Chronic Bits 

For the first time, a patch to treat depression has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Get more scoop here from the FDA.

Check it! New Grand Rounds, with tons of great medical and health blogs, offered up by A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure. We (heart) Grand Rounds, and this edition is even illustrated with the artwork of surgeon/painter Joseph Wilder. Very cool. Learn more about Grand Rounds, and see the archives, here.

Doesn't that sound like something out of a Philip K. Dick novel? Recent news reports tell us that much of North America's fish stock has high levels of mercury, so we're now offered a low-mercury fish product. Is no one else up in arms about the mercury issue? For the love of fish, somebody's gotta fix this problem! Don't take away the Editrix's spicy tuna rolls! Read more from Nubella.

If this study is right, that is. New research shows that optimism is good for your heart. (But is it as good as cocoa? Hmm?) Check out coverage from WebMD. But, darn! They forgot to test men. Maybe next time they'll get around to it, since heart disease is the leading cause of death in women.

The Editrix has always been perplexed by the "pain scale." In fact, she had a physical therapist back in the day who used to joke that on her worst days, her pain seemed to be turned up to 11, a la Spinal Tap. So she was curious to check out Kerrie's (The Daily Headache) take on pain scales. Read what Kerrie has to say, and see two other takes on the scale, from the American Chronic Pain Association and from The International Pudendal Neuropathy Association.

Cocoa can lower blood pressure and reduce risk of heart disease, according to new research. Yay! Need we say more? The study appears in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Get the scoop from the BBC.

Dr. Andy, an allergist/immunologist at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, hosts this week's Grand Rounds. If you're not familiar with this health care carnival, check out the archives here -- it offers a regular collection of excellent perspectives. So cool!

While millions of Americans take glucosamine sulfate and condroitin to help with symptoms of arthritis, a new study questions the effectiveness of the supplements. Some are questioning the validity of the study, but there may be strength in numbers: It is the third study in a year to question the supplements' benefits, according to Daily News Central--Health. Check out the full study results in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Could erectile-dysfunction drugs like Viagra help ease the symptoms of Crohn's disease? Some researchers believe that Crohn's may be caused by a weakened immune system (contrary to current beliefs), and that medications like Viagra may help increase blood flow to the affected areas and help reduce symptoms. Read on, from WebMD... 

Via Boing Boing, who got it from Make, check out this awesome carniverous plant kit. With 10 different meat-eaters, it's a steal at $21. Buy it here from Edmund Scientifics.

Via Kerrie, at The Daily Headache: women are more likely to see doctors about headaches, but less likely to get a specialist referral. What the heck? Read what Kerrie has to say about it (she has collected some helpful links).

Another of the Editrix's drugs, Flonase, is about to go generic. It's about time! Check out the news from WebMD, and see what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has to say about it.

Women under stress may have higher chances of miscarrying in the early stages of pregnancy, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Check out full coverage from WebMD, or see the article abstract from PNAS.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have found the first evidence of a physical abnormality underlying the chronic pain condition called reflex sympathetic dystrophy or complex regional pain syndrome-I (CRPS-I). In the February issue of the journal Pain, they describe finding that skin affected by CRPS-I pain appears to have lost some small-fiber nerve endings, a change characteristic of other neuropathic pain syndromes. "Our results suggest that CRPS-I patients should be evaluated by neurologists who specialize in nerve injury and be treated with medications or procedures that have proven effective for other nerve-injury pain syndromes," says Anne Louise Oaklander, MD, PhD, director of the MGH Nerve Injury Unit, who led the study. Read on for much more from MGH.

By the end of 2006, doctors in 10 states will have the ability to access comprehensive digital prescription histories for patients, according to Reuters. SureScripts will offer the service in Rhode Island, Nevada, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Florida and New Jersey starting April 1, with plans for expansion underway. Read on for more.

Yup, we thought that would get your attention. Just for fun, consider this alternative, brought to us by Daily Candy: the candy grape-smuggler. Buy it here.

WebMD reports that researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis) are combining two therapies in a new effort to treat asthma. The new strategy would address the overproduction of mucus, which can clog lungs. Human trials could start in the next year or two, the researchers say. Read more from WebMD.

