Daily Rounds: Examining Another NFL Brain; The Myth Of Pricey Drug Discovery; Dangerous Scents; Funeral For An Accused Doctor

Report: Suicidal Dave Duerson sent brain-exam texts - ESPN Chicago "Former four-time Pro Bowl safety Dave Duerson, who committed suicide Thursday by shooting himself in the chest, sent text messages to family asking that his brain be examined for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition linked to more than a dozen deceased NFL players, The New York Times has reported.Duerson's family has agreed to donate his brain to Boston University's medical school for its study of the degenerative disease, which has been tied to depression, dementia and occasionally suicide in the former players, according to the report." (sports.espn.go.com)

Alison Bass: New study dismantles myth of high drug development costs "The myth of high R&D costs not only exerts a destructive influence on state and federal policy, but it provides drug companies with an excuse for focusing on high-priced me too drugs (like Paxil and Seroquel), instead of developing lower priced drugs that might really save lives — such as vaccines and treatments for disease." (alison-bass.blogspot.com)

Findings — The Threatening Scent of Fertile Women - NYTimes.com (nytimes.com) "The other guys, the ones in romantic relationships, rated her as significantly less attractive when she was at the peak stage of fertility, presumably because at some level they sensed she then posed the greatest threat to their long-term relationships. To avoid being enticed to stray, they apparently told themselves she wasn’t all that hot anyway. This experiment was part of a new trend in evolutionary psychology to study “relationship maintenance.”

Funeral service for Dr. Melvin Levine set for Wednesday - The Boston Globe "Dr. Levine’s death came a day after he was sued over accusations that he had sexually abused thousands of pediatric patients." (boston.com)