Hallucinogens and Your Neurons

A hallucinogen is a type of drug that causes it's users to see, hear or feel things that do not exist. Hallucinogens can alter a persons perception of many things including their self, distance, time, direction and even reality. There are three main uses of hallucinogens the first on is for spiritual use. The Aztecs and many other Native American tribes have used them in rituals for centuries. The Native American Church or NAC uses a hallucinogen called peyote in their religious ceremonies which is a practice that is nearly 10,000 years old. The American government has deemed this practice legal because the drug is not being abused and their religion is against recreational drugs and alcohol. The second use is scientific use which began and was researched in the 1950s and 1960s. Scientists and doctors believed that these drugs would give them a new understanding of mental illness, this proved ineffective and is now very limited. The third and most common is recreational use which is when people use them for their own pleasure. There are over 100 types of hallucinogens and can be found naturally or produced synthetically. Some common hallucinogens are ecstasy, LSD or mushrooms. Hallucinogens have a horrific effect on ones body and cause much damage in the nervous system. The exact cause of what makes hallucinogens do what they do is still unknown, but it is known that they affect certain cells and chemicals during use. Neurons are the cells most affected by these drugs. Neurons are the cells in the nervous system and are extremely important to our body functioning properly. Hallucinogens affects a chemical called serotonin that is a chemical the neurons use to transmit and react to messages. Serotonin is linked to our emotions, judgement, sleep and moods. They have also shown that the serotonin levels is directly related to our behaviors. Hallucinogens causes large amounts of this chemical to be released from neurons so the amount that gets to the brain is lowered and could even be depleted. These low levels result in violent, aggressive, irrational and suicidal behaviors. Hallucinogens are extremely harmful and potentially deadly drugs that should most definitely be stayed away from.

Barbiturates and the Central Nervous System

Barbiturates are depressants or downers which slows down the body`s systems. They come in brightly colored pills. Barbiturates are used for medicinal purposes like anesthesia, and insomnia. Tolerance and Addiction become very quickly when on these for more than 2 weeks. Overdose and death are very high risks for users. Effects of barbiturates include intense mood swings, babbling and slurred speech, and lack or judgement. Blood pressure can drop so low that a cardiovascular collapse can occur. The can only be given by a doctors prescription. When people become addicted to these drugs they tend to lie to their doctor to get more.  The nervous system is at risk when Barbiturates cross the brain`s protective layer. The brain has a blood brain barrier, which a fatty layer that surrounds the brain preventing foreign substances in the bloodstream from entering the brain and causing malfunction. Large molecules do not pass easily through the BBB, neither do molecules that are not easily dissolved in fat. The first reaction after a person has ingested barbiturates is less inhibitions. These are emotions that tell you to restrict your behavior. The body is totally relaxed. This messes your body up and can no longer let your CNS control the body's actions. The body tries to reject these substances by vomiting. If a user is lying on their back and too sedated to get up, they could choke to do on vomit.  Taking these with other depressants such as alcohol or heroin can increase the side effects by a lot.  The with drawl process can kill a person if they are not under close doctor observation. After an abuser survives withdrawal and detoxification, they will still need help such as talking to a psychiatrist.

A few interesting sites

Table
This link is table of the muscles with origins, insertions, and actions.

Bone Health
This is great information on how to have healthy bones and what you can do to promote them.

History of Heart Disease
An interesting article about how ancient hunters and gatherers also had heart problems.

Dr. Lazarus on Miracles

In Dr. Lazarus' book he breaks down the different aspects of being a pediatric oncologist. One of his sections is all about miracles that he has experienced while being in the field and one of them in particular was rather odd to me. He took care of a boy that came in with a tumor on the back of his brain, this tumor had spread to many different areas by the time they got to him and so his outlook was very grave. His parents decided to take him home so he could die peacefully, but then something happened. He actually started improving every day. The odd part about this story however is that when he regained enough strength to start communicating through arm and hand gestures he said yes by waving and no by flipping the bird. This gets even stranger, after that as he continued to improve and was able to talk he used curse words like we use please and thank-you. Though Dr. Lazarus did not offer an explanation for this kind of behavior it was extremely interesting to me that these things are what came to this child first.

Dear Shay

Dear Shay,
      My I recently took my two year old child to the park for a birthday party, I have not noticed until now that she is much smaller than the other children her age. She also seemed to tire out much faster than the other kids on the playground. I had to take her home before the cake and ice cream because she was so exhausted.
      I have noticed since she could stand that her knees never fully came together suggesting that she was bow legged, but I dismissed the notion that anything was wrong because my father too is bow legged. In the recent months however her wrist has been swollen because her baby bracelet won't fit anymore and she has been complaining about back pain. I figured this was just part of her growing until the incident at the park. I think something might be wrong, but I am not for sure. Is this just part of her  growing or should I be concerned?