We're a little fuzzy on whether alopecia areata is considered a chronic illness/ disease/ condition, but whatever. This site rocks! Bold is Beautiful looks at bald women of all sorts and examines the beauty and strength of a lock-less head. Women who are bald from alopecia, the effects of chemotherapy, and by choice are profiled and photographed beautifully. Rock on, my bald sisters!

Grr. The Editrix just ate a spicy tuna maki and here comes news (via KaiserNetwork.org) that about 23% of women and girls (ages 16 to 49) have dangerous levels of mercury. We've talked about this before (here, here and here), and it looks like we'll be talking 'bout it for a long time to come. Check out excellent info from our pals at KaiserNetwork. Grr.

So says the Daily Om: "Worrying does nothing to ensure a positive outcome and it has an unpleasant effect on your body, mind, and spirit." The Editrix--who is stretching past her comfort zone lately with interesting, challenging writing assignments--is trying her best not to worry so much about the outcome. Helpful reminders from the Daily Om offer a reality check. Subscribe to it here. 

Scranton, Penn., Richmond, Va., and Philadelphia are among America's top Asthma Capitals based on twelve factors considered in the annual ranking of 100 major metropolitan areas, released today by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). Get the scoop on all 100 cities here. The Editrix is very sad to see Chicago ranked #22.

Carnival of Compassion #19 is hosted by HealthyConcerns, and offers a bunch of great resources. Check it out!

Subscribers to the CFIDS Association of America magazine CFIDS Chronicle will get this article soon, but you can download it for free today. Gudrun Lange, PhD, "one of the leading researchers on CFS and cognitive function" according to the association, examines research on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and the brain. And click here to subscribe to the association's newsletter, which is a great resource on CFS news.

The National Women's Health Network is cautioning women to think before they chow, following yesterday's news that low-fat diets do not necessarily reduce the risk of cancer for women. Check out the details of the study here, from the Women's Health Initiative. As with any diet, you should check in with your health care providers before making big changes.

Add this to the long list of benefits offered by using kegels: they can help relieve and prevent urinary incontinence, according to the Center for the Advancement of Health. This isn't the first time we've put out the call for kegels, and it won't be the last. We recommend Vaginas: An Owner's Manual for great advice on taking care of your kitty.

You gotta love Grand Rounds. This weekly collection of medical blogs rocks, offering dozens of different perspectives. Check out this week's selections from Bora Zivkovic, a "Red-State Serbian Jewish atheist liberal PhD student with Thesis-writing block and severe blogorrhea trying to understand US politics by making strange connections between science, religion, brain, language and sex." Who can resist?

New research shows that drinking water may help decrease pain sensitivity, according to Immune Support. Granted, the study only examined 10 people, but those who were thirsty (by way of a saline injection) felt more pain when applied to their thumbs. Check out the study here. And drink your h2o, ladies!

Recently on Daily Candy the crew profiled the Puzzle Alarm Clock, which not only makes sound at the appointed time--it also shoots off four puzzle pieces that have to be replaced correctly before you can hit the snooze button. Great alarm clock? Maybe. New-fangled torture devide? Definitely. This one's built for gals like the Editrix, who hit the snooze button a record of 6 times yesterday. Buy it here.

Men and women definitely have different pain experiences, just one example of inequities in pain experience in the U.S. The National Pain Foundation is running a series of articles examining the differences, starting with this one focusing on gender. Following articles will focus on race and ethnicity, socio-economic issues, the issues of older adults, and a final piece focusing on groups that do not receive adequate pain care. Click here to sign up for the NPF e-newsletter to get regular updates.

I love the DailyOM. Wednesday's entry is perfect for ChronicBabes - it's all about taking a day off to just take care of yourself (also known as a mental health day). It even recommends preparing for your Snow Day - something the Editrix has never actually done, because she usually takes spontaneous Snow Days. But what a cool idea!

Pfizer's Exubera will soon be available as the world's first inhaled insulin medication, according to Reuters. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Commission, the medication will likely be available to those in the U.K. first. Details from the FDA here, news from Pfizer here, coverage from WebMD here.

OH NO! The Editrix's favorite food is sushi. It is her comfort food! On a bad day, nothing makes her feel better than a spicy tuna roll. So this news is not good: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that some canned tuna, as well as tuna sold in some sushi restaurants, contains high levels of mercury, which are, you know, bad for us. Learn more from Nubella here. If I'm not mistaken, this story was first scooped by hometown newsies at the Chicago Tribune.