Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New Year

Out with the old
In with the new

Sincerest Wishes for a Saner Tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Correlation Games

Childhood Hypersensitivity Linked to OCD
Results from both studies indicated a strong connection between compulsive tendencies and hypersensitivity. In children, hypersensitivity was an indicator of ritualism, whereas in adults it was related to OCD symptoms. As a whole, these findings provide preliminary support for the idea that such sensitivities are a precursor to OCD symptoms. When children are extremely sensitive to certain types of touch or smell, they can feel that they are being attacked, or that the environment is threatening them, Prof. Dar believes. Ritualism could develop as a defence mechanism, helping these children to regain a sense of control, which is also a symptom of adults with OCD.
My turn-
Those kids have a strep infection in their skin.
And you let it fester until it drives them insane.

As I was saying

Therapists revolt against psychiatry’s bible
Mental health professionals say new diagnoses will lead to overmedication
For many critics, Exhibit A is childhood ADD. As the disorder describing fidgety, easily distracted kids morphed from “hyperkinetic reaction of childhood” to the current “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” the number of children given the diagnosis exploded, fueling, by one account, a 700 percent increase in the use of Ritalin and other stimulants in the 1990s. Diagnosis requires checking six of nine boxes from a list of symptoms that include “often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly” and “often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat.” Sound familiar, parents?
Two other newly proposed disorders singled out as problematic in the petition are “mild neurocognitive disorder” in the elderly and “disruptive mood dysregulation disorder” in children and adolescents. Both lack a solid basis in research and may fuel the use of powerful antipsychotic medications, which cause weight gain, diabetes and a host of other metabolic problems, the petition says.

See what happens when the drug companies write the manuals?

The Fruit Loop Protocol

Take Sick person.
Add Sugar. Make them sicker.
Add Drugs to counteract the sugar symptoms.
Add More Drugs to address the side effects of the first drug.
Ad infinitum.
When the patient stops complaining, nobody will remember what the original problem was.
Especially the patient.

Problem solved.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Yo Dentists

Stop blaming genetics. Stop blaming us. Stop listening to the American Heart Association. Start doing your jobs.
We assumed you already were...

If Your Teeth Could Talk -
The Mouth Offers Clues to Disorders and Disease

Monday, December 26, 2011

A day late

Fun anyway...
Zombie Christmas

Pop Quiz

You ladies can see through this crap now, right?
Study: Bad maternal relationships more common in obese kids
The study found that 26.1 percent of children who reported troubled relationships with their mothers were also obese at age 15, a rate double that of children who reported close relationships to their mothers.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Go Figure

Patients eager to see doctor's notes; physicians, not so much

Yeah, a little transparency and accountability will change the whole game won't it?

Saturday, December 24, 2011

This is why

Because they prescribe inappropriate drugs and tell us to stop whining.
And if we don't, they prescribe more drugs until we can't do anything.

They make us sicker.
And call it treatment.
Just because we no longer complain.

Potent Drugs and Few Rules
Tens of thousands of powerful pills created to treat serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia are given to developmentally disabled people in the care of New York State every day. But a review by The Times of previously unreleased records, as well as interviews with state employees, clinicians, family members and outside experts, reveals that the psychotropic medications, which alter the brain’s chemistry, are often dispensed sloppily, without rigorous or regular review, by general practitioners with little expertise in the area. And low-level workers at state group homes are frequently given discretion to increase the medication “as needed,” despite their lack of significant training.
Psychologists who have worked inside the system describe a culture in which the drugs are used to control the disruptive behavior of the developmentally disabled — people with conditions like autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy — an approach increasingly discredited in the field.

I think I'm going to start calling this the Fruit Loop Protocol.

The Moral of the Story


Misfit Toys need better Dental Care.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Happy Solstice Everyone!

Greetings People of the Night.
Brighter days are coming.
Light the lights.
Sing and Dance in the Darkness with me...

Monday, December 19, 2011

THEY KNOW THIS, WHY DON'T YOU?

Antiviral Agents in Alzheimer's Disease: Hope for the Future?

It's all there. Eight pages of research.
Herpes 1 is the cause of Alzheimer's Disease. There's no other explanation that makes sense.
Register for free. Read the whole thing.

Is HSV1 Present in Elderly Human Brains? (yes)
Does a Genetic Factor Act with HSV1 to Confer a Strong Risk of AD? (yes)
Does APOE Affect HSV1 Expression and Load in Brain? (yes)
Is There an HSV1 Connection with Senile Plaques and/or β-amyloid? (yes)
Is There an HSV1 Connection with Abnormally Phosphorylated Tau? (yes)
Are There HSV1 Connections with AD-relevant Genes? (yes)
Is Latent HSV1 in Brain Activated by Peripheral Infection? (yes)
Is antiviral Treatment effective for AD? (looks that way...)

The Root of the Problem

Very long, detailed, and excellent article on how and why "Health Care Providers" are no longer actually concerned with people's health.

Medicare Whac-A-Mole
In the wake of the two payment reforms, hospitals began to manipulate the system through “upcoding”—systematically shifting patients into higher-paying DRGs (diagnosis-related groups). Research by economists at Dartmouth University suggests that during the early 1990s, hospital administrators figured out ways to substantially increase the number of Medicare cases they billed to higher-paying DRGs. Payment games continue today. In October the Senate Finance Committee released a report accusing several large home health care companies of abusing Medicare’s payment rules by pushing employees to perform extra therapy visits, thereby qualifying for Medicare bonus payments, even when those visits weren’t strictly necessary. But for many health care providers, that’s the business. Hospital administrators “are people whose job it is to game the system,” Kling says. “They know every little detail of the rules.”
Playing by the rules, and getting the most out of them, becomes the focus. Over time, the rules cease to guide the game and instead become the purpose of the game. Activities that are coded and paid for become the activities that providers do the most. The system encourages covered procedures, such as surgeries and child delivery, while discouraging doctors from spending time in nonpaid activities such as emailing patients or monitoring health data collected electronically at home by the patient. The provision of care bends to fit the shape, however quirky, of the payment rules.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Circle of Insanity

Don't Drink and Drive.

Anchorage police say a city van used to pick up drunken people was taken on a joyride by a man suspected of drunken driving.
The Anchorage Daily News reports that 35-year-old Donny H. Weston was arrested late Thursday after police say he got into a Community Service Patrol van parked with the keys in the engine. Police say social workers were attending inebriated people when Weston got into the van. Police say Weston drove the van for significant distance, including driving against traffic, and he eventually crashed the van into a bus and ditched it. The van is part of a city program that picks up inebriated people and shuttles them to sleeping center.
Police say the inebriated men in the back of the van didn't notice the joyride.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Olympic Level Compulsion

Banker blows £70,000 on 'big night out'
A banker has defied the economic gloom by spending more than £70,000 in one night at a London nightclub. The City worker, who has not been named, is said to have bought a £1,860 bottle of vodka for all 24 tables at Rose in Marylebone.
I don't know why that reminds me of this...

Criminal Robs Same Bank 3 Days in a Row
The last three days for Charles Burnett could be considered a cross between Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Groundhog Day. The 6-foot-1, 275-pound Charles robbed the Sovereign bank in New York, of $2,200. He used his new loot to book himself a fancy suite at the Grand Hyatt near Grand Central. That was Monday.
On Tuesday, he ventured back to the Sovereign bank, much to amazement of the tellers, and robbed them again, this time leaving with $14,000. He decided that for his third repeat performance the following day, he would hire a personal chauffer. So, on Wednesday Burnett hired a luxury SUV and had the driver take him shopping where he purchased a Yankees batting glove and New York Giants hat. The driver had up to this point assumed that his client was some sort of rich baseball player, however Burnett then had the driver drop him off at the Sovereign bank, for his third consecutive robbery, where he was promptly tackled by police while trying to steal $10,000.It was then discovered that Charles had recently been released from a mental hospital...

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

What the Apocalypse looks like

in my dreams...

