Things that make me laugh

Diabolical Canadians.

Maple syrup worth up to $30M stolen in Quebec

I have been studying crime and criminals since 1979.   That is one of the most inspired robberies ever.   Somebody put a lot of trouble into planning and pulling that off.   It took a special sort of dedication...
Where do you suppose they're hiding all that?   Especially now that everyone is on the lookout for tanker trucks.  Maybe there's some Saudi Shiek who needs it for the worlds biggest waffle...
 
No seriously, it's Canada, what else ya gonna steal?

Brain Eating Zombie of the Day

Michael J. Breus, "The Sleep Doctor"

A High-Fat Diet Undermines Sleep
His science is crap.  He talks all experty about orexin, then doesn't even know how it works. 
He uses rats for metabolic models, when rats' metabolism is completely different. They eat grain for a a living and get diabetes when they eat fat.

And he promotes himself as credible because he's appeared on many media outlets.

Your Sleep Industry At Work.   Creating confused patients for the future.

(We discussed this earlier in comments, but I wanted you all to see it.  Big thanks to Liam for the link and reading Psychology Today so I don't have to.)

It's Endocrinology, not Willpower

Not new.  But relevant.

Personality Plays Role in Body Weight: Impulsivity Strongest Predictor of Obesity

Impulsivity was the strongest predictor of who would be overweight, the researchers found. Study participants who scored in the top 10 percent on impulsivity weighed an average of 22 lbs. more than those in the bottom 10 percent, according to the study.
"Individuals with this constellation of traits tend to give in to temptation and lack the discipline to stay on track amid difficulties or frustration," the researchers wrote. "To maintain a healthy weight, it is typically necessary to have a healthy diet and a sustained program of physical activity, both of which require commitment and restraint. Such control may be difficult for highly impulsive individuals."

Especially if you put them on a low-fat high-carb diet which causes hypoglycemia and impairment of the frontal cortex and IMPULSE CONTROL PROBLEMS.

It's all in our heads

The "warrior gene" in men might be the "happy gene" in women

I believe this gene is a vital switch.  Due to its effects on dopamine function- it could be responsible for much of the variation in symptomology of certain mental illnesses.
For example narcolepsy presents more in women, but schizophrenia presents more in males.  Are these similar pathologies but the symptoms are skewed along a gender continuum?

I really want to get this gene tested.  Maybe my 5-HTTLPR gene too.

And not to nitpick or anything, but why do y'all always assume testosterone is the sex hormone to invoke?   Estrogen has quite a few interesting biochemical and neurological effects, too.

Wow

I have all kinds of mental and verbal issues.   Including involuntary vocalization.
And I have never talked to an empty chair.   Even in private.

A View of the Vortex

Mark Sanford Proposed After Hiding in a Bathroom for an Hour
He showed us.  Now that they're engaged, it's not obsession.

Another Reminder

The Second Annual Zombie Liberation Operation is about 6 weeks away.

27th Annual Narcolepsy Network Conference

Crazy Ladies

Behold the power of dopamine.
Anorexic identical twins tortured lives end just as they predicted.

Rest in Peace dear women.

Look in the Mirror

Stress, a 'Type A' Personality May Boost Stroke Risk

Dr. Curtis Reisinger, a clinical psychologist at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y., said that it is likely the anger and hostility associated with type A personalities are what contribute to cardiovascular risks.

Well, Dr. Curtis clearly needs to study medicine, and possibly check his teeth, because there is an explanation that doesn't require magical thinking.
Strep A bacteria cause obsession and anxiety and calcification of the heart valves- which is the primary cause of strokes.
(It also tends to make people believe crazy ideas and come to hasty conclusions about causality...)

Cutting off our Noses

Sharp Cuts in Dental Coverage for Adults on Medicaid

The dental benefits issue came to the forefront recently here in Massachusetts, a state known for generous Medicaid benefits. Under budgetary pressures, the state stopped paying private Medicaid providers for fillings, root canals, crowns and dentures in July 2010. But it recently decided to restore part of that coverage. Starting in January, Massachusetts Medicaid will pay for fillings — but only for those in the front of the mouth. The reasoning was that healthy front teeth were more important for getting and keeping jobs. 

