Releases Saturday 18-25 December 1999
No 7225 Volume 319
Please remember to credit the BMJ as source when publicising
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(1) SECRET
AGENT'S SECRET REVEALED - SHAKEN
MARTINIS HAVE
SUPERIOR ANTIOXIDANT
PROPERTIES
TO THOSE THAT ARE STIRRED
(3) SHARON
AND TRACEY MAKE WAY FOR KELLY
AND LOUISE
IN THE EASY VIRTUE STAKES
(4) MAGNETIC
RESONANCE IMAGING OF SEXUAL
INTERCOURSE
IS BOTH POSSIBLE AND
USEFUL.
(5) ONLY
HALF THE POPULATION CAN DETECT
VODKA IN A
LACED DRINK
(1) SECRET AGENT'S
SECRET REVEALED - SHAKEN
MARTINIS HAVE SUPERIOR ANTIOXIDANT
PROPERTIES TO THOSE THAT ARE STIRRED
(Shaken not stirred: bioanalytical
study of the antioxidant
activities of martinis)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7225/1600
James Bond's good health may, at least
in part, be due to his
favourite tipple (Martini that is shaken
not stirred), claim
researchers from Canada in this week's
Christmas issue of
the BMJ. Based on their study of the antioxidant
properties
of shaken and stirred Martinis, Colleen
Trevithick and
colleagues from the University of Western
Ontario found that
shaken Martinis were more effective in
deactivating hydrogen
perioxide (and therefore had stronger
antioxidant properties)
than the stirred variety. However they
say that the reason for
this is not clear.
Moderate consumption of alcoholic drinks
seems to reduce
the risks of developing cardiovascular
disease, stroke and
cataracts say Trevithick et al and they
suggest that this may
be due to the antioxidant actions of their
alcohol and other
natural antioxidant ingredients. As James
Bond is not afflicted
by cataracts or cardiovascular disease,
the team set out to
ascertain whether his preferred method
of preparation
influenced the antioxidant capacity of
his drinks.
Trevithick et al found that of the two
components of Martini
(gin and Vermouth) Vermouth contributed
more to the
antioxidant properties of the drink, but
that a combination of
the two was most powerful. Much of the
antioxidant activity
of wine and whisky has been ascribed to
the natural
antioxidant ingredients they contain,
so the authors also
investigated whether this was the case
with shaken and stirred
Martinis. They found that the natural
antioxidant contents of
both shaken and stirred martinis were
lower than Sauvignon
white wine and whisky, and there was no
significant
difference between these two.
The authors conclude that shaken martinis
have a superior
antioxidant activity than those that are
stirred, but that the
reason for this is not clear. They also
suggest that as James
Bond does not suffer from cardiovascular
disease or
cataracts he is clearly only a moderate
consumer of alcohol.
They note, however, that they have not
taken into account the
possible confounding effect of eating
the olives served with
his drink.
Contact:
Professor John Trevithick, Department of
Biochemistry,
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University
of Western
Ontario, Canada
trevjohn{at}julian.uwo.ca
(Unsafe sax: cohort study of the
impact of too much sax on
the mortality of famous jazz musicians)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7225/1612
Among famous jazz musicians, playing saxophone
is a major
health hazard, conclude researchers in
this week's Christmas
issue of the BMJ. Although woodwind instrument
players in
general carry a high risk, those most
at risk are saxophonists
of American origin, say Dr Sanjay Kinra
and Mona Okasha,
who conducted the research.
The authors speculate that "circular breathing
techniques",
whereby woodwind instrument players inhale
through the
nose while simultaneously inflating the
cheeks and neck with
air may be the cause of the level of mortality
among this
category of musicians (there are anecdotal
reports of death
by cerebrovascular causes).
However, playing more than one instrument
or being a band
leader seemed to have a protective influence
say Kinra and
Okasha and therefore they advocate health
promotion
campaigns to encourage saxophonists to
play other
instruments or to declare themselves as
leaders of their band.
The authors conclude that further research
is needed into the
potentially confounding area of jazz musicians
performing in
smokey bars and they suggest that attending
a number of
national and international concert venues
would help to
resolve the issue and therefore they are
currently seeking
funding for such a venture!
Contact:
Dr Sanjay Kinra, Specialist Registrar in
Public Health
Medicine, South and West Devon Health
Authority,
Dartington
Email: Sanjay.Kinra{at}sw-devon-ha.swest.nhs.uk
(3) SHARON AND
TRACEY MAKE WAY FOR KELLY
AND LOUISE IN THE EASY VIRTUE STAKES
(Are there excess Sharons in genitourinary
clinics?)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7225/1615
The much maligned "Sharon", "Tracey" and
"Sandra", who
have been the butt of so many Essex girl
jokes, are finally
vindicated in this week's Christmas issue
of the BMJ as
researchers find that the real culprits
of easy virtue are
"Kelly" and "Louise".
