VALO'S ARCHIVE

Abstract In a multicentre study the effect of ranitidine on healing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) associated peptic ulcers was compared in a group of patients who had stopped NSAID treatment with another group who continued with NSAID treatment. A total of 190 patients with confirmed ulcers were randomised to continue or stop NSAID treatment. All patients in addition received ranitidine 150 mg twice daily. Patients were endoscopically monitored at four, eight, and 12 weeks. Gastric ulcers at eight weeks had healed in 63% of those taking NSAIDs compared with 95% of those who had stopped NSAID treatment. For duodenal ulcer the healing rates at eight weeks were 84% in the group continuing NSAIDs compared with 100% in those who stopped NSAIDs. The differences in healing rates were statistically significant for both gastric ulcer (p = 0.001) and for duodenal ulcer (p = 0.006). At 12 weeks, 79% of gastric ulcers and 92% of duodenal ulcers were healed in the group continu...

The brain chemical affects your chances of making a snap decision or movement Altering the dopamine level in the brain could change what choices we make Scientists studied mice to understand how dopamine affects decision making The discovery could be used to develop better treatments for people with OCD Imagine approaching a food buffet, you have your eye on a pizza but at the last second you spot the steak and quickly shift one onto your plate. Your ability to make a split-second decision could be powered by dopamine, researchers have discovered. Scientists studying the behaviour of mice found that the brain chemical significantly affects your chances of making a snap movement or decision. Scientists studying mice found that dopamine significantly affects your chances of making a snap decision. This image shows cells in a mouse brain. Blue indicates the nucleus of individual cells, green indicates dopamine neurons Their discovery could help people who have problems contro...

Chad Hayes, MD You may have read my recent post about ear infections and how they are over-diagnosed and over-treated. Guess what—ear infections are not alone. Strep throat is another common pediatric infection that is over-diagnosed and over-treated. In adult patients, it’s easy to make a case for not treating it at all. And although kids aren’t just little adults, and the evidence is a little less clear-cut, pediatricians may need to back off, too. I know you already don’t believe me (nor do some of my patients…or my mother), but let me make my case: Group A Streptococcal pharyngitis (which will henceforth be referred to as “strep throat”) is a sore throat caused by a type of bacteria called Streptococcus pyogenes. The same organism causes other infections as well, but I’ll focus on the throat. Common symptoms seen with strep throat include sore throat, fever, headache, and nausea. This disease is more common in school-age children and teenagers than it is in adults, but rarely se...

This is not true. ("anymore") They actually have found that C6G is the primary active compound and not CYP2D6, which only contributes to 5% of the metabolite process. Consequently, being a poor metabolizer of CYP2D6 will have a negligible effect. This also means that there is no ceiling effect to codeine like we previously thought! They also found that inhibiting CYP2D6 does nothing to stop addiction or abuse, as the person still gets high even with complete CYP2D6 inhibition due to it being negligible in the metabolization. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codeine Codeine is metabolized to codeine-6-glucuronide (C6G) by uridine diphosphate glucuronosyl transferase UGT2B7, and, since only about 5% of codeine is metabolized by cytochrome P450 CYP2D6, the current evidence is that C6G is the primary active compound.[20] Claims about the supposed "ceiling effect" of codeine doses are based on the assumption that high doses of codeine saturate CYP2D6, preventing furt...

To be fair, Indica and Sativa can only really be used to describe the appearance of a plant. It says nothing about the possible effects, for multiple reasons. CCR : Some users describe the psychoactive effects of Cannabis indica and sativa as being distinctive, even opposite. But are they really? Beyond self-reports from users, is there any hard evidence for pharmacologically different species of Cannabis? Dr. Russo : There are biochemically distinct strains of Cannabis, but the sativa/indica distinction as commonly applied in the lay literature is total nonsense and an exercise in futility. One cannot in any way currently guess the biochemical content of a given Cannabis plant based on its height, branching, or leaf morphology . The degree of interbreeding/hybridization is such that only a biochemical assay tells a potential consumer or scientist what is really in the plant. It is essential that future commerce allows complete and accurate cannabinoid and terpenoid profiles ...

Sexually explicit media use in adults linked to greater depressive symptoms, poorer quality of life, more mental- and physical-health diminished days, and lower health status. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20946159 Study shows adolescents exposed to SEWs (sexually explicit websites) were more likely to have multiple lifetime sexual partners , to have had more than one sexual partner in the last 3 months, to have used alcohol or other substances at last sexual encounter ), and to have engaged in anal sex. Adolescents who visit SEWs display higher sexual permissiveness scores compared with those who have never been exposed , indicating a more permissive attitude. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19628142 Porn use associated with higher number of one night stands and other sexual high risk behavior http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25239659 Juvenile sex offenders who watch porn more likely to display aggressive behaviors http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21665787 St...

Abstract Heavy cannabis use has been frequently associated with increased rates of mental illness and cognitive impairment, particularly amongst adolescent users. However, the neurobiological processes that underlie these associations are still not well understood. In this review, we discuss the findings of studies examining the acute and chronic effects of cannabis use on the brain, with a particular focus on the impact of commencing use during adolescence. Accumulating evidence from both animal and human studies suggests that regular heavy use during this period is associated with more severe and persistent negative outcomes than use during adulthood, suggesting that the adolescent brain may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of cannabis exposure. As the endocannabinoid system plays an important role in brain development, it is plausible that prolonged use during adolescence results in a disruption in the normative neuromaturational processes that occur during this period....