The inside of the head is the lowest priority in medicine.   Perfect.

Correlation Games

Study: Teenagers who routinely use marijuana before age 18 may see long-term declines in IQ

Study participants from New Zealand were tested for IQ at age 13, likely before any significant marijuana use, and again at age 38. The mental decline between those two ages was seen only in those who started regularly smoking pot before age 18.
Richie Poulton, a study co-author and professor at the University of Otago in New Zealand, said the message of the research is to stay away from marijuana until adulthood if possible. “For some it’s a legal issue,” he said, “but for me it’s a health issue.”

This effect is real.   But it isn't restricted to marijuana.   Between the ages of about 16-22 the brain goes through a process called the "Great Pruning".  After a childhood of forming connections, it goes through and cleans out the ones that aren't being used.   It sort of 'defrags' your hard drive...
If you are not actively using your brain, it will get pruned more and you will have less to work with in the future.  This is true for all kinds of behavioral restrictions-  if you are sick, or incarcerated, or watch TV all the time... whatever.   Pot is bad because it facilitates all of those passive behaviors.
Young adults need to be active-  studying, working, traveling, so their brains will have a good foundation for the future.

The cumulative effects could be confounded by any number of things.   Like sugar metabolism.   That affects cognition and wanes as we age too.

Brain Eating Zombie of the Day

Dr. Barone Gibbs

Key to long-term weight loss for post-menopausal women may be eating more fruits and vegetables
No. That is not what this study shows at all.

The women were randomly assigned to either a lifestyle-change intervention group or a control group. The women in the intervention group regularly met with nutritionists, exercise physiologists and psychologists, while women in the control group were offered occasional seminars over the study period focusing on general women’s health. Participants in both groups self-reported their eating habits using a detailed questionnaire. At the end of the four years of the study, 57 percent of the intervention participants and 29 percent of controls had maintained at least a five-pound weight loss. 

This study shows women who try to diet lose more weight than women who don't.   It shows nothing about which kind of diet is best.   That was not a part of the protocol in any way, and the studies which have been done specifically on that factor show a low-fat high-carbohydrate diet LOWERS metabolism compared to a low-carbodydrate diet.   Especially in post menopausal women who usually already have impaired glucose tolerance...
SSDD.

Yo Dentists

Boy Sues His Orthodontist After Having Braces On for 11 Years

Bost, now 22, is turning to the court to help get to the bottom of the mystery and hopefully get restitution for his pain, suffering, and what Bost believes are permanent injuries to his teeth, mouth and gums. According to the lawsuit, Bost suffered from serious tooth decay and periodontal disease because of his eleven-year battle with the alignment devices.

I am beginning to believe orthodontia is a lot more risky than you people are letting on.   You seem to think it is just a nice way to extract more money from parents of means.
I had braces for 9 years.   They put them on before I even had all my teeth.  Got them off for my 21st(!) birthday.    I truly believe the constant mouth trauma inflicted by the hardware caused my bruxism and facilitated and accelerated my migraines and manic disorder.
You might want to consider the true costs and benefits of your procedures.  Because I've got a feeling someday someone is going to sue you for their oral infection induced insanity...

by the way- my friend Sue has the "Invisilign" appliances- and the rubber trays seem to breed bacteria too...

Fascinating

I love the experimental design.  Clever, clever.

Sleep Learning Is Possible: Associations Formed When Asleep Remained Intact When Awake

Is sleep learning possible? A new Weizmann Institute study appearing August 26 in Nature Neuroscience has found that if certain odors are presented after tones during sleep, people will start sniffing when they hear the tones alone -- even when no odor is present -- both during sleep and, later, when awake. In other words, people can learn new information while they sleep, and this can unconsciously modify their waking behavior.

Correlation Games

Lack of Sleep Found to be a New Risk Factor for Aggressive Breast Cancers

"This is the first study to suggest that women who routinely sleep fewer hours may develop more aggressive breast cancers compared with women who sleep longer hours," said Dr. Thompson, who is Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and lead author. "We found a strong correlation between fewer hours of sleep per night and worse recurrence scores, specifically in post-menopausal breast cancer patients. This suggests that lack of sufficient sleep may cause more aggressive tumors, but more research will need to be done to verify this finding and understand the causes of this association."

