Monday, December 8, 2008

Medical Mouthfuls

All kinds of fascinating medical research is going on all the time. Some of it is great, some of it is wildly unethical, and sometimes it's actually practical.

Things like making deaf people hear with lasers, proving that people can smell fear, sounds great, but when you read the fine print it says "call back in ten years or so" for a practical application.

But sometimes there is a finding for which there is an immediate application. Researchers have confirmed that HSV1, a major contributor to Alzheimer's disease, may be able to be treated with anti-viral medication or vaccine; cold sores may be able to be cured by activating them and then killing them with acyclovir; and canker sores can be treated with licorice (this is probably black licorice, not Twizzlers).

Ok, maybe the licorice is the only immediate treatment, but the others are closer to reality than theory. Hm, gotta find some licorice.

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