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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.”
Pathologic superstition
When you believe in things that you don’t understand
Then you suffer
Superstition ain’t the way
– Stevie Wonder
I have always found it odd that airplanes don’t have a 13th row and hotels don’t have a 13th floor. Well, of course they do, but they are not labeled that way. Many people would hesitate to sit in the 13th row of an airplane since 13 is such an unlucky number. At least many people in the United States think the number 13 is unlucky. Thirteen is just a number in much of Asia. There, the number 4 is just as threatening as 13 is to us.
Superstitions like these are familiar to all of us.
One of my favorites is the belief that vacuum cups attached to the skin will somehow draw out toxins and generally improve health. “Cupping,” as the practice is known, is endorsed by several celebrities and famous athletes. After the treatment, a cupped patient exhibits circles of hyperemia, and no other apparent harm. I suspect that about a third of cupped patients truly think they have benefited from a good cupping, about the same number that would benefit from an orally administered placebo.
Superstitions are everywhere. Whether it is a black cat in the United States, infinite reflecting mirrors in Mexico, going back to your house after a wake in the Philippines, or whistling indoors in Lithuania, superstitions are pervasive, deeply held, and generally harmless. They are good for a good laugh as we recognize how ludicrous these unfounded fears are.
Some superstitions, though, are no laughing matter. They can be quite harmful. They are pathologic superstitions.
For example, some people believe vaccines cause autism in children. That pathologic superstition has consequences. A recent CDC report revealed that the population of unvaccinated children in the United States has quadrupled since 2001. This comes as no surprise as we hear about more measles outbreaks – and the deaths associated with them – in populations of unvaccinated children every year. A similar and pervasive pathologic superstition is the fear that an influenza vaccine will cause the flu. I wonder how many people die from this misconception.
Other people believe that their cancer can be treated, if not cured, with unproven, unconventional treatments. I cannot understand how this pathologic superstition developed. The purveyors of unconventional treatment hold much of the blame, but gullibility and ignorance may play a larger role. The consequences are tragic. A recent report demonstrated an approximately twofold increased risk of death in patients who used complementary therapies, compared with those who did not (JAMA Oncol. 2018 Oct 1;4[10]:1375-81).
These are sobering data for those of us who have in the past relented when our patients asked if they could take this or that supplement because we did not think they would cause significant harm.
Superstitions apparently are part of the human condition, evolved to attribute causation and provide order. They are a learned phenomenon. They are learned by reasonable people with normal intelligence and rational thinking. A superstition is born when someone is exposed to a false statement by someone or something they trust – a trusted other.
Trusted others exude certainty. Once established, superstitions are regrettably difficult to remove by those who are less certain, like physicians. How willing are we to say that the flu vaccine is 100% safe? Without certainty, how can a physician debunk a superstition? The techniques that we have been taught usually work, but not when faced with a pathologic superstition.
Science and experience teach us that firmly held superstitions cannot be broken with logical, stepwise reasoning. Jonathan Haidt provides a useful metaphor for this problem in his book “The Happiness Hypothesis” (Basic Books, 2006). He describes a rider on an elephant. The rider represents our rational thought and the elephant represents our emotional foundation. The rider thinks he controls the elephant, but the opposite is more likely true. In order to move the elephant in a certain direction, the rider needs to make the elephant want to turn in that direction. Otherwise, all the cajoling and arguing in the world won’t make the elephant turn. A rational argument made to someone emotionally invested in the counter argument will fail. That is why we cannot convince antivaccine parents to vaccinate their children by trying to persuade them with facts. Neither can we convince global warming skeptics to stop burning coal, gun advocates to vote for restrictions on gun ownership, or cancer patients to accept curative treatment if their values and morals are being challenged.
In a later book, “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion” (Vintage Books, 2012), Mr. Haidt expands his hypothesis to declare that to change minds, we must appeal to underlying moral values. The challenge is to identify those moral underpinnings in our patients in order to develop an appeal likely to resonate with their emotions and values.
Superstition derives from something people learn either from trusted others or from personal experience. It does no good for physicians to deride patient beliefs and denigrate their agency in an attempt to persuade them to abandon what we consider irrational beliefs. For physicians to penetrate pathologic superstitions, they will have to become the trusted other, to understand moral foundations, to emotionally connect. That does not usually happen the first day we meet a new patient, especially a skeptical one. It takes time, and effort, to reach out and bond with the patient and their family. Only then can pathologic superstitions dissolve and a better patient-doctor relationship evolve.
During this season rife with superstition, remember that your patient’s own superstitions are part of their belief system, and your belief system may be threatening to them. Make your beliefs less threatening, become a trusted other, and appeal to their foundational values, and you can successfully break a pathologic superstition.
