The beneficial effect of ketamine on chronic pain is mediated by reductions in depression, according to a new study. — One of my first clinical rotations as a medical student was the pediatric emergency room. On my second day there, a 6-year old was brought in with an ulnar fracture — he had fallen from a jungle gym. I stood aside, like a frightened medical student does, and watched as…

Study links trichloroethylene exposure at the Camp Lejeune Marine Base to Parkinson’s Disease decades later. — The thing to realize about this story is that even it were just a problem for the military, it would be a huge problem. But although this is a story about the military, in the end, it may affect a much larger segment of the population. It’s a story about…

Screening every 30-year-old for three genetic conditions may be cost-effective. — Milestone birthdays are always memorable. Those ages when your life seems to fundamentally change somehow. Age 16 — a license to drive. Age 18 — you can vote to determine your own future and serve in the military. At 21, three years after adulthood, you are finally allowed to drink…

New study shows the complex electrochemistry of the dying brain — All the participants in the study I am going to tell you about this week died. And three of them died twice. But their deaths provide us a fascinating window into the complex electrochemistry of the dying brain. What we might be looking at, indeed, is the physiologic correlate of…

Study shows pandemic pets did little to curb stress / loneliness. — I’ve done a lot of disclosures over my years doing Impact Factor week in and week out, mostly when studies come from Yale or one of my colleagues, but this week I have a much more important disclosure. I have a dog and a cat who… tolerate each other. Bodie…

“Spin” is higher on pre-print servers, at least among studies that never end up published. — Cards on the table. I’ve got mixed feelings about pre-print servers like medRxiv. On the surface, the ability to publish research findings prior to peer-review, especially when the results may have major impact for public health is laudable. But I always wonder if the quality of the research suffers for…

A new study finds that groundwater lithium levels may be linked to higher autism rates. Few diseases have stymied explanation like autism spectrum disorder. We know that the prevalence has been increasing dramatically, but we aren’t quite sure whether that is due to more screening and awareness or more fundamental changes. We know that much of the risk appears to be genetic, but there may…

900,000 more people died in 2021 than expected — “Excess Deaths”. You’ve heard the phrase countless times by now. It is one of the myriad of previously esoteric epidemiology terms that the pandemic brought squarely into the zeitgeist. As a sort of standard candle of the performance of a state, or a region, or a country in terms of…

Unlocking a mystery — I’m going to open this week with a case. In addition to the jaundice, this acute illness was accompanied by fever as well as diffuse edema, and the patient underwent several abdominal paracenteses to drain excess fluid. One consulting physician administered alcohol to relieve pain to little avail. The patient…