Women’s health webinar; marijuana as medicine, or not; lessons from the heart of a snake – Morning Medical Update

Learn about women’s health in primary care

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality will host the webinar, “Research on Women’s Health in Primary Care,” 2 to 3:15 p.m. Sept. 5. This part of the agency’s continuing Webinar Series: Strengthening Primary Care Research. There will be three speakers funded by the agency to investigate women’s health issues. Sign up is required by clicking here.

Marijuana as medicine?

State laws have become more lenient allowing marijuana use for medical and recreational purposes. There are a number of claims of medical benefits and promoted uses. But three physicians offer this reminder: Even if the drug is sold in pharmacies, it is not a medicine, and it differs in key ways from pharmaceuticals regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

A heartfelt hiss

In the United States, some people eat frequent, massive meals and develop heart problems. In the jungle, pythons eat infrequent, massive meals, requiring “extreme physiological metabolic regulation (requiring) the coordination of multiple organ systems, including the cardiovascular system.” Researchers are exploring how the python heart remodels itself to become stronger when the serpent consumes and digests animals larger than itself, and how those metabolic changes could be applied to human hearts. Read the study here and accompanying news release here.