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musings on medicines from the Earth
Abel Pharmboy is the nom de plume of a US state university educator and cancer researcher who holds a PhD in Pharmacology and Therapeutics and BS in Toxicology. He writes on natural product drugs and dietary supplements, issues of under-represented groups in the STEMM disciplines, science and medical journalism, the science and culture of North Carolina, Florida, and Colorado, making and listening to music and, with the help of his colleague, Erleichda, wine appreciation.
"Why Terra Sigillata?" will tell you more about the origin of the blog name.
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Category: Cancer
A physician's claim that "between 100 and 1,000 times more men than women" are on the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole raises questions behind a worldwide shortage of the drug. Are testosterone-deficient men in effect killing women with breast cancer?
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 10:02 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Biotechnology
Referring to clinical drug resistance or refractoriness to therapy as "the patient failed the treatment" is pissing me off this morning before I have my coffee.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:02 AM • 21 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: The American Southwest
The suitcase full of supplements and prescription drugs seized in the execution of a search warrant for James Arthur Ray's Arizona retreat hotel room provides a learning opportunity in endocrine pharmacology and drug prescribing for off-label uses.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 11:02 AM • 66 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Infectious diseases
Denise Gellene in the New York Times is reporting this morning that Scottish physician, Sir John Crofton, passed away on 3 November at age 97. Crofton is best known for implementing a combination drug regimen to treat tuberculosis, the insidious...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 7:40 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Advertising
I never knew that Brooke Shields suffered from hypotrichosis.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:24 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: The Awesome Power of Natural Products
You might not care to explain this in great detail to the kids or other Harry Potter fans, but the legend does in fact come from the awesome power of natural products.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 12:02 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Academia
Yes, friends: this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry would not have been possible without the awesome power of natural products and the contributions of my natural products chemistry colleagues who provided Ramikrishnan, Steitz, and Yonath with the chemical tools for their work. "The ribosome is the target for about 50% of all antibacterial drugs to date, and the advent of high resolution structures of both ribosomal subunits has opened a large number of possibilities for [structure-based drug design] of new and effective drugs in the race against resistance development among bacterial pathogens."
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:02 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Shameless Self-Promotion
While invoking my little-known real name, the ABC News Medical Unit shows its commitment to providing scientifically-objective and medically-valid commentary to the Michael Jackson circus. Understandably, my exclamation of "Holy shit!" did not make the cut.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 2:02 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Alternative medicine
The late pop icon now appears to have requested a common, normally-safe intravenous anesthetic drug employed daily in outpatient surgical procedures. While not a common drug of abuse, Diprivan (propofol) can provide euphoric and anti-anxiety effects. Most relevant to the Jackson case, it can cause a rare side effect called "propofol-infusion syndrome" characterized by potentially fatal disturbances to cardiac pacing and rhythm.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 7:00 AM • 28 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: The Awesome Power of Natural Products
For all of you parents of children with cancer, here's what your kids might be doing in 50 years.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 1:02 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
PZ Myers 02.08.2010
Darren Naish 02.10.2010
PZ Myers 02.10.2010
Orac 02.10.2010
Greg Laden 02.08.2010
