stroke

A Dead Cow, Moldy Hay and Drug Discovery

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 17:11:53 +0000

There are roughly 20,000 prescription medicines approved for use around the world and in developed countries two thirds of the population takes one or more of them. Then there are all the non-prescription drugs and the various supplements that claim to have some sort of therapeutic effect that vastly outnumber prescription drugs. Obviously, drug development is a gigantic business, which is understandable given that health matters more than anything else in life and drugs promise to help with a wide range of ailments.

Is high-level endurance exercise bad for your heart?

Christopher Labos MD, MSc — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000

This article was originally posted in the Montreal Gazette.

The Funhouse Mirror of Risk Perception

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 18:22:36 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many preexisting problems. One of them is how to vet the avalanche of information flowing down at us on a daily basis. Another is how to properly assess the risks that we face.

Aspirin: To Take or Not to take? That is the Question

Christopher Labos MD, MSc — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Take-home message:
- One in four adults over 40 take a daily aspirin to prevent heart disease, despite guidelines suggesting not to.
- Contrary to popular belief, in patients with no history of heart attack of stroke the benefit from aspirin is quite small and largely offset by bleeding risk.
- The most recent 2019 guidelines from the American College of Cardiology recommend against routine aspirin use in patients over the age of 70 without heart disease or those at increased risk of bleeding.

What are the Pros and Cons of Eating Carrots?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:15:00 +0000

It has been said that eating a couple of carrots a day is like signing a health insurance policy. There are clear benefits to carrot consumption but let's deal first with the rare problems that can crop up. Allergies are possible but uncommon. A 37 year old man, for example, reported weakness in the legs, generalized itching and a change in his voice 20 minutes after drinking a glass of carrot juice. He said that this had happened on two previous occasions. Adrenaline and steroids were needed to treat the problem. Generally, even people who are allergic to raw carrots can readily tolerate cooked ones. Other problems are even more rare than allergies. In a fascinating report, an article in The British Journal of Addiction describes the case of three patients who suffered withdrawal symptoms when they tried to give up eating carrots. Read more