Thursday, December 01, 2005
Not All Bad
I'm a mess this morning. Last night I hit send on my first grad school application (Berkeley), and went out with a couple of friends to celebrate. Pics will be forthcoming, once my brain reconstitutes itself and I can connect my camera to a computer.
Things are looking up, however, thanks to my B.F.F., coffee. Apparently, and despite the contrary evidence of every scientist I know, science was not aware that coffee wakes you up. A new study's preliminary results suggest that the drink may in fact help wake you up and jump-start short-term memory. I may need more jump-starting before I think this is particularly exciting, but it's still kinda cool.
Yesterday, we were warned about the bad effects of too much acetaminophen. Today, a study indicates that regular doses of the pain killer may help dementia patients be more active. In that the effect seems due to the drug's pain killing effect - many elderly patients suffer from chronic, low-grade pain, which makes them avoid activity - I suspect that, say, ibuprophen or aspirin might have the same effects (doctors can pick which drug's side effects are most acceptable, etc.).
Things are looking up, however, thanks to my B.F.F., coffee. Apparently, and despite the contrary evidence of every scientist I know, science was not aware that coffee wakes you up. A new study's preliminary results suggest that the drink may in fact help wake you up and jump-start short-term memory. I may need more jump-starting before I think this is particularly exciting, but it's still kinda cool.
Yesterday, we were warned about the bad effects of too much acetaminophen. Today, a study indicates that regular doses of the pain killer may help dementia patients be more active. In that the effect seems due to the drug's pain killing effect - many elderly patients suffer from chronic, low-grade pain, which makes them avoid activity - I suspect that, say, ibuprophen or aspirin might have the same effects (doctors can pick which drug's side effects are most acceptable, etc.).
