Daily Rounds: Alzheimer's Silver Lining; Arsenic In Baby Formula; Disgruntled Medicare Docs; Adele's Grammy-Award Gum Chewing

Finding Joy in Alzheimer's - NYTimes.com (well.blogs.nytimes.com) "Through the haze of our grief, my grandfather Alfred and I began noticing that, along with her memories, JoAnn’s grudges, hurt feelings, worries and regrets were disappearing. In fact, within a year, she seemed happier than ever, more present and at peace. Like King Lear, as JoAnn lost reason, she gained clarity. And as with Lear, her dementia provided her the chance to meet her estranged daughter, my mother, for the first time again. Their chronic conflict had been among the great sorrows of my life; but suddenly, the past was, quite literally, forgotten."

‘Worrisome’ Arsenic Level Found in Baby Formula, Study Finds- Bloomberg (mobile.bloomberg.com) "A rice-based ingredient that sometimes contains arsenic was found in infant formula, prompting researchers at Dartmouth College to say there is an “urgent need” for regulatory limits on the carcinogen in food. Two of 17 infant formulas tested listed organic brown rice syrup, which may contain arsenic, as the primary ingredient, and one had a total arsenic concentration level of as much as six times the U.S. federal limit of 10 parts per billion for drinking water, according to a study published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The study didn’t name the infant formula brands it investigated."

Doctors 'Disgruntled' And Frustrated By Looming Medicare Cuts : Shots - Health Blog : NPR (npr.org) "Disgruntled is probably just too soft of a term for this," says Robert Wah, a reproductive endocrinologist at the National Institutes of Health and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He's also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association. "It's really devastating to try to run an office in this environment."

Why was Adele chewing gum at the Grammys? - Arts - The Boston Globe (bostonglobe.com) "But during the Grammys, a second Adele-related question erupted, as camera shot after camera shot showed the new queen of pop chomping away on gum, even while accepting one of her awards on stage. Was she chewing for medicinal purposes, on doctor’s orders? Or was that just Adele being Adele, reminding us that she’s still just an unpolished 23-year-old. Adele, etiquette mavens will be disappointed to learn, did not have a doctor’s note. “I never suggested it or prescribed it,’’ said her doctor, Steven Zeitels, who runs the Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation at Massachusetts General Hospital. “She probably just likes gum.’’