In an analysis of 16-24 year old females
attending a
genitourinary clinic in Southampton, Dr
Elizabeth Foley and
colleagues found that contrary to popular
belief, Sharon and
Tracey were not the most popular names
of attendees. They
actually found that of the 1462 women
who attended the
clinic the top ten names most frequently
seen were:-
1. Sarah
2. Emma
3. Kelly
4. Louise
5. Claire
6. Lisa
7. Rachel
8. Clare
9. Michelle
10. Nicola
The authors are quick to point out that
they compared these
findings with data from the Office of
Populations Censuses
and Surveys and they found that most of
the top 10 names
for women attending the department were
seen with the
frequency expected by the incidence of
the name in the
population. Nevertheless, some names were
more popular
among the study group at the clinic than
they were in the
general population, including Kelly, Louise
and Clare (with no
"i").
The much maligned Sharon, Tracey and Sandra,
however,
were seen half as often as expected and
the authors say that
as we enter the new millennium these names
should make
way for the more popular "Hampshire Girls".
Contact:
Dr Elizabeth Foley, Specialist Registrar,
Department of
Genitourinary Medicine, Royal South Hants
Hospital,
Southampton
(4) MAGNETIC RESONANCE
IMAGING OF SEXUAL
INTERCOURSE IS BOTH POSSIBLE AND
USEFUL.
(Magnetic resonance imaging of male
and female genitals
during coitus and female sexual
arousal)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7225/1596
Taking magnetic resonance images of the
male and female
genitals during sexual intercourse is
both feasible and has
helped contribute to our understanding
of living anatomy,
write researchers from the Netherlands
in this week's
Christmas issue of the BMJ.
In an attempt to ascertain whether a couple
making love
could physically fit into a Magnetic Resonance
Imaging
(MRI) scanner and to find out whether
taking images of the
male and female genitals was possible,
Professor Willibrord
Weijmar Schultz and colleagues from University
Hospital
Groningen in the Netherlands recruited
eight couples and
three single women (over the age of 18
years and each with a
small to average weight/height index).
These participants performed thirteen experiments
in the MRI
scanner over a period of seven years -
the scanner had been
adapted slightly such that the diameter
of the tube in which
couples were situated was widened to 50cm.
The research
team found the male participants had more
problems with
sexual performance (specifically, maintaining
an erection) than
the women in the scanner. All the women
had a complete
sexual response, but those who reached
orgasm described it
as "superficial".
Despite these drawbacks for participants,
the research team
was still able to achieve good magnetic
resonance images of
coitus in progress. They found that the
imaging showed that
during female sexual arousal the uterus
raises and the anterior
(front) vaginal wall lengthens. There
was no evidence of an
increase in the volume of the uterus during
sexual arousal, or
a change in the position of the uterus,
as had been reported
by Masters and Johnson in the 1960s, they
say.
Weijmar Schultz et al also found that during
intercourse in the
"missionary position" the penis (root
plus pendulous part) is
neither straight nor "S" shaped as had
been previously
thought, but is, in fact, the shape of
a boomerang. The lower
position of the male pelvis during intercourse,
the potential
size of the root of the penis and the
capacity of the penis in
erection to be at an angle of around 120
degrees to the root
of the penis, enables penetration almost
parallel to the
woman's spine.
The authors conclude that their research
has contributed to
our understanding of living anatomy, never
before either
practical or possible.
Contact:
Professor Willibrord Weijmar Schultz, Associate
Professor
of Gynaecology, Department of Gynaecology,
University
Hospital Groningen, Netherlands c/o Rogier
Verhagen
Email: w.c.m.weymar.schultz{at}oprit.rug.nl
(5) ONLY HALF
THE POPULATION CAN DETECT
VODKA IN A LACED DRINK
(The lacing defence: double blind
study of thresholds for
detecting addition of ethanol to
drinks)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7225/1610
Volunteers in a study were poor at discriminating
between
laced and non-laced drinks, even when
large amounts of
alcohol were added, report researchers
from Birmingham in
this week's Christmas issue of the BMJ.
Dr Nigel Langford and colleagues from City
Hospital and the
University of Birmingham studied 147 subjects
who were
asked to detect vodka in a variety of
concentrations in either
orange juice or lager. The authors found
that even when large
amounts of alcohol (3-4 measures of spirit
per pint) were
added the volunteers were poor at telling
the difference
between drinks with and without the alcohol.
Langford et al carried out their research
in the context of
doctors being asked in court whether a
defendant (who is on
a charge of drink driving and claims that
his/her drink was
laced) would have known that spirits had
been added. On
their basis of their findings the team
conclude that 50 per cent
of people would be able to detect that
a pint of lager is laced
with 3-4 measures of spirit.
Contact:
Dr Robin Ferner, Consultant Physician,
Department of
General Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology,
City Hospital,
Birmingham
Email: r.e.ferner{at}bham.ac.uk
Please note the next issue of the BMJ will be 1 January 2000.
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(contact Jill Shepherd;pressoffice{at}bma.org.uk)
and from:
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Advancement of Science
(http://www.eurekalert.org)
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