Minerva

Judith Mackay, a public health doctor who's been the vice chairwoman of the editorial advisory board of the BMJ Group journal Tobacco Control from its inception, was recently selected as one of Time magazine's world's 100 most influential people. It's the first time anyone working in tobacco control has been included in Time's list, and her inclusion, says Mackay, marks the arrival of tobacco control into the mainstream and is a “highly significant recognition of the global tobacco epidemic” (www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615754_1615884,00.html).

Depressed patients often report memory difficulties, but it may be that specific memory systems fail first, followed by the onset of depression and anxiety. Perhaps one relevant observation is that omega 3 fish oil, which has been shown to improve memory, sometimes helps recovery in depression and may even prevent relapse. Another observation is that electroconvulsive therapy often adversely affects short term memory, although, in support of the hypothesis, its mechanism of action when successful may be to help repair and reactivate particular memory systems (Medical Hypotheses 2007;69:67-9 doi: …