приложений для мобильных устройств

A prerequisite for successful clinical use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is the selection of an appropriate imaging sequence. In this paper, 2D and 3D fMRI sequences were compared using different image quality assessment methods. Descriptive image measures, such as activation volume and temporal signal-to-noise ratio (TSNR), were compared with results from Visual Grading Characteristics (VGC) analysis of the fMRI results. It was found that significant differences in activation volume and TSNR were not directly reflected by differences in VGC scores. The results suggest that better performance on descriptive image measures is not always an indicator of improved diagnostic quality of the fMRI results. In conclusion, in addition to descriptive image measures, it is important to include measures of diagnostic quality when comparing different fMRI data acquisition methods.The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com: Mattias Ragnehed, Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard, Johan Pihlsgård, Staffan Wirell, Hannibal Sökjer, Patrik Fägerstam, Bo Jiang, Örjan Smedby, Maria Engström and Peter Lundberg, Visual Grading of 2D and 3D fMRI compared to image based descriptive measures, 2010, European Radiology, (20), 3, 714-724. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00330-009-1578-0 Copyright: Springer Science Business Media http://www.springerlink.com/</p

Visual Grading of 2D and 3D fMRI compared to image based descriptive measures

A prerequisite for successful clinical use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is the selection of an appropriate imaging sequence. In this paper, 2D and 3D fMRI sequences were compared using different image quality assessment methods. Descriptive image measures, such as activation volume and temporal signal-to-noise ratio (TSNR), were compared with results from Visual Grading Characteristics (VGC) analysis of the fMRI results. It was found that significant differences in activation volume and TSNR were not directly reflected by differences in VGC scores. The results suggest that better performance on descriptive image measures is not always an indicator of improved diagnostic quality of the fMRI results. In conclusion, in addition to descriptive image measures, it is important to include measures of diagnostic quality when comparing different fMRI data acquisition methods.The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com: Mattias Ragnehed, Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard, Johan Pihlsgård, Staffan Wirell, Hannibal Sökjer, Patrik Fägerstam, Bo Jiang, Örjan Smedby, Maria Engström and Peter Lundberg, Visual Grading of 2D and 3D fMRI compared to image based descriptive measures, 2010, European Radiology, (20), 3, 714-724. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00330-009-1578-0 Copyright: Springer Science Business Media http://www.springerlink.com/</p