how many licks does it take?

i was skeptical when i heard about oral sex leading to throat cancer.  that means we are ALL going to get throat cancer.  right?!  i became even more skeptical when my girlfriend annelise, who is a pharmacist, hadn't heard of this research.

thanks to google scholar i have, unfortunately, confirmed the rumor.

maura l. gillison, md, phd, of johns hopkins university in baltimore is a longtime researcher of the hpv virus.  she first found the correlation between head/neck cancer and oral hpv infection in 2000.  since then, dozens of other studies have shown the same finding.  we appear to have a consensus.  more recent research has been examining the behaviors that contribute to risk.  longtime heavy tobacco and alcohol use are among the strongest identified risk factors for head and neck cancer.  but hpv is a stronger risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer, specifically.  gillison says this type accounts for about one in four head and neck cancers.  and having multiple oral sex partners topped the list of practices associated with an increased risk of developing orophyngeal cancer according to the study published in the May 2010 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

it is unclear whether the hpv vaccine will prevent hpv-driven throat cancer as it does for cervical cancer, but there is every reason to think it will, according to gillison.

the good news is that this is an uncommon cancer, so individual risk is quite low.  but, you can always choose safe oral sex.

empty your lungs

recent videos of the earthquake and tsunami that hit japan have been horrifying.  i can't imagine having that much destruction in my home.  besides the physical damage to the marinas, farmland and buildings caused by the quaking ground and then the forceful waters, there were many lives lost.

i have to think that some people were killed by explosions, some by blunt force and many probably drowned.  drowning has long been one of my greatest fears and yet i don't understand the a&p behind it.

here it is:  upon submersion, the victim holds his breath until forced to inhale.  he gulps water.  the water induces spasms of the larynx, which closes off the trachea to protect the lungs.  little water enters the lungs. with the trachea blocked by laryngospasms, no fresh air enters the lungs and the supply of oxygen begins to fail.  lack of oxygen, anoxia, affects the brain and within 30 seconds the laryngospasms begin to weaken with imminent brain failure.  the victim then inhales again, this time aspirating water into the lungs before a fresh spasm closes the trachea again but for a shorter duration.  with each successive inhalation, more water is aspirated; anoxia increases and the laryngospasms duration decreases until they are finally abolished and the lungs are filled with water.

unfortunately, i am no less afraid now than i was before.

pedalling health

a recurring theme in my daily conversations is, 'why bike?'  i frequently hear these reasons for not biking:

"there is a big financial investment."  to which i say, it is less than that of an automobile and far less than medical bills you could incur as a result of a sedentary lifestyle.

"there is a risk of injury."  to which i say, learn how to share the road with motorized vehicles and it won't be scary or dangerous or use the bike paths or ride on a trainer in your basement, if you must.

"i am lazy."  to which i say, duh.

but, really, why not bike?

it makes me feel good.

i am more aware of my surroundings.

i am liberated and free to travel where i like, when i like.

i am learning about discipline, riding even when i would rather drive.

i can get home safely after visiting a local establishment.

i have learned valuable life lessons (how to plan, suffer and take my time) by riding in the winter.

i am using less of our limited resources and burning my own calories.

cycling (and all forms of exercise) improves heart health, decreases chances of type II diabetes, increases bone density to avoid osteoporosis, and lowers blood lipids, cholesterol and blood pressure.

with all of these intrinsic and measurable health benefits, there are too many reasons to ride...

q&a

the cardiovascular system is a complex beast.  there is an incredible amount of anatomy and even more physiology to learn before the system can be understood, even at a basic level.  so i have decided to focus a question on the small stuff.   which type of capillary is found in the lungs?

we learned about three kinds of capillaries:
1) continuous capillaries - found abundantly in the skin and muscles, uninterrupted lining, tight junctions
2) fenestrated capillaries - same as continuous but with oval pores, permeable to fluids
3) sinusoidal capillaries - leaky, allow large particles to pass

none of these sound like the kind of capillary that would be found in the lungs, exchanging carbon dioxide and oxygen.  i did some research on the respiratory system and learned the following.  pulmonary arteries branch into pulmonary capillary networks surrounding the alveoli which are air cells of the lungs where respiratory gases are exchanged.  so i haven't determined which type of capillary is found in the pulmonary capillary network, but i did learn that the gas is not exchanged directly from the capillary, rather it is exchanged from the alveoli, which is connected to lungs via the respiratory bronchiole.

