For The Union-Tribune
Sleep and the aging brain
A study that used existing brain scans and questionnaires of more than 23,000 middle-aged and older adults identified three sleep behaviors that researchers said are distinctly associated with a marker (white matter lesions) for brain aging in healthy people:
• Sleeping less than the recommended 7 to 9 hours per night
• Frequent daytime napping
• Sleeplessness
The findings on daytime napping were particularly vexing since research shows that short naps may be helpful for alertness and cognition. Researchers plan to test whether shorter, occasional naps have different effects on the brain over time compared with longer, more frequent ones.
Also noted, snoring and unintentional daytime dozing appeared to have no effect on brain aging.
Body of knowledge
The average person’s skin weighs more than twice that of his or her brain: 8 to 10 pounds compared with just over 3, respectively.
People parts (Or the parts of you named after other people)
The “Space of Retzius” (also known as the Cave of Retzius, or more formally, the retropubic space, is part of the inner abdomen and pelvis that does not lie within the peritoneum, a membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity in which the stomach, liver, gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, intestines, kidneys and adrenal glands reside.
The retropubic space is located behind the bony pelvis and in front of the urinary bladder. It’s often affected by pressure changes in the abdominal cavity, particularly in pregnant or obese persons, which in turn affect urination and continence. Surgeons use the space as a landmark for several kinds of gynecological and urological procedures.
It’s named after Anders Adolph Retzius (1796-1860), a Swedish professor of anatomy and administrator at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, which hands out the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Retzius made many anatomical discoveries in a distinguished career. He was also an anthropologist who studied skull types from different races, ultimately creating a cephalic index that was once used to categorize human populations. Retzius and others mistakenly believed that because human skulls were so diverse in shape and size that the different races had separate origins.
Doc talk
Gastric lavage — irrigation of the stomach when poisoning or bleeding is suspected, or to remove ingested toxins before they enter the bloodstream
Phobia of the week
Apeirophobia — fear of infinity (and beyond?)
Life in Big Macs
One hour of playing the piano burns 170 calories (based on a 150-pound person) or the equivalent of 0.2 Big Macs, though perhaps playing fortissimo burns a few more.
Best medicine
First guy: I woke up this morning feeling so bad I wanted to kill myself.
Second guy: That’s terrible. What’d you do?
First guy: I planned to take 1,000 aspirin, but after the first two, I felt better.
Observation
“As soon as the hospital made me put on one of those little gowns, I knew the end was in sight.”
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— Comedian Adam Joshua Smargon
Medical history
This week in 1918, the X-ray expert Dr. Eugene W. Caldwell died of X-ray burns in New York. Caldwell was director of X-ray at New York City’s Bellevue Hospital, and his book “The Practical Application of Roentgen Rays in Therapeutics” was considered the authoritative textbook on the subject.
Ig Nobel apprised
The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate achievements that make people laugh, then think. A look at real science that’s hard to take seriously, and even harder to ignore.
In 2017, the Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine went to a team of French researchers who used advanced brain-scanning technology to measure the extent to which some people are disgusted by fromage. Sacre bleu (cheese)!
Medical myths
Here’s one myth: Natural supplements are always a safer choice.
Well, first off, nature isn’t always benign. Arsenic is a naturally occurring substance. More to the point, some supplements can interact with certain medications, reducing the latter’s effectiveness or resulting in adverse side effects. You should always consult your doctor or pharmacist about which supplements to use and when.
Plus, with supplements you can’t always be sure exactly what you’re taking. Regulations on supplement manufacturers are not as strict as those governing pharmaceuticals, so the amount of each ingredient can vary between products, and potential side effects may not be mentioned on the label. Again, talk with your doc.
Curtains call
Agathocles of Syracuse, the self-styled tyrant king of Sicily (361-289 BC) was assassinated by poisoned toothpick.
The nonlethal kind can also kill. On March 8, 1941, writer Sherwood Anderson died of peritonitis. An autopsy revealed he had swallowed a toothpick, which caused internal damage.
Published research suggests that roughly 8,000 people are injured each year by toothpicks they swallow or inadvertently puncture an eye or ear. Deaths by toothpick average three per year, slightly less than annual shark attack fatalities.
Last words
“Tell my family and friends I love them. Tell the governor he just lost my vote. Y’all hurry this along, I’m dying to get out of here.”
— Convicted killer Christopher Scott Emmett (1972-2008), just before his execution in Virginia by lethal injection (He had challenged the legality of lethal injections as cruel and unusual punishment.)
LaFee is vice president of communications for the Sanford Burnham Prebys research institute.
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