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/27/4760638/lack-of-sleep-found-to-be-a-new.html#storylink=cpy

Strep infections cause insomnia.
Strep infections can also cause cancer.

Pardon Me?

Hospital chain to pay $16.5 million in kickback case involving the homeless

In the agreements filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, LADH and PCH admitted that from 2003 to 2008 they and the three PCH hospitals paid more than $2.3 million in kickbacks to "marketers" to recruit people to act as patients, the statement said. They were treated, even if they did not need treatment, the news release said...

According to the plea agreement of one of those "marketers," Estill Mitts, hired "stringers" to recruit homeless people to act as patients from 2004 until 2007 in exchange for promises of small payments. He has previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to recruit homeless people to receive unnecessary health services, the release said.

Not to quibble with your criminal conspiracy or anything, but couldn't you at least have given them some real services while you were at it?   Pretty sure those people have some health issues.
Anyhow, here's the really good bit-

Though PHC was criminally charged Thursday, the charges will be dismissed in 2018 if the company follows through with its agreement, the statement said.

The Guinea Pig Generation

We’ll explain the side effects later 

Some clinical trials performed after treatments are approved fail to inform participants that one or more of the treatments being tested might have more serious side effects than they realize.

I am beginning to believe it is never in the Patient's interest to participate in a clinical study.

Thoughtful Gifts

From Delightful Guests

Better than Smoking

Greek study finds e-cigarettes no threat to heart

Farsalinos and his team examined the heart function of 20 young smokers before and after smoking one tobacco cigarette against that of 22 e-cigarette users before and after using the device for seven minutes.
While the tobacco smokers suffered significant heart dysfunction, including raised blood pressure and heart rate, those using e-cigarettes had only a slight elevation in pressure.

And they're cheaper, and they taste better, and they don't dry out your mouth.
If you are a smoker, I highly recommend you switch to vaping.

Plausible Deniablity

Lance Armstrong Loses (Almost) Everything

In throwing away his seven Tour de France titles, he’s keeping what he prizes most: his righteous indignation.

Behold the power of dopamine. 

The Circle of Insanity

Norway Killer Is Ruled Sane and Given 21 Years in Prison

Mr. Breivik, 33, who had insisted that he was sane when he carried out the attacks last year as part of what he called a campaign against multiculturalism in Norway, smiled when the verdict was announced.

They agreed with him.
Now that's crazy.

While I was surfing

I found this:

White Tea: Solution To Obesity Epidemic?

Possible anti-obesity effects of white tea have been demonstrated in a series of experiments on human fat cells (adipocytes). Researchers have now shown that an extract of the herbal brew effectively inhibits the generation of new adipocytes and stimulates fat mobilization from mature fat cells.

White tea is antibacterial, too.   It was one of the few things that eased my tooth infection.

It's all in our heads

Women With Alzheimer’s Deteriorate Faster Than Men

Researchers discovered that men with Alzheimer's consistently and significantly performed better than women with the disease across the five cognitive areas they examined. Most remarkably, the verbal skills of women with Alzheimer's are worse when compared to men with the disease, which is a striking difference to the profile for the healthy population where females have a distinct advantage.

Impaired verbal skills.   Why does that sound so familiar?

Alarming symptoms

West Nile Virus Gravely More Dangerous Than Previously Understood

So what actually happens to that 1 out of 150 people infected that develop the more severe illness? The severe symptoms can include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent.
Hence, West Nile virus, in all reality is an acute threat. Moreover, though causing death or brain-related disability in a tiny fraction of cases, a new Houston study suggests it routinely can result in serious, lasting damage. Baylor College of Medicine researchers tracking local people for years after they were infected with the mosquito-borne infection found four in 10 had varying stages of chronic kidney disease related to the virus. The kidney disease is potentially fatal.

You people have immune problems, and your minds are warped enough already.
Y'all be careful out there.

Mosquito trivia:   they like smelly feet.

