Good Times

Just wanted to say-  it was 77 degrees here at my new house in Tucson today.
Neener neener neener.
Moving here was such a great decision.   I don't miss Seattle at all.
Well, except for the legal weed... that was pretty cool.

It's still early

But I thought I would mention that Christina and I have plans to go to the NN conference again this year.   We both had conflicts last year.  Anyhow, it's in Denver , which is pretty centrally located, so hopefully some of you will be able to attend.   
No, I will not be speaking.  Even if they asked me (which they won't) I stammer and am just not able to do it.   But it would be great to have a gluten-free gathering there this time.
Not just the two of us trying to convince people we're not crazy...


October 17-19 at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center. Registration information will be available from NN in the spring.

Ummmm No

Caffeine use disorder: A widespread health problem that needs more attention

A recent study coauthored by American University psychology professor Laura Juliano indicates that more people are dependent on caffeine to the point that they suffer withdrawal symptoms and are unable to reduce caffeine consumption even if they have another condition that may be impacted by caffeine—such as a pregnancy, a heart condition, or a bleeding disorder. 
These symptoms combined are a condition called "Caffeine Use Disorder."

That is a glucose metabolism problem, not a caffeine addiction.   Caffeine reduces insulin resistance, that's why people drink it.
Stop making up illnesses and doing bullshit research and try lowering those people's carbohydrate intake instead.

Correction

Apparently I have left the impression in the Alzheimer's Hypothesis that I no longer believe gluten causes Narcolepsy.  That is not the case.   I am sure gluten is a cause of Narcolepsy, it just doesn't also cause Parkinsons and Lewy Body Dementia and MS and Fibromyalgia- although it may contribute.
That's what I was trying to say.
Gluten antibodies in the intestines definitely contribute to orexin dysfunction.  Probably IgG4 antibodies if you want to be specific.

I have added a correction to the Alzheimer's post.

Yo Doctors

You Suck.

Men and women presented with remarkably similar narcolepsy related symptoms, yet women were more likely to be delayed in diagnosis; 85% of men were likely to be diagnosed by 16 years after symptom onset, compared to 28 years in women.

That's appalling.

related post

Epidemiology 101

Diabetes: Having a spouse with diabetes is a risk factor for diabetes yourself

"We found a 26% increase in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes if your spouse also has type 2 diabetes," says senior author of the study, Dr. Kaberi Dasgupta
Dr. Dasgupta's team, located at the Division of Clinical Epidemiology of the MUHC, wanted to see if diabetes in one partner could lead to diabetes in the other partner because many of the risk behaviours that lead to diabetes, such as poor eating habits and low physical activity, could be shared within a household.

Yes of course, it's always the behavioral factors...

Most of the studies used in the meta analysis relied on health records which may not always accurately record diabetes. Those that used direct blood testing suggested that diabetes risk doubles if your partner has diabetes. A strong correlation with pre-diabetes risk was also found.

"When we look at the health history of patients, we often ask about family history," says Dr. Dasgupta. "Our results suggest spousal history may be another factor we should take in consideration."

Well, if you were thinking critically you would ask that about all illnesses.  You know what spouses share besides lifestyles?
Germs.  Infections are a known risk factor for T2 diabetes.

The Root of the Problem

Dental insurance doesn't guarantee people will care for their teeth

The researchers examined data from a 2008 survey of older Americans who either did or did not have dental insurance. They also looked at individual characteristics such as race, gender, marital status, age and health.
Their conclusion: Providing dental coverage to those without insurance who generally don't seek dental care does not necessarily improve the likelihood that they will see a dentist.

Yes, well if you told them it would reduce their chance of heart attack and stroke and dementia, maybe they would think that was important...
And maybe if your hygiene and procedure recommendations were reality based and prevented dental problems, people would listen to you.
Low income people with bad teeth believe dentists are just another source of pain, and basically a cosmetic and low priority expense.  Even if they do have insurance- lots of dental work means those copays and deductibles add up to real money, you know.

Bwa ha ha ha ha

Speaking of useless experiments perpetuating misinformation.

Impulsive personality linked to food addiction

The same kinds of impulsive behavior that lead some people to abuse alcohol and other drugs may also be an important contributor to an unhealthy relationship with food, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
In a paper published recently in the journal Appetite, researchers found that people with impulsive personalities were more likely to report higher levels of food addiction—a compulsive pattern of eating that is similar to drug addiction—and this in turn was associated with obesity.

"Our study shows that impulsive behavior was not necessarily associated with obesity, but impulsive behaviors can lead to food addiction," MacKillop said.

Ummmm nooooo, that's not how it works.  You are assuming progression.
Dopamine overactivity leads to impulsive behavior, and if you have comorbid hyperisulinemia, you will crave food and gain weight.   They are two different stimuli.   Your study just doesn't discriminate between them.

