Getting Research Articles for yourself

This post is dedicated to walking you through and possibly ordering the latest (or any) research papers available. Unfortunately, without the access privileges of a large school or university, it can be limited and costly.

All the latest research is almost always published in scientific journals. There are hundreds of journals out there covering the broadest subject ranges.

A caveat:
Remember, good quality and poor quality research can both be published. Journals like Science and Nature as well as many of the medical society journals are among the best when it comes to quality research. Many of these top journals have some serious, serious approval requirements and scrutiny when it comes to being published in their annals. That being said, good research and poor research can pop up everywhere. Assuming the authors have been honest, there is still a critical mind that is necessary (usually developed through rigorous academic training) to evaluate the reserach itself to deem it worthy. Even many doctors today don't have this training to contrast good studies from bad. Unfortunately, neither does the media, and this is why we always hear stories that are way out there. How many times have you heard news headlines like this . . . "chocolate can protect you from heart disease" or "X ingredient can help you prevent cancer"? Unfortunately, too much. Most of these headline making studies are so flawed, that they are really just a joke, but, hey, as long as some researcher published something somewhere, its fodder for the media beast.

Another Caveat:
This is about the limited availability of research articles to the public. I am going to show you in this post how to search for articles on anything that you want, however, that doesn't mean that you'll be able to just click and receive. Many of these articles are available only if you either subscribe to that journal (hundreds of dollars a year for just one subscription) or are willing to purchase the article (through a convoluted system that is expensive and time delayed).

Okay, so after those gloomy words here is a possible upside. If you have access or are part of a college or university (especially a larger research university) your science library should carry many of the journals you may be looking for. However, for the most extensive availability, only the best-endowed school libraries will have this voluminous catalog. Okay, maybe another caveat, most universities are going electronic with all their journals anyway, so if you aren't officially a student/faculty member, you probably won't have access, since the libraries are doing away with the print issues of the journals!

So, for the smallest number of you that have made it this far in the post here's what you can do. You'll have to search PubMed. I have carried a link for this, check under the section entitles "Dr. David Loves . . . these links of truth" on the left sidebar of this blog. Now this should open up PubMed.

Here's the easy part, just type in whatever you are looking for! Some suggestions: be specific for what you are looking for. I suggest entering ONLY keywords, and as many keywords that MUST be in the articles you are searching for.

Okay, so you have a bunch of results that pop up. If you're looking for something general, let's say, latest treatments for psoriasis or skin cancer, I suggest once you get the results, click on "Review" and this will give you what are known as "Review articles" which are articles that have actually gone through a bunch of other articles and published an overview or a "Review" articles with the information from a bunch of articles available in that field. It's more bang for your buck.

If you're looking for something really, really specific, you might not find as many Review articles available, so you can just stick to the "All" section which is the default.

Now, just cause you can't obtain the full article, you can get the gist of it by looking at what is called the 'abstract'. Go to the Display dropbox and click on "Abstract" and the titles will expand showing you the abstracts. This is a kind of "summary" illustrating the major points of the study and usually the conclusion as well. You can kind of get the whole point of the study in the conclusion. But BE WARNED: it's not very scientifically accurate to assume the author's conclusion is either correct or valid. There is no way to know for sure what the value (if any) is of the study without scrutinizing the whole article, especially the study methods, conduct, and approach.

Unfortunately, unless you have full access (through an institution that pays the heavy fees for jounal access), this is all you get. You can not see the whole article. Rarely some journals have some articles available, if so, you will see a link saying so and you can click and open up the whole thing.

So, you've found an article you just MUST have?!?! Or you really want to start actually getting these articles, but don't have access to them. Unfortunately, your options are limited. But here they are.

1. You can contact the publisher of that journal and request a free copy/fax of the study, they will usually oblige (I can't vouch for this, but I've heard from collegues they will do this). You can also contact the author, although I wouldn't recommend this.

2. One sure fire way to get them is through something called Loansome Doc. This is a service that allows you to sign up with a local medical library to get copies of the article from them. Like I said before, this isn't so simple. You may have to apply first to the library to be approved, some charge a deposit as well. And then you should find out how much the library charges for each article and what methods of delivery are available (fax, email, physical pick-up). Some charge outrageous rates of up to $20 or more per article. So, if you want to start that endeveor anyway, just click here and find out all there is to Loansome Doc.

I'm sorry this is such an unhelpful post, but when I found out just how difficult is was for the lay person not associate with an institution to get a significant number of articles at east, I was very upset. Ideally, it would be nice to have this knowledge and information available to the mass public. I think a nice change would be to completely overhaul the "loansom doc" service and integrate it into the pubmed searches better than it is now. It's quite cumbersome.

Well, hope this helps for those of you that can afford price requried of opening the gates of knowledge :-) Not to digress, but kids these days have it much better, I remember in college (it wasn't that long ago) I had to dig through the stacks of publications past to track down specific articles. Today, all I have to do is just go to PubMed through my University and in one click I have the whole article right there. WOW, it's nice to see techonology improving lives (and saving time and effort). Now if just everyone could have access!