Dr. Kalaycio is editor in chief of Hematology News. He chairs the department of hematologic oncology and blood disorders at Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute. Contact him at kalaycm@ccf.org.
When you believe in things that you don’t understand
Then you suffer
Superstition ain’t the way
– Stevie Wonder
I have always found it odd that airplanes don’t have a 13th row and hotels don’t have a 13th floor. Well, of course they do, but they are not labeled that way. Many people would hesitate to sit in the 13th row of an airplane since 13 is such an unlucky number. At least many people in the United States think the number 13 is unlucky. Thirteen is just a number in much of Asia. There, the number 4 is just as threatening as 13 is to us.
Superstitions like these are familiar to all of us.
One of my favorites is the belief that vacuum cups attached to the skin will somehow draw out toxins and generally improve health. “Cupping,” as the practice is known, is endorsed by several celebrities and famous athletes. After the treatment, a cupped patient exhibits circles of hyperemia, and no other apparent harm. I suspect that about a third of cupped patients truly think they have benefited from a good cupping, about the same number that would benefit from an orally administered placebo.
Superstitions are everywhere. Whether it is a black cat in the United States, infinite reflecting mirrors in Mexico, going back to your house after a wake in the Philippines, or whistling indoors in Lithuania, superstitions are pervasive, deeply held, and generally harmless. They are good for a good laugh as we recognize how ludicrous these unfounded fears are.
Some superstitions, though, are no laughing matter. They can be quite harmful. They are pathologic superstitions.
For example, some people believe vaccines cause autism in children. That pathologic superstition has consequences. A recent CDC report revealed that the population of unvaccinated children in the United States has quadrupled since 2001. This comes as no surprise as we hear about more measles outbreaks – and the deaths associated with them – in populations of unvaccinated children every year. A similar and pervasive pathologic superstition is the fear that an influenza vaccine will cause the flu. I wonder how many people die from this misconception.
Other people believe that their cancer can be treated, if not cured, with unproven, unconventional treatments. I cannot understand how this pathologic superstition developed. The purveyors of unconventional treatment hold much of the blame, but gullibility and ignorance may play a larger role. The consequences are tragic. A recent report demonstrated an approximately twofold increased risk of death in patients who used complementary therapies, compared with those who did not (JAMA Oncol. 2018 Oct 1;4[10]:1375-81).
These are sobering data for those of us who have in the past relented when our patients asked if they could take this or that supplement because we did not think they would cause significant harm.
Superstitions apparently are part of the human condition, evolved to attribute causation and provide order. They are a learned phenomenon. They are learned by reasonable people with normal intelligence and rational thinking. A superstition is born when someone is exposed to a false statement by someone or something they trust – a trusted other.
Trusted others exude certainty. Once established, superstitions are regrettably difficult to remove by those who are less certain, like physicians. How willing are we to say that the flu vaccine is 100% safe? Without certainty, how can a physician debunk a superstition? The techniques that we have been taught usually work, but not when faced with a pathologic superstition.
Science and experience teach us that firmly held superstitions cannot be broken with logical, stepwise reasoning. Jonathan Haidt provides a useful metaphor for this problem in his book “The Happiness Hypothesis” (Basic Books, 2006). He describes a rider on an elephant. The rider represents our rational thought and the elephant represents our emotional foundation. The rider thinks he controls the elephant, but the opposite is more likely true. In order to move the elephant in a certain direction, the rider needs to make the elephant want to turn in that direction. Otherwise, all the cajoling and arguing in the world won’t make the elephant turn. A rational argument made to someone emotionally invested in the counter argument will fail. That is why we cannot convince antivaccine parents to vaccinate their children by trying to persuade them with facts. Neither can we convince global warming skeptics to stop burning coal, gun advocates to vote for restrictions on gun ownership, or cancer patients to accept curative treatment if their values and morals are being challenged.
In a later book, “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion” (Vintage Books, 2012), Mr. Haidt expands his hypothesis to declare that to change minds, we must appeal to underlying moral values. The challenge is to identify those moral underpinnings in our patients in order to develop an appeal likely to resonate with their emotions and values.
Superstition derives from something people learn either from trusted others or from personal experience. It does no good for physicians to deride patient beliefs and denigrate their agency in an attempt to persuade them to abandon what we consider irrational beliefs. For physicians to penetrate pathologic superstitions, they will have to become the trusted other, to understand moral foundations, to emotionally connect. That does not usually happen the first day we meet a new patient, especially a skeptical one. It takes time, and effort, to reach out and bond with the patient and their family. Only then can pathologic superstitions dissolve and a better patient-doctor relationship evolve.
