ppp 07-09-06

Quote of the day: Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up,

all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place.

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

What kinds of humor are there? Satire, irony, farce, self-deprecation, parody, bathroom, non-sequitor, and understatement are but a few. The pun is called the "lowest form of humor" by some. A paromasis (pun) treats homonyms as synonyms or homographic words with different pronunciation are used interchangeably ("What is a musician's favorite fish?…. Bass!"). I contend that of all forms, the pun is actually the highest form of humor because for all of the word play, no one is injured. You may hear protestation over a particularly bad pun (AKA a groaner) but no harm is done..

Life is pretty serious stuff. In health care the burden of human suffering might be completely unbearable except for humor. Good humor helps to reduce anxiety in especially tense situations; like Valium without the side effects. The story of "Patch Adams" examines the healing effects of laughter.

The old comic, Danny Thomas, gave the following general advice to comics: " Never tell a dirty joke. Sure people will laugh when you tell it but they will later feel bad about laughing at it. They will not be mad at themselves for hearing it but will turn that anger toward you for telling it. Never tell a dirty joke!" Last week someone at work paid me a great complement…they were going to tell a dirty joke and then saw me and stopped. They said that they would wait until I walked away before telling it. That just might be the first step toward serious consideration of what comes out of their mouths as well as what they let into their ears.

The last week of June has been declared NATIONAL PUN WEEK. Even if you missed the official pun week please feel free to get out there and make some weak puns! (Did I just hear a collective groan?)

ps. Best answer this week to the question "How are you?" was "Free, and thanking God for America!" Vickie, an American on the Fourth of July.

pps. Occasionally, some of the links require FREE registration.... I'm sure you can handle THAT slight inconvenience.

Some drugs used to treat osteoporosis have been linked to bone resorption in the jawbone. Lawyers are ready lining up to sink their teeth into this one.

FDA approved a new drug for macular degeneration. Lucentis is the drug whose name comes from the latin word for "light". It treats the "wet" form of macular degeneration to the point that some people can resume driving. They will still leave their left blinker on as the drive the speed limit in the fast lane… but they can drive again.

Combination of Creastor and Tricor is in the works. Would take two fat-cat pharmaceutical companies to cooperate but "it could happen". By hitting the internal production of cholesterol in two places it is likely that it will be more effective that either drug alone. .

If you suffer from plantar facitits you may get some initial relief from custom of prefab orthotic inserts but this study says the effects are not lasting. I, for one, know that my orthotics continue to help me walk. Bearfoot in the park is a true prescription for unbearable pain for me.

Even "normal" doses of Tylenol for two weeks can cause abnormalities in liver function tests. Four grams a day is the limit for most people but alcohol drinkers should limit their intake to 2 grams a day or face the consequences.

With generics coming and few innovations on the horizon a Massachusetts "shrink-tank" believes that the market for antipsychotic drugs will become smaller over the next few years.

It seems like there are more people with though disorders but then again fewer people are calling themselves Democrats.

Generic Zoloft ( sertraline) was approved by the FDA this week. The company sold $2.5 billion of the antidepressant in 2005.

Disclaimer: "Pepin's Pharmaceutical Prattle" (AKA "The Prattle") is the property of PHARMWORKS, LLC and Steven M. Pepin, Pharm. D, BCPS. The opinions expressed are those of the bald-headed author. To start or stop any drug without the advice and supervision of your physician would be stupid. So don't do anything based upon what you read here without professional advice. To be added to or removed from the distribution list please e-mail your request to spepin@pharmworks.com . All insightful comments from readers are thoughtfully considered (the rest are callously discarded). Copyright 1998-2006 PHARMWORKS, LLC all rights reserved.

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