Category: Health-Care

Should I Enter a Clinical Trial?

~ Bernie K. ~ Leave a comment

pillsWe have all seen the ads on TV, heard them on the radio or read about them in a magazine. There are many clinical trials being conducted all the time devoted to the study of numerous conditions and potential treatments for them. It is likely that whatever condition you or a loved one may be dealing with, somewhere there is a clinical trial being conducted.  Maybe you or someone you know has been asked to enter a clinical trial. Perhaps your doctor suggested it, and since nothing else seems to be working, you think, perhaps, it would be a good idea. You may be asking yourself “should I?” or “shouldn’t I?”  In order to answer that question it is important to understand the nature of clinical trials and how participating in one will affect your life.

In this four part series we will address:

  • What clinical trials are all about and how they work.
  • Who are the beneficiaries.
  • An example of what happened in one case.
  • What to consider before deciding to enter one.

If you allow yourself or a loved one to “enter” a clinical trial it is important that you understand what you are doing, what is involved and what you can expect. Moreover, it is also important to recognize that the stakeholders have a significant vested interest in your participation. In this series of posts, it is our objective is to help you understand the likely consequences — the benefits and the costs — beforehand. Hopefully, we can help you make the decision that will be best for you. Please post your stories, insights and experiences. We always enjoy hearing from our readers.

 

 

Variation in the Ability to Perform

~ Bernie K. ~ Leave a comment

thinkerFrom the time he was 10, my son, Paul, understood the relation between decision and action better than almost anyone I’ve ever known. Edie, my ex-wife, and I had just split up and I was living in what I thought would be a temporary apartment on the Parkway in Philadelphia. Paul came to visit for the first time and we were sitting on the grass in the shadow of Rodin’s The Thinker. Sad faced, Paul turned to me, “Dad, is it okay if we invite Ted?” He was Paul’s good friend who lived in Northeast Philly. “Sure,” I said. Paul lit up like a Christmas tree. A few minutes later the sad face was back again. “Okay, Paul, what is it now?” “Well, you said we could invite him!” Paul also had a fine understanding of process. He knew just what it took to get things done. Once he decided on something he went ahead and did it — until the job was complete. Again, no gap between decision and action.

Contrast that with his behavior at lunchtime. We settled in at a restaurant, menus in front of us. Sad face once again, he couldn’t decide what he wanted. My suggestions don’t help. Paul is hungry and unable to make a choice. Paul’s complex machine – we call it the body – which ordinarily has no problems making decisions and choices has broken down. Paul is very hungry. That’s the machine’s way of telling him it had been deprived of inputs and that because of that it couldn’t make decisions. It needed inputs – food – first. The human body is not always in the same, uniform steady-state condition, always ready to perform whatever tasks are required at the same level of efficiency. In order to function it requires a flow of the right inputs – water, food, rest, shelter, etc. – in the appropriate amounts over time. When it has them, it is capable of peak performance.

How often has this happened to you? You go to bed with a question on your mind. For example, you can’t remember a person’s name. In your mind’s eye you can see her face. You remember your last time together. But, for the life of you, you can’t recall her name. You fall asleep and wake up refreshed. And her name, Pat, pops up into your head. You think to yourself, “Why couldn’t I remember that last night?” If you think about it, the answer is simple. In order to be a well-functioning machine the body required one of the basic inputs — rest.

The Internal Adjustment System: A closer look

~ Bernie K. ~ Leave a comment

The Internal Adjustment System: A closer look

Let’s look at the body as a self-regulating machine to see how it functions to maintain body temperature. Its ability to do that is dependent upon the energy and other inputs required. They must be available. When the system is working the body is able to perform the tasks and produce the outputs required of it. As with all other mammals, a primary function – one necessary for survival – is maintaining its body temperature. For humans typically that is 98.6°F. Humans have developed a bodily system that enables it to maintain that temperature. They are able to do that in spite of considerable variation in the temperature in the external environment. Let us define what we will call the ideal external temperature. It is one that requires the body to expend the least amount of effort and energy to maintain its internal temperature. Let’s assume that it is 68°F. Any lower outside temperature requires more energy. As does any higher one to cool the body off. Continue reading “The Internal Adjustment System: A closer look” →

Viewing the Body as a Complex Machine and Part of a Production Process

~ Bernie K. ~ 4 Comments

By recognizing that the body functions like a complex machine, one that is an integral part in the production process of any activity we engage in, it is possible to develop an improved understanding of the body’s role in the recovery process and the likely benefits and costs of any diagnostic or therapeutic intervention.

In order to survive, mammalians must able to adapt to the environment. Humans are no exception. Doing so requires getting enough pure air, clean water, food, rest, clothing and shelter to maintain their body temperature and perform other necessary functions. They must also be able to protect themselves and their offspring from the elements, any predators and poisonous or infectious agents. Survival requires being able to do that from day-to-day and year-to-year, over one cycle into the next and from one generation to the next. Survival also mandates that they adapt to changes in the physical, social and cultural environment. On a daily basis the first order of business is to provide ourselves with enough water, air, food, rest and shelter — the basic inputs — to sustain ourselves. As humans, we have developed mechanisms to help accomplish that. (See David Attenborough, The Life of Mammals)

First let us develop a clearer understanding of how the body is like a complex machine and how it is an input in any production processes of any tasks or functions we, as humans perform. From that perspective we will see how that influences the understanding of our interaction with and relationship to the health-care system. Continue reading “Viewing the Body as a Complex Machine and Part of a Production Process” →