During this season rife with superstition, remember that your patient’s own superstitions are part of their belief system, and your belief system may be threatening to them. Make your beliefs less threatening, become a trusted other, and appeal to their foundational values, and you can successfully break a pathologic superstition.
Dr. Kalaycio is editor in chief of Hematology News. He chairs the department of hematologic oncology and blood disorders at Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute. Contact him at kalaycm@ccf.org.
When you believe in things that you don’t understand
Then you suffer
Superstition ain’t the way
– Stevie Wonder
I have always found it odd that airplanes don’t have a 13th row and hotels don’t have a 13th floor. Well, of course they do, but they are not labeled that way. Many people would hesitate to sit in the 13th row of an airplane since 13 is such an unlucky number. At least many people in the United States think the number 13 is unlucky. Thirteen is just a number in much of Asia. There, the number 4 is just as threatening as 13 is to us.
Superstitions like these are familiar to all of us.
One of my favorites is the belief that vacuum cups attached to the skin will somehow draw out toxins and generally improve health. “Cupping,” as the practice is known, is endorsed by several celebrities and famous athletes. After the treatment, a cupped patient exhibits circles of hyperemia, and no other apparent harm. I suspect that about a third of cupped patients truly think they have benefited from a good cupping, about the same number that would benefit from an orally administered placebo.
Superstitions are everywhere. Whether it is a black cat in the United States, infinite reflecting mirrors in Mexico, going back to your house after a wake in the Philippines, or whistling indoors in Lithuania, superstitions are pervasive, deeply held, and generally harmless. They are good for a good laugh as we recognize how ludicrous these unfounded fears are.
Some superstitions, though, are no laughing matter. They can be quite harmful. They are pathologic superstitions.
For example, some people believe vaccines cause autism in children. That pathologic superstition has consequences. A recent CDC report revealed that the population of unvaccinated children in the United States has quadrupled since 2001. This comes as no surprise as we hear about more measles outbreaks – and the deaths associated with them – in populations of unvaccinated children every year. A similar and pervasive pathologic superstition is the fear that an influenza vaccine will cause the flu. I wonder how many people die from this misconception.
Other people believe that their cancer can be treated, if not cured, with unproven, unconventional treatments. I cannot understand how this pathologic superstition developed. The purveyors of unconventional treatment hold much of the blame, but gullibility and ignorance may play a larger role. The consequences are tragic. A recent report demonstrated an approximately twofold increased risk of death in patients who used complementary therapies, compared with those who did not (JAMA Oncol. 2018 Oct 1;4[10]:1375-81).
These are sobering data for those of us who have in the past relented when our patients asked if they could take this or that supplement because we did not think they would cause significant harm.
Superstitions apparently are part of the human condition, evolved to attribute causation and provide order. They are a learned phenomenon. They are learned by reasonable people with normal intelligence and rational thinking. A superstition is born when someone is exposed to a false statement by someone or something they trust – a trusted other.
Trusted others exude certainty. Once established, superstitions are regrettably difficult to remove by those who are less certain, like physicians. How willing are we to say that the flu vaccine is 100% safe? Without certainty, how can a physician debunk a superstition? The techniques that we have been taught usually work, but not when faced with a pathologic superstition.
Science and experience teach us that firmly held superstitions cannot be broken with logical, stepwise reasoning. Jonathan Haidt provides a useful metaphor for this problem in his book “The Happiness Hypothesis” (Basic Books, 2006). He describes a rider on an elephant. The rider represents our rational thought and the elephant represents our emotional foundation. The rider thinks he controls the elephant, but the opposite is more likely true. In order to move the elephant in a certain direction, the rider needs to make the elephant want to turn in that direction. Otherwise, all the cajoling and arguing in the world won’t make the elephant turn. A rational argument made to someone emotionally invested in the counter argument will fail. That is why we cannot convince antivaccine parents to vaccinate their children by trying to persuade them with facts. Neither can we convince global warming skeptics to stop burning coal, gun advocates to vote for restrictions on gun ownership, or cancer patients to accept curative treatment if their values and morals are being challenged.
In a later book, “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion” (Vintage Books, 2012), Mr. Haidt expands his hypothesis to declare that to change minds, we must appeal to underlying moral values. The challenge is to identify those moral underpinnings in our patients in order to develop an appeal likely to resonate with their emotions and values.