I got nothin'

And things to do.   So here:

Zombie-proof architecture

Things I think about Sometimes

The Circle of Insanity

British Man Who Fought for Assisted Suicide Is Dead

Rest in Peace dear man. 

Nice Pants

Doctors and dealers battle for addicts

Forced to choose between obtaining his medication illegally and seeing an expensive doctor, Joe is buying on the black market. And he isn’t alone. Addiction is so taboo in this society that even the medical establishment shies away from it. Few physicians are willing to prescribe suboxone and regulations have significantly limited the patients that those few physicians are allowed to prescribe. The social stigma of addiction has helped create a thriving black market for the drug—one that poses real dangers for addicts trying to stay clean.

Nice Pants. 

Addiction.  It's a Job Creator.

As I was saying

Antibiotics could make your baby fat

"We typically consider obesity an epidemic grounded in unhealthy diet and exercise, yet increasingly studies suggest it's more complicated," study researcher Dr. Leonardo Trasande... said in a statement. "Microbes in our intestines may play critical roles in how we absorb calories, and exposure to antibiotics, especially early in life, may kill off healthy bacteria that…would otherwise keep us lean."

other  posts  here

Correlation Games

How Well You Sleep May Hinge on Race

This can all be explained by differing susceptibility to infections and allergies between populations.
White descendents of Europeans are more likely to be gluten intolerant.
White people are also three times more susceptible to strep infection, and APOE4 segregates with lighter skin color too.

Very Interesting

My sister called yesterday to tell me she has a melanoma on her back/neck area.   She has always had moles, but none of them were cancerous.  My family is actually pretty susceptible to basal cell carcinoma.
Anyhow, she wondered if it could have anything to do with Herpes.   She had gotten complacent and gone off the Acyclovir, but started having nerve problems in her arms.   She ended up going to the dermatologist after a rash broke out on her elbow.    He said that was harmless, but found the suspicious spot during the exam.

So, after hanging up, I did my thing and found this:

Herpes Vaccine Entering Phase 3 Testing For Advanced Melanoma

OncoVEX, owned by BioVex, is being tested by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.  Its Phase 2 trial of OncoVEX had very encouraging results. Though persons with Stage III and Stage IV melanoma generally have very poor prognoses and die within six months to two years after the cancer becomes metastasized, the patients in Phase 2 testing of the drug fared significantly better.
Of the 50 patients involved, 8 patients completely recovered and 4 recovered after surgery and treatment with the OncoVEX vaccine.  Overall survival rate was 58 percent after one year and 52 percent after two years.

The results of Phase 3 are due sometime this fall.   I am really hoping they are good.
Maybe if herpes causes one of the most fatal cancers- instead of just heart attacks and dementia- people will decide it's okay to talk about it.

Some Serious Snark

From the Onion, of course.

It Would Be An Honor To Serve My Country, Return With PTSD, Sit On A Mental Health Care Waitlist, Then Kill Myself

Behold my Willpower

Semen contains Nerve Growth Factor.

I did not even joke about that.

You might remember this

Obesity, Metabolic Factors Linked to Faster Cognitive Decline

Over the 10 years of the study, people who were both obese and metabolically abnormal experienced a 22.5 percent faster decline on their cognitive test scores than those who were of normal weight without metabolic abnormalities.

Trigeminal Neuralgia

Makes you want to die.
Rest in Peace Dear Man.

Brain Eating Zombie of the Day

Dorthe Berntsen 

War Is Not Necessarily the Cause of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Recent research carried out at Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University shows that surprisingly, the majority of soldiers exhibiting symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome were suffering from poor mental health before they were posted to a war zone.

That is not surprising. That is completely predictable.  There are other kinds of traumatic events that trigger PTSD... so war is clearly not necessary or sufficient.  And if you didn't always confuse correlation with causation and blame aberrant behavior on adverse environments and events, well, you would not consider the possiblility of progressive illness so shocking.

Bonus Points for You- as it does seem the motivation for this experiment is that you were working with the Danish Defence Command and they are trying to prove that war wasn't the cause.   Nice Job.   Big Whew for them.  Those broken people aren't their responsibility now.
It is kinda fun that your conclusion it that incompetent psychologists are the reason.   Undiagnosed and unaddressed behavioral issues.  I gotta say- I really appreciate that.
But you're still wrong about the cause of the illness.  You haven't changed your psychosomatic paradigm one bit.   You've just shifted the timeline a little.

