medicine

These aren’t the thyroids you’re looking for

Submitted by JMB on Thu 18/Feb/2010

Funny thing. One day you feel slightly more knackered than usual. You shake it off, but the next day you still feel knackered. Then over the next few weeks you start forgetting things; you can’t seem to maintain concentration; finally a few months later you’re standing in front of a projector talking to a group of prospective customers when your brain just fills with fog and you end up slumped in a chair with all the productivity of a necktie wrapped round a sack of spuds.

Now a quick scan down the long list of potential diseases this could indicate – courtesy of Google Health – suggests all sorts of fascinatingly named and really unpleasant diseases that this could be. Early-onset Alzheimers sounds like the nastiest. Fortunately, after a bit of prodding by the GP, it was established that I’ve got one of the less problematic ones.

It would appear that my immune system has staged a modest industrial action and knackered my Thyroid. The down side of an underactive thyroid – Hypothyroidism - is having to take a daily dose of levothyroxine for the rest of my life, and the occasional bouts of tiredness, muscle aches and sensitivity to the cold. But, there are some pretty good points as far as illnesses goes.

  1. Having filled in my Form FP92A, I no longer have to pay for prescriptions. So they are “free” in the modern sense of the word, in that I don’t pay for them directly.
  2. If I’m ever asked to do any work around the house, I can regretfully decline on the grounds that “my hypo is playing up”. So far, the wife has bought it.
  3. I’m now getting an in-depth, up-close and personal look at the mechanics of the Department of Work and Pensions. Which is something to blog about.

So, having purchased my Pill Box with Day of the week compartments about forty years ahead of schedule, I’m now suitably medicated and vaguely inclined to start blogging again.

I’m also skint, hence you will note the large quantity of Google Advertisements displaying all manner of items for your delectation and amusement, from which I have just earned about fifty pence (which is better than a poke in the eye). I heartily endorse these events or products.

The Monkey and the Cybernetic Prosthesis

Submitted by JMB on Wed 15/Jul/2009

I remember hearing about this development toward the end of 2008, but apparently Sky News has now been “given exclusive access to the laboratory at Pittsburgh University in the United States” and is reporting last year’s news today. Video is via CBS News.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Andrew Schwartz, professor of neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine is leading a team making some startling discoveries in the field of Brain-Computer Interfaces.

In June 2008, the Pitt Chronicle provided an update on his work:

A monkey has successfully fed itself with fluid, well-controlled movements of a human-like robotic arm by using only signals from its brain, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine report in the journal Nature. This significant advance could benefit the development of prosthetics for people with spinal-cord injuries and those with such “locked-in” conditions as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

This is pretty incredible. The ability to capture signals directly from the brain with sufficient fidelity to allow accurate motor control of a prosthesis will have life-changing effects for anyone with physiological conditions interfering with nerve cell communication and gross muscle control.

“Our immediate goal is to make a prosthetic device for people with total paralysis,” said Andrew Schwartz, senior author and professor of neurobiology in Pitt’s School of Medicine. “Ultimately, our goal is to better understand brain complexity.”

Previously, work has focused on using brain-machine interfaces to control cursor movements displayed on a computer screen. Monkeys in the Schwartz lab have been trained to command cursor movements with the power of their thoughts.

“Now we are beginning to understand how the brain works using brain-machine interface technology,” said Schwartz. “The more we understand about the brain, the better we’ll be able to treat a wide range of brain disorders, everything from Parkinson’s disease and paralysis to, eventually, Alzheimer’s disease, and perhaps even mental illness.”

Next stage: Combat Armoured Suits

Good news about Cancer

Submitted by JMB on Fri 10/Jul/2009

Via Cancer Research UK:

The death toll from three of the UK’s most common cancers has dropped to its lowest level for almost 40 years* – according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK today.

Mortality rates for breast, bowel, and male lung cancer are at their lowest since 1971 even though more than 100,000 [British people are now diagnosed with these kinds of cancers every year.

Cancer is not an easy diagnosis to receive, but fortunately it is a relatively uncommon diagnosis. This graph from Cancer Research UK demonstrates (the lines) that cancer has a very low incidence; even more so if you are under 65.

However, one point to be aware of is that although the three cancers listed above – Breast, Colorectal and Lung – are the most common types seen in woman, the most common type in men is Prostate cancer. In the most recent year for which full statistics are available 30,024 cases of Prostate cancer were registered; a quarter of which were deemed to be malignant. The next most common cancers amongst men are Lung (18,002 14.8% malignant) and Colorectal (16,475, 14.6% malignant).

But prostate cancer research receives only 25% of the funding spent on research into breast cancer in women. There is a diagnostic test available to screen for prostate cancer but currently only 8% of men request this potentially life-saving test.

To help raise much needed funds for research and prostate cancer treatment at the Bristol Urological Institute, the Rotary Club of Bristol organise an annual sponsored walk, jog or run for the whole family around Bristol Downs. The next Run for the Future will take place on Sunday 20th September 2009. To register, click here or if you would like more information, get in touch with the Rotary team by clicking here.

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