Tweets etc.

	Medicalskeptic (@medskep)
3/8/15, 7:14 AM When I die bit.ly/1GeyuBY by @AdamsLisa who died yesterday.

	The Skeptic Magazine (@TheSkepticMag)
3/8/15, 7:29 AM 'The Strange Powers of the Placebo Effect' (tinyurl.com/cjxnsz2) by The Professor Funk...fb.me/7dnap3WZT

The Feel Good Gene. The fact is that we are all walking around with a random and totally unfair assortment of genetic variants that make us more or less content, anxious, depressed or prone to use drugs. Some people might find it a relief to discover that they had a genetic variant that made them naturally more anxious — that they were wired for anxiety, not weak — even if right now there is no exact fix. My patient benefited greatly from antidepressant medication and meditation. But psychotropic medications, therapy and relaxation techniques don’t help everyone, so what’s wrong with using marijuana to treat anxiety?

The problem is that cannabis swamps and overpowers the brain’s cannabinoid system, and there is evidence that chronic use may not just relieve anxiety but interfere with learning and memory. What we really need is a drug that can boost anandamide — our bliss molecule — for those who are genetically disadvantaged. Stay tuned. nyt

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If Patients Only Knew How Often Treatments Could Harm Them

People say they would opt for less care if they had more knowledge of benefits and harms, studies show.