Insidermedicine in 60 - October 9, 2007

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From Toronto - It is unusual to have the words "leukemia" and "excellent prognosis" in the same sentence, but that is what professional hockey player Jason Blake heard over the weekend. He was diagnosed with a chronic myelogenous leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. Many patients with CML receive treatment with a pill called Gleevec.

From London - It's not just West Nile virus that we have to worry about catching from mosquitos. A British man is in a coma following getting getting "triple E", or Eastern Equine Encephalitis. This condition is caused by a virus that is carried by mosquitos. The virus, which can cause brain infection in horses, infects only a handful of humans in the US each year.

From North Carolina - While it has long been held that the appendix was a vestige of days gone past, the pinky-sized organ may have a use after all. Researchers from Duke University hypothesize that the organ may serve to re-populate the intestine with bacteria that aid the body in digestion and prevent overgrowth of the colon by more sinister bacteria.

And finally, back to London - In a study of over 8,000 British civil servants, researchers have noted a link between negative personal relationships and risk for heart attack. Those who characterized primary relationships as negative were 34% more likely to have a heart attack at some time over a 12 year period.

For Insidermedicine in 60, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma. Embed this video
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