Chew gum for acid attack

The researchers recruited 1,246 sixth grade volunteers in public schools in Massachusetts, interviewing them 11 times over a four-month period. At some time during the four years almost a third of the children puffed on a cigarette, more than 17 per cent inhaled it and about 7.5 per cent used tobacco daily.

Their average age when they first inhaled was 12.8 years. Of these, almost 60 per cent had lost some control over their smoking and 38 per cent developed tobacco dependence. In the 10 per cent of children who were most susceptible, cravings began within two days of the first inhalation and in some cases dependence could be diagnosed as early as 13 days after the first smoking episode. More than 70 per cent had cravings that were difficult to control before they started smoking daily.

Hand cramp sufferers have less grey matter
A new study published in Neurology magazine indicates that people who suffer from a writer’s cramp have less grey matter than normal in three parts of the brain, including areas involved in the control of the affected hand. Writer’s cramp is a form of dystonia, a condition in which muscle contractions can freeze or twist a person into different positions that affects their entire body. The researchers did brain scans on 30 people with writer’s cramp and compared them with scans of 30 people without the problem. However, the study failed to answer whether the changes in the brain caused or contributed to the hand problem or vice versa. —NYT