Someday soon, you may be able to get a beautiful tan without exposing yourself to the damaging power of the sun or frequenting a tanning booth. Researchers are currently working on a way to allow people to get a safe tan by taking a shot or an injection.

Initial findings indicate that a synthetic hormone may make tanning possible without exposure to the sun. It may also provide protection against continued sun damage.

In a recent study, some of the men participating, received 10 injections of a synthetic version of melanocytestimulating hormone (MSH) while others were given an inactive saline solution over 12 days. Several of the men in the study were known to tan easily and others sunburned easily.

The results of the study showed that the skin of the men who received the hormone actually darkened. Some of these men even stayed tan up through a seven-week observation period which followed the injections.

Researchers say that the drug works by stimulating an enzyme which in turn triggers the production of melanin— the substance which is responsible for skin color. Studies into the feasibility of “tanning injections” continue.

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The study revealed that patients who had received antibiotics up to two hours before surgery were as much as 50 percent less likely to develop infection than those patients who received antibiotics either earlier or after their operations.

The researchers say that the two-hour period prior to surgery is the optimum time to give the patient antibiotics because it can help reduce the risk of post-surgery infection and pain, as a consequence reduce the patient’s hospital bill by thousands of dollars by reducing the time of recovery.

5 Important Pain Killer Warnings

Here are some things you should know about over-the-counter pain

killers:

1) Don’t use over-the-counter pain killers for longer than 48 hours before you seek medical advice.

2) Avoid taking aspirin for a few weeks before you are to have surgery.

3) Do not give aspirin to children or teenagers.

4) If you are allergic to aspirin, you may also be allergic to ibuprofen, so don’t take either.

5) Don’t take ibuprofen if you have kidney disease

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According to a recent study, middle-aged men who exercised regularly had a lower risk of developing adult diabetes, which is the most common form of the disease. The study showed that the men reduced their risk of developing adult diabetes by as much as 6 percent with every 500 calories they burned off each week by exercise. The findings also suggest that the positive effects of regular exercise seem to apply regardless of such hearth risk factors as obesity, high blood pressure, aging, and/or family history of the disease. And while the study used men as its subjects, it is believed that the findings could probably hold true for women as well.

Diabetes affects men and women in almost equal numbers. In all, over 12 million Americans suffer from the disease. And, according to the study, vigorous exercise such as jogging or playing tennis, provided more protection than did less vigorous activities such as golf. Also, of the men who participated in the study, those at the highest risk benefited most from exercise. In fact, men who participated in vigorous activity, burning about 3500 calories each week, cut their risk nearly in half when compared with men who were inactive.

If you have diabetes, you may need to drink a sweet liquid or eat a food containing sugar just before you begin exercise. It may also be wise for you to carry sugar or candy with you in case your blood sugar level drops as a result of vigorous physical activity. Consult your doctor for his or her recommendations before you begin any exercise program.

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This annoying condition arises from abnormal accumulations of secretions in the upper throat, behind the nose. When that happens, there is a watery or sticky discharge, which is affectionately called post nasal drip. Here are some expert suggestions on how to dry up the drip:

1) Blow your nose— while this may be an obvious thing to do under the circumstances, it is often overlooked. By blowing your nose regularly, you will get rid of some of the drainage from the front of your nose.

2) Use a saltwater gargle— add 1/2 teaspoon of salt (1/3 if you have high blood pressure) to 8 ounces of water, and gargle. This solution should help clear your throat.

3) Go easy on the spicy foods— some “hot” and “spicy” foods such as hot peppers and curry, can act as irritants and make the condition worse.

4) Drink lots of fluids, except milk— warm fluids such as tea or warm water with lemon can help keep the mucus lining moist and get rid of post nasal drip. Milk, however, may promote excess mucus production, making the condition worse.

5) If your post nasal drip is persistent, consult your doctor. You may have a genuine sinus infection. Your doctor may prescribe decongestants and suggest that you increase your household humidity.

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People who are prone to high blood pressure may want to avoid caffeine before a workout. A recent study suggests that a cup of coffee just prior to exercising is likely to intensify the normally slight increase in blood pressure brought on by physical activity.

The study involved 34 men ages 21 to 35 who took either an amount of caffeine equal to that contained in 2 to 3 cups of brewed coffee or a placebo before exercising.

According to the researchers, the results showed that 44 percent of the subjects tested experienced a temporary increase in blood pressure. The number was more than twice that of those who experienced a short-term rise in blood pressure due to exercise alone. The study also suggests that caffeine may cause blood pressure to continue to rise throughout moderate to intense exercise.

While the study was conducted on men with normal blood pressures, experts say it is likely the results also hold true for people with high blood pressure. For that reason, the researchers recommend that people with hypertension avoid or at least limit their caffeine intake on those days they plan to exercise.

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Free drug trials are advertised on radio and television and in the newspapers. Upon telephoning the investigator, a potential participant in one of these trials would undergo a ten-minute screening interview on the phone, during which the new drug, the nature of the study, and the possibility of being assigned to a placebo would be explained, along with the rights of patients who volunteer, including the right to discontinue the drug at any time. If the screening interview looks promising, the patient is asked to come in for a more detailed psychiatric interview. Thereafter, a medical exam, including an EKG, is performed to see if the patient is truly eligible. If the patient meets the criteria, he or she is asked to sign a one or two-page informed consent document about the study.

Clinical drug studies generally fall into three categories. In phase I studies, patients in the hospital are treated with drugs in their earliest state of clinical development to determine dosages and safety. In phase II studies, both hospitalized patients and outpatients are given low, medium, or high doses to check for efficacy, tolerance, and side effects. In phase III studies, investigators usually compare the new drug to a placebo and to one or two other standard drugs that have been marketed for several years. Large numbers of outpatients in eight to ten centers throughout the country participate thereafter in a six-to eight-week trial. Most new drug studies go through these final phases of development prior to I approval by the PDA for marketing. In phase IV, drug studies take place after marketing in order 10 investigate the medication’s potential usefulness with diseases other than the initial illness for which the FDA gave its approval. The people who participate in these antidepressant trials may include treatment-resistant patients who have tried other antidepressants, including tricyclics, MAOIs and SSRIs, all without success. For them a new drug trial is the court of last appeal. The lack of cost to the participants and the extraordinary attention they receive from highly qualified doctors and nurses are major factors in the patient’s motivation to participate.

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In the more than forty years since the discovery and later the widespread use of lithium for manic depression, scientific and clinical case studies have been accumulating rapidly, showing a high rate of severe mood disorders and suicides among artists, composers, sculptors, and writers. Researchers at the University of Kentucky Medical Center reviewed the lives of over a thousand accomplished people in a variety of fields, including Henri Matisse, Aldous Huxley, and Albert Einstein. 17% of the actors and 13% of the poets were manic-depressives—but only about 1% of the scientists. Other studies have found mat manic depression and major depression are as much as ten to thirty times more frequent among noted artists than among the population as a whole.

A study matching thirty members of the Iowa Writers Workshop with thirty nonwriters revealed that 80% of the writers—but only 30% of the non-writers—reported at least one episode of depression’ or manic depression (30% of the writers but only 6% of the controls, were alcoholic). In addition, the parents and siblings of the writers were significantly more creative and more prone to highs and lows than the relatives of the nonwriters. For instance, 20% of the writers’ brothers and sisters, but only 3% of the siblings of the control population, had a mood disorder; 14% of the writers’ siblings had experienced major depression, versus 3% of the control siblings.

This data strongly suggests a genetic link between mania, depression, and artistic creativity.

*90\22\4*

The attack against Prozac was launched in November 1989 by the Church of Scientology, a group characterized by die Wall Street Journal as “a quasi-religious/business/paramilitary organization” and defined by Funk and Wagnall’s 1984 New Comprehensive International Dictionary as “a religious and psychotherapeutic cult purporting to solve personal problems, cure mental and physical disorders, and increase intelligence.” Founded by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer who died in 1986, Scientology considers its doctrines to be, as the subtitle of Hubbard’s book Dianetics explains, “the modern science of mental health.” After that book’s publication in 1950, mental health professionals spoke out against Scientology. Perhaps in retaliation. Scientologists have long counted psychiatrists, psychiatric medications, and pharmaceutical companies among their many enemies. Prozac, a spokesman alleged, was a “killer drug.”

Leading the Scientology attack against Prozac is the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a group which was founded by Scientology in 1969 and which had in the past attacked the amphetaminelike drug Ritalin (widely used for helping hyperactive children achieve a normal attention span.) Once the CCHR set its sights on Prozac, it lobbied against it, sent out mass mailings, and, in October 1990, filed a citizen’s petition with the Food and Drug Administration requesting the withdrawal of Prozac from the market—only a few months after the FDA reaffirmed Prozac’s safety and efficacy as an antidepressant.

As ammunition, the CCHR made extensive use of an article published in February 1990 in the American Journal of Psychiatry by several Boston psychiatrists. The report stated that after two to seven weeks on Prozac, six out of 172 high-risk mental patients who had not been responsive to other drugs became preoccupied with violent, obsessive suicidal thoughts, and that two of them tried (without success) to kill themselves.

Nothing about this was in the least extraordinary to psychiatrists who are familiar with and treat depression. Depressed people are often suicidal: it’s a symptom of the disease. About 15% of patients with diagnosed depression eventually commit suicide; about 80% of all patients who commit suicide or make a serious attempt to do so are depressed. At the time and now, most leading psychopharmacologists in the United States felt that it was not a surprise that a few of the deeply depressed patients in the Boston study were suicidal. In addition, four of the six were taking other medications (in one case, five other medications). It was also noted that, although none of these patients seemed suicidal when they began taking Prozac, five of the six had had suicidal thoughts in the past.

