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Necrotizing lunchitis, pneumonia throwdown, global gamete warming
Global gamete warming
Apparently, increasing deadly wildfires, hurricanes, and global famine aren’t enough. Turns out, climate change has found yet another way to harm its arch nemeses, a.k.a. every single species on the planet. A study originally published in Nature Communications found that rising temperatures also have a significant effect on male (but not female) fertility. Men: so fragile.
Testing fertility in flour beetles, researchers concluded that successive heat waves of 5-7° C above normal for 5 days reduced sperm competitiveness and practically sterilized the males. Inseminated sperm inside females were also not spared the devastating effects of the heat-wave conditions. And, as the icing on the cake, reduced fertility persisted amongst later generations.
Unless we can figure out how robot sperm can deliver DNA, we’re in trouble.
Pneumonia throwdown
Previously, we pitted Clostridium difficile against cockroaches in a battle of toughness. In this week’s edition of Bacteria vs. the World, bacterial pneumonia goes up against another worthy adversary, viral pneumonia.
“We’ve always known pneumonia was a risk factor for a major adverse cardiac event,” said J. Brent Muhlestein, MD, of Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City. “What we didn’t know was which type of pneumonia was more dangerous.”
To find out, he and his associates followed almost 4,800 patients hospitalized with pneumonia and tracked nonfatal heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, or death. Data they presented at the American Heart Association scientific sessions in Chicago show that 34% of patients with bacterial pneumonia had a major cardiovascular event within 90 days, compared with 26% of those diagnosed with viral pneumonia. It is likely “that bacterial pneumonia causes greater inflammation of the arteries compared to viral pneumonia,” Dr. Muhlestein said.
So the bacteria stay undefeated, and somewhere Chuck Norris, who will never have a heart attack – even a heart isn’t foolish enough to attack Chuck Norris – is smiling.
Ch-ch-check it out
Drop the beat! Researchers at the University of California were interested in examining beatboxing processes to explore how the human mind works.
These crazy scientists threw some beatboxers into an MRI for an exclusive performance and studied the movements of their mouth and tongue. Researchers hypothesized that beatboxers base their sounds on already-known speech. But they discovered that these talented virtuosos are creating a whole new language.
“They’re coming up with ways to create these really complex acrobatic sounds by taking approaches drawn from different parts of the mouth that they don’t use in any language, and nobody uses for any language,” according to the lead researcher.
Does that mean beatboxing will be taught in schools as a foreign language? Perhaps. It might be more useful than learning Latin.
Keloid castration
Keloids – those pesky overgrowths of scar tissue – can be mighty hard to treat.
“Virtually every patient says, ‘I want this cut off – I want it gone,’ ” dermatologist Hilary E. Baldwin, MD, said in a presentation at the recent Las Vegas Dermatology Seminar. She responds to patients with reality checks about what’s actually possible in keloid treatment.
But sometimes, they just want to adjust the appearance of their keloids. Like the man who complained that “my keloid looks like my junk.” Dr. Baldwin took a look and had to agree – the keloid on his deltoid was the spitting image of male genitalia. She treated the keloid with the equivalent of castration (removing its “testicles” via surgery) and circumcision of sorts (flattening its “glans penis” via corticosteroids).
“It didn’t look pretty,” she said, as at least one male member of the audience squirmed, “but it no longer looked offensive to him.”
‘Necrotizing lunchitis’
Here at the Bureau of Livin’ on the MDedge, we pride ourselves on having the best words. And being University of Michigan graduates. So, the pain is Likert-scale 10 when Big Ten rivals have better words – and worse office fridges.
Exhibit A: the operative report surgical-taped to a Penn State University call room refrigerator, which general surgery resident and American hero Dr. Cassie Sonntag shared on Twitter. The 18-cubic-foot communal Kenmore’s diagnosis? “Necrotizing lunchitis.”
The grave condition called for immediate intervention by surgeon “Whitt,” with assistance from circulating nurse “Liu.” The surgical team performed “debridement of the upper, middle, and lower compartments of the call room refrigerator with extension into the fridge door, disarticulation and washout of the lower chamber, explantation of necrotic lunches of varying ages.” Complications? “Multiple never-before-seen species of mold casually exterminated.” The patient’s postprocedure condition is “guarded.” The complete report is well worth your review. Even if the Sears appliance’s specimens were “refused by path.”
Global gamete warming
Apparently, increasing deadly wildfires, hurricanes, and global famine aren’t enough. Turns out, climate change has found yet another way to harm its arch nemeses, a.k.a. every single species on the planet. A study originally published in Nature Communications found that rising temperatures also have a significant effect on male (but not female) fertility. Men: so fragile.
Testing fertility in flour beetles, researchers concluded that successive heat waves of 5-7° C above normal for 5 days reduced sperm competitiveness and practically sterilized the males. Inseminated sperm inside females were also not spared the devastating effects of the heat-wave conditions. And, as the icing on the cake, reduced fertility persisted amongst later generations.
Unless we can figure out how robot sperm can deliver DNA, we’re in trouble.
Pneumonia throwdown
Previously, we pitted Clostridium difficile against cockroaches in a battle of toughness. In this week’s edition of Bacteria vs. the World, bacterial pneumonia goes up against another worthy adversary, viral pneumonia.
“We’ve always known pneumonia was a risk factor for a major adverse cardiac event,” said J. Brent Muhlestein, MD, of Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City. “What we didn’t know was which type of pneumonia was more dangerous.”
To find out, he and his associates followed almost 4,800 patients hospitalized with pneumonia and tracked nonfatal heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, or death. Data they presented at the American Heart Association scientific sessions in Chicago show that 34% of patients with bacterial pneumonia had a major cardiovascular event within 90 days, compared with 26% of those diagnosed with viral pneumonia. It is likely “that bacterial pneumonia causes greater inflammation of the arteries compared to viral pneumonia,” Dr. Muhlestein said.
So the bacteria stay undefeated, and somewhere Chuck Norris, who will never have a heart attack – even a heart isn’t foolish enough to attack Chuck Norris – is smiling.
Ch-ch-check it out
Drop the beat! Researchers at the University of California were interested in examining beatboxing processes to explore how the human mind works.
These crazy scientists threw some beatboxers into an MRI for an exclusive performance and studied the movements of their mouth and tongue. Researchers hypothesized that beatboxers base their sounds on already-known speech. But they discovered that these talented virtuosos are creating a whole new language.
“They’re coming up with ways to create these really complex acrobatic sounds by taking approaches drawn from different parts of the mouth that they don’t use in any language, and nobody uses for any language,” according to the lead researcher.
Does that mean beatboxing will be taught in schools as a foreign language? Perhaps. It might be more useful than learning Latin.
Keloid castration
Keloids – those pesky overgrowths of scar tissue – can be mighty hard to treat.
“Virtually every patient says, ‘I want this cut off – I want it gone,’ ” dermatologist Hilary E. Baldwin, MD, said in a presentation at the recent Las Vegas Dermatology Seminar. She responds to patients with reality checks about what’s actually possible in keloid treatment.
But sometimes, they just want to adjust the appearance of their keloids. Like the man who complained that “my keloid looks like my junk.” Dr. Baldwin took a look and had to agree – the keloid on his deltoid was the spitting image of male genitalia. She treated the keloid with the equivalent of castration (removing its “testicles” via surgery) and circumcision of sorts (flattening its “glans penis” via corticosteroids).
“It didn’t look pretty,” she said, as at least one male member of the audience squirmed, “but it no longer looked offensive to him.”
‘Necrotizing lunchitis’
Here at the Bureau of Livin’ on the MDedge, we pride ourselves on having the best words. And being University of Michigan graduates. So, the pain is Likert-scale 10 when Big Ten rivals have better words – and worse office fridges.
Exhibit A: the operative report surgical-taped to a Penn State University call room refrigerator, which general surgery resident and American hero Dr. Cassie Sonntag shared on Twitter. The 18-cubic-foot communal Kenmore’s diagnosis? “Necrotizing lunchitis.”
The grave condition called for immediate intervention by surgeon “Whitt,” with assistance from circulating nurse “Liu.” The surgical team performed “debridement of the upper, middle, and lower compartments of the call room refrigerator with extension into the fridge door, disarticulation and washout of the lower chamber, explantation of necrotic lunches of varying ages.” Complications? “Multiple never-before-seen species of mold casually exterminated.” The patient’s postprocedure condition is “guarded.” The complete report is well worth your review. Even if the Sears appliance’s specimens were “refused by path.”
Global gamete warming
Apparently, increasing deadly wildfires, hurricanes, and global famine aren’t enough. Turns out, climate change has found yet another way to harm its arch nemeses, a.k.a. every single species on the planet. A study originally published in Nature Communications found that rising temperatures also have a significant effect on male (but not female) fertility. Men: so fragile.
Testing fertility in flour beetles, researchers concluded that successive heat waves of 5-7° C above normal for 5 days reduced sperm competitiveness and practically sterilized the males. Inseminated sperm inside females were also not spared the devastating effects of the heat-wave conditions. And, as the icing on the cake, reduced fertility persisted amongst later generations.