Superstition derives from something people learn either from trusted others or from personal experience. It does no good for physicians to deride patient beliefs and denigrate their agency in an attempt to persuade them to abandon what we consider irrational beliefs. For physicians to penetrate pathologic superstitions, they will have to become the trusted other, to understand moral foundations, to emotionally connect. That does not usually happen the first day we meet a new patient, especially a skeptical one. It takes time, and effort, to reach out and bond with the patient and their family. Only then can pathologic superstitions dissolve and a better patient-doctor relationship evolve.
During this season rife with superstition, remember that your patient’s own superstitions are part of their belief system, and your belief system may be threatening to them. Make your beliefs less threatening, become a trusted other, and appeal to their foundational values, and you can successfully break a pathologic superstition.
Dr. Kalaycio is editor in chief of Hematology News. He chairs the department of hematologic oncology and blood disorders at Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute. Contact him at kalaycm@ccf.org.
Heather Yeo: Surgical Residency Attrition
When Dr. Yeo was a resident, one of her co-residents left surgery. Dr. Yeo says that this resident was highly talented technically and on-point clinically. After this resident left, Dr. Yeo began investigating this and looking into what can be done to keep surgical trainees in surgery.
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When Dr. Yeo was a resident, one of her co-residents left surgery. Dr. Yeo says that this resident was highly talented technically and on-point clinically. After this resident left, Dr. Yeo began investigating this and looking into what can be done to keep surgical trainees in surgery.
Subscribe here:
When Dr. Yeo was a resident, one of her co-residents left surgery. Dr. Yeo says that this resident was highly talented technically and on-point clinically. After this resident left, Dr. Yeo began investigating this and looking into what can be done to keep surgical trainees in surgery.
Subscribe here:
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.
Superheroes
Who’s your favorite superhero? I realize this might be impossible to answer – Marvel and DC Comics alone have thousands of heroes from which to choose. I recently visited the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture, known as MoPOP, where they have an awesome exhibit on the history of Marvel. I left understanding why superheroes are perennially popular and why we need them. I also felt a little more powerful myself.
The Avengers might seem like just a marketing scheme created to take your movie money. They’re more than that. Superheroes like Thor and Black Widow appear in all cultures and throughout time. There are short and tall, black and white, young and old, gay and straight, Muslim and Jewish, European, Asian, and African superheroes. The characters in The Iliad were superheroes to the ancients. In India today, you can buy comics featuring Lord Shiva.
Superheroes change with time, often reflecting our struggles and values. Captain America was created in 1941 to allay our fear of the then-metastasizing Nazis. The most popular Marvel hero at the MoPOP right now is Black Panther. Next year Captain Marvel will be released. Also known as Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel is one of Marvel Comics’ strongest women, a female Air Force officer with superhuman strength and speed.
Heroes change with the times and are metaphors for the real-life challenges we face and our abilities to overcome them. Superhero stories are our own stories.
When I was a kid, Spider-Man was my favorite. I watched him every afternoon at 3 o’clock when I got home from school. Spidey is a nerdy, little kid who can perform amazing feats to keep people safe and to right societal wrongs. Being a little kid who similarly loved science, he seemed like a good role model at the time. Interestingly, Spidey might have helped me. A couple of studies have shown that kids who pretend to be superheroes, like Batman for example, perform better on tasks, compared with those who aren’t pretending. In some ways, this strategy of imagining to have superpowers is an antidote to the impostor syndrome, a common experience of feeling powerless and undeserving of your position or role. By imagining that they have superpowers, children behave commensurately with these beliefs, which can help them develop self-efficacy at a critical period of development.
This strategy can work for adults too. Military men and women will adopt heroes like Punisher for their battalions, surgeons will don Superman scrub caps, and athletes will take nicknames like Batman for their professional personas. It is a strategy our ancient ancestors deployed, imagining they had the power of Hercules going into battle. No doubt, the energizing, empowering emotion we feel when we think of superheroes is why they are still so popular today. It is why you walk with a bit more swagger when you exit the theater of a good hero flick.
So indulge in a little Wonder Woman and Daredevil and Jessica Jones, even after Halloween has passed. When you do, remember they are here because they are us. and one that we need.
Nowadays, I probably relate most to Captain America: Lead a team, help make each team member better. And, yet, looking at Chris Evans, the actor who plays Captain America, it’s clear I need a lot more time at the gym. Or maybe I could just try to get bitten by a spider.
“Can he swing from a thread? Take a look overhead. Hey, there, there goes the Spider-Man!”
Dr. Benabio is director of Healthcare Transformation and chief of dermatology at Kaiser Permanente San Diego. The opinions expressed in this column are his own and do not represent those of Kaiser Permanente. Dr. Benabio is @Dermdoc on Twitter. Write to him at dermnews@mdedge.com.
