In the Headlights

Visible Man/Woman

Shawn sent me this link, commenting on the facta that it reminded her of our visit to the Body Works exhibit in Manhattan a year ago.

This is pretty cool stuff.  A web site called Visible Body allows you to look at different anatomical systems, individually, or layered, to learn about different parts or whole systems.  It looks pretty cool.  The link above includes a YouTube video about the site.

Here's the site itself.  It's free as long as you sign one of those long disclaimers.  I started the application, and then balked at:

2. When you become a Registered User, we collect certain information about you, including personally identifiable information, as well as information about your use of the Web site. The information will be treated in accordance with our Privacy Policy. By clicking on the "I agree" button or visiting this Web site, you agree to the terms and conditions of our Privacy Policy.

and other similar legalese, which had me envisioning my privacy being invaded.

Anyway, if you're more daring than I, check it out and let us know how you like it.  It looks to be a pretty neat site.  And I sign up for things all the time.  Don't know why once in a while I get wary.

[Image from Visible Body.]

Rigid?

Sandy sent us this link to a very interesting article from the Chicago Tribune.  The title is "Political Attitudes May Be All in the Head--Being conservative, liberal or in-between is wired in the brain, new study suggests," by Judy Peres.

The study came about to test previous research showing that political orientation was related to certain personality traits, and that "conservatives tend to be more rigid and closed-minded, less tolerant of ambiguity, and less open to new experiences."  Ya think?

This study asked 43 individuals to rate themselves on a liberal to conservative scale, the measured EEG in the anterior cingulate cortex of the brain as they performed a simple task. They were to push a button each time "M" flashed on a screen, but withhold when "W" came up.  Since "M" flashed by far the most often, the testees became used to pushing the button. Because liberals scored more accurately, it was concluded that they were more flexible.  More interesting, the liberals showed more EEG activity in that area when the "W" came up (I wonder if they should have used another letter..."W" may have other connotations) indicating more neurons firing.

The article hints that there may be a physiological basis for whether one is liberal or conservative.

Another point made is that perhaps people at ideological extremes, be they conservative or liberal, would display a certain rigidity of thinking (do we really need a study to show that?), where moderates, no matter how they affiliate would be more flexible.

It's interesting.  43 people do not make for convincing conclusions, but the trend is intriguing.  I'd like to see a much bigger study done, with an extensive questionnaire, which determines classifications, rather than self-selection.  I'd be interested in seeing how many people actually wind up as extremes or moderates of the liberal/conservative dichotomy if they had to meet certain criteria, rather than self-identifying. 

That would make for an interesting study.

[EEG from AnaesthesiaUK]

Who's In Charge?

I guess it's medical checkup time in the executive branch these days.  I guess they're trying to get it all in while their insurance is still good.  Although Dick Cheney, as we know, is actually part of the legislative branch.

So today, Dick is getting the battery on his pacemaker changed.

I wonder who will run the country while he is under anesthesia.

Scarier than the Status Quo?

When I first read that President Bush was to have a colonoscopy today, and that while he was anesthetized, Dick Cheney would be acting President, I had conflicting thoughts.

The first:  "Oh no."

The second:  "Oh, what the heck."

That's because my initial response was to the thought of Dick Cheney being in charge.  The second because I guess he already is. (Or maybe he and Rove share the ventriloquist duties.)

They say it's only for about 2 1/2 hours, but if you, dear normal individual, were to have a colonoscopy, first of all it wouldn't be on a Saturday, because these are elective procedures done M-F.  I wonder if they figured Saturday would be best because nothing ever happens on Saturday.  Or maybe there are no meetings today. 

Also, if you had the standard anesthetic for this procedure, you would be told afterward to go home in the care of a competent adult (somewhat subjective criterion, but WTH), and not to drive or make important decisions until the following day.  So what's this 2 1/2 hours stuff.  Do they think his decisions will be the same, or at least as wise under the lasting effects of mind-altering substances like midazolam or fentanyl as they would be when he is his clear-headed, block-headed self?  Or maybe they just don't want Dick in charge any more than 2 1/2 hours.