Sincerely,
Overly Concerned Parent

Dear Overly Concerned Parent,

     Through my experience with bone disease it sounds to me like your child might have a disease called rickets.  Rickets is the softening and weakening of bones due to a vitamin D deficiency. Some common symptoms of this disease include delayed growth,  pain in the spine,  and muscle weakness. This would explain why your child appeared so much smaller than the other children. Also it explains the tiredness she was feeling along with why her back hurts. Since the disease softens the growth plates, rickets can also cause bowed legs and swollen ankles or wrists, this could be the reason for those also. The deficiency of vitamin D causing this could be from lack of sunlight or not getting enough in her diet. Foods with lots of vitamin D include fatty fish, egg yolks, milk, cereal and some fruit juices like orange juice. Certain diseases also make it difficult to absorb vitamin D like Celiacs Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, and Inflammatory bowel disease. There are also different risk factors for developing this disease and one of them is the child being between 6 and 24 months of age, because of rapid bone growth during this period. Pre-mature births and anti-seizure medication could also put a child at risk. Sounds to me like you should get your child to a doctor to discuss the disease more and come up with a plan of action for treating it!

Sincerely,
Shay

Harmful Meat

Combining the meat of multiple animals and then selling it to humans have consequences. Connecting thousands of animals with thousands of consumers means that an average meat eater will consume pieces of millions of animals during their lifetime. Cooking meat eliminates the risks, but the mass number of interactions increases the potential that an microbe can make the jump to humans. Try to eat 100% beef, and check the background of how the animal was fed out.

New Neural Brain-to-bone pathway Controls Skeletal Development

Within the past year researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that a part of the autonomic nervous system reaches bones and takes a part in controlling bone development. The new pathway has a part in controlling bone density during the adolescence years and determines the skeletal resistance to fractures throughout the whole life span. In the autonomic nervous system, the brain monitors and regulates the physiological functions of the internal organs and includes two subsystems, the "symphatic" and "parasymphatic.  Each have their own neural pathways. Sympahtic system helps in times of danger or with stress. The parasympahtic helps with digestion, and immune function. The researchers demonstrated that there are parasympahtic responses in the skeleton. A weakened rabies virus was injected into thigh bones of mice. After the injection, the virus was seen in the brain in regions know to be specific for the parasymphatic subsystem. In past research, the activity of the protein interleukin-1 was found to influence bone development. This influence is similar to the parasymphatic system. The recent discovered neural pathway which includes interleukin-1 in the brain and the parasymphatic subsystem, also control heart rate. Having conditions such as depression, osteoporosis, and epilepsy can damage interleukin-1 and the parasymphatic system  in the brain. Finding the disease mechanism in these cases can have a potential for new therapy development. This new pathway is only a small key to understanding the connection between the brain and the bones.

Children Understand More Than We Realize

Dr. Kenneth Lazarus is a pediatric oncologist from Indiana has a unique way of breaking the news of cancer to children. In his book "Conquering Kids' Cancer Triumphs and Tragedies of a Children's Cancer Doctor" he describes different ways of informing his patients and their families of this horrific news. He has found with the younger age groups it is easier to relate it to something they can wrap their minds around. He talked about one case with a young boy named Eric. He described cancer as bad aliens that had invaded his body, he then said that himself and the medicine were the good army going to take out the bad aliens.  This allowed Eric to see the point in his treatment and be involved fully. This also helped ease the reality of the situation and help the child to be brave during treatment. He also described that children understand about as much as their parents do about the disease it just has to be presented in a way that they can connect with.

New Neural Brain-To-Bone Pathway Controls Skeletal Development

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered a brain-to-bone pathway. They discovered this pathway while working with mice. They injected a weakened rabies virus into the thigh bone. After time it eventually found its way to the brain in an area that is part of the parasympathetic subsystem. With this new information they see great potential in the development in new therapies. They had already linked certain bone disorders to brain disorders so there is much possibility of further development.

