Fiction writers are constantly exhorted: Write what you know! To explore something all too real — the distorted way mental illness is regarded today — author Freddie DeBoer picks up that venerable admonition and runs with it. In his new book “All in Your Head: Illness as Identity, Trauma as Fashion, and the Desire to … Read more
WASHINGTON — New blood tests could help doctors diagnose Alzheimer’s disease faster and more accurately, researchers reported Sunday – but some appear to work far better than others. It’s tricky to tell if memory problems are caused by Alzheimer’s. That requires confirming one of the disease’s hallmark signs — buildup of a sticky protein called beta-amyloid — with a … Read more
Ure-ally brave for this one, ancient Roman doctors. Archaeologists in Rome have unearthed a treasure trove of illuminating artifacts at the site of an ancient hospital, including “urine flasks” — which doctors used to diagnose various ailments. A study describing the diagnostic tool was published last month in the journal Antiquity, in which researchers asserted … Read more