neuroscience is behind me, and the purple mountain majesty is before me. i'll be taking a week off, so for those of you who check the blog first thing in the morning, you'll have to find something else to get yourself out of bed.
peace!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
cataplexy
cataplexy (a form of narcolepsy) is a rediculus disorder i thought i would share with you. symptoms: you fall asleep when you get really excited. got nothing to do for the next few minutes? check these out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN1_yS6_5T4&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyzeCiW-nn0&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOkckq9pfoE&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN1_yS6_5T4&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyzeCiW-nn0&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOkckq9pfoE&NR=1
so, as most of you guessed, the safest place to have a heart attack is not in a hospital. in fact, its one of the most dangerous. why? so many people are trained in CPR and there are AED's hung in every public place (try to find it next time you go the the grocery store, i'll bet they have one). it actually matters more on how many people are around to see you go down that relates to how likely you are to survive.
the rank:
best place to have a heart attack - casino, then airport (60% survival) then mall, then hospital (only 20% chance of survival).
its because your usually all alone in your room and the nurse is attending to many patients and only checks in once in a while.
I have some pretty smart readers.
the rank:
best place to have a heart attack - casino, then airport (60% survival) then mall, then hospital (only 20% chance of survival).
its because your usually all alone in your room and the nurse is attending to many patients and only checks in once in a while.
I have some pretty smart readers.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
MI Survival Quiz
Today I am giving you a quiz. I only see it as fair. I have to take them, and would like you to experience the joy... Good luck.
(Quiz is on the right)
(Quiz is on the right)
Monday, September 22, 2008
hierarchy
there is a hierarchy in medicine. at the top of this pyramid are the neurosurgeons who think they are God. its because, as far as our medical abilities are concerned, they pretty much are. they push the limits of medicine and save lives that no one else can.
the other day we had a lecture from a neurosurgeon. he said something that will stick with me for the rest of my medical career.
"The biggest mistake in medicine is not listening to the mom."
-Dr. Letarte M.D. Neurosurgeon
the other day we had a lecture from a neurosurgeon. he said something that will stick with me for the rest of my medical career.
"The biggest mistake in medicine is not listening to the mom."
-Dr. Letarte M.D. Neurosurgeon
Saturday, September 20, 2008
drug origins
i'm constantly amazed where drugs come from. some are from plants, some are from animals, some are made in a labratory, some are found in nature and then modified in labratories.
this one has a pretty cool history
Ergotamine: this is a medicine used to abort migraines once they have started. it is a partial agonist at 5-HT (serotonin) receptors, causing vasoconstriciton and suppression of meningeal nociceptive pathways.
History: derived from a fungus called claviceps purpurea, which infects grain. People would eat this invected grain and have prolonged vasospasms, gangrene, paresthesias, and spontaneous aborthions. It was known as St. Anthony's fire, because for relief of the disease, people would pilgramage to St. Anthony's shrine. In reality, they would be healed from this because they were eating a fungus-free diet on their pilgramige.
Other drug derivations.
Opioids: Poppy seeds. This group includes morphine, codine, and heroin.
Atropine: an antimuscarinic drug used to decrease the parasympathetic nervous system. it is derived from the plant Atropa belladonna. This plant got its name because ectracts from the plant were used by Italian women to dilate their pupils, a very attractive trait (apparently). I know thats the first thing i look at when i see a beautiful woman... her pupil size. mmm... i love me some big pupils... big, bilateral, dilated pupils... ok, i better stop. im going to get in trouble for this one.
this one has a pretty cool history
Ergotamine: this is a medicine used to abort migraines once they have started. it is a partial agonist at 5-HT (serotonin) receptors, causing vasoconstriciton and suppression of meningeal nociceptive pathways.
History: derived from a fungus called claviceps purpurea, which infects grain. People would eat this invected grain and have prolonged vasospasms, gangrene, paresthesias, and spontaneous aborthions. It was known as St. Anthony's fire, because for relief of the disease, people would pilgramage to St. Anthony's shrine. In reality, they would be healed from this because they were eating a fungus-free diet on their pilgramige.
Other drug derivations.
Opioids: Poppy seeds. This group includes morphine, codine, and heroin.
Atropine: an antimuscarinic drug used to decrease the parasympathetic nervous system. it is derived from the plant Atropa belladonna. This plant got its name because ectracts from the plant were used by Italian women to dilate their pupils, a very attractive trait (apparently). I know thats the first thing i look at when i see a beautiful woman... her pupil size. mmm... i love me some big pupils... big, bilateral, dilated pupils... ok, i better stop. im going to get in trouble for this one.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
MSG
MSG? yeah, that flavor enhancer in your panda express known as monosodium glutamate. it actually kills cells in the arcuate nucleus in your hypothalamus. so what? well, turns out the hypothalamus does a lot. that nucleus specifically controls feeding behavior. so, when you kill those cells, you eat a lot, which leads to obesity. hum... so that is why i want to eat so much orange chicken and fried rice.
other neclei in the hypothalamus.
preoptic n. controls temperature.
posterior hypothalamus n. controls shivering and autonomics
suprachiasmatic n. controls your circadian rhythm (entrained by light, taking the retinothalamic pathway
dorsal medial n. also contributes to circadian rhythm but is entrained by feeding schedule
lateral hypothalamus releases orexin which makes you eat. it receives signals from the arcuate n. in form of neuropeptide Y and AGRP which are orexic (they make you want to eat) as opposed to anorexic ( you know what this means).
other neclei in the hypothalamus.
preoptic n. controls temperature.
posterior hypothalamus n. controls shivering and autonomics
suprachiasmatic n. controls your circadian rhythm (entrained by light, taking the retinothalamic pathway
dorsal medial n. also contributes to circadian rhythm but is entrained by feeding schedule
lateral hypothalamus releases orexin which makes you eat. it receives signals from the arcuate n. in form of neuropeptide Y and AGRP which are orexic (they make you want to eat) as opposed to anorexic ( you know what this means).
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