Dr Des Corrigan counts the Christmas calories and looks at the properties of that most controversial of vegetables..
Syringe Analysis Project Reveals Worrying Drug Use Trends
Dr Des Corrigan reviews the findings of a HSE report on the residual contents of syringes returned…
Is Medicinal Liquorice On The Verge Of A Comeback?
Recent research suggests an unexpected application of liquorice root constituents in the…
Could Herbal Alternatives Ease The Shortage Of Hrt Products?
Dr Des Corrigan Reviews The Evidence For A Number Of Herbal Alternatives To Hrt Products…
Innovation Once Again — The Eu’s Drugs Agency Highlights Adulterated Cannabis Edibles In Ireland
Dr Des Corrigan Looks At The Alarming Thc Content Of Many Edible Cannabis Products That…
Prescription-Only Codeine — The Australian Experience
Dr Des Corrigan Takes The Temperature ‘down Under’ After Low-Dose Codeine Products…
Drug Innovation is not always a good thing
It is nowadays considered axiomatic that innovation is a key element of human existence….
Music Festivals More About ‘crack’ & Less About The Craic?
Dr Des Corrigan Looks At The Drugs That Will Be On Party-Goers’ Wish-Lists This Summer…
Using psychedelics in modern psychiatry – A case of Déjà vu all over again
For many years I have been an avid collector of quotations and compendia thereof…
How effective is Ginger in Arthritis?
Ginger is one of my favourite dual-purpose medicinal/ spice plants. I love the smell and pungency…
Hallucinogenic “Herbs of the gods” subject of food safety alert
Dr Des Corrgian looks at some of the take-home points from FSAI alerts and the traditional and modern use of Auahuasca The various alerts from…
Good News About Tobacco, But Alcohol Is Still our Main Problem Drug, says Household Survey
The latest National Drug and Alcohol Survey presents us with a mixed bag of results, writes Dr Des Corrigan. The recently-published bulletin on the 2019/2020…
Household Drug Survey Throws Up Some Intriguing Findings
Dr Des Corrigan selects some of the headline findings from the latest national household survey on drug and alcohol use he fifth national household survey…
Another Bad News Story about Drugs from Afghanistan
Dr Des Corrigan analyses the changes occurring in Afghanistan that may flood Europe with cheap crystal meth It is somewhat ironic that the heroin that…
Five ‘Herbs’ for Weak Urinary Flow
Dr Des Corrigan compares ‘natural’ vs ‘herbal’ when it comes to commonly-advertised products Another month, another pop-up ad, this time for a product claiming to…
The FDA tackles misbranding of CBD products
Dr Des Corrigan finds that when it comes to the labelling of some CBD products, the devil is in the detail According to a recent…
Herbs for sleep – what is the evidence?
Dr Des Corrigan reviews the evidence for herbal therapies to treat stress and insomnia The Irish Times Health Section published a provocative and at times…
Is the Lethal Fat-Burner DNP Another Case of Paracelsus Being Right?
Dr Des Corrigan weighs the evidence against DNP with the musings of the historical ‘father of toxicology’ Media reports at the beginning of February referred…
‘Herbal’ treatments for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
DR DES CORRIGAN LOOKS AT THE CLAIMS MADE FOR TREATING NAFLD WITH HERBAL REMEDIES I have written previously about a ‘popup’ ad for a herbal…
The Environmental Costs of drug use and addiction
Dr Des Corrigan highlights the damage done to our environment by the human quest for chemical intoxication Most of us have some awareness of the…
A Herbal Cure for hangovers
Dr Des Corrigan looks at the science behind herbal solutions for the predictable problem of January hangovers “The year began with lunch” — so begins…
The Pharmacology of Christmas presents
Dr Des Corrigan examines the symbolic and therapeutic qualities of the gifts given by the Three Wise Men The first Christmas presents were probably those…
The Health Effects of Exotic Red Teas
Dr Des Corrigan puts the kettle on and looks at the properties of a variety of teas A relatively trivial if upsetting consequence of “The…
The Impact of Spices on Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity
Dr Des Corrigan adds a little spice to the research on the potential benefits of some dual-use plants “Lose weight!” was the blunt response by…
New Focus on the Date-Rape Drugs GHB and GBL
Given events in the UK, Dr Des Corrigan advises caution over a possible emerging subculture of ‘date-rape’ drugs in Ireland The reporting on several high-profile…
The bitter truth behind those trendy summer spritzes
Dr Des Corrigan looks at the crossover between food and beverage and medicinal use of a variety of plants As I was cocooning, the prospect…
No laughing matter
Dr Des Corrigan on the increasing abuse of laughing gas A recent RTÉ news item showed volunteers cleaning-up rivers in Dublin, including one in Tallaght, where…
5 ‘herbs’ for Arthritic Knees?
Dr Des Corrigan asks how many of the numerous products in pop-up advertisements deserve the title of ‘herbs’ I presume I am not the only one…
Herbal adaptogens and immunostimulants in a time of pandemic
Dr Des Corrigan helps to distinguish the evidence on supplements from the ‘fake news’ bombarding your patients As a retired academic member of the profession,…
At long last
The Food Safety Authority has finally acted against CBD products, writes Dr Des Corrigan IIt has taken far too long, but finally, the Food Safety…