MacKillop's team now plans to expand their research by analyzing the brain activity of different individuals as they make decisions about food.

Oh yay.   More fat vs thin MRI scans...  just what we need...

The contemporary food industry has created a wide array of eating options, and foods that are high in fat, sodium, sugar and other flavorful additives and appear to produce cravings much like illicit drugs, MacKillop said. Now they will work to see how those intense cravings might play a role in the development of obesity.

It's not a mystery.   Hypoglycemia is a well documented phenomenon dear "obesity experts"...

Ask a Stupid Question

Get a useless answer.

Who’s to Blame for Obesity? Policy Makers, the Food Industry, or Individuals?

Fast food restaurants take a lot of heat for the rise in obesity in the United States, but is it really their fault? A research survey conducted by two food economists revealed that most people believe individuals are to blame for their own obesity -- not restaurants, grocery stores, farmers, or government policies. One implication from this research is that creating and enforcing public policies to help reduce obesity and/or encourage healthier food choices may not be as effective as policy makers would like.
University of Illinois researcher Brenna Ellison explained that she and her colleague, Jayson Lusk at Oklahoma State University, are both interested in the effectiveness of different food policies. However, past research has shown many of the food policies designed to improve food choices, such as requiring calorie information on restaurant menus and taxing sugar-sweetened beverages, do not always produce the intended results. This leads one to question: Why aren't these policies working? Why aren't consumers responding to increased soda prices or calorie information on menus?

Um, maybe because BAD INFORMATION FROM DOCTORS is to blame?  All that caloric information and those government policies based on erroneous assumptions about "healthy food choices" only insure those "responsible individuals" become obese!
If you don't look for it, you won't see it...

The Devil's in the Details

This study is all over the health news, but I am linking to Medscape because they have some additional information.

Future Trials Unlikely to Support Vitamin D Supplementation

A new meta-analysis of trials of vitamin D supplements for the prevention of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, cancer, or hip fracture in seniors finds that, in general, taking vitamin D does not lower the incidence of these outcomes. Moreover, in a sequential meta-analysis, the researchers showed that any future clinical trials would also likely find that vitamin D supplements would not reduce the incidence of these outcomes by 15% or more.
"The take-away message is that there is little justification currently for prescribing vitamin D to prevent heart attack, stroke, cancer, or fractures in otherwise-healthy people living in the community," lead author Mark Bolland, PhD, from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, told Medscape Medical News in an email.

Oh really.... let's look closer...

They obtained data from 44 reports of 40 individual randomized controlled trials. The vitamin D doses in the supplements ranged from 200 to 1100 IU/day, or 100,000 to 150,000 IU every 3 months.

Those levels are way under current recommendations...

In 23 of the 32 trials (73%) that reported baseline 25-hydroxyvitamin-D levels, the average baseline level was less than 50 nmol/L, "which is widely considered to be normal, although some people think higher levels, eg, from higher than 75 to 80 nmol/L, are normal," Dr. Bolland explained. In most studies, among participants who took the supplements, 25-hydroxyvitamin-D levels increased to normal levels.

Which you just admitted are questionable...

The study participants were typically women in their 70s or 80s.

 Pardon Me?   Women who have calcium deficiency and likely have no teeth left??  

The finding by Dr. Bolland and team that the "the body of evidence is already sufficiently large" so that future trials will not change the conclusion that vitamin D is not of use in most people ...

Maybe not "most" people- but how about "sick" people?  Who aren't already elderly and frail?
This review study proves nothing.   You cannot extrapolate these results to all people.  Proper clinical trials are showing results.
Why am I getting the feeling someone doesn't want us taking vitamin D?

I sound like a broken record

Not that many of you remember those old things...

Infections damage our ability to form spatial memories

Increased inflammation following an infection impairs the brain's ability to form spatial memories – according to new research. The impairment results from a decrease in glucose metabolism in the brain's memory centre, disrupting the neural circuits involved in learning and memory.
...
A reduction in glucose metabolism within the brain's memory centre, known as the Medial Temporal Lobe (MTL), was seen following inflammation. Participants also performed less well in spatial memory tasks, an effect that appeared to be directly mediated by the change in MTL metabolism.

Tell me about it.
And guess what increases glucose metabolism in the Medial Temporal Lobe?  Orexin.
And guess what decreases after systemic infection?  Orexin
And guess what the number one cause of systemic infection is...
hint

I got nothin

Gotta go outside or something today.

Here- all your obesity myths wrapped up in one bullshit article-
How not to get fat, rule #1 – don't do anything, ever

The full guide to staying svelte: don't put the heat on, don't work, don't exercise, don't sleep – or do sleep, but only a bit.

