The International Agency for Research on Cancer finds that tanning beds are "carcinogenic to humans" and that people who begin using tanning devices before the age of thirty years are 75% more likely to develop melanoma.Those who work in airplanes also appear to have an increased risk, believed to be due to greater exposure to UV.UVB light (wavelengths between 315 and 280 nm) from the sun is absorbed by skin cell DNA and results in a type of direct DNA damage called cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers. Thymine, cytosine, or cytosine-thymine dimers are formed by the joining of two adjacent pyrimidine bases within a DNA strand. Somewhat similarly to UVB, UVA light (longer wavelengths between 400 and 315 nm) from the sun or from tanning beds can also be directly absorbed by skin DNA (at about 1/100 to 1/1000 of the efficiency of UVB).Exposure to radiation (UVA and UVB) is one of the major contributors to the development of melanoma. Occasional extreme sun exposure (resulting in "sunburn") is causally related to melanoma. Melanoma is most common on the back in men and on legs in women (areas of intermittent sun exposure). The risk appears to be strongly influenced by socioeconomic conditions rather than indoor versus outdoor occupations; it is more common in professional and administrative workers than unskilled workers. Other factors are mutations in or total loss of tumor suppressor genes.
Pyridostigmine is a medication used to treat myasthenia gravis and underactive bladder. It is also used together with atropine to end the effects of neuromuscular blocking medication of the non-depolarizing type. It is typically given by mouth but can also be used by injection. The effects generally begin within 45 minutes and last up to 6 hours.Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, frequent urination, and abdominal pain. More severe side effects include low blood pressure, weakness, and allergic reactions. It is unclear if use in pregnancy is safe for the fetus. Pyridostigmine is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor in the cholinergic family of medications. It works by blocking the action of acetylcholinesterase and therefore increases the levels of acetylcholine.Pyridostigmine was patented in 1945 and came into medical use in 1955. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. Pyridostigmine is available as a generic medication. Medical uses
Pyridostigmine is used to treat muscle weakness in people with myasthenia gravis or forms of congenital myasthenic syndrome and to combat the effects of curariform drug toxicity. Pyridostigmine bromide has been FDA approved for military use during combat situations as an agent to be given prior to exposure to the nerve agent Soman in order to increase survival. Used in particular during the first Gulf War, pyridostigmine bromide has been implicated as a causal factor in Gulf War syndrome.With pyridostigmine classified as a type of parasympathomimetic, it can be used to treat underactive bladder.Pyridostigmine sometimes is used to treat orthostatic hypotension.