New Study Analyzes Cost Effectiveness of Smoked Cannabis to Treat Chronic Neuropathic Pain

Would this help CPSP(Central post-stroke pain)? Or will the word marijauna cause your doctor to reject even trying this?

New Study Analyzes Cost Effectiveness of Smoked Cannabis to Treat Chronic Neuropathic Pain

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC., PUBLISHERS

Contact: Kathryn Ryan
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
914-740-2100
kryan@liebertpub.com

New Rochelle, NY, January 29, 2019—Smoked cannabis as an adjunctive second-line therapy to treat chronic peripheral neuropathy can be both effective and cost-effective. The results of a new study simulating its use in one million patients are published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Click here to read the full-text article free on the Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research website.

In the article entitled “A Cost-Effectiveness Model for Adjunctive Smoked Cannabis in the Treatment of Chronic Neuropathic Pain,” David Grelotti, MD, University of California San Diego (La Jolla) and coauthors from UCSD, University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (San Diego), and Columbia University (New York, NY) created a computer simulation to compare the cost of usual first-, second-, and third-line care with those supplemented with smoked cannabis. They modeled efficacy and adverse events based on clinical trial and other existing study data, and derived cannabis cost from retail market pricing.

“With the opioid crisis continuing unabated, it is essential to understand whether cannabis might offer a safe, effective, and economically sound approach to pain management. This article offers new data that will help evaluate this possibility,” says Editor-in-Chief Daniele Piomelli, PhD, PharmD, University of California-Irvine, School of Medicine.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 1TL1TR001443. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About the Journal
Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, is the only peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the scientific, medical, and psychosocial exploration of clinical cannabis, cannabinoids, and the biochemical mechanisms of endocannabinoids. Published quarterly in print and online and led by Editor-in-Chief Daniele Piomelli, PhD, PharmD, the Journal publishes a broad range of human and animal studies including basic and translational research; clinical studies; behavioral, social, and epidemiological issues; and ethical, legal, and regulatory controversies. Complete tables of content and a sample issue is available on the Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research website.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative medical and biomedical peer-reviewed journals, including OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology, Journal of Computational Biology, New Space, and 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s more than 80 journals, newsmagazines, and books is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

Study: Omega-3 fatty acids fight inflammation via cannabinoids

Since your doctor will never prescribe marijuana no matter how much it helps you, you could go down this secondary route.
So ask your doctor specifically how much omega-3 you need to consume to get these anti-inflammation properties.
https://www.mdlinx.com/internal-medicine/medical-news-article/2017/07/20/omega-3-fatty-acids-inflammation-cannabinoids/7240860/?

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Health News

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Chemical compounds called cannabinoids are found in marijuana and also are produced naturally in the body from omega–3 fatty acids. A well–known cannabinoid in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, is responsible for some of its euphoric effects, but it also has anti–inflammatory benefits. A new study in animal tissue reveals the cascade of chemical reactions that convert omega–3 fatty acids into cannabinoids that have anti–inflammatory benefits – but without the psychotropic high.

The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Foods such as meat, eggs, fish and nuts contain omega–3 and omega–6 fatty acids, which the body converts into endocannabinoids – cannabinoids that the body produces naturally, said Aditi Das, a University of Illinois professor of comparative biosciences and biochemistry, who led the study. Cannabinoids in marijuana and endocannabinoids produced in the body can support the body’s immune system and therefore are attractive targets for the development of anti–inflammatory therapeutics, she said. In 1964, the Israeli chemist Raphael Mechoulam was the first to discover and isolate THC from marijuana. To test whether he had found the compound that produces euphoria, he dosed cake slices with 10 milligrams of pure THC and gave them to willing friends at a party. Their reactions, from nonstop laughter, to lethargy, to talkativeness, confirmed that THC was a psychotropic cannabinoid.

It wasn’t until 1992 that researchers discovered endocannabinoids produced naturally in the body. Since then, several other endocannabinoids have been identified, but not all have known functions.