As I was Saying

Two proposed Alzheimer's drugs show disappointing results

Two biological therapies designed to improve the clearance of sticky plaques from the brains of those with Alzheimer's disease have failed to slow the steady loss of cognitive function in patients with mild to moderate forms of the degenerative disorder.
In late clinical-trial findings published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the monoclonal antibodies known as solanezumab and bapineuzumab were shown ineffective at changing the downward cognitive trajectory of Alzheimer's patients.

Yes, well I doubt any drugs can overcome the effects of pancakes and pudding.

Joseph Lister is Weeping

Doctors' clothing can spread infectious disease

Those white coats doctors wear to keep a professional appearance could actually make you sick.
Studies have shown doctors' clothing can spread infectious diseases to patients.
So, Healthcare Epidemiology of America is suggesting new guidelines.
They say doctors should wear short sleeves and no watches, jewelry or ties when seeing patients.
They also recommend closed toed footwear. Doctors required to wear the white coats should have access to multiple coats, and all of them should be washed in hot water everyday.

Geez Louise, maybe a little bleach too?
It's getting to the point I'm terrified of hospitals...

The First Rule of Fight Club

Patients can’t trust doctors’ advice if we hide our financial connections with drug companies

 Doctors should fully disclose their financial conflicts of interest to patients as part of obtaining informed consent, writes Leana Wen, who was surprised at the backlash she’s had from the profession for campaigning for openness.

Whatsamatta wit you lady?   You stupid or sumtin?

Brain Saving Information

My new favorite person in the world.
Peter Gotszche    15:45 min video.
I'm going to buy his book right now.

"When the drug industry cheats with its data it can sometimes kill tens of thousands of patients... and yet we have a system where drug regulators rely on what the industry tells them.  And if the industry manipulates the evidence, they can often earn billions of dollars compared to if they are honest.  What I have seen in psychiatry is worse than what I have seen anywhere else."

He does make one correlational error though- assuming the drugs have caused the increase in mental illness.  They certainly don't solve anything and probably contribute somewhat, but the real problem is the change in dietary habits over the last 30 years. That's what's causing the "chemical imbalance".

Huge thanks to Denise for sending me this link.   I feel hopeful again.

Hoo de Hoo de Hoo!!!

Bring on the Stoner Bowl!!!!!

Microbe Art

Some fun stuff.

Very fond of the virus doilies, and the home page sculpture of Julian Voss-Andreae is stunning even if it isn't a microbe.

This and That

Just a couple things since I'm busy this weekend.

California teen recovers from devastating coma thanks to fish oil

Grant Virgin, 17, of Palm Desert, was in a horrific crash that left him in a perilous state in September. But his parents pushed hard for the best treatment, leading them to try fish oil to help his brain — and bringing him to an almost-full recovery.

I'm not sure that one can attribute causality- he may have recovered anyway- but still theoretically predictable and quite interesting. He probably could have used some vitamin D too....

and while were on the topic...
Vitamin D Supplements Reduce Pain in Fibromyalgia Sufferers

Patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) typically have widespread chronic pain and fatigue. For those with low vitamin D levels, vitamin D supplements can reduce pain and may be a cost-effective alternative or adjunct to other treatment, say researchers in the current issue of PAIN^®.

They gave enough to patients to restore adequate levels, not just a static dose.  Now if they could just figure out the autoimmune trigger...

For the Record

None of the dentists I have ever gone to has given me antibacterial rinse before or after procedures.
I now bring my own.  Even for cleanings.

Correlation Games

 Statin use reduces delirium in critically ill patients

Continued use of statins may help prevent delirium in critically ill patients who received statins before hospital admission, according to a new study of 470 intensive care patients in the UK.
"This is the first study using a validated delirium screening tool, the Confusion Assessment Method-ICU (CAM-ICU), to show that the administration of statins reduces delirium in these patients," said lead author Valerie J Page MB ChB, of the Watford General Hospital in Watford, UK. "This benefit may be mediated by a reduction in systemic inflammation."
Of the 470 patients included in the study, 151 received statins. Statins were only administered to patients who had received statins prior to admission.
After adjustment for age, sex and illness severity, administration of statins the previous evening was associated with a significantly lower risk of delirium and a concomitant reduction in serum C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation, the following day. The strength of the relationship between statin use and a lower risk of delirium was reduced when CRP was adjusted for.

Statins reduce bacterial activity. And periodontal infection. And seem to reduce bacteremia.
Delirium is a common symptom of sepsis, an acute form of bacteremia which causes systemic inflammation.

This is a simple matter of infection, people.
As I was saying-  Been there, done that.  Yesterday.

"Our findings suggest that statin treatment should be continued to help prevent delirium in critically ill patients who received statins before being admitted," said Dr. Page.

Holy drug induced distraction, Batman. Get a frakking blood culture and check those people's mouths!

