The New York Times has an interesting piece today in its Science Section that asks an obvious question: Creatures such as puffer fish, floral egg crabs, and blue-ringed octopi all contain incredibly lethal amounts of tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin that causes paralysis and respiratory arrest by binding to and blocking elements of the fast sodium channel in excitable tissue. …
AGRANULOCYTOSIS ASSOCIATED WITH COCAINE USE — FOUR STATES, MARCH 2008 – NOVEMBER 2009 MMWR Dec 18, 2009;58:1381-1385.
A must-read report in the current issue of MMWR presents 21 cases of agranulocytosis in cocaine users, apparently caused by adulteration of the drug with levamisole, a veterinary anihelminthic also used infrequently in humans to treat certain types of cancer. The DEA has …
There is an excellent story in the Wall Street Journal about the life and death of Dr. Ramin Pourandarjani, an Iranian military physician who some believe was murdered because he refused to cover up torture and rape witnessed at the Kahrizak detention center near Tehran. Initially the government claimed he died in a motor vehicle accident, and later claimed he …
HYDROXOCOBALAMIN AND SODIUM THIOSULFATE VERSUS SODIUM NITRITE AND SODIUM THIOSULFATE IN THE TREATMENT OF ACUTE CYANIDE TOXICITY IN A SWINE (Sus scrofa) MODEL Bebarta VS et al. Ann Emerg Med 2009 (in press)
This is a great example of a interesting paper whose conclusion seems completely at odds with the data. The authors — from the Wilford Hall …
The FDA announced this week that Atlas Operations has initiated a recall of their dietary supplements marketed for “male enhancement”. Analysis revealed that some of the products contained sulfoaildenafil, a sildenafil analogue. This drug has the potential to cause dangerous decreases in blood pressure, especially for patients taking certain other medications such as nitroglycerin. According to a press release from …
The Guardian’s compilation of six great goals from the last decade almost turned TPR into a soccer (excuse me . . . football) fan.…
The California Poison Control System –which had been scheduled to shut down on January 10 of next year — has now received funding through June 2010. The system handles more than 900 calls a day and is operated by the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at UC-San Francisco.…
THE LIMITATIONS OF ROUTINE TOTAL DIGOXIN IMMUNOASSAY IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE Sharma R et al. Q J Med 2009;102:747
(No Abstract Available)
This short letter presents two “case scenarios” that point out some pitfalls in measuring digoxin levels:
1) Endogenously produce digoxin-like immunoreactive factors can cause a falsely elevated total serum digoxin level in patients who are …
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