Cannabinoids bind to two types of cannabinoid receptors in the body – one that is found predominantly in the nervous system and one in the immune system, Das said. “Some cannabinoids, such as THC in marijuana or endocannabinoids can bind to these receptors and elicit anti–inflammatory and anti–pain action,” she said.

“Our team discovered an enzymatic pathway that converts omega–3–derived endocannabinoids into more potent anti–inflammatory molecules that predominantly bind to the receptors found in the immune system,” Das said. “This finding demonstrates how omega–3 fatty acids can produce some of the same medicinal qualities as marijuana, but without a psychotropic effect.”

The study was an interdisciplinary effort led by recent comparative biosciences alumnus Daniel McDougle and supported by current biochemistry graduate student Josephine Watson. The team included U. of I. animal sciences professor Rodney Johnson; U. of I. bioengineering professor Kristopher Kilian; Michael Holinstat, of the University of Michigan; and Lucas Li, the director of the Metabolomics Center at the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center at Illinois.

This Subtle Dementia Symptom Sends Early Warning

Your doctor should be using this to baseline your cognition since you are likely to get dementia. If s/he doesn't baseline you at all, my opinion would be incompetency on their part.
1. A documented 33% dementia chance post-stroke from an Australian study?   May 2012.
2. Then this study came out and seems to have a range from 17-66%. December 2013.
3. A 20% chance in this research.   July 2013.

This Subtle Dementia Symptom Sends Early Warning

Dementia breaks down the brain’s ability to perform complex tasks, like this one.

Being unable to understand sarcasm is an early warning sign of dementia, research finds.
Deterioration in key parts of the brain in neuro-degenerative diseases causes people to have problems spotting insincere communication.
Detecting lies and sarcasm is a relatively complex cognitive task.
It requires being able to simulate the other person’s mind and inferring what they must mean.
Those with dementia also find it hard to spot lies.
Dr Katherine Rankin, who led the study, said:

“These patients cannot detect lies.
This fact can help them be diagnosed earlier.”

Scientists are always looking for ways of spotting dementia earlier, as this is the key to better treatment.
The study involved 175 people, some of whom had neurodegenerative diseases.
They were shown videos of people talking, who were sometimes sarcastic or told lies.
People with frontotemporal dementia found it particularly difficult to spot the lies and sarcasm.
This could provide a useful early warning sign.
Dr Rankin said:

“If somebody has strange behavior and they stop understanding things like sarcasm and lies, they should see a specialist who can make sure this is not the start of one of these diseases.”

Other early warning symptoms of dementia include a change in sense of humour:

“Changes in sense of humour could be an early sign of dementia, a new study finds.
A shift to preferring slapstick humour — like Mr Bean — over satirical or absurdist comedy, such as Monty Python, could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s.
Friends and relatives of those with dementia reported seeing changes around nine years before the more typical memory problems.”

Another even more surprising sign of dementia is being unable to smell peanut butter.
The study was published in the journal Cortex (Shany-Ur et al., 2012).

This Subtle Dementia Symptom Sends Warning 9 Years Early

http://www.spring.org.uk/2015/11/this-subtle-dementia-symptom-sends-warning-9-years-early.php

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Nine years before memory changes, this can signal problems.

Changes in sense of humour could be an early sign of dementia, a new study finds.
A shift to preferring slapstick humour — like Mr Bean — over satirical or absurdist comedy, such as Monty Python, could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s.
Friends and relatives of those with dementia reported seeing changes around nine years before the more typical memory problems.
Dr Camilla Clark, who led the study, said:

“As sense of humour defines us and is used to build relationships with those around us, changes in what we find funny has impacts far beyond picking a new favourite TV show.
We’ve highlighted the need to shift the emphasis from dementia being solely about memory loss.
These findings have implications for diagnosis – not only should personality and behaviour changes ring alarm bells, but clinicians themselves need to be more aware of these symptoms as an early sign of dementia.
As well as providing clues to underlying brain changes, subtle differences in what we find funny could help differentiate between the different diseases that cause dementia.
Humour could be a particularly sensitive way of detecting dementia because it puts demands on so many different aspects of brain function, such as puzzle solving, emotion and social awareness.”