Fighting the Demons

Sorry, I had to go to the dentist today.  One of my crowns needed emergency replacement.
Luckily I found I guy I actually like...

Here's some interesting info I found last week-
Systemic Diseases Caused by Oral Infection

The incidence of bacteremia following dental procedures such as tooth extraction, endodontic treatment, periodontal surgery, and root scaling has been well documented.  Bacteremia after dental extraction, third-molar surgery, dental scaling, endodontic treatment, and bilateral tonsillectomy has been studied by means of lysis-filtration of blood samples with subsequent aerobic and anaerobic incubation. Bacteremia was observed in 100% of the patients after dental extraction, in 70% after dental scaling, in 55% after third-molar surgery, in 20% after endodontic treatment, and in 55% after bilateral tonsillectomy. Anaerobes were isolated more frequently than facultative anaerobic bacteria. Another study involving 735 children undergoing treatment for extensive dental decay found that 9% of the children had detectable bacteremias before the start of dental treatment. In addition, a variety of hygiene and conservative procedures, including brushing of the teeth, increased the prevalence of bacteremias from 17 to 40%. Anesthetic and surgical procedures increased the occurrence of bacteremias from 15 to 97%. One recent study by Debelian et al. used phenotypic and genetic methods to trace microorganisms released into the bloodstream during and after endodontic treatment back to their presumed source, the root canal. Microbiological samples were taken from the root canals of 26 patients with asymptomatic apical periodontitis of single-rooted teeth. Blood was drawn from the patients during and 10 min after endodontic therapy. All root canals contained anaerobic bacteria. In group I, where the first three root canal reamers were used to a level 2 mm beyond the apical foramen of the tooth, Propionibacterium acnes, Peptostreptococcus prevotii, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Prevotella intermedia, andSaccharomyces cerevisiae were recovered from the blood. In group 2, where instrumentation ended inside the root canal, P. intermedia, Actinomyces israelii, Streptococcus intermedius, and Streptococcus sanguis were isolated from the blood.
As stated above, dissemination of oral microorganisms into the bloodstream is common, and less than 1 min after an oral procedure, organisms from the infected site may have reached the heart, lungs, and peripheral blood capillary system.
(my emphasis, references included at the link)

No wonder I have been battling a migraine and sleep attack all day.
And it's probably why I have been having "impulse control problems" lately.  Ha.

Because

Some things are just awesome.

See the Inner Anatomy of Barbie, Mario and Mickey Mouse—Bones, Guts and All
Artist Jason Freeny transforms familiar childhood characters into realistic anatomical models.

update:  Must. Have.

Duh Science

New study shows alcohol impacts vision by 30 per cent

In findings published in the journal Perception, Kevin Johnston and Brian Timney from the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and the Faculty of Social Science have shown alcohol greatly affects the ability to adjust vision for brightness and contrast, which may be increasingly problematic when driving at twilight, as the suns dips below the horizon.
"We obviously know alcohol impairs our decision making and motor skills but until now, we did not know how alcohol affects our vision," said Johnston, a research scientist at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology's Laboratory for Neural Circuits and Behaviour. "What we have done now, using century-old methods, is find out exactly how much vision is impaired after drinking alcohol."

I'm shocked, shocked to find blurry vision going on in here...

Your "alcoholism experts" at work.

oops, forgot to mention blurry vision is also a symptom of hyperinsulinemia...  which is also one of the results of metabolizing alcohol...

More Fruits and Vegetables Dammit!

Diabetics benefit from high-protein diets without risk, study finds

"Far from seeing any problems caused by the high-protein diet, the participants' weight loss resulted in improvements to their renal health, as well as to their overall cardiovascular health and the control of their blood-sugar levels," says Professor Clifton.

Rerun

From two years ago exactly.

What I See

Everywhere. Always.

Still.  Everyone.

When People Are Not Human

Anything is possible.

When Good People Do Nothing: The Appalling Story of South Carolina's Prisons

Those are the antiseptic words judges often use to describe unconstitutional conditions. What do they mean? They mean that one mentally ill inmate, James Wilson, was kept in solitary confinement for at least 2,491 consecutive days. It means that an intellectually disabled (and schizophrenic) man named Jerome Laudman was abused and neglected, and then left to rot in his own feces and vomit, until he died of a heart attack. It means that force was used 81 times on a severely mentally ill inmate named James Howard. It means that some mentally ill inmates were restrained at length in what they called a "crucifix position."
It means some mentally ill prisoners were "routinely placed" naked "in shower stalls, 'rec cages', interview booths, and holding cells for hours and even days at a time." It means that suicidal prisoners who were supposed to be receiving anti-psychotic medication were not receiving them. No surprise, the judge wrote, since SCDC's "computer system cannot retrieve the names or numbers of all inmates referred" for mental health treatment, "the number of inmates who have made serious suicide attempts; or the number of inmates whose psychotropic medications have expired without being timely renewed."
It means that mentally ill inmates are routinely caged for days in their own feces and urine, having to eat literally where they shit. It means, Judge Baxley wrote, that "the deposition testimony of some psychiatrists reveals an alarming lack of knowledge about the policies and procedures at SCDC." One such psychiatrist did not know "what mental health counselors do, and had 'no idea' who drafted treatment plans" for inmates. And even if the mental health professionals knew what they were doing, they wouldn't have been able to do much. The ratio of inmates needing treatment to professionals able to provide it was astronomically high.