Gut Feelings

Microbes manipulate your mind

Bacteria in your gut may be influencing your thoughts and moods, raising the possibility that probiotics could be used to treat psychiatric illnesses.

I have covered most of this before, but it's a good summary.
My experience with probiotics has been very positive.

State of the Art

Suicide-deterring nets to be installed on bridges around Cornell University’s NY campus

Freaks and Geeks

Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest Geek who ever lived. 

Because he made all present-day geekery possible.

This just may be

Proof that God exists and that he loves me:

Cinnamon Roll flavored Dopamine

Well that makes sense

Virus Throws a Wrench in the Immune System

The cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a member of the herpesvirus family. Although most people carry CMV for life, it hardly ever makes them sick. Researchers ... have now unveiled long term consequences of the on-going presence of CMV:  Later in life, more and more cells of the immune system concentrate on CMV, and as a result, the response against other viruses is weakened. These research results help to explain why the elderly are often more prone to infectious diseases than young people.

Slow, cumulative infectious activity causes long term health problems.  Huh. 

On a Tangent

Before I figured out the gluten thing, I did general research on topics that interested me.   Like dreaming and depression.   I was really interested in crying and tears for a while.   I once cried for three solid weeks, wanted to know how that was even possible. 

There isn't a lot of writing on the topic, but it is known that emotional tears contain lactate and other brain chemicals associated with metabolic stress (as opposed to chemically induced tears which don't).  Everyone always assumes that tears are caused by sadness.   But that's not true.   There are tears of happiness too.    The event they actually seem to have in common is: great amounts of neural reorganization.   A large change that needs to be assimilated quickly-   for example a death or other catastrophe, or even a big success. 
Anyhow, what I believe happens is the synapses start reorganizing and all kinds of chemicals are released in the process.   The astrocytes usually flush these metabolites on a constant basis but the overwhelming volume causes the fluid to overflow through the olfactory bulb and tear ducts.   (A lot of you write to me and tell me you are crying.   I think I overload your brains...)

I looked for a mechanism in the cerebral sinuses for a while but never could find one.
It looks like someone just found a candidate:

Previously Unknown Cleaning System in Brain: Newer Imaging Technique Brings 'Glymphatic System' to Light

Very Good News

For sleep labs...
High Rates of Sleep Apnea in Women

The results found that obstructive sleep apnea was present in 50% of women aged 20-70 years. The researchers also found links between age, obesity and hypertension: 80% of women with hypertension and 84% of obese women suffered from sleep apnea.
Additionally, severe sleep apnea was present in 31% of obese women aged 55-70 years old.

I won't say what I want to say, but trust me, sleep specialists are... salivating... over this.
I can see the ads in my mind-
Did you know- half of women have a dangerous breathing disorder?  Call our Helpline Now!

Silliness

Great Time Waster.     Confessions of a Fake Scientist
The slide show is hilarious. 

Couldn't Help Myself

I went over to Narcolepsy Network and posted a few things.
I usually try not to, but I have impulse control problems sometimes.   Heh.
Anyhow, if you were motivated to come over here from there, I probably won't monitor those posts.  I prefer to discuss things over here.    I can't tolerate constantly getting comments by the astroturfing pharma reps over there.   The "naive patient" who thinks "the drugs are safe and effective".
Happens. Every. Time.
Bite Me, concern trolls.   I know who you are and what you are doing.

At least "Talk about Sleep" puts their ads right on the page...

The Root of the Problem

Kids' grades, school attendance suffer when their teeth hurt

Is that this study needs to be done at all.   WTF.
Are we really so far removed from our own humanity that we need to have statistical evidence of the obvious just to start a discussion about treating children's skull infections?
Head meet desk.

It's not about You

Johnson & Johnson removing harsh chemicals from adult toiletries and cosmetic products by 2015

Only because they are being pressured and protested.  It's interfering with their revenue stream.