The study included data from 48 friends and relatives of people with dementia.
Some of the most striking findings were for frontotemporal dementia, the most common cause of dementia in the under-55s.
People with this type of dementia began to laugh at events inappropriately many years before their eventual diagnosis.
For example, they would laugh at a badly parked car or a barking dog.
One man began laughing when his wife scalded herself badly.
People who went on to develop Alzheimer’s did not laugh in this way.
Dr Rob Buckle, Director of Science Programmes at the MRC, said:

“As we come to understand more about the symptoms of dementia we realise that the complex disease is about much more than memory loss.
Such insights will allow us to build up a full picture of the changes that people experience in the early stages of dementia and as the disease progresses, guiding both improved and earlier diagnosis and the delivery of care.
Recognising the behavioural patterns the disease follows will also help researchers discern different forms of the disease and identify suitable people for clinical trials to test new interventions.”

The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (Clark et al., 2015).
Alzheimer’s photo from Shutterstock

Published: November 12, 2015

in category: Dementia

Text: © All rights reserved.

This Is What Comedy Does to Your Brain

Does your doctor know anything about this? And prescribe you comedy movies and CDs and comedy theaters? Or are you going to have to self-treat yourself in violation of practicing medicine without a license as compared to your doctor practicing medicine without knowledge? Your choice, violate the law and possibly get better or do nothing.

This Is What Comedy Does to Your Brain

Comedy can lift your spirits and make the world seem a little more tolerable when times are tough. But what’s the physical and psychological science behind how comedy affects us?

We asked Scott Weems, Ph.D., cognitive neuroscientist and author or “Ha!: The Science of When We Laugh and Why,” and Caleb Warren, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Arizona and assistant professor at the Humor Research Lab, for their insights on some of the serious ways funny business can impact our bodies and minds.

1. Comedy is actually good for your body.

2. Comedy is also good for your mental well-being — most of the time.

3. Funny people can seem — or really be — depressed.

4. We think something’s funny when it’s so wrong it feels so right.

5. This may be because the brain processes comedy like a conflict.

Details at link.

 

Dr. Watson Medical Algorithm

I know I've written positively about wanting to use IBMs' Dr. Watson.  This comic might change your mind. I couldn't stop laughing at the first step, 'Surgically adjust patient to match standard height/weight chart'. So that is how I can lose my extra 35 lbs.
http://xkcd.com/1619/

The inhibitory spillover effect: Controlling the bladder makes better liars

But  what about this other research that holding urination worsens our cognitive function. We may be able to lie better but we won't remember our lies. You'll have to decide which way to go.  I'm sure there is stroke rehabilitation somewhere in here.
The inhibitory spillover effect: Controlling the bladder makes better liars

The effect of acute increase in urge to void on cognitive function in healthy adults

Conquer the whole world with one hand behind my back

I will conquer the world even if no one else is holding my hand. 23 versions on the web so I can't tell where this originated. 

This  leads directly into this blog post;

world domination vs. stroke rehab protocols 

Conquering the world with one hand is vastly easier than trying to get the stroke medical world to actually solve the problems in stroke.

