Medical Science DVDs and Videos

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Medical Science &
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		21st-Century Outbreak The human race is under attack on two fronts. Since 1977, 30 brand-new pathogens have appeared, and 20 old adversaries have reemerged in nastier, drug-resistant versions. Bacteria, viruses, and parasites are engaging in a war in which humankind and microbe adapt to the other’s every move. This alarming two-part series chronicles this epic struggle, where nothing less than our very survival as a species is at stake.

		The Adventure of Medicine What is the state of medical research today? In what areas are breakthroughs imminent? What areas lag behind? This series takes a broad look at the field of medicine, journeying to the frontiers of research in key areas of medical science, as well as touring the most advanced treatment centers.

		Alien Invaders With 1.5 billion people travelling by air each year, lethal tropical infections and pathogens we thought we had eradicated are hitching a ride. In this program, case studies of West Nile virus, Chagas disease, tuberculosis, and Hanta virus—only a ten-hour flight away from unsuspecting populations around the globe—illustrate the scope of the danger, while the doctors and health officials on the frontlines explain the battle. Interviews with Ben Beard, of the CDC; Deborah Asnis, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Flushing Hospital Medical Center; and Francis Drobniewski, of the U.K. Public Health Laboratory Service, are included, among others.

		Allergies / Allergic Reactions A two video set dealing with the topics of anaphylaxis and assisting the patient with medication. Videos include: Allergies / Anaphylaxis and Allergic Reactions: Assisting with Medication.

		ALS: Lou Gehrig’s Disease This program from The Doctor Is In studies the cases of three patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Expert medical commentary is provided by Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D., science director of the ALS Association, and Jeffery Cohen, M.D., a neurologist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. In addition, a family care provider talks about the challenges one faces in that role. Although there is currently no cure for ALS, it is only a matter of time before one is found as researchers continue to advance the frontiers of knowledge of neurological diseases.

		Alternative Medicine Beyond the boundaries of mainstream medicine are treatments that many claim have powerful healing properties. Produced in association with Skeptical Inquirer magazine, this intriguing program scrutinizes the principles behind acupuncture, magnet therapy, crystal therapy, homeopathy, therapeutic touch, and reiki as respected practitioners demonstrate their specialties and make their case. But at every turn, equally respected critics also have their say, making this video a particularly well balanced analysis of these popular treatment modalities. Is alternative medicine scientifically quantifiable? And, if it reduces suffering and promotes healing, does it matter? A Discovery Channel Production.

		America’s Struggling Healthcare System Healthcare in America is arguably the best in the world, but only for those who can afford it. This penetrating four-part series from ABC News goes to the front lines of the healthcare crisis to take an unflinching look at a system that is itself in failing health. Heroic measures to prop the system up are also presented, as are some glimmers of hope for a solution—or at least the beginnings of one.

		Antibiotics: The Double-Edged Sword Antibiotics initially worked miracles, saving millions of lives. In just decades, many of the wonder drugs are ineffective. How did it happen? This program reports on a battle for survival between humans and microbes, providing a concise history of antibiotics, as well as tracing their decline in efficacy. Their overuse and misuse is examined in medicine, agriculture, and domestic cleaning products. Special attention is given to the world’s first case of vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or VRSA. Among those who discuss the issue are Dr. Richard Besser, director of the Centers for Disease Control’s national campaign to reduce anthe Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics.timicrobial resistance, and Dr. Stuart Levy, author of The Antibiotic Paradox and founder of the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics.

		Asthma: Fighting to Breathe The majority of asthma’s unsuspecting victims come from racial minorities. This program details how this chronic disease adversely affects African-American and Latino populations in the U.S. Using case studies of four young people, plus personal accounts from actor Louis Gossett, rapper Coolio, and Olympic athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, viewers learn what asthma is, see what triggers it, and review a game plan for leading a healthy life. Five physicians are interviewed, including Jean Harley-Lopez, M.D., director of the USC Pediatric Asthma Disease Management Program.

		Biomedicine and Biotechnology In the era of Big Pharma, why are researchers looking more and more to nature—and the human body itself—to provide tomorrow’s medical cures? This program illustrates how scientists are growing and harvesting pharmaceuticals from common plants and farm animals, attempting to replicate organs, and transferring much-needed islet cells to patients with diabetes. The next big breakthrough in medical care is as likely to come from a rainforest or a goat as it is from a petri dish or a test tube.

		Breaking the Silence: Lifting the Stigma of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia In Ethiopia, fear of HIV has led to a stigma against those who carry it. This case study spotlights the heroic efforts of individuals and organizations such as Dawn of Hope, the Cheshire Foundation, Mekdim, and Save Your Generation to open a life-saving dialogue about the disease that includes community education on HIV transmission and prevention as well as counseling and care for those in HIV-related need. "This issue is knocking on everybody’s door," says Tsegaye, a young man who came out about his infection to open the eyes of his friends to the danger of unprotected sex. "Each of us must do our part."

		Cancer Self-Defense Every day, thousands of people are diagnosed with some form of cancer—and every day, hundreds of people die from it. This FREDDIE Award winner considers a comprehensive screening and prevention program, with five case studies covering the breast, lung, prostate, colon, and skin. Smoking cessation and diet and nutrition are reviewed, with insightful comments by Dr. Moshe Shike, director of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Prevention and Wellness Center, and other specialists.

