A.
Dispelling The Myth Of Schizophrenia
Narrator:
This is Science Today. One of the most common misnomers
about schizophrenia, a severe mental illness, is
that it's associated with multiple personality.
University of California, Berkeley anthropologist
Karen Schmidt says the psychosis is almost never
associated with split personality.
Schmidt:
I think where that comes from is the word schism
..which means split and the word schizophrenia comes
from a Swiss psychiatrist who made that word up
to describe the illness and he was referring to
a split between the person's consciousness and reality.
Narrator:
Schmidt, who studied the cross-cultural aspects
of schizophrenia says compared to multiple personality
disorder, it's actually pretty common.
Schmidt:
The rate is about one in a hundred in the United
States and in many other places as well. And schizophrenia
has a number of features, it's a confusing illness
because we don't know exactly what causes it and
we can't treat it all the time and it's a very frustrating
illness.
Narrator:
Schizophrenia is marked by hallucinations, hearing
voices and delusions and is currently treated with
drugs and psychotherapy. For Science Today, I'm
Larissa Branin.
B.
What The Dentist Knows May Not Hurt You
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Contrary to popular belief,
trips to the dentist are not often that painful.
University of California, San Francisco research
scientist Allan Bassbaum says that's because dentists
commonly use local anesthetics, which block pain
signals from going to the spinal cord, where they
will be stored as a memory.
Bassbaum:
In a sense the dentist is way ahead of the game,
because when they do surgical procedures, in the
rare case they might use nitric oxide, but most
of the time what they're really doing is injecting
local anesthetics. That's the best way because the
local anesthetic makes sure that the spinal cord
or the teeth in the case of a dentist, never experiences
the injury that the dentist is inflicting.
Narrator:
While a local anesthetic may block neurotransmitters
from sending their messages of pain, Bassbaum says
it does not eliminate post-operative pain completely.
Bassbaum:
But the assumption is that the amount of post-operative
pain one would have would be a lot worse if you
did the procedure either without the local anesthetic
in the first place, or under general.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
The Future Role Of Behavioral Medicine
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Behavioral medicine, which
focuses on how a person's own behavior relates to
their health, is a growing field within the medical
community. While such research continues in the
area of heart disease and cancer, behavioral scientist
Margaret Chesney of the University of California,
San Francisco says new issues must also be addressed.
Chesney:
We should be thinking about what are the leading
causes of death and disability for people across
the lifespan and what is the importance of behavior
in those other arenas?
Narrator:
In little children for example, Chesney says the
leading cause of death and disability tends to be
accidents.
Chesney:
We should be doing research to see are there things
that we can do to reduce the incidents of accidents
and injuries.
Narrator:
And that includes looking into aspects of firearm
use.
Chesney:
This is a tremendous cause of disability and injury
to little people in our country and is this something
that medicine should be attentive to and is it something
that behavioral medicine should focus on? It's areas
like that where we can maybe make a big difference.
0:16
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
Managing Those Aches And Pains
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Arthritis is one of the leading
health problems today, affecting nearly 40 million
Americans. In order to better manage these aches
and pains, Dr. Nancy Lane of the University of California,
San Francisco says common misnomers about arthritis
must be addressed.
Lane:
If your joints hurt when you walk, then you stop
walking...that's a misconception. Probably another
misconception is that there's nothing that can help
it, so why take medicines.
Narrator:
Instead, Lane says symptoms can be alleviated by
a combination of anti-inflammatory medicines and
non-medical treatment, such as exercise and weight
control.
Lane:
If you weigh too much, it's gonna hurt your joints
when you walk around. So you better stay at a recommended
weight, that's what's going to help your arthritis.
Narrator:
And as for exercising ...
Lane:
If your joints hurt, your knees hurt, you shouldn't
be jogging. Low impact exercises or water aerobics
or swimming ... the type of things that strengthen
the muscles around your joint without making the
joints become more painful is the most helpful.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
How To Reduce Radiation Exposure At The Dentist
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Dental x-rays, are key to
diagnosing and treating a patient's condition. But
Dr. Stuart White, who heads UCLA's Oral Radiology
Department, says patients should work with their
dentist to minimize their radiation exposure.
White:
The name of the game is getting the most diagnostic
information with the least amount of radiation.
The amount of radiation one gets from a dental x-ray
exposure is very low. But it's not zero.
Narrator:
White recommends patients bring records of old x-rays
to new dentists and be aware of tools of the trade,
such as film speed..
White:
Dentists have been using D speed film, but for about
the last ten years, there's a new type of film called
E speed film, and it requires only half the exposure
of D speed film.
Narrator:
Another tip, is to ask if your dentist uses rectangular
collimation, which reduces radiation exposure.
White:
You know your dentist is using rectangular collimation
when the shape of the tube coming from the x-ray
machine pointed towards your jaw is a rectangle,
rather than a large circle.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