How To Make Friends: This Will Subtly Help People Open Up

Since social connections are so incredibly important for recovery what humorous stroke protocols are you assigned to do?
I'm betting 50 years before this trickles down to your stroke department. They truly are that incompetent.
http://www.spring.org.uk/2015/03/make-someone-open.php?
People in the study were more likely to disclose something personal about themselves after laughing together, although they didn’t realize it.
Self-disclosure is usually critical to how to make friends, as the study’s authors explain:

Tuna sandwich stroke rehab

We bring in sandwiches for lunch to the Winnipeg Folk Festival. The first day Greg makes tuna ones with lettuce, zucchini and avocados. They are packed in quart ziploc bags. The tuna was only 1.5 inches high. I was at one of the sessions by myself so it was up to me to solve all the problems. Teeth work well for holding the bag while you pull out the sandwich in one piece. I'm slouched in a stadium chair while doing this. I immediately realize I will need to eat the sandwich in one sitting since I will never be able to successfully set it down and pick it up again one-handed. My first bite spills out 3-4 chunks of tuna on my chest. I will have to look stupid to the persons around me for the next 15 minutes since I can't pick up those chunks until I'm done. By the time I'm done I have 12 + pieces of tuna and veggies arranged across my chest. The next day was veggie burgers, much neater. Tuna again on the third day, but only 1 inch high, I was quite neat that day. Even though it was hot and I was thirsty I would have to wait until completely done with the sandwiches before water could be consumed.

The Facial Expression That Fights Memory Loss

You wouldn't be so stressed out and losing your memory if you were confident that your doctor had any clue about getting you back to 100% recovery. But since your doctor doesn't you'll have to content yourself with humorous videos.
Smile. That's an order.
http://www.spring.org.uk/2014/05/the-facial-expression-that-fights-memory-loss.php

Is laughter the best medicine? Cartoons could help patients cope with their chronic conditions

How many cartoons and humorous movies does your hospital stock for stroke patients? It must be too unproven and expensive for your hospital.
What's the downside?
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=140459&CultureCode=en
Researchers from the University of Southampton have shown that cartoons could be a beneficial way of educating patients and empowering them to cope better with their long term conditions.

"Humour is frequently and naturally used by people with chronic illnesses to help them adjust and understand what is happening to them," explains Associate Professor Dr Anne Kennedy, who led the study. "Our study has shown that cartoons could provide clarity to patients and be a way to engage with them. It is an untapped resource and could be a potential approach to support self-management."

Cartoons are already used in patient information but the content is sourced from health professionals rather than directly from patient experience, a unique aspect of the Southampton study.

Published in the Health Services Research journal, the study was carried out under the auspices of National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC) Wessex and Greater Manchester. Researchers used patient feedback to create a series of cartoons which demonstrated common experiences, problems and anxieties. The cartoons were incorporated into a guidebook given to patients who have chronic kidney disease. These patients were asked their opinion on the use of cartoons and humour in regular patient information and then asked to evaluate the cartoons drawn for the guidebook.

Results showed a range of feelings towards the cartoons including amusement, recognition, hostility and incentives to action. Overall patients found the cartoons useful in lightening the tone of information and gave patients insight and understanding they had not had before.

Dr Kennedy says health professionals could use the cartoon approach to help their patients engage more in the management of their own conditions.

She says: "Cartoons can be challenging and the difficult emotional responses some pictures evoke could be used to help people adjust to their situation, but they can also be used to dispel misconceptions. The word chronic is often misinterpreted as meaning terminal - reaction to the particular cartoon that demonstrated 'chronic' did prove a bit shocking to some patients but it allowed the word to be talked through and it was a tipping point for patients to better understand what their condition was."

Professor Anne Rogers, NIHR CLAHRC Wessex Research Director, who also worked on the study, adds: "Cartoons, drawn with patient input, have potential to help communicate important advice and help patients self-manage their conditions while boosting moral. More work needs to done in this area to build on our findings and we hope that this knowledge will be used to develop cartoons that reflect patients, experiences and get them thinking about where they can get support to suit their needs."

Attached files

Cartoon courtesy of Fran Orford - double click to read the caption.
And I love this one that Peter Levine pointed out. Of course it would be too creepy if it was a guy saying that.

Hospital infections? - Just work naked

You'll have to see the possible uniforms at this blogger; And since a hospital is one of the worst places to pick up an infection this may make sense.

