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Comprehensive oral care improves treatment outcomes in male and female patients with high-severity and chronic substance use disorders
https://jada.ada.org/article/S0002-8177(19)30132-1/fulltext Comment; There's a fairly well-known saying in recovery circles that "teeth and taxes" are typically addressed the 3rd to 5th year of recovery. A little help may be a good thing to promote recovery!
Cannabidiol for the Reduction of Cue-Induced Craving and Anxiety in Drug-Abstinent Individuals With Heroin Use Disorder: A Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial
https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.18101191 Comment; I've seen a lot of this in my practice--so much so that I won't stop buprenorphine therapy for patients who smoke pot--but encourage non-mind-altering CBD use instead. Further, CBD's are...
Addiction used to be someone else’s problem. Doctors graduating today are eager to take it on
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/05/21/addiction-used-someone-else-problem-doctors-graduating-today-are-eager-take/d0m2K7Kuj8amvuvN41dS0L/story.html Comment; It's great that Massachusetts is taking this proactive approach; adding the required buprenorphine...
Discovery of Alpha-Gal-Containing Antigens in North American Tick Species Believed to Induce Red Meat Allergy
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2019.01056/full Comment; What an interesting study! Galactose-α-1,3-galactose in tick saliva sensitizing human plasma cells to begin production of IgE antibodies resulting in allergy to red meat. Gary...
Implications of antiinflammatory properties of the anticonvulsant drug levetiracetam in astrocytes
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jnr.21639 Comment; So glad that inflammation is finally being recognized as a strong link to abnormal brain function--seizures being a prime example of that! NeuroInflammation needs to be studied & fought; get to the...
For “Broken Heart” Syndrome, Brain May Hold the Key
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/?tab=om#inbox/FMfcgxwCgzJwDvxRXmPsfwtJJQvjXBSF?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1 Comment; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (TTC) seems tobe another manifestation of autonomic system imbalance; sympathetic (fight or flight) excess with...
A cortical–hippocampal–cortical loop of information processing during memory consolidation
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5783826/ Comment; We know that the hippocampus is responsible for consolidation of memory, the sharp wave ripples to and from the auditory cortex seem to verify that this is what is happening during long-term memory...
Ketogenic Diet and Epilepsy: What We Know So Far
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6361831/ Comment; Ketogenic diets have great health benefits. Decreased seizure activity due to less rapidly released energy by glucose metabolism sounds rational. There's a lot more involved than that however as the...
Empirical validation of the Horowitz Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome Questionnaire for suspected Lyme disease
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/?tab=om#inbox/FMfcgxwCggCPHnqDhGVzQVTtClNvhchV?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1 Comment; Persistent muscular pain, arthritic pain & nerve pain/paresthesias are the biggest predictors of Lyme disease, the "constants" if you will....
Two-step Lyme Laboratory Testing Process
https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/diagnosistesting/labtest/twostep/index.html Comment; Highly sensitive, less-expensive testing doesn't miss disease, but has a lot of false positives. It won't miss the disease but over-diagnoses it. More expensive confirmatory testing follows,...
Randomized clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of valganciclovir in a subset of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jmv.23713 Comment; Chronic Fatigue comes from a variety of complex chronic illnesses. Viruses and subviral particles can cause these infections and be very difficult to diagnose, empiric treatment with antiviral...
Reduction in Forebrain Parenchymal and Cortical Grey Matter Swelling across Treatment Groups in Patients with Inflammatory Illness Acquired Following Exposure to Water-Damaged Buildings
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1zX2ieWLaUXsQOElqJn5aIqh06OJrCB7j Comment; Characteristic changes in CIRS-WDB include bilateral increased forebrain parenchymal, cortical gray matter and pallidum volumes and decreased caudate nucleus volumes. The volumes...
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