Best of PubMed #5

Here’s this week’s entry in the “Best of PubMed” series. Today in the spotlight: research on grandmothers, Klingons, and Humpty Dumpty. As usual, if you want to know the details of these fascinating and vital bits of research, go to the PubMed website, copy the PMID number into the “Search” box. And… voilà !!!

My daughter is a Klingon.

Bennett HJ.

J Fam Pract. 1994 Sep;39(3):295-6. No abstract available.

PMID: 8077912

Carousel ponies are bad!

Garcia TB, Miller GT.

JEMS. 2005 Mar;30(3):34, 36, 39. No abstract available.

PMID: 15775903

The importance of smelly feet and stinky cheese.

Lenzer J.

BMJ. 2006 Oct 14;333(7572):771. No abstract available.

PMID: 17038719

Effects of intensive cell phone (Philips Genic 900) use on the rat kidney tissue.

Koca O, Gökçe AM, Öztürk MI, Ercan F, Yurdakul N, Karaman MI.

Urol J. 2013 Spring;10(2):886-91.

PMID: 23801472

CONCLUSION:

Considering the damage in rat kidney tissue caused by EMR-emitting cell phones, high-risk individuals should take protective measures.

The mummy‘s curse: historical cohort study.

Nelson MR.

BMJ. 2002 Dec 21;325(7378):1482-4.

PMID: 12493675.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To examine survival of individuals exposed to the “mummy’s curse” reputedly associated with the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamen in Luxor, Egypt, between February 1923 and November 1926.

PARTICIPANTS:

44 Westerners identified by Howard Carter as present in Egypt at the specified dates, 25 of whom were potentially exposed to the curse.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

Length of survival after date of potential exposure.

RESULTS:

In the 25 people exposed to the curse the mean age at death was 70 years (SD 12) compared with 75 (13) in those not exposed (P=0.87 for difference). Survival after the date of exposure was 20.8 (15.2) v 28.9 (13.6) years respectively (P=0.95 for difference). Female sex was a predictor for survival (P=0.02).

CONCLUSIONS:

There was no significant association between exposure to the mummy’s curse and survival and thus no evidence to support the existence of a mummy’s curse.

Bionic grandma.

Davenport RJ.

Sci Aging Knowledge Environ. 2005 Nov 9;2005(45):ns3. No abstract available.

PMID: 16282284

Drinking grandma: the problem of embalming.

Chiappelli J, Chiappelli T.

J Environ Health. 2008 Dec;71(5):24-8.

PMID: 19115720

Let’s throw grandma in jail.

Serafini MW.

Natl J (Wash). 1996 Sep 7;28(36):1922. No abstract available.

PMID: 10160339