Finally, before they do the scope, you have to drink a half-gallon of something euphemistically called "Golytely".  It tastes like salt water, and it...um...cleans you out. You're pretty much glued to the toilet for a number of hours beforehand. 

"Mr. President, terrorists who knew you were having a colonoscopy tomorrow have unleashed missiles aimed at New York City.  You must come quickly!"  "Uh...sorry...can't...wouldn't be prudent."

[Image from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center]

Social Anxiety

The other day, during a dance lesson, my instructor, Tom, asked me if I'd ever heard of "fear of blushing".  I never had, but we talked a bit about social phobias in general.

Mine is public speaking.  I hate it, it makes me sweat (and I hate that too) and stammer, and even panic.  I have to do it now and then, but I move heaven and earth in trying to avoid it.  Panic attacks are a bit different:  I've had a couple related to my fear of heights (acrophobia).

Fear of blushing is called erythrophobia, and has been classified as a psychosomatic disorder.  Not only does the victim blush at the slightest provocation, but they decrease human contact in avoidance of the embarrassment of what they perceive as inappropriate blushing, avoid situations that might induce blushing, and have feelings of guilt and shame associated with the blushing.

Social anxieties or social phobias run the gamut from mild to incapacitating, reflecting fear, apprehension or anxiety about social situations and being judged or eveluated by others.  The experience has physiological components (blushing, sweating, trembling, stammering), cognitive components (belief that one is being judged), and behavioral components (avoiding triggering situations).

Most people some social anxieties.  Those in whom they are debilitating can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy or a class of drugs called antidepressants (particularly, selective seretonin reuptake inhibitors like Zoloft or Prozac).

[Illustration from the Media Technology Research Centre]

Diane Rehm

During my dance lesson a couple of weeks ago and Tom mentioned that he had recently heard Diane Rehm on the subject of her vocal cord dysfunction, and that it was a type of dysphonia.  Ms. Rehm has one of the most compelling interview shows on radio or TV.  After many years on radio, she developed a mysterious speech problem.  Because of this, she speaks very slowly and distinctly.  Her interview style is incisive.  She talks with her guest, and also takes questions from callers and deftly guides the conversation.   In 2000, she became the first radio interviewer to interview a sitting President in the Oval Office when she talked with Bill Clinton.

In 1998, she was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological condition.  Where others might have left radio, she talked about her problem;  when she needs to take a hiatus for treatment, the audience knows why there is a guest host.

Dilbert creator Scott Adams also suffers from this condition.

She wrote a book about her battle with spasmodic dysphonia called Finding My Voice, and another with her husband, attorney John Rehm, about marriage:  Toward Commitment, in which the candidly dissect their marriage.

In 1998, she was named Washingtonian Magazine's Washingtonian of the Year.  In 2006, the same magazine called her one of Washington's "100 Most Powerful Women."

She's a fascinating, powerful woman, but I'm writing about her because if I'm listening to her while I drive,  I often find myself sitting in my driveway transfixed, unwilling to turn off my car and go into my house.  And when there's a brief break, I turn off the ignition and bolt into the house to turn on the DR Show.

[Source:  WAMU 88.5 AM American University Radio]

[Image from USA Today]

Living Will is the Best Revenge

A few days ago, I did a tongue-in-cheek post about Maxine's Living Will.

But for all of that, I firmly believe everyone should have one, and each should make his or her views as clear as possible. 

G.W. sent us this link to a Values History Form.  This form includes a lot of questions about values and desires, gradually working up to preferences about death and dying.  I think it is a useful adjunct to the Living Will, and may make it easier for families to accept a dying family member's  desires.  It includes sections on relationships, living environment and religious background and beliefs.  The actual form begins about halfway down the linked page.

Having a living will (advance health care directive) is critical.  We all watched the plight of Terri Schiavo with horror as family, religious groups and politicians all used her for their own ends.  I hope this led each of you to make a living will, and to give a copy to your doctor, lawyer, family members and hospital.

