Night shift workers are fighting ancient rhythms that order them to hunt or forage

From the National Geographic Magazine:

We sleep 1.5 hour less a night than we did just 100 years ago

We sleep on average 1.5 hour less a night than we did just a century ago. Some of our epidemic of insomnia or sleeplessness is probably just our refusal to pay attention to our biology. The natural sleep rhythms of teenagers would call for a late morning wake-up—but there they are, starting high school at 8 a.m.

The night shift worker sleeping in the morning is fighting ancient rhythms in his or her body that order him or her awake to hunt or forage when the sky is flooded with light. Yet he or she has no choice.

We fight these forces at our peril. Harvard's researchers note that going without sleep for 24 hours or getting only 5 hours of sleep a night for a week is the equivalent of a blood alcohol level of 0.1 percent. Yet modern business ethic celebrates such feats. "We would never say, 'This person is a great worker! He's drunk all the time!' "

One in 20 medical residents admits to making a fatigue-related mistake that resulted in the death of a patient

A 2004 study included 2,700 first-year medical residents. These young men and women worked shifts that were as long as 30 hours twice a week. The research revealed the remarkable public health risk that this sleep debt entailed. "We know that one out of five first-year residents admits to making a fatigue-related mistake that resulted in injury to a patient. One in 20 admits to making a fatigue-related mistake that resulted in the death of a patient. One day people will look back on what will be viewed as a barbarous practice."

References:

The Secrets of Sleep. National Geographic Magazine, 2011.

Image source: A halo around the Moon. Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.

Five faces of life with HIV - Chicato Tribune video

The World AIDS Day is December 1. Video source: Chicago Tribune.

Marathon-associated ailments: “too hot,” “too cold,” “too dry,” “too wet” and “wobble and fall down”

According to the NYTimes, the most common and potentially life-threatening marathon-associated ailments are “too hot,” “too cold,” “too dry,” “too wet” and “wobble and fall down”. These translate into heat stroke, hypothermia, dehydration, low blood sodium and collapse, respectively.

The medical professionals at this year's NYC marathon had ice-water dunk tanks to treat runners who developed high fevers. Handheld i-Stat machines enabled them to analyze the chemistry of the runners’ blood, then dispense the right amounts of intravenous fluids, salts and sugar.



Understanding the Heart Hazards of Marathon Running - Video - TIME.com.

References:
Doctor Prepared for the Worst at Marathon. NYTimes.
Faces at the Finish - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.
Running With the Elites - Slide Show - NYTimes.

In-flight exercises help during plane travel

Prolonged immobilization can cause circulatory stasis which is one of the predisposing factors for DVT described by Virchow in his famous triad: endothelial injury, stasis and hypercoagulability.

In a trial of previously healthy patients who traveled at least 8 hours per flight (median duration 24 hours), duplex ultrasound showed an asymptomatic DVT in 10 % of participants. In other studies, the reported risk of symptomatic DVT after flights of more than 12 hours was 0.5%. According to a 2006 Lancet study, activation of coagulation occurs in some individuals after an 8-hour flight.

This Chicago Tribune article lists some useful in-flight exercises:

In-flight exercises for beginners

- Shoulder shrugs, shoulder rolls. Ten each.
- Short sets of bending and straightening the elbows and knees.
- Walk through the plane every two hours.
- March your knees up and down in your seat.
- Lift and lower your feet on tiptoes to work the calves.

Advanced In-flight exercises

- Neck stretches; hold on each side for 15 to 20 seconds.
- If you can find space (near an exit), work the core with yoga stretches. Pigeon pose — an intermediate move of folding one leg under the body while stretching the back leg out — is an in-flight favorite of hers.
- In your seat, lift your arms over your head, grip your hands together and lean from side to side for a few seconds on each side. Repeat.
- Walk the length of the plane every hour, incorporating deep lunges. Unless you want air marshals on your case, it might be wise to notify a flight attendant.
- Put a small flight pillow in small of back to keep posture upright.

References:
Midair exercise makes for happier landings. Chicago Tribune, 10/2010.

Prolonged immobilization increases risk of DVT -- how do you define prolonged immobilization?

"Avoiding Airport Germs and Healthy Plane Travel Tips" by WebMD http://goo.gl/rLO2h

The risk of VTE (blood clots) is 3 times higher in passengers on long-distance flights than in the general population http://goo.gl/Tk45Z
Exercises for air travel — Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 2011.

Will Airplane Air Make Me Sick? No, but proximity to the other passengers very well might. WebMD, 2011.

New CPR Guidelines - Hands Only - Use "CAB" Instead of "ABC" While Singing "Stayin' Alive"

The American Heart Association is adopting new cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) guidelines that do away with mouth to mouth resuscitation and focus on chest compressions. Do fast, forceful compressions; the beat of "Stayin' Alive" is the right pace - 100 beats per minute. Queen's "Another one bites the dust" was rejected as an alternative song choice.

Currently, this recommendation only applies to laymen CPR. The professional rescuers (EMTs, doctors, etc.) should use the previous approach with a compression-breathing (ventilation) ratio of 30:2.

