<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16788" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=960421119-22122008>In case you have time
for some extra reading over the holidays---</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has issued its
annual Christmas issue. The issue annually features articles of vital interest
to the masses. Some of the articles in this year's issue:</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>=Music: Head and neck injury risks in heavy metal:
head bangers stuck between rock and a hard bass </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>=Food and Drink: Coca-Cola douches and contraception
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>=Formative Years: Right-left discrimination among
medical students:<SPAN class=960421119-22122008> </SPAN>questionnaire and
psychometric study</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>=Formative Years: The left handed surgical trainee
=Professional Considerations: The cult of the conference bag</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>=Sport: Is golf bad for your hearing? </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>=Sport: Rugby (the religion of Wales) and its
influence on the Catholic<SPAN class=960421119-22122008> </SPAN>church: should
Pope Benedict XVI be worried?</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>=Professional Considerations: Back to the future:
emergency departments and ancient Greek warfare <</FONT><A
href="http://www.bmj.com/cgi/pastseven?rangedays=7&hits=200"><U><FONT
color=#0000ff><FONT face=Arial
size=2>http://www.bmj.com/cgi/pastseven?rangedays=7&hits=200</FONT></U></FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial size=2>></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Also in the Christmas issue of BMJ is an article by
Dr. Rachel C. Vreeman and Dr. Aaron E. Carroll of the Indiana University School
of Medicine puncturing six popular assumptions that come into play over the
holidays:</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>1. Think sugar makes kids hyperactive? Think again.
According to a dozen clinical trials, sugar's effect on the little ones is all
in their parents'<SPAN class=960421119-22122008> </SPAN>minds. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>2. Suicides go up over the holidays, right? Wrong.
Family conflict, loneliness, and depression may seem more likely to peak in the
dark days of winter, but studies around the world show no uptick in people
taking their own lives on holidays in particular or in winter in general.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>3. Poinsettias are poison, yes? Nope. Nobody died
from eating these plants (never mind why you would), not even lab rats.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>4. Keeping your hat on keeps your heat in, doesn't
it? We've all heard that almost half of our body heat escapes through our heads.
Not so. The authors offer a thought experiment: If that were true, we'd feel
just as cold hatless as we would without our trousers (this is a British
journal). </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>5. Is noshing at night is a no-no? Nope. It's not the
timing, it's the calories. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>6. You can cure a hangover, can't you? Afraid not.
Neither aspirin and bananas, nor Vegemite (Vegemite?) and water will do the
trick. Can't be done, exhaustive studies say, before or after the alcohol is
consumed. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><</FONT><A
href="http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec17_2/a2769"><U><FONT
color=#0000ff><FONT face=Arial
size=2>http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec17_2/a2769</FONT></U></FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial size=2>></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><!-- Converted from text/plain format -->
<P align=left><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>Ora A. Weisz, Ph.D.<BR>Professor of
Medicine and<BR> Cell Biology and Physiology<BR>Vice Chair of
Faculty Development<BR> Department of
Medicine <BR><BR>Renal-Electrolyte
Division<BR>University of Pittsburgh<BR>978.1 Scaife Hall<BR>3550 Terrace
St.<BR>Pittsburgh, PA 15261<BR>phone: (412) 383-8891<BR>fax: (412)
383-8956<BR>email: weisz@pitt.edu<BR>website:
weisz2.dept-med.pitt.edu</FONT><BR><BR></FONT></P>
<DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML>