ArcaMax

Rising rates of colorectal cancer in younger people have prompted calls for screening at an earlier age. A new study looked at the question of when people are old enough to no longer require follow-up colonoscopies, when the procedure no longer makes long-term health sense.

In a cross-sectional study of 10,000 patients aged 70 to 85 who had had precancerous growths removed a year or more before, researchers found surveillance colonoscopies detected very few cancer recurrences: just 0.3% in patients.

The scientists recommend discussing benefits of continued testing "in the context of the life expectancy of the patient and weighed against the rare but known harms of colonoscopy, which increase with advancing age and comorbidities."

Speaking of Upraised Digits

When it comes to health care prices, how high is too high? The news site STAT concludes it's one penny shy of $100 million, based on new Medicare claims forms which recently added two digits, bring the maximum claim total to nine.

It's "bizarre and a sign of the times," David Cutler, a Harvard economics professor who specializes in health care, told STAT. "It's almost funny," said Stacie Dusetzina, a Vanderbilt University associate professor who is a member of the board that advises Congress on Medicare. "But not funny."

Body of Knowledge

Your fingernails grow roughly 3 to 4 millimeters per month, about the same rate, tectonically speaking, as the Pacific Plate is moving northwest against the North American Plate, which results in the San Andreas Fault. Fingernails grow faster in the day and during the summer, possibly due to more sunlight exposure and vitamin D. Bigger fingernails grow faster than smaller fingernails; men's fingernails faster than women's. Toenails grow much slower than fingernails.

Get Me That, Stat!

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among U.S. males. Firefighters are diagnosed with prostate cancer at a rate 1.21 times higher than the general population, possibly due to chemical exposures, including smoke and firefighting foam, according to research at the University of Arizona.

Counts

1 in 3 -- Ratio of LGBTQ adults who say they were treated unfairly or with disrespect by a health care provider during the last three years, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation

Doc Talk

Entropion -- an eyelid, usually the lower, which folds inward so that the eyelashes rub against and irritate the surface of the eye

Mania of the Week

Siderodromomania - an obsessive interest in railroads and trains; sort of a one-track mind

Never Say 'Diet'

The Major League Eating speed-eating record for moon pies is 85 in 8 minutes, held by Matt Stonie. Moon pies are snacks consisting of two round graham crackers with marshmallow filling and a flavored coating. They are quite popular in the American South, where they were invented in 1917 as a treat for coal miners.

Food for Thought

Honey is famously resistant to spoiling. It is low in water, high in sugar, with a pH between 3.5-4, which makes it a difficult medium for bacteria to grow in. Honey also contains small amounts of hydrogen peroxide, which inhibits microbial growth. Archeologists have unearthed pots of thousands-year-old honey from ancient Egyptian tombs that was still edible.

Best Medicine

When a radiologist married one of his patients, everyone wondered what he saw in her.

Observation

"Life is one long process of getting tired." -- English novelist Samuel Butler (1835-1902)

Medical History

This week in 1877, Louis Pasteur began his quest to develop an anthrax vaccine by visiting the slaughterhouses of Chartres to take blood samples from corpses of farm animals that had died of infectious disease. He would debut a successful vaccine four years later.

Ig Nobel Apprised

The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate achievements that make people laugh, then think. A look at real science that's hard to take seriously and even harder to ignore.

In 2023, the Ig Nobel Prize in nutrition went to a pair of Japanese researchers for poking into the question of how electrified chopsticks and drinking straws change the taste of food.

Self-Exam

Q: How many types of ribs do you have?

A: Humans have 12 pairs of ribs consisting of three types. From the top down, the first seven ribs are considered "true ribs" because they connect directly from the spine to the sternum. The next three are "false ribs" because they don't connect directly but have cartilage that attaches them to the sternum. Ribs 11 and 12 are called "floating ribs" because they connect to the spine but, being much shorter, do not connect to the sternum.

Bonus fact: In rare cases, regardless of gender, a person might have a 13th pair of ribs, similar to our evolutionary cousins. These bones are sometimes called "gorilla ribs."

Medical Myths

For all those bulkheads and bar belles looking to build muscle, lifting heavy weights isn't necessary. Research shows lifting relatively light weights for 20-30 repetitions is just as effective at building muscle as fewer reps lifting heavier weights. It's a matter of preference.

And anyway, building muscle mass takes considerable time and specialized effort. No one bulks up just going to the gym regularly, especially as we age.

Typically, muscle mass and strength increase steadily from birth and reach their peak at around 30 to 35 years of age. After that, muscle power and performance decline slowly and linearly at first, then faster after age 65 for women and 70 for men.

Curtain Calls

In 1909, an outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics named Michael "Doc" Powers crashed into a wall while chasing a pop-up. He sustained internal injuries and died two weeks later of complications from three intestinal surgeries, becoming perhaps the first Major League Baseball player to suffer an on-field injury resulting in death. Powers' nickname came from the fact that he was also a licensed physician.

Ray Chapman's more famous death, due to a pitch striking his head, would not happen for another 11 years.

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