Athletes & the Coodies: Resistant Staph Infections

Here's a story from the American Academy of Dermatology. Microorganisms resistant to antibiotics have been on the rise for years now and is a major concern in most hospitals and to the community at large. This is an interesting look into how these nasty bugs are affecting us in our daily lives. This example is one concerning athletes, especially those sharing facilities (locker rooms, showers) as well as equipment. Hey, I've always, had a thing for community showers, and I developed a habit of always wearing flip-flops whenever I had to use them. I encourage any one else to do the same!

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly referred to as MRSA, is a type of staph that causes infections resistant to a class of common antibiotics that includes methicillin, penicillin, amoxicillin and oxacillin. While MRSA infections were traditionally associated with extended hospital stays, they are now becoming more common in everyday life. In fact, this newer form of MRSA known as community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) can affect otherwise healthy individuals without any recent healthcare-related issues – raising fears that the infection can strike anyone, anywhere or anytime.

Now, dermatologists are finding that MRSA infections have become increasingly common among people participating in sports, including high school and college athletes. In the report entitled, “Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and athletes,” published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, dermatologist Brian B. Adams, MD, MPH, FAAD, associate professor of dermatology at the University of Cincinnati and director of dermatology at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, in Cincinnati, addressed the occurrence of MRSA in athletes and recommendations for preventing the further spread of the infection.

“Our review found that physical contact, shared facilities and equipment, and poor hygiene all contribute to MRSA among athletes,” said Dr. Adams. “With slight modifications in these areas, individuals participating in contact and non-contact sports can reduce their risk of contracting MRSA.”

Dr. Adams noted that CA-MRSA most frequently appears as an infection of the skin and underlying tissues, and looks like a pimple, boil or abscess, sometimes with draining fluid or pus. These lesions may be red, swollen, warm and tender to touch. The most widely reported contact sport linking MRSA infections to athletes is football. In fact, football players experience a variety of factors predisposing them to MRSA infections. These include skin injuries that can occur during play, turf burns from artificial turf that can exacerbate skin trauma, and even an athlete’s ingrown toenail can lead to a MRSA infection.

One prominent study conducted during the 2003 football season of members of the St. Louis Rams professional football team found eight occurrences of MRSA infection among five of the 58 Rams players – or 9 percent of the team. Dr. Adams pointed out that all of the lesions occurred on areas of the skin not covered by clothing or equipment where players had suffered turf burns. The players that experienced the infections were more likely to have a higher body mass index and play the lineman or linebacker position.

“Considering all factors, the authors of the St. Louis Rams study concluded that frequent antibiotic use, compromised skin barriers, skin contact between players, close proximity of teammates, and inadequate hand and personal hygiene by trainers and athletes may have contributed to the team’s MRSA outbreak,” said Dr. Adams. “In addition, infections found in players from an opposing team suggested that transmission may have occurred during play.”

Other studies of high school and college football players concluded that shared facilities were likely responsible for MRSA transmission. In each instance, the main risk factor included more than 10 cuts, abrasions or turf burns. One study found that whirlpool use greater than or equal to two times per week increased the risk of MRSA infection in players with covered lesions; in another study a member of the high school dance team developed MRSA infection – with the only link to the football team involving the use of a shared weight room where the dance team changed into their uniforms before football games.

Rugby is another sport that also involves intense physical contact and could potentially expose players to risk factors for contracting MRSA. For example, Dr. Adams explained that the limited use of padded equipment in rugby creates the potential for more skin-to-skin contact but also reduces the risks associated with abrasive, shared or unclean equipment. “One report from the United Kingdom found that five members of a rugby team developed large abscesses on the upper areas of their arms, back, neck and face,” said Dr. Adams. “Because the MRSA infections developed only in forward players, the investigators concluded that the outbreak probably resulted from sustained physical contact rather than from transmission through shared facilities or equipment.”

In addition, studies show that wrestlers, who often engage in prolonged physical contact and experience frequent mat burns, also may be prone to MRSA infections. In a statewide survey of high school athletic trainers, the Texas Department of Health noted six MRSA infections involving wrestlers; another report issued by the Indiana Department of Health identified two high school wrestlers infected with MRSA.

“In this latter study, the two affected teammates had never wrestled each other because they competed in different weight classes,” said Dr. Adams. “Therefore, transmission of MRSA may have occurred through the use of shared items instead of personal contact – although the high level of person-to-person contact in wrestling remains a potentially significant means of transmitting the infection.”

Dr. Adams noted that additional studies among athletes point to shared personal items as contributing factors for MRSA transmission. Two separate outbreaks involving college athletes in Pennsylvania and California resulted in multiple football players requiring hospitalization due to MRSA infections. The reporting health departments in each instance recognized the sharing of unwashed bath towels, balms and lubricants as possible modes of transmission of the infection.

