Epilepsy Museum - Produced by a German doctor, this site covers the history of the disease, diagnosis, therapies, epilepsy and art, famous epileptics, and recommended books. Both Galen and Hippocrates knew it originated in the brain, and the Egyptians had a word for it - nesejet. Ancient diagnostic methods included the use of a turning potter's wheel, as the sight of its continual motion might bring on a seizure. Mugwort, copper, mercury, and zinc oxide were among the treatments used during the Renaissance, and not till the 19th century were substances discovered that actually worked. Among famous people who suffered from epilepsy were: Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Alexander the Great, Dostoyevsky, Van Gogh, Lord Byron, Flaubert, Pope Pius IX, Joan of Arc, Moliere, Alfred Nobel, Hermann von Helmholtz, Socrates, Lenin, and Cardinal Richelieu. It is a very common ailment. Rating: 10 out of 10 (20 February 2003) AD
http://www.epilepsiemuseum.de/alt/english.htm
ALtruis Biomedical Network - If it's health and/or biomedical information you're after, this site promises more than 130 links from which to choose, such as e.kidneys. com and e-histology.net. Topics run the gamut from personal care products to fungal infections to proteomics, organized under headings of Infections, Cardiology, Hygiene, Research, Women's Health, Endocrinology, Cancer, and others. You can learn why a store brand of shampoo is just as effective as a pricier salon product, and the specifics of many tropical diseases. Fascinating bits of history are included, for example, the Egyptians used oxen hoof ash, eggshells, pumice, and myrrh in an ancient form of toothpowder. The site accepts advertisements, but these do not detract from the excellent presentation of the main content. Rating: 9 out of 10 (14 February 2003) AD
http://www.altruisbiomedical.net/index.html
Healthsites - Set up by a NHS general practitioner, Healthsites is a medical portal which aims to provide quick and easy access to (primarily UK) health and medical resources on the internet. Its main categories are News, Medical Conditions, National Health Organizations, International Health Organizations, Helplines and Patient Leaflets, Local Services, Complementary Medicine, Search Engines and Databases, each further subdivided by topic. A separate list of 20 Quick Links on the home page includes Specialist Advice on Anything, A-Z of Diseases/Disorders, Women's Health Information, hundreds of factsheets, telephone helplines and patient support groups. Localhealthsites, a sister site to Healthsites, pulls together the local health resources in over 500 locations in England, Scotland and Wales. All in all, this no-frills, easy-to-navigate site can be usefully bookmarked as an accessible guide to medical resources in the UK useful, that is, for its listings of other sites, but not as a search or reference tool, where its limitations are obvious. Useful for things like locating a homeopathic doctor in your area, or finding a diabetes helpline, but not designed to cope with the simplest of searches (it's not unreasonable to expect at least one result for, say, 'multivitamins' or 'patient's charter' on a medical site, is it?). If the site expands, it would benefit from having boolean search capabilities and perhaps a few more international links, like UN health organizations, NGOs and charities. (And a button for the home page wouldn't go amiss.) Rating: 7 out of 10 (8 December 2002) DD
http://www.healthsites.co.uk/
Way Cool Surgery - The hospital that performed the most beating-heart surgeries in central Ohio in 2001 has a pretty nifty website aimed at middle and high school students. Mount Carmel features an innovative program (one of only two in the U.S.), where students are allowed to observe actual surgeries, and ask questions of the surgical team during the procedures. At the site, users are walked through a coronary bypass surgery, illustrated with video clips. These are low-res, but it is quite obvious - to those of us not hardened to the sight of surgeries while young - what it is we are seeing. You can choose to skip the clips, and simply look at the still image. Patient case histories, which show their status before and after surgery, are interesting to follow. A section on medical careers gives students an idea of what to expect if they enter the field. Rating: 9 out of 10 (8 November 2002) AD
http://www.waycoolsurgery.com/
Australian Drug Information Network - ADIN, the Australian Drug Information Network, provides access to quality web-based information and databases relating to alcohol and drug abuse. Funded by the Commonwealth Government, as part of its National Illicit Drug Strategy Tough on Drugs, the development of the ADIN site was led by the Australian Drug Foundation in Melbourne, in conjunction with a consortium of other organisations. Relevant both in Australia and internationally, the site provides users with a quality assurance that all information delivered is accurate; senior drug and alcohol professionals vet the linked sites. ADIN also evaluates its content, placing emphasis on reputable organisations, such as Government departments, academic, institutional and national bodies with recognised expertise in alcohol and drug issues. Through visitor feedback, the site is continuously improved to insure that the information provided is up-to-date and retains the highest possible standards. ADIN also ranks the sites of organisations covered according to the quality of the information they provide and its relevance to Australia. In its default setting, ADIN's search returns will be prioritised with those sites deemed most credible appearing in the top positions, although this function can be disabled prior to submitting a search if you prefer. ADIN is designed for both local and international communities, and is suitable for an extremely wide audience from researchers and healthcare professionals to concerned parents and school children. However, on linking to the site, a separate entry window opens up informing users that some of the sites linked to ADIN may not be suitable for children or for school and community education and prevention purposes. A similar window appears to alert you when you are leaving the ADIN network. If in doubt, parents and school groups can stick to the information for schools section. The suite is comprehensive and well laid out. Although more utilitarian than attractive, it remains an interesting and informative site and provides a wealth of reliable information on this sensitive subject. Rating 8 out of 10 (8 September 2002) LH
http://www.adin.com.au/
John Snow - The UCLA School of Public Health has created a repository about the work of Dr. John Snow and his pioneering efforts in public health and epidemiology. A physician in London during the first half of the nineteenth century, Dr. Snow's realization that water was carrying the cholera bacteria was instrumental in stopping the cholera epidemics that ravaged the city and the world at that time. The site chronicles Snow's research and historical medical treatises as well as other scientific reports about the importance of his discoveries, and articles that provide important perspective for a modern understanding of his groundbreaking work on the mechanisms of infectious disease. Some of the multimedia items has hardware and software requirements, explained on the site. The linked resources, as well as the ones developed by UCLA, are high quality and provide valuable information accessible by older students and adults. A better organization scheme and content clustering would make the site more usable, and it could benefit from advanced searching capabilities. Even with these slight shortcomings, this site is a solid resource for anyone curious about infectious diseases, the history of medicine, scientific milestones, or even the history of London. Rating: 8 out of 10 (6 July 2002) CK
http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow.html
Youthhealth - A Flashy site with interactive question-and-answer cartoons that lead you gently into the world of health and our bodies. All the obvious material is here from bugs and infection to the tongue and tonsils. The style will appeal to younger kids but they might not necessarily pick up on some of the more complex terminology. Why it's called Youthealth is difficult to say, as the site definitely seems to be aimed at a younger audience, 8-12 rather than youths. Although Youhealth.com itself is a commercial educational software publisher, the content for the site is written and guaranteed by Dr Russell Viner. Viner is a specialist Paediatrician and working at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, in London, so I hope there are no factual mistakes. Navigation is straightforward, just click a cartoon graphic and the animation begins. The questions produce some nice globby sounds when you you're your mouse over them, but the character voices begin to grate after all. It all loaded fairly quickly on a 512k broadband connection. The simplicity of the Flash animations does help, of course, but things might be too slow with a 56k modem. You will need a Flash player for most of the site's features. (18 January 2002) DB
http://www.youthealth.com/data/default.asp
