When glaucoma is undetected and untreated, it can lead to blindness from the progressive loss of retinal cells. A new study in BMJ Open suggests it also leads to sleep problems. Researchers found an association between the eye disease and sleep issues like snoring, daytime sleepiness, insomnia or sleeping too long or too little.

The study was observational, so no cause-and-effect could be determined, but the researchers suggest an underlying explanation could relate increased internal eye pressure when lying down. More research is needed.

Body of Knowledge

Beginning around age 40, it's estimated you lose 1% of your strength every year, with the rate accelerating the older you get. A recent study found that grip strength was a better indicator of life expectancy than blood pressure.

But do not fret. Being active throughout your life slows the loss of strength, which, along with muscle mass, can actually be improved well into one's 90s.

Get Me That, Stat!

It's well known that many physicians take money from drug and medical device makers, sometimes raising concerns about conflicts of interest. A new survey puts numbers to the practice, reporting that 36% of advanced practice clinicians (specialists) accepted payments from the industry compared to 35% of general practice doctors, reports JAMA.

How that translates into dollars: about $1.9 billion distributed to roughly 2 million doctors in 2021.

Stories for the Waiting Room

Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration are proposing to make COVID-19 vaccinations a regular, once-a-year shot. And just like the annual flu shot, the vaccination formula would be updated to match current strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

For older people or those with immunocompromised systems, the FDA would recommend two annual COVID shots.

Doc Talk

Multiple sleep latency test: A sleep test to measure daytime sleepiness. It times how quickly a person falls asleep when asked to rest in a quiet, darkened room during the day.

Phobia of the Week

Haphephobia: fear of being touched

Best Medicine

When choosing a career in medicine, think twice about dermatology: You must start from scratch and make a lot of rash decisions.

Hypochondriac's Guide

There is a type of mental illness in which the sufferer believes that their lives are staged reality shows or that they are constantly being watched on cameras. It's called the Truman Show delusion, after the 1998 movie.

Observation

"Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart." — American humorist Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)

Medical History

This week in 1902, Harvey Cushing, a pioneer in neurosurgery, performed his first brain operation at the age of 33. Cushing's clinical contributions are profound: the use of x-rays in surgical practice, physiological saline for irrigation during surgery, the discovery of the pituitary as the master hormone gland, founding the clinical specialty of endocrinology, the anesthesia record, the use of blood pressure measurement in surgical practice and the physiological consequences of increased intracranial pressure.

Cushing died in 1939 at the age of 70.

Med School

The Journal of Food Protection recently published a study identifying the places and items in the kitchen that are most likely to harbor illness-causing pathogens. (The kitchen is bacteria's second-most favorite locale after bathrooms.)

Can you rank from most pathogenic to least the kitchen spots and items below?

a) Dirty dishes

b) Sink sponges

c) Spice jars

d) Cutting boards

e) Refrigerator handles

Answer: The big surprise was that spice jars were found to be most cross-contaminated with bacteria, primarily because they are often handled at the same time cooks are working with uncooked meats or other items, without any intervening or subsequent washing. After spice jars came refrigerator handles, cutting boards, sponges and dirty dishes. In all cases, the major problem was a lack of frequent disinfection.

Epitaphs

SPANKS

Arthur Spanks

His wife

Katherine — A bit of unfortunate word arranging on a tombstone, or maybe a couple's last confession?

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: cocoparisienne at Pixabay