Consider yourself a patron of the arts? Then now’s the time to buy a painting from Ace-Liam Nana Sam Ankrah, a one-year-old Ghanian boy who is officially the world’s youngest artist. After a professional public exhibition and selling 15 pieces, he earned the Guinness World Record. (He’s actually one year and 157 days — but who’s counting?) 🎨

 ☕️Postcall’s one-sip markets update:

Last week’s non-boring news was Nvidia’s 13.5% stock jump (due to their massive Q1 earnings beat). The rest of the market was pretty quiet.

Ready for this week’s stories? (5 min. read)

1. Guidelines for cannabis hyperemesis syndrome

2. Death row for chickens

3. Air travel is back, baby

4. Botox for Dummies

5. Postcall’s Crossword

6. and Image Challenge

Staying #Up2Date 🚨

1.  Finger prick test for syphilis 

Canada was the first country in North America to approve a dual HIV and syphilis test using point of care testing (POCT) in 2023. This week, the CMAJ has weighed in, providing additional info: the syphilis component detects antibodies to T. pallidum and the test cannot distinguish active from prior infections (read: it’s not as useful for individuals with previous syphilis infections). Shoutout to researchers in Alberta who carried out the trial!

2. Guideline watch 👀 

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has released new guidelines for managing cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS):

• For the inter-episodic phase (when sx are minimal): tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and mitochondrial supplements (e.g., vitamin B2, coenzyme Q10).

• For the prodromal phase (when sx include nausea, abdo pain lasting 30-90 min): triptans, H1-antihistamines, or benzodiazepines.

• For the emetic phase: antiemetics and other supportive measures.

• Opioids should be avoided during all phases.

Here’s what Canada said about CHS in 2015, but perhaps new guidelines are in order 🔍 

3. Cannabis for fibromyalgia (FM)

A Mayo Clinic survey of >5,000 adults with FM showed that 1,336 respondents used cannabis after their FM diagnosis. Cannabis users reported reduction in pain (82% of users), improvement in sleep (77%), and improvement in stress, anxiety, and mood (69%). Undesirable effects included worsening concentration in 14%, dizziness in 12%, and fatigue in 10%. This study serves as a reminder to ask your patients living with FM about whether they use cannabis!

Speed Reads 🚤

1:🥛4.2 million chickens in Iowa are being put to death after Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was detected at a large egg farm. This comes after the killing of almost 1.4 million chickens last week in Minnesota. Since the outbreak began in 2022, 92.34 million birds have been killed.

2: 👶🏽 A pilot project called ThinkRare has used an AI algorithm to identify rare genetic disorders. The algorithm took 3 years to develop and found 15 children and youth (out of 260,000 patient records) who had likely undiagnosed cases. These cases hadn’t triggered genetic analysis.

3: ⚖️ We covered how Justice Alito had some optics problems last year (he accepted free flights and gifts from a conservative donor, whom later Justice Alito voted in favor of in their Supreme Court case). This week he’s back in the news for a similar issue - his home had controversial right-wing flags flying outside of it and he’s about to vote on 2020 election and Capitol riot cases.

4: 🥵 A study has demonstrated the correlation between heat waves and the rates of preterm and early-term births. Researchers used a sample size of more than 55 million births across major US metropolitan areas. Published in JAMA, it’s the largest study to date looking at the effect of extreme heat on perinatal health.

5: 📈 Now here’s a trend to watch: the demand for GLP-1 drugs is through the roof, but obesity medicine specialists represent only <1% of doctors in North America. In the US, the AMA recognized obesity as a disease in 2013, increasing the number of board-certified obesity medicine physicians.

6: 🥳 Congratulations to our med student readers who are graduating this month all around the country!

Insight of the Day 💡 

Flying soon? Get ready to face some crowds - the industry is still recovering in many ways. One of those ways is the shortage of some 3,000 air traffic controllers across the US, per the FAA.

Climate events could also disrupt those well laid plans - we’re expecting another another scorching summer, and the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season is being predicted to be the most aggressive on record.

Notable Numbers 🔢

1.8: the years of life expectancy the world lost through the pandemic, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Between 2019 - 2021, global life expectancy dropped by 1.8 years, putting us back to the level from 2012 (71.4 years).

1 in 5: The rate of women who are affected by postpartum depression. Fortunately, we’re seeing recent news from fellow doctors that the new medication zuranolone is getting to patients and working.

90%: The estimated percentage of med spa providers that aren't properly licensed, as a result of lack of federal oversight. These spas provide cosmetic procedures like Botox injections, dermal fillers, and fat-dissolving treatments. Unfortunately, the market is expected to almost double in the next few years as a result of wider acceptance of these treatments on social media.

Postcall Picks ✅ 

📺 Watch: The science behind how screens mess with your sleep. 

🛳️ Travel: on a 7-Night Adriatic Gems Cruise from Athens to Rome (Aug 25 - Sept 1 this year), while learning about Internal Medicine, Pain Management, and Palliative Care.

🤣 Laugh: Ever dropped a “you too” when a server said “enjoy your meal”? 

🎧 Listen: To the centuries-long journey of CPR, highlighting the surprising complexities behind this life-saving technique and dismantling its cinematic portrayal as an infinite cheat code against death.  

Game ⛳️

First question: What is inflammatory myopathy characterized by progressive proximal muscle weakness and distinctive skin findings?

If you enjoyed our puzzle, please share! 🙂 

Image Challenge

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