		Cataracts: Surgical Solutions Over time the synergy of technology and skillful surgeons has made cataracts all but disappear—so much so that Dr. Richard Mackool, director of the Mackool Eye Institute and Laser Center at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in New York City, says cataract surgery is "the most successful operation in the history of mankind." Along with Mackool, Dr. Kerry Solomon, director of the Magill Laser Center at the Medical University of South Carolina's Storm Eye Institute, assesses the risks associated with the procedure, examines the lens replacement options, and gives his thoughts on the future of lens and eye development.

		Childhood Obesity: Reversing the Trend This program from The Doctor Is In presents two hospital-based programs that are helping children lose weight and keep the pounds off by setting realistic goals based on good health, not appearance. Patients talk about what it is like, from a child’s point of view, to be overweight and how they have succeeded in adhering to a program of portion control and exercise to create a healthier lifestyle. Commentary by Harvard Medical School’s Dr. David Ludwig; Dr. Sonia Caprio, of Yale-New Haven Hospital; and Mary Savoye-Desanti, RD, CDN, CDE, is featured.

		Childhood: When Hospital Is Home Children’s Memorial is committed to treating the whole child, and quality-of-life is a major concern. But is it possible for kids to have a "normal" childhood and also cope with a serious illness? This program shows how children and teens at the Falk Brain Tumor Center, with the help of their families and doctors, are fighting to keep the joy alive. The overall impact of treatments on a patient’s body and spirit is considered, as is the insecurity often felt by long-term patients who, with their cancer in remission, are to be sent home. Oncologist Stewart Goldman is featured.

		Children in Crisis Lillian, a four-year-old with autism, lives in a world all her own. Sixteen-year-old A.D.’s attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder causes him to proudly proclaim that he does not love his parents anymore. Eleven-year-old Pamela’s five different diagnoses stand in the way of her being left alone with her brother. These children are examples of the more than 3 million in the country who have some type of mental and behavioral disorder. This intense program highlights how their lives, as well as the daily routines of their families, are an incessant struggle. Therapists from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Center for Child Development and Research assert that with proper diagnosis and treatment, children and families can find a measured quality of life.

		Coaching Styles for School Sports A competent coach challenges and inspires athletes to achieve their personal best. This program analyzes the nuanced art of coaching by examining three popular coaching styles: authoritarian, distant yet approachable, and friendly; vital coaching skills in the areas of leadership, management, and communication; essential coaching qualities such as enthusiasm; the wide knowledge of athletics, sports psychology, sports medicine, and other disciplines that a coach must have in order to be effective; personal characteristics such as honesty, integrity, and high expectations for those on the team; and how coaching varies for athletes of different ages, skills, and abilities.

		Colon Cancer: The Power of Prevention One of the most deadly forms of cancer is also one of the most preventable. In this program, doctors from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and elsewhere focus on three case studies of senior citizens with colon cancer to explore the etiology and pathology of colon cancer, risk factors, and screening options. Prevention through colonoscopic examinations is emphasized, and treatments such as surgery with adjuvant therapy and combination chemotherapy involving 5-FU, Camptosar, and oxaliplatin are described. Some content may be objectionable.

		Confessions of a Germ This series lets the germs themselves do the talking as each program is narrated from the perspective of a different, deadly microbe—a truly unique way for students to learn about infectious diseases. Colorful computer graphics, news footage, and interviews with survivors and medical experts illustrate how each pathogen attacks the body and the potential damage it can cause. A Discovery Channel Production. 4-part series, 51 minutes each.

		Coping: A Practice Guide for People with Life-Challenging Diseases & Their Caregivers This is a guide for making connections with people facing serious illness and for those who care for them.

		Counting the Cost: Children’s Healthcare When a child’s life is at stake, money should be no object. But how much care should society fund? And what should families be asked to sacrifice? Using case studies, this program addresses one of the hard realities of private medical insurance—that it rarely covers new or experimental therapies—while providing information on a promising treatment for pediatric cancer called triple tandem stem cell rescue. Financial support provided by Children’s Memorial to fill such gaps is also discussed. Morris Kletzel, director of the Stem Cell Transplant Program, is featured.

		Creating a Good Death: Coping with Terminal Illness For years, Laura Schmidt helped cancer patients come to terms with their mortality. She even had a degree in thanatology, the study of death and dying. Then, at the age of 51, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This ABC News program follows Laura through her final months as she applies her knowledge and experience to her own case, squarely addressing end-of-life issues to create a good death that would leave herself and those caring for her at peace. Interviews conducted with her husband and others after Laura passed away provide additional insights into the end of life even as they add closure to the story of a caring person who had the courage to model the very behaviors she had instilled in so many others.

		The Cutting Edge: Innovative Surgical Methods This program explores emerging technologies that are revolutionizing how surgeons perform operations and deliver critical care. Featured modalities include the gamma knife, a viable alternative to invasive brain surgery for a growing list of conditions, as well as telementoring and robotic surgery, high-tech approaches to delivering specialized healthcare to remote regions. Clinical footage from the operating room vividly conveys the ultimate benefits these advances in surgical tools and techniques promise patients around the world.

		Deafblind: A World Without Sight and Sound We think in words—without access to them, how does one construct thoughts? Adam and Mark are 12-year-old boys born deaf and blind. With no exposure to language, how do they communicate with their parents? This fascinating program provides a window into the world of those who are deafblind. Gaela and Graham, two remarkable deafblind adults who lost their hearing after childhood, describe their lives and experiences—including how Graham jet skis. Using special effects that simulate sensory deprivation and compensation, the video illustrates how people such as Gaela and Graham are able to lead fulfilled, even adventurous lives.

