Archives for July 2017

Will Brain Injuries End the Game of Football?

The Consequences of Playing Football

I grew up in Nebraska where participation in sports was at the core of a young person’s social, educational, and physical development. It was how we learned important lessons about winning, losing, and being part of a team. Football was a big part of our culture, but it was even more. Our identity was intertwined with the successes, or struggles, of our team. I still enjoy watching football games just as millions of Americans do. But recent reports about its health effect on most of the players gives me pause.

Yes, Snorting Chocolate Is the New Rave!

Snorting Chocolate Is the New Rave by Lynn R. Webster @LynnRWebsterMD

Photo by Michał Grosicki on Unsplash

Marketing Chocolate as a Drug

“Holy mesolimbic dopamine system Batman!” commented a user called “Sceptical Cat” regarding a Washington Post story. “You can now snort chocolate — but should you?” Sceptical Cat points out that we tend to associate snorting with illicit substances such as cocaine that have rewarding, and potentially lethal, consequences.

The Washington Post describes “Coco Loko, a ‘snortable’ chocolate powder” as “being marketed as a drug-free way to get a buzz.” Its inventor, Nick Anderson, says the cacao-based powder’s effects are “almost like an energy-drink feeling, like you’re euphoric but also motivated to get things done” and last between 30 and 60 minutes.

There Are Real-Life Superheroes Among Us

Challenge to Stay Optimistic

It’s easy to become jaded. As a physician, I have spent decades dealing with sickness. I have cared for people with intractable pain and addiction. I have witnessed their pain, and I have seen them suffer stigma, judgment, and rejection because of their disease. I’ve watched policymakers motivated by political concerns make things even more difficult for patients and the doctors who treat them. I have wondered how I could help.

Sometimes, it’s a challenge to stay optimistic, because there is unkindness and a lack of empathy in this world. There is selfishness and greed. Wars don’t occur because of benevolence.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s Persistence: An Example for People in Pain

Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s Mission

Congresswoman Barbara Lee is the U.S. Representative for California’s 13th congressional district. She spent 10 years working to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). On June 29, 2017, “In a surprise move, the House Appropriations Committee approved bill language to end the 2001 authorization of the use of military force and any operations conducted under it,” according to Defense News.

It took her a decade, but Congresswoman Lee was able to accomplish what she set out to achieve. She is an example of what persistence and perseverance can produce.

Association Is Not Causation

The Court of Justice of the European Union’s Dubious Decision

CBS News reported on June 21, 2017, “The highest court of the European Union ruled Wednesday that courts can consider whether a vaccination led to someone developing an illness even when there is no scientific proof.”

According to CNN, this ruling means “if the development of a disease is timely to the person’s receiving a vaccine, if the person was previously healthy with a lack of history of the disease in their family and if a significant number of disease cases are reported among people receiving a certain vaccine, this may serve as enough proof.”