Bitter Butter Battle
High demand for butter used in traditional Norwegian Christmas dishes has caused a big shortage, leading the government to slash import duties on the cherished product.
Butter consumption has steadily increased in the Scandinavian country this year, partly because of the nation's increased popularity of low-carb but fat-rich diets. Growth in demand peaked at more than 30 percent last month, compared with November 2010.
That has caused empty shelves nationwide.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

It looks like medicine, but it's not

FDA accuses 1-800-GET-THIN of using misleading Lap-Band ads
The Food and Drug Administration has accused the 1-800-GET-THIN marketing company of using misleading advertising in its promotion of Lap-Band weight-loss surgery, saying the billboard, radio and television ads underplay serious risks to patients.
The billboards, plastered across Southern California freeways, display the smiling faces of thin people and catchy phrases about the benefits of Lap-Band surgery. There are warnings about the risks, but the typeface is so small it's not legible, the FDA said. On the radio, the company uses a catchy jingle, and recently included the endorsement of celebrity doctor Drew Pinsky.
Five Southern California Lap-Band patients have died since 2009 after surgeries at centers affiliated with the advertising campaign, according to lawsuits, autopsy reports and other public records.

This is how desperate we are to lose weight.
And yet people still believe we choose to be fat.

This is Why

Because narcoleptics are prescribed just about as many drugs as doctors can think of.
They start with amphetamines and just pile on for every other symptom.
Most narcoleptics are on multiple psychoactive medications.
Someone sent me this list-
  • Panic attacks, depression, blood pressure, arthritis, acid reflux, bloating, headaches, dizziness, cholesterol, sleep apnea.
And that doesn't even include the sleep meds- uppers and downers.
Good grief, she's lucky she doesn't have restless leg or fibromyalgia too...

Holy Toledo

Somebody is talking about Orexin!!

Why Sugar Makes Us Sleepy (And Protein Wakes Us Up)

Monday, December 12, 2011

Less is More

Drug Scarcity’s Dire Cost
More than 251 drugs have been in short supply this year, including about 20 chemotherapy agents, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which has been tracking the problem.
The vast majority are generic injectable medications widely used in hospitals, including drugs used to relieve pain, fight cancer or infections, anesthetize surgical patients, treat cardiovascular disease and manage psychiatric conditions. Critical intravenous nutritional supplements and oral drugs for controlling diabetes, high blood pressure and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are difficult to find, said Cynthia Reilly, the director of practice development at the pharmacists’ organization.
...
The scarcity drives up health care costs as hospitals turn to more expensive substitutes and must spend time and money teaching staff how to use unfamiliar drugs. The risk of medical errors and complications also increases, experts say; many procedures have been delayed or canceled.

Nobody could have predicted.

Zombies in the Mall

A very nice old man asked me to help him find his way back to his assisted living home today.
We had a lovely chat about memory loss along the way.
And when I got home I realized I had totally forgotten my dentist appointment.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Well how about that

Carb Counting May Abate Breast Cancer Risk Factors
Limiting carbohydrate intake just two days a week can mitigate some risk factors for breast cancer by burning body fat and improving insulin sensitivity, researchers said here.
Over three months, eating fewer carbohydrates alone, or combining that reduction with severe caloric restriction two days per week, was associated with significant changes in body fat and insulin resistance, Michelle Harvie, PhD, of Genesis Prevention Center at University Hospital in South Manchester, U.K., reported during a poster session at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
I find this part interesting-
In an earlier study, Harvie and colleagues demonstrated that two days per week of calorie restriction was comparable to daily calorie restriction in terms of weight loss, but it wasn't any easier for patients to follow because the choice of food was limited to fruit and vegetables on restricted days.
Eating only carbs gives you food cravings. It's a horrible diet.

Surviving the Apocalypse

Here, I found some medical ID jewelry I kinda like-
They're dog tags with USB drives. These could probably go on a key ring too.

Medical Alert USB Flash Drive Pendant Steel
Medical Alert USB Flash Drive Pendant Black
Medical Alert USB Flash Drive Dog Tag

I hate bracelets. But they have a bunch of them with flash drives.
Would rather have a ring. Somebody should be able to make something tiny enough by now.

search for "medical ID USB"

Friday, December 9, 2011

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

I've been waiting...

I was beginning to think he had a really good dentist or something.

Alec Baldwin asked to leave flight for playing game.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Self-Selected Behavior

Behold the awesome power of food technology:
A sandwich which stays fresh for up to two years has been developed by the US army.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Passive Aggressive Public Service Announcement #1

Just wanted to mention:
Acyclovir and Valacyclovir are dispensed over-the-counter in pharmacies in Mexico.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Alzheimer's Disease is caused by Herpes Virus

There I said it. Prove me wrong.
I'll gladly play that correlation game.

All the research points at the same conclusion-


And the research also shows that it is probably easily treatable and possibly reversible.

What I want to know is why the herpes and dementia researchers aren't running through the streets screaming this at the top of their lungs?
Why aren't the news shows trumpeting this information? There's way more evidence for this than most of the health information they broadcast.
Why is there NO information about this on the Alzheimer's Association website?

Somebody could put out a tweet and in one day get a thousand volunteers to take acyclovir for a while.

What the hell is wrong with the world???

5-24-2014-  updated research here...

Old song of the day

Paul Simon - The Boy In The Bubble

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Further adventures with Fruit Loops

I talked to my sister yesterday. She worked with the "medically fragile" students this week. The ones who can't walk or take care of themselves.
Her duties involved taking Fruit loops and chocolate milk and putting them in a blender and feeding it to palsied children through a straw.

She said she wanted to scream the entire time and kept wondering if it was real or some disturbed version of a practical joke. She kept hoping that someone would come out and say "HA! Nobody would ever do such a thing- You've been Punked!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

I have seen the enemy and it is us

Hospital’s obesity billboards stir debate
A Northwest Indiana hospital that erected billboards with the message “Obesity is a disease. Not a decision” is facing a backlash from people offended by the signs’ suggestion that obesity isn’t a lifestyle choice.

Winfield resident September Vawter lashed out at the weight-loss program’s message in an email she sent to the hospital. She feels strongly that obesity is the result of lifestyle choices.
“There is no disease that causes your body to drive to McDonald’s to go get some fries. There is no disease that makes your hands unwrap a candy bar. It’s all habits,” her email said.

Actually, if you have Hyperinsulinemia and eat low fat food- you will become hypoglycemic. Not surprisingly- low blood sugar strongly affects the prefrontal cortex and decision making abilities... and causes a desperate craving for food. Not to mention the excess insulin converts almost all that food to fat and starves your brain even further.
In susceptible people - compulsive eating is triggered by the very diet doctors recommend to treat obesity.
That's endocrinology, not habits.

(Although I applaud the sentiment of the billboard, I don't approve of the goal- which is to fill up their bariatric surgery center- not to truly treat the illness they claim is the cause...)

Monday, November 28, 2011

Money for Nothing

Lisa Martinez vs The Dentists' Cartel
Dentists earn above-average wages because they possess highly specialized skills that most of us lack, and no one should begrudge them that. But dentists have also gotten quite canny at padding their earnings by enacting regulatory restrictions on the provision of tooth-related services by non-dentists even if the service in question doesn't actually require a dentist's specialized skills.
This really needs to change. I was just thinking dental hygienists should be able to work at salons and become a real part of our beauty regimen...

But then we probably wouldn't ever need dentist's "highly specialized skills", huh?
Funny, that.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Circle of Insanity

The stark contrast between modern medicine's ability to deal with acute illness and it's inability to prevent that same illness makes my head spin.

They patched Jeff's dad up in a couple hours. Got him back in decent working order.
And then proceeded to insure he has another heart attack in the future.

I gotta dissect the cognitive dissonance a while before I can even rant...

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Giving Thanks

We are thankful that Jeff's father survived his heart attack and was released from the hospital today.

You guys eat some carbs and have a nice nap for me.
I'm busy.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Flying monkeys out their @ss

Merck to pay $950 million for illegal marketing of Vioxx
The FDA approved Vioxx for three medical purposes in 1999 but did not approve its use against rheumatoid arthritis until April 2002. The government says that for nearly three years in the interim, Merck promoted Vioxx for rheumatoid arthritis. An FDA warning letter was sent to Merck in 2001 for making the claims.
Officials say that while this is not a record settlement, the $950 million agreement places it among the top five on record.
They will say and do anything to sell their shit before anyone figures out it doesn't work. Because they haven't been truly successful in ages... it's all smoke and mirrors.

