Clipmarks | Drugs Clips

Admissions to mental wards for drugs and alcohol up a third

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:25:47 GMT

The number of patients admitted to mental health wards because of drug or alcohol abuse has risen by almost one third in three years, latest figures show.

The rise come despite a drop in the overall number of patients in psychiatric units, from a high of 214,000 in 1998 to just over 180,000 in 2006.

Official figures released earlier this year show that one in three British adults admits to having tried illegal drugs.

Doctors have warned that high strength types of cannabis are increasing mental health problems.

Earlier this year a study showed that people who use skunk cannabis, which can be up to 10 times stronger than other types of the drug, were 18 times more likely to develop psychosis than those who smoke milder forms.

"Mental health problems that are triggered by alcohol or drug problems have to be tackled at the source by improving the nation's public health. This is yet more evidence that drugs and alcohol have a significant and detrimental effect on the nation's well-being."

Tags: drugs, alcohol

Afghanistan Conflict Rapidly Worsening

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:00:55 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: What a mess.

Nato troops given new mandate to attack heroin drug barons in Afghanistan

NATO accused of sheltering Afghan heroin trade

Karzai's brother denies links to drug trade

Nato happy to ignore explosion in Afghan opium output, says Russia

Clip Source: www.spacewar.com

US report says Afghanistan conflict rapidly worsening

Concern over Afghanistan's downward spiral rose another notch Thursday, amid reports of a draft US intelligence assessment detailing its slide into corruption, drugs and insurgent violence.

The New York Times said the draft National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) casts doubts on the ability of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to stem the resurgence of the Taliban.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said

"I would just cite that Afghanistan is a difficult place. It has made progress since 2001.

we are doing a review to see what more we can do,"

So far, the administration has promised one combat brigade by February, citing constraints imposed by the war in Iraq.

the breakdown in central authority in Afghanistan has been accelerated by rampant corruption within the Karzai government and by increasingly sophisticated insurgent attacks from safe havens in Pakistan

heroin trade by some estimates accounts for 50 percent of Afghanistan's economy

Biotech Buzz Kills

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:14:59 GMT

clipped by: Matthew Herper
clipper's remarks: Adam Feuerstein over at TheStreet.com always has smart things to say about biotech stocks. In his column today, he makes both Onyxx, which has a big-selling cancer drug, and Exelixis, which is testing cancer drugs, sound very risky.

With the markets a mess, it's hard to see how the extremely risky world of cash-hungry biotechs is going to appeal to investors.

Clip Source: www.thestreet.com

Onyx started the year at $55, so the performance of the stock is even worse than Kent describes.

Here's what's happening: Nexavar is a very good cancer drug, but most of the sales growth in liver cancer (and to a much lesser extent, kidney cancer) is coming from Europe and Asia. That's a problem because Onyx doesn't seem to have very good visibility into those markets, especially Asia.

Clip Source: www.thestreet.com

Exelixis closed trading Thursday at $3.62. That $1 billion market cap has been whittled down to under $400 million.

Clip Source: www.thestreet.com

Exelixis turned out to be an expensive stock with an early-stage pipeline. The company has a voracious and never-ending appetite for cash. And that pile of promising cancer drugs in the portfolio, far from being a "cushion from failure," has actually been a hindrance to intelligent clinical development.

Exelixis has too many drugs in the hopper, to the point that nothing is getting done quickly enough.

3-Month dollar Libor increases

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:45:04 GMT

clipped by: laveys

Clip Source: www.nakedcapitalism.com

Three Month Dollar Libor Increases

two weeks ago, it was becomimg apparent that central bank liquidity operations were not merely ineffective, but had become counterproductive in getting banks to lend to each other.

Going cold turkey is a very unpleasant thing, but the solution isn’t more drugs, even if they alleviate short term pain.

n assuming they can rely on central bank money market operations

banks are naturally avoiding lending to each other.

fear of counterparty risk is so intense

Clip Source: www.nakedcapitalism.com

US Treasuries is the ultimate bubble, a

Learning How Not To Be Afraid

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:35:41 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: When Kandel's team used radiation to blunt the birth of new cells in the dentate gyrus, they discovered that their interventions both slowed safety learning and stunted the antidepressant effects of learned safety.

Another study that points to the origin of fear as a biological entity. the glitch is it turning into anxiety.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Learning How Not To Be Afraid

experiments in which they conditioned mice to feel safe in stressful situations

The behavioral changes observed in the mice squelched anxiety as effectively as antidepressant drugs

The new study is noteworthy because it reveals in elegant detail how behavioral conditioning can affect the brain.

Two types of fear, instinctive and learned, have deep evolutionary roots and are essential for survival.