The Gateways for Viruses

Over the past few decades, Virologists have studied the ways viruses have been transmitted from human to human and how they could spreads so easily.  Travel has been one of the mains causes of viruses spreading. The first development of land bridges and boats allowed human races to come in contact with unknown animal species and with other human races. The development of  Roads, railways, and airplanes all provide new connections for the movement of animals, people, and cargo. These developments created links that would change how the nature of infectious human diseases spread. Chimpanzees create trails to move through Forest territories and other animals come in contact with them. HIV is an example of the impact that road proliferation has had on the movement of microbes in Africa. The areas of Africa that have roads have a higher percent of people with HIV then more rural areas that are nor connected by roads. Roads spread people and people spread HIV.
Airplanes link populations in an immediate way and viruses can spread quicker.  Scientists have made a connection that the volume of domestic air travel predicts the rate of spread in influenza in the U.S. The other main gateway viruses can enter a human is through blood transfusions, and organ transplants. Many blood donors blood is screened for harmful microbes but in less fortunate countries, they do not have that luxury. HIV, hepatitis, and AIDS are most commonly transmitted by tainted blood.  Donating organs can also be a danger. Receiving an infected tissue of some sort can lead to exposures of new viruses and the possibility of other people catching the virus. Using an unsterilized needle is another example of a gateway. Using an unsterilized needle for injection drug use, intravenous fluid, or for tattoos can be extremely harmful and can make it easy for viruses to make you and your body their host.

Dear Ali

Dear Ali, lately I have noticed my body feeling very frail and achy. I am a 63 year old white female. I am vegetarian and I am active. I walk 2 miles everyday and read on my porch. Since I have been feeling weak, I have not done much out of my house.. I love tending to my garden but it seems to kill my hips and back if I plant or pull out weeds. I love to cook and bake for my daughters, but my wrists have been killing me and I can barely cut a carrot. I really do not trust doctors, and try to stay away from hospitals. I think I am just getting old and need to cut back. Can you help me? -Hazel

Dear Hazel, maybe it is time to go to the doctor. You are not old enough to be hindered from doing what you enjoy. Your wrists may hurt because they have fractures. It sounds like you may have osteoporosis. Having osteoporosis can make your bones weak and prone to fractures making your body feel as it is older than you are. Bone tissue is constantly replaced and absorbed Osteoporosis occurs when the creation of new bone does not keep up with the removal of old bone. Osteoporosis is more common in elderly women.  You can have your doctor prescribe you medicine, take dietary supplements, or try weight bearing exercises to help build up your bone strength. - Ali

Axial Skeleton Crossword

Axial Skeleton

Across
7. shaped bone at the bottom of the spine
Down
1. bone forming the lower jaw and keeping teeth in place
2. structure of the human head that supports the structure of the face and makes a cavity for the brain
3. bone that lines in the middle front part of the rib cage
4. curved bones making up the rib cage that protects the heart
5. bone/horseshoe shaped bone in the anterior midline of the neck between the chin and hyoid cartilage
6. Column/ known as the backbone or spine

7 of 7 words were placed into the puzzle.

Created by Puzzlemaker at DiscoveryEducation.com

  

 

 

 

Are parents to blame?

When thinking of criminals most people seem to believe that they are criminals because of some problem they never dealt with that occurred as a child or sometime when they were growing up. This however is not the case. Some people have wonderful lives and turn out to be crooks while others face many struggles such as abuse and poverty and end up being successful, responsible individuals in society.  As a criminal the person has a different perception of the world. They shun society and societies beliefs before society deems them as an outcast. So the theory that the way they are raised is the reason for criminals behavior is false.  They just utilize this belief to be able to play the victim.

Mr. Bones

How good do you know the skeletal system? ABCya! has a great interactive skeleton to test your skills and knowledge of the bones. It is also a great learning tool! There are two different options to chose from; you can either label the skeleton or put him together. When you label the skeleton it challenges you to label in a certain amount of clicks and then at the end it tells you how good you did. Then you can challenge yourself further by trying to put the skeleton back together! The link titled Skeleton Activities will take you to both of these  Skeleton Activities.

Crimson Tide

26 year old Christine Drury, suffered from severe blushing. She worked as a nightly news reporter and was always visible to the public. Her face would constantly turn bright red all over and she had to use a lot of green concealer to try to counteract the redness, but it just didn't work. She struggled with often being embarrassed but she fought over it. Blushing can cause confusion and lost of focus. Embarrassment causes blushing and blushing causes embarrassment and Christine wanted the cycle to stop. Christine went to doctors and they assured her she would grow out of it and prescribed anti depressants and then anxiety pills. Nothing worked not even physchotherapy.  A year later she was forced to quit her job by the intolerable blushing. She started searching more about her condition and found others had the same problem. There was a doctor in Sweden how could preform a surgery and stop the blushing. The surgery is called Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. It involves severing fibers of the sympathetic nervous system that's part of the involuntary nervous system which controls breathing heart rate sweating and blushing. The back of your chest there are two white strings call the symphatic trunks, the road where the nerves travel. A scope is inserted through an incision in the chest and severs the fibers. Christine had the surgery done and it cured her. She still struggled with the feeling of embarrassment but no longer had blushing. She did not lose any of her facial color and her face does not sweat, but her lower extremities do much more now. Christine felt embarrassed that she had a surgery to cure what some people think to be minor, but it gave her normal life back. She got her job back and created the Red Mask Foundation to help others with conditions like she had.