Monday, November 21, 2011

It's not your imagination

A very cool experiment-

Passing Through Doorways Might Spur Forgetfulness
Ever go into another room for something and then forget what you were there for? A new study suggests that simply passing through a doorway can cause you to forget why you came into a room or what you wanted to find.
"Entering or exiting through a doorway serves as an 'event boundary' in the mind, which separates episodes of activity and files them away," Gabriel Radvansky, a psychology professor at the University of Notre Dame, said in a university news release.
"Recalling the decision or activity that was made in a different room is difficult because it has been compartmentalized," he explained.

Tic Tic Tic Tic Tic

Drugs Used for Psychotics Go to Youths in Foster Care
Doctors are treating foster children’s behavioral problems with the same powerful drugs given to people with schizophrenia and severe bipolar disorder. “We simply don’t have evidence to support this kind of use, especially in young children,” Dr. dosReis said.
In recent years, doctors and policy makers have grown concerned about high rates of overall psychiatric drug use in the foster care system, the government-financed program that provides temporary living arrangements for 400,000 to 500,000 children and adolescents. Previous studies have found that children in foster care receive psychiatric medications at about twice the rate among children outside the system.

Is it just me or does the underlying pattern of mental health 'care' go something like this:
The more vulnerable you are, the more likely it is that doctors will give you drugs that destroy your decision making ability.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

How to Change the World

So I went out and tried to find dental health programs in school. Apparently we teach them HOW, we just don't actually make them do it...
I could only find a couple examples.

Children brush teeth at school (Christchurch AU)
Each school day, usually after lunch, children retrieve their individually numbered brushes fixed to the wall, put adult-strength fluoride paste on them and head back to their desks for five minutes of brushing. They each get a water cup for rinsing. They dump their used water into a big plastic bin, which is disposed of by a teacher or supervisor.
And then there's America-
Swish, spit, protest: The new Mass. tooth brushing law
The state Department of Early Education & Care is requiring all children in day care longer than four hours and/or who eat a meal to have their teeth brushed on-site. (Parents send in the brush, which is to be replaced every few months, or if the kid is out sick.)Some schools are adopting the regulations for older kids as well, so we'll certainly be seeing more of it in the coming months.
Parents can opt out of this rule, and from what I hear anecdotally, quite a few are angrily doing so.
I also found a program in Virginia that provides flouride rinse to kids because the water supply doesn't.
Antibacterial mouth rinse would work better, but it's a start.

Hey now here's a great idea:
Keewatin and Ely Students Receive Dental Care At School
The Smiles Across Minnesota program is available to any child regardless of ability to pay or whether they have insurance. Students get X–rays, cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants, fillings, crowns and teeth pulled all from a dentist without ever having to leave school.
"Instead of missing a half a day or a whole day to travel far to find a dentist who accepts medical assistance, the children miss on average only about thirty minutes from school," Sarah Wovcha, Executive Director of Children's Dental Services said.

INSTITUTIONALIZED ORAL HYGIENE IS THE SINGLE MOST EFFECTIVE THING THAT WE CAN DO TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF THE WORLD.

Germany, Sweden, Japan- anyone out there who can tell me if you guys do this?

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Dopamine rules us all

Gene Impedes Recovery from Alcoholism, Swedish Research Finds

Researchers in the longitudinal project Göteborg Alcohol Research Project (GARP) have been investigating the dopamine D2 receptor gene and found that a variant of this gene is overrepresented in people with severe alcohol dependency, and that it is linked to a number of different negative consequences that can be of vital significance to the person affected.
"Our research shows that alcohol-dependent individuals, who are also carriers of this gene variant, run 10 times the risk of dying prematurely, compared with the average population," says Claudia Fahlke, a representative from the research team.
In a study published recently in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism (issue 46), the research team shows that this gene variant also appears to be associated with a higher tendency among these individuals to suffer a relapse, even if they have undergone treatment for their alcohol dependency.

The autoimmune streptococcal antibodies that I believe cause much of mental illness-
BIND TO D2 RECEPTORS AND STIMULATE THEIR PRODUCTION.

Infection is why abstaining from alcohol does not solve the problem...
And why we live fast and die young.

Things that make me scream

One In Four Women Takes Mental Health Drugs

The medical establishment is just fine with this.
Because we are obviously very messed up. Not them.

Edit: Aaaahhhh, this video keeps flashing in my mind...

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Brain Damage on a Plate

This explains a lot.

Toast sandwich is UK's 'cheapest meal'
Britain's 'cheapest' lunchtime meal was unveiled by scientists on Wednesday - the toast sandwich.
The Royal Society of Chemistry (!!!) is reviving the mid-Victorian dish, which, unsurprisingly, consists of two slices of bread around a slice of toast.

The End of the World as we know it

And I am totally fine with that.

New Mouthwash Targeting Harmful Bacteria May Render Tooth Decay a Thing of the Past
A new mouthwash developed by a microbiologist at the UCLA School of Dentistry is highly successful in targeting the harmful Streptococcus mutans bacteria that is the principal cause tooth decay and cavities. Most common broad-spectrum antibiotics, like conventional mouthwash, indiscriminately kill both benign and harmful pathogenic organisms and only do so for a 12-hour time period.
In a recent clinical study, 12 subjects who rinsed just one time with the experimental mouthwash experienced a nearly complete elimination of the S. mutans bacteria over the entire four-day testing period. The findings from the small-scale study are published in the current edition of the international dental journal Caries Research.

Know your limitations

I have verbal problems all the time. I stammer and have a sketchy memory for proper names.
I also do not like to study world politics all that much.
That is why I think I should not run for President.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I worry about Japan

Their obsession with robots and cute animals is surely a symptom of something.

A robotic polar bear pillow that fights snoring

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Yo Doctors

Never underestimate a parent's desire to heal their child.

Father's homemade machine helps disabled son to walk

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Tests tests and more tests

New advice on kids' cholesterol
New guidelines due out this weekend are expected to recommend that more children get a screening test for high cholesterol before they reach puberty.
...
Guidelines from a leading pediatrics group now advise screening just kids with a family history of early heart disease or risk factors such as obesity and high blood pressure. But many doctors feel that is missing too many kids with high cholesterol.
The guidelines, from experts appointed by the federal government, will be presented at an American Heart Association conference on Sunday.
Perfect.
They've gotten all the adults on statins, then lowered the baseline as much as they possibly can, so now they're going after children to get more customers. Go figure.

This is borderline malpractice. There is no evidence that serum cholesterol levels predict heart disease, and certainly none for children.

For the record, the last I looked, the American Heart Association website had NO information regarding periodontal disease or infectious causes of atherosclerosis. NONE.
Why aren't they teaching kids how to properly care for their mouths?

Zombie Shopping





Check it out. 25 lb. bags of gluten-free flour.
Cash & Carry is a restaurant supply, it's also known as Smart and Final in California. I don't know what the equivalent is back east.
I haven't checked Costco or SamsClub though.

Monday, November 7, 2011

No Kidding

Hit reset on cancer screening: 'Tests not perfect'
Last month, a government panel recommended an end to routine prostate cancer screenings, a step further than other major medical groups that urge men to weigh the pros and cons and decide for themselves. But the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found limited, if any, evidence that screening average men improves survival. That's largely because so many men are diagnosed with slow-growing tumors that never would have killed them; still, they have treatments that can cause incontinence, impotence or even lead to death.

"We really — underline the word 'really' — have to pull back the messaging on prostate cancer," says the cancer society's Lichtenfeld, who himself isn't sure of the test's net worth. PSA testing took off on the basis of "blind faith" that they would work, not science, he says.

Blind Faith seems to be what a whole lot of modern medical advice is based on.

It's freakin flabbergasting.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Don't Drive Glutened

Narcoleptics are more dangerous than drunks. No Excuses.

It's Drowsy Driving Prevention Week
The NSF says new data shows that 96 percent of Americans feel it’s unacceptable for someone to drive when they are so sleepy they have trouble keeping their eyes open, yet about one-third of Americans admitted doing so in the past 30 days.
“People know that they shouldn’t text or drink when they drive, and that’s great,” says David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation. “However, many don’t realize that driving while drowsy is also very dangerous. If you’re so tired that you can hardly keep your eyes open, you could fall asleep for just a few seconds and not realize it. If that happens at 65 miles an hour, you could drive the length of a football field in an unconscious state.”

