Archive for March, 2009
March 10th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
As little as four to five drinks in a 2-hr period can actually damage the brain and lead to numerous serious health conditions.
Defined as five or more drinks during a 2-hr period for men or four or more drinks in the same amount of time for women, binge drinking is a common form of entertainment for adults, but also is highly prevalent in our youth. In fact, one in three high school seniors are binge drinking at least once per month.
In addition to brain damage, binge drinkers often suffer a number of very serious and significant consequences:
- Accidents and injuries (e.g., car crashes, falls, burns, drowning) Binge drinkers are 14 times more likely to report alcohol-impaired driving than non-binge drinkers.
- Intentional injuries (e.g., firearm injuries, sexual assault, domestic violence)
- Alcohol poisoning
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Unintended pregnancy
- Children born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- High blood pressure, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases
- Liver disease
- Neurological damage
- Sexual dysfunction
- Poor control of diabetes
In a study from Duke, young binge drinkers were found to have significantly smaller prefrontal cortexes on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The prefrontal cortex is an area of the brain associated with complex thinking, planning, inhibition, and emotional regulation. In this study, the size of the prefrontal cortex strongly correlated with the average number of drinks each individual consumed per drinking episode.
Source: National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institute of HealthMedPageToday, Sept 2005
Source: Dr. De Bellis et al, Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, Sept 2005 Reported in
March 10th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
The mother of the man charged in the recent shooting death of a church pastor blames Lyme disease for his mental derangement. Leading Infectious Diseases specialists, however, say there’s no convincing evidence linking the tickborne ailment to such violent behavior.
Although not documented in academic literature, local general practitioners, in areas where Lyme Disease is common, have indeed found many instances of psychiatric problems such as violent aggression, anxiety and panic, associated with Lyme Disease. (AP, March 9, 2009)
Lyme Disease has also been implicated in a highly publicized chimp attack that severely injured a Connecticut woman last month. The chimp was thought to have Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is an infection that’s spread by ticks which are found in high grassy areas and in woods. A full-grown tick is no larger than a small seed, yet it can transmit deadly diseases to humans and animals. Ticks do not jump or fly–they wait on vegetation for an animal or human to brush against them. It then attaches to its host and inserts its mouth parts, without burrowing beneath the skin. Following a blood meal, the tick swells to twice its normal size, and then eventually drops to the ground.
The tick that carries the disease is most prevalent in the northern United States, and also frequently found in Canada, Europe, and Asia. Ticks that transmit Lyme Disease are most active during the months of May, June and July.
Typical early symptoms of Lyme Disease include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash. The photograph illustrates the characteristic rash in the pattern of a “bull’s-eye”, which manifests at the site of a tick bite. This person had previously contracted Lyme disease. The photo is courtesy of the CDC, James Gathany.
If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.
Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics, but the diagnosis can easily be missed for a number of reasons. Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings on exam, and the history of possible exposure to infected ticks, but the vague symptoms can mimic many other diseases, the characteristic “Bulls Eye” only develops 70 to 80% of the time, and it’s easy to be unaware of a tick bite. In fact, many people who get Lyme disease don’t remember being bitten. The final problem is that laboratory testing is only helpful in the later stages of disease.
Read about Prevention of Lyme Disease from Bay Area Medical Information
Photo of rash courtesy of James Gathany, Center for Disease Control
March 8th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Cell phones used by hospital staff have been found to be contaminated with significant bacteria in a a recent study from Ondokuz Mayis University in Turkey. Researchers tested the phones and dominant hands of 200 doctors and nurses working in hospital operating rooms and intensive care units.
Ninety-five percent of the mobile phones were contaminated with at least one type of bacteria, nearly 35 percent carried two types of bacteria, and more than 11 percent carried three or more different species of bugs, the study found. Most concerning, one in eight of the handsets showed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
MRSA is the cause of more than 60 percent of all hospital infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MRSA in 2005 infected 94,000 people and killed 19,000 in the United States.
Some bacteria are generally harmless to healthy people but can become lethal to hospital patients in weakened conditions. The researchers have recommended common sense measures to help reduce the risk of contamination, especially frequent cleaning of phones with alcohol-based disinfectants or the use of anti-microbial materials.
