Diplomate, Board Certification of Emergency Medicine
A correction: I mentioned Israel's water is "heavy" -- that
should have been "hard." Hard water has more salts in it such
as calcium carbonate. Heavy water is industrial water which
uses hydrogen that has an extra neutron.
Some yeshiva corrections, heard from my sons who learn in
yeshiva. Shaving does not increase the thickness or response
rate of hair. Genetic factors are all that matter, for both
men and women. Another one that floated around yeshiva for
Purim is that red wine will make you vomit, and white wine
won't, so it is better to get drunk on that. No truth to that
one either. They both have the same effect and vomiting after
imbibing is only affected by how much and how your body deals
with it.
I was sent an article on dementia by a reader. It was based
on a press release published by Reuters. It highlights one
study. A recent article in the BMJ noted that most of
the highlighted articles looked at ten years later showed
that most had been disproved.
In any case, dementia can be from many causes and very few
are reversible. The most common is multi-infarct dementia,
which is due to many small strokes building up to finally
affect the functioning of the person. Alzheimer's is a
dementia occurring in younger patients -- the cause was
thought to be aluminum. The cause is truly unknown. Many
diseases can cause it -- such as Parkinson's, diabetes and
AIDS -- as well as many, many substances including alcohol,
in excess.
Dementia patients are usually very happy people and may joke
about their forgetfulness at first. They then start to get
lost, have trouble doing daily activities and start to fail
to recognize family members. They soon need help with hygiene
and eating and may begin to be unresponsive. Some even become
contracted and need to be turned every few hours to prevent
bedsores.
Reversible causes of dementia are few. Thyroidism can be
corrected, hydrocephalus -- water on the brain -- can also be
corrected. At this point the best we can do is give new drugs
that slow the process. There is some evidence that keeping
the mind strong and busy may help prevent this disease. Write
me in care of the Yated.
A message from GlaxoSmithKline, sponsor of this
column. Avandia is modern help for diabetes and works
with a very low rate of complications, including the feared
hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. Ask your endocrinologist. It
has been successful worldwide!