Here, a chaser:
Chemical in many antibacterial soaps linked with impaired muscle function 
Oops.

The Guinea Pig Generation

Most People Who Take Blood Pressure Medication Possibly Shouldn’t

The study was conducted by the widely respected Cochrane Collaboration, which provides independent analyses of medical data. The “independent” part is important: The panelists who conducted the analysis don’t take money from drug companies. Since many doctors and professional societies have been promoting treatment for mild hypertension for decades, the astute reader might wonder why this analysis was conducted only recently. The reasons are complex, but in a nutshell, researchers simply never addressed the question: Does treatment of mild hypertension help or harm patients? Instead, many authorities simply assumed that treatment helped, probably because treatment of more severe hypertension has been shown to be beneficial. In most clinical trials, patients with all degrees of hypertension were simply lumped together.

Good grief.   My husband has been arguing about this with his doctor for a decade.

Circling the Drain

‘Economic suicides’ shake Europe as financial crisis takes toll on mental health

Don't read it.  It's as awful as it sounds.   Insanity squared.

Brain Eating Zombie of the Day

David K. Randall

Generation Apnea

By blaming evolution and the shape of the throat, this man perpetuates the Genetic Fallacy:   "Some people are just structurally unsound".

That clever diversion leaves "apnea specialists" free to ignore the infections and allergies which actually cause apnea, and treat you for the symptoms.   The infections and allergies which also cause obesity and hypertension.  Imagine that.  Instead they give you those lovely machines to force the air through your inflamed nose and mouth tissues.  Those machines that breed microbes and dry the tissues and perpetuate further inflammation and need for the machine...

I snored my entire life.
Until I gave up gluten.

And my mouth and nose and throat are all still short and malformed.   Go figure.

(This guy has a new book out on sleep.  It seems to be doing the review circuit.   I'm not going to comment on all the topics or articles.   SSDD )

For the Record

I think everyone should learn Matt's dance and we should all do it together sometime. The whole world.

But I’m crazy...

Guerrilla Neuroscience

Today is my five year anniversary of going gluten-free.
Five years of drug-free, doctor-free remission of my narcolepsy.

I decided to do something a little different in celebration this year.
People ask me pretty often if I really do feel and think better. 
So I decided that instead of writing about it, I would show you.

This is what Not Having Narcolepsy feels like to me:   It makes me feel like dancing.
It makes me feel like dancing with the whole world.
And then some.

And whenever one of you writes and tells me it worked for you-  I feel like dancing all over again.
 
Happy Glutenversary to Me

Matt's video is here.

Angels In America

LeAnn Todd-Langston and Sarah Almon 

Premature births are a growing problem nationwide — now estimated at 10 percent of all deliveries — pushing up the costs of care and the subsequent risk of autism and lifelong illness. But the numbers across the rural American South and lower Midwest are worse. What’s more, 40 percent of all births are paid for by Medicaid. “Sixty-five percent of our women are on Kentucky Medicaid,” Todd-Langston, manager of the Trover Center for Women’s Health, told me. And she expects that number to grow as jobs in the region continue to disappear.
The problem isn’t lack of doctors or even access to standard OB-GYN service. The problem, they realized, begins in the mouths of their patients. “We saw that our women weren’t getting preventative [dental] screening. Gum infections, decayed teeth that weren’t attended to so that by the end of pregnancy they would have full-blown abscesses; we would just hope that didn’t put them into premature labor.”

My favorite line

In my favorite movie.

"Strike that, reverse it."

That one comes in handy all the time.

RIP  Mel Stuart, director of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Rigorous Righteousness

The Bullying Culture of Medical School

Medical school attracts a certain kind of, let's say... "hyper-intense" sort of individual.
And then the process filters out any students who aren't of the same disposition by attrition.
 
These results show they need to think about the real reasons for- and the long-term consequences of- that skewed population sample.

Brain Eating Zombie of the Day

Patient Advocate Foundation and Jazz Pharmaceuticals Announce Partnership for Narcolepsy CareLine

Bruce Cozadd, chairman and chief executive officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals, a specialty biopharmaceutical company stated, “Our company is committed to forming partnerships and broadening the services offered to patients with narcolepsy. The Narcolepsy CareLine is a great example of how two organizations can come together on behalf of patients.”

