The WSJ Health Blog asks that hard question, and gets an interesting answer.
Related posts:
- What should a doctor do when he discovers another doctor’s mistake?
- 250-yard rule
- Should patients bear some responsibility when doctors miss a diagnosis?
- Gummy Bear anatomy
- Panda Bear to a drup rep
- A teddy bear blood bag for pediatric blood transfusions
- Worrisome exam
KevinMD.com on Facebook
{ 2 comments }
The parathyroid theory is interesting. I would imagine that bears also have less chronic stress than humans do, and therefore have less cortisol pumping through their systems at all times of the day. No doubt that high cortisol levels deplete bone mass. We know that corticosteroid drugs deplete bone mass too.
I would bet that if physicians regularly ordered circadian saliva tests in order to measure cortisol levels as well as rhythm, they would notice that high levels and/or faulty rhythm are associated with not only osteoporosis, but also many other serious health issues. Lower the systemic stress (physiological and psychological) and we plug the bone drain. We are a society in chronic stress, and that is wreaking havoc with our health.
While determining the metabolic tricks bears use to hibernate may provide solutions to common medical problems, I think that learning how to sleep off a six month Canadian winter is an objective in itself. Could humans, however, survive an entire winter without blogging? Without news of Britney or Paris? Doubt it.
Comments on this entry are closed.