Unless we can figure out how robot sperm can deliver DNA, we’re in trouble.
Pneumonia throwdown
Previously, we pitted Clostridium difficile against cockroaches in a battle of toughness. In this week’s edition of Bacteria vs. the World, bacterial pneumonia goes up against another worthy adversary, viral pneumonia.
“We’ve always known pneumonia was a risk factor for a major adverse cardiac event,” said J. Brent Muhlestein, MD, of Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City. “What we didn’t know was which type of pneumonia was more dangerous.”
To find out, he and his associates followed almost 4,800 patients hospitalized with pneumonia and tracked nonfatal heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, or death. Data they presented at the American Heart Association scientific sessions in Chicago show that 34% of patients with bacterial pneumonia had a major cardiovascular event within 90 days, compared with 26% of those diagnosed with viral pneumonia. It is likely “that bacterial pneumonia causes greater inflammation of the arteries compared to viral pneumonia,” Dr. Muhlestein said.
So the bacteria stay undefeated, and somewhere Chuck Norris, who will never have a heart attack – even a heart isn’t foolish enough to attack Chuck Norris – is smiling.
Ch-ch-check it out
Drop the beat! Researchers at the University of California were interested in examining beatboxing processes to explore how the human mind works.
These crazy scientists threw some beatboxers into an MRI for an exclusive performance and studied the movements of their mouth and tongue. Researchers hypothesized that beatboxers base their sounds on already-known speech. But they discovered that these talented virtuosos are creating a whole new language.
“They’re coming up with ways to create these really complex acrobatic sounds by taking approaches drawn from different parts of the mouth that they don’t use in any language, and nobody uses for any language,” according to the lead researcher.
Does that mean beatboxing will be taught in schools as a foreign language? Perhaps. It might be more useful than learning Latin.
Keloid castration
Keloids – those pesky overgrowths of scar tissue – can be mighty hard to treat.
“Virtually every patient says, ‘I want this cut off – I want it gone,’ ” dermatologist Hilary E. Baldwin, MD, said in a presentation at the recent Las Vegas Dermatology Seminar. She responds to patients with reality checks about what’s actually possible in keloid treatment.
But sometimes, they just want to adjust the appearance of their keloids. Like the man who complained that “my keloid looks like my junk.” Dr. Baldwin took a look and had to agree – the keloid on his deltoid was the spitting image of male genitalia. She treated the keloid with the equivalent of castration (removing its “testicles” via surgery) and circumcision of sorts (flattening its “glans penis” via corticosteroids).
“It didn’t look pretty,” she said, as at least one male member of the audience squirmed, “but it no longer looked offensive to him.”
‘Necrotizing lunchitis’
Here at the Bureau of Livin’ on the MDedge, we pride ourselves on having the best words. And being University of Michigan graduates. So, the pain is Likert-scale 10 when Big Ten rivals have better words – and worse office fridges.
Exhibit A: the operative report surgical-taped to a Penn State University call room refrigerator, which general surgery resident and American hero Dr. Cassie Sonntag shared on Twitter. The 18-cubic-foot communal Kenmore’s diagnosis? “Necrotizing lunchitis.”
The grave condition called for immediate intervention by surgeon “Whitt,” with assistance from circulating nurse “Liu.” The surgical team performed “debridement of the upper, middle, and lower compartments of the call room refrigerator with extension into the fridge door, disarticulation and washout of the lower chamber, explantation of necrotic lunches of varying ages.” Complications? “Multiple never-before-seen species of mold casually exterminated.” The patient’s postprocedure condition is “guarded.” The complete report is well worth your review. Even if the Sears appliance’s specimens were “refused by path.”
Dark-roast dementia, cocktail dermatitis, and violent good guys
Dark roast has the most
The most … best chance … dark-roast coffee may protect your brain against Parkinson’s disease, okay? Rhyming can be hard. A Canadian study recently found that the compounds in brewed coffee, called phenylindanes, may have neuroprotective effects by inhibiting amyloid-beta, tau, or alpha-synuclein. Researchers examined light roast, dark roast, and decaf dark roast and concluded that the dark roast contains stronger inhibitors. We always figured those ridiculous light-roast coffees were for the weak, but now we have proof.
Researchers also looked at the effect of caffeine. Sweet, sweet caffeine. While a potent psychoactive component, pure caffeine appeared to have no effect on amyloid-beta, tau, or alpha-synuclein aggregation. Does this mean coffee is the cure for Parkinson’s disease? Not quite yet, but keep on chuggin’. And while you’re at it, have some pomegranate, too.
Cocktail dermatitis
Dermatologist Vincent DeLeo, MD, isn’t a psychic or a seer. But he plays one in the examination room. Every now and then, a patient walks in with noninflammatory blisters or hyperpigmentation, often on their hands. Dr. DeLeo takes a look and asks if the patient was enjoying some gin and tonics the previous weekend. “They think you’re God because of course they were,” he told an audience at the recent Coastal Dermatology Symposium.
The culprit? An allergy to the dark green skin of limes, a.k.a. “margarita photodermatitis.” Dr. DeLeo says it may take a few days for the blisters to appear. And he advised colleagues to not photo test the patient because it could make things worse. As for treatment, steroids can help. So can switching to Scotch and soda.
The animals are getting high
Australian animals are getting a contact high, according to a research team that studied stream invertebrates around Melbourne. When we consume pharmaceuticals, our bodies do not totally absorb them. Now, evidence shows that the residual drugs that leave our system are ending up in waterways. What does that mean? It means animals are getting free drugs, and that’s just not fair.
The water-dwelling invertebrates are also passing on these residual compounds to other animals, like spiders who eat invertebrate larvae. Researchers also predicted that platypuses in particular might soon be exposed to high levels of antidepressants. At least the platypuses will be happy.
Health care goes to the movies
Science, as many of those involved in the time-honored but often misunderstood pursuit of truthiness would agree, is a strange, wonderful, yet fickle mistress. One day, she’ll have you comparing the quantity and quality of infant stools or shoving whooping cough bacteria up people’s noses. And the next day, she’ll invite you to join her at the local mega-movie multiplex for the latest Hollywood blockbuster.
Just ask Robert Olympia, MD, of Penn State University, Hershey, and his associates, who watched 10 superhero-based films from 2015 and 2016 and counted the violent acts committed by “good guys” and “bad guys.” Their analysis, presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Orlando, shows that good guys committed 23 violent acts per hour, compared with 18 per hour for the bad guys. Young people who watch these movies “may be influenced by their portrayal of risk-taking behaviors and acts of violence. … Pediatric health care providers should educate families about the violence depicted in this genre of film and the potential dangers that may occur when children attempt to emulate these perceived heroes,” said Dr. Olympia.
Of course, his own superhero-ready name suggests that he may be battling – in a nonviolent way, we’re sure – Bleeding Ulcer, The Bowel Movement, Anal Fissure, Migraineur, and/or The Endoscopist in the next Avengers movie.
Dark roast has the most
The most … best chance … dark-roast coffee may protect your brain against Parkinson’s disease, okay? Rhyming can be hard. A Canadian study recently found that the compounds in brewed coffee, called phenylindanes, may have neuroprotective effects by inhibiting amyloid-beta, tau, or alpha-synuclein. Researchers examined light roast, dark roast, and decaf dark roast and concluded that the dark roast contains stronger inhibitors. We always figured those ridiculous light-roast coffees were for the weak, but now we have proof.
Researchers also looked at the effect of caffeine. Sweet, sweet caffeine. While a potent psychoactive component, pure caffeine appeared to have no effect on amyloid-beta, tau, or alpha-synuclein aggregation. Does this mean coffee is the cure for Parkinson’s disease? Not quite yet, but keep on chuggin’. And while you’re at it, have some pomegranate, too.
Cocktail dermatitis
Dermatologist Vincent DeLeo, MD, isn’t a psychic or a seer. But he plays one in the examination room. Every now and then, a patient walks in with noninflammatory blisters or hyperpigmentation, often on their hands. Dr. DeLeo takes a look and asks if the patient was enjoying some gin and tonics the previous weekend. “They think you’re God because of course they were,” he told an audience at the recent Coastal Dermatology Symposium.
The culprit? An allergy to the dark green skin of limes, a.k.a. “margarita photodermatitis.” Dr. DeLeo says it may take a few days for the blisters to appear. And he advised colleagues to not photo test the patient because it could make things worse. As for treatment, steroids can help. So can switching to Scotch and soda.
The animals are getting high
Australian animals are getting a contact high, according to a research team that studied stream invertebrates around Melbourne. When we consume pharmaceuticals, our bodies do not totally absorb them. Now, evidence shows that the residual drugs that leave our system are ending up in waterways. What does that mean? It means animals are getting free drugs, and that’s just not fair.
The water-dwelling invertebrates are also passing on these residual compounds to other animals, like spiders who eat invertebrate larvae. Researchers also predicted that platypuses in particular might soon be exposed to high levels of antidepressants. At least the platypuses will be happy.
