Can a Persistent Headache be Caused by Sinus Problems?

I came across an interesting article that appeared over a year ago in the Washington Post. The article is titled “A man’s persistent headache proves hard to diagnose and harder to treat,” by Sandra G. Boodman, and published on March 19, 2012. Article Link: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-03-19/national/35448791_1_headache-sinus-pain-relievers The article discusses a 41 year old man who developed a constant headache in November of 2008. Over the course of many months the man consulted many neurologists, ear nose and throat doctors, ophthalmologist, and others but none could explain what was causing him the headache. The man is quoted as saying “I’d been chasing this for more than six months. No one could tell me what it was. I just remember thinking, ‘How am I going to be able to function if it never goes away?” Over the course of the treatment the man … Read more

Electric Stimulation of Brain Releases Powerful Painkiller

Researchers have been exploring delivering electricity through sensors on the skulls of chronic migraine patients and have found a decrease in the intensity of pain of their headaches. A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry has shown that when electricity is sent to certain regions in the brain of a patient with chronic, severe facial pain it releases an opiate-like substance and powerful painkiller. In the study, researchers administered a radiotracer that reached important brain areas in a patient with trigeminal neuropathic pain. They then applied electrodes and electrically stimulated the skull right above the motor cortex  for 20 minutes during a PET scan which is known as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The radiotracer was designed to measure the local brain release of mu-opioid, a natural substance that alters pain perception. The researchers argue that this is the … Read more

Controversy Surrounding Marijuana

I recently watched a very controversial documentary shown on Wealth TV (re-run had previously aired) titled Marijuana Miracle Cure 2 Wired for Weed. This came out a few months ago in 2013, and seems to be a follow up to their Marijuana Miracle Cure program from 2012. If you have not seen it, you may be able to catch another re-run on Wealth TV or you may be able to find the entire 1 hour program (including commercials) on YouTube. The documentary raises some interesting points about marijuana (aka cannabis) and it’s potentially medical properties. Now the first question, I have, is why does Wealth TV have a documentary on marijuana? It seems from the documentary that they are genuinely interested in the potential medical issues of marijuana. This is because of the focus and nature of the documentary, but there … Read more

Long Term Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

An interesting article appears in the journal PLOS ONE looking at the consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI) using rate models. The researchers used rat models and found that overtime TBI results in progressive brain deterioration characterized by elevated inflammation and suppressed cell regeneration. Long-term neurological deficits from TBI related to inflammation may cause more severe secondary injuries and even predispose people to neurodegenerative diseases later in life. Traumatic brain injuries are important to study since troops in the U.S. military have increasingly suffered TBI from improvised explosive devices. One of the coauthors from the journal article (Dr. Paul R. Sanberg) says “Progressive injury to hippocampal, cortical and thalamic regions contributes to long-term cognitive damage post-TBI. Both military and civilian patients have shown functional and cognitive deficits resulting from TBI.” In the study researchers looked at different parts of the … Read more

Potential Risks of Surgery for Wisdom Teeth (Third Molars)

M. Anthony Pogrel in his article “What Are the Risks of Operative Intervention?” in the Journal of Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery vol. 70, pp. 33-36, 2012, suppl. 1, goes into complications associated with removing impacted wisdom teeth (third molars). I have previously explored this topic in detail over at http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html. Although I did a poor job of distinguishing actual complications from negligence. In the article, Pogrel describes how studies have indicated that around 10% (1 in 10) of people undergoing removal of third molars may suffer from a complication. However, most of these complications are mild and will completely resolve in time. Pogrel states “Complications from M3 removal can be divided into 2 groups: those that are short-lived and self limiting, including bleeding, inflammatory complications such as surgical site infection and alveolar osteitis, or “dry socket,” drug reactions, displaced crowns … Read more