True Believer:
• This book by Eric Hoffer was published in 1951 and concerns mass movements. The narrative itself is quite interesting, covering Nazi methods fresh after WWII, then detailing real-time Soviet practices during the early Cold War.
• This is one of those books that is so distilled that every page has several profound quotes, making it difficult to transfer the salient information into notes.
• One of the more positive points Hoffer makes relates to the practice of creating. “Nothing so bolsters our self-confidence and reconciles us with ourselves as the continuous ability to create; to see things grow and develop under our hand, day in and day out.” The rise of medical humanities and focus on hobbies for well-being taps into this truth. Get out there and create something.
• Individuals who have lost the freedom or ability to create seem to have more frustration and therefore susceptibility to mass movement. Similarly, if a society’s artists / writers / creatives are silenced, tyranny becomes possible.
Ad Hominem:
• Don’t want to condone a logical fallacy, but this NYTimes piece provides an interesting summary of the sometimes relatively brief lives of longevity researchers.
• Most gurus are promoting a certain lifestyle, and even though epigenetic effects are powerful, you cannot outrun your genes.
Therapeutic Radiation:
• We often joke about a CT to “treat” the patient or the parents’ anxiety, but this case report argues for a potential therapeutic effect of head CT scans for Alzheimer’s dementia.
• Prior newsletters have covered hormesis (and radiation hormesis), whereby something that could cause major damage or death in large doses is actually healthy in small doses: exercise, cold exposure, plant polyphenols, etc.
• The clinical case is interesting, but the descriptions of animal data on radiation benefits and the daily DNA damage we undergo just walking around the earth was surprising.
Motherhood:
• Interesting story from The Boston Globe on changes in the brain that come with pregnancy and motherhood. I initially got excited the article would cover a broad review of the new science in this realm, but she points out that there isn’t much to discuss yet. Several interesting pearls for patients, family members or yourself.
• Anxiety/hypervigilance peaks in the first month postpartum (a very high risk time for a new mother).
• Pregnancy is as formative in the brain as puberty.
• Significant gray matter changes occur in the brain, especially in regions related to social processes and theory of mind. One can tell just by looking at the gray matter if a woman has had a pregnancy / baby. More brain change = more attachment to the baby even 2 years later. Fathers did not show similar gray matter changes, BUT other research has shown that as fathers spend more time as primary caregiver, they have a “more activated parental network” in the brain.
Holy Mackerel:
• Some folks have tried sardines and cannot stomach the bones and skin, or even the skinless, boneless variety. If so, look into mackerel. You can find very tasty mackerel at sushi restaurants, but it is also available in the grocery store. Fresh Thyme has this brand. This is a more dense, tuna-like fish compared to sardines.
Quote:
“There is perhaps no surer way of infecting ourselves with virulent hatred toward a person than by doing him a grave injustice.”
– Eric Hoffer