If not, you can make one and print it at this site, which has state-specific living will forms. Or you can use the U.S. Living Will Registry, through which you can make your living will and have it available to select individuals when it is needed.  Just make sure those individuals know you have done this, or they won't know where to look.

Just do it.  You'll feel better after it's done.

[Image from Wikipedia]

Achilles Heel

This is pretty interesting.  it came from Consumer Reports Magazine, July 2006:

People with pain in the Achilles tendon, which connects the muscles of the calf to the heel, should consider getting their cholesterol checked.  In research involving 200 people, those with a common form of hereditary high cholesterol were nearly seven times more likely than those without to report tendon pain lasting three days or more, researchers report in the March 2006 issue of Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.  cholesterol builds up in the tendons, as well as the arteries, causing pain and swelling."

Sounds like it's not a rheumatic problem, then.  We recently reported the story about how different ways men and women store fat manifests itself in how heart disease appears differently in women than in men, and why some traditional tests don't reveal the disease in women.  Now, fat deposits in the tendons can be a tip-off for cholesterol problems.

So far, I've missed that one.  Knock wood.

*****************

As you all know, Achilles was dipped in the river Styx by his mother, Thetis, until he was invulnerable.  But she held him by the heel as she dipped, leaving that tiny area unprotected, hence the Achilles heel, which may literally or metaphorically indicate a weakness that can bring down an apparently inpregnable person or thing.  Achilles was slain by a wound in his heel inflicted by the heel, Paris.

Or, as one of the students quoted in The Boners Omnibus:  "He was dipped in the river Stinx by his mother until he was intolerable."

[Illustration from mlahanas, along with more of the story.]

It's Enough to Give You a Headache

All those ads for Head On headache remedy have gotten a lot of news coverage and a fair amount of ridicule in the press.  It is pretty strange to posit that rubbing something that looks like roll-on deodorant on your forehead would cure a headache.

An innovation that might help alleviate migraines, the migraine "zapper" is now being trotted out. People who are getting a migraine headache frequently know it's coming because of an aura--a warning that appears as visual disturbances, like flashing lights, shooting stars or zigzagging lines.  According to The Week magazine, "researchers at Ohio State University have developed a device that delivers an electric current through a metal coil, creating a magnetic field for about 1 millisecond."  In a study of 23 patients, most subjects said the device either eliminated or dulled their headaches when it was used during the aura phase.  "Experts long believed that migraines were caused by the constriction of blood vessels in the brain, but the promising results from the "zapper" experiment add to a growing body of evidence that neural pathways are also involved."

23 patients obviously is too few to hang any conclusions on, but it would be wonderful if a non-medication treatment for migraines could be found.

[Illustration from Living with Migraine]

Tall Tales

I enjoy browsing the Urban Legends website. They always have some interesting stuff, and debunk some of the rumors that have flown around, particularly through the email circuit.

I'm pretty tall, so I enjoyed reading about some record holders in the height department.  I'm
5' 10 1/2".  My little sister is 6' 3".

This image is one of many of a woman named Heather, who has been featured in emails claiming she is the world's tallest woman.  Not even close.  She is 6' 5 1/2", and wears heels to make herself over 7' tall.  Even in heels, she is not the tallest living woman.  That distinction goes to 7' 7 1/4" Sandy Allen who is over a foot taller than Heather.

P.T. Barnum had a woman named Anna Swan in his sideshow.  She was 7' 11" by age 15, and weighed 18 lb. at birth. As an adult, she weighed over 400 pounds. She married a man who was 7'9".  They had two children who died shortly after birth. She died of heart failure at the age of 42. 

Being tall is fine, but in extremes, it can be a problem.  Many giants suffer from acromegaly (Remember I said I suffer from acrophobia, fear of heights?  Acro- is a Greek prefix meaning "high".  Acromegalics are high and large.), a condition arising when the pituitary gland makes too much growth hormone.

Untreated acromegalics are likely to suffer from many medical problems, like diabetes, arthritis, hypertension and heart failure.

[Story and links from Urban Legends]