@T: ALWAYS THE TWAIN

Over the last week, global news items have been dominated by whatever medication Michael Jackson was / wasn’t taking which may have caused his tragic cardiac arrest. Some of the reports have been disturbing because they’ve raised issues of:

· drugs dependency;

· medical professionals possibly supplying and administering drugs to an individual which are inappropriate; and

· how drugs can counter-react in our bodies when wrongly mixed and cause health problems.

The reports have also flagged that his family seem not to have been kept in the loop about what medication he was / was not taking. Now this may seem unusual but, sometimes, our nearest and dearest don’t always tell us what medication they’re on because:

(1.) They don’t want us to worry unnecessarily; or

(2.) They want to hide their addiction / pain from us; or

(3.) They simply don’t think twice about it.

In my father’s case we knew he was taking insulin injections to manage his Type II diabetes, but were in the dark about other medication he was on and didn’t find out until he was hospitalized. Reason (1.) applied.

Anyway, onto other medical stories which are notable this last fortnight.

(1.) Schizophrenia: genetic links discovered

Stanford University’s Jianxin Shi, PhD, and Douglas Levinson, MD, have published a paper in Nature, the science journal, which reports on the molecular genetics of schizophrenia. Their findings seem to implicate a region of the human genome not previously suspected as a risk factor for schizophrenia. Their paper is one of three on the subject to be published in this week’s edition of Nature. The other two papers are on schizophrenia’s connection with bipolar disorder (Hreinn Stefansson et al) and the common variants conferring risk of schizophrenia (International Schizophrenia Consortium) , respectively:

* http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nature08185.pdf

* http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nature08186.pdf

There’s also insightful coverage on Medical News Today and JournalWatch about the condition:

* http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/schizophrenia/

* http://psychiatry.jwatch.org/

For anyone interested in how schizophrenia looks under fMRI imaging of the brain by MIT scientists, please refer to the Medgadget’s site:

Now, according to the International Schizophrenia Consortium:

“Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder with a lifetime risk of about 1%, characterized by hallucinations, delusions and cognitive deficits, with heritability estimated at up to 80%.”

Some people — typically immature, ignorant and inconsiderate — may believe it’s funny / cool to label others as “schizophrenic”, “crazy”, “delusional” or “mentally ill” as a means of denigration when the other person is patently NOT any of those things. Moreover, some of the smartest people in the world have suffered from some form of schizophrenia or bi-polarity (also known as manic depression):

The YouTube compilation is made from Wikipedia and whilst Wikipedia is not 100 percent accurate or thoroughly sourced, it does provide us with a broad sample of people affected.

If anything, people with mental medical conditions deserve our understanding and our attempts to support them and enable them to function better with society and its challenges rather than to make them the butt of jokes and denigration. The less stigmatism and taboo there is about the medical condition, the more evolved we become as compassionate and aware humans, imo.

The “schizo” label was levied against me by the same person who commended me for my “phenomenal brainpower” — which actually only proves that the person who used it is inconsistent, immature and contradictory in his thinking and being. Also, I’m fairly certain that if I was “schizo”, the various corporate and child psychologists who put me through IQ and other psychometric tests over the decades would have spotted the signs already and referred me to a psychiatrist who would have prescribed me medication and sectioned me so that other people aren’t put at risk by my supposed madness or hysteria.

For the record, I’ve never ever been to see a psychiatrist or diagnosed as schizophrenic / bipolar or been sectioned and hospitalized under the Mental Health Act which (again) shows that the person who tried to label me as “schizo” is frankly……….spouting nonsense (yet again).

In any case, schizophrenia’s connection with manic depression is interesting because finding out more about how the brain works is a pet passion of mine. There’s a Western adage that “There’s a fine line between madness and genius” and manic depression seems to be a bridge somewhere in this.

What medical researchers are undertaking is no joke, serious business and will help drugs companies develop more fine-tuned medication to help schizophrenics and manic depressives manage their conditions, which is a good thing. We may reach a situation where they can harness the better aspects of their condition (extreme consciousness instead of paranoia, and creativity instead of destructiveness) to contribute positive things to society.

(2.) Vegetarians less likely to develop cancer

According to Cancer Research UK, in a study of more than 61,000 people (meat eaters and vegetarians) for over 12 years, vegetarians have a 12 percent less chance of developing cancers of the stomach, bladder and blood. In the sample group, 3,350 participants were diagnosed with cancer.

* http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/archive/pressreleases/2009/july/Vegetarians-less-likely-cancer

* http://www.ecancermedicalscience.com/news-insider-news.asp?itemId=616

* http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155965.php

As readers know, I’ve turned vegetarian for this month and this decision was made before I read about the cancer link research. It was simply because at various moments over the last year I’d found myself eating a piece of meat and thinking, “Ugh!” which was a very surprising emotion for me to feel.

Added to this is the knowledge that my brother’s godfather is 94, healthy and he’s been vegetarian for several decades, so it can be a diet that’s sustainable over a long period of time.

I made my first mixed bean curry today with Thai spices and lemongrass and it was yummy.

(3.) Radioactive patch effectively treats skin cancer

In a pilot study by Dr. Priyanka Gupta at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi a phosphorus-32 skin patch may be an effective alternative to treat basal cell carcinoma instead of surgery. The findings were presented at the 56^th Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine.

· http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/704702

· http://www.snm.org/

Skin cancer’s been on my mind recently because in London temperatures have soared to 30+ degrees Celsius (90+ Fahrenheit) this week. Whilst out and about I’ve seen badly sun-burnt people whose skin is either literally peeling off their shoulders or lobster-red and sore. This is astonishing since various TV programs do remind us to be careful in the sun and to apply protective lotions, but the advice seems to be being ignored by some people. If readers click on the image below, you’ll be directed to the Environmental Working Group’s 2009 guide to sunscreens (the image is from Essential Magazine and not a picture of my skin):

Personally, I’m really careful; I wear a Factor 50+ sunscreen, apply it generously and thoroughly, re-apply it every 3 hours AND I wear a hat to shade my head. Even though the Oriental’s olive skin is more resilient to the sun than fair-skinned Caucasian’s, it’s not worth taking risks where developing skin cancer is concerned.

Interestingly, it’s been commented that I have fairly good skin. One of the main reasons is probably that my precautions means there’s less sun damage to it. In the parks I’ve seen people apply vegetable oil and even margarine (to cultivate a tan) and this actually results in the sun burning the skin! Not advisable.

Vanity also plays into why some people are reluctant to apply sunscreen. It creates white streaks or patches where the lotion isn’t well- absorbed into the top layers of your skin. Plus some lotions can feel very gloopy, sticky and greasy.

I don’t mind white streaks / patches / greasy textures. It’s all still preferable than developing skin cancer!