Medical Wikipedia to Be Launched

Inspired by the success of Wikipedia, a team of medical professionals has decided to create Medpedia, an online medical reference.

Medpedia seeks to be a medical version of the popular online encyclopedia... but unlike the original, the articles will not be written by any Tom, Dick, or Harriet. In fact, the articles will be written by doctors and Ph.D.s, and will focus on explaining conditions, drugs, procedures, and similar topics. (NOTE: the Medpedia site currently just offers a preview of what the site will look like. The home page says the full site will launch at the "end of 2008.")

According to the above article in Computerworld, Medpedia has the support of medical authorities inlcuding the Harvard Medical School, the Stanford School of Medicine, and the University of California Berkeley School of Public Health.

Among other things, these institutions will provide content and encourage their employees to sign on to be Medpedia editors.

Also unlike Wikipedia, whose authors and editors are usually anonymous, Medpedia will offer editor profiles that provide details such as their background and areas of expertise.

New Study Compares Mediterranean, Low-Carb, and Low-Fat Diets

WebMD reports on a new long-term study that directly compared three leading diets: the so-called Mediterranean Diet, a low-carb diet (based on the Atkins Diet), and a traditional low-fat diet.

The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed that people could lose weight on all three diets, and that the plans offer other health benefits as well, including improvements in participants' levels of blood fats and blood sugar.

You can read the entire article on the weight-loss study at the NEJM's Web site.

Volumetrics and the Volumetrics Eating Plan

Volumetrics is a way of losing weight through eating, but it's not really a "diet" as such. Instead, it focuses on eating foods that are low in calories but that leave you feeling full because they contain water and fiber (fruits, for example). Created by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., Volumetrics is based on substituting high-calorie foods with "high-volume," low-calorie alternatives.

For example, she notes that a handful of grapes has the same number of calories as a much smaller quantity of raisins, yet the grapes will be more filling and satisfying because of the water and fiber in them. You can find a more detailed look at the principles of Volumetrics at this good article from WebMD.

The Nutrition Department of Northwestern University also gives a quick fact sheet on the Volumetrics plan.

In the book The Volumetrics Eating Plan (below), the creator of Volumetrics, Barbara Rolls, puts together menu and meal plans that make it easy to put the principles of volumetrics into effect so you can lose weight safely.

Proteus Syndrome: Beyond the Elephant Man

Proteus syndrome, also known as gigantism, is best know because it was the condition suffered by Joseph Merrick, the subject of the book, play, and film "The Elephant Man." Proteus syndrome causes the overgrowth of skin on the body and also deformed bone growth. The result can be club feet and hands (which is where the "Elephant Man" identification came from), as well as on the head and other areas of the body.

Proteus syndrome is a congenital disorder that can involve many different body systems, and besides the extreme disfiguration it causes, it presents some very serious health risks. Proteus syndrome is, fortunately, quite rare: it's estimated that only 100 to 200 people worldwide have it (or have been diagnosed with it, anyway).

You can find a good layman's overview of Proteus syndrome at the eMedicine.com Web site. The Proteus Syndrome Foundation also features a lot of information, including definitions, symptoms, criteria for diagnosing Proteus syndrome, and a glossary of terms used.

For the more scientifically oriented reader, you'll find details and further reading at the Web site of the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

All About Food: Lose Weight with Red Wine, the Big Breakfast Diet, and Sweet News

A number of food-related developments in health news have gotten my attention in the last few days. So here's a quick summary with links:

• Red wine has gotten another boost as a healthy ingredient of one's diet. Already linked to potential heart and cancer-fighting benefits, it has been mentioned in a study as having benefits for losing weight, too.
  
  
• Another study has found that having a big breakfast can help people lose weight. Of course, what the study considers a "big breakfast" is a 600-calorie meal that has ample carbohydrates and protein, not a Denny's Grand Slam with bacon, eggs, and toast, all fried and smothered in butter and bacon grease. But people following the "big breakfast diet" "lose more weight long term than eating a modest breakfast and following a lower-carb eating plan," according to a WebMD article. The reason seems to be that folks having a bigger, heartier breakfast don't fee as hungry before lunch, or the rest of the day.
  
  
• And finally, the American Medical Association has determined that there's no scientific proof that high-fructose corn syrup deserves the blame for the country's obesity epidemic—at least not any more than sugar or other sweeteners. High-fructose corn syrup is often accused for being worse for a person's health than other sweeteners.