Comments on: Thunderbolts #111: A Medical Review http://www.politedissent.com/archives/1586 a blog of medicine, comics, television, science and other fun stuff Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:09:03 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: David Oakes http://www.politedissent.com/archives/1586/comment-page-1#comment-56644 David Oakes Mon, 12 Mar 2007 21:08:16 +0000 http://politedissent.com/archives/1586#comment-56644 Man, it's good to be a government flunkie. Not only do they ignore your long history of mental instability and serial murder, but you get cheap Canadian drugs as well! It's a wonder they need the nanites at all to keep the Thunderbolts in line. Man, it’s good to be a government flunkie. Not only do they ignore your long history of mental instability and serial murder, but you get cheap Canadian drugs as well! It’s a wonder they need the nanites at all to keep the Thunderbolts in line.

]]> By: BPK http://www.politedissent.com/archives/1586/comment-page-1#comment-56590 BPK Mon, 12 Mar 2007 18:12:38 +0000 http://politedissent.com/archives/1586#comment-56590 Yes, I think we are to conclude that Osborne has bipolar disorder. (Or, rather, that he's being treated for bipolar disorder, which is no guarantee of an accurate diagnosis even in the real world, let alone the comic book universe, with its notoriously fishy psychiatrists.) I agree that the doses are small. I can't tell the dose of the Tegretol from the bottle, but the lithium is 150mg, which, if we presume he's only taking one of each pill, is "placebo only" dosing. A small point, but there is a brand-name extended-release capsule form of carbamazepine called Equetro that actually has the FDA indication for treatment of mania (which, as you know, just means that the drug company jumped through the hoops to get FDA approval for something which everybody already knew was effective for bipolar disorder). The brand-named Tegretol in the panel is obviously a competitor of Equetro and would be off-label (but commonly used) for bipolar disorder, as you say. I think Lithane is usually a brand name for lithium outside the US (such as Canada), but I could be wrong. Yes, I think we are to conclude that Osborne has bipolar disorder. (Or, rather, that he’s being treated for bipolar disorder, which is no guarantee of an accurate diagnosis even in the real world, let alone the comic book universe, with its notoriously fishy psychiatrists.)
I agree that the doses are small. I can’t tell the dose of the Tegretol from the bottle, but the lithium is 150mg, which, if we presume he’s only taking one of each pill, is “placebo only” dosing.
A small point, but there is a brand-name extended-release capsule form of carbamazepine called Equetro that actually has the FDA indication for treatment of mania (which, as you know, just means that the drug company jumped through the hoops to get FDA approval for something which everybody already knew was effective for bipolar disorder). The brand-named Tegretol in the panel is obviously a competitor of Equetro and would be off-label (but commonly used) for bipolar disorder, as you say.
I think Lithane is usually a brand name for lithium outside the US (such as Canada), but I could be wrong.

]]> By: Scott http://www.politedissent.com/archives/1586/comment-page-1#comment-55790 Scott Sat, 10 Mar 2007 19:02:00 +0000 http://politedissent.com/archives/1586#comment-55790 That's an excellent point. So let's just pretend the first paragraph reads: <blockquote><b>Thunderbolts #111</b> was brutal; a little too brutal for my tastes actually. On the other hand, the medical aspects were correct and well done -- except for the character of Penance, who remains an embarrassment.</blockquote> That’s an excellent point. So let’s just pretend the first paragraph reads:

Thunderbolts #111 was brutal; a little too brutal for my tastes actually. On the other hand, the medical aspects were correct and well done — except for the character of Penance, who remains an embarrassment.

]]> By: LurkerWithout http://www.politedissent.com/archives/1586/comment-page-1#comment-55509 LurkerWithout Sat, 10 Mar 2007 00:21:53 +0000 http://politedissent.com/archives/1586#comment-55509 I've got to ask. How medically sound can a title be when one of the characters has a costume that is constantly stabbing him? And then he doesn't suffer any kind of ill-effects from blood loss or having bloody wounds all over his body? I’ve got to ask. How medically sound can a title be when one of the characters has a costume that is constantly stabbing him? And then he doesn’t suffer any kind of ill-effects from blood loss or having bloody wounds all over his body?

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