		Depression: Not a Normal Part of Aging Though aging has its challenges, depression and its frequent companion, substance abuse, need not be among them. This program dispels the myth that there is something inherently depressing about aging. It explores the complex relationship between depression, alcohol, and substance abuse, showing how knowledge of symptoms, family support, and early treatment can restore the capacity for pleasure and contentment in most seniors’ lives. Interviews with spouses, family members, social workers, and geriatric psychiatrists are combined with candid, firsthand accounts.

		Early Breast Cancer: With Knowledge Comes Hope A woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes in the United States, but the more than two million survivors are proof that the diagnosis does not have to be a death sentence. Indeed, if breast cancer is found early, it has a cure rate of 90 percent. This FREDDIE Award winner explains the four stages of tumor properties, provides key insight into studies linking the disease to estrogen-genetic factors, and explores the new drugs, treatment benefits, and diagnostic techniques used by leading cancer centers. Most important, it espouses the need for early detection. Featured interviews include survivors and leading physicians from M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and Northwestern University.

		Eaten Alive: Parasites and Their Human Hosts The remorseless battle between parasites and humans is ugly—very, very ugly—but understanding it is of vital importance to anyone entering the health professions. Using case studies, experiments, computer simulations, medical imaging, and commentary by leading experts, this graphic three-part series exposes the intricate ways in which parasites colonize the human body and illustrates how to treat infected patients. Viewer discretion is advised.

		Ebola: Diary of a Killer Ebola, one of the most deadly viruses known to humankind, struck a town in Zaire in January 1995, ultimately causing the agonizing death of 80 percent of its victims—many of them health-care workers. This riveting documentary traces the progress of this outbreak and reports on its aftermath. Doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discuss current research, the virus’s possible reemergence, and what the international medical community is doing to prepare itself. We visit a ready-response medical unit where health-care workers are being trained to deal with future outbreaks. English narration and subtitles.

		E. Coli I was once a harmless bacteria, but a virus mutated me into a killer. Even a dozen of my microbes is enough to cause human infection. In this suspenseful medical detective story, E. coli 0157 narrates its recent debut in the world of deadly pathogens. Computer graphics illustrate step-by-step how this lethal strain devastates the body. News footage and interviews with survivors chronicle E. coli 0157’s first outbreak in 1980 and its siege of Walkerton, Ontario, in 2000. Dr. Lee A. Riley, a CDC investigator, and Dr. Mohamed A. Karmali, microbiologist at Canada’s Laboratory of Foodborne Zoonoses, discuss how they finally tracked down the source of contamination.

		Enhanced Vision: New Directions in Ophthalmology As this program illustrates, direct access to the eye coupled with technological wizardry has meant that ophthalmology is one of the most rapidly advancing areas of medicine. Both up-to-the-minute techniques and experimental procedures are profiled, such as photodynamic therapy, which inhibits macular degeneration by eroding deposits called drusen. The program shows how microsurgery, particularly the LASIK method, has revolutionized the field. Also detailed are pioneering treatments for cataracts, retinitis pigmentosa, and new methods to detect and treat glaucoma.

		Epilepsy: Having a Life For centuries, many have labored under the false perception that epilepsy is a permanently debilitating condition, ironic given the success of such epileptics as Alexander the Great and actor Danny Glover. This program follows four people with the disease who have taken control of their lives with the help of their families, epilepsy education, and advancement in therapies. Dr. Martha Morrell, professor of neurology at Columbia University, and Dr. John Pellock, pediatric neurologist at Virginia Commonwealth University, explain how to recognize a seizure, provide tips to ensure a seizure treatment plan, and describe seizure first aid.

		ERs in Crisis: Turning Away the Uninsured Today’s emergency rooms are being used as a safety net for a healthcare system that leaves tens of millions of Americans uninsured—and that net is about to break. Because ERs are required to treat every patient who comes through the door, people with nowhere else to turn are joining the critical-care crowd. This ABC News program reports on America’s emergency room crisis, in which many ERs, overwhelmed and losing money, are taking drastic actions to keep their heads above water—including turning away those who cannot pay.

		The Fight Against Germs: Effective Weapons Against Infection Because of constant use of disinfectants, a hospital is a place where only the fittest microbes survive, a dilemma that raises the stakes of even routine surgical procedures. This program looks at how germs develop partial or total antibiotic resistance and how researchers are pursuing new lines of attack to keep pace with these highly adaptive organisms. Computer imaging and electron microscopy help illustrate how Legionella bacteria adapt to harsh environments. The program concludes by looking at promising research into symbiotic mechanisms in sea sponges that can repel antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus.

		Food Fight: Childhood Obesity and the Food Industry It sounds laughable to blame food manufacturers and fast food restaurants for children being unhealthily overweight. But Big Tobacco thought health-related lawsuits were a joke too—until they finally lost. In this ABC News program, correspondent John Donvan examines the food industry’s marketing strategies to see if and to what extent they are responsible for America’s epidemic of childhood obesity. Industry initiatives to make and offer healthier foods are also presented. Afterward, anchor Chris Bury speaks with Kelly Brownell, director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, and Gene Grabowski, of the Grocery Manufacturers of America.