Who’s your favorite superhero? I realize this might be impossible to answer – Marvel and DC Comics alone have thousands of heroes from which to choose. I recently visited the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture, known as MoPOP, where they have an awesome exhibit on the history of Marvel. I left understanding why superheroes are perennially popular and why we need them. I also felt a little more powerful myself.
The Avengers might seem like just a marketing scheme created to take your movie money. They’re more than that. Superheroes like Thor and Black Widow appear in all cultures and throughout time. There are short and tall, black and white, young and old, gay and straight, Muslim and Jewish, European, Asian, and African superheroes. The characters in The Iliad were superheroes to the ancients. In India today, you can buy comics featuring Lord Shiva.
Superheroes change with time, often reflecting our struggles and values. Captain America was created in 1941 to allay our fear of the then-metastasizing Nazis. The most popular Marvel hero at the MoPOP right now is Black Panther. Next year Captain Marvel will be released. Also known as Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel is one of Marvel Comics’ strongest women, a female Air Force officer with superhuman strength and speed.
Heroes change with the times and are metaphors for the real-life challenges we face and our abilities to overcome them. Superhero stories are our own stories.
When I was a kid, Spider-Man was my favorite. I watched him every afternoon at 3 o’clock when I got home from school. Spidey is a nerdy, little kid who can perform amazing feats to keep people safe and to right societal wrongs. Being a little kid who similarly loved science, he seemed like a good role model at the time. Interestingly, Spidey might have helped me. A couple of studies have shown that kids who pretend to be superheroes, like Batman for example, perform better on tasks, compared with those who aren’t pretending. In some ways, this strategy of imagining to have superpowers is an antidote to the impostor syndrome, a common experience of feeling powerless and undeserving of your position or role. By imagining that they have superpowers, children behave commensurately with these beliefs, which can help them develop self-efficacy at a critical period of development.
This strategy can work for adults too. Military men and women will adopt heroes like Punisher for their battalions, surgeons will don Superman scrub caps, and athletes will take nicknames like Batman for their professional personas. It is a strategy our ancient ancestors deployed, imagining they had the power of Hercules going into battle. No doubt, the energizing, empowering emotion we feel when we think of superheroes is why they are still so popular today. It is why you walk with a bit more swagger when you exit the theater of a good hero flick.
So indulge in a little Wonder Woman and Daredevil and Jessica Jones, even after Halloween has passed. When you do, remember they are here because they are us. and one that we need.
Nowadays, I probably relate most to Captain America: Lead a team, help make each team member better. And, yet, looking at Chris Evans, the actor who plays Captain America, it’s clear I need a lot more time at the gym. Or maybe I could just try to get bitten by a spider.
“Can he swing from a thread? Take a look overhead. Hey, there, there goes the Spider-Man!”
Dr. Benabio is director of Healthcare Transformation and chief of dermatology at Kaiser Permanente San Diego. The opinions expressed in this column are his own and do not represent those of Kaiser Permanente. Dr. Benabio is @Dermdoc on Twitter. Write to him at dermnews@mdedge.com.
Who’s your favorite superhero? I realize this might be impossible to answer – Marvel and DC Comics alone have thousands of heroes from which to choose. I recently visited the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture, known as MoPOP, where they have an awesome exhibit on the history of Marvel. I left understanding why superheroes are perennially popular and why we need them. I also felt a little more powerful myself.
The Avengers might seem like just a marketing scheme created to take your movie money. They’re more than that. Superheroes like Thor and Black Widow appear in all cultures and throughout time. There are short and tall, black and white, young and old, gay and straight, Muslim and Jewish, European, Asian, and African superheroes. The characters in The Iliad were superheroes to the ancients. In India today, you can buy comics featuring Lord Shiva.
Superheroes change with time, often reflecting our struggles and values. Captain America was created in 1941 to allay our fear of the then-metastasizing Nazis. The most popular Marvel hero at the MoPOP right now is Black Panther. Next year Captain Marvel will be released. Also known as Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel is one of Marvel Comics’ strongest women, a female Air Force officer with superhuman strength and speed.
Heroes change with the times and are metaphors for the real-life challenges we face and our abilities to overcome them. Superhero stories are our own stories.
When I was a kid, Spider-Man was my favorite. I watched him every afternoon at 3 o’clock when I got home from school. Spidey is a nerdy, little kid who can perform amazing feats to keep people safe and to right societal wrongs. Being a little kid who similarly loved science, he seemed like a good role model at the time. Interestingly, Spidey might have helped me. A couple of studies have shown that kids who pretend to be superheroes, like Batman for example, perform better on tasks, compared with those who aren’t pretending. In some ways, this strategy of imagining to have superpowers is an antidote to the impostor syndrome, a common experience of feeling powerless and undeserving of your position or role. By imagining that they have superpowers, children behave commensurately with these beliefs, which can help them develop self-efficacy at a critical period of development.
