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Parents Get Tattoo In Support Of Their Diabetic Son

I was just making preparations for the top 2011 posts I’m planning to write in the upcoming days when I bumped into this cute story about a diabetic kid who felt ashamed to wear the insulin pump so his parents got insulin pump tattoos.

Some parents get tattoos of their child’s name, but Philippe Aumond and Camille Boivin went one better.

In a show of solidarity, they each have an image of an insulin pump tattooed on their abdomens, declaring that they are “forever linked” to their son Jacob.

“It is a great thing for him, and we were thrilled just to see his smile when he saw those pumps. It made our day, that’s for sure,” said Boivin, 36, from the family’s home in La Sarre, Que.

*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*

Researchers Explore New Methods Of Testing Blood Sugar

My fingers hate diabetes. Several times a day they get poked with a sharp, needle-like lancet. The drops of blood they give up tell me how my blood sugar roller coaster is doing. That’s really important information I need to determine whether to eat, exercise, or give myself some insulin.

It would be such a treat to check my blood sugar (glucose) without pricking a finger, squeezing out a drop of blood, and placing it on a small test strip attached to a meter. Help may be on the way—though I’m not expecting any big breakthroughs for another few years—as researchers across the country explore prick-free ways to measure blood sugar.

Here are three interesting approaches. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*

A Gene For Surviving Dialysis

As a hospitalist physician of seven years and taking care of dialysis patients, I’ve come to the conclusion that a dialysis survival gene exists. I talked with a nephrologist the other day about dialysis survival. Here’s what he said:

“If you take all dialysis comers, every year 25% of them will die.”

There is a broad range of dialysis survival. A 94-year-old with severe COPD, CHF, and dementia will not have the same survival statistics as a healthy 27-year-old with acute interstitial nephritis. The protoplasm from which you begin with often times determines the dialysis survival.

There are many factors that determine dialysis survival statistics. Some of them include, age, race, weight, and even the length of the dialysis treatments. But no where have I seen reported the association of dialysis survival with Happy’s presumed dialysis surivival gene. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*

Optimal Laser Variables Required To Remove Tattoos

In the January issue of the Archives of Dermatology, there is a short article (full reference below) in which the authors have attempted to use in vitro lab techniques to improve in vivo techniques for tattoo removal.

Fragmentation of the tattoo particles by the laser leads to small pigment particles, unknown decomposition products, and newly generated chemical compounds that may then be removed from the skin by means of the lymphatic system, leading to  a noticeable lightening of a colored tattoo. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*

Bunny Tattoo Becomes 3D With ICD Implant

Well, at least it’s one way to make a former tattoo three-dimensional:


Just putting the sexy back… 🙂

-Wes

Photo used with patient permission.

*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*

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