		Freedom of Movement: Rheumatism Therapy of the Future Insights into immune system disorders are unlocking new treatments for rheumatoid arthritis. Many of these innovative approaches are explored in this program, such as experimental drugs that suppress messenger proteins, treatments to regenerate cartilage through the use of stem cells, and the cultivation of chondrocyte cells in the lab. The program looks at detection and treatment of reactive arthritis, minimally invasive surgical techniques, and the development of synthetic cartilage.

		Girls in Physical Education: Increasing Participation and Success Why is it that involvement in physical activity for girls drops off more rapidly than for boys? This is a serious concern, as participation in school physical education programs has been shown to have a positive influence on a person’s physical activity later in life. Do girls lose the attention of PE teachers who favor nurturing the physical development of boys, or do they make a conscious choice not to participate in the PE system? If so, are they aware of the harmful ramifications come adulthood? This program examines some of the reasons why girls lose interest in physical education, then focuses on a number of proven strategies to help teachers tackle the problem.

		Growing Up Hispanic: Children in Crisis Reports from reputable medical sources reveal a statistical correlation between healthcare issues and poor academic performance in Hispanic communities nationwide. In this program, the National Council of La Raza’s Raul Yzaguirre, former Surgeon General David Satcher, the Hispanic Dental Association’s Nelson Artiga, and other experts address the pervasive health concerns—most notably dental problems and pediatric obesity—and insufficient access to healthcare that plague America’s Hispanic population, significantly undermining Latino children’s education as well as long-term well-being. Health initiatives in California, Texas, Florida, and New York are featured, along with case studies from those states.

		Homeopathy: The Test In an age of medical marvels and high-tech treatments, why does homeopathy continue to have a large and loyal following? Could it be because homeopathic remedies—dilutions containing no discernible ingredients—are believed by patients and even some mainstream medical practitioners to exert a positive influence over certain illnesses in people and even animals? This program charts the course of recent homeopathy research, ending in a test by a panel of experts and a dedicated debunker who would love to be proved wrong: paranormal investigator James Randi, who will pay $1 million for documented proof that homeopathic medicine really works. Will he keep his money?

		The Hospital Experience A hospital is a place of healing and recovery. So why can the experience provoke feelings of anxiety, confusion, helplessness, and fear? This program will help relieve the stress of hospitalization by familiarizing you with what to expect. Topics include admittance procedures, your typical day in the hospital, interacting with your health care workers, and knowing your rights as a patient. As the program follows an actual patient through the process, social workers, nurses, doctors, and patient advocates discuss relevant issues along the way.

		Importing Drugs: The Canadian Connection Pharmaceutical prices in the U.S. are pushing patients to have their prescriptions filled in Canada, where drugs such as Lipitor cost less. Budget-conscious state governments are also eyeing Canadian distributors as a way to manage their prescription plans while making fiscal ends meet. But officially speaking, such transactions are still illegal in the U.S.—and the medicines themselves, traveling outside the domain of the FDA, may not even be safe. In this two-segment program, NewsHour health correspondent Susan Dentzer taps senators, governors, FDA officials, pharmacists, and the CEO of drug manufacturing giant Pfizer to present a balanced view of one of today’s most controversial topics.

		Individual Differences: Gender, Training, and Physical Performance in Sport Why are some able to perform tremendous physical tasks, while others cannot? More specifically, why are males able to perform in ways females cannot? This program answers these questions and more by examining and calculating various indicators of physical fitness: percentage body fat, upper body size and strength, VO2 maximum, stroke volume, heart rate, cardiac output, hemoglobin and red blood cell count, and arteriovenous oxygen difference. An ideal anatomical and physiological learning resource for students and teachers of physical education.

		Infection: A History As a history of infection and contagion, this program tells a story of clever science and dumb luck, horror and hope. Filmed at locations worldwide, the video traces the battles fought against humanity’s oldest foes: diseases such as yellow fever, malaria, syphilis, cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis, polio, and perhaps the deadliest pandemic of all, AIDS. Health workers and epidemiologists on the front lines discuss the dynamics of combating disease, particularly in Africa, where AIDS ravages the continent. The growing problem of antibiotic resistance is also examined. Experts include Dr. David Ho, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris who has developed some of the most effective HIV drugs. (51 minutes)

		Infinite Compassion While academic pressure mounts, students at the University of Maryland’s Medical School receive daily opportunities to exercise compassion. In learning how to interview patients, first-year Alice is moved by the story of a homeless man. Sophomores Mina and Todd face the anxiety of trying to pass the national exams. In a neurosurgery rotation, third-year Dan observes the gamma knife, an array of 201 beams of radiation used to pulverize aneurysms. Ceila, a junior on a psychiatric rotation, helps a pregnant woman addicted to heroin. And then there is the drama of "match day" when all med school seniors find out where they are going to do their residencies. Viewer discretion is advised

		Influenza I infect a billion people annually, killing 35,000 in America alone. I strike the very young and very old, but children are my favorite hosts. This program lets influenza speak for itself, presenting its history and describing its methods of mutation and transmission from fowl to pigs to humans. Computer graphics, newsreel footage, and dramatizations help illustrate the deadly power of the virus, using examples such as the pandemic of 1918 that claimed nearly 40 million lives. Among the experts are Dr. Ken Shortridge of the University of Hong Kong and Dr. Robert Webster of St. Jude’s Children Hospital, two of the epidemiologists who stopped a lethal flu strain in Hong Kong in 1997.