No, this is another fine example of your morally bankrupt company taking advantage of a "Patient's Advocacy" organization and it's good name to not only refer naive and unsuspecting patients to doctors who are predisposed to prescribe your outrageously expensive poison,  but also facilitate the insurance reimbursement of those government protected and taxpayer subsidised orphan drug prices.   (see also:  Narcolepsy Network)

This is your way of making sure that you continue to sell Xyrem whether it helps us or not.

Nice Try.
My response is coming Monday.

Psychoactive Drugs

Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Thoughts Found in Former Propecia Users

New research, to be published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, finds that men who developed persistent sexual side effects while on finasteride (Propecia), a drug commonly used for male pattern hair loss, have a high prevalence of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts.

It's a small sample, but the results were pretty startling-
44% of the affected men reported suicidal thoughts as compared to 3% in the control group.

I've been wondering

Since I believe that our microflora cause chronic disease, it's only logical to assume the most common ones have evolved autoimmune disorders.  I have been thinking for a while there should something associated with Staph...

Chronic Exposure to Staph Bacteria May Be Risk Factor for Lupus 

In the mice studied, a staph protein known as a staphylococcal enterotoxin B, or SEB, activated autoreactive T and B lymphocytes, a type of white blood cells, leading to an inflammatory illness mirroring lupus. Research on people has shown that carrying staph bacteria is linked to autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, Kawasaki disease and graulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Quote of the Day

"I can't imagine what could have gone through his mind for him to do something like this, or anyone to do something like this," she said. "You can't be functioning normally obviously. But we'll never know why."

-Wade Page's stepmother, Laura Page
abc news

Brain Eating Zombie of the Day

Sabine Wilhelm, PhD

Behavioral Intervention Can Reduce Tics in Adults With Tourette Syndrome

Competing-response training teaches patients to engage in voluntary behaviors that are physically incompatible with the impending tic. For example, a patient who blurts out words or sounds inappropriately may be taught slow rhythmic breathing techniques, or a patient who thrusts out his arm would learn to press his elbow to his torso. This combination of awareness training and competing response training is intended to disrupt the cycle of premonitory urge and performance of the tic.

I'm sorry, but what portion of the phrase "involuntary behavior" do you not understand?
You have not invented or discovered anything.  Just because you measured and named it.
Tourettes patients spend their lives suppressing tics.   It doesn't make them go away.
They just express themselves more forcefully later...
That's already been extensively documented by many patients.

Damn straight those drugs don't work.  That's because Tourette's is caused by recurring strep infections.
Those people don't need your dopamine antagonists or behavioral training-  they need infection prevention education, you self-promoting charlatan.

My thoughts on Gun Control

are here

The Guinea Pig Generation

It's complicated.
Shocking, I tell you.
Nobody could have predicted.

Chemotherapy can backfire, make cancer worse by triggering tumor growth

Long considered the most effective cancer-fighting treatment, chemotherapy may actually make cancer worse, according to a shocking new study.
The extremely aggressive therapy, which kills both cancerous and healthy cells indiscriminately, can cause healthy cells to secrete a protein that sustains tumor growth and resistance to further treatment.

I wonder if my friend who just died of a brain tumor might have appreciated that information before they infused all that poison into her head...
tic tic tic tic tic.

Use Sunscreen

I have been meaning to bring up "Tanorexia".   It's blazin hot today, so now seems good.

Compulsive epithelial damage is a symptom of strep induced OCD.   And a trigger.  Funny, that.

'Tanning Mom' Has Given Up The Sun

Unfortunately, there are plenty of other triggers. Everywhere. Always.

Brain Eating Zombie of the Day

Albert "Skip" Rizzo

New Generation of Virtual Humans Helping to Train Psychologists

Rizzo showed videos of clinical psychiatry trainees engaging with virtual patients called "Justin" and "Justina." Justin is a 16-year-old with a conduct disorder who is being forced by his family to participate in therapy. Justina, the second and more advanced iteration of this technology, is a sexual assault victim who was designed to have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder...
Rizzo's virtual reality laboratory is working on the next generation of virtual patients using information from this and related user tests, and will further modify the characters for military clinical training, which the U.S. Department of Defense is funding, he said. Some future patients that are in development are virtual veterans with depression and suicidal thoughts, for use in training clinicians and other military personnel how to recognize the risk for suicide or violence. 