However, “chest compression only” CPR is recommended if the rescuer is not trained (for example, in dispatcher assisted CPR) or is not willing to give rescue breaths. The aim is now to compress the chest to a depth of 5-6 cm (rather than 4-5 cm). This recommendation is based on several studies showing that deeper compressions were associated with improved short term outcomes.


Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows Matthew McConaughey the new way of doing CPR on Larry King Live.


Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive.

References:
New CPR is spelled C-A-B. CNN.
New international guidelines on resuscitation. BMJ, 2010.

Related:

Dangers of unrecognized heart disease: Husband dies while giving wife CPR (both found dead, age 60, 59) http://goo.gl/LZ39U

"Professional Guinea Pigs" in Clinical Trials - TIME video

Human subjects are paid in Phase 1 clinical trials to test the toxicity levels of new drugs. Some make a profession out of it, but researchers worry about health risks.

References:
Clinical Trials: Professional Guinea Pigs. TIME.

Non-surgical Baldness Treatments Rated Ineffective by Most Patients

Only 27% of men who used Propecia (finasteride) said it was “very” effective. Finasteride is a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor used to treat prostate enlargement symptoms and baldness. Finasteride has 2 trade names: Propecia for baldness and Proscar for BPH.

Over-the-counter minoxidil (Rogaine) is applied directly to the scalp and is the only hair regrowth drug approved for use by women. Just 4% of respondents said it was very effective, with 43% of users saying it was not effective at all.

Only 2% of men surveyed underwent hair transplants; but of these, 49% were either very or completely satisfied with the results of their surgery, the poll shows.


Minoxodil - Costco.

References:
Survey: Most Baldness Treatments Don't Work. WebMD.
Widely used baldness drug finasteride (Propecia) boosts hair growth in men, but 1 in 80 may develop ED http://goo.gl/6lmd

Experts Answers on Alopecia and Hair Loss - NYTimes.com http://goo.gl/Oplfw

Drugs that "shrink prostate" and treat baldness (5-alpha-reductase inhibitors) may have sexual side effects that persist after stopping them, WebMD, 2011.

Image source: Finasteride, Wikipedia, public domain.

Comments from Facebook:

"Ah... so you are supposed to rub it on the scalp... I've been drinking it all these years, no wonder it has had no effect"

Blast from Europe's medieval medical past: leeches

From TIME:

Another blast from Europe's medieval medical past are medicinal leeches. Similar to bloodletting, leeches were utilized to draw out the "bad blood" that medieval physicians believed caused many of their patients' ailments.

In modern medicine, however, leeches are used in reconstructive surgery to provide a vacuum effect that helps stimulate blood circulation. This process is crucial to help kick start blood flow into, for example, a reattached finger.



Covered by sucking leeches! BBC video.Miichael Palin experiments with a traditional Russian health therapy in Estonian capital Tallinn by allowing a doctor to cover him in sucking leeches. Fascinating video that is definitely not for the faint hearted! Taken from BBC travel documentary, Palin's New Europe.

References:
Leeches are making a comeback as medical helpers. Chicago Tribune, 2011.

Top 10 Unusual Medical Treatments. TIME.

PubMed: "Does garlic protect against vampires? An experimental study. Owing to the lack of vampires, we used leeches" http://bit.ly/IKOrY

Top 10 Bloodsuckers: Leech. AnimalPlanetTV.

Wound Closure Adhesive Strips

Walgreens Wound Closure Adhesive Strips: adhesive strips used to secure, close and support small cuts and wounds.

Former FDA commissioner on the killer combination of salt, fat and sugar - our food

David A Kessler, former commissioner of the FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration):

"Our favourite foods are making us fat, yet we can't resist, because eating them is changing our minds as well as bodies

For example, KFC's approach to battering its food results in "an optimised fat pick-up system". With its flour, salt, MSG, maltodextrin, sugar, corn syrup and spice, the fried coating imparts flavour that touches on all three points of the compass while giving the consumer the perception of a bargain – a big plate of food at a good price."

The ranks of overweight adults and children continue to increase. For the first time in history, overweight persons actually outnumber those who are malnourished. Obesity now kills more men and women in developed nations than war, terrorist attacks, or climate changes. On average, obese individuals forfeit about 9 years of life.

More on the same topic in the video below:



"Fake foods are more affordable. It's enticing people to eat more because they think they're saving money when they're really just buying heart disease." 10 Questions for Jillian Michaels. TIME, 2010.

References:
Obesity: The killer combination of salt, fat and sugar | David A Kessler. Guardian.

JAMA - Fat, Gluttony and Sloth: Obesity in Literature, Art and Medicine, July 7, 2010, Miksanek 304 (1): 101 http://goo.gl/eEos

Cheap fast food "enticing people to eat more because they think they're saving money when they're really buying heart disease"

"Fake foods are more affordable. It's enticing people to eat more because they think they're saving money when they're really just buying heart disease."

References:
10 Questions for Jillian Michaels. TIME, 2010.