		Inside the Head: New Dimensions in Brain Research Perhaps the most intriguing field of medicine is the one that seeks to understand consciousness itself. This program provides a tour of the most advanced work in brain research and cognitive science, as well as the latest applications of these discoveries in treating patients with brain disorders. Using MRI and EEG to determine areas of brain activity, researchers explore the connection between memory and epilepsy. New treatments are presented for Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis, as well as experimental drugs based on the recently identified Alzheimer’s gene.

		Junk Food Wars Healthy eating is a challenge—sometimes, it’s even a battle. With vending machines, convenience stores, and fast food restaurants almost everywhere, nutritional value can go down in defeat. This high-energy video shows how to defend against the dangers of junk food. Straightforward discussions and dramatizations arm students with a wealth of information on the new 2005 food pyramid, the different kinds of fats and sugars, how to read ingredients labels, and how to control what foods are available. Commentary from nutrition and food policy experts provides backup, with insights into junk food packaging and advertising tactics. Stop losing battles! Join the Junk Food Wars.

		Kill or Cure: A History of Medical Treatment For much of the course of medicine, it was often the case that a treatment could either kill or cure. This five-part series presents a history of medical science from ancient times to the present, dramatically contrasting today’s most advanced techniques with the methods of the past. Archival footage, photos, and excerpts from manuscripts and other primary sources are blended with interviews with patients and commentary from leading physicians, experts, and medical historians.

		Let Each Light Shine: A Portrait of Camphill Village At Camphill Village U.S.A., there are no patients and no caregivers. Only villagers live and work there—people with and without mental disabilities whose joint mission is to help each other enjoy meaningful lives. This program uses scenes of community activities and interviews with villagers to explore the Camphill movement’s remarkably effective group living model. Camphill Village U.S.A., where inclusion means everything, is living, loving proof that the principles of Rudolf Steiner, as put into action by Dr. Karl König, can make a wonderful difference.

		Living Donor Organ Transplants For patients in need of an organ, the wait, not the surgery, is often the more life-threatening factor. After a concise overview of cadaveric organ transplants, this program shifts its focus to living donor organ transplants. Three liver transplant case studies—young mother to baby daughter, adult daughter to elderly mother, and adult son to elderly father—spotlight pioneering surgeon Nancy Ascher and other transplant specialists in action. Close-ups of actual surgery provide a fascinating look at the procedure that is revolutionizing the science of organ transplantation. The use of immunosuppressants to curb organ rejection is also addressed.

		Living with Crohn’s Disease Of the more than 400,000 Americans living with Crohn’s disease, as many as 20 percent were diagnosed as children or teens. Several case studies of young female patients provide a forum for medical experts from the Mayo Clinic and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to share their knowledge of risk factors, symptoms, screening methods, complications, and treatment options, including anti-inflammatory medications, steroid treatments, immunosuppression, injected proteins, and surgical interventions. Cycles of remission and relapse, genetic and pharmaceutical research, diet and nutrition, pregnancy, and support groups are also covered.

		Looking Ahead: Advancements in Modern Medicine This three-part series analyzes the phenomenal research of medical visionaries, scientists, and futurists. Covering developments from robotics to telesurgery, computer chip brain implants to homes that monitor their residents for illness, the series provides exceptional insights into where medicine is going and what remarkable feats it may accomplish during the 21st century—and beyond.

		Madness: A History In the past, there was no such thing as mental illness, only madness. Its treatment was often indistinguishable from torture or murder. This program follows the long, often grim road towards understanding and treating mental illness. Through testimonials, original manuscripts, photos, and extensive footage from medical archives, leading doctors and medical historians trace the history of asylums, the development of psychoanalysis, electroconvulsive therapy, and the rise of psychopharmacology. The program also details the once widespread use of phrenology, lobotomy, and lobotomy’s ancient precursor, trepanning.

		Maintaining Mental Health Aging well might be an ambiguous phrase but it does have meaning, especially for people over 60. This program tells the stories of five vibrantly alive seniors who have successfully navigated through momentous life changes. Their examples highlight important precepts for staying mentally healthy, showing how mental health is a key to successful aging. In interviews and in footage of these men and women engaged in various activities, the program provides useful tips and firsthand advice on planning for retirement, staying active, coping with grief, and making the senior years an age of new discoveries.

		Malpractice and the Measure of Human Suffering When it comes to malpractice awards, there will always be those who call them exorbitant and others who call them just. But how exactly do juries calculate a figure for damages? How do they determine what the quality of life—or even life itself—is worth in dollars and cents? This ABC News program introduces viewers to a jury that, after finding a doctor to be negligent, had to then answer questions that most would find unanswerable. Their insights are illuminating.

		Medical Images Library This comprehensive library of medical images from the collection of the Wellcome Trust includes over 12,000 images on one easy-to-use DVD-ROM. The images illustrate a broad spectrum of diseases, medical treatments, and healthcare practices and are paired with a state-of-the-art slide show tool that provides the ability to create customized presentations. Images are also downloadable and printable and can be incorporated in handouts and reports.

		Medicine, Engineering, and the Human/Machine Interface This program investigates how mechanical technology is being adapted for use with the human body to treat disease and injury. Cyborg technology offers the possibility of melding injured bodies and machines, enhancing mobility for paraplegics and quadraplegics through thought-activated devices. Nanotechnology holds out the hope of using microscopic machines to combat internal illnesses such as cancer. And 3-D imaging technology, an essential tool for doctors at the vanguard of surgical treatment, is opening a new window on—and into—the human body.