Update- Variation on the Theme

A California Jury's Baffling Verdict

The video shows two former police officers beating a mentally ill man into a coma. So why were they acquitted?

Another Cuppa

Coffee may boost brain's ability to store long-term memories, study claims

People who had caffeine after looking at images apparently better at distinguishing them from similar ones the next day.
...
For this part of the study, the volunteers had to say whether each image was either new, old or similar to one they had seen the day before. According to Yassa, the caffeine and placebo groups scored the same except when it came to spotting the similar images. In this task, the caffeine group scored around 10% higher, he said.

Worse than I ever imagined

And we wonder why it takes decades to be properly diagnosed-

The AWAKEN Survey: Knowledge of Narcolepsy Among Physicians and the General Population (Full Text!!)

There was low awareness that narcolepsy is associated with children and young adults in all populations and awareness was lowest among PCPs. An association of narcolepsy with children (aged 5–12 years) and adolescents (aged 13–17 years) was recognized by 14% and 4% of PCPs, respectively. Similarly, low proportions of sleep specialists (12%) and the general population (12%) associated narcolepsy with children, and somewhat higher proportions of sleep specialists (24%) and the general population (20%) acknowledged that narcolepsy can be present in teenagers.

Recognition of individual narcolepsy symptoms was consistently low in the general population and most of the symptoms were not identified by PCPs; however, sleep specialists had a higher rate of symptom recognition (Figure 3). In particular, there was substantially lower awareness of the nocturnal symptoms associated with narcolepsy relative to other symptoms. Of the 5 key symptoms, EDS was most recognized by PCPs (64%) and the general population (46%); sleep specialists had higher recognition of cataplexy (82%), followed by EDS (70%). Less than half of sleep specialists (41%) identified disruptive nocturnal sleep as a narcolepsy symptom. Sixty-three percent of sleep specialists and 39% of PCPs identified both EDS and cataplexy, the two symptoms most commonly associated with narcolepsy, and recognition of both of these symptoms was higher among the non–board-certified sleep specialists (71% vs 49%). More board-certified than non–board-certified sleep specialists recognized all 5 key symptoms of narcolepsy (30% vs 18%, respectively), but the identification of individual symptoms varied for both groups of sleep specialists (Table 2). Identification of the 2 key symptoms was 69% among psychiatrists, compared with 57% of non-psychiatrists, but recognition of all 5 symptoms was low among psychiatrists (17%) and non-psychiatrists (28%).

It's not your imagination-  Narcoleptics do know more about narcolepsy than their doctors.

Fun with Microbes

You Are Mainly Microbe - Meet Your Microbiome (3:51 min. video)

Ever not felt completely like yourself? There's a good reason for that. Because a large part of you . . . isn't you. Our bodies are home to ten times as many microbes as human cells. We are walking ecosystems, each of us home to thousands of different species on and inside of us. Meet your microbiome!

Maniac of the Day

Behold the power of dopamine.

Star Trek Superfan Transforms Basement into Starship Enterprise    pic

Rainville says, "At some points, I took so much time to find out the precise item that it seemed like an obsession… I had put in so much energy seeking what I wanted that to accept failure is difficult, even to this day. Although people say they are impressed with the decor, I know well each inaccuracy, the exact places that I could improve."

LMAO.   "Seemed like an obsession" indeed.
We do not see the lens through which we look...

The Root of the Problem

Oh the things one can find on Medscape...   This is from 2012...

Periodontitis Affects Nearly Half of Americans Over 30

 Nearly half of American adults older than age 30 years have periodontal disease, according to recent findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Periodontology. The study, published in the October issue of the Journal of Dental Research, also found that the prevalence of periodontitis rises to 70.1% in adults older than age 65.

Researchers, led by Paul Eke, MPH, PhD, epidemiologist at the CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, evaluated data collected from 3743 adults age 30 years or older as part of the CDC's 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which assesses the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. In previous years, NHANES included only partial-mouth examinations for periodontitis; the 2009-2010 survey was the first to include a full-mouth periodontal examination.

