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I always thought that the reason certain antibiotics are to be taken with food is that the food has a moderating effect on the body's absorption of the drug - the concentration of the drug in the bloodstream takes longer to peak, and longer to drop, leading to a more even concentration in the bloodstream wrt. time.

A quick bit of googling turned up this, which suggests that perhaps the issue is more complicated. It seems that the presence of food increases absorption rates for some antibiotics, and decreases for others. It also indicates that the presence of food helps to reduce stomach upset that some drugs cause.

The problem with your suggestion is that, according to TFA, the enamel producing cells are nonexistant in adults.

It seems more straightforward to the patient to simply implant teeth rather than trying to implant specialized enamel growth cells, and then stimulate them in tandem with the the tooth-growth cells. Of course, it may turn out to be easier than implanting a whole tooth, especially where the gums have already covered the implantation site, but I doubt it, given the success rate of reimplanting dislodged teeth.

Of course, another stop for any health-related concern should be MedLine Plus, which offers information both for health providers and for patients, along with links to current research. It's a fabulous resource, and you can pursue just about anything to any level of detail you like. Good luck.

Incidentally, though it doesn't cover very rare diseases, Family Practice Notebook is a website geared to family docs who just need a quick refresher on a disease in the middle of the day. It's often one of the clearest sources of quick summary info on diseases; I've used it innumerable times to read up on patients' diseases when short on time.

...often affecting young, active people...

Actually Im a big dork and sustained a fairly dork-related injury which this could help. During finals of my senior year I stressed myself out so badly that I incurred the wrath of Ramsey-Hunt syndrome - think of it like chicken pox in your brain. It cuts off the cranial facial nerve and paralyzes one side of your face. The nerve regrows but is almost never 100% again. Id love to get this fixed so my smile won't be so f*ed up anymore. I only hope when this technology hits the open market it's not tens of thousands of dollars and will work on non-spinal nerves.

I volunteer to stun you and I live in Washington!

I really doubt you could 'power on through' the stun effect. But if that fails, Succinylcholine always works. Always.

PEAP really isn't used anymore...

PEEP is now the common term.

PEEP - Positive End-Expiratory Pressure

Like anybody gives a flip.

Davak

Don't forget that you cannot exhale your entire lung volume. I think I remember from high-school that the average male can exhale 4-5 litres of air, but there is still 1-2 litres remaining, no matter how hard you push. A quick search turns up a reference to average numbers that shows I'm not too far off. (Disclaimer: one search does not a good scientific study make, and I have no idea about the credibility of the source) The question is - is that last litre or two enough to explode you?

A number of links refer to AZT as a (nucleoside) reverse transcriptase inhibitor. http://www.thebody.com/treat/rtis.html etc

Hi there, someone I care about has a genetic disorder known as Hypertriglyceridemia . This disorder is somewhat complicated but basically involves highly elevated trigylceride levels that can become toxic. She is required to maintain her tri levels through medication and diet, and to get monthly blood tests. For six years, my friend was a vegetarian. She took fish oil pills as supplements (despite the fact that they are extracted from slaughtered fish) in order to regulate her triglyceride levels. She was failing; her blood tests were coming back "too high" - and she was on the way to early death. After six years, she gave up and started eating fish. One month later her triglyceride levels were tested as "average"... for a normal person. In short, there are oils in fish which, consumed in the appropriate quantities, will keep her alive.

You don't have to eat meat. But if you do, you stand to live a much longer, healthier life. Ask any high-output athelete how they would build muscle without animal protein and they will laugh you out of the room.

Personally I believe that all vegetarians should have the option of discussing choice with a hungry tiger, but that's just my opinion. I'm sharing my friends' story in the hopes that you will choose to lead a healthier life.