		Men Don’t Cry: Prostate Cancer Stories When Oscar-winning documentarist John Zaritsky started directing this program, he had no idea he was about to be diagnosed with prostate cancer himself. Men Don’t Cry tells the intimate stories of Greenpeace cofounder Bob Hunter and two other patients as they come to terms with the disease. Each, with the support of his spouse, chooses to fight it in his own way, balancing treatment options, rates of cure and survival, and quality-of-life concerns about impotence and incontinence. A video that is as human as it is candid, Men Don’t Cry reinforces the importance of PSA screening to catch the disease early. Contains clinically explicit language.

		Micro-Parasites: Invisible Death Stronger and more mobile than ever, humankind’s oldest enemies—lethal micro-parasites—may very well be threatening the survival of the human race. Some were believed to have been eradicated from the industrialized world, only to reappear in drug-resistant strains. Others, previously known only to remote regions of the planet, are turning up anywhere an infected traveler can fly to. This program examines recent outbreaks of parasitic or parasite-borne illnesses, including SARS, West Nile virus, Ebola, tuberculosis, and bubonic plague.

		Morbid Obesity: A Probable Cure? Antonio Biello wants to walk again. Jean-Pierre Allard wants his son to see how energetic he once was. And Vanessa Hull simply hopes not to be dead before 30. Three people of different worlds, yet inextricably linked to a condition that Dr. Nicholas Christou says is poised to spread more rapidly than smoking—morbid obesity. This clinical program follows the three as they each seek an answer in the form of gastric bypass surgery. Medical professionals explain the physiology of obesity and argue the effectiveness of the procedure, and weight-loss surgery advocates analyze the ever-existing social stigmas against obese people. Contains explicit nudity. Portions are in French with English subtitles.

		Multicultural Perspectives on Adults with Developmental Disabilities Community-based caregiving is a vital mode of support for older adults with developmental disabilities. This insightful and uplifting program examines how, within Hispanic, African-American, and Asian-American cultural contexts, the needs of high-functioning members of this population are being met through the empowering assistance of their families and through healthcare- and employment-related programs that promote self-determination. The importance of service providers who share their clients’ respective cultures and, where necessary, speak Asian languages or Spanish is underscored.

		The New Face of Leprosy: Healing Bodies, Opening Minds Multidrug therapy can cure leprosy, stop its transmission, and prevent disfigurement. However, the disease will not be eradicated until early diagnosis and easy access to treatment become the norm—and heightened awareness completely replaces fear with facts. This compassionate program uses case studies from India, Ethiopia, Brazil, and Japan to illustrate the symptoms of leprosy, pharmaceutical treatment, and corrective surgery. In addition, it movingly addresses the rejection, isolation, and violation of human rights that generally have been the lot of leprosy patients. Initiatives such as Father Marian Zelazek’s Karunalaya Leprosy Care Center are spotlighted.

		New Killers In this program, four chilling case studies—cryptosporidiosis, CJD, staph superbug MRSA, and ehrlichiosis—demonstrate that humankind is being threatened by new enemies. Thirty unique and deadly pathogens have appeared in the past 25 years to wage an unrelenting war on humanity. Experts including epidemiologist Dr. Robert Sheretz, from Wake Forest University, and neurologist Dr. Richard Abbott, from the Leicester Royal Infirmary, detail outbreaks in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Tennessee, and England.

		Nutrition and Exercise When diabetes forced Yvonne to take her health seriously, she enlisted the help of a registered dietician and started exercising. By looking at Yvonne and others, this program details how the right foods combined with an adequate amount of exercise can help you avoid certain diseases and cope with existing medical conditions. Basic exercise tips and fitness assessment pointers are combined with suggested daily diets, especially the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, as explained by Dr. John Cook, director of Vascular Medicine at Stanford Medical School and author of The Cardiovascular Cure.

		Ocular Health: Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration Using the expertise of leading ophthalmologists specializing in the most common refractive and non-refractive conditions, this program presents the latest therapies to protect the eyes in the event of potentially blinding diseases. Ivan Schwab, Director of Cornea and External Disease Service at the University of California, Davis, maps out the physiology of the eye and its role in sending images to the brain; Kuldev Singh, Director of the Glaucoma Service at Stanford University School of Medicine, describes the symptoms of glaucoma as well as the different therapies available; and Richard Abbot, clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of California, San Francisco, describes macular degeneration and its contributing factors.

		A Parasite Primer Lethal parasites kill one human every ten seconds. Others prefer to keep people alive, for food and shelter. In this program, patients discuss their encounters with botfly maggots, leeches, candiru fish, elephantiasis, tapeworms and cerebral tapeworm cysts, and a tiny water parasite that eats away at the interior of the eye. Experiments include one in which lice are scattered on a volunteer to see how they react and another in which a volunteer incubates a monstrous beef tapeworm in his digestive tract—and then expels it.

		The Perfect Flaw: Triumphing over Facial Disfigurement Through courage and determination, David Roche has turned a prominent physical liability into a priceless personal asset. In this program, David at 55 humorously recounts the details, alternately heart-wrenching and hilarious, of a life dominated by a facial vascular malformation, complicated by radiation burns. It is "the perfect flaw" because it revealed to him his strengths as a keynote speaker, a storytelling coach, and a husband to a woman who fell in love with him "at second sight." Today he uses the particulars of his life and his sense of humor to help people address universals such as self-esteem, fear of rejection, and acceptance of differences.

