Previously in the news....

• Role Models Help Boost Teens' Self-Esteem: Study - "Under certain circumstances, having a role model is...linked with a lower likelihood of health-risk behaviors," lead study author Dr. Antronette K. Yancey of the Los Angeles Department of Health Services in California and her colleagues write.
      "There's a huge level of need for a lot of teenagers when it comes to role models," Yancey told Reuters Health.

• 'Nocebo Effect' May Explain Some Drug Side Effects - we've gone from imagining something makes us feel better to imagining that it makes us feel bad; now we have the "nocebo effect", the flip side of the "placebo effect"

• Parents Overtreat Harmless Fevers in Kids: Survey - aaaah, yes; a favorite topic that includes

• "It's not the fever itself, it's the underlying cause that's the problem'

• As a general rule, ...treat fevers when the high temperature makes the child uncomfortable and thus less likely to drink often and eat...

• "some parents may overtreat fever because they mistake it for a problem, and not just a symptom."

As I often tell people, "look at the kid, not the thermometer.  If he looks good, don't worry about the temperature; if he looks bad, don't presume that he isn't sick because his temperature is normal."

• Many Elderly Do Not Receive Adequate Pain Medications - but wasn't it just last week that we were again told that the elderly are on too many drugs that might confuse them?  And aren't these drugs always described in the press as "potent" and "highly addictive"?  A classic case of damned if you do, damned if you don't.

• Irritable bowel syndrome is related to stress - well, big "duh" here.  But, then again, most physicians just keep treating it like it's a gastrointestinal problem and never even attempt to address the stress that makes that makes it worse.  The only problem is, the cognitive therapy that they are using to treat it just doesn't work, because changing "core beliefs" is like trying to turn you into an entirely new person.  And, while "various medications, including pain relievers, antispasmodics, antidiarrheal agents, and antidepressants, may be prescribed", note that they suspiciously leave out any mention of anxiolytics.  Why?  They work, but no one wants to prescribe them because of the common misconception that they are addictive and inevitably abused.  Too bad, since they work......

• Non-Heart-Attack Chest Pain May Trigger Depression - in an article that epitomizes the aphorism, "putting the cart before the horse", medicine discovers that mood disorders are related to physical symptoms; unfortunately, they still have it backwards

• Oxycontin - why people with chronic pain who have finally gained relief are now becoming victims of the senseless war on drugs; also read the manufacturer's statement

• Only you can prevent tooth decay - CDC releases new guidelines on fluoride

• ...but the DEA doesn't care if it works - Ellen Goodman on medical marijuana