This strategy can work for adults too. Military men and women will adopt heroes like Punisher for their battalions, surgeons will don Superman scrub caps, and athletes will take nicknames like Batman for their professional personas. It is a strategy our ancient ancestors deployed, imagining they had the power of Hercules going into battle. No doubt, the energizing, empowering emotion we feel when we think of superheroes is why they are still so popular today. It is why you walk with a bit more swagger when you exit the theater of a good hero flick.
So indulge in a little Wonder Woman and Daredevil and Jessica Jones, even after Halloween has passed. When you do, remember they are here because they are us. and one that we need.
Nowadays, I probably relate most to Captain America: Lead a team, help make each team member better. And, yet, looking at Chris Evans, the actor who plays Captain America, it’s clear I need a lot more time at the gym. Or maybe I could just try to get bitten by a spider.
“Can he swing from a thread? Take a look overhead. Hey, there, there goes the Spider-Man!”
Dr. Benabio is director of Healthcare Transformation and chief of dermatology at Kaiser Permanente San Diego. The opinions expressed in this column are his own and do not represent those of Kaiser Permanente. Dr. Benabio is @Dermdoc on Twitter. Write to him at dermnews@mdedge.com.
First Episode: Dr. Lorenzo Norris
At MDedge, we know that medicine can be a bit of an awakening at every step of your career. So, we launched the Postcall Podcast as a way to share your stories: what you love about medicine and what you love outside of your career. This podcast is meant to be a place for you to find your truth.
In the first edition, MDedge producer and host Nick Andrews sits down with Lorenzo Norris, MD. Dr. Norris is the host of the MDedge Psychcast as well as the editor-in-chief of MDedge Psychiatry and Dean at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Subscribe to the Postcall Podcast:
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
At MDedge, we know that medicine can be a bit of an awakening at every step of your career. So, we launched the Postcall Podcast as a way to share your stories: what you love about medicine and what you love outside of your career. This podcast is meant to be a place for you to find your truth.
In the first edition, MDedge producer and host Nick Andrews sits down with Lorenzo Norris, MD. Dr. Norris is the host of the MDedge Psychcast as well as the editor-in-chief of MDedge Psychiatry and Dean at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Subscribe to the Postcall Podcast:
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
At MDedge, we know that medicine can be a bit of an awakening at every step of your career. So, we launched the Postcall Podcast as a way to share your stories: what you love about medicine and what you love outside of your career. This podcast is meant to be a place for you to find your truth.
In the first edition, MDedge producer and host Nick Andrews sits down with Lorenzo Norris, MD. Dr. Norris is the host of the MDedge Psychcast as well as the editor-in-chief of MDedge Psychiatry and Dean at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Subscribe to the Postcall Podcast:
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
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.
Could group CBT help survivors of Florence?
Rising waters forced hundreds of people, mainly in the Carolinas, to call for emergency rescues, and some people were forced to abandon their cars because of flooding. One man reportedly died by electrocution while trying to hook up a generator. Another man died after going out to check the status of hunting dogs, according to media reports. And in one of the most heart-wrenching tragedies, a mother and her infant were killed when a tree fell on their home.
Watching the TV reports and listening to the news of Hurricane Florence’s devastating impact on so many millions of people has been shocking. The death toll from this catastrophic weather event as of this writing stands at 39. Besides the current and future physical problems and illnesses left in Florence’s wake, the extent of property damage and loss must be overwhelming for the survivors.
I worry about the extent of the emotional toll left behind by Florence, just as Hurricane Maria did last year in Puerto Rico. The storm and its subsequent damage to the individual psyche – including the loss of identity and the fracturing of social structures and networks – almost certainly will lead to posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and utter despair for many survivors.
While monitoring Florence’s impact, I thought about Hurricane Sandy, which upended me personally when it hit New York in 2012. As I’ve written previously, Sandy’s impact left me without power, running water, or toilet facilities. Almost 3 days of this uncertainty shook me from my comfort zone and truly affected my emotions. Before day 3, I left my home and drove (yes, I could still use my car; the roads were clear and my garage was not flooded) to my older son’s home – where I had a great support system and was able to continue to live a relatively normal life while watching the storm’s developments on TV. To this day, many areas of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut that were hit by Sandy have not fully recovered.
