Don't stand so close to me, brain stem.

If you've ever seen the show House M.D. before, you were probably automatically hooked by Dr. House (played by Hugh Laurie)'s miserable humour, and maybe even by the interesting cases that present each episode. This is actually one of the best medical shows out there because the differential process is actually shown (AKA no magic *poof!* and the doctors all automatically know the cause for a patient's ills), and the doctors aren't infallible -- they make mistakes, and plenty of 'em, before coming to a solution. That said, I was re-watching old episodes the other day, and this glaring mistake just really ground my nerves:

The episode is season five's "Social Contract" which gives us Nick, a book editor presenting with Phineas Gage-type behaviour (read up on this guy; his story is pretty interesting) in that he cannot inhibit his thoughts and thus uncontrollably "speaks his mind". After a few guesses and tests, they find out that:



What the what?

Last time I checked, the cingulate gyrus was nowhere near being dangerously close to the brainstem; if anything, the cingulate gyrus is a landmark structure that would be relatively easy to locate surgically. In the below image I've blocked out the relative locations of the cingulate gyrus (in pink) and the brain stem (in yellow). I've also circled in red the section of the brain that was highlighted on the screen in the episode, which corresponds roughly with the anterior cingulate.



As you can see, unless the neurosurgeon at Mercy happens to be Fred Flinstone hacking at sheet rock with a hammer and chisel, it would be fairly unlikely that he would come into contact with the brain stem while working on the cingulate gyrus, especially if it's the anterior cingulate (they're at completely different poles of the brain!).

Okay, so I do realize that it can be tricky to always get the medical terminology exactly right, and that all of this mumbo-jumbo is being thrown at the average viewer within the space of about forty or so minutes per episode, but the writers do have medical experts and fact checkers to consult, don't they? Or, you know, encyclopedias? Even a quick visit to the internet would have cleared this one up in a jiffy. For shame.

(References and disclaimers and all that jazz)

House M.D. is owned by Twentieth Century Fox.

Image source: Brain, medial view (Fancy colouration by me.)

Cummings JL. "Frontal-subcortical circuits and human behaviour". 1993. Archives of Neurology. 50(8): 873 - 880.

O'Driscoll K and JP Leach. ""No longer Gage": an iron bar through the head". 1998. British Medical Journal. 317(7174): 1673–1674.

Change in Direction

Hello Readers!

I've decided that this blog needs a wee bit more focus, rather than hopping spasmodically from one subject to the next. Since my other passions include film and television media, I'll be exploring the science behind what you see in your favourite TV series, or what you see on the silver screen -- in other words, how they do what they do (no, it's not all 'movie magic', folks) and what would not actually work in real life.

You might also notice the blog title changing a little bit more than necessary in the next little while. I'm fickle.

'Til then, Happy Interwebbing!

- Wittyscreenname

How to Win the Immunity Challenge

(Oh, if only we were ten years in the past – this blog title would have easily seemed much wittier and more pop culturally relevant.)

Cold and flu season is upon us, and this has many people reaching for any immune boost they can get, whether that means guzzling orange juice, or stocking up on multivitamins and Echinacea supplements. But what really helps, and what can actually be causing more harm than good to your body?

Vitamins
Firstly, it is important to remember that there are two main types of vitamin: water-soluble and fat-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins (Vitamins C and the B vitamins) are not stored in the body and are excreted when you pee; fat-soluble vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E, and K) are stored in your fat, which then gives a greater potential for toxicity as the vitamins build up in the body. Secondly, vitamin dosage differs according to the supplement that you take: how they are introduced into your body affects how it is metabolized, and mixing different vitamins can alter and even cancel their effects. So, before you reach for that bottle of extra-strength multivitamins, realize that you probably don’t even need them.

Every vitamin does have its benefits and risks. As a general rule, unless your doctor prescribes a vitamin to you to help with a deficiency, the only vitamin that you should take therapeutically is vitamin C because the chances of overdose are very slim.

Vitamin C works to give a boost to your white blood cells, and it is a powerful antioxidant. What you might not have known is that this vitamin also helps in the formation of collagen, which is key in the formation of your bones, cartilage, muscle, and blood vessels; vitamin C also maintains your capillaries, bones, teeth, and aids in the absorption of iron. The most significant reserve of vitamin C is in your adrenal glands, which is why you might find that you’re more likely to get the sniffles when you’re stressing over exams or when you’re starting up a strenuous exercise routine.

If you don’t want to take supplements, you can grab your vitamin C from citrus fruits, kiwis, strawberries, spinach, broccoli, and tomatoes.

Echinacea
Echinacea is probably the most popular herbal supplement to protect against and shorten the duration of colds, and it has been shown to do exactly that. There are a few different forms of Echinacea, from capsules, chewable tablets, and drops, but there really isn’t a huge difference between any of them, and your choice is more a matter of personal preference. I’ve heard somewhere before that taking Echinacea regularly can cause infertility, but I have not found anything in my research to suggest that this is true. Most papers do suggest, though, that you shouldn’t take Echinacea for more than three weeks at a time, and that it is most effective if you start taking it as soon as you feel that you’re about to get a cold. The biggest risk can be an allergic reaction, and taking too much can cause abdominal pains, nausea, and other general feelings of ugh.

Water and Sleep
Above all, I’ve always personally sworn by water and sleep as a remedy for any minor ailment. The reasons are simple: your body needs sleep to relax and recover, and losing sleep or sleeping irregularly can throw a major wrench into your immune works. It is super important then to try to get at least eight hours of sleep and to follow a relatively regular schedule. As soon as you start flip-flopping between early nights and all-nighters, even if you’re getting the same number of hours of sleep, your body begins to get run down and you’ll be less able to fight off illness.

Water is another obvious choice in terms of staying healthy. We know of course that our bodies are made up largely of water, especially in terms of our blood and lymph systems – the systems most responsible for our immune functions. Water helps us to flush out toxins and other wastes, and so can help us wash out those nasty bugs in our systems (many viral and bacterial infections that hang out in the mouth and throat take a few hours to a few days before you start feeling symptoms, so keeping hydrated and drinking hot beverages such as tea will help to wipe them out before they proliferate). Also, water is required for the formation of the hormones serotonin and melatonin, which work to keep you happy and help you to sleep well.

So relax, rest up, and hydrate to defend yourself against whatever nasty germs this season has to throw at you – especially if, like me, you’re stuck inside public transit and small classrooms, elbow-to-elbow with hacking, gacking, sneezing, coughing, nose-dripping sick-bags. Hurray! The joys of being a university student.

(Don’t just take my word for it – I’ve got references!)

Douglas RM, Hemila H. "Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold." 2005. PLoS Med. 2(6): e168.

Hemila H. "Vitamin C and common cold incidence: a review of studies with of subjects under heavy physical stress." 1996. Int. J. Sports Med., 17(5): 379 - 383.

Linde K, Barrett B, Wolkart K, Bauer R, and Melchart D. "Echinacea for preventing and treating the common cold." 2006. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 1: CD000530.

"Nutrient information: Vitamin C". United States Department of Agriculture - Centre for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Accessed 02 January 2010. <http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/Nutrient_Desc.asp?Nutrient=VitaminC>