Inflammation Control Gets Fishy;Lessons in Critical Thinking

The medical establishment was surprised recently when it was confirmed that cox-2 inhibitors could increase the risk of certain kinds of vascular disease.  Although some prior studies had suggested that this might be the case, the evidence was not strong enough to draw any firm conclusions.  One reason for the skepticism was that there was not any obvious mechanism for such an effect.  A study (abstract, editorial summary) in the most recent issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine now hints at such a mechanism. 

In this post, I discuss the results of a study of the antiinflammatory properties of a compound derived from fish oil, and use the findings as the basis for a discussion of critical thinking skills.  Continue reading here.