Back to the human tragedy still unfolding for the survivors of Florence: I believe – and the data suggest – that early intervention and treatment of PTSD leads to better outcomes and should be addressed sooner than later. There is no specific medicinal “magic bullet” for PTSD, although some medications may help as well as treat a depressive component of the disorder and other medications may assist in improving sleep and disruptive sleep patterns. It’s been shown, time and again, that cognitive-behavioral therapy, various types of prolonged exposure therapy, and eye movement desensitization therapies work best. The most updated federal guidelines from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, coauthored by Lori L. Davis, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, reinforce those treatments.
I also believe that, in situations in which masses of people are affected or potentially affected by PTSD, another first line of care that should be added is supportive, educational, interactive group therapy. In other words, it is possible that a cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) approach would reach many more people, make psychiatric intervention acceptable, and help the survivors of Florence. A recent study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Boston that examined the role of “decentering” as part of CBGT for patients with specific anxiety disorders, for example, social anxiety disorder, might provide some hints. Decentering involves learning to observe thoughts and feelings as objective events in the mind rather than identifying with them personally. Aaron T. Beck, MD, and others hypothesized decentering as a mechanism of change in CBT.
In the UMass study, researchers recruited 81 people with a principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder based on the Anxiety Disorders Interview Scheduled for DSM-IV. Other inclusion criteria for the study included stability on medications for 3 months or 1 month on benzodiazepines (Behav Ther. 2018 Sep;49[5]:809-12). Sixty-three of participants had 12 sessions of CBGT. The researchers found that people who received the CBGT experienced an increase in decentering. An increase in decentering, in turn, predicted improvement on most outcome measures.
Just as primary care physicians and surgeons know how to address serious physical health issues related natural and man-made disasters, psychiatrists must quickly know how to address the mental health aspects of care. Group therapy has the greatest potential to help more people and perhaps treat – and even prevent not only PTSD but many anxiety disorders as well.
Dr. London, a psychiatrist who practices in New York, developed and ran a short-term psychotherapy program for 20 years at NYU Langone Medical Center and has been writing columns for 35 years. His new book about helping people feel better fast is expected to be published in fall 2018. He has no disclosures.
Rising waters forced hundreds of people, mainly in the Carolinas, to call for emergency rescues, and some people were forced to abandon their cars because of flooding. One man reportedly died by electrocution while trying to hook up a generator. Another man died after going out to check the status of hunting dogs, according to media reports. And in one of the most heart-wrenching tragedies, a mother and her infant were killed when a tree fell on their home.
Watching the TV reports and listening to the news of Hurricane Florence’s devastating impact on so many millions of people has been shocking. The death toll from this catastrophic weather event as of this writing stands at 39. Besides the current and future physical problems and illnesses left in Florence’s wake, the extent of property damage and loss must be overwhelming for the survivors.
I worry about the extent of the emotional toll left behind by Florence, just as Hurricane Maria did last year in Puerto Rico. The storm and its subsequent damage to the individual psyche – including the loss of identity and the fracturing of social structures and networks – almost certainly will lead to posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and utter despair for many survivors.
While monitoring Florence’s impact, I thought about Hurricane Sandy, which upended me personally when it hit New York in 2012. As I’ve written previously, Sandy’s impact left me without power, running water, or toilet facilities. Almost 3 days of this uncertainty shook me from my comfort zone and truly affected my emotions. Before day 3, I left my home and drove (yes, I could still use my car; the roads were clear and my garage was not flooded) to my older son’s home – where I had a great support system and was able to continue to live a relatively normal life while watching the storm’s developments on TV. To this day, many areas of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut that were hit by Sandy have not fully recovered.
Back to the human tragedy still unfolding for the survivors of Florence: I believe – and the data suggest – that early intervention and treatment of PTSD leads to better outcomes and should be addressed sooner than later. There is no specific medicinal “magic bullet” for PTSD, although some medications may help as well as treat a depressive component of the disorder and other medications may assist in improving sleep and disruptive sleep patterns. It’s been shown, time and again, that cognitive-behavioral therapy, various types of prolonged exposure therapy, and eye movement desensitization therapies work best. The most updated federal guidelines from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, coauthored by Lori L. Davis, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, reinforce those treatments.
I also believe that, in situations in which masses of people are affected or potentially affected by PTSD, another first line of care that should be added is supportive, educational, interactive group therapy. In other words, it is possible that a cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) approach would reach many more people, make psychiatric intervention acceptable, and help the survivors of Florence. A recent study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Boston that examined the role of “decentering” as part of CBGT for patients with specific anxiety disorders, for example, social anxiety disorder, might provide some hints. Decentering involves learning to observe thoughts and feelings as objective events in the mind rather than identifying with them personally. Aaron T. Beck, MD, and others hypothesized decentering as a mechanism of change in CBT.
In the UMass study, researchers recruited 81 people with a principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder based on the Anxiety Disorders Interview Scheduled for DSM-IV. Other inclusion criteria for the study included stability on medications for 3 months or 1 month on benzodiazepines (Behav Ther. 2018 Sep;49[5]:809-12). Sixty-three of participants had 12 sessions of CBGT. The researchers found that people who received the CBGT experienced an increase in decentering. An increase in decentering, in turn, predicted improvement on most outcome measures.
Just as primary care physicians and surgeons know how to address serious physical health issues related natural and man-made disasters, psychiatrists must quickly know how to address the mental health aspects of care. Group therapy has the greatest potential to help more people and perhaps treat – and even prevent not only PTSD but many anxiety disorders as well.
Dr. London, a psychiatrist who practices in New York, developed and ran a short-term psychotherapy program for 20 years at NYU Langone Medical Center and has been writing columns for 35 years. His new book about helping people feel better fast is expected to be published in fall 2018. He has no disclosures.
Rising waters forced hundreds of people, mainly in the Carolinas, to call for emergency rescues, and some people were forced to abandon their cars because of flooding. One man reportedly died by electrocution while trying to hook up a generator. Another man died after going out to check the status of hunting dogs, according to media reports. And in one of the most heart-wrenching tragedies, a mother and her infant were killed when a tree fell on their home.
Watching the TV reports and listening to the news of Hurricane Florence’s devastating impact on so many millions of people has been shocking. The death toll from this catastrophic weather event as of this writing stands at 39. Besides the current and future physical problems and illnesses left in Florence’s wake, the extent of property damage and loss must be overwhelming for the survivors.
I worry about the extent of the emotional toll left behind by Florence, just as Hurricane Maria did last year in Puerto Rico. The storm and its subsequent damage to the individual psyche – including the loss of identity and the fracturing of social structures and networks – almost certainly will lead to posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and utter despair for many survivors.
While monitoring Florence’s impact, I thought about Hurricane Sandy, which upended me personally when it hit New York in 2012. As I’ve written previously, Sandy’s impact left me without power, running water, or toilet facilities. Almost 3 days of this uncertainty shook me from my comfort zone and truly affected my emotions. Before day 3, I left my home and drove (yes, I could still use my car; the roads were clear and my garage was not flooded) to my older son’s home – where I had a great support system and was able to continue to live a relatively normal life while watching the storm’s developments on TV. To this day, many areas of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut that were hit by Sandy have not fully recovered.
Back to the human tragedy still unfolding for the survivors of Florence: I believe – and the data suggest – that early intervention and treatment of PTSD leads to better outcomes and should be addressed sooner than later. There is no specific medicinal “magic bullet” for PTSD, although some medications may help as well as treat a depressive component of the disorder and other medications may assist in improving sleep and disruptive sleep patterns. It’s been shown, time and again, that cognitive-behavioral therapy, various types of prolonged exposure therapy, and eye movement desensitization therapies work best. The most updated federal guidelines from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, coauthored by Lori L. Davis, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, reinforce those treatments.
I also believe that, in situations in which masses of people are affected or potentially affected by PTSD, another first line of care that should be added is supportive, educational, interactive group therapy. In other words, it is possible that a cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) approach would reach many more people, make psychiatric intervention acceptable, and help the survivors of Florence. A recent study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Boston that examined the role of “decentering” as part of CBGT for patients with specific anxiety disorders, for example, social anxiety disorder, might provide some hints. Decentering involves learning to observe thoughts and feelings as objective events in the mind rather than identifying with them personally. Aaron T. Beck, MD, and others hypothesized decentering as a mechanism of change in CBT.
In the UMass study, researchers recruited 81 people with a principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder based on the Anxiety Disorders Interview Scheduled for DSM-IV. Other inclusion criteria for the study included stability on medications for 3 months or 1 month on benzodiazepines (Behav Ther. 2018 Sep;49[5]:809-12). Sixty-three of participants had 12 sessions of CBGT. The researchers found that people who received the CBGT experienced an increase in decentering. An increase in decentering, in turn, predicted improvement on most outcome measures.
Just as primary care physicians and surgeons know how to address serious physical health issues related natural and man-made disasters, psychiatrists must quickly know how to address the mental health aspects of care. Group therapy has the greatest potential to help more people and perhaps treat – and even prevent not only PTSD but many anxiety disorders as well.
Dr. London, a psychiatrist who practices in New York, developed and ran a short-term psychotherapy program for 20 years at NYU Langone Medical Center and has been writing columns for 35 years. His new book about helping people feel better fast is expected to be published in fall 2018. He has no disclosures.