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Biomedical subjects

R L North

Publications and source records attributed to R L North.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Benjamin Rush, MD: assassin or beloved healer?

Benjamin Rush, MD (1745-1813), was not only the most well known physician in 18th-century America, he was also a patriot, philosopher, author, lecturer, fervent evangelist, politician, and dedicated social reformer. He was unshakable in his convictions, as well as self-righteous, caustic, satirical, humorless, and polemical. Unquestionably brilliant, he graduated from what later became Princeton University at age 14. He translated Hippocrates' Aphorisms from the Greek at age 17. He wrote the first textbook of chemistry to be published in America. He was by all accounts a devoted, if highly paternalistic, medical practitioner, who cared deeply for his patients' welfare. His principles or theories and his championship of extreme purging and bleeding ("depletion therapy") have engendered 200 years of controversy and debate that continue today. The contradiction in his character is particularly well illustrated by his behavior during the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic of 1793, as is briefly examined in this essay.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Legal authority for HIV testing of adolescents.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in adolescents has been reported in a number of studies, but little attention has been given to the potential for an epidemic spread among inner city adolescents. Voluntary HIV testing and counseling without parental consent should be available to all adolescents, especially those at high risk of infection. Although physicians may fear legal liability as a consequence of testing and counseling adolescents without parental permission, legal authority to do so exists in most jurisdictions in the United States. The sources for that authority differ from state to state. This article analyzes these sources. Requirements for confidentiality or the disclosure of test results to parents vary from state to state, but in most instances there is no authority to disclose the confidence of a minor patient who has independently consented to his or her own treatment.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1978

De subitaneis mortibus. XXX. Observations on the pathophysiology of the long QT syndromes with special reference to the neuropathology of the heart.

Eight patients (different families) with syncopal attacks and a long QT interval in the ECG died suddenly. Five heard normally and three were born deaf. At postmortem examination of all eight hearts the single consistent abnormality was focal neuritis and neural degeneration within the sinus node, A-V node, His bundle and ventricular myocardium. Although the etiology of this intracardiac neural disease is uncertain, a chronic viral infection or some noninfectious degenerative process are among the plausible causes discussed. If intracardiac neuritis and neural degeneration prove to be a prevalent finding among other victims dying from the long QT syndromes, further consideration should be given to whether there is any genuine hereditary component in the pathogenesis. Because of the asymmetrical and focal distribution of the cardioneural lesions, the response to present forms of medical or surgical treatment of the lung QT syndromes may vary from benefit to harm. Until more is known of the true etiology of the neural disease, treatment will probably remain empirical in nature and should be conducted with cautious clinical observation.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Domestic violence and partner notification: implications for treatment and counseling of women with HIV.

Current public health policy encourages partner notification to protect those at risk of HIV infection. Provider experiences with partner notification, domestic violence, and women with HIV compel a reassessment of this strategy. In a survey of 136 health care providers in Baltimore, substantial numbers reported knowledge of their HIV-infected patients' experiences with domestic violence before and after partner notification. Providers believed that fear of physical abuse, emotional abuse, and abandonment are important reasons why many female patients resist partner notification. Provider opposition to partner notification was strong in cases where female patients faced a risk of domestic violence. The realization that HIV-infected women fear and experience domestic violence has broad implications for health care practice. The authors recommend changes in provider practices to insure that the risk of domestic violence is identified and addressed, and that partner notification strategies do not threaten the safety of HIV-infected women. They also highlight areas for further research on the connections among partner notification, domestic violence, and women with HIV.

Adult↗