Health care goes to the movies
Science, as many of those involved in the time-honored but often misunderstood pursuit of truthiness would agree, is a strange, wonderful, yet fickle mistress. One day, she’ll have you comparing the quantity and quality of infant stools or shoving whooping cough bacteria up people’s noses. And the next day, she’ll invite you to join her at the local mega-movie multiplex for the latest Hollywood blockbuster.
Just ask Robert Olympia, MD, of Penn State University, Hershey, and his associates, who watched 10 superhero-based films from 2015 and 2016 and counted the violent acts committed by “good guys” and “bad guys.” Their analysis, presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Orlando, shows that good guys committed 23 violent acts per hour, compared with 18 per hour for the bad guys. Young people who watch these movies “may be influenced by their portrayal of risk-taking behaviors and acts of violence. … Pediatric health care providers should educate families about the violence depicted in this genre of film and the potential dangers that may occur when children attempt to emulate these perceived heroes,” said Dr. Olympia.
Of course, his own superhero-ready name suggests that he may be battling – in a nonviolent way, we’re sure – Bleeding Ulcer, The Bowel Movement, Anal Fissure, Migraineur, and/or The Endoscopist in the next Avengers movie.
Dark roast has the most
The most … best chance … dark-roast coffee may protect your brain against Parkinson’s disease, okay? Rhyming can be hard. A Canadian study recently found that the compounds in brewed coffee, called phenylindanes, may have neuroprotective effects by inhibiting amyloid-beta, tau, or alpha-synuclein. Researchers examined light roast, dark roast, and decaf dark roast and concluded that the dark roast contains stronger inhibitors. We always figured those ridiculous light-roast coffees were for the weak, but now we have proof.
Researchers also looked at the effect of caffeine. Sweet, sweet caffeine. While a potent psychoactive component, pure caffeine appeared to have no effect on amyloid-beta, tau, or alpha-synuclein aggregation. Does this mean coffee is the cure for Parkinson’s disease? Not quite yet, but keep on chuggin’. And while you’re at it, have some pomegranate, too.
Cocktail dermatitis
Dermatologist Vincent DeLeo, MD, isn’t a psychic or a seer. But he plays one in the examination room. Every now and then, a patient walks in with noninflammatory blisters or hyperpigmentation, often on their hands. Dr. DeLeo takes a look and asks if the patient was enjoying some gin and tonics the previous weekend. “They think you’re God because of course they were,” he told an audience at the recent Coastal Dermatology Symposium.
The culprit? An allergy to the dark green skin of limes, a.k.a. “margarita photodermatitis.” Dr. DeLeo says it may take a few days for the blisters to appear. And he advised colleagues to not photo test the patient because it could make things worse. As for treatment, steroids can help. So can switching to Scotch and soda.
The animals are getting high
Australian animals are getting a contact high, according to a research team that studied stream invertebrates around Melbourne. When we consume pharmaceuticals, our bodies do not totally absorb them. Now, evidence shows that the residual drugs that leave our system are ending up in waterways. What does that mean? It means animals are getting free drugs, and that’s just not fair.
The water-dwelling invertebrates are also passing on these residual compounds to other animals, like spiders who eat invertebrate larvae. Researchers also predicted that platypuses in particular might soon be exposed to high levels of antidepressants. At least the platypuses will be happy.
Health care goes to the movies
Science, as many of those involved in the time-honored but often misunderstood pursuit of truthiness would agree, is a strange, wonderful, yet fickle mistress. One day, she’ll have you comparing the quantity and quality of infant stools or shoving whooping cough bacteria up people’s noses. And the next day, she’ll invite you to join her at the local mega-movie multiplex for the latest Hollywood blockbuster.
Just ask Robert Olympia, MD, of Penn State University, Hershey, and his associates, who watched 10 superhero-based films from 2015 and 2016 and counted the violent acts committed by “good guys” and “bad guys.” Their analysis, presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Orlando, shows that good guys committed 23 violent acts per hour, compared with 18 per hour for the bad guys. Young people who watch these movies “may be influenced by their portrayal of risk-taking behaviors and acts of violence. … Pediatric health care providers should educate families about the violence depicted in this genre of film and the potential dangers that may occur when children attempt to emulate these perceived heroes,” said Dr. Olympia.
Of course, his own superhero-ready name suggests that he may be battling – in a nonviolent way, we’re sure – Bleeding Ulcer, The Bowel Movement, Anal Fissure, Migraineur, and/or The Endoscopist in the next Avengers movie.
Ecstasy for PTSD, cockroach-tough C. diff, cardio-friendly queso
Rolling in ecstasy
Treating post-traumatic stress disorder could now be as simple as hitting the club. Not really, but in the longest and largest study of its kind, researchers looked at the effects of MDMA on patients with chronic PTSD.
After three sessions of taking MDMA (in a controlled environment, not in a warehouse in Brooklyn), 76% of study participants no longer met the criteria for PTSD. This is excellent news for those who suffer from PTSD – and the latest breakthrough in a significant shift toward accepting hallucinogenic drugs as possible treatments for mental health issues. Who knows, perhaps medicinal molly cards could soon be appearing.
And what next after that? Ketamine? Oh wait.
Infection is its own reward
Cockroaches are tough. Really tough. Survive compression forces of 300 times their body weight tough. Live without a head for a week tough. Laugh off a nuclear Armageddon tough. Can anything be tougher than that? Researchers at De Montfort University in Leicester, England, have a possible candidate, and it’s not Chuck Norris (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2018 Oct 16:1-6. doi: 10.1017/ice.2018.255).
They took cotton bed sheets contaminated with Clostridium difficile and put them “through a simulated washer extractor cycle using an industrial bleach detergent with sodium hypochlorite 15% and peracetic acid sour 14%.” Other contaminated sheets went to a commercial laundry service, “where they were washed in a washer extractor (infected linen wash) with industrial detergent, pressed, dried, and finished according to the current National Health Service in the United Kingdom’s health care laundry policy,” they said in a separate written statement. The result of all that effort? The average C. difficile spore load was reduced by 40%. In other words, most of the spores survived.
That not-so-comforting outcome does, however, leave us with a slightly comforting bit of conjecture: Those super tough cockroaches – the ones that survive the apocalypse that wipes out humans – will probably have diarrhea.
More cheese, please
The healing powers of cheese are now backed with science. A study from the University of Eastern Finland examined the incidence of coronary heart disease in men who ate a lot of fermented dairy (cheese, yogurt, kefir) and men who did not.
Researchers divided 2,000 men into four groups based on fermented dairy consumption and found that the men in the highest-consumption group had a 26% lower risk of incident coronary heart disease. Unfortunately for the “Got Milk?” ad campaign, researchers also discovered that men who consumed high levels of non-fermented dairy had a higher risk of coronary heart disease.
Next time your doctor asks about your cheese consumption, you can show them this study as proof that cheese helps the heart and the soul.
The new math, health care edition
You may think that 2 plus 2 always equals 4, but health care billing has taken another route. Here’s a seemingly simple equation, as reported by Kaiser Health News: One patient with a rash that got worse when she used her antifungal cream plus one allergy skin-patch test (okay, so it involved 119 allergens – we’ll give you that) at Stanford (Calif.) Health Care equals one bill … for $48,329.
The patient, Janet Winston of Eureka, Calif., said, “I was grateful I had such wonderful care at Stanford, but I was pretty outraged they could charge that. … No one cut into me. No one gave me anesthesia.” Her insurer paid its negotiated share of $11,376.47, and Ms. Winston’s 20% share of that came to $3,103.73, which she bargained down to $1,561.86.
For insurers, large health systems like Stanford may be too big to fight, suggested Harvard University health care economist Leemore Dafny, who told KHN that “everyone wants to point fingers at the providers, but … a lot of times [insurers] roll over and pay the rates.”
In the end, though, Stanford received less than $13,000 of its original charge, so maybe 2 plus 2 only equals 3. A tough pill to swallow, perhaps, but the whole situation has a kind of chilling Donnie-and-Marie quality to it: a little bit new math, and a little bit “1984.”
Rolling in ecstasy
Treating post-traumatic stress disorder could now be as simple as hitting the club. Not really, but in the longest and largest study of its kind, researchers looked at the effects of MDMA on patients with chronic PTSD.
After three sessions of taking MDMA (in a controlled environment, not in a warehouse in Brooklyn), 76% of study participants no longer met the criteria for PTSD. This is excellent news for those who suffer from PTSD – and the latest breakthrough in a significant shift toward accepting hallucinogenic drugs as possible treatments for mental health issues. Who knows, perhaps medicinal molly cards could soon be appearing.
And what next after that? Ketamine? Oh wait.
Infection is its own reward
Cockroaches are tough. Really tough. Survive compression forces of 300 times their body weight tough. Live without a head for a week tough. Laugh off a nuclear Armageddon tough. Can anything be tougher than that? Researchers at De Montfort University in Leicester, England, have a possible candidate, and it’s not Chuck Norris (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2018 Oct 16:1-6. doi: 10.1017/ice.2018.255).