		Peripheral Artery Disease: Staying on Your Feet When it comes to clogged arteries, your legs are no safer than your heart. This incisive clinical program raises awareness of peripheral artery disease, a very dangerous and often misdiagnosed vascular ailment. Doctors from Lenox Hill Hospital and Temple University Hospital explain the physiology of the disease and identify its most common risk factors, symptoms, diagnostic testing, and methods of treatment. They also stress the crucial need for early detection, citing that only one quarter of the 12 million Americans who have the disease are aware that their symptoms are PAD-induced. An informative and alarming learning resource.

		Physical Training Strategies: Preparing for a Purpose This program gives instruction on choosing and using the right training strategies to ensure maximum performance during physical activity. Topics for discussion include: the three energy systems in the body and each one’s involvement in athletic exertion; types of continuous, interval, and resistance training methods and each one’s effect on the energy systems; and the specificity, duration, frequency, intensity, and diminishing return principles of training. Footage of many sports and events illustrates the topics, providing practice to the theory.

		Placebo: Mind Over Medicine? This program critically explores a phenomenon that has haunted medical science for centuries. Exclusive footage documents recent case studies of scientific breakthroughs in the use of placebos to treat depression, knee pain, skin conditions, and multiple sclerosis in Los Angeles, Texas, and Italy. This challenge to the foundation of modern medicine includes numerous interviews with noted psychiatrists, psychologists, and surgeons from UCLA and Baylor College of Medicine, among others.

		The Plague Gruesome, swift, and devastating, the Black Death is aptly named. In this program, plague tells its chilling story, recounting its infamous epidemic outbreaks through the ages and detailing its grim pathology. Differences between bubonic and pneumonic forms are explained and illustrated with dramatizations of plague victims and interviews with survivors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plague specialists Drs. Kenneth Gage and David Dennis discuss the battle in the American Southwest to contain this deadly pathogen. Dr. Ken Alibek, former director of the Soviet bioweapons program, and other experts look at the threat of plague’s use in the future.

		Pregnancy: A History Due to ignorance, politics, and misused technologies, childbirth until very recently was often deadly to mother and child. This program presents a medical history of childbirth from ancient times to the present, contrasting methods and beliefs of the past with today’s obstetrics. Along with commentary from obstetricians, medical historians, and evolutionary biologists, the program highlights dangers and advances in birthing through documentary clips, reenactments, archival material, computer graphics, and footage of several modern delivery techniques. Topics include caesarian section, fertility treatments, morning sickness, ultrasound, in utero surgical procedures, and the story of obstetrical forceps. Contains nudity associated with childbirth.

		Prescription Medications: A Patient’s Primer With thousands of prescription drugs on the market, patients, physicians, and pharmacists must work together as never before to ensure that medicines yield their intended effects without exposing those taking them to unnecessary health risks. This overview of prescription medications emphasizes the dangers of interactions between prescription drugs and other prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, herbal and dietary supplements, and foods and beverages. Patient involvement through sharing information with the healthcare team, accepting accountability for compliance with the dosage regimen, and becoming informed of drug side effects is stressed.

		Restoring Life and Limb: Episode 2 Danny Stein was born with absent fibula: his feet were attached just below his knees. This program focuses on athletic young Danny, beginning with his birth and, at the age of 8 months, the amputation of his feet. Paddy Rossbach, renowned prosthetic rehabilitation specialist and co-founder of ASPIRE, is also spotlighted. Despite having lost a leg as a child—or perhaps because of it—she is today a competitive athlete. During the summer, Danny attends her junior sports camp, where all of the children and most of the staff were either born without limbs or lost limbs through injuries, illnesses, or birth impairments.

		The Rhythm of Life: Innovative Heart Research Heart valves fabricated from the body’s own cells are durable and are not rejected. Stimulating the natural growth of blood vessels to skirt clogged ones could make elaborate bypass surgery obsolete. As this program shows, these are some of the tools, either in use or under development, that place vascular science at the forefront of medicine. The program also highlights innovations in clot-dissolving drugs, artificial hearts, on-the-spot repairs through catheters and tiny video cameras, and growing three-dimensional heart tissue in the lab.

		The Right to Die Do dying patients have the right to die, or is it the obligation of society and the medical profession to keep patients legally alive as long as possible regardless of the pain, indignity, and emotional and financial cost, despite the wishes of patient and family, when the patient has no chance whatsoever of recovery? In this specially adapted Phil Donahue program, the medical, ethical, and legal dilemmas of such cases are discussed by former Governor Richard Lamm of Colorado, a physician attorney, a nurse who unhooked a patient’s tubes and stands charged with practicing medicine without a license (a charge reduced from murder), and a wife who wants doctors to honor her husband’s wish to die rather than be tortured by life-support machines.

		SARS: The True Story After severe acute respiratory syndrome struck down its first known victim, it seemed only fear could spread more rapidly than the disease itself. Little was known about it, except that it was flu-like—and, for 15 percent of patients, lethal. Filmed in the wake of the initial SARS onslaught, this gripping program describes the World Health Organization’s decisive counterattack. Julie Hall, of the WHO’s Global Alert, Response, and Operations Department; WHO virologist Klaus Stöhr; and other frontline personnel in the all-out war on SARS discuss the coronavirus’s emergence, its spread, and, through unprecedented international cooperation, its swift containment

		Saving Face: Lives Restored Using three in-depth case studies, this FREDDIE Award winner shows how surgery is helping children born with facial abnormalities. Surgeons reshape the human face in hospitals in Chicago, San Francisco, and Australia. Seven cases in all are reviewed by top facial reconstructive surgeons performing remarkable procedures.

