A quick update on our CIHR study on MUPS- medically unexplained physical symptoms:
We presented a poster of our preliminary findings at the BrainMatters3 Conference in Cleveland Ohio, 25-27 October 2012. The meeting was an interdisciplinary array of neuro-scientists, ethicists, neurologists, psychiatrists, writers, social workers, etc.. Consequently the presentations were diverse and far-reaching. A number of them will be posted on UTube in the coming months: http://www.youtube.com/user/ClevelandClinicCME. Once they are online, I will highlight the sessions which I found to be the most interesting.
Out of this conference, we were fortunate to be asked to submit an article to the American Journal of Bioethics which will be published during the summer of 2013. I look forward to reading the 5 other essays which have been submitted from other BrainMatters participants. (Written prose can often hone arguments for the reader that remain elusive after a day of ongoing oral presentations. Moreover, articles also present details of the author(s)’ discussions more subtlely and articulately.
Having written our short (3,000 word) piece outlining our preliminary investigations and anlayses, we’ve returned to transcribing interviews from our research project here in Calgary and Vancouver (Canada). We will finalize our interviews by January 2013.
As for me personally, I am undergoing a flare of my own MUPS condition. (The closest diagnosis that we can arrive at is that I seem to have an atypical form of myasthenia gravis.) I am not enjoying the severity or timing of this exacerbation. There are two positive observations that I can make: i) I am receiving excellent care from a multidisciplinary team in Calgary and, ii) the symptoms seem to be gradually abating. . .
McCaig Tower, FMC, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.