More expertise needed in death investigations
Article Abstract:
Coroners must be held to higher standards to ensure the integrity of death investigations. Either coroners or medical examiners may perform death investigations, although only medical examiners must be physicians. At the annual meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, an expert revealed that the quality of death scene investigations varies across the nation. Mistakes made by coroners and inadequate coroner training may affect disease statistics. In South Carolina, each county has a coroner and the two largest counties also have a medical examiner. Coroners operate as liaisons among the media, the public, and law enforcement personnel. South Carolina established new training requirements for coroners in 1994. State regulations are needed to standardize the investigation and reporting of different types of deaths and to define the responsibilities of the coroner and the police at the death scene. In addition, many coroners are also funeral directors which creates conflicts of interest.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1995
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'Decent research and closure' needed on medical marijuana, says head of NIH panel
Article Abstract:
A panel convened by the US National Institutes of Health has recommended further research on the therapeutic value of marijuana. The panel was assembled in Feb, 1997, shortly after California and Arizona voters approved the medical use of marijuana. The panel recommends research on the use of marijuana to stimulate appetite, suppress nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients as well as its potential use in movement disorders, pain and glaucoma. However, some scientists want to create derivatives of the active ingredient that can be used as drugs. This would eliminate the toxic effects of smoking marijuana.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1997
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A "family heirloom" turns 50
Article Abstract:
One of the physicians connected with the Framingham Heart Study discusses some of the insights revealed by the 50-year study. Dr. William P. Castelli was the study's director between 1979 and 1995. The study began in 1948 and required 5,209 residents of Framingham, MA, to have detailed physical exams every two years. In 1971, more than 5,000 of their adult children and their spouses were enrolled in the Framingham Offspring Study. Some of the risk factors for heart disease discovered by the study were hypertension, elevated blood cholesterol, dietary fat and smoking.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1998
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