But in some people, pathological forms of learned fear can lead to debilitating anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress syndrome, or depression

"The ability to identify, develop, and exploit conditions of safety and security is central to survival and mental health

taught mice to associate a specific audible tone with protection from an impending averse event

We found that the mice trained for safety could overcome their sense of hopelessness in the swim test

conditioned for safety had a greater number of newborn cells in the dentate gyrus

Tags: fear, neuroscience

Yeast Infection Cure

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:32:18 GMT

clipped by: lehman246
clipper's remarks: Yeast Infection information on Yeast-Infections-Cure.com - Yeast infection cure for women and men, yeast infection symptoms and natural remedies to cure your infection. Find the natural cures for yeast infections and treatment to cure your yeast infection.

Clip Source: www.yeast-infections-cure.com

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How did they do it? They used a scientifically-proven and real-world tested program that’s been sweeping the Internet called, Yeast Infection No More.

Cure Yeast Infection permanently. It's a fact - 95% of the people who use conventional Yeast Infection treatments get rid of their Yeast Infection temporarily and sometimes their Yeast Infection ends up worse than when they started. Now you can learn how to be in the successful 5% group that keeps it off forever.

Tags: yeast infections, yeast infection symptoms, yeast infection natural remedy, yeast infection cure, yeast infection picture

Diamonds: Not Just Wealth but Health?

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:05:40 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Diamonds: Not Just Wealth but Health?

diamonds have a real intrinsic value other than "looking pretty", with mass-produced nanodiamonds helping to cure cancers.

Certain chemicals can greatly reduce the risk of lingering cells restarting all the cellular trouble after a tumor has been removed. The problem is that getting those drugs into the system can either result in flooding the entire body with the agent, with all manner of unwanted effects, or using site-specific implanted patches which give up their contents all too quickly.

Unless they're made of nanodiamonds. Thanks to their large biocompatible surfaces, the clusters of mini-gems can hold large reserves of many different kinds of agents which are slowly released over a period of months.

researchers at MIT are also working on using gold as a cancerbuster.

It seems that in this new age of information and nanotech, even gold and gems have to find new jobs. Better ones.

US tells NATO to help stop opium trade in Afghanistan

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:03:10 GMT

clipped by: Nathan_7870

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - The United States called on NATO allies on Thursday to allow the alliance to attack the Afghan opium trade, which it said was bringing the Taliban up to $80 million a year.

NATO's operations commander, Gen. John Craddock, has asked the 26 NATO countries for authority to attack laboratories, trafficking networks and drug lords to stem a trade helping to finance a worsening Taliban insurgency.

Germany and several other NATO states are wary of extending the role of the NATO mission, whose long-term aim is to create conditions for Afghans to take over responsibility for their own security.

Some are concerned it could worsen the violence and might cause civilian casualties that could turn Afghans against foreign forces.

Proponents of the plan argue it is essential if NATO is to reduce violence in the longer term, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the drugs trade was bringing the Taliban $60-$80 million a year.

Grandma Most E-mailed

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:29:17 GMT

clipped by: tatumsb
clipper's remarks: Home Page Tampa Bay.com

Clip Source: tampabay.com

Most emailed

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October 8, 2008, 10:14 PM

Medical students fail drug tests

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:18:24 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: They were generally unaware of street names of common recreational drugs, a knowledge that can be critical in diagnosis, and the prescribing an antidote or remedy. Very often the information given is from people who are delirious, feel threatened, concerned about being responsible for an overdose, or hysterical because of the fear someone they know well may not survive. They can find it hard to trust a doctor without a clue.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Dani Cooper

A team of British and Australian researchers have found that medical students have little in the way of street smarts when it comes to recreational drugs.

Quarterly Journal of Medicine, the team reports that the majority of final-year medical students in the UK are unable to identify common recreational drugs such as cocaine by their street names - Nose Candy, Blow and Snow.

Based on a survey of 135 students at an inner-city UK medical school, the authors say the findings have implications for the teaching of pharmacology in university medical degrees.

Co-author Alison Jones, professor of medicine and toxicology at the University of Newcastle in Australia, says the students were asked first to identify the proper names of recreational drugs from a list that contained the names of legitimate licensed drugs and words sounding similar to recreational drugs

Jones says the results are of concern because the students managed to get only an average of 11 out of 24 street names correct

Grandma Oct 8, 2008

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:55:18 GMT

clipped by: tatumsb
clipper's remarks: Grandma is in the top 5 most emailed

Clip Source: www.tampabay.com

Most emailed

Obituaries

Special report

Detours: a country in search of direction
On the eve of the election, a reporter and photographer set out for Washington, via America. We tell stories from seven towns, touching on seven issues from politics and real life.
More special reports

Video report

Friday Night Rewind
It doesn't matter which team you cheer for. We've got video previews of every high school football program in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando County.
More video reports

Multimedia report

Game show themes
These themes are probably going to make some of you have flashbacks to wasted mornings or afternoons spent sprawled in front of the TV.
More multimedia reports

Operatic singer opted for local arts work

Epilogue | Beverly Backus Bennett

Mice overcome fear depression with natural prozac

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:39:57 GMT

clipped by: LisbethJ
clipper's remarks: Time to meditate

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Mice overcome fear, depression with natural Prozac

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The brain can produce antidepressants with the right signal, a finding that suggests that meditating, or going to your "happy place," truly works, scientists reported on Wednesday.