While numerous studies have identified potential risk factors for MRSA infection among athletes, few studies have examined the effect of preventive hygienic practices. In an investigation conducted by the University of Southern California over the course of three football seasons from 2002 to 2004, the number of MRSA infections among the same college players declined over the three-year period when preventive hygienic measures were implemented.

These interventions included covering wounds, using hexachlorophene 3% (an antibacterial skin cleanser), prohibiting multiuse pump lotions or other topical massage products, and educating players and trainers about hygiene and the importance of not sharing equipment, towels or other personal items.

“It appears that the primary mode of MRSA transmission involves person-to-person contact, but the significance of this risk factor varies among different sports,” added Dr. Adams. “Even in largely non-contact sports such as soccer, volleyball, cross-country, fencing and weight lifting, outbreaks of MRSA infections have been reported – suggesting that shared facilities or shared personal items were the likely culprit.

American Academy of Dermatology (2008, June 25). Athletes Susceptible To Antibiotic-resistant Staph Infections. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 28, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/06/080624151110.htm

A Challenge to Celebrities: On Camera with no make-up

Out of concern, mostly for people's psychological health, I'd love to see the start of a movement where Celebrities start going without make-up in front of the camera. Maybe Oprah should be the first since this idea may be right up her alley. I don't know, I'm thinking maybe "Reality Week" or "No Make Up Week" where a bunch of shows, programs and the like encourage their reporters, actors, etc to go on without make up. One week in a year for all of us to get a dose of reality to be able to recenter our perceptions, especially our unhealthy mind-body-appearance connections that may be off a bit.

Just watching TV, we are probably unconsciously overloaded by an outpouring of "fake faces" and "fake beauty". You all know how no one on TV or movies has a single pore visible. How about uneven skin? Forget about it! It's all even-toned, glowing skin, with layers of make-up covering about 20 years of the natural aging process, including wrinkles, sagging, lines, spots, scars, and on and on.

It's unhealthy, not only for adults, but especially for children. Most kids aren't able to make the connection that what they are watching is skewed, not till they are at least 6 or 7 years old at the earliest. That's years of TV without understanding that those people certainly don't really look like that! The trouble comes when these kids are older; we are already so open to TV and take it without judgments, it can form serious insecurities in us all.

That's why I also encourage parents to start talking to children early so that they recognize these things, it can help, especially during their traumatic years as teenagers. A dose of accurate perception of one's self and the world is a healthy antidote to the forces out there that make us all feel inadequate. Hey, I don't anticipate "No Make Up Week" anytime soon, so hopefully we can just be more aware of the damage it can do unless we are well aware (at the earliest of ages) to how unrepresentative the figures on TV are!

Okay, that's my drivel that I had to just get off my chest! Hope this posting finds you all well!

P.S. If you want just do a search for "celebrities without make up" and you'll find lots of pics, it may also be a good tool to illustrate to kids, just how "off" the images on the small or big screen are from reality. I could name a bunch of sites that have these pics, but, unfortunately, they are out for the shock value. I don't want to promote that! Those pics should be used for realization purposes, not making fun of people, whether famous or not.

Men's Product Review: CLUBMAN Shave Creme

Clubman Luxury Shave Cream
~$12.00

Well, here is another one of my product reviews (completely unsolicited of course!) since everyone wants to know what I use. Here is another men's product that I find to be nothing less than amazing.

Clubman Shave is a shave cream made by the famous house of Ed Pinot which has been around since 1810. Ring a bell? If not, check out the pic below, that shaving cream can has been around forever, and still is today (although I've yet to try that, so can't comment on the original green can version).

The Shave
I have to say this is right up there as one of the best shaving creams I've ever used (definitely top 3). And is right there on top along with Anthony Logistics shaving creme. Click here for that review.

I have a full, thick beard so I need a good close shave and need it with out pain. This product definitely delivers. No nicks, no pain, and I can easily shave against the grain (well, after I shave with the grain first of course!).

So if you need an amazing shaving creme, and the regular ones don't cut it for you, this is definitely one worth trying out. Girls, you want to treat your husband to a good shave, this along with Anthonly Logistics shave creams, I think are the best as far as performance goes. It costs more than typical shave cremes, but certainly not at the top of the cost ladder. But when you have a thick beard, only the best will do.

'Nuff said: THUMBS UP

I am in no way affiliated with Clubman, or it's products, and receive no remuneration. This is a completly unsolicited post.

Weekly Rewind 6/30 - 7/4

Hope your week's have been great and hope you had a terrific Independence Day! Me, I watched the fireworks at Ala Moana in Honolulu, and they were top notch! Here's the weekly review!

Monday: Here is a review of another European wonder that I found. It's Superdrug's Tea Tree face wash. See what I have to say about it and why I liked it.

Wednesday: A couple of your Q&A's answered right here.

Friday: A long awaited Parabens continuation. Click here for "Part 5: What do I think?" of the Parabens debacle.

Well, it's back to the grind tomorrow, huh? Thanks for reading my posts here!