Wellcome Trust's Book Prize 2014 shortlist announced | @GrrlScientist
Six wonderfully diverse books that span genres to explore medicine and health are under consideration for the Wellcome Trust's revamped and relaunched Book Prize.Now that you've finished reading that amazing longlist of science books for the Royal Society's 2013 Winton Book Prize, you may be searching for yet more excellent books to occupy your mental energies. Well, look no further because the Wellcome Trust just announced the shortlist for their Wellcome Book Prize 2014! This year's six shortlisted titles were announced yesterday at a breakfast event by the Wellcome Trust's Chair of Judges, Sir Andrew Motion, a writer a...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 26, 2014 Category: Science Authors: GrrlScientist Tags: theguardian.com Blogposts Health, mind and body Medical research Books Wellcome Collection Medicine Science Source Type: news
Why is cocaine adulterated with an animal dewormer? Mystery solved?
3.5 out of 5 stars
Aminorex, a metabolic of the cocaine adulterant levamisole, exerts amphetamine like actions at monoamine transporters. Hofmaier T et al. Neurochem Int 2013 Dec 1 [Epub ahead of print]
Abstract
During the last decade, many shipments of cocaine seized by U.S. drug authorities have been found to be adulterated with levamisole, a veterinary anti-worming medicine. The drug in the past has been used to treat various medical conditions in humans, but was withdrawn from the market because of significant adverse reactions. Levamisole has also been associated with the occurrence of agranulocytosis and dermal ...
Source: The Poison Review - February 21, 2014 Category: Toxicology Authors: Leon Tags: Medical adulterated aminorex cocaine levamisole Source Type: news
Fournier's Gangrene of the Penis and S. dysgalactiaeFournier's Gangrene of the Penis and S. dysgalactiae
Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis is increasingly being recognized as an important human pathogen. In this case, it is the cause of Fournier's gangrene of the penis. BMC Infectious Diseases (Source: Medscape Urology Headlines)
Source: Medscape Urology Headlines - November 20, 2013 Category: Urology & Nephrology Tags: Infectious Diseases Journal Article Source Type: news
Toxicology and Genital Injury
2 out of 5 stars
Self-inflicted Testicular Amputation in First Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Use. Blacha C. et al. J Addict Med 2013;7:83.4.
Abstract
This striking case report describes a 32-year-old man without previous mental health problems who amputated both his testicles after possibly using lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) for the first time, along with alcohol. According to the paper:
Mr. A. was admitted to the primary-care unit after he had been observed in the public banging his head repeatedly against a tree and tearing out his testes and then putting them into his mouth in a state of vigorous agitation.
On admiss...
Source: The Poison Review - October 25, 2013 Category: Toxicology Authors: Leon Tags: Medical genital injury LSD lysergic acid diethylamide self-mutilation Source Type: news
Heparin, grad students, a clinical revolution and giving credit where it's due
The story of a grad student who overcame remarkable odds only to be denied his moment of glory, or a tale of dark deceit and devilish doings? The story of heparin is as complicated as the chemistry itselfBlood is remarkable.A liquid that carries nutrients, waste products and the ever-vigilant cells of the immune system around the body, blood rapidly turns into a solid when it leaves its veins and arteries and becomes exposed to bodily tissues or the air outside. This process of solidification – clotting, or coagulation – is executed and controlled by a complex set of reactions and interactions primarily involving the e...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - September 4, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Richard P Grant Tags: theguardian.com Blogposts Science Source Type: news
Can levamisole-contaminated cocaine cause pulmonary hypertension?
This article is valuable in alerting clinicians cocaine users may be at risk for the condition. I expect future studies will determine just how much aminorex is produced from exposure to typical amounts of contaminated cocaine.
Remember, there are two known conditions that can be caused by levamisole-tainted cocaine: agraulocytosis and necrotizing vasculitis.
Tip o’ the hat to Dr. Jerry Hoffman, who alerted me to this possible connection. I had not heard of it before.
Related posts:
Cocaine-associated hyponatremia: is levamisole the culprit?
Levamisole-adulterated cocaine: an excellent review
Cocaine, levamisole, and...
Source: The Poison Review - May 30, 2013 Category: Toxicology Authors: Leon Tags: Medical aminorex cocaine levamisole pulmonary hypertension Source Type: news
Israel unveils Herod's archaeological treasures
Herod's mausoleum headlines Israel's most ambitious archaeological show but Palestinians say treasures should stay where they were foundA magnificent mausoleum in which King Herod the Great, the biblical-era ruler of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, was laid to rest at the end of his 37-year reign of terror is the centrepiece of the most ambitious archeological exhibition ever mounted in Israel.Herod's burial chamber, discovered less than six years ago after a 40-year search, has been reconstructed within the Israel Museum in Jerusalem for the first ever exhibition to focus on the murderous king. Thirty tonnes of artefacts wer...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 12, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Harriet Sherwood Tags: Middle East and North Africa Israel World news Archaeology guardian.co.uk Palestinian territories Science Source Type: news
