| 09/14/01 | NEWSLETTER | carlstonmd.com |
|---|---|---|
| Hello Patients | HOME | |
| Given the approach of summer and outdoor weather I want to pass along some thoughts about sun exposure. Best, Michael Carlston |
||
| In This Issue: | INDEX | |
| The Dark Side Of Suntans | TOP | |
| I remember working with a dermatologist during my residency training in the early 1980's. He, like many of his patients was quite vain. In view of the high level of attention to looking good in his office, his recognition that a "nice tan" was really just early cancer and not desireable made a strong impression on me. The dark side of the wonderful life-giving rays of the sun is their damaging (oxidizing) effects on the skin and eyes. Your Skin The sun's radiation can cause a sunburn from a single overexposure. Long term exposure cause much greater problems. The lesser problem is that it makes the skin look leathery and old. The biggest problem is skin cancer. Many skin cancers are not serious - they can be frozen or cut off, which isn't fun but they won't kill you. Unfortunately another kind of skin cancer, melanoma, can kill you and we are in the midst of an epidemic of melanoma due to increasing ultraviolet exposure with outdoor time, air pollution and deterioration of the protective ozone layer. Children are especially vulnerable. One sunburn DOUBLES the risk of skin cancer for that child. What Can You Do?
Don't forget about your eyes! The two chief causes of blindness as we age are cataract and macular degeneration. Both of these are highly influenced by oxidative factors - dietarily and sun light. Wearing sunglasses helps prevent both of these but they MUST be UV blocking sunglasses. If not they could actually increase your risk of macular degeneration by opening up your pupils allowing the UV light to pass through damaging the retina. Oral carotenoids, especially alpha carotenes, also protect against both of these problems. You can enjoy the nice weather and be healthy. FYI A representative of one company that makes micronized zinc sunscreen and topical vitamin C, as well as a number of other good skin care products, will give a free presentation in the conference room across from my office June 13 from 6-7 pm. She will give a gift basket with $175 worth of their products to one of the people attending her talk. Others will receive a small sample for attending. If you'd like to attend, call our office to register. The room only holds twenty people so advance registration is neccessary. Best, Michael Carlston | ||
| Comments On the Following "Wrestling" Study. | TOP | Hello Patients, I think the study reported below is one of those lies-damned lies-statistics findings. Thinking back on my cousins who loved watchin wrastlin and went on to drug addiction, I think they were headed that way before the WWF entered their lives. I believe their fascination with wrestling was more a result of their seeking exciting high risk activities than it was the cause of future troubles. Maybe I feel this way because I'm from Minnesota and you've probably heard about the governor. On the other hand, while I respected the ability of "real wrestlers" I never had much interest in these guys, - well except Verne Gagne. See, he was a good guy and the bad guys always tried to beat him up really unfairly. I remember the time Big Bobby Heenan's tag team partner snuck into the ring and tried to put a sleeper hold on Vern ......... Sorry I got carried away there. There may be a better interpretation - just as during my training years any girl named "Brandy" appeared likely to be the victim of child abuse, those who center their lives around watching people beat each other up might have too much enthusiasm for violence - but Verne was different. |
| Young Wrestling Fans Exhibit Risky Behaviors | TOP | |
| Researchers in North Carolina found that high-school students who watch wrestling on television were more likely to drink, carry a gun, chew tobacco, and fight with their dates, Reuters reported April 30. The study, led by Dr. Robert DuRant of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., was based on responses to confidential questionnaires completed by 2,228 high-school students. Researchers measured the amount of professional wrestling students said they watched on television during a two-week period and compared it with other behaviors, such as alcohol consumption, fighting, illegal drug use, and carrying a weapon. The 63 percent of high-school boys who viewed wrestling were found to be more likely to have started a fight with a date, carry a gun or other weapon, use chewing tobacco, take Ritalin without a prescription, or drive after drinking alcohol. The 35 percent of high-school girls who watched wrestling were found to be more likely to initiate fights or be the victim of a date fight, carry a gun or other weapon to school, drink alcohol at school, or use marijuana or Ritalin. High-school students who watched wrestling at least six times during a two-week period were more likely to have used alcohol or drugs during their last fight with a date. "Doctors need to talk to parents about TV violence and its impact on these kids," said DuRant. "This is bad stuff -- it can definitely affect both the attitudes and behaviors of these high-school students." The researchers presented their findings at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, held recently in Baltimore, Md. |
||
| Commentary: Further Comments On "Studies." | TOP | |
| As Disraeli wrote and Mark Twain subsequently borrowed, "There are three kinds of lies; Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics." I am very interested in research. On average I spend nearly two hours a day reading medical research to be certain that I provide you with the best care possible. Over the past 2 decades I have been a part of many research projects as a designer, investigator and consultant. Also I review research articles submitted to medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, to determine if they are good enough to be published. Only a very small percentage of submissions are published by the best medical journals due to errors in the research design. Although research can be extremely useful it can also be equally misleading if you simply accept it a face value. Today's news story about a study on St John's Wort is a good example. The news reads as if this study proves that SJWort is ineffective. That is simply not true. No study is perfect and this one is no exception. Even if it were a perfect study, one negative study doesn't negate the 20 or so earlier positve studies. This study was a good one but it had a couple of important flaws - it lasted only 8 weeks and the patients were quite depressed. In my experience SJW seems to take longer to be effective in many patients, require higher dosages than they used and is effective primarily for patients who are less severely depressed. Much of the research confirms my observations from clinical experience. The best perspective on this study and all research is that each one is just one piece of the puzzle. Some pieces are more helpful than others but none of them alone makes the picture clear. I hope this clears up any confusion created by the news story. Best, Michael Carlston, M.D. |
||
| HOME | TOP | |