They took cotton bed sheets contaminated with Clostridium difficile and put them “through a simulated washer extractor cycle using an industrial bleach detergent with sodium hypochlorite 15% and peracetic acid sour 14%.” Other contaminated sheets went to a commercial laundry service, “where they were washed in a washer extractor (infected linen wash) with industrial detergent, pressed, dried, and finished according to the current National Health Service in the United Kingdom’s health care laundry policy,” they said in a separate written statement. The result of all that effort? The average C. difficile spore load was reduced by 40%. In other words, most of the spores survived.
That not-so-comforting outcome does, however, leave us with a slightly comforting bit of conjecture: Those super tough cockroaches – the ones that survive the apocalypse that wipes out humans – will probably have diarrhea.
More cheese, please
The healing powers of cheese are now backed with science. A study from the University of Eastern Finland examined the incidence of coronary heart disease in men who ate a lot of fermented dairy (cheese, yogurt, kefir) and men who did not.
Researchers divided 2,000 men into four groups based on fermented dairy consumption and found that the men in the highest-consumption group had a 26% lower risk of incident coronary heart disease. Unfortunately for the “Got Milk?” ad campaign, researchers also discovered that men who consumed high levels of non-fermented dairy had a higher risk of coronary heart disease.
Next time your doctor asks about your cheese consumption, you can show them this study as proof that cheese helps the heart and the soul.
The new math, health care edition
You may think that 2 plus 2 always equals 4, but health care billing has taken another route. Here’s a seemingly simple equation, as reported by Kaiser Health News: One patient with a rash that got worse when she used her antifungal cream plus one allergy skin-patch test (okay, so it involved 119 allergens – we’ll give you that) at Stanford (Calif.) Health Care equals one bill … for $48,329.
The patient, Janet Winston of Eureka, Calif., said, “I was grateful I had such wonderful care at Stanford, but I was pretty outraged they could charge that. … No one cut into me. No one gave me anesthesia.” Her insurer paid its negotiated share of $11,376.47, and Ms. Winston’s 20% share of that came to $3,103.73, which she bargained down to $1,561.86.
For insurers, large health systems like Stanford may be too big to fight, suggested Harvard University health care economist Leemore Dafny, who told KHN that “everyone wants to point fingers at the providers, but … a lot of times [insurers] roll over and pay the rates.”
In the end, though, Stanford received less than $13,000 of its original charge, so maybe 2 plus 2 only equals 3. A tough pill to swallow, perhaps, but the whole situation has a kind of chilling Donnie-and-Marie quality to it: a little bit new math, and a little bit “1984.”
Rolling in ecstasy
Treating post-traumatic stress disorder could now be as simple as hitting the club. Not really, but in the longest and largest study of its kind, researchers looked at the effects of MDMA on patients with chronic PTSD.
After three sessions of taking MDMA (in a controlled environment, not in a warehouse in Brooklyn), 76% of study participants no longer met the criteria for PTSD. This is excellent news for those who suffer from PTSD – and the latest breakthrough in a significant shift toward accepting hallucinogenic drugs as possible treatments for mental health issues. Who knows, perhaps medicinal molly cards could soon be appearing.
And what next after that? Ketamine? Oh wait.
Infection is its own reward
Cockroaches are tough. Really tough. Survive compression forces of 300 times their body weight tough. Live without a head for a week tough. Laugh off a nuclear Armageddon tough. Can anything be tougher than that? Researchers at De Montfort University in Leicester, England, have a possible candidate, and it’s not Chuck Norris (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2018 Oct 16:1-6. doi: 10.1017/ice.2018.255).
They took cotton bed sheets contaminated with Clostridium difficile and put them “through a simulated washer extractor cycle using an industrial bleach detergent with sodium hypochlorite 15% and peracetic acid sour 14%.” Other contaminated sheets went to a commercial laundry service, “where they were washed in a washer extractor (infected linen wash) with industrial detergent, pressed, dried, and finished according to the current National Health Service in the United Kingdom’s health care laundry policy,” they said in a separate written statement. The result of all that effort? The average C. difficile spore load was reduced by 40%. In other words, most of the spores survived.
That not-so-comforting outcome does, however, leave us with a slightly comforting bit of conjecture: Those super tough cockroaches – the ones that survive the apocalypse that wipes out humans – will probably have diarrhea.
More cheese, please
The healing powers of cheese are now backed with science. A study from the University of Eastern Finland examined the incidence of coronary heart disease in men who ate a lot of fermented dairy (cheese, yogurt, kefir) and men who did not.
Researchers divided 2,000 men into four groups based on fermented dairy consumption and found that the men in the highest-consumption group had a 26% lower risk of incident coronary heart disease. Unfortunately for the “Got Milk?” ad campaign, researchers also discovered that men who consumed high levels of non-fermented dairy had a higher risk of coronary heart disease.
Next time your doctor asks about your cheese consumption, you can show them this study as proof that cheese helps the heart and the soul.
The new math, health care edition
You may think that 2 plus 2 always equals 4, but health care billing has taken another route. Here’s a seemingly simple equation, as reported by Kaiser Health News: One patient with a rash that got worse when she used her antifungal cream plus one allergy skin-patch test (okay, so it involved 119 allergens – we’ll give you that) at Stanford (Calif.) Health Care equals one bill … for $48,329.
The patient, Janet Winston of Eureka, Calif., said, “I was grateful I had such wonderful care at Stanford, but I was pretty outraged they could charge that. … No one cut into me. No one gave me anesthesia.” Her insurer paid its negotiated share of $11,376.47, and Ms. Winston’s 20% share of that came to $3,103.73, which she bargained down to $1,561.86.
For insurers, large health systems like Stanford may be too big to fight, suggested Harvard University health care economist Leemore Dafny, who told KHN that “everyone wants to point fingers at the providers, but … a lot of times [insurers] roll over and pay the rates.”
In the end, though, Stanford received less than $13,000 of its original charge, so maybe 2 plus 2 only equals 3. A tough pill to swallow, perhaps, but the whole situation has a kind of chilling Donnie-and-Marie quality to it: a little bit new math, and a little bit “1984.”
Netflix addiction, COPD blues, waistline-busting memes
The hottest new drug? Netflix
We all knew this was coming eventually. The first case of “Netflix addiction” has emerged, as a 26-year-old man in India has reportedly sought help at an addiction treatment center in Bangalore. Symptoms included 7-10 hours of TV watching per day and increasing isolation from others. Honestly, sounds like an ideal weekend. A clinical psychology professor at the treatment center warns that this instance is very similar to cases where patients are addicted to video games or social media, wherein the virtual world takes precedence over the real one. No reports yet about exactly what he was bingeing on, but our money’s on “The Great British Baking Show.” And can you blame him? The things they make on that show! This is the first case of Netflix addiction but undoubtedly will not be the last. It’s just so easy to watch 19 episodes of “Law & Order” in a row! I’m not an addict, I’m just a dedicated fan. Please don’t take my computer away from me.
Losin’ the COPD blues
The pursuit of improved therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has produced a wealth of treatment options. But one new approach sounds better than them all. In a pilot study, an inexpensive, handheld device improved breathing control and self-confidence in people with COPD. And it boosted their quality of life. In fact, 3 months of use for only about a half hour a day most days of the week improved several pulmonary outcome measures, including maximal inspiratory pressure, maximal expiratory pressure, and distance on the 6-minute walk test. The 14 patients, all ex-smokers, even posted significant improvements in performance of “Happy Birthday,” “You Are My Sunshine,” and the respiratorily challenging Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” Technically called a “free reed wind instrument,” the pulmonary rehab device is also known as a “harmonica.” Can a mouth organ really counter emphysema? Well, neither of the two hard-blowing blues harmonica legends named Sonny Boy Williamson succumbed to COPD.
This is why you’re fat
Apparently, the real reason for rising levels of obesity is not sugar or lack of exercise – it’s memes. Researchers from England’s Loughborough University sent a memo to Parliament displaying evidence that Internet memes are contributing to unhealthy eating habits and sending damaging messages to today’s Internet-loving youth. Researchers blamed such memes as a picture of an obese child with the words “Free food? Count me in!” and a series of toned bodies next to a body made of hot dogs and pizza captioned “me.” Clearly, researchers have never experienced the pure joy of eating too much pizza and truly feeling like you are one with the pie. The report didn’t mention whether more-fit countries meme less or just work out more. We’re inclined to believe a healthy lifestyle includes eating in moderation, staying fit, and meme-ing to your heart’s content.
Mad for vittles
You may not think you need to warn patients about eating rodent brains, but a Rochester, N.Y., man landed in a local hospital after his cognitive abilities took a plunge and his grip on everyday reality had loosened considerably. He’d also misplaced the ability to ambulate on his own. An MRI of his brain revealed a strange, tragic condition: The images bore a striking similarity to the brains of victims suffering from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the prion-fueled fatal brain condition known more colloquially as “mad cow disease.” Yet most of the few hundred cases ever encountered were the result of eating bad beef in the United Kingdom more than a quarter century ago. How did this Empire State citizen succumb to a notorious English affliction? The culprits: squirrels. Seems the victim was an avid hunter who’d enjoyed his share of bushy-tailed acorn eaters, and who’d on occasion ensured that no part of his twitchy prey had gone to culinary waste. Including their brains.