Nonetheless, because serotonin, the neurotransmitter Prozac specifically affects, may be linked with aggression, there was reason for concern. It was speculated that in a few instances, Prozac might “tip the balance in the wrong direction, toward violence and aggression.”

When the article came to the attention of the CCHR, they took the figures, which were based on a small group of nonresponsive mental patients, and extrapolated them to the entire population. Using the article’s statistics, they asserted not only that “up to 140,000 people in the United States have become violent and suicidal by Prozac” but also that Prozac could easily promote killing sprees, a prediction they backed up with one unique story of mass murderer Joseph Wesbecker. In 1989, Wesbecker attacked his co-workers at the Standard Gravure printing plant in Louisville, Kentucky. Using an AK-47 assault rifle, be killed eight, wounded twelve, and then shot himself.

Why did he do this? Speaking on the “Phil Donahue Show,” Dennis Clarke, president of the CCHR, announced that he did it because he was taking Prozac. Before that, Clarke said, Wesbecker “had no history of violence.”

However, as the Wall Street Journal revealed in April 1991, this was completely untrue. Wesbecker had made twelve previous suicide attempts, had often talked of killing his employers, and had accumulated a collection of guns, with which he regularly practiced shooting—all before he started taking Prozac.

The attack on Prozac was well under way when, on May 6, 1991, Time magazine ran a cover story entitled “Scientology: The Cult of Creed.” The

Church of Scientology struck back with a $3 million ad campaign in USA Today that suggested that Time had attempted to forward Hitler and included an attack against Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Prozac.

The result of all this? Sales of Prozac, by then a full 25 percent of the antidepressant market slipped to 21 percent. In a dozen cases around the nation, defense attorneys argued that their clients were not responsible for their actions because they had been taking Prozac. Even more disturbing to me and other psychiatrists, many patients decided on their own to discontinue the drug, with the predictable result that their depression worsened and in some cases their suicidal thoughts became more intense. Worst of all, some patients needed to be hospitalized as a result of going off their medication.

In July 1991, the FDA rejected the CCHR petitions, once again reaffirming the safety of Prozac. Two months later, the FDA Advisory Committee and an independent scientific advisory committee unanimously announced that Prozac and other antidepressants do not cause suicide or violent behavior, in fact, Prozac seemed to protect against violent behavior, and large clinical trials indicate that patients taking Prozac are actually less suicidal than those taking a placebo or other antidepressant drugs.

Nonetheless, the CCHR and a handful of attorneys have continued this campaign against Prozac, twisting the scientific data, misrepresenting the clinical experience, and discouraging patients from taking a drug that has been accepted in more than sixty-three countries around the world as a safe and effective way to treat depression. The anti-Prozac campaign has been thoroughly discredited by the FDA, the American Psychiatric Association, and all leading medical authorities. Unfortunately, the ultimate victims of the disinformation campaign are the patients, their families, and the medical profession.

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Depressed people are sometimes told to “buck up”, snap out of it, quit whining, or get their act together. But it doesn’t work that way. Major depression is a physiological condition, many varieties of which have been shown to be genetically inherited. It is characterized by disturbances of appetite, sex, sleep, and mood, all of which appear to have their primary location in an area of the brain called the hypothalamus, which acts as a control center for these physiological functions and needs and is influenced by other biochemical processes in die brain and the body. Major depression is not just a psychological reaction to some real or imaginary loss; it is biological with psychological components and effects. The sole use of Prozac (and other antidepressants) depends in part on the patient’s physical health.

Is it safe to take Prozac and other medications at the same time? The more medications a person is taking, the greater the chance for potential problems. Drugs interact. So whenever a second medication is in the body, it should mean extra caution on the part of the physician and patient. Potential drug interactions should always be researched by the treating physician.

Has Prozac had any effect on male or female reproduction or fertility? Limited studies have shown no effect on reproductive functioning or fertility in bow sexes. Men are able to take Prozac throughout their reproductive life without any harmful effects on sperm count.

Does Prozac damage the brain? No brain damage whatsoever has been detected in animal or human studies, even after Prozac has been given in doses many times higher than that which is normally considered safe.

*48\22\4*

Because studies have not correlated a specific blood level of Prozac with therapeutic results, blood tests are not routinely taken. This is in direct contrast to some other antidepressants. For instance, with at least four tricyclic antidepressants (imipramine, desipramine, nortriptyline, and amitriptyline), blood levels may be routinely taken by some psychiatrists, including myself, because certain levels are needed to achieve a therapeutic window effect, and hence the blood test serves as a guide to the psychiatrist as to the dosage required.

With Prozac, on the other hand, the appropriate dosage, for the most part, corresponds simply to weight and age. Patients of average age and weight (for men that is 150 pounds, mean age 35; for women that is 120 pounds, mean age 35) need approximately 20 mg of Prozac a day, with the very young and very old taking smaller doses. But the average dose is not necessarily the correct one for a given individual. Ultimately, the way a patient feels is the most important determinant of the final dosage, along with the patient’s specific metabolism and genetic factors.

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