Smart at heart

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David Hoffmann, FNIMH, AHG

"In this herbal guide to healthy aging, medical herbalist David Hoffmann discusses how to maintain the body's vitality as we age and how to treat and prevent the health concerns brought about by aging. He provides herbal treatments to restore and protect each of the body's major systems--from the muscles, bones, and digestive system to the pulmonary, cardiovascular, and reproductive organs - as well as herbal remedies for specific ailments such as prostate enlargement, hot flashes, hypertension, insomnia, bronchitis, varicose veins, and arthritis. He shows how herbs can help minimize dependence on conventional medical treatments and provide a safe and welcome alternative to the unpleasant and sometimes dangerous side effects of synthetic drugs. In the materia medica, Hoffmann details more than 150 health-promoting herbs and their actions on the body and mind, preparation methods, and recommended dosages. This authoritative guide to herbal preventive medicine offers holistic treatments designed not only to promote vibrant health but also to provide a way to age with grace."--Backcover.

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Barron H. Lerner

Steve McQueen had cancer and was keeping it secret. Then the media found out, and soon all of America knew. McQueen's high profile changed forever the way the public perceived a dreaded disease. Public health physician Barron H. Lerner describes the evolution of celebrities' illnesses from private matters to stories of great public interest. Famous people who have become symbols of illness include Lou Gehrig, the first "celebrity patient," and Arthur Ashe, who courageously went public with his AIDS diagnosis before the media could reveal his secret. And then there are private citizens like Barney Clark, the first recipient of a permanent artificial heart. While celebrity illnesses have helped to inform patients about treatment options, ethical controversies, and scientific proof, the stories surrounding these illnesses have also assumed mythical characteristics. This exploration of the intersection of science, journalism, fame, and legend is a groundbreaking contribution to our understanding of health and illness.--From publisher description.

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Mario A. Tovar

"Providing in-depth coverage of the Mexican American population from social, cultural, and psychological (clinical) perspectives, this book promotes the understanding of cultural practices and sociological characteristics of this important ethnic group. There are now more than 32 million Mexican Americans living in the United States. As a result, the odds that a clinician will work with a member of this population--one of the fastest-growing minority groups in the United States--is extremely high. Understanding the culture, society, psyche, acculturation, assimilation, and linguistics specific to Mexican Americans, as well as their crises and appropriate interventions, is imperative to provide counseling/therapy services and culturally sensitive assessments. In this book, author Mario Tovar explains how Mexican American history and society affects the needs of this group and how services to Mexican Americans require adjustments as a result. Tovar documents significant differences among Mexican Americans depending on whether they are documented or undocumented immigrants, and on their place of origin--rural versus urban areas of Mexico, and northern versus southern Mexico, for example. Readers will understand how the region of the United States in which Mexican Americans settle can influence the development of certain traits for them and learn about mental and physical health care practices common to Mexican Americans, including folk medicine and 'healers' who often include grandmothers and elder neighbors. This book addresses the characteristics of members of this large and growing group of Americans as distinct from the generalized ethnic group of 'Latino Americans;' covers long-time U.S. residents and recent immigrants from Mexico as well as second and later generation Mexican Americans; provides extensive information about the Mexican American population from different perspectives that gives readers better insight and understanding about this important ethnic group; promotes cultural sensitivity when working with Mexican Americans in different settings; and describes specific clinical strategies that can be effective when working with Mexican Americans"--Provided by publisher.

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Y. Kusaka, K.G. Hering, J.E. Parker (eds

"Many international experts collaborated in creating this work, a principal coding system, and in developing reference films and imaging parameters for the International Classification of HRCT for Occupational and Environmental Respiratory Diseases. The book is a guide to the recognition of dust diseases of the lung, using radiological imaging techniques, with special emphasis on high-resolution computed tomography (CT). The classification is a powerful, essential tool for recording patient data on CT in a globally standardized semiquantitative way. The system is also applicable to surveillance and screening for occupational and environmental respiratory diseases. With the accompanying CD-ROM containing all the reference films, readers can easily interpret clinical data. The book is a resource not only for radiologists but for all who work in occupational medicine and public health."--BOOK JACKET.