Commentary
mementomori | January 4, 2007DUSP6! MMD! STAT1! ERBB3! LCK!
Was ist diese? CB radio patter? Pilot to co-pilot chatter? 3rd-and-long huddle banter?
Of course not - that would be too easy. These cryptograms represent five different genes found within non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) that predict the both the relapse-free and overall survival of patients at the Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan who underwent surgical removal of early stage NSCLC, as reported in this week's New England Journal of Medicine.
By the way, if you've ever wondered why scientists use so many acronyms, here's a good example. The…
mementomori | December 27, 2006Olive oil diet cuts your risk of cancer
A new study suggests that consuming 5 teaspoons of olive oil - either virgin, common or refined - reduces one's risk of developing cancer. Here's how they came to this conclusion:
People in Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy live longer than those in other European countries, while rates of breast, colon, ovarian and prostate cancer are much lower.
Very interesting, but we already know this. Would a volunteer please raise his or her hand and ask "Why?"
Dr [Henrik] Poulsen and his team at Copenhagen University Hospital studied a large…
mementomori | December 22, 2006"Subcutaneous inflammation mimicking metastatic malignancy induced by injection of mistletoe extract"
"At the risk of upsetting many proponents of alternative medicine, I also contend that intuition is no substitute for evidence."
-Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine, Department of Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, Exeter
Holy Nostrums, Batman! Someone is actually criticizing one of the most popular anti-cancer treatments on the shelf of the corner store with the sign Natural Cures Only hanging above it. Professor Edzard…
mementomori | December 19, 2006A new study of 351 women aged 45-55 and suffering from perimenopausal hot flashes found the taking the popular dietary supplement black cohosh (Popular? Well, now I wouldn't say that. Alcohol, cigarettes and anti-depressants are popular. I don't see anybody spending a billion or two on media ads for this stuff...) was no more effective than placebo in reducing the number of episodes per day.
The yearlong study of 351 women suffering from hot flashes and night sweats found that those given black cohosh got about the same amount of relief as those who took a placebo. And those groups saw…
mementomori | December 12, 2006Study: Long hospital shifts, sleep deprivation can kill
We in the healing arts have waited a long time for a headline like this. It seems that someone has finally acknowledged what we knew all along: working long hours is dangerous to the health and life of young doctors-in-training. Hurrah for research! Let's celebrate by knocking off early, before we get hurt.
A study from the U.S. of doctors in their first postgraduate year (interns) has showed that working extended shifts is associated with increased reporting by the doctors of medical errors, adverse patient events and attentional…
neurontic | December 2, 2006A Blog Around The Clock recently posted an entry titled, "You Gotta Be Nuts to Vote for Bush!" Normally I'm a huge fan of The Clock, but this post left me feeling a little sick to my stomach. It describes the vague outlines of a study conducted by Christopher Lohse, a master's candidate in social work at the "highly prestigious" Southern Connecticut State University. Louse claims to have found a "direct link between mental illness and support for President Bush." How? He surveyed . . .
69 psychiatric outpatients in three Connecticut locations during the 2004 presidential election. Lohse's…
mementomori | November 29, 2006Scientists discover where the world's healthiest wines are grown
If you are a fan of red wine you might be interested in the fact that certain peculiar facts about the stuff are beginning to emerge:
1. Folks who drink a small to moderate amount of red wine daily live longer, or have reduced rates of heart disease.
2. Folks who live in the Mediterranean countries or in France live longer, or have reduced rates of heart disease.
3. Folks who live in the Mediterranean countries or France drink more red wine than in other parts of the world.
Whoa! Now wait just a cotton-pickin' minute! I may…
mementomori | November 27, 2006Since I know I'm not the only poor soul swamped with post-Thanksgiving chores and Rodin-like cogitations I offer some brief headlines for perusal by those interested in the status of health on Mothership Earth.
Smokers At Greater Risk of Alcohol-Use Disorders
Adolescent smokers appear to have a greater vulnerability to developing alcohol-use disorders. Results indicate that smoking "primes" the brain for subsequent addiction to alcohol and possibly other drugs. Both academic studies and casual observation support the view that smokers tend to drink, and drinkers tend to smoke. New research…
mementomori | November 20, 2006If you are interested in stem cell research, the biology of cancer cells or promising new targets for anti-cancer therapy, today is your lucky day. Two new studies, one from Italy and one from Canada, both report an astonishing finding: human colon tumors contain cancer stem cells that not only can be identified and separated from ordinary cancer cells, but can successfully transplanted into mice, forming identical tumors that can be serially transplanted for several generations. Here are links to the abstracts; the articles will appear in Nature:
Identification and expansion of human…
neurontic | November 19, 2006I'm angry with my science teachers. I wish I could track them all down and give them a good tongue-lashing. They allowed me to get all the way through 12th grade believing that science was the domain of left-brainers: People who enjoyed computations and categorizations. People who seemed bent on bleeding life of all its color and distilling it down to a series of sterile "laws." They never gave me any indication that learning the periodic table, the laws of physics, or the basics of evolution was just the grunt work--the equivalent of practicing scales so that you could go on to tackle Bach…
mementomori | November 14, 2006As the delightful wag James Taranto over at OpinionJournal.com would say, "What would we find without studies?"