Dr. Eke and colleagues found that 47.2% of the population (which would account for approximately 64.7 million adults) has periodontal disease, a figure far higher than previous national estimates.
"As periodontal disease is not evenly distributed in the mouth, these prior studies, [on the basis of] how they were designed, may have underestimated prevalence rates in the US population by as much as 50%" said Dr. Robert M. Pick, DDS, a practicing periodontist in Chicago, Illinois, and spokesperson for the American Dental Association, in an interview with Medscape Medical News "[These findings] add an entirely new set of statistics and a whole new set of percentages not known before."
The researchers further classified participants as having mild, moderate, or severe periodontitis, with rates of 8.7%, 30.0%, and 8.5%, respectively. Although the prevalence of mild and severe periodontitis remained stable at less than 15%, moderate periodontitis increased with age among all adults.
In an interview with Medscape Medical News, Pamela McClain, DDS, immediate past president of the American Academy of Periodontology and a practicing periodontist in Aurora, Colorado, said: "With what is known about the health complications related to periodontal disease, namely tooth loss and the increased risk of other systemic diseases, periodontitis is a significant public health issue."
...
The authors note that use of the full-mouth periodontal examination in the 2009-2010 NHANES may have contributed to these figures being higher than previous national estimates. They caution, however, that other factors, such as conservative case definitions, exclusion of inflammation and furcation status, and nonsampling of institutionalized persons in the current study, may still have resulted in underestimation of true prevalence.

Ya think?  People in institutions have the worst dental health of all.
Funny how the experimental methods alter the results...

related post

The Circle of Insanity

Do the Insanity Dance-

US doctors warn Congress cutting food stamps could mean higher medical bills

Doctors are warning that if Congress cuts food stamps, the federal government could be socked with bigger health bills. Maybe not immediately, they say, but over time if the poor wind up in doctors' offices or hospitals as a result.
Among the health risks of hunger are spiked rates of diabetes and developmental problems for young children down the road.

That's one step forward.

The researchers analyzed eight years of California hospital records to find cases of hypoglycemia, when blood sugar plummets, and link them to patients' ZIP codes.
Among patients from low-income neighborhoods, hospitalizations were 27% higher in the last week of the month compared with the first, when most states send out government checks and food stamps, said lead researcher Dr Hilary Seligman of the University of California, San Francisco. But hospitalizations didn't increase among diabetics from higher-income areas, she reported Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs.

Another step forward.

She is working on a project with Feeding America, a network of food banks, to try to improve health by providing extra, diabetes-appropriate foods, including fresh produce and whole-grain cereals and pastas, for diabetics at a few food banks in California, Texas and Ohio.

Two steps back.
And everyone Do-si-do!

Good Morning!

Caffeine Consumption Could Lower Risk For Atrial Fibrillation In Dose Dependent Manner

The meta-analysis, which was conducted by researchers at Fu Wai Hospital in Beijing, found that participants who drank caffeinated beverages decreased their risk of atrial fibrillation in a dose-dependent manner. For every increase of 300 milligrams of caffeine they drank each day, their risk of atrial fibrillation decreased by six percent. The findings were published online in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology. “It is unlikely that caffeine consumption causes or contributes to atrial fibrillation. Habitual caffeine consumption may reduce atrial fibrillation risk,” they concluded.

Myth: Coffee Consumption Leads To Dehydration

A new paper finds no evidence for a link between coffee consumption and dehydration - at least when it comes to normal coffee consumption. Coffee is mostly water so a moderate amount of coffee not only doesn't result in dehydration, it contributes to daily fluid requirements just as other fluids do.

Time for a refill...

Brain Eating Zombies of the Day

Take LSD, stay out of prison? Huge study links psychedelic use to reduced recidivism

From 2002 to 2007, the researchers collected data on 25,622 individuals under community corrections supervision in Treatment Accountability for Safer Communities (TASC), a program for individuals with a history of drug abuse.
Only about 1 percent of those in the program were diagnosed with a hallucinogen use disorder. Cannabis use disorders, cocaine use disorders, and alcohol use disorders were the most common diagnoses in the group.
The researchers found those diagnosed with a hallucinogen use disorder were less likely to fail the TASC program compared to those without a hallucinogen use disorder. That means those with a hallucinogen use disorder were less likely to violate TASC rules or other legal requirements, less likely to fail to appear in court, and less likely to be incarcerated.

No this does not indicate that hallucinogen treatment will make people more compliant.  It's way more likely that those people had a fundamentally different mental disorder in the first place.
Drug use is not indiscriminate, it's self-medication motivated by underlying undiagnosed somatic symptoms.

While we're at it

Their vision of your future:

New device can reduce sleep apnea episodes 

Implantation of a sleep apnea device called Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation (UAS) therapy can lead to significant improvements for patients with obstructive sleep apnea...

Plug into the matrix.
Or use antibacterial mouth rinse and saline nose spray.
You decide.