woman, homegirl, lady, lass, chica

mary roach, author of bonk, has a very wry and creative way of teaching me about my own body.  there are loads of tidbits in bonk that i find compelling and extremely hard not to share with all of my female friends.  this is one of the most fascinating things i have learned:

when women get turned on they get "wet."  this lubrication is plasma secreting from the capillaries in the nether region.  who knew, right?!  in our culture, this wetness is a nice, even requisite part of sex.  if a woman does not or cannot produce enough for the ease of penile sliding, she needn't fret, our capitalist friends have produced all kinds of synthetic lubes.

if, however, this woman lives in parts of africa, haiti or indonesia her wet vagina is a turnoff.  wow!  i didn't see that coming.  in those places, men prefer dry sex and the women accommodate.  they use all types of drying agents including newspaper, cotton, rock salt, detergent, bark and dried animal excreta.  most of us probably have a similar reaction to that new information.  ouch, coach.  but roach goes on to explain that women in "developed" countries are regularly taking part in an even more damaging practice - using super absorbent tampons.  unfortunately, they have been shown to cause the outer layer of the vaginal cells to dry out so severely that it peels away.  ouch.  again.

an alternative for women who can't help but shed their uterine walls once per month, is to use a diva cup.  it is a friendly option for our sensitive bodies, it is convenient and reliable, there is no risk of toxic shock syndrome, and it is an environmentally friendly choice.

organic

organ donation is a highly volatile subject for many.  and rightfully so.  our body is the most sacred possession we have, the only possession we have.  so it is no surprise that there is much discussion about the best organ donation policies.


on january 21, this article was posted in the online huffington post:

Colorado Organ Donor Legislation Pulled

DENVER — A Colorado bill that defaults all driver's license applicants as organ donors is unlikely to become law this year.

Democratic Sen. Lucia Guzman told Denver's KUSA-TV that she is dropping her proposal that the state change to a "presumed consent" system.

That system automatically classifies all applicants for driver's licenses and state ID cards as organ and tissue donors unless they opt out. Such donations are used in several European countries but have raised ethical concerns in the U.S.

The Colorado proposal was introduced last week and sparked fears and opposition from many.

Supporters say they will drop the proposal for now.

Colorado Senate bill: http://goo.gl/MlKSw

should colorado adopt an opt-out policy for organ donation?

yes -
1) there is a shortage of organs available for transplant every year, and although most of the public says that they would donate their organs to help someone else, less are actually registered to donate
2) currently, the family gets the final decision and may override the wishes of the potential donor.
3) the family of a potential donor is in a fragile state after the death of a loved one and they don't need the extra stress of deciding whether to donate organs.
4) this new law retains the role of the potential donor to decide whether or not to donate organs, and requires him/her to be acquainted with the law - like most other laws.
5) this maximizes the number of donated organs.

no -
1) this doesn't mean that more organs will be available.  some could see this as a threat to their rights and may result in less donors than we see currently.  there are some cultural and religious rituals that do not support organ donation.
2) the presumption of consent (potentially despite family wishes) could be traumatic for the family of the donor.  this could result in poor publicity or distrust of the medical profession.
3) there could be medical issues with removal or organs for donation that the family could reveal in a screening before donation.
4) a person may not opt-out because of a misunderstanding and their organs may be removed despite an objection to the procedure.
5) this helps the family stay involved with the donation and support the program.

life or death

the barbara walters special, a matter of life and death, focuses on the dichotomy of our hearts, it's strength and fragility.  she shares statistics: our hearts beat 100,000 times, pumping 2,000 gallons of blood, filled with oxygen, through our bodies.  in an average lifetime, this amazing muscle will beat more than 2.5 billion times.  and then she highlights the scary truth that heart disease is america's number one killer.  specifically, she shared her own story and interviewed former president bill clinton, david letterman, robin williams, regis philbin and charlie rose, who have all had major heart surgery to save their lives.


i learned more about how heart surgery works and the impressive operating room technology.  a surgeon stops your heart and uses a machine to oxygenate and pump blood throughout your body while he operates on the cardiac muscle.  it was fascinating to hear personal stories about different signs, symptoms, and recoveries.  but i was disappointed that the focus was on the technology available to "right our wrongs" and only the last few minutes of the special focused on prevention.  in our society, most people are not willing to do the work to stay healthy by eating right and exercising and this special perpetuated (and darn near encouraged) that habit.  it encourages me to be thankful for the work that local health practitioners are doing to help educate the public about maintaining heart health.