Holy House of Mirrors, Batman.
Psychiatrists already overlook real symptoms all the time.   This nonsense just adds another layer of abstraction and reinforces the circular groupthink that is the foundation of their profession.

My italics, just to point out the focus of all research these days.

Good Clean Fun

Cockneys Vs. Zombies

The Undead are Brown Bread!   Snort!

Bwa ha ha ha ha

Stephen Colbert discusses fruits and vegetables

The Circle of Insanity

Impulse control disorders permeate every crevice of society.  And don't think they don't.

Missile Defense Staff Warned to Stop Surfing Porn Sites

A Couple Articles

That seem to go together.

Weight-Loss Clinic Drop-Out Rates Are a Huge Barrier to Treating Obesity

Researchers from the Department of Surgery at the University of Alberta and the Centre for the Advancement of Minimally Invasive Surgery at the Royal Alexandria Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, found that over a six-year period almost half (43%) of the patients of a weight-management clinic funded by Alberta Health Services dropped out of the program before achieving sustainable weight loss.
In a group of patients who are motivated enough to participate in a program like this, a 43% drop-out rate is surprising. "Identifying the factors that predict attrition may serve as a basis for program improvement and further research," the authors state.

[frantically waving hand]  Ooh, ooh, I know why they're dropping out!
Because your diet makes it worse.
Low fat diets are a huge barrier to actually losing weight.

Irony Seen Through the Eye of MRI

(A research team) has shown that the activation of the ToM neural network increases when an individual is reacting to ironic statements.

Just Sayin'

This young man has at least one biochemical imbalance affecting his thinking.
Makes me wonder a lot about North Korean dentistry.

Just a small quibble

Bacteria-Immune System 'Fight' Can Lead to Chronic Diseases, Study Suggests

Results from a study conducted at Georgia State University suggest that a "fight" between bacteria normally living in the intestines and the immune system, kicked off by another type of bacteria, may be linked to two types of chronic disease. The study suggests that the "fight" continues after the instigator bacteria have been cleared by the body, according to Andrew Gewirtz, professor of biology at the GSU Center for Inflammation, Immunity and Infection. That fight can result in metabolic syndrome, an important factor in obesity, or inflammatory bowel disease.

This is basic infectious disease.    Why wasn't this experiment done before now?
Why have doctors confidently been telling us otherwise all these decades???

There it is

Here's his motive.
Colorado suspect's psychiatrist reportedly had raised concerns

University of Colorado-Denver psychiatrist Lynne Fenton tried to discuss James Holmes with members of a campus behavioral and security panel weeks before the theater shootings, TV station reports.

He showed her exactly what he was capable of.   Probably doubled down on the dramatic details that very day.

Fun with Neurochemistry

'World's Strongest Coffee' Has 200% More Caffeine

As I was saying

Two Viruses Link to Prostate Cancer: High-Risk Human Papilloma Virus Found With Epstein Barr Virus 

The cause of prostate cancer is obvious.   Men just aren't even capable of imagining it.

Look Closer

Gluten sensitivity is on the rise

More recently, a research team led by the Mayo Clinic's Dr. Joseph Murray looked at blood samples taken from Americans in the 1950s and compared them with samples taken from people today, and determined it wasn't just better diagnosis driving up the numbers. Celiac disease actually was increasing. Indeed, the research confirms estimates that about 1 percent of U.S. adults have it today, making it four times more common now than it was 50 years ago, Murray and his colleagues reported Tuesday in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

They speculate there has been a change in bread.   And that is true, there is more "whole grain bread" and more carbs in our diets contributing to metabolic dysfunction.  

My theory is this is related to antibiotic use and the increasing levels of subclinical Group A streptococcal infection.   Both strep infection and antibiotic use affect the gastrointestinal tract.
But I can't prove that.