When serious sickness strikes, patients often search for any droplet of “good” amid the sudden storm of bad – maybe a fresh appreciation of living in the moment, or a sweet strengthening of family bonds.
Sometimes, however, unexpected rays of medical sunshine already exist within certain illnesses or symptoms. Studies have shown that several maladies actually carry surprising merits.
People born with Down syndrome, for example, have lower cancer rates than the rest of the population. The reason remains unclear but researchers have targeted a specific chromosome to search for clues.
Or, consider women who suffer chronic migraines. They have a 30 percent lower risk of contracting breast cancer when compared to women who don’t grapple with those horrible headaches. Experts at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle believe the answer might be found in the fluctuation of female hormone levels in migraine sufferers.
And let’s get real: Where would our artistic culture be without syphilis? That bacterial STD -- some have argued -- influenced several of the most prolific musicians, writers and painters, including Beethoven, Oscar Wilde and Vincent Van Gogh. In her book “Pox: Genius, Madness, And the Mysteries of Syphilis,” author Deborah Hayden explained that the temporary euphoria triggered by the condition perhaps inspired famous symphonies and classic works of art.
Even one bad habit known to harm your health offers a positive side.
Australian researchers conducting a study of more than 11,000 men found that guys who smoke for at least 48 years are 51 percent less likely to require total joint replacements when compared to the rest of the population. That boost to the smokers’ joint health seems to begin after about 23 years “of exposure.”
“There is some evidence indicating that smoking may be associated with cartilage volume,” says George Mnatzaganian, one of the study’s authors and a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Adelaide in Southern Australia.
That finding was bolstered by earlier an investigation, Mnatzaganian says, that detected “a relationship between nicotine and stimulation of the anabolic activity of the chondrocytes – or cells found in cartilage.”
Now, don’t misconstrue this bizarre factoid as an invitation to puff away just to add a few inches to your hops in later years. Clean, healthy lungs still trump creaky knees. Besides, nobody dunks after age 60 anyway.