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Brain Eating Zombie of the Day

Psychological Traumas Experienced Over Lifetime Linked to Adult Irritable Bowel Syndrome
The psychological and emotional traumas experienced over a lifetime--such as the death of a loved one, divorce, natural disaster, house fire or car accident, physical or mental abuse -- may contribute to adult irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to the results of a study unveiled at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC.
Trauma may sensitize the brain and the gut, according to Dr. Saito-Loftus, who said that the results of this study indicate that patients with IBS experience or report traumas at a level higher than patients without IBS.

HOLY CRAP. It's 2011 and an actual doctor will publish this nonsense and present it to her peers.
Don't they require reading in school anymore? The existing data shows the causality goes the other way.

Correlation FAIL

Thursday, November 3, 2011

A bad day for the Pharmas

Chantix Unsuitable for First-Line Smoking Cessation Use, Study Finds
The researchers found that 90 percent of all reported suicides related to smoking- cessation drugs since 1998 implicated varenicline, even though it was on the market only four years in the nearly 13-year study period. They also found that varenicline was eight times more likely to result in a reported case of suicidal behavior or depression than nicotine replacement products.
Chantix is EVIL. And you can be sure they are still trying to find a way to sell it.

Glaxo Settles Cases With U.S. for $3 Billion
The cases against GlaxoSmithKline include illegal marketing of Avandia, a diabetes drug that was severely restricted last year after it was linked to heart risks. Company whistle-blowers and federal prosecutors said the company had paid doctors and manipulated medical research to promote the drug.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

They don't know what their drugs do

Lipitor Rage
If statins carried a rare but serious side effect, would we ever find out?
Monkeys put on cholesterol-reducing diets become more aggressive, and numerous studies have linked low or lowered cholesterol to violent behavior in people, too. For instance, one study compared the cholesterol measurements of nearly 80,000 Swedes who’d enrolled in a health-screening project against police records and found that violent criminals had significantly lower cholesterol levels than noncriminals.

It has also been shown that omega-3 supplementation reduces aggression in prison populations.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Psychology in a paragraph

from the Onion, of course.
SANTA ROSA, CA—A study released by the California Parenting Institute Tuesday shows that every style of parenting inevitably causes children to grow into profoundly unhappy adults. "Our research suggests that while overprotective parenting ultimately produces adults unprepared to contend with life's difficulties, highly permissive parenting leads to feelings of bitterness and isolation throughout adulthood," lead researcher Daniel Porter said. "And, interestingly, we found that anything between those two extremes is equally damaging, always resulting in an adult who suffers from some debilitating combination of unpreparedness and isolation. Despite great variance in parenting styles across populations, the end product is always the same: a profoundly flawed and joyless human being." The study did find, however, that adults often achieve temporary happiness when they have children of their own to perpetuate the cycle of human misery.

Now that we have that clear, can we move on to something that might actually alleviate some suffering?

Monday, October 31, 2011

Dia de los Muertos



I see dead people.

The child who had no limits.
The adolescent who never grew up.
The man who did not know right from wrong.
The tortured body that could not live in it's own skin.
The tormented skull that cut it's own face off.
The haunted soul who could not rest.
The prisoner of what he could not see.

The skeleton who could not stop dancing.

He would have paid any price, or literally moon-walked on a tightrope if it helped.
And a doctor actually killed him.

Really Scary Stuff

Firms to charge smokers, obese more for healthcare
So now more employers are trying a different strategy - they're replacing the carrot with a stick and raising costs for workers who can't seem to lower their cholesterol or tackle obesity.
Overall, the use of penalties is expected to climb in 2012 to almost 40 percent of large and mid-sized companies. The penalties include higher premiums and deductibles for individuals who failed to participate in health management activities as well as those who engaged in risky health behaviors such as smoking.
"Nothing else has worked to control health trends," says LuAnn Heinen, vice president of the National Business Group on Health, which represents large employers on health and benefits issues.

So they blame the patients...

Their attitude is presumptive.
  • They presume we don't care about our health. That we have to be “forced” to comply. That we want to be fat and miserable.
  • And they also presume to know what's best for us. That non-compliance actually is the problem. Frankly, their track record isn't that great. And they still totally ignore the possibility that they might be flat out wrong.
______________________________

Let me tell you how this manifests in my life:
Every six months a young lady from our insurance company calls my husband and asks him questions. He's a diabetic so this is pretty standard. The past couple years they have had this “incentive program” to lower costs. If you participate in “Health Awareness” activities you save money.
EVERY SINGLE health awareness activity involves eating more fruits and vegetables. Even if you run marathons, there is no way to get the incentive if you don't eat more fruits and vegetables.
So every six months this young lady asks my husband if he is going to eat more fruits and vegetables. And he says:
“Do you have the study on which that advice is based?”
And the young lady says “Huh?”
“You are recommending a diet which has never been shown to benefit diabetics, so please cite your source.”
“But sir Fruits and Vegetables are part of a healthy diet.”
Do you have a long term study you can send me?
“Well No.”

My husband has the absolute best blood sugar numbers any of his doctors have EVER seen. They tell him to “keep doing what he's doing”.
If he eats more carbs- his blood sugar with go up. Period.
But this administrative aide who doesn't even know the basics of carbohydrate or insulin chemistry can call our house and demand he eats more fruits and vegetables or lose his “incentive” to be healthy.

He is extremely healthy. And there is no accounting for that in their plan. He gets no compensation for his self motivation.
It's insulting. And patently unhelpful.

The other way this strategy backfires-
I do not participate. I am pretty sick and I refuse to even sign up for the program. When I find an ACTUAL DOCTOR who understands my illesses- and helps me recover- I might think about sharing the details with some anonymous insurance company employee and her ridiculous checklist.
Yes, I pay more, but I'm not healthier. And that's what they say their goal is. Ha.

_____________________________________

This is one of the most dangerous trends in health care.
  • It takes medicine out of the hands of professionals. Hell, they barely know what they're doing. Cholesterol screening has shown absolutely zero benefit, for example...
  • And puts it in the hands of insurance companies, employers, and the government.
  • And it creates rigid rules. Which are difficult to change.
  • Shifting the most drastic health and economic consequences directly to the most vulnerable.
The actual result of this process will be to entrench and accelerate the very health problems they claim are the cause of the cost increases.
And force those with chronic illness out of employment and insurance coverage.

Clever, that.
It's a little more subtle than just raising our rates and refusing cover to sick people, but accomplishes the same thing.

I really hope it backfires on them. Motivates some class action malpractice suits.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Nightmares and Flashbacks

Sleep disorders plague vets with head trauma or PTSD
Sleep testing performed on most of the patients found obstructive sleep apnea in 56 percent of them and insomnia in 49 percent.
More than two-thirds (71 percent) of the soldiers had restless nights of fragmented sleep. Nearly nine in ten (87 percent) were "hypersomniacs," sleepy during waking hours, Collen said.

Very interesting details in the results. Clearly shows differences in pathology.
Several different things going on.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

How to find things that don't exist

Sports Medicine Said to Overuse M.R.I.’s
“An M.R.I. is unlike any other imaging tool we use,” Dr. Sangeorzan said. “It is a very sensitive tool, but it is not very specific. That’s the problem.” And scans almost always find something abnormal, although most abnormalities are of no consequence.

“It is very rare for an M.R.I. to come back with the words ‘normal study,’ “ said Dr. Christopher DiGiovanni, a professor of orthopedics and a sports medicine specialist at Brown University. “I can’t tell you the last time I’ve seen it.”

Friday, October 28, 2011

Bwa Ha Ha Ha Ha

Halloween Decorations from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories.

Who says they're just for Halloween?!?

Upon further reflection

If you wanted to convince a bunch of narcoleptics that they needed your drugs...
You might take their hypersensitive nervous systems to a cacophonous place and feed them lots of sugar and gluten. Trigger their symptoms at every turn. Make them even sicker.
And then give “scholarships' to a lot of cute young ladies who are addicted to your drugs to show up there and talk about how great they feel and how much they love your product.

But I have a vivid imagination...