Mice forced to swim endlessly until they surrendered and just floated, waiting to drown, could be conditioned to regain their will to live when a tone they associated with safety was played.

The experiment suggests that there are good ways to teach people this skill, and points to new routes for developing better antidepressants, said Dr. Eric Kandel of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Columbia University in New York, who led the research.

"The happy place works. This is like going to the country," Kandel said in a telephone interview.

This shows how effective psychotherapy, meditation and other stress-reduction tools may be, and it could help in the design of new drugs, Kandel said.

St. John's Wort effective for depression: study

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:12:48 GMT

clipped by: jatfla
clipper's remarks: This was very interesting. Anyone taking this or knows of someone who is? Wonder how it would interfere with other drugs.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

St. John's Wort effective for depression: study

The herbal remedy St. John's Wort effectively treats symptoms of major depression, an analysis of previous studies found

St. John's Wort extracts tested in the different trials were better than placebos and as effective as standard antidepressants with fewer side effects,

"The studies came from a variety of countries, tested several different St. John's Wort extracts, and mostly included patients suffering from mild to moderately severe symptoms,"

The treatment, which belongs to a class of compounds called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), is now off patent and widely available generically as fluoxetine.

Kenya deports US author of anti-Obama book

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:14:47 GMT

clipped by: tommy2balmy
clipper's remarks: An invitation to the book launch said the event would expose Obama's "deep secret ties" to mafia-like groups in Kenya.

"During his stay, Corsi also plans to meet Sen. Obama's brother, George Hussein Onyango Obama, who lives on $12 a year in the sprawling Huruma slums and hand him a $1,000 cheque," said the invitation, published in local papers.

Some right-wing U.S. commentators have said the case of George Obama, who is a half-brother, shows Barack Obama's double standards. But George Obama has told media he is happy with his life and that his case has been exaggerated for political ends.
One Obama fan in Nairobi, Jack Okinyi, applauded Corsi's expulsion. "His actions were highly provocative, that he dared bring such a book here. He was lucky that the authorities got him before Kenyans got their hands on him," he said.

Clip Source: africa.reuters.com

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan immigration authorities arrested the U.S. author of a critical book about presidential candidate Barack Obama before its launch on Tuesday and took him to the airport for deportation, witnesses said.

Jerome Corsi arrived at a downtown Nairobi hotel to present his book "The Obama Nation".

But he was whisked away by immigration officials and later driven to the airport by police, witnesses said. "It happened so fast, they just vanished with him," a hotel worker told Reuters.

Corsi's book, which critics say is meant to hurt Obama's poll prospects next month, questions whether he could be using drugs and insinuates the Democratic candidate is Muslim rather than Christian.

"His papers were found to be in order. His passport was fine, his visa was fine," Corsi's publicist in Kenya Peter Mbae told Reuters.

"But the government did not want him to launch his book on Kenyan soil. That's why he has been deported."

Immigration and other officials declined to comment.

Tags: kenya, obama, government oppression, deportation, jerome corsi

Afghanistan Unwinnable?

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:15:28 GMT

clipped by: oscarrob
clipper's remarks: Ask the Russians about winning a war in Afghanistan. It reminds me of the Mony Python sketch - "Not much fun in Stalingrad?"

Existing strategies probably don't allow "victory" because of our myopia on drugs and the hearts and minds of the populace.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times reported.

"We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army," he said.

Tags: afghanistan, war, war on terror, taliban

Clipmarks | Drugs Clips

Admissions to mental wards for drugs and alcohol up a third

The number of patients admitted to mental health wards because of drug or alcohol abuse has risen by almost one third in three years, latest figures show.

Afghanistan Conflict Rapidly Worsening

Biotech Buzz Kills

3-Month dollar Libor increases

Learning How Not To Be Afraid

Learning How Not To Be Afraid

Yeast Infection Cure

Who Else Wants To Permanently Cure Their Yeast Infection and Achieve LASTING Freedom From Candida Related Symptoms?

Cure Yeast Infections PERMANENTLY HOLISTICALLY WITHOUT DRUGS

Diamonds: Not Just Wealth but Health?

Diamonds: Not Just Wealth but Health?

US tells NATO to help stop opium trade in Afghanistan

Grandma Most E-mailed

Medical students fail drug tests

Grandma Oct 8, 2008

Operatic singer opted for local arts work

Mice overcome fear depression with natural prozac

Mice overcome fear, depression with natural Prozac

St. John's Wort effective for depression: study

St. John's Wort effective for depression: study

Kenya deports US author of anti-Obama book

Afghanistan Unwinnable?

Cure Yeast Infections
PERMANENTLY
HOLISTICALLY
WITHOUT DRUGS