"Breast Cancer Risk Linked To Red Meat, Study Finds"
Younger women who regularly eat red meat appear to face an increased risk for a common form of breast cancer, according to a large, well-known Harvard study of women's health.
Now I ask you, haven't the steakhouses of America been punished enough? First they restrict smoking in the joints, now we get this report from Mount Olympus (excuse me, from the Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and…
neurontic | November 9, 2006Over the past decade, as Baby Boomers have begun flooding the ranks of the AARP, science has become increasingly focused on discovering the recipe for longevity. Every week, it seems, a new study is published touting the life extending powers of antioxidants, exercise, or sleep.
By and large, the anti-aging prescriptions issued over the last 10 years have been sensible. It's hard to take issue with the idea that eating more greens, getting more sleep, and breaking the occasional sweat promotes health. But as the eldest Boomers enter their sixties, the mania for longevity seems to be reaching…
mementomori | November 7, 2006Children and teenagers in the US are getting fatter stomachs, putting them at increased risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, say researchers. They found the belly fat of children and teens had increased by more than 65 per cent since the 1990s - directly in line with rising obesity rates.
Thank goodness we don't live in some totalitarian nanny state that commands overweight youngsters to eat less and exercise more, or face being shipped off to the gulags . That would be unfair to the little cupcake-smeared darlings. Here in the U. S. of A. all are free to consume delicious…
mementomori | October 25, 2006The season in which cancer is diagnosed appears to affect survival, as does sunlight exposure to some extent, according to a study published in the October issue of the International Journal of Cancer.
Talk about not having any control over your health - not only do some of us get cancer, but now there is evidence that the season in which we are diagnosed may influence our chance for survival. Not to be frivolous, but is this akin to getting a crappy lower double berth on the Titanic?
Patients who were diagnosed with cancer in summer and autumn had better survival compared to those diagnosed…
mementomori | October 18, 2006O for a beaker full of the warm South,
Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
And purple-stained mouth;
John Keats, "Ode to a Nightingale"
"Grape seeds may help attack colon tumors"
A new study shows that feeding colorectal cancer-stricken mice with grape seed extract (that's right - grape seeds, not a bottle of the good stuff from the back of the wine cellar, so don't get any ideas) shrank their tumors by an average of 44%. This will undoubtedly lead to banner headlines in the murine press, but can these results be…
neurontic | October 10, 2006I find myself strangely obsessed with tracking the constant shuffle of Google Ads on the site lately. I worry a bit when Neurontic is papered with advertisements for suicide prevention hotlines, bargain-basement antidepressants, and therapy directories, as is the case when I spend too much time talking about depression treatments. I laugh when one posting that mentions the word 'spaghetti' results in a flood of links to pasta recipes. But I'm entirely perplexed by today's top ranking ad: 'God Ringtone.'
The ad instructs me to 'send this ringtone to my phone right now!' I can't help wanting…
mementomori | October 6, 2006My, but the folks who think up names for pharmaceuticals have been busy lately! Here is just one example of a new compound from the promising world of translational research and now approved for usage. Just please don't ask me to pronounce it - I said it fast three times last night and conjured up the ghost of Tatanka Iyotanka.
"FDA Approves Vectibix (panitumumab) for Advanced Colorectal Cancer"
Those of us who follow the latest developments in colon cancer research (and don't you dare call us a bunch of nerds) are thrilled with the approval of panitumumab. Is it possible to translate this…
mementomori | September 27, 2006"Red Wine Slows Brain Cell Damage In Mice"
Why do mice always get to receive the newest advances in medical care? Don't these scientists know that myself and probably several of my fellow ScienceBloggers would gladly volunteer for perilous experiments such as this one? It's reports like these that stir readers like me to ask the tough questions, such as: what if the mice are strictly beer drinkers, or how can they give the mice red wine without a nice plate of le contre filet marchand de vin aux echalottes confites?
Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti and his team gave mice cabernet sauvignon or…
mementomori | September 14, 2006Taking vitamin D cut the risk of pancreatic cancer nearly in half, according to a new study that is being called the first to show such a benefit.
Hooray for vitamins! Mom always told us to take a vitamin before toddling off to school, which was her "Plan B" for good health. "Plan A," consisting of requests to eat broccoli, oranges, green beans, apples and other nauseating plant droppings was met with universal scorn. Why sit at the kitchen table, tears streaming down our face as a plate of brussel sprouts wafts its toad-like scent into our delicate snout when we can get the same Jack…
mementomori | August 27, 2006"I am not overweight, I am underheight - My weight is perfect for a man of 7'9"."
-- Victor Buono
The party's over
It's time to call it a day
They've burst your pretty balloon
And taken the moon away
It's time to wind up the masquerade
Just make your mind up the piper must be paid
Being a little overweight can kill you, according to new research that leaves little room for denial that a few extra pounds is harmful. Baby boomers who were even just a tad pudgy were more likely to die prematurely than those who were at a healthy weight, U.S. researchers reported Tuesday.
I try to be a good…