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Liars and Criminals

I'm not real good at financial stuff. Don't really understand economics. But I do know the poorer you are, the harder it is to keep your money. I like the way Matt Taibbi explains it.

Wall Street Isn't Winning – It's Cheating


It's the same with medicine. It's not the arrogance and greed that's so infuriating... it's the fact it's based on lies and guarantees bad outcomes.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Rotten Teeth= Rotten Brains

Teen violence linked to heavy soda diet: study
Researchers in the United States said on Tuesday they had found a "shocking" association -- if only a statistical one -- between violence by teenagers and the amount of soda they drank.
High-school students in inner-city Boston who consumed more than five cans of non-diet, fizzy soft drinks every week were between nine and 15-percent likelier to engage in an aggressive act compared with counterparts who drank less.
"What we found was that there was a strong relationship between how many soft drinks that these inner-city kids consumed and how violent they were, not only in violence against peers but also violence in dating relationships, against siblings," said David Hemenway, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health.
"It was shocking to us when we saw how clear the relationship was," he told AFP in an interview.

Monday, October 24, 2011

The History Channel!

I am amused.

Zombies: A Living History
Premieres: October 25, 8pm ET
Network: History


What’s It All About? Although it seems like zombies are a recent phenomenon that has grown out of comic books, movies and TV, there actually is a long history of zombie legends from the dawn of civilization to today, and this two-hour documentary explores that history.
The special details how Europe’s Black Plague became one of the most prolific periods for myths and legends about zombies, explores why Viking legends believed zombies were nearly indestructible except by decapitation or immolation; examines other zombie legends from around the world, including secret stories of China’s Terra Cotta Warriors and the voodoo rituals of Haiti; and shows how modern science added a whole new twist on zombies beginning with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Set your Tivos. Happy haunting.

Looking for things that don't exist

The limits of Breast Cancer Screening

Translated into real numbers, that means screening mammography helps 4,000 to 18,000 women each year. Although those numbers are not inconsequential, they represent just a small portion of the 230,000 women given a breast cancer diagnosis each year, and a fraction of the 39 million women who undergo mammograms each year in the United States.
Dr. Welch says it’s important to remember that of the 138,000 women found to have breast cancer each year as a result of mammography screening, 120,000 to 134,000 are not helped by the test.
“The presumption often is that anyone who has had cancer detected has survived because of the test, but that’s not true,” Dr. Welch said. “In fact, and I hate to have to say this, in screen-detected breast and prostate cancer, survivors are more likely to have been overdiagnosed than actually helped by the test.”

But helping people is not really the point of modern medicine is it?
The point is to give you tests. Tests, tests, and more tests. Because tests make money whether you're sick or not.

(Now, I'm not real good at math, but at $100 apiece, I think that's about 4 billion dollars that could be spent on dental care and actually prevent some breast cancer. Sigh.)

Sunday, October 23, 2011

No sleep for the wicked

The next Sleep conference is in June in Boston.
I think we should submit a paper. Or a poster. Or something.

The deadline is December 15th.

Here's the call for papers.
Here's their website.

I have a thread over on the forum if you want to discuss...

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Zombie Liberation Front


Last Saturday night, on the bus going to Fremont street.

At the conference

The very first person I talked to asked me if I had Narcolepsy.
I said No, I don't have narcolepsy anymore. Would you like to not have narcolepsy?"
She said “No, I've gotten used to it.”

We are sick puppies.
On powerful mind-altering drugs.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Silliness

Isn't the apocalypse supposed to start today?

ZomBcon 2011

Seattle has zombie events pretty often. The only people who compare in overall devotion to brain damage are in London. Go figure.

I can never go to them though. I see zombies all the time anyway...

On the record

Donations to Narcolepsy Network Conference

Cephalon (Provigil,Nuvigil) $30,000
Jazz Pharma (Xyrem) $20,000

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Well how about that

Study Implicates Hyperinsulinemia in Increased Incidence of Autism
It appears that both Type 2 diabetes and autism have a common underlying mechanism -- impaired glucose tolerance and hyperinsulinemia," said Rice University biochemist Michael Stern.

Fruit loops and French toast and Cupcakes, oh my...

Low Birthweight Infants Five Times More Likely to Have Autism, Study Finds
Gluten intolerance is also associated with smaller babies.

Dancing in my Kitchen

When it is good it is very, very good:

Antiviral Drugs May Slow Alzheimer's Progression
Researchers found that treatment of HSV1-infected cells with acyclovir, the most commonly used antiviral agent, and also with two other antivirals, did indeed decrease the accumulation of β-amyloid and P-tau, as well as decreasing HSV1 replication as we would expect.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Las Vegas Debrief

Well, I did it. I left the house. And went directly into the vortex.

Christina and I met up in Vegas and hung out with the narcoleptics.
It went really well, we got a good reception and found a few people who were real interested in the diet.

First though, I would like to say that Vegas is the absolute worst venue they could have chosen.
It is carefully designed to overwhelm neurosensitive people, and not at all interested in facilitating the requirements of conducting business. It was impossible just to use the internet or even make some copies. It was extra distracting for me, because I haven't been there in 20 years and it's a completely different place. I was totally disoriented everywhere I went. I guess it was nice we could smoke inside, but I went outside anyway just to get away from all the noise.

Although it was kind of comforting being around so many folks like me, I'm sorry I couldn't attend any of the sessions and meet more people. The last time I went to a conference I ended up running to my truck and crying for half an hour. To hear the things they tell you and the things you tell about yourselves and to watch you eat cookies and fall asleep in your chairs just kills me. I would have screamed involuntarily. Pretty sure.

Christina did attend though, and seems to have made friends and influenced people. She really is an exceptional woman. Beautiful, outrageously smart, brave- and friendly too. I'm so glad we have her to help us. And that I had her to moderate my stress.
I worked the lobby and handed out literature and toys. My theory is- if you can't say anything nice- give out gifts instead. Donuts are the usual bribery tool, but that wasn't really appropriate in this situation. I chose Emergency Inflatable Brains. One of my favorite things.

It was an insane weekend, 36 hours fueled by insomnia and starvation and squealing alarms, but all in all we were even more successful than we had hoped. Both of us are just now recovering.

For those of you who are checking in after getting our brochures: Yes I really am as weird as I seem... I hope you find something helpful here anyway.

(pic coming soon)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Correlation Games

Teens who work nights have 'double risk of MS'
The team compared the occurrence of MS among study subjects exposed to shift work -- defined as working any time between the hours of 9:00 pm and 7:00 am -- at various ages against those who had never worked night shifts.
The result was astounding: in both groups the researchers found that those who had worked night shifts for longer periods of time before they turned 20 had twice the risk of developing MS compared to those who never worked shifts.
The researchers suggest that disrupting a person's circadian rhythm, or daily rhythmic activity cycle, along with sleep loss could play a role in the development of MS.
"With shift work, your biological clock gets out of whack and you have poorer sleep quality (and) both these things have been shown to impact the immune system," Hedstroem told AFP.

My turn: They get it backwards again: Subclinical autoimmune activity causes nerve damage resulting in anxiety and insomnia, which predisposes these people to choose night shift work.

When I was in college, I thought after-hours retail inventory was the Perfect Job.

Gluten in the News

Jeff told me NPR had a piece on gluten today:

Look Who's Going Gluten-Free

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Brain Eating Zombie of the Decade

Doctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we Generals.
-Napoleon


Emmanuel Mignot- Director of the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences

You claim to be the premier narcolepsy researcher in the world.
So, what exactly have you done to help us?

• The orexin discovery was nice, but you aren’t the only one who found it.
• The dog experiments were great publicity for you, but the actual studies only proved that their inherited form of narcolepsy does not apply to humans.
• Your full-genome analysis was super cutting edge, but didn’t actually help anyone.

Now, I know it is in your career interest do all the high profile experiments you can. And obviously your ultimate goal is to find some miracle orexin replacement molecule you can sell us. But that just isn't good enough anymore. While you have been playing Sleepgenius you have turned your back on the most abundant evidence, the most plausible explanation and the most promising treatment possibility.
You are looking for things that don’t exist while ignoring things that do.