Many U.S. hospitals are moving toward using flat screen technology that is more cleanable than the traditional buttons. Remote controls on the beds, for example, are also a significant source of contamination if not cleaned; touch-button remotes are being replaced with flat-screen controls.
On a personal level, we need to be aware of the bacteria that most certainly is accumulating on our cell phones. When was the last time you wiped down your cell phone with alcohol?
Source: BioMed Central’s Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials.
In the United States, where national statistics are available,
March 4th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Each year unintentional CO poisoning, not linked to fires, kills about 450 Americans and poisons at least 20,000, according to the CDC. A recent warning from the CDC says to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning in your home, have your fuel-burning appliances serviced annually and install a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector. Check or change its batteries each time you change your clocks. To learn about common exposure locations in your home,
download a video from the CDC.
March 4th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
The health benefits of alcohol are frequently touted on the daily news, but the many hazards are often omitted. Americans truly enjoy their alcohol, but the facts remain that excessive alcohol use is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States and is a risk factor for numerous serious health and societal problems.
What is excessive alcohol use? It can take the form of heavy drinking, binge drinking, or both. Heavy drinking is defined for women, as more than one drink per day on average, and for men, two drinks per day on average. Binge drinking may occur only once per week or once per month but is defined as 5 or more drinks during a single occasion (in about 2 hours) for men or 4 or more drinks during a single occasion for women. Approximately 5% of the total population drinks heavily and 15% of the population engages in binge drinking, according to the CDC.
Binge drinking alone is associated with a number of very serious and significant consequences. Not to mention the many accidents, injuries, sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies, and children born with fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol intoxication from binge drinking is often responsible for significant brain damage, liver disease, high blood pressure, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, sexual dysfunction, and deadly alcohol poisoning.
Have you ever heard on the news that alcohol can cause cancer or brain damage? Well it can, yet this seems to be a well-kept secret. Heavy alcohol consumption, and in some cases moderate alcohol consumption, has a huge downside such as increasing the risk of cancer of the breast, mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, and liver; not to mention other toxic and harmful effects on the brain and liver.
Despite all the well-documented research that shows the hazards of drinking alcohol, most people when asked will say, drinking a glass or two of wine or an alcoholic drink is “good for you”. Sure, an occasional glass of wine probably won’t hurt most people, but any more than a glass per day for a woman is considered heavy drinking, and there are bad consequences of heavy drinking.
The daily news is not completely wrong, there does appear to be some health benefits of alcohol, but many leading authorities contend that the hazards outweigh the benefits.
Source: National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institute of Health
March 3rd, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Men who averaged three drinks a day over a lifetime had more than twice the risk of hypertension as those who drank little or no alcohol, according to a 2008 study from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.
Often referred to as the “Silent Killer”, high blood pressure can insidiously damage any organ in your body for years before symptoms develop. Over time, high blood pressure eventually leads to life-threatening or disabling conditions such as stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, cognitive decline, aneurysm development, erectile dysfunction, nerve damage and vision problems.
One in three adult Americans has high blood pressure, and nearly one-third of them don’t know they have it. The only way to know if you have hypertension is to have your blood pressure checked. People whose blood pressure is above 120/80 should consult their doctor about methods for lowering it.
Read more:
L Chen, G Smith, R Harbord, S Lewis, “Alcohol Intake and Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review Implementing a Mendelian Randomization Approach” PLOS Medicine, Mar 2008
March 3rd, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Alcohol dependence or abuse was associated with nearly double the risk of major depression in a recent study of 18 to 25 year olds.
There appears to be little doubt that heavy drinking adversely affects the brain. Numerous studies have not only linked alcohol problems with depression, but several other recent trials have found that heavy drinking in teens and young adults can cause brain shrinkage and changes on MRI consistent with early signs of alcohol-related dementia. Young problem drinkers have been found to have significantly smaller prefrontal cortexes, an area of the brain associated with complex thinking, planning, inhibition, and emotional regulation. Also, the size of the prefrontal cortex strongly correlated with the average number of drinks an individual consumed per drinking episode.
People of all ages, especially children, need to learn and use healthy coping mechanisms, such as exercise and good eating habits, to control stress. Heavy drinking to wind down or have a good time often leads to a viscious downhill spiral of self-destruction.
Source: Fergusson D, et al “Tests of causal links between alcohol abuse or dependence and major depression” Arch Gen Psychiatry 2009; 66: 260-266.