The hottest new drug? Netflix
We all knew this was coming eventually. The first case of “Netflix addiction” has emerged, as a 26-year-old man in India has reportedly sought help at an addiction treatment center in Bangalore. Symptoms included 7-10 hours of TV watching per day and increasing isolation from others. Honestly, sounds like an ideal weekend. A clinical psychology professor at the treatment center warns that this instance is very similar to cases where patients are addicted to video games or social media, wherein the virtual world takes precedence over the real one. No reports yet about exactly what he was bingeing on, but our money’s on “The Great British Baking Show.” And can you blame him? The things they make on that show! This is the first case of Netflix addiction but undoubtedly will not be the last. It’s just so easy to watch 19 episodes of “Law & Order” in a row! I’m not an addict, I’m just a dedicated fan. Please don’t take my computer away from me.
Losin’ the COPD blues
The pursuit of improved therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has produced a wealth of treatment options. But one new approach sounds better than them all. In a pilot study, an inexpensive, handheld device improved breathing control and self-confidence in people with COPD. And it boosted their quality of life. In fact, 3 months of use for only about a half hour a day most days of the week improved several pulmonary outcome measures, including maximal inspiratory pressure, maximal expiratory pressure, and distance on the 6-minute walk test. The 14 patients, all ex-smokers, even posted significant improvements in performance of “Happy Birthday,” “You Are My Sunshine,” and the respiratorily challenging Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” Technically called a “free reed wind instrument,” the pulmonary rehab device is also known as a “harmonica.” Can a mouth organ really counter emphysema? Well, neither of the two hard-blowing blues harmonica legends named Sonny Boy Williamson succumbed to COPD.
This is why you’re fat
Apparently, the real reason for rising levels of obesity is not sugar or lack of exercise – it’s memes. Researchers from England’s Loughborough University sent a memo to Parliament displaying evidence that Internet memes are contributing to unhealthy eating habits and sending damaging messages to today’s Internet-loving youth. Researchers blamed such memes as a picture of an obese child with the words “Free food? Count me in!” and a series of toned bodies next to a body made of hot dogs and pizza captioned “me.” Clearly, researchers have never experienced the pure joy of eating too much pizza and truly feeling like you are one with the pie. The report didn’t mention whether more-fit countries meme less or just work out more. We’re inclined to believe a healthy lifestyle includes eating in moderation, staying fit, and meme-ing to your heart’s content.
Mad for vittles
You may not think you need to warn patients about eating rodent brains, but a Rochester, N.Y., man landed in a local hospital after his cognitive abilities took a plunge and his grip on everyday reality had loosened considerably. He’d also misplaced the ability to ambulate on his own. An MRI of his brain revealed a strange, tragic condition: The images bore a striking similarity to the brains of victims suffering from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the prion-fueled fatal brain condition known more colloquially as “mad cow disease.” Yet most of the few hundred cases ever encountered were the result of eating bad beef in the United Kingdom more than a quarter century ago. How did this Empire State citizen succumb to a notorious English affliction? The culprits: squirrels. Seems the victim was an avid hunter who’d enjoyed his share of bushy-tailed acorn eaters, and who’d on occasion ensured that no part of his twitchy prey had gone to culinary waste. Including their brains.
The hottest new drug? Netflix
We all knew this was coming eventually. The first case of “Netflix addiction” has emerged, as a 26-year-old man in India has reportedly sought help at an addiction treatment center in Bangalore. Symptoms included 7-10 hours of TV watching per day and increasing isolation from others. Honestly, sounds like an ideal weekend. A clinical psychology professor at the treatment center warns that this instance is very similar to cases where patients are addicted to video games or social media, wherein the virtual world takes precedence over the real one. No reports yet about exactly what he was bingeing on, but our money’s on “The Great British Baking Show.” And can you blame him? The things they make on that show! This is the first case of Netflix addiction but undoubtedly will not be the last. It’s just so easy to watch 19 episodes of “Law & Order” in a row! I’m not an addict, I’m just a dedicated fan. Please don’t take my computer away from me.
Losin’ the COPD blues
The pursuit of improved therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has produced a wealth of treatment options. But one new approach sounds better than them all. In a pilot study, an inexpensive, handheld device improved breathing control and self-confidence in people with COPD. And it boosted their quality of life. In fact, 3 months of use for only about a half hour a day most days of the week improved several pulmonary outcome measures, including maximal inspiratory pressure, maximal expiratory pressure, and distance on the 6-minute walk test. The 14 patients, all ex-smokers, even posted significant improvements in performance of “Happy Birthday,” “You Are My Sunshine,” and the respiratorily challenging Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” Technically called a “free reed wind instrument,” the pulmonary rehab device is also known as a “harmonica.” Can a mouth organ really counter emphysema? Well, neither of the two hard-blowing blues harmonica legends named Sonny Boy Williamson succumbed to COPD.
This is why you’re fat
Apparently, the real reason for rising levels of obesity is not sugar or lack of exercise – it’s memes. Researchers from England’s Loughborough University sent a memo to Parliament displaying evidence that Internet memes are contributing to unhealthy eating habits and sending damaging messages to today’s Internet-loving youth. Researchers blamed such memes as a picture of an obese child with the words “Free food? Count me in!” and a series of toned bodies next to a body made of hot dogs and pizza captioned “me.” Clearly, researchers have never experienced the pure joy of eating too much pizza and truly feeling like you are one with the pie. The report didn’t mention whether more-fit countries meme less or just work out more. We’re inclined to believe a healthy lifestyle includes eating in moderation, staying fit, and meme-ing to your heart’s content.
Mad for vittles
You may not think you need to warn patients about eating rodent brains, but a Rochester, N.Y., man landed in a local hospital after his cognitive abilities took a plunge and his grip on everyday reality had loosened considerably. He’d also misplaced the ability to ambulate on his own. An MRI of his brain revealed a strange, tragic condition: The images bore a striking similarity to the brains of victims suffering from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the prion-fueled fatal brain condition known more colloquially as “mad cow disease.” Yet most of the few hundred cases ever encountered were the result of eating bad beef in the United Kingdom more than a quarter century ago. How did this Empire State citizen succumb to a notorious English affliction? The culprits: squirrels. Seems the victim was an avid hunter who’d enjoyed his share of bushy-tailed acorn eaters, and who’d on occasion ensured that no part of his twitchy prey had gone to culinary waste. Including their brains.
Robot sperm, CRISPR-Cas9 parenting, eavesdropping on brains
Life (and mice) find a way
Apparently we have learned nothing from “Jurassic Park.” This time, though, we might get a world overrun by ... mice? Researchers in China have utilized the complex science of gene editing to help same-sex mice couples bear offspring. This is the first time both female-female and male-male pairs have produced pups (previously, only the female pairs were able to carry to full term) using CRISPR-Cas9. The experiment also served as a study in the relative uselessness of males: All the pups born of male pairs died shortly after birth. Researchers are hopeful to move on to bigger mammals including monkeys, which could eventually turn this “Jurassic Park” adventure into a full-on “Planet of the Apes” nightmare. Best of luck to them!
Hold me closer, tiny robot
Gentleman, we’ve all been put on notice. A team from the University of Exeter in England has taken the next step toward redundancy for the male of the species: robot sperm. Now that we’ve got your attention, take a deep breath and relax. It’s not that bad. The idea is for the robot sperm, or “torque-driven ferromagnetic swimmers,” to be used to deliver drugs, not DNA, the investigators explained. Each millimeter-long device consists “of a magnetic head and flexible tail that allows them to ‘swim’ to a specific location when activated by a magnetic field,” they said. “Developing this technology could radically change the way we do medicine. The swimmers could one day be used to direct drugs to the right areas of the body by swimming through blood vessels,” senior investigator Feodor Ogrin said. So, it looks like it’s going to be okay for men after all. Still, we have to wonder, how long will it be before Siri and Alexa try to make a withdrawal from the robot sperm bank?
Eavesdropping on the brain
Does this count as mind reading? A team of scientists and clinicians from the University of Cambridge has created a new method of testing brain function after tumor removal. The current method of running through cognitive tests while a patient is awake and the brain is exposed is painless (albeit objectively horrifying) but can be risky, and the current cognitive tests can be limited. This new approach is much safer – everyone wears protective gloves and gently massages the brain while singing “Kumbaya” ... Just kidding. Clinicians actually use MRI to examine the brain before surgery and determine how different regions of that ball of gray matter communicate with each other. A 3D-printed model of the patient’s brain is also provided, both as a handy 3D map and a fun souvenir! Because that’s what the world of medicine is missing: a gift shop.
Cannabinoids. Period.
When other medical news columns go high, we go low. How anatomically low? “Cannabis-infused vaginal suppositories.” Those of you about to be made reproductively moot by robot sperm and CRISPR-Cas9 should stop with the junior-high smirking. Because our more mature readers may be interested in an upcoming study. Foria Wellness is ready to put its cannabinoid-infused menstrual pain relief product, Foria Relief, to the test this fall in an observational study of 400 women. The suppositories deliver 60 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol and 10 mg of cannabidiol to their target. The company claims it’s a natural, side-effect–free analgesic alternative to hormonal birth control, ibuprofen, and opioids. And unlike unsuppositoried cannabinoid pain products that waft from place to place around a user’s system, Foria Relief promises sustained focus on its specific task. A quality that smirking junior-high types often lack.