Narcolepsy is no ordinary illness. We won’t just get sleepier until you get around to finding and patenting a drug. We aren’t just tired- we are tormented. Our minds twist and turn against us. Narcolepsy causes major depression and suicidal tendencies. Some of us will die. We will remove ourselves from your patient pool. Permanently.

Despite that handicap, a number of us have managed to figure this out. We have crawled through the darkness, fought the confusion, seen through the lies, read all the research, tried every possibility, and somehow found relief.
And we go to our doctors, and they tell us we are imagining it. They have never heard of such a thing. And then we come to you because of your reputation- and you ignore us. More than that, you exclude us.

Nobody knows about this because you have defined us out of existence. You confidently tell us that anyone with a known trigger has “secondary” narcolepsy. But when asked, you admit the cause of “primary” narcolepsy isn’t known. I really shouldn’t have to explain the error in that logic to an educated man such as yourself. You cannot arbitrarily create categories without a distinction.
Furthermore, if we have determined that our narcolepsy is triggered by food, we are ineligible to participate in your research studies. That's the protocol- if you have a trigger, then it's not "real" narcolepsy.

Do you understand the implications of your methods?
First of all- they marginalize people who have actually gotten better. You disregard known remissions. YOU IGNORE YOUR BEST LEADS.
And secondly- they guarantee that if narcolepsy is caused by food- YOU WILL NEVER FIND THE ANSWER.

All the evidence points to diet as the most probable cause of narcolepsy.
• Orexin neurons innervate the entire gastrointestinal tract and regulate metabolism.
• Inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract have been shown to affect the function of orexin cells.
• Orexin cells are glucose sensitive. It has already been shown that a sugar-free diet ameliorates narcoleptic symptoms.
• Your own studies indicate that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disorder.
• Autoimmune antibodies have been shown to affect the function of orexin cells.
• DQB1-0602- the primary gene associated with narcolepsy- is a known gluten autoimmunity locus. Some of the secondary genes are too.
• People regularly report dramatic remission on a gluten-free diet. And they have reported this directly to you. For at least ten years. We know that you know this.

Your selection practices are highly suspect for this simple reason: You do not know if your “primary” narcoleptics are gluten intolerant or not. Despite the fact they ALL carry the gene, you have never bothered to do any tests and find out. Even after multiple requests to do so.
We suffered for that information. You ignore it. And those people are still suffering.

Due to your status as “premier self-promoter” and insidious relationship with Narcolepsy Network you have thousands of our blood samples at your disposal. Yet you still don’t investigate this. And you won’t share them with other researchers, either. As far as I can tell, the only one that helps is you.
It’s unfortunate that dietary therapy won’t make you a lot of money. And that if you actually test this you will probably lose a lot of patients. We don’t care. We have more important things to worry about. 35,000 people commit suicide in the U.S. each year. Chances are most of them are narcoleptic. You may not be motivated by that. But we are.

Luckily for us, it doesn’t really matter if you decide to study this or not. We don’t actually need you to prove this or a sleep lab to get better. Each one of us can do it in our own kitchen. And I am personally going to make sure everyone knows that.

Looking for a drug is a fine goal if that’s what you want to do. An orexin agonist will surely make someone obscenely rich someday.
But you probably shouldn’t pretend your motivations are magnanimous while you use your influence to exploit us and prolong our crippling misery. I’m guessing there’s a special place in Hell for that.


Dr. Mignot has consulted for Jazz, Actelion, and Cephalon; is on the advisory board of Eli Lilly and Actelion; has participated in speaking engagements for Roche; and owns stock in ResMed.
ResMed is a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of products for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep-disordered breathing.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Let's talk about alpha-Synuclein

I literally try not to look for research anymore. Either it's really good and I have to follow up on it for days, or it's stupid and I get annoyed. Anyhow, sometime last year I did a Pubmed search on Narcolepsy just to see what was new. This article came up.

Absence of ubiquitinated inclusions in hypocretin neurons of patients with narcolepsy


That statement is a basic refutation of my hypothesis.
I terrified me so much I couldn't even click on it. I was pretty sick at the time and it totally panicked me. I let it ruminate in the back of my head for a while before I actually read the article.
I wondered a lot why none of you sent it to me. It took me about 9 months to see it. Still to this day nobody has. I wonder if the people who read it just dismiss me and move on... but then again most of you are probably too cognitively impaired to even look it up.
Anyhow while I got used to the idea I realized we could both be right.
If you read the article you will see the narcoleptic brains had very few orexin cells to begin with. 96 total in all patients. Most narcoleptics' orexin cells are gone long before they die. Nonetheless, those that were left did not show alpha-Synuclein aggregation.
However, my suspicion about the experiment turned out to be warranted. If you read it closely, you will notice that the counts were taken from cell bodies in the hypothalamus. The real problem with the experiment is that alpha-Synuclein and Lewy Bodies accumulate in the axon terminals and kill the cell from there. The axon terminals of orexin cells are in the digestive tract, not the hypothalamus.

I may be wrong about the alpha-synuclein hypothesis. But this experiment doesn't prove it.
A further experiment is warranted to conclusively determine if alpha-Synuclein aggregation is a factor in narcolepsy.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

On a lighter note

Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber - Saturday Night Live sketch

"A little pain never hurt anyone!"

This is Why

Mental illness 'rampant' in Somalia
Somalia has one of the world’s highest rates of mental-health disorders. An estimated one-third of its eight million people are affected by some kind of mental illness, yet there are only three trained psychiatrists in the entire country to care for them, according to the World Health Organization.
“Degrading and dangerous cultural practices such as being restrained with chains are not only widespread but also socially and medically accepted,” the WHO said in a recent study of Somalia’s mental health care.
I am guessing dental care is 'non-existent' in Somalia.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Making Some Progress

Why Narcoleptics Get Fat
People with narcolepsy are not only excessively sleepy, but they are also prone to gaining weight. In fact, narcoleptic patients will often pack on pounds even as they eat considerably less than your average person. Now researchers appear to have an answer as to why. It seems a deficiency of the neuropeptide hormone orexin, an ingredient that encourages hunger and wakefulness, may leave them with a lack of energy-burning brown fat.

I do not know why it is so hard for writers to refrain from assigning causality to these studies. The fact there there is less brown fat is not a cause of obesity. It's a side effect.
The reason we make more white fat is because we make too much insulin.
Lowered levels of orexin cause hyperinsulinemia.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Look at your kids

My sister has a horse farm. She also substitute teaches special ed classes sometimes. Today she left this message on my phone-
"I just wanted to tell you that I subbed with the autistic kids today and for breakfast they ate fruit loops and for lunch they ate french toast and for afternoon snack they got cupcakes."

Not just for sluts anymore

Cervical cancer virus fuels oral cancer
A prolonged sore throat once was considered a cancer worry mainly for smokers and drinkers. Today there's another risk: A sexually transmitted virus is fueling a rise in oral cancer.
The HPV virus is best known for causing cervical cancer. But it can cause cancer in the upper throat, too, and a new study says HPV-positive tumors now account for a majority of these cases of what is called oropharyngeal cancer.

So far I don't see any evidence that smoking and drinking actually cause cancer.
They might accelerate it, but the data points to microbes as the source, not toxins.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

The world we live in

Denmark introduces world's first food fat tax
Denmark has introduced what is believed to be the world's first fat tax - a surcharge on foods that are high in saturated fat.
Butter, milk, cheese, pizza, meat, oil and processed food are now subject to the tax if they contain more than 2.3% saturated fat. Danish officials say they hope the new tax will help limit the population's intake of fatty foods.

However, some scientists think saturated fat may be the wrong target. They say salt, sugar and refined carbohydrates are more detrimental to health and should be tackled instead.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Science you can use

Winners of the 2011 Ig Nobel Awards
MEDICINE: Matthew Lewis, Peter Snyder, Robert Feldman, Robert Pietrzak, David Darby, Paul Maruff along with Mirjam Tuk, Debra Trampe and Luk Warlop for studying the psychological effects of holding in urine.

The Root of the Problem

America's Great Dental Divide
Data released this month by the Gallup Organization shows a stark new axis of socioeconomic cleavage: those who regularly go to the dentist, and those who do not.

