Research: Swollen, Bruised Finger Joint

 Published August 30, 2019

An Acute Blue Finger: A Case of Achenbach's Syndrome

While I was driving to work today, I had another painful finger.  Since I've been having a lot of "some sort" of arthritis pain, I didn't think too much about it.  When I got to work and was in the plant with really good lighting, however, I noticed that the joint was also bruised.  I have not had any injury to that hand recently and haven't been carrying anything heavy.  I've had episodes of Raynaud's in the past, but this seemed different.  Painful.  Hot, slightly swollen.  I did some research.

According to the interweb, this is a rare and self-limiting condition that needs no treatment. Gee, thanks. Since it is mostly reported by middle-aged women, there's nothing to get all excited about.  And it goes away without treatment.  Never mind that it is painful and keeps coming back.  Just pat the women on the head and send them home.

Published May 16, 2019

Analysis of 24 patients with Achenbach's syndrome

The only thing this analysis seemed to show is that this happens to women more than men.  And further research is needed.  "According to current knowledge, Achenbach's syndrome is not among the know causes of mortality of morbidity." Really???

Research: The Gut-Brain Highway

 Published on October 4, 2018

The Gut-Brain Axis and the Microbiome: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications

"Based largely on results from preclinical studies, the concept of a brain gut microbiome axis has been established, mediating bidirectional communication between the gut, its microbiome, and the nervous system."

Wow.  I have to admit that I have been pretty skeptical about the idea that "the gut" plays such a major role in day-to-day life, but this peer reviewed article in a respected medical journal starts by stating that the highway between the brain and the gut has been established.  That is big!

The article goes on to explain more technical aspects of how the body does that.  They state that the first 3 years of life are critical for the programming of that communication channel.  Throughout the rest of our lives, we also can effect it through "diet, medication, and stress".  There is also a statistical correlation or some sort of relationship between that sort of alteration and "food intake, obesity and irritable bowel syndrome".  The authors do not have an explanation as to how that is accomplished, just that there is a correlation. 

Being doctors, the conclusion they got from all this is that there is a potential for DRUGS to fix everything.  Call in the pharmaceutical companies!

Research: Exclusion Diets

  Published May 19, 2021

Effect of Exclusion Diets on Symptom Severity and the Gut Microbiota in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

In this study, 346 IBS and 170 healthy folks completed a diet checklist.  171 IBS and 98 healthy folks gave stool samples that were analyzed.  Well, I assume they gave the samples.  Perhaps they were taken?

"IBS participants on an exclusion or restrictive diet reported more severe IBS symptoms".  This doesn't explain if the symptoms cause folks to eat a more restrictive diet or if the restrictive diet was causing more severe symptoms.  The only thing the authors were able to conclude was that what people eat has an impact on fecal microbiota.

This seems to be an awfully obvious conclusion to me.  Although I suppose it is important to recognize that IN FACT what we eat does truly impact our gut flora.  In case there was any doubt that the cheeseburger and beer are not doing anybody's body any good, including the helpful little guys living in our digestive systems.