Life (and mice) find a way
Apparently we have learned nothing from “Jurassic Park.” This time, though, we might get a world overrun by ... mice? Researchers in China have utilized the complex science of gene editing to help same-sex mice couples bear offspring. This is the first time both female-female and male-male pairs have produced pups (previously, only the female pairs were able to carry to full term) using CRISPR-Cas9. The experiment also served as a study in the relative uselessness of males: All the pups born of male pairs died shortly after birth. Researchers are hopeful to move on to bigger mammals including monkeys, which could eventually turn this “Jurassic Park” adventure into a full-on “Planet of the Apes” nightmare. Best of luck to them!
Hold me closer, tiny robot
Gentleman, we’ve all been put on notice. A team from the University of Exeter in England has taken the next step toward redundancy for the male of the species: robot sperm. Now that we’ve got your attention, take a deep breath and relax. It’s not that bad. The idea is for the robot sperm, or “torque-driven ferromagnetic swimmers,” to be used to deliver drugs, not DNA, the investigators explained. Each millimeter-long device consists “of a magnetic head and flexible tail that allows them to ‘swim’ to a specific location when activated by a magnetic field,” they said. “Developing this technology could radically change the way we do medicine. The swimmers could one day be used to direct drugs to the right areas of the body by swimming through blood vessels,” senior investigator Feodor Ogrin said. So, it looks like it’s going to be okay for men after all. Still, we have to wonder, how long will it be before Siri and Alexa try to make a withdrawal from the robot sperm bank?
Eavesdropping on the brain
Does this count as mind reading? A team of scientists and clinicians from the University of Cambridge has created a new method of testing brain function after tumor removal. The current method of running through cognitive tests while a patient is awake and the brain is exposed is painless (albeit objectively horrifying) but can be risky, and the current cognitive tests can be limited. This new approach is much safer – everyone wears protective gloves and gently massages the brain while singing “Kumbaya” ... Just kidding. Clinicians actually use MRI to examine the brain before surgery and determine how different regions of that ball of gray matter communicate with each other. A 3D-printed model of the patient’s brain is also provided, both as a handy 3D map and a fun souvenir! Because that’s what the world of medicine is missing: a gift shop.
Cannabinoids. Period.
When other medical news columns go high, we go low. How anatomically low? “Cannabis-infused vaginal suppositories.” Those of you about to be made reproductively moot by robot sperm and CRISPR-Cas9 should stop with the junior-high smirking. Because our more mature readers may be interested in an upcoming study. Foria Wellness is ready to put its cannabinoid-infused menstrual pain relief product, Foria Relief, to the test this fall in an observational study of 400 women. The suppositories deliver 60 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol and 10 mg of cannabidiol to their target. The company claims it’s a natural, side-effect–free analgesic alternative to hormonal birth control, ibuprofen, and opioids. And unlike unsuppositoried cannabinoid pain products that waft from place to place around a user’s system, Foria Relief promises sustained focus on its specific task. A quality that smirking junior-high types often lack.
Life (and mice) find a way
Apparently we have learned nothing from “Jurassic Park.” This time, though, we might get a world overrun by ... mice? Researchers in China have utilized the complex science of gene editing to help same-sex mice couples bear offspring. This is the first time both female-female and male-male pairs have produced pups (previously, only the female pairs were able to carry to full term) using CRISPR-Cas9. The experiment also served as a study in the relative uselessness of males: All the pups born of male pairs died shortly after birth. Researchers are hopeful to move on to bigger mammals including monkeys, which could eventually turn this “Jurassic Park” adventure into a full-on “Planet of the Apes” nightmare. Best of luck to them!
Hold me closer, tiny robot
Gentleman, we’ve all been put on notice. A team from the University of Exeter in England has taken the next step toward redundancy for the male of the species: robot sperm. Now that we’ve got your attention, take a deep breath and relax. It’s not that bad. The idea is for the robot sperm, or “torque-driven ferromagnetic swimmers,” to be used to deliver drugs, not DNA, the investigators explained. Each millimeter-long device consists “of a magnetic head and flexible tail that allows them to ‘swim’ to a specific location when activated by a magnetic field,” they said. “Developing this technology could radically change the way we do medicine. The swimmers could one day be used to direct drugs to the right areas of the body by swimming through blood vessels,” senior investigator Feodor Ogrin said. So, it looks like it’s going to be okay for men after all. Still, we have to wonder, how long will it be before Siri and Alexa try to make a withdrawal from the robot sperm bank?
Eavesdropping on the brain
Does this count as mind reading? A team of scientists and clinicians from the University of Cambridge has created a new method of testing brain function after tumor removal. The current method of running through cognitive tests while a patient is awake and the brain is exposed is painless (albeit objectively horrifying) but can be risky, and the current cognitive tests can be limited. This new approach is much safer – everyone wears protective gloves and gently massages the brain while singing “Kumbaya” ... Just kidding. Clinicians actually use MRI to examine the brain before surgery and determine how different regions of that ball of gray matter communicate with each other. A 3D-printed model of the patient’s brain is also provided, both as a handy 3D map and a fun souvenir! Because that’s what the world of medicine is missing: a gift shop.
Cannabinoids. Period.
When other medical news columns go high, we go low. How anatomically low? “Cannabis-infused vaginal suppositories.” Those of you about to be made reproductively moot by robot sperm and CRISPR-Cas9 should stop with the junior-high smirking. Because our more mature readers may be interested in an upcoming study. Foria Wellness is ready to put its cannabinoid-infused menstrual pain relief product, Foria Relief, to the test this fall in an observational study of 400 women. The suppositories deliver 60 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol and 10 mg of cannabidiol to their target. The company claims it’s a natural, side-effect–free analgesic alternative to hormonal birth control, ibuprofen, and opioids. And unlike unsuppositoried cannabinoid pain products that waft from place to place around a user’s system, Foria Relief promises sustained focus on its specific task. A quality that smirking junior-high types often lack.
Snake bite detox, kidney stone coaster cure, soporific speakers
At least opioids don’t bite
Remember that song about the old lady who “swallowed” a fly? Well, what if the fly were actually a poisonous snake? And what if she didn’t really swallow it? And what if we stopped asking so many questions? A 33-year-old Indian man who was addicted to alcohol, tobacco, and opioids in the form of raw opium and “puppy husk” (we’re thinking it’s poppy husk, but the case report clearly said “puppy”) heard about something new: letting a poisonous snake bite you on the tongue.
He found some nomadic snake charmers to provide the snake (possibly a cobra, but he’s not sure), and the snake’s bite provides him with an hour of jerky body movements, blurred vision, and unresponsiveness, followed by 3-4 weeks of heightened arousal and a sense of well-being that is “more intense tha[n] the state of high experienced … with any dose of alcohol or opioids,” according to the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine (2018;40[3]:269-71). Plus, he doesn’t use nearly as much alcohol and opium. (Yes, he has done this more than once. You’re rude to ask.)
The old lady in the song, of course, dies after “swallowing” a horse. Fortunately for this guy, there’s no such thing as a poisonous horse.
Ride out the kidney stones
Disney World, the happiest place on earth – unless you’re a kidney stone. A professor from the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University, East Lansing, was inspired when one of his patients told him a recent trip to the Magic Kingdom had successfully dislodged a kidney stone. Armed with a silicone model of the renal system, David Wartinger, DO, spent many grueling hours atop various theme park rides. And, one can only assume, many more grueling hours exploring Cinderella’s Castle.
Dr. Wartinger discovered that the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was more effective than Space Mountain or the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at rattling around the rider and thus shaking out those kidney stones.
The brave professor’s tireless work has earned him one of 2018’s Ig Nobel prizes. We salute you.
In Russia, bear cures YOU
They do things a bit differently in Russia. Who else but a group of Russians would stare a freshly caught and presumably very angry Siberian brown bear in the mouth and think, “Hmm, yes – the perfect source for new and exciting antibiotics!”
Somehow, they managed to make it work. In an article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Russian scientists demonstrated a new technology that rapidly tests the microbiota within bear saliva for potential antibiotics to use against antibiotic-resistant infections such as Staphylococcus aureus. In one of the thousands of samples taken, all introduced S. aureus bacteria had been eliminated, and further analysis showed the presence of amicoumacin, a previously known antibiotic.
And this is just one bear. Who knows what new and exciting goodies lie in the mouths of other bears? Now, we feel it’s important to note that the saliva of any sufficiently wild animal would have sufficed. But when in Russia, if you can think of an excuse to catch a bear, then by God you had better go catch a bear. Anything less would be an insult to the Motherland!
I need a hug
Don’t we all. A new study from the department of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh examined whether hugs actually do anything to improve a bad mood. Unverified rumors purport that the study was commissioned by a cuddly red monster named Elmo.
