End of the stem cell debate?

Don't know how I missed this but just heard of a lecture on this exciting topic to be given at the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute tomorrow. Seems researchers discovered not long ago that there are lots of Very Small Embryonic Like (VSEL)--sounds like something out of the dark forest in Princess Bride--stem cells being manufactured all the time in adult bone marrow.

The exciting part is that it appears these cells can do some things that embryonic stem cells can do. They're mulitpotent, meaning they can develop into all kinds of different cells; and they have CNS homing properties, which means they may be able to be injected intravenously (a vastly less invasive way than current methods) and still make their way across endothelial layers and find the central nervous system. The implications for potentially dramatic improvements in treating neurodegenerative diseases are far-reaching.

If you live in the Cleveland area and you're free tomorrow around 2 pm, check out the presentation by Mariusz Z. Ratajczak, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Stem Cell Biology Program
James Graham Brown Cancer Center. Call the Lerner Research Institute 216.444.3900.

2 drinks a day => lower incidence of MI in men

For guys who don't smoke, who eat a healthy diet, and who exercise regularly, having two drinks of any kind of alcohol each day is consistent with a far lower incidence of heart attack than for guys who don't drink or drink only half a drink a day. As always with medical studies, they're not claiming causality, just association.

Still, it's good news to know that enjoying alchohol in moderation might be not only mind-altering relaxing for the moment but actually good for you in the long run. Let's hope they hurry up and confirm this for women.

But speaking of living longer, here's a BBC report on a study that indicates social status and cohesiveness have a strong bearing on longevity. Notice Japan's higher life expectancy (keeping mind, of course, that all these statistics are for men only...)

LIFE EXPECTANCY RATES
1. Japan 81.3
2. Sweden 79.9
3. Canada 79.2
4. Spain 79.1
5. Switzerland 79.0
5. Australia 79.0
7. Israel 78.9
8. Norway 78.7
8. France 78.7
10. Italy 78.6
15. UK 77.9
18. US 76.9
Source: UN Development Programme

And if you want more to read about social status and health (and how science works with alternative therapies), I love this book: Manifesto for a New Medicine, written by a physician who discovered through his own inability to be healed by western medicine that we in the west don't know everything there is to be known about staying well and about healing--and we seriously underestimate the role of love and caring both from and to others.

Surgery? Get the info your doc doesn't give you

This is too good not to write up. A new website gives you deep insights into the risks your doctor may forget to tell you about when s/he schedules you for surgery.

The service offers a series of 30-minute videos that illustrate surgeries, from coronary bypass to knee replacements, with step-by-step descriptions of the procedure (boy, I could have used that a few years ago) and the possible aftermath including complications. The producer, Emmi Solutions, says the idea is to reduce the risk of malpractice lawsuits--if you believe that informed patients are happier and less likely to sue (makes sense to me).

The beauty of this from a marketing viewpoint is that we, the people hear about it and want it, and we are going to be the ones calling our doctors and pushing them to subscribe to this service. Talk about a powerful sales technique...

Decaf claims outted

How many of us consumers ask for decaf simply because we don't want to get too much and how many because it's critical to our health (caffeine-sensitive, potential drug interactions, etc.)? Whatever the numbers, it turns out we've been getting fooled. And the reasons you don't want caffeine in your coffee will determine just how concerned you feel about this.

Some of us may have thought this all along anyway. Get the details on comparative levels of caffeine in Folgers crystals, Dunkin' Donuts and other specialty shops, and--last, but certainly not least culpable--Starbucks here.

Carbonated Cola Drinks Drop Bone Density in Women

I could not let this one pass. This is very depressing to those of us who love diet colas like Coke, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper. But the evidence seems incontrovertible--drinking these frequently (5 or more a week) will actually leach calcium out of your bones. And one tiny older woman I know had already been told by her doctor not long ago to cut out colas and start taking calcium when her bone density test came back unfavorable.

It's going to take a lot of retraining for many of us. And I wonder what the effect might be on sales of these products over the long haul. Be very interesting. I'll watch for information on that and let you know. Get the rest here.