Emer Cooke, the CEO of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is Irish. This is Dublin's famous Halfpenny Bridge which for some reason features in an article outlining the history of the phrase Tail wags Dog which seems appropriate for what followed. I wrote to Emer recently about a bizarre letter I received from Kinapse - A Brush with EMA - who run EMA's medical literature … [Read more...] about How the Safety of Drugs was Destroyed
Sex
The Wild Doctor – Le Médecin Sauvage
The French playwright Moliere loved poking fun at pomposity especially when it involved doctors. In Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, he pokes fun at Monsieur Jourdain, a pompous upstart, who has come into money and is taking on airs and graces. Translating gentilhomme into gentleman misses what the word meant around 1660, which was more like civilized, the manners which … [Read more...] about The Wild Doctor – Le Médecin Sauvage
The Long Awaited PSSD Research Breakthrough?
This image is from an extraordinary blog which tells you how to sex your mouse Breakthrough? Most of the good ideas that RxISK has featured linked to the enduring sexual dysfunctions, whether PSSD, PRSD, PFS and PGAD, and in terms of other problems, have come from readers of these posts. Several readers have stood out in terms of contributions and this post comes from one of … [Read more...] about The Long Awaited PSSD Research Breakthrough?
Could Journalists be Doctors in Disguise
I had to give some workshops a few years ago to media students and either while thinking about what to say or in the middle of saying it, or soon after, it hit me that good doctoring has a lot in common with good journalism. Both hinge on getting the story right and key to that is having a real person whom others can contact to check out the story they have been told about … [Read more...] about Could Journalists be Doctors in Disguise
International Society of Sexual Medicine
This weeks post was supposed to be just about Sexual Mysteries. What's in a Touch? As it was waiting to be posted, a controversy blew up about the International Society of Sexual Medicine and claims by Dr Anita Clayton that there is no such thing as PSSD. There did not seem to be enough for a post in its own right but equally it seemed to make sense to say something and … [Read more...] about International Society of Sexual Medicine
Sexual Mysteries. What is in a Touch?
This is an important post for anyone hunting for a test for PSSD. If the CT fibres mentioned here are not fibres that show up distinctly on either skin biopsy or CCM, then these tests may not pick up a very real problem. We need some research on whether CT fibres show around the ankle or in the cornea. The slide above is from a fascinating lecture on Affective Touch by Francis … [Read more...] about Sexual Mysteries. What is in a Touch?
PSSD Patients Needed for CCM Investigation
A brief recap In October 2022, we ran a blog post aimed at recruiting patients in the UK with post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) who could be tested for small fibre neuropathy. This was to be done by skin biopsy which is the standard method for investigating the condition. The project was in response to information provided by a Finnish PSSD group in which several members … [Read more...] about PSSD Patients Needed for CCM Investigation
The Window to the Body and perhaps the Soul
It might sound corny but it has long been said that our Eyes are the Window to our Soul. Whatever about the soul, every medical student gets told by ophthalmologists that the Eyes are the Window to the Body. They claim to be able to detect almost every possible disease by looking at our eyes. Just over a decade ago, Corneal Confocal Microscopy (CCM) came into view. See CCM - … [Read more...] about The Window to the Body and perhaps the Soul
Touch Fibres, Autonomic Fibres and Kissing
Someone, who regularly emails breaking research that I haven't spotted or don't have time to spot, got in touch recently with great insights on an article about Kisspeptin that I had seen. But I had managed to miss several things he spotted that may be important to anyone thinking about PSSD. A Kiss Before Sex The article reported a clinical trial on the Effects of Kisspeptin … [Read more...] about Touch Fibres, Autonomic Fibres and Kissing
PSSD and Small Fibre Neuropathy Investigation Runs Into Problems
In October 2022, we ran a blog post called “PSSD Patients Needed for Small Fibre Neuropathy Investigation”. It’s worth reading to get some background on the situation before continuing with this post. We had connected with a neurology department in Sheffield, UK, with the aim of recruiting several patients with post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) who could be tested for … [Read more...] about PSSD and Small Fibre Neuropathy Investigation Runs Into Problems