Researchers concluded that consensual hugs are beneficial after some sort of conflict or negative event during the day and that they positively affect the hug-receiver. Researchers also concluded that hugs given by teddy bears or red pandas are the most beneficial, but human hugs will do if those aren’t available. Despite their bactericidal qualities, hugs from Russian bears aren’t encouraged.
Next slide, pleazzzzzzz
Picture a world in which your smartwatch counted backward. In which the room WiFi is a black hole. In which space-time’s zipper seems hopelessly stuck, with a loose string – or, in fact, PowerPoint slide #14 – wedged into its interlocking teeth. That’s right: You’re in a session at a medical conference.
Now, one meeting attendee has boldly researched what many an attendee has wondered before: Do boring speakers really talk for longer? Taking one for all humanity, that intrepid time traveler endured an inhumane, institutional review board–unapproved study design of 50 12-minute meeting sessions. After 4 minutes, he determined whether the speaker was, scientifically speaking, “boring” or “not boring.” He then clocked the time each speaker took to wrap it up.
Spoiler alert: “Not boring” also meant “done sooner” – in a mean time of 11 minutes and 42 seconds versus 13 minutes and 12 seconds for those oscillating in the dullness duality’s boring state. So, if the 4-minute marker heralds a soporific session? There’s more schwag and better WiFi in the exhibit hall.
At least opioids don’t bite
Remember that song about the old lady who “swallowed” a fly? Well, what if the fly were actually a poisonous snake? And what if she didn’t really swallow it? And what if we stopped asking so many questions? A 33-year-old Indian man who was addicted to alcohol, tobacco, and opioids in the form of raw opium and “puppy husk” (we’re thinking it’s poppy husk, but the case report clearly said “puppy”) heard about something new: letting a poisonous snake bite you on the tongue.
He found some nomadic snake charmers to provide the snake (possibly a cobra, but he’s not sure), and the snake’s bite provides him with an hour of jerky body movements, blurred vision, and unresponsiveness, followed by 3-4 weeks of heightened arousal and a sense of well-being that is “more intense tha[n] the state of high experienced … with any dose of alcohol or opioids,” according to the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine (2018;40[3]:269-71). Plus, he doesn’t use nearly as much alcohol and opium. (Yes, he has done this more than once. You’re rude to ask.)
The old lady in the song, of course, dies after “swallowing” a horse. Fortunately for this guy, there’s no such thing as a poisonous horse.
Ride out the kidney stones
Disney World, the happiest place on earth – unless you’re a kidney stone. A professor from the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University, East Lansing, was inspired when one of his patients told him a recent trip to the Magic Kingdom had successfully dislodged a kidney stone. Armed with a silicone model of the renal system, David Wartinger, DO, spent many grueling hours atop various theme park rides. And, one can only assume, many more grueling hours exploring Cinderella’s Castle.
Dr. Wartinger discovered that the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was more effective than Space Mountain or the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at rattling around the rider and thus shaking out those kidney stones.
The brave professor’s tireless work has earned him one of 2018’s Ig Nobel prizes. We salute you.
In Russia, bear cures YOU
They do things a bit differently in Russia. Who else but a group of Russians would stare a freshly caught and presumably very angry Siberian brown bear in the mouth and think, “Hmm, yes – the perfect source for new and exciting antibiotics!”
Somehow, they managed to make it work. In an article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Russian scientists demonstrated a new technology that rapidly tests the microbiota within bear saliva for potential antibiotics to use against antibiotic-resistant infections such as Staphylococcus aureus. In one of the thousands of samples taken, all introduced S. aureus bacteria had been eliminated, and further analysis showed the presence of amicoumacin, a previously known antibiotic.
And this is just one bear. Who knows what new and exciting goodies lie in the mouths of other bears? Now, we feel it’s important to note that the saliva of any sufficiently wild animal would have sufficed. But when in Russia, if you can think of an excuse to catch a bear, then by God you had better go catch a bear. Anything less would be an insult to the Motherland!
I need a hug
Don’t we all. A new study from the department of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh examined whether hugs actually do anything to improve a bad mood. Unverified rumors purport that the study was commissioned by a cuddly red monster named Elmo.
Researchers concluded that consensual hugs are beneficial after some sort of conflict or negative event during the day and that they positively affect the hug-receiver. Researchers also concluded that hugs given by teddy bears or red pandas are the most beneficial, but human hugs will do if those aren’t available. Despite their bactericidal qualities, hugs from Russian bears aren’t encouraged.
Next slide, pleazzzzzzz
Picture a world in which your smartwatch counted backward. In which the room WiFi is a black hole. In which space-time’s zipper seems hopelessly stuck, with a loose string – or, in fact, PowerPoint slide #14 – wedged into its interlocking teeth. That’s right: You’re in a session at a medical conference.
Now, one meeting attendee has boldly researched what many an attendee has wondered before: Do boring speakers really talk for longer? Taking one for all humanity, that intrepid time traveler endured an inhumane, institutional review board–unapproved study design of 50 12-minute meeting sessions. After 4 minutes, he determined whether the speaker was, scientifically speaking, “boring” or “not boring.” He then clocked the time each speaker took to wrap it up.
Spoiler alert: “Not boring” also meant “done sooner” – in a mean time of 11 minutes and 42 seconds versus 13 minutes and 12 seconds for those oscillating in the dullness duality’s boring state. So, if the 4-minute marker heralds a soporific session? There’s more schwag and better WiFi in the exhibit hall.
At least opioids don’t bite
Remember that song about the old lady who “swallowed” a fly? Well, what if the fly were actually a poisonous snake? And what if she didn’t really swallow it? And what if we stopped asking so many questions? A 33-year-old Indian man who was addicted to alcohol, tobacco, and opioids in the form of raw opium and “puppy husk” (we’re thinking it’s poppy husk, but the case report clearly said “puppy”) heard about something new: letting a poisonous snake bite you on the tongue.
He found some nomadic snake charmers to provide the snake (possibly a cobra, but he’s not sure), and the snake’s bite provides him with an hour of jerky body movements, blurred vision, and unresponsiveness, followed by 3-4 weeks of heightened arousal and a sense of well-being that is “more intense tha[n] the state of high experienced … with any dose of alcohol or opioids,” according to the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine (2018;40[3]:269-71). Plus, he doesn’t use nearly as much alcohol and opium. (Yes, he has done this more than once. You’re rude to ask.)
The old lady in the song, of course, dies after “swallowing” a horse. Fortunately for this guy, there’s no such thing as a poisonous horse.
Ride out the kidney stones
Disney World, the happiest place on earth – unless you’re a kidney stone. A professor from the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University, East Lansing, was inspired when one of his patients told him a recent trip to the Magic Kingdom had successfully dislodged a kidney stone. Armed with a silicone model of the renal system, David Wartinger, DO, spent many grueling hours atop various theme park rides. And, one can only assume, many more grueling hours exploring Cinderella’s Castle.
Dr. Wartinger discovered that the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was more effective than Space Mountain or the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at rattling around the rider and thus shaking out those kidney stones.
The brave professor’s tireless work has earned him one of 2018’s Ig Nobel prizes. We salute you.
In Russia, bear cures YOU
They do things a bit differently in Russia. Who else but a group of Russians would stare a freshly caught and presumably very angry Siberian brown bear in the mouth and think, “Hmm, yes – the perfect source for new and exciting antibiotics!”
Somehow, they managed to make it work. In an article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Russian scientists demonstrated a new technology that rapidly tests the microbiota within bear saliva for potential antibiotics to use against antibiotic-resistant infections such as Staphylococcus aureus. In one of the thousands of samples taken, all introduced S. aureus bacteria had been eliminated, and further analysis showed the presence of amicoumacin, a previously known antibiotic.
And this is just one bear. Who knows what new and exciting goodies lie in the mouths of other bears? Now, we feel it’s important to note that the saliva of any sufficiently wild animal would have sufficed. But when in Russia, if you can think of an excuse to catch a bear, then by God you had better go catch a bear. Anything less would be an insult to the Motherland!
I need a hug
Don’t we all. A new study from the department of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh examined whether hugs actually do anything to improve a bad mood. Unverified rumors purport that the study was commissioned by a cuddly red monster named Elmo.
Researchers concluded that consensual hugs are beneficial after some sort of conflict or negative event during the day and that they positively affect the hug-receiver. Researchers also concluded that hugs given by teddy bears or red pandas are the most beneficial, but human hugs will do if those aren’t available. Despite their bactericidal qualities, hugs from Russian bears aren’t encouraged.
Next slide, pleazzzzzzz
Picture a world in which your smartwatch counted backward. In which the room WiFi is a black hole. In which space-time’s zipper seems hopelessly stuck, with a loose string – or, in fact, PowerPoint slide #14 – wedged into its interlocking teeth. That’s right: You’re in a session at a medical conference.
Now, one meeting attendee has boldly researched what many an attendee has wondered before: Do boring speakers really talk for longer? Taking one for all humanity, that intrepid time traveler endured an inhumane, institutional review board–unapproved study design of 50 12-minute meeting sessions. After 4 minutes, he determined whether the speaker was, scientifically speaking, “boring” or “not boring.” He then clocked the time each speaker took to wrap it up.