Access to dental care stands as a remarkably stark divide in American life, but it shouldn't come as a surprise. More than four in ten Americans pay their dental bills themselves, compared to just 10 percent of doctor’s visits, and the past decade or so has seen a vicious “oral cost spiral,” as June Thomas points out, with the costs of dental care far outpacing both the rate of inflation and overall medical cost increases. With incomes falling, unemployment rising, and poverty increasing, dental care has become a “luxury” that fewer and fewer Americans can afford.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Good News and Bad News

Twenty dollars says they will use this information to sell more insulin, rather than lower sugar consumption...

Diabetes May Significantly Increase the Risk of Dementia
The study found that people with diabetes were twice as likely to develop dementia as people with normal blood sugar levels. Of the 150 people with diabetes, 41 developed dementia, compared to 115 of the 559 people without diabetes who developed dementia.
Insulin May help treat Alzheimer’s
A study in the journal Archives of Neurology suggests that intranasal insulin - that is, delivered through the nose - may help with cognition and functioning in patients who haveboth mild and more severe dementia.
Patients treated with insulin were able to remember information over a period of time better than those who got placebo; in fact, performance improved 20%. They also showed an enhancement in brain glucose metabolism in some areas; those who received placebo tended to show a decline.
Alzheimer's patients in the insulin group benefited more in terms of daily function than those with mild cognitive impairment, but by definition mild cognitive impairment does not greatly impair daily functioning.

Exciting Results

Scientists discover virus that kills all types of breast cancer within seven days
The virus, known as adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2), is naturally occurring and carried by up to 80 percent of humans, but it does not cause any disease.
Researchers learned of its cancer-killing properties in 2005, after Penn State scientists observed it killing cervical cancer cells. They also found that women who carried the AAV2 virus and human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer, had a lower propensity to develop cervical cancer.
When combined in a lab recently, AAV2 eradicated all the breast cancer cells "within seven days," according to researchers. Better still, it proved capable of wiping out cancer cells at multiple stages, negating the need for differing treatments used today.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

How warped I am

My dream vacation in Las Vegas:
Hang out with Gil Grissom at some horrific crime scene.
Maybe Langston. I’m guessing we have a lot in common. He would probably feel a lot feel better with some simple lifestyle changes…

Gotta remember to pack some tank tops just in case.

Technical Difficulties

My work computer and mp3 player died on me this week. I am pretty much back up and running now, but my husband has plans to switch our web host over the weekend I think.
Anyhow, if the websites freak out, I'm sorry, I'm probably trying to fix them.

Party Time

This is really why we smoke and drink: because our stress level is amped up. Alcohol and cigarettes really do alleviate it.

Study Finds Alcohol Dulls Brain 'Alarm' That Monitors Mistakes
A new study testing alcohol's effects on brain activity finds that alcohol dulls the brain "signal" that warns people when they are making a mistake, ultimately reducing self control.
How Cigarettes Calm You Down
A team of researchers from the University of California studied the effect of nicotine patches on the subjects' tendency to retaliate in response to anger provocation. In some of the subjects, nicotine was associated with a reduced tendency to retaliate, even after provocation by the 'opponent'.
Not only that-
Alcohol magnifies the rewarding effects of smoking, even for light smokers


For the record, this is my all time favorite scientific study.
It's brilliant. Absolutely content-free. Wish I wrote it.

Coffee and cigarette consumption and perceived effects in recovering alcoholics participating in Alcoholics Anonymous in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Look outside the Box

One of my older friends read my Insanity site and felt the need to defend doctors. He believes that I was harsh and unfair. That doctors are doing their best.

Yeah well, your experience is biased.

First of all-
You’re a 70 year old retired businessman. You have heart problems.
-Try being a fat, miserable 30 year old woman. The reception is a bit different.

You haven’t tried to disagree with them yet. You have always been compliant. That’s what they want.
-I wanted to get better.

And secondly-
You haven’t noticed they don’t seem to be helping you. You say that you spontaneously recovered from your illness and your cardiologist is surprised. He didn’t think that radical change in your diet might be related? He might, but he won’t tell you that. Because he’s the one who recommended that low-fat diet you’ve been on for decades. He’s probably the reason you have diabetes now...

Up Late

Great old song from the 80's.

Walking in my Sleep- Jack Green

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Expected Behavior

Severe mania complicating treatment of narcolepsy with cataplexy.
We report the case of a 22-year-old male who exhibited severe manic behavior shortly after beginning treatment with modafinil and venlafaxine for narcolepsy with cataplexy. The manic episode persisted several weeks after medication cessation and required management with a mood stabilizer. Reinstitution of modafinil and an alternate antidepressant for recurrent sleepiness and cataplexy was well tolerated and very effective. Sleep physicians should be aware that psychostimulants, including modafinil, and antidepressant medications commonly prescribed for treatment of narcolepsy may precipitate mania in patients with underlying bipolar disorder.

Mania is caused by streptococcus.
Stimulants increase dry mouth and bacterial growth.
Not to mention increase dopamine responsiveness.

I believe this combination of illnesses is pretty common. Only the manic symptoms are ordinarily confounded by the overwhelming fatigue. and vice-versa.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Common Sense vs Marketing

Older pills often safer; many think new is better

Many consumers mistakenly believe new prescription drugs are always safer than those with long track records, and that only extremely effective drugs without major side effects win government approval, according to a new study.
A national survey of nearly 3,000 adults finds that about 4 in 10 wrongly believe the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves only "extremely effective" drugs. One in 4 mistakenly believes the FDA allows only drugs that don't have serious side effects.

Insidious Symptoms

Amnesia and Desire

A lot of narcoleptics don’t even realize they’re having nap attacks. They think they’re just sleepy.
That’s because your brain distorts the experience. It shrinks time, makes you feel like you WANT to sleep, and sudden awakenings erase the memory of having been asleep in social situations.

You are the one who is the least aware of your involuntary behavior.

Things that make me laugh

Sunday, September 11, 2011

9-11

The last ten years have been pretty surreal for me. After a whole lot of thinking I have concluded:
No matter the topic- love or money or religion or politics…
At the core of any problem is insanity.
Nothing will change until we address that.

Best Wishes for a saner tomorrow.


Love is my foundation
Wisdom is my capital
Struggle is my manner
Truth is my redeemer
Sorrow is my companion
Love is my foundation

— Muhammad

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Look Closer

Omega-3 Effective for Treating Child ADHD
Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acid may decrease symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children, a new meta-analysis suggests. In an evaluation of 10 trials with 699 total children with ADHD, investigators found that those who received omega-3 supplements had a "small but significant" improvement in symptom severity compared with those who were given placebo. This effect was also significant in the children who received supplements that specifically contained higher doses of eicosapentaenoic acid.

Yoo hoo- researchers- omega-3 is antimicrobial. These results indicate you should be looking for an infectious vector…


Elimination Diet May Improve ADHD Symptoms
In a group of young children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, nearly two-thirds who followed a restricted elimination diet experienced a significant reduction in ADHD symptoms and oppositional defiant behavior. Going off the diet led to relapse.

Hypersensitivity or intolerance to foods or food additives is thought to contribute to ADHD. The children in the INCA study were unselected for any food sensitivities, and the researchers found that performing blood tests to identify ADHD "trigger" foods was not helpful. Blood tests assessing IgG levels against foods did not predict which foods might have a deleterious impact on a child's behavior.

This one is a little more subtle. The first part indicates that diet definitely affects the symptoms. The second part says it’s not a food allergy. They do not speculate what it is.

I’m cheating since I know the answer- ADHD is caused by a strep infection.
Diet affects microbes. They need to compare their list of trigger foods to things that accelerate bacterial growth … acid and sugar. That will probably show a pretty strong correlation.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Yo Psychs

Stop Talking Shit. Get your Cause and Effect straight.

Adverse events do not cause mental illness. Sickness does.
Sickness facilitates adverse outcomes. And then compounds them.

Period.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Interesting Data

Statins reduce risk of death from infections and heart disease
ASCOT, the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial, was stopped early because the statin was so effective at preventing heart attacks and strokes, but a new analysis has shown that eight years on the most significant difference between the groups is a reduction in deaths from infection and respiratory illness.
In 2003, the trial was stopped early because the statin proved to be highly beneficial in preventing heart attacks and strokes. Since then, most participants from both groups have been taking statins.
The new analysis looked at the number and cause of deaths among the 4,605 participants in the ASCOT trial who are based in the UK.
After 11 years' follow-up, overall mortality is 14 per cent lower in the group originally assigned atorvastatin, due largely to fewer deaths from infection and respiratory illness.
The difference is largely explained by a 36 per cent reduction in deaths from infection and respiratory illness.
Deaths from cardiovascular disease were also lower in the original statin group, but the difference was not statistically significant. There was no difference in deaths from cancer.

