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Medicine for the Public: 2004 Lecture Series

. . .topics of current relevance presented by NIH researchers

Dietary supplements, the future of medicine, reading failure in America, biomechanics of human movement, medication addiction, and vaccines for biodefense--learn more about these leading-edge topics at the NIH Clinical Center's 2004 Medicine for the Public lecture series. Physician-scientists working to translate science into medicine will examine these topics and more this fall.

The lectures, which are free and open to the public, will be presented at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays in the Clinical Center's Masur Auditorium, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Building 10, Bethesda, Maryland.

For details on specific topics or speakers scheduled for the 28th annual Medicine for the Public lecture series, please call (301) 496-2563. Visit this website for further details.

October 5, 2004
"Dietary Supplements: What Do You Know? What Should You Know?"
Speaker: Paul M. Coates, Ph.D., Director, Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health
About the Lecture | About the Speaker
Real View Lecture (Requires RealPlayer software and high-speed internet connection.)
October 12, 2004
"Through the Looking Glass: The Future of Medicine and the Building of the Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center"
Speakers: Robert Frasca, Partner-in-Charge of Design Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, and John I. Gallin, M.D., Director, Clinical Center
About the Lecture | About the first Speaker | About the second Speaker
Real View Lecture (Requires RealPlayer software and high-speed internet connection.)
October 19, 2004
"Evidence-Based Education: Preventing Reading Failure in America"
Speaker: G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D., Research Psychologist and Chief Child Development and Behavioral Branch, Center for Research for Mothers and Children, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
About the Lecture | About the Speaker
October 26, 2004
"The Biomechanics of Human Movement: Could Leonardo da Vinci Fly?"
Speaker: Steven Stanhope, Ph.D., Director, Physical Disabilities Branch, Rehabilitation Medicine Department, Clinical Center and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
About the Lecture | About the Speaker
November 9, 2004
"Addiction to Medications: What Are the Risks and Who Is Vulnerable?"
Speaker: Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse
About the Lecture | About the Speaker
November 16, 2004
"Viruses, Vaccines, and Emerging Health Threats"
Speaker: Gary J. Nabel, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
About the Lecture | About the Speaker

About the Lectures

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"Dietary Supplements: What Do You Know? What Should You Know"
Dietary supplements are widely used by the public with more than 100 million Americans taking them. Current knowledge about these supplements is incomplete and more needs to be done to determine what they do and can do, and common myths dispelled. Dietary supplements offer fertile ground for answering scientific questions such as how to assess the health effects of supplements and do extracts of biologically-active substances marketed as supplements like isoflavones and antioxidants work the same way they do in food. NIH researchers are studying the many and varied aspects of dietary supplements. Through examples of dietary supplements such as substances derived from plants, nutrient ingredients like vitamins, or food components like omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish, learn what a dietary supplement is, how it is different from a food or a drug, and who takes them and why. The regulation and evaluation of diet supplements will be presented. Hear what is really known about these supplements and equally important, what is not known about them.

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"Through the Looking Glass: The Future of Medicine and the Building of the Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center "
Medical research has been conducted in one form or another from almost the beginning of human history. This lecture will examine the history of medical research from before Hippocrates until now; the history of the NIH Clinical Center, the largest clinical research hospital in the world, and the first to situate research laboratories in close proximity to patient beds; what it means to be a research subject and how to know if the research is meaningful and safe. Hear, from an architectural perspective, about the importance of environment in medical research and how an architect's interviews with scientists, administrators and patients led to the innovative design of NIH's new Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center. Learn how scientists and patients are conducting research now to develop medical practice of the future.

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"Evidence-Based Education: Preventing Reading Failure in America"
Reading proficiency is critical to academic learning and success in school. Studies show that children who learn to read in the early grades are more likely to become better students. In the United States, about 40 percent of children are left behind in reading. Scientists are researching how children learn to read and why some children have difficulty reading. Learn about the progress to date of a comprehensive study that examines children's reading abilities during the early years, including the efforts to understand how to prevent reading failure.

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"The Biomechanics of Human Movement: Could Leonardo da Vinci Fly? "
The human body can be thought of as a biolocomotion or living machine with the power to move from place to place. That movement requires more than 150 moving parts simultaneously controlled by more than 200 drive systems. If you can walk, you are exerting the force of those tools. An estimated 35-to-49 million Americans have a disability that limits their everyday activities and disability-related costs for healthcare are in excess of $170 billion. With 23 million of those Americans mobility-impaired, doctors and therapists are working to grasp the complex, yet elegant process that converts muscular effort into graceful and highly functional movements. In recent years, the basic principles of biomechanics, the application of physics and mechanics to biological problems, have merged with powerful new clinical movement analysis techniques to provide better ways to assess and treat children with cerebral palsy, patients suffering the effects of stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and a host of orthopedic, arthritic, and neurological conditions. Learn about the history of science and engineering underlying biomechanics and clinical movement analysis methods. Their value to medicine will be demonstrated through a series of lively demonstrations and intriguing patient case studies.

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"Addiction to Medications: What Are the Risks and Who Is Vulnerable? "
Most people who take prescription medications take them responsibly, but the non-medical use of these drugs can be dangerous. Non-medical use of certain prescription drugs can lead to abuse and dependence, characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and use. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 6.2 million people used prescription medications non-medically in 2002. The National Institute on Drug Abuse's annual Monitoring the Future survey found a staggeringly high increase in reported rates of non-medical use of two pain medications among 12th graders. One-in-ten high school seniors took Vicodin® last year, making it the second-most commonly reported illicit drug used by high school seniors, after marijuana. This is of great concern because of both the addictive potential and the serious medical consequences that can result from overdose with oxycodone- and hydrocodone-based medications, which include OxyContin® and Vicodin®. Continued research will help to better understand how these drugs affect the brain and body. The development of new medications to treat pain with less potential for abuse and addiction is an area of great promise thanks to recent scientific advances in the understanding of how drugs of abuse exert their effects. Hear the latest research findings and learn about the risks of misusing and abusing prescription drugs, how to better assist physicians in treatment decisions and in talking with patients about responsible use of these drugs.

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"Viruses, Vaccines, and Emerging Health Threats"
Infectious disease caused by some viruses poses a significant threat to human health. News about emerging diseases such as the West Nile virus (WNV), the SARS-associated corona virus and the Ebola virus is ever present in the media. HIV/AIDS remains a worldwide health threat, with more than 14,000 people becoming infected each day. Vaccines have the potential to save millions of lives threatened by these menaces. Remarkable progress is being made to accelerate vaccine development for HIV/AIDS, SARS, smallpox, WNV, and Ebola and other viral hemorrhagic fevers. Learn about the new technologies for vaccine development, and how vaccines can be used to protect against emerging infectious disease and biodefense threats.

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About the 2004 'Medicine for the Public' Speakers

Paul M. Coates, Ph.D.
Robert Frasca
John I. Gallin, M.D.
G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D.
Steven Stanhope, Ph.D.
Nora D. Volkow, M.D.
Gary J. Nabel, M.D., Ph.D.

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Past lectures:

2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997

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