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Chrétien
comes out swinging after quadruple bypass surgery
MONTREAL —
During a round of golf on October 1, former Prime Minister
Jean Chrétien told a fellow golfer he wasn't
feeling well. Coincidentally, that golfer was a cardiologist,
who told him he'd better come in for a visit. They finished
their round and by the next morning, Mr Chrétien
began to have severe chest pains and headed to the hospital.
The following day, Mr Chrétien underwent quadruple
bypass surgery at the Montreal Heart Institute. Chief
of surgery Dr Michel Pellerin performed the bypass and
said in a release he expected the man sometimes called
the Shawinigan Scrapper (after he tackled a rowdy protestor
in Hull on flag day in 1996) to make a full recovery.
0-10
pain ratings useless
INDIANAPOLIS —
The popular 0-10 pain rating scale is too subjective
to be useful, found an Indiana University study published
in October's Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Researchers compared patients' self-reported pain ratings
with their answers to questionnaires about how their
lives are affected by their pain. The numbers don't
jibe. 31% who said pain affects their daily activities,
and 21% of patients who scheduled appointments for their
pain, gave ratings of zero on the 0-10 scale.
DCA
clinical trial approved
EDMONTON —
Dichloroacetate, the theoretical cancer killer "wonder
drug" that patients have been ordering online for months,
has finally gained Health Canada approval for use in
a human glioblastoma clinical trial. Despite positive
lab results reported in January, the pharmaceutical
industry had no interest in studying the unpatentable
chemical, according to University of Alberta lead researcher
Dr Evangelos Michelakis. Funding for the new trial was
raised by the university through private donations and
grants.
Space
travel makes bacteria deadlier
TEMPE, AZ —
One small step for man, one giant leap for bacteria.
Salmonella typhimurium bacteria that flew on
the space shuttle were found to be three times as deadly
as their Earth-bound counterparts reported scientists
in the September 27 Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences. 167 gene transcripts and 73 proteins
were altered by the orbital jaunt, but one gene-regulating
protein, Hfq, is suspected as the chief culprit. Researchers
hope to get a handle on S typhimurium's space-boosted
virulence before astronauts embark on long-distance
trips to Mars.
"Andromeda
Strain" fears debunked as mass hysteria
CARANCAS, PERU
— After reports of a fiery streak in the
night sky, the sound of an explosion and the appearance
of a huge crater full of boiling liquid in August, residents
of a small Peruvian town began to fall ill. Fears of
a real-life "Andromeda Strain" rippled around the world
for weeks, until Peruvian doctors and scientists suggested
this might be a case of mass hysteria, set off by a
minor hydrothermal explosion — and not a meteorite
— that could have freed a small amount of arsenic
gas.
All
booze spikes breast cancer
BARCELONA —
It's been accepted for some time now that drinking alcohol
increases the risk of breast cancer. According to a
new study presented at September's European Cancer Conference,
it's the amount, not the type, of alcohol that matters.
American researchers reported that among women who had
three or more drinks per day, wine, beer and liquor
all resulted in a 30% increase in breast cancer risk,
making ethyl alcohol the likely culprit.
Resurrection
by scalpel
CARACAS —
A 33-year-old Venezuelan man was brought to the morgue
after what was assumed to be a fatal car accident, only
to awake in the middle of his own autopsy. "I woke up
because the pain was unbearable," explained Carlos Camejo
to a local newspaper. Medical examiners realized he
was alive when they cut into his face and blood started
pouring out.
Say
what? Drinking blasts hearing, too: UK study
LONDON —
"Cocktail party deafness" isn't caused by the
chatter — it's the cocktails, says a study published
in late September in BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders.
Researchers say they're not sure why, but as test subjects
drank more alcohol, their hearing consistently worsened.
Lower-frequency hearing was most affected. After sobering
up and getting some rest, the patients' hearing was
back to normal.
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