First of all- most statins have not shown any great reduction in mortality. They do lower serum cholesterol, but they do not seem to change the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Sometimes the number of heart attacks goes down, but then the amout of strokes goes up.

This drug has shown remarkably different results. And now we know why. It has some kind of antimicrobial activity.

C. pneumoniae is a major cause of pneumonia. It also causes atherosclerosis.
Any reduction in the amount of cardiovascular disease can most likely be attributed to that, not any effect on serum cholesterol.

Although these results are impressive, I am not sure interfering with the cholesterol pathway is the best method of controlling pathogens. There may be an easier way.
The take away from this study should be: Lower People’s Infectious Burdens.

Dialing while Infected

Dutch woman calls ex-boyfriend 65,000 times
Dutch prosecutors are charging a 42-year-old woman with stalking after she allegedly called her ex-boyfriend 65,000 times in the past year. Hague prosecution spokeswoman Nicolette Stoel said Thursday the woman argued to judges at a preliminary hearing she had a relationship with the man and the number of calls she placed to him wasn't excessive. The man denied they had a relationship.

That's some Olympic level obsession there.
I get bored with mine long before I put that much effort into them.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

You Don't Listen

Here's my experience of doctors lately-

I tell them this infection in my head is making me crazy.
They roll their eyes and say "Of course it is!" at the same time they are completely dismissing the idea...

When I tell them I'm serious- then they roll their eyes and change the subject.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Bread and Water

In Russia, Harsh Remedy for Addiction Gains Favor

See the Pathology



















From Wikipedia:
"Meth mouth" is an informal name for advanced tooth decay attributed to heavy methamphetamine use. According to the American Dental Association, meth mouth "is probably caused by a combination of drug-induced psychological and physiological changes resulting in dry mouth,extended periods of poor oral hygiene, increased consumption of sugared soft drinks, and teeth clenching and grinding.

Meth mouth characteristics include:
Bruxism (teeth clenching and grinding): methamphetamine induces bruxism, leading to the wear and cracks of tooth enamel.
Oral hygiene neglect: methamphetamine users often neglect oral hygiene.
Hyposalivation (dry mouth): a lack of saliva's natural protective effects directly leads to increased tooth decay, particularly at the gum line.
Despite the name "meth mouth", similarly accelerated tooth decay can be caused by the abuse of other stimulants with similar actions, such as amphetamines, cocaine and methylphenidate (ritalin).

Prematurely aging faces of methamphetamine users

I do not recall getting oral care advice with my scrip for amphetamines. But I don't remember much from that time. Did your doctor tell you this?

Friday, September 2, 2011

Fascinating Photo Essay

Where Children Sleep

Obsessing about Strep

Obsessing Over Strep Throat in Kids
A pretty good article about current research.
I disagree about the effect of antibiotic use though. It seems current treatment protocol for acute infections may actually facilitate chronic deep head infections.

I am trying to find someone who does research with adults. The fact that I can't find one is making me crazy.

Just my Opinion

The only form of gardening I enjoy involves a chain saw.
It's going to be a good day.

Old Song of the Day

I've been listening to this one since the day the album was released-

Bad Company - Peace of Mind

Thursday, September 1, 2011

How I Carry On

I know that there are millions of you out there. And that you are smart and clever and creative. And when you can unlock your minds- you will build the kind of world that I really do want to live in.

A couple more articles

Probiotic Bacteria May Lessen Anxiety and Depression
The researchers also showed that regular feeding with the Lactobacillus strain caused changes in the expression of receptors for the neurotransmitter GABA in the mouse brain, which is the first time that it has been demonstrated that potential probiotics have a direct effect on brain chemistry in normal situations. The authors also established that the vagus nerve is the main relay between the microbiome (bacteria in the gut) and the brain. This three way communication system is known as the microbiome-gut-brain axis and these findings highlight the important role of bacteria in the communication between the gut and the brain, and suggest that certain probiotic organisms may prove to be useful adjunct therapies in stress-related psychiatric disorders.
Now I am not urging you to run out and eat probiotics. This is a mouse experiment. According to Wikipedia, Lactobacillus rhamnosus is known to be pathogenic in some situations.

I just thought the part about the vagus nerve was interesting. That will come up a lot in my explanation of anxiety.


Common Irregular Heartbeat Raises Risk of Dementia
"Both atrial fibrillation and dementia increase with age," said Sascha Dublin, MD, PhD, a Group Health Research Institute assistant investigator who led the research. "Before our prospective cohort study, we knew that atrial fibrillation can cause stroke, which can lead to dementia. Now we've learned that atrial fibrillation may increase dementia risk in other, more subtle ways as well."
Herpes viruses can cause both atrial fibrillation and dementia.

Tic Tic Tic Tic

So I was cooking dinner and watching forensic shows again. I apparently wasn't paying attention, because all of a sudden I hear "STELARA is a prescription medicine that affects your immune system. STELARA can increase your chance of having serious side effects." They then went on:
STELARA can make you more likely to get infections or make an infection that you have worse.

STELARA may decrease the activity of your immune system and increase your risk for certain types of cancer.

Reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS) RPLS is a rare condition that affects the brain and can cause death.
This is a drug to treat plaque psoriasis. Plaque psoriasis is an autoimmune reaction to streptococcus. These people have an untreated strep infection somewhere in their body and the antibodies are attacking their skin instead.

Rather than find it and treat it, this drug shuts down their immune system so they don't make antibodies at all.

Imagine the possibilities of clearer skin indeed.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Correlation Games


Building a Better Antipsychotic Drug by Treating Schizophrenia's Cause: How Drugs Act On Dopamine-Producing Neurons


The classic symptoms of schizophrenia -- paranoia, hallucinations, the inability to function socially -- can be managed with antipsychotic drugs. But exactly how these drugs work has long been a mystery.

Now, researchers at Pitt have discovered that antipsychotic drugs work akin to a Rube Goldberg machine -- that is, they suppress something that in turn suppresses the bad effects of schizophrenia, but not the exact cause itself.

Grace hypothesizes that it's the schizophrenic brain's dopamine system working overtime. "Our recordings of dopamine neurons suggest that the dopamine system is turned up too high," says Grace. "That fits with human imaging studies in schizophrenics showing the dopamine system is overreacting."

Currently available antipsychotic drugs work by blocking dopamine receptors and stopping dopamine neurons from firing. "Using these drugs, we're fixing the overreactivity by causing the neurons to be inactive," says Grace. "It would be better to fix overreactivity by correcting what causes it.

"It's like fixing a car that's going too fast by taking out the engine instead of lifting your foot off the gas."

"What we're doing today, using antipsychotic drugs currently available, is putting a sort of patch several steps downstream from where we think the problem is," says Grace. "By using these animal models, we can start to work backwards to figure out why the drugs are having the effects they do. The next step to look further back and try to fix the problem at its source"

In the schizophrenic brain, it's not just the dopamine system that's hyperresponsive. The hippocampus is also hyperactive. Grace's research shows that this hippocampal hyperactivity probably causes the dopamine system to go into overdrive.

"This is consistent with the hypothesis that the hippocampus is overdriving the system, and antipsychotics are just pushing it over the edge to shut it down," he says. "This gives us an idea of where to go to make a better antipsychotic drug."

My turn-

Although I really am heartened to see someone admitting their drugs don't address the cause of mental illness- these results are also consistent with two or more distinct yet interactive pathologies. The dopamine responsiveness can easily be explained by streptococcal autoimmunity. The drugs reduce symptoms because they shut down the receptors. The antibodies have nothing to bind to. If you treat these people's infections, the agonist activity really will be fixed at it's source.

The hippocampal activity may be related to gluten or casein autoimmunity.
And there is probably something else going on too. Some influenza or other viruses.

Free your mind. Stop thinking this is caused by one thing.