Medical hypotheses
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Neurogenic pulmonary edema is an acute life-threatening complication following central nervous system injury. The exact pathogenic mechanism leading to its development is still unclear. We introduce a new hypothesis that high levels of anesthesia might protect the organism against the development of neurogenic pulmonary edema due to a more pronounced inhibition of the hypothalamic, brainstem and spinal vasoactive sympathetic centers. ⋯ During experiments with central nervous system injury, low-anesthesia-induced neurogenic pulmonary edema might negatively influence the overall recovery of the animal. More importantly, during a neurosurgical intervention, insufficient anesthesia might similarly lead to neurogenic pulmonary edema development in operated patients. Our hypothesis indicates the necessity of precisely monitoring of the level anesthesia during experimental manipulations of the central nervous system in animals or neurosurgical interventions in humans.
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A new collection of ideas from Medical Hypotheses by Roger Dobson is entitled Death can be cured and 99 other Medical Hypotheses. It consists of humorous summaries of Medical Hypotheses articles from the past 30 years. The book's humour derives mainly from the subject matter, although sometimes also from the 'unconventional' approach of the authors with respect to matters such as evidence, argument or inference. ⋯ False positives are more obvious, since the paper will be ignored, refuted, or fail to be replicated--and often attracts criticism and controversy. Editors may therefore take the more cautious path of avoiding false positives more assiduously than false negatives; however, this policy progressively favours less-ambitious science. Consequently, in Medical Hypotheses the 'set point' of risk is nearer to the false positive end of the spectrum than for most journals - and the publication of many apparently-bizarre papers is a natural consequence of this policy.
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Editorial Biography Historical Article
James Watson tells the inconvenient truth: faces the consequences.
Recent comments by the eminent biologist James Watson concerning intelligence test data from sub-Saharan Africa resulted in professional sanctions as well as numerous public condemnations from the media and the scientific community. They justified these sanctions to the public through an abuse of trust, by suggesting that intelligence testing is a meaningless and discredited science, that there is no data to support Dr. Watson's comments, that genetic causes of group differences in intelligence are falsified logically and empirically, and that such differences are already accounted for by known environment factors. ⋯ Lies and a threatening, coercive atmosphere to free inquiry and exchange are damaging to science as an institution and to scientists as individuals, while voicing unfashionable hypotheses is not damaging to science. The ability to openly voice and argue ideas in good faith that are strange and frightening to some is, in fact, integral to science. Those that have participated in undermining this openness and fairness have therefore damaged science, even while claiming to protect it with the same behavior.
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Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy often require a wide range of drugs to manage symptoms of their cancer. The adverse drug interactions are common in the field of medical oncology. ⋯ Placebo effect can be reinforced by conferring much meaning. Thus physician can replace antiemetic drugs with reinforced meaningful antiemetic placebo to get better prevention and treatment efficacy for CINV while reduce the unnecessary adverse drug interactions induced by antiemetic drugs and chemotherapeutic agents.