Bwa ha ha ha ha

Sleep Number’s Solution for Better Snoozing

Does your partner snore?
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, Sleep Number introduced a smart bed so smart that one feature allows you to adjust your snoring partner’s elevation, raising them higher in order to decrease their heavy breathing.
The new bed, called the x12, monitors your heart rate, breathing, positioning and the number of times you get out of bed during your sleep. The Sleep IQ technology is all inside the bed, nothing needs to be worn while you sleep.
Silencing a snorer and monitoring your health while you sleep will cost you, though. The bed is currently retailing for $8,000.

Yes, but none of that will alleviate your partner's sinus or throat infection...
Trust me, Sleep Number does not want to improve your sleep.   If you got better, they wouldn't be able to sell those outrageously expensive high-tech bags of air.

Debunking the Talking Points

My heart belongs to Matty.

A New Low in Health Care Rhetoric
He covers the erroneous ER visit statistics, but I like this part-

Specifically, she pointed to data showing that the Oregon group didn't show significant improvement in cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes rates (although enrollees did show lower rates of depression).

Her take on this tiny initial sample of reform data: Just a few years into having access to primary care doctors, people are not healthier according to a few markers. Therefore, that proves it! Giving poor people health insurance achieves nothing.

He's got a point, it takes a while to improve chronic illness. But- to be clear, nobody shows improvement on cholesterol, blood pressure or diabetes rates whether it's Medicaid or not.  It's a feature of the protocols, not the patients.

Maniac of the Day

Award goes to the cop.  I'm guessing he was a little hypoglycemic.

Police officer fatally shoots mentally ill NC teenager

But the situation appeared to be under control, with two officers restraining the 90-pound Vidal, when the third officer arrived and shot Vidal point-blank, Wilsey contended.
"Then all of a sudden, this Southport cop came, walked in the house [and said]: 'I don't have time for this. Tase him. Let's get him out of here,'" Wilsey said.
An officer used a stun gun on Vidal, "he hit the ground [and] this guy shot him," Wilsey said.
Wilsey said that when he demanded to know why his stepson had been shot, the officer replied, "'Well, I'm protecting my officers.'"

That poor family.  Traumatized forever.
Rest in peace, dear tormented child.

Brain Eating Zombies of the Day

US News and World Report

Best diets: U.S. News ranks DASH first, Paleo last U.S.

The gluten-free “caveman” Paleo Diet (the most-searched plan of 2013) tied the rule-heavy, “idiotic” Dukan Diet for last place.

The popular Mediterranean Diet was found to be the best among the plant-based plans, while the low-fat Ornish Diet was deemed the best for heart-health.

And they wonder why everyone in America is sick and fat.
SSDD.

Spontaneous Brain Explosion

Brief fever common in kids given influenza, pneumococcal vaccines together

The CDC and other medical professional organizations often recommend giving the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines at the same visit, if both are due—both to prevent getting influenza or other infections between visits and to avoid a possible delay in vaccinations due to difficulty returning to the clinic (because of work schedules or other competing priorities).
...
Overall, for every 100 children there were an additional 20-23 cases of temperatures of 100.4 F (38 C) or higher in children with simultaneous influenza and pneumococcal vaccination, compared with those who received only one of the vaccines. There were also 15 additional cases of temperatures of 102.2 F (39 C) or higher in children who received both vaccines, compared with the influenza vaccine alone, but not compared with the pneumococcal vaccine.

Holy Crap!!!  These are "disease experts".  The very people who should know that the influenza virus increases the risk of streptococcal infection.   OMG, I wonder if they are doing the same thing to old people.

Please don't tell me, I really don't want to know...

Yo Europe

DQB1 Locus Alone Explains Most of the Risk and Protection in Narcolepsy with Cataplexy in Europe.

CONCLUSION:
An overwhelming portion of genetic risk for narcolepsy with cataplexy is found at DQB1 locus. Since DQB1*06:02 positive subjects are at 251-fold increase in risk for narcolepsy, and all recent cases of narcolepsy after H1N1 vaccination are positive for this allele, DQB1 genotyping may be relevant to public health policy.

This indicates that all you folks and your kids with post-vaccine onset are gluten intolerant.

Behold the Power of Sugar

Obesity Now A Third World Problem

The number of obese and overweight people in the developing world has nearly quadrupled to almost a billion between 1980 and 2008, Agence France-Presse reported.
According to the Overseas Development Institute, there are now far more obese or overweight adults in the developing world than in richer countries.

The Devil's in the Details

Vitamin-D Deficiency Linked to Fatal Cardiovascular Disease

The current population-based cohort study enrolled 9949 adults aged 50 to 74 years recruited during regular health checkups at primary-care practices in 2000 to 2002. There were more women than men (59% vs 41%); most participants (59%) had inadequate vitamin-D levels ...
Even after adjustment for other potential confounders, including smoking and physical activity, vitamin-D deficiency still conferred a significant 27% increased risk for total CVD and a 62% increased risk for fatal CVD. However, there was no association between vitamin-D deficiency and nonfatal CVD events.
Individuals with low vitamin-D levels also had a significant 36% increased risk of total CHD and a nonsignificant 33% increased risk of total stroke.

