Grand Rounds: 5.9

Welcome to Grand Round 5.9 - a weekly rotation of blogposts in the medical and health fields. I am delighted to be your host again, and present to you the following for your listening pleasure.














"A Sudden Jolt of Sadness" by The Sterile Eye
"Annual ACAAI Meeting" by Allergy Notes
"Crestor and other CRP" by Covert Rationing
"Diagnostic Acumen" by In My Humble Opinion
"Doctors Empowering Parents" by Dr. Nancy Brown
"Flu Vaccine Recommendations for Children" by Dr. Paul Auerbach
"I Am Not Special" by Bongi
"Interview with Dr. David Newman" by Detroit Receiving
"It's Elementary" by The D-Log Cabin
"Medicine in Media" by Medical Pastiche
"My Favorite VBAC" by Rural Doctoring
"Ritual" by Dr. Bruce Campbell
"Sciatica and the Saline Story" by Back Pain Blog
"Selenium/Vitamin E Don't Prevent Prostate Cancer" by Laika
"Should Doctor Sex Scandals Be Made Public" by Canadian Medicine
"Sometimes Death is a Good Thing" by You Just Gotta Keep Livin'
"Teratoma: One Patient One Disease" by Dr. Am Ang Zhang
"Tips for New Medical Bloggers" by Clinical Cases & Images
"Which Stretch Stops Back Pain" by Dr. Jolie Bookspan

"1,000 Cranes" by Dethmama Chronicles
"Bariatric Surgery: Psychological Considerations" Suture for a Living
"Borderline Personality" by Clinically Clueless
"Can We Pick Your Brain" by Dr. Joshua Steinerman
"Freezing and Unfreezing" by In Sickness & In Health
"Kudos for the General" by Doc Gurley
"Marx" by CBTISH
"New DSM Diagnosis" by Tiny Shrink
"Obsession with Internal Medicine" by ACP Internist
"Resilience" by Health Psych
"Studing Sin" by Neuroanthropology
"The Future of the Aging Society" by Dr. Alvaro Fernandez
"Understanding Social Anxiety" by Psych Central
"Virtual Reality Therapy for PTSD" by Dr. Shock

"Gluten Free Eating" by A Chronic Dose
"Rules of Engagement" by Diabetes Mine
"The Diving Bell & The Butterfly" by How to Cope With Pain
"The Things I Carried" by Duncan Cross
"Understanding Stress" by Mother of Shrek
"Walking From The Heart" by Own Your Health
"What I've Learned from Being One Armed" by ChronicBabe
"When a Doctor is a Patient" by e-Patient Dave















"Coordination of Care Fractures Medical System" by Dare to Dream
"Dear President-Elect Obama" by Repairing the Healthcare System
"DNV David Harlow & Hospital Accreditation" by HealthBlawg
"Heart Failure Hospitalizations Rates Surge" by Dr. Mercola
"Live from the Operating Room" by Change:Healthcare
"One in Five Hospital Stays Involve Mental Illness" by MHA Society
"The Implications for Live Tweeting Surgery" by Healthcare Law Blog
"Was It a Very Good Year" by InsureBlog
"World Diabetes Day" by International Diabetes Foundation

Many thanks to "Executive Producers" Colin Son and Dr. Val Jones, as well as "Grandmaster" Dr. Nick Genes. For without them, none of this would be possible. Grand Rounds drops again at Canadian Medicine on Tuesday, November 25th. But before you go, check out my playlist of music inspired by your Grand Round submissions.

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Just Do It

Talking while doing something non-verbal can throw you off. In fact, many athletes believe that being in their head too much can disrupt performance - so they focus on the action of the moment.

Researchers from the University of Michigan Psychology Department and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland agree. They found that, for some, trying to verbalize a performance distracted the brain by putting the focus on language. This is called verbal overshadowing and has been shown to interfere with the non-verbal aspects of a memory, resulting in a decreased performance on tasks. For more, read here

I can relate to this phenomenon. I can cook a great meal, sink a golf putt or drive the quickest way to a destination, but ask me to explain what I'm doing as I'm doing it and my performance will suffer. So, verbal overshadowing when performing can be a good thing or it can throw a monkey wrench into your world. See how this works for you and adjust accordingly.

Me? I'll be the quiet one on the Just-Do-It bench.

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Genetic Indicators for Gender Identity

From an early age, we develop an inner sense of being a boy or a girl - male or female. This is called gender identity.

Individuals who have a gender disorder identify with the sex opposite of their assigned biological sex. They feel as if they are not in the right body, and yearn to be someone other than who they are.

These feelings begin in early childhood and have been considered "disordered" thinking in the past. A psychological problem, like homosexuality was perceived years ago. Not too long ago, such gender issues were seen as "choices", not biologically bound within one's DNA. And as a result, many children, teens and adults would hide in shame. Some even choosing suicide.

More research, like this recent one from Australia, show that there is a genetic link for gender identity. "There is a social stigma that transsexualism is simply a lifestyle choice, however our findings support a biological basis of how gender identity develops, " reports Dr. Vincent Harley, Head of Molecular Genetics at Prince Henry's Institute.

This research will be published in the January 2009 journal Biological Psychiatry and suggest that pathologizing "Gender Identity Disorder" will be a thing of the past.

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