Skeptical Scalpel - Preventing infection: The "bare below the elbows" rule for doctors doesn't go far enough

Suburgatory

I had this word last night playing Catch Phrase. Having absolutely no clue what is was, I went down the syllable route. First syllable, fast food restaurant, not burger, first part of word. Second syllable, irritant under a horse saddle, Last part, another word for tale using only the last part of the word. And someone guessed it.
Suburgatory is an American sitcom television series created by Emily Kapnek, that premiered on ABC on September 28, 2011.
The series follows George Altman, a single father who decides to get away from New York City to the suburbs so he can give his teenage daughter, Tessa, a better life. However, their move to the suburbs has the daughter wondering if they just entered the world of The Stepford Wives after they see how "perfect" their new locale is, right down to the neighbors who welcome them into the cul-de-sac.

A Breathier Oilskin Tot

Anagram for stroke rehabilitation, along with;
A Bearlike Hint Risotto
A Bearlike Thin Risotto
A Bearlike Hist Tortoni
A Bearlike Shit Tortoni
A Bearlike Hits Tortoni
A Bearlike This Tortoni
A Bearlike Hit Tortonis
A Bearlike Shot Introit
A Bearlike Hots Introit
A Bearlike Host Introit
Do your own here;
http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/index.html
My name is;
A Reeked Inn
A Reined Ken
A Denier Ken
A Eked Inner
A Kneed Rein
A Kenned Ire
A Kinder Nee
A Dinner Eke
A Dinner Eek
A Diner Keen
A Diner Knee
Neurologist;
Uglier Snoot
Signore Lout
Sturgeon Oil
Surgeon Toil
Tongues Roil
Tongue Roils
Tongue Loris
Rogue Tonsil
Rouge Tonsil
Loonier Guts
Looniest Rug
Insole Grout
Lesion Grout
Liners Outgo
Oriole Stung
Lousier Tong
Lustier Goon 
Leg Iron Oust
Leg Iron Outs
Leg Rosin Out
Leg Irons Out
Lie Gnus Root
Lie Guns Root 

Conversational humor among stroke survivors

Demand to know why your doctor is not providing humor therapy for their patients. Its only been 7 years. Are they that incompetent?
http://www.degruyter.com/dg/viewarticle/j$002fhumr.2003.16.issue-1$002fhumr.2003.007$002fhumr.2003.007.xml;jsessionid=BB681B8C25B3B48DE71C585AE780039C

Go to table of contents

30,00 € / $42.00

Get Access to Full Text

(PDF, 113 KB)

Beef-witted:

Having an inactive brain, thought to be from eating too much beef. — John Phin’s “Shakespeare Cyclopaedia and Glossary”, 1902
Has your doctor considered this as the cause of your cognitive problems. Or has Occams' Razor struck again.

Reynke de vos

I gues my last name comes from a lying fox. I'll have to try to find an English translation. I've tried like 3 times to learn German and never succeeded

Reynke de vos is the most important Low German animal epic in verse . The 1498 of Hans van Ghetelen in Lübeck printed incunabula , in a single complete copy in the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel is received, helped the story of Reynard the fox cunning , emerged in the 13th Century, their tradition in German speaking today.
The epic tells of the ingenious culprit Reynke, the fox as a malevolent and vile liar secures its food, saves from precarious positions and penetrated as the winner at the end against all adversaries. The narrative poem is by glosses in prose accompanied.

By Mohnkopfoffizin des Hans von Ghetelen (gest. um 1528) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

 

What to write about for stroke

Anything. I love William Nealy cartoons. This one is copied from  The Nealy Way of Knowledge. It why I write about some of my stupidest ideas. If you are into outdoor sports, biking, canoeing, kayaking, inline skating, downhill skiing you should read some of his books.
My stupidity like:
 The Passport
The Epic Bike Failure
The terrifying canoe ride.