I have been looking at this study again-   (abstract)
The one that claims vitamin D supplementation doesn't help for heart disease-

Well  men got 50 μg per day and women got 20 μg per day.  The most up to date recommendations are 5000 IU per day for people who are deficient.   That's equivalent to 125 μg.

The Institute of Medicine recommends 600 international units of vitamin D for adults, and 800 international units for people over 70. 
No wonder it hasn't been helping.

See the Pathology

Ke$ha In Rehab For Eating Disorder

Yeah, I'm guessing the anorexia has morphed to binge eating.   Or vice versa.

A hyper vegetarian with piercings, and tattoos.  Go figure.
Including one inside her lip.
What she needs is treatment for a streptococcal autoimmune disorder.

Just a Thought

After asking people if they believe in evolution-
Researchers should ask them if they believe antibiotic resistant bacteria are a health concern.

That data might be interesting.

Told Ya So

Shingles Before 40 Hikes Risk for Vascular Events

Rates of stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), and heart attack were significantly increased among patients experiencing shingles episodes in young adulthood or early middle age, a British epidemiological study found.
Among more than 100,000 individuals in Great Britain whose records indicated a shingles attack, the risk of stroke was nearly doubled after episodes occurring prior to age 40 relative to age-, sex-, and location-matched controls, according to Judith Breuer, MD, of University College London, and colleagues.

They recommend getting the shingles vaccine.   I am not sure how it works, and am personally now afraid of vaccines, so I will do some more research on that.  I already take valtrex every day.

The Circle of Insanity

College Students' Thesis Topics Are Hilarious, Depressing

Documenting the obvious.   Excellent use of millions of years of evolution and thousands of years of technological achievement.  But I guess it keeps the unemployment rates down.

Correlation Games

Autophagy is reduced in the brains of schizophrenic patients.

Vitamin D induces autophagy.

Low vitamin D associated with psychosis and schizophrenia.

Well How About That

The brain also produces the sex hormone oestrogen

The research, recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience, shows that the hypothalamus – a part of the brain involved with regulating the menstrual cycle and reproduction – can actively release the hormone in rhesus monkeys. The findings have implications for humans because the reproductive neuroendocrine system (which makes and releases hormones) of rhesus monkeys is identical to humans.
The researchers discovered that estradiol – one of three major naturally occurring oestrogen hormones and the predominant one involved in female reproduction – can be rapidly produced in the brain. Estradiol influences other functions in the body including our weight and memory.

That's because it increases insulin production....
Been there, done that.  Can't remember it though.  Ha.

Why I came back

Because I remember a different world.

When morbid obesity was the exception, not taken for granted.
When children drank milk and ate eggs and went outside to play.
When infection was a cause of disease.
When doctors had patients instead of protocols.
When psychology was greeted with skepticism and dismissal.
When antidepressants and meth and oxycodone didn't exist.
When medical research alleviated human suffering instead of making corporations rich.
When big business didn't own the food and drug companies and the government agencies that regulate them.
When TV wasn't all pathology all the time.
When politicians and the people who vote for them had some sense of the common good.

Because I remember a world where crazy didn't rule.
And insanity truly is the root of the problem.  Nothing will change until we address that.

So, even if I can't do much, and I am constantly frustrated, and I just want to ignore it all- I will keep screaming into the void.

Happier New Year?

Nutrition Trends For 2014

Announced December 26, U.S. nutrition trade magazine Today's Dietitian released a survey of more than 500 dietitians on their predictions for rising nutrition trends, citing next year's biggest trend as gluten-free. 

They call it Hypomania Now

Sherlock Holmes is the archetypal scientist – brilliant but slightly scary

Fun stuff in there.   But this is wrong-

The world he was originally created for was one obsessed with science. The Victorian era saw the birth of Charles Babbage's own "calculating machine", a forerunner of modern computers. Many early fictional detectives – Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin, Jacques Futrelle's "Thinking Machine" – were characters who prided themselves on their systematic, unemotional approach to solving mysteries.
Holmes, too, boasts of his lack of emotions – "I am a brain, Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix" – and his ability to separate fact from theory. "I make a point of never having any prejudices," he tells Inspector Forrester in The Adventure of the Reigate Squires, "and of following docilely wherever fact may lead me." Like Babbage's Difference Engine, there is no personality involved, only the application of a method. "He was," says Watson, "the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen."

Mania involves all kinds of cognitive biases.   Especially the one where you believe you are thinking especially clearly.  The illusion of competence.  Heh.