WARM UP:

One Joke: 

You can hear the blood in your veins if you listen varicosely.

One Fact: 

You cannot tickle yourself. When you try you are aware of the exact time and manner in which the tickling will occur, unlike when someone else tickles you.

One Quote:

"Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." - Thomas A. Edison

One Guess…Name That Disease: (Answer at bottom)

• Epidemiology: This rare cancer affects about 8,000 people in the US annually. Patients are typically over the age of 50.

• Signs and symptoms: Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), abdominal pain, intense itching, weight loss, white colored stools, dark colored urine.

• Cause: Chronic inflammation of the and around the bile ducts seem to be the primary cause, but most people have no identifiable risk factors.

• Diagnosis: Liver function and tumor marker blood tests can be revealing. Abdominal imaging and liver ultrasound will assist in the diagnosis.

• Treatment: Surgical removal of the tumor, chemotherapy, and targeted radiation therapy.

• Prognosis: Successful surgical removal can give a 54% survival rate over 5 years. If metastasis has occurred, the typical survival rate is only 6 months.

HEALTHCARE HEADLINES:

• In a surprising move, the FDA rejected the first nasal spray alternative to EpiPens, calling for more research before approval.

• Neuralink, Elon Musk’s company aiming to help people with paralysis communicate by allowing them to remotely control devices using brain activity, has begun recruiting patients for its first human clinical trials.

• Order those garlic knots with a side of yogurt? New research shows that whole milk plain yogurt effectively deodorizes the smell of garlic in air. Apples, mint, and lettuce also seem to help. Human breath tests coming soon to an Italian restaurant near you!

  

  The Office / NBC via Giphy

WATER COOLER WONDERS…the stuff we found interesting this week:

• Map: Peep the visual (get it foliage lovers?) of when and where leaves will change color this season. Remember that without the presence of Chlorophyll in leaves, the bright colors of fall would be seen year round!

  

  Photo by Lucas George Wendt on Unsplash

• Article: Thought sumo wrestling only happens in Japan? It’s gaining popularity in the US, with sumo clubs popping up all over the country!

• Graph: Turns out your pet rabbit should live about twice as long as your pet gerbil. But that pony you’ve been saving up for is going to cost you for the next 25-30 years. Compare the lifespan of different pets here.

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TGIF:

Pumpkin spice latte not your thing? Apparently, you’re not alone with 1 in 3 Americans tired of hearing about the seasonal drink. Even if PSL isn’t your cup of joe, we dare you not to like pumpkin beer. Check out this list of the 25 best pumpkin beers of the season. Spicy take with a 9.0% ABV at the top of the list!

THANKS FOR READING!

At The Hyperthalamus, we’re on a mission to educate and entertain health care workers. Because we believe work should be a fun place to hang out with your colleagues and make them feel dumb for not knowing the answers to our trivia questions.

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• Send us 50 referrals: we’ll give you a set of scrubs!

Disease Answer: Cholangiocarcinoma (Bile Duct Cancer)