Blood flow to the skin of a normal foot can readily increase by 100 times if necessary, to conduct heat away from challenged areas. Impaired circulation and impaired endothelial dilatation (which are common in patients with diabetes) may make this increase in blood flow impossible, and the resultant burn may not cause pain if peripheral neuropathy is present. 遇热时正常人皮肤血流可上百倍地增加,这样可把热量导走,避免烫伤。糖尿病病人通常有循环和内皮功能障碍,其皮肤血流难以像正常人那样遇到高温时增大血流,因此更加容易烫伤。 My late mentor, Heinz I. Lippman, found that many patients with diabetes had burns of the feet after exposure to whirlpool baths set at 33.3°C (well below body temperature). In 1960, he gathered statistics on the reasons for amputation in the Bronx, New York, during 1959. Fully half of the amputations were performed because of infected burns in patients with diabetes. 33.3度水温,就可能烫伤糖尿病病人足部(这与健康人可耐受42度左右明显不同)。 Even if burns do not occur after hot-tub therapy, prolonged soaking in water causes maceration of skin. Macerated skin is more susceptible to injury and is less likely to heal than normal skin. Therefore, my colleagues and I advise all patients in our diabetes clinic to shower or bathe in cool water and to “get in, get washed, and get out.” We never prescribe foot soaks except sometimes for 5 to 10 minutes in potassium permanganate solution for fungal infections. We never use wet-to-dry dressings but occasionally use moist-to-dry saline dressings for wetting dermatitis. Richard K. Bernstein, M.D. New York Diabetes Center, Mamaroneck, NY 10543-4696
来自澳大利亚的一项研究显示,有些类型的痴呆患者由于特定的记忆系统受到影响,他们想象自己在将来某一时间的能力可能会因此受损。 这项研究已于近期发表在《脑》杂志,请看CBC对此的详细报道。 Dementia patients may not imagine their future When certain memory systems are affected, the ability to imagine yourself at a time in the future is severely impaired, which affects decisions Australian Broadcasting Corporation Posted: May 28, 2012 10:05 AM ET Last Updated: May 28, 2012 10:43 AM ET Our ability to imagine our future depends on a part of the brain used to store general knowledge, which is affected by some forms of dementia, an Australian-led study has found. Semantic dementia affects the part of the brain that stores and remembers general knowledge. As a result, people with the condition may lose the ability to name simple objects or recognize a popular tune. Patients were asked to remember past incidents and then imagine and describe plausible future events. (iStock) "Our results highlight that when these memory systems are affected, the ability to imagine yourself at a time point in the future is also severely impaired," says Dr. Muireann Irish, cognitive neuroscientist at Neuroscience Research Australia and lead author of the study published in the journal Brain. In previous research, scientists discovered that Alzheimer's patients, who cannot recall past memories, were also unable to think about the future. However, Irish says that nobody had investigated whether this was also the case in people with semantic dementia. In this study, scientists compared MRI brain images of patients with Alzheimer's disease and those with semantic dementia. In patients with semantic dementia, the scans revealed atrophy in the anterior temporal lobes, where the brain stores general and conceptual knowledge. People with Alzheimer's had changes in the medial temporal lobes, which are used to lay down memories and retrieve personal events. Consequences of decisions Researchers then asked the patients to remember past incidents and then imagine and describe plausible future events. Unlike Alzheimer's patients, people with semantic dementia showed well-preserved memories of the recent past; however, they found it difficult to imagine the future. Irish says this suggests our ability to see into the future relies on both the anterior and medial temporal lobes. "This can have quite serious implications for the patient," Irish tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She says in social situations patients may not understand the consequences of an inappropriate comment or the effect of their actions on other people. Also, they may not be able to look forward to an upcoming event, leading to feelings of apathy and lack of motivation. Irish says people with semantic dementia may also be unable to comprehend the long-term effects of financial decisions. "They can't project forward and conceive what a decision may mean for them in a month or a year," she says. According to Irish these results suggest general knowledge is necessary to form a framework for visualizing the future. She says further research into the disease may help to reveal more precisely how semantic memory (remembering general knowledge) contributes to future-oriented thinking. http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/05/28/dementia-future-imagine-alzheimer.html
北美病人(小说) 上 迈西寇出发前就感觉些微疲倦。他,身强力壮,并不介意,径直上了飞往东方的飞机。这是他第三次到那个异国情调浓郁的城市 X 港去游玩。在一个著名的古都转机抵达 X 港后,他摇晃着走出了机场。 醒来时,他发现自己在 X 市市立医院里,在传染病房。 迈西寇被告知,得了流感,传染性很强。正在接受隔离治疗。这个操北美某地方言的人起初很傲慢,因为护士不懂他老家的方言。他觉得这些人很没有文化,打心眼里看不起这些人。这些人对他的母语或者方言,听都听不明白,说更说不上来,能有文化水平吗? 迈西寇曾经大发脾气:你们没有权利剥夺我的人森自由,你们这里还有人篡吗? 有,不仅你有,我有,大家都有。问题是,你得了传染病,还没有康复,把你送出去,既是对你不负责,也是对 X 市人不负责。 迈西寇不懂 X 市的语言,可是画面是世界性语言。他从电视上看到。和自己有过近距离接触的人,都被隔离观察了(有的已经发病、症状和自己类似);而且还在查找一些下落不明的人。 X 市为此投入了大量的人力和物力。他从画面上看到了故乡的卫生官员,还有 WHO 的官员在发表讲话。 迈西寇觉出了事态的严重性,他的鼻孔的中线与地面的夹角逐渐有零度向 45 度扭转了。他的病情稳定。 下 纪大夫有个远房亲戚迈瑞肯,从北美躲避国内战乱时在 X 市住过一年。纪大夫的语言天赋让他很快就和迈西寇自如交流了。迈瑞肯和迈西寇的家乡都在北美,尽管不是一个国家,也不是一个州,可距离很近,只隔了一条南北走向的河流。迈瑞肯在上游、迈西寇在下游。 纪大夫提到的迈瑞肯缩短了和迈西寇的心理距离;迈西寇把纪大夫当成了唯一的朋友,有话只对他一个人说。 北美病人迈西寇出院后,没有继续旅行。回了北美老家。不久就死于其他病症。有谣言说,迈西寇从 18 层居民楼顶层上跳了下去,他过度抑郁了为自己的不负责行为造成的恶果抑郁了。迈西寇解脱了,更多的人却开始了极度的恐慌。还有谣言说,迈西寇是死亡后被运送回去的。 网络上关于迈西寇死亡原因的报道花样百出,各有千秋。所用的遗像却雷同,都是他早年的一些健康的形象。 死于迈西寇传染的疾病的人已经达到了 3 位数,一些国家的卫生部门宣布进入了紧急状态