		Scream: The History of Anesthetics Instructive and gruesome in equal parts, this program enters the operating theater with eyes wide open to observe how "fast and dirty" surgery—inexpressibly brutal in the time before anesthesia—led to 19th-century breakthroughs in the area of pain management. Traveling from the Victorian era to the present day, the program charts the evolution of anesthesiology and reviews the trial-and-error research behind anesthetic substances ranging from chloroform and nitrous oxide to cocaine and ketamine. Dr. David Wilkinson, president of the Confederation of European National Societies of Anaesthesiology, is featured.

		Separating Conjoined Twins: A Matter of Life and Death Joined at the head for nearly three decades, Laleh and Ladan Bijani were determined to live separate lives—regardless of the risks. All they wanted, they said, was to be able to look at each other without a mirror. But who would be willing to perform the elective, highly experimental procedure? Enter neurosurgeon Ben Carson and colleagues. In this ABC News program, Dr. Carson discusses why he was willing to conduct the pioneering operation, how he is coping with the death of both twins during it, and some of the ethical issues raised by it.

		Sickle Cell: The Forgotten Disease This insightful program, narrated by George Strait, raises viewer awareness of how patients cope with the day-to-day pain, uncertainty, and stigma of sickle-cell disease through the cases of two African-Americans—pop singer T-Boz, spokesperson for the American Sickle Cell Association, and Infinity, a 4-year-old girl—and a 9-year-old Latina named Nina. Current research and experimental treatments are presented by Surgeon General David Satcher; national sickle-cell expert Lakshmanan Krishnamurti; John Wagner, head of gene therapy at the University of Minnesota; Griffin Rodgers, of the NIH; and others. A Discovery Channel Production.

		Social Ills: When Children Suffer Too often, children suffer because of society’s malaise: drug abuse, violence, prejudice, and poverty, to name only four. This program illustrates how hospital employees at Children’s Memorial deal with child abuse while working to prevent it. "Domestic violence, child abuse, child neglect. You name it, we have it, and the hospital deals with all of it," says Gail Brodkey, child life specialist. The video also profiles a boy born with HIV who continues to beat the heavy odds against him through the cutting-edge efforts of the hospital’s pediatric and maternal HIV clinic.

		Stopping the Stutter with SpeechEasy There is no definitive explanation for why speaking in unison tends to alleviate stuttering, but that doesn’t mean the concept cannot be put to good use. This ABC News program reports on the remarkable SpeechEasy, an unobtrusive fluency device that uses altered auditory feedback to create a choral effect. The Emmy Award-winning first segment profiles speech therapist and co-inventor Joseph Kalinowski, who explains how the SpeechEasy works. Segment two follows up with the story of a young man for whom the device has been nothing short of a miracle. The program also identifies factors that may predispose a person to stuttering and sensitively addresses the emotional anguish that so often accompanies the disorder.

		Sudden Death: Malignant Hyperthermia Malignant hyperthermia, or MH, is a rare inherited muscle disorder that can be triggered by anesthesia or elevated temperature. This program follows the medical detective story of its discovery in the 1960s by Australian clinical geneticist Michael Denborough and his pioneering of the MH antidote, Dantrium. Along the way, the value of his efforts is seen in the stories of people whose brush with MH has changed their lives. The program also looks at Denborough’s continuing and controversial research strongly linking MH to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

		Substance Abuse Prevention S.M.A.R.T. Box The Substance Abuse Prevention S.M.A.R.T. Box provides teachers and students with an outstanding blend of multimedia materials designed to support substance awareness and addiction prevention programs. Correlated to the American School Health Association educational standards, the S.M.A.R.T. Box combines core content, creative activities to test comprehension, a Teacher’s Guide with suggested lesson plans, and a Teacher’s Resource Pack to deliver an enriching and engaging learning experience.

		Surgery: A History Today, most surgical procedures are safe, even routine. It wasn’t always that way. By looking at the obstacles of pain, infection, and shock, this program chronicles the milestones and pioneers of modern surgery, tracing the development of anesthesia, antiseptics, antibiotics, and transfusions. To illustrate just how far the field has come, the intricacies of heart bypass surgery are presented in close detail. Numerous case studies are also used to show the progress of reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, as well as the emergence of laparoscopy and other noninvasive techniques.

		Targeting Tumor Cells: New Strategies in Fighting Cancer The Pap smear was a diagnostic milestone in detecting precancerous cells. Researchers are developing similar tests, particularly ones based on genetic predisposition, as they learn to home in on other cancers. As this program illustrates, sophisticated screening is just one of the ways medicine has advanced the fight against a dreaded disease. The program also looks at the targeted destruction of tumors through drugs that either react to substances unique to tumor cells or suppress angiogenesis. The latest surgical techniques using lasers, robots, and endoscopes are examined as well.

		Top Ten Cancer Myths Cell phones, microwave ovens, pesticides, power lines, fried foods—do any of these cause cancer? To create this program, Discovery Health Channel, Prevention Magazine, and the American Cancer Society surveyed 1,000 adults, compiling the ten leading misconceptions about cancer. Cancer researchers, doctors, patients, and survivors present compelling stories and plain