I don't know about you, but studying the internal anatomy of the eye has always left me somewhat unsatisfied. I think this diagram is the clearest I've seen concerning the production and flow of aqueous humor.

"The continuous formation of internal aqueous fluid, by the ciliary body epithelium, keeps the eye ball inflated.

The fluid circulates from behind the iris, over the lens through the pupil around the front chamber of the eye, over the cornea and filters out through a meshwork to drain into veins and return to the heart."

Eye Info

I know what you're wondering. It plagues my nights also. What good are llamas? Do they do anything useful? I saw one spit in the face of a friend once, but that's only enjoyable for so long.

Don't think that llamas are unaware of their status of utter uselessness. And with more and more of the world's creatures facing extinction, they're trying to wrap their llama brains around this difficult issue.

That's why some llamas have begun working with researchers at Wash. U. in The Show Me State to try to come up with a solution. One thing llamas have going for them is an antibody structure that is stable at surprisingly high temperatures. High enough, even, to drop into a scorching cup of coffee and still be effective. Wowsa!

With this in mind, the researchers politely injected caffeine into the llama muscle and elicited an immune response. Now llamas are allergic to coffee! Oh, and also their antibodies can be used as a caffeine assay (dipstick) in hot liquids.

When asked why they couldn't just wait for the coffee to cool down, or even actively bring down the temperature, the researchers turned to the llamas with blank stares and said, "Next time we do the brainstorming."

Source

The duodenum derives its name from the Latin intestinum duodenum digitorum meaning intestine of twelve fingers. The length of the duodenum is approximately 12 finger breadths.

AWAD

Carl Bean, an HIV end-of-life in-patient hospice funded by Los Angeles County, is shutting its doors after 15 years of service. Located in the West Adams district of Los Angeles, it has specialized in providing excellent care for people suffering from a disease that is often difficult to find hospice care for. The fact is, many hospice employees still get nervous treating HIV patients.

The home has been a boon to underserved communities where HIV rates are disproportionately high and where education about the disease is most needed. But many claim that pharmaceutical advances have shifted the need for end-of-life care to the need for prolonging-life-care. And in response, the budget for the home has dried up.

LA Times Article

Via litlebanana

I know the Step 1 USMLE exam is right around the corner and I know how stressful that can be. So I wanted to do my part and chip in with some helpful tips...

Tips For Step 1:

1. Your worst subject will comprise 50% of the exam. The other 50% of the test will be on the female pelvis.

2. Most exam takers will bring ear plugs to protect themselves against noisy people in the room. It is also recommended to bring nose plugs to protect against smelly people in the room. You might also want to blindfold yourself to protect against ugly people in the room.

See the rest of the list

Natalizumab (Tysabri), a drug used to treat relapsing-remitting MS, has been shown to reduce the risk of sustained deterioration due to MS by 42% in one study. This is a significant step up from other drugs which hover around the 33% mark.

Unfortunately, it also may cause PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy) in a fraction (1/1000) of patients. As an immunomodulator, natalizumab inhibits the auto-attack on myelin in the central nervous system, slowing the progression of MS. It also may reactivate latent JC virus, which is strongly associated with PML, effectively swapping out one demyelinating condition for another.

The drug was voluntarily taken off the market in 2005 when three patients developed PML, of which two died. With these new findings the FDA and researchers must weigh the benefits and potential serious consequences of further study and use of this drug.

Source

Wired News reports on the burgeoning industry of outsourcing to India. Only this isn't outsourcing help-lines, computer tech, or even radiology films. It's drug trials.

Drug companies are targeting the poorest of communities in a country with lax governmental oversight. Doctor's often pocket cash in return for recruiting community members who have little education and much naivete. Moreover, the types of drugs being tested are those that are intended for Western populations where heart disease, diabetes, and other typically 1st-world diseases predominate. The communities participating are often in need of treatment for infectious disease. To put it lightly, this might constitute an ethical dilemma.

Source

Chagas disease, the condition caused by infection with the parasite Trypanasoma Cruzi, has been found to interfere with rhodopsin and cause night-blindness. Argentinian researchers of the Institute for Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology, Mariano Jorge Levin and Cristina Paveto, have demostrated the autoimmune nature of the condition.

"We showed that the same antibodies that attack heart cells can also interfere with rhodopsin, Levin said. “This is important, because it enlarges the concept of molecular mimicry in Chagas disease.” Rhodopsin and beta1-adrenergic receptors in heart cells belong to the same class of molecules, a subfamily of the G-protein-coupled receptors, he pointed out.

Transmitted by blood-sucking insects, T. Cruzi is responsible for 45-50,000 deaths per year, principally in South America. It does so mainly by causing cardiomyopathy and resultant ventricular arrhythmias, thromboembolic phenomena, or rarely aortic aneurysms. In addition, Chagas disease may cause achalasia and megaesophagus.

Here's a post along the lines of today's MSII ICM workshop on substance abuse. The Montana Meth Project is a year-old ad campaign using a shock-and-awe approach to scare Montana teens away from trying tweak, even once. The notable thing about these ads? They really will scare you.

Be sure to watch the videos.

"We approach Methamphetamine as a consumer products marketing problem. Meth is a consumer product. It is readily available. It is affordably priced. It is distributed statewide through a very effective distribution channel. It has many product attributes that are perceived as attractive."

The Montana Meth Project