Achondroplasia

Achondroplasia is a bone growth disorder that causes the most common kind of dwarfism. The signs you see associated with this disease include increased frontal head circumference, shortened upper and lower limbs and a broad flat nose bridge.  This disease has no gender nor racial preference.  It also does not affect their intelligence and most live normal independent lives.  Complications occur when they have a narrow spine canal or are knock-kneed or bow legged, this all requires surgery. People get this disease by a gene from their parents, it is a dominant gene so if one parent passes it down to the offspring the offspring will have achondroplasia. If both parents carry the gene and give it to the baby the infant will only live a few days at best.  A common misconception is that if a "little person" has babies with another "little person" it will most likely be a dwarf and have achondroplasia, but in all actuality about 80% of people who have achondroplasia both have normal sized parents.

Perthes Disesase

Perthes is a condition mostly in children, that happens when the blood supply to the hip is lost. The hip is a ball and socket joint and when the hip doesn't receive and adequate supply of blood they ball part of the bone dies. The area then becomes inflamed and irritated. Perthes disease has many stages of process. Treatment requires periods of immobilization and limitations on activities. Perthes disease is found in children 4-10 and is more seen in boys than girls. Its commonly referred to child arthritis in the hips. Symptoms include irritation and pain when the hip  is having spasms from the swelling around it. Pain can also be felt in the groin or knee and is more noticeable when rotating the hip. Rest is a must when you have intense pain. There is non surgical treatment which is taking anti inflammatory pills regularly and going to a physical therapist to do hip stretches to work on rotation. Surgical treatment is for the more extreme cases where the pain is very intense. The surgery establishes the proper alignment of the bones of the hip. In some cases the socket is made deeper. After the surgery children are put in a cast for 6 to 8 weeks from chest to toes. After the whole process, children go through physical therapy to learn how to only bear weight on their normal hip. X-rays of the bones will be taken throughout all the stages to make sure healing goes under way.

Ready or NOT

Mistakes are unwanted but do happen on very critical cases when the pressure is high and time is scarce. Surgeons are trained to be able to  make last minute decisions and to have a sense of problem solving and finding a solution. It was 2 a.m. on a winter morning. I had worked a 12 hour shift with no sleep and only one break for food. I have had cases back to back since I have been lined to take cases in the emergency room. I was in the middle of opening an knife victims abdomen when a women in critical condition was being rushed in. I left the knife victim to the other residence in the room and rushed to the woman being brought in. The first step was to make sure she could breath. She was not oxygenating well so I put an oxygen mask on her. Her air was very low so she needed to have  a breathing tube inserted into her. We could not get it in due to her low o2 sat. We lost her airway which could result in death if not fixed quickly. The only option left was to do a emergency tracheotomy; cutting a hole in the neck and insert a breathing tube directly into the trachea. The lighting was terrible and was not experienced enough on doing this. I was unsure how to make an incision in her neck; vertical or horizontal but I went ahead and did what I thought was best since I was trusted to do this. I made a three-inch horizontal cut and hit a vein. I didn't loose hold of a lot of blood but enough to fill her wound. Ball, the general surgeon walked in and immediately took over. She was with 3 minutes without oxygen and with 4 minutes the brain can be damaged. In thirty seconds ball inserted the tube and got her sat back up to 98. I felt very relieved that what I made a disaster did not turn out to be a disaster. If I could have slept a few hours, ate a meal and had a break before I proceeded with this case, maybe I could have succeeded  in what I failed at. Surgeons are sometimes believed to machine like figures that turn on and work well when ever they are needed. Surgeons are just like everyone else and are under a tremendous amount of stress while being hungry, dehydrated and sleep deprived. Surgeons save lives, and when they cant completely save them they do everything they can to help them. Next time you or someone you know has surgery, take the time to thank them for what they do.

Revamping the Criminal Mind!

Dr. Stanton E. Samenow has proposed a new approach to working with criminals that he learned from a study he assisted in.  Dr. Samuel Yochelson introduced this reverse way of thinking to him not long after he entered the field of psychology.  The first step in this new procedure is recognizing the myths of society and in the professional field of psychology about criminals.  First we need not view them as victims of some disease, every crime is planned out and executed based on that plan.  Secondly, although an environment that is not stable could contribute to the criminals way of thinking, it does not turn someone into a criminal. Finally, they do not become criminals because society rejected them. Dr. Samenow makes it very clear that as a criminal they reject society and the responsible citizens belief long before society deems them an outcast. Where we can start is understanding and recognizing these myths. This could lead to a better understanding of how they work so people can treat them and help the ones capable of change.