Spoiler alert: “Not boring” also meant “done sooner” – in a mean time of 11 minutes and 42 seconds versus 13 minutes and 12 seconds for those oscillating in the dullness duality’s boring state. So, if the 4-minute marker heralds a soporific session? There’s more schwag and better WiFi in the exhibit hall.
The Vampire Study, pathogenic puppies, and carbonated cannabis
What the duck?
Turns out it’s flu shot season for our feathered friends, too. After the bird flu pandemics that began in 2013, Chinese health officials worked hard to vaccinate their chickens and quell the spread of the disease. However, the ducks have outsmarted them: Two new genetic variations of the H7N9 and H7N2 flu subtypes have been found in unvaccinated ducks.
China consumes about 3 billion ducks per year, so officials are working rapidly to eliminate the virus. At press time, there was no word on whether the virus had affected any beloved rubber duckies, but we advise you to use caution when approaching bath time.
Toke-a-Cola
Cannabis is the world’s favorite illicit drug. And Coca-Cola makes the world’s favorite cola. Now there’s news of potential nuptials uniting these two global giants. BNN Bloomberg reports that Coke is talking tie-up with Canada’s Aurora Cannabis in a union that could give birth to cannabis-infused “wellness beverages.”
The fizzy federation would feature products containing cannabidiol, or CBD. Unlike its wilder psychoactive sibling tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the more sober-minded CBD is a nonpsychoactive cannabis compound credited with antidepressant, anxiolytic, and anti-inflammatory powers.
And what of Coca-Cola’s mortal cola enemy, Pepsi? Will the Choice of a New Generation let the Real Thing Bogart all the possible market opportunities? Sure, you could soon have a CBD Coke and a smile. But smiles are free. Frito-Lay’s parent, PepsiCo, could offer consumers a doubly profitable, Jeff Spicoli–approved pairing: carbonated cannabinoids and Cheetos.
I vant to suck MY blood
It’s not Halloween quite yet, but get into the spirit with the recently published and aptly named “Vampire Study.” Performed in Zürich, a team of researchers from the division of gastroenterology at Triemli Hospital convinced participants to ingest their own blood, all in the name of science.
Some lucky vamps drank their blood, while others ingested it via nasogastric tube. This isn’t “Saw 17,” though; there was a method to this madness. Researchers were investigating whether the ingestion of blood (as in gastrointestinal bleeding) can result in an increase in fecal calprotectin. Safe to say, though, the ingestion of blood is rarely a good sign – unless your name happens to be Nosferatu.
And they call it Campylobacter love
As any fan of Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip can tell you, happiness is a warm puppy. Know what else warm puppies are? Carriers of Campylobacter jejuni.
Every year in the United States, Campylobacter causes an estimated 1.3 million diarrheal illnesses. A recent multistate investigation revealed that 118 people in 18 states across the nation – including 29 employees of an unnamed national pet store chain based in Ohio – got the puppy-borne bug between early 2016 and early 2018.
And the not-so-cuddly infections were resistant to all the antibiotics commonly used to quell Campylobacter. Why? Turns out, of the 149 puppies investigated by health officials, 55% of them got the drugs prophylactically – an approach that may have fueled the resistance. Stung by the canine controversy, the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm has assured Charlie Brown that it never slipped metronidazole into Snoopy’s water bowl.
What the duck?
Turns out it’s flu shot season for our feathered friends, too. After the bird flu pandemics that began in 2013, Chinese health officials worked hard to vaccinate their chickens and quell the spread of the disease. However, the ducks have outsmarted them: Two new genetic variations of the H7N9 and H7N2 flu subtypes have been found in unvaccinated ducks.
China consumes about 3 billion ducks per year, so officials are working rapidly to eliminate the virus. At press time, there was no word on whether the virus had affected any beloved rubber duckies, but we advise you to use caution when approaching bath time.
Toke-a-Cola
Cannabis is the world’s favorite illicit drug. And Coca-Cola makes the world’s favorite cola. Now there’s news of potential nuptials uniting these two global giants. BNN Bloomberg reports that Coke is talking tie-up with Canada’s Aurora Cannabis in a union that could give birth to cannabis-infused “wellness beverages.”
The fizzy federation would feature products containing cannabidiol, or CBD. Unlike its wilder psychoactive sibling tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the more sober-minded CBD is a nonpsychoactive cannabis compound credited with antidepressant, anxiolytic, and anti-inflammatory powers.
And what of Coca-Cola’s mortal cola enemy, Pepsi? Will the Choice of a New Generation let the Real Thing Bogart all the possible market opportunities? Sure, you could soon have a CBD Coke and a smile. But smiles are free. Frito-Lay’s parent, PepsiCo, could offer consumers a doubly profitable, Jeff Spicoli–approved pairing: carbonated cannabinoids and Cheetos.
I vant to suck MY blood
It’s not Halloween quite yet, but get into the spirit with the recently published and aptly named “Vampire Study.” Performed in Zürich, a team of researchers from the division of gastroenterology at Triemli Hospital convinced participants to ingest their own blood, all in the name of science.
Some lucky vamps drank their blood, while others ingested it via nasogastric tube. This isn’t “Saw 17,” though; there was a method to this madness. Researchers were investigating whether the ingestion of blood (as in gastrointestinal bleeding) can result in an increase in fecal calprotectin. Safe to say, though, the ingestion of blood is rarely a good sign – unless your name happens to be Nosferatu.
And they call it Campylobacter love
As any fan of Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip can tell you, happiness is a warm puppy. Know what else warm puppies are? Carriers of Campylobacter jejuni.
Every year in the United States, Campylobacter causes an estimated 1.3 million diarrheal illnesses. A recent multistate investigation revealed that 118 people in 18 states across the nation – including 29 employees of an unnamed national pet store chain based in Ohio – got the puppy-borne bug between early 2016 and early 2018.
And the not-so-cuddly infections were resistant to all the antibiotics commonly used to quell Campylobacter. Why? Turns out, of the 149 puppies investigated by health officials, 55% of them got the drugs prophylactically – an approach that may have fueled the resistance. Stung by the canine controversy, the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm has assured Charlie Brown that it never slipped metronidazole into Snoopy’s water bowl.
What the duck?
Turns out it’s flu shot season for our feathered friends, too. After the bird flu pandemics that began in 2013, Chinese health officials worked hard to vaccinate their chickens and quell the spread of the disease. However, the ducks have outsmarted them: Two new genetic variations of the H7N9 and H7N2 flu subtypes have been found in unvaccinated ducks.
China consumes about 3 billion ducks per year, so officials are working rapidly to eliminate the virus. At press time, there was no word on whether the virus had affected any beloved rubber duckies, but we advise you to use caution when approaching bath time.
Toke-a-Cola
Cannabis is the world’s favorite illicit drug. And Coca-Cola makes the world’s favorite cola. Now there’s news of potential nuptials uniting these two global giants. BNN Bloomberg reports that Coke is talking tie-up with Canada’s Aurora Cannabis in a union that could give birth to cannabis-infused “wellness beverages.”
The fizzy federation would feature products containing cannabidiol, or CBD. Unlike its wilder psychoactive sibling tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the more sober-minded CBD is a nonpsychoactive cannabis compound credited with antidepressant, anxiolytic, and anti-inflammatory powers.
And what of Coca-Cola’s mortal cola enemy, Pepsi? Will the Choice of a New Generation let the Real Thing Bogart all the possible market opportunities? Sure, you could soon have a CBD Coke and a smile. But smiles are free. Frito-Lay’s parent, PepsiCo, could offer consumers a doubly profitable, Jeff Spicoli–approved pairing: carbonated cannabinoids and Cheetos.
I vant to suck MY blood
It’s not Halloween quite yet, but get into the spirit with the recently published and aptly named “Vampire Study.” Performed in Zürich, a team of researchers from the division of gastroenterology at Triemli Hospital convinced participants to ingest their own blood, all in the name of science.
Some lucky vamps drank their blood, while others ingested it via nasogastric tube. This isn’t “Saw 17,” though; there was a method to this madness. Researchers were investigating whether the ingestion of blood (as in gastrointestinal bleeding) can result in an increase in fecal calprotectin. Safe to say, though, the ingestion of blood is rarely a good sign – unless your name happens to be Nosferatu.
And they call it Campylobacter love
As any fan of Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip can tell you, happiness is a warm puppy. Know what else warm puppies are? Carriers of Campylobacter jejuni.
Every year in the United States, Campylobacter causes an estimated 1.3 million diarrheal illnesses. A recent multistate investigation revealed that 118 people in 18 states across the nation – including 29 employees of an unnamed national pet store chain based in Ohio – got the puppy-borne bug between early 2016 and early 2018.
And the not-so-cuddly infections were resistant to all the antibiotics commonly used to quell Campylobacter. Why? Turns out, of the 149 puppies investigated by health officials, 55% of them got the drugs prophylactically – an approach that may have fueled the resistance. Stung by the canine controversy, the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm has assured Charlie Brown that it never slipped metronidazole into Snoopy’s water bowl.