Botox at 26? That was the recommendation of one financially inclined New York doctor whose 26-year-old patient dared let her forehead develop wrinkles. (A separate doctor says, "The youngest patient I've seen was 22 years old, and she needed it." Ouch.) And so begins a thought exercise on aging and beauty, and when is too young to start taking care of anything you consider a cosmetic flaw.

We have friends in their early thirties who've been getting chemical peels, microdermabrasion, Botox and Juvederm treatments for years. The forehead of one mid-twenties acquaintance no longer moves. Same for several forty- and fifty-something friends, though they're less likely to own up to it than the youngins. So let's hear from you:

• Have you had Botox, or other "light" cosmetic treatments? Are you considering them?

• Would you think less of your friends if they got treatments?

• Is there an age that's too young? An age that all but makes Botox necessary?

• Is "aging gracefully" something to respect, or a punchline?

• If you've had treatments done, and you're will to share, tell us your age, how often you get them done, and whether you're satisified with the results.

Zimbabwe's a mess. There's really no other way to put it.

Their inflation's around 231%, industry's nonexistent, most of the nation's people are uneducated and underfed. And, of course, there's their madman president, Robert Mugabe, who has led the government and his people into what appears to be an insurmountable crisis. Thus, it should come as no surprise that health organizations are accusing Mugabe's government of misappropriating potentially life-saving grants:

The Zimbabwe government has been accused of misusing funds mean to fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases by an international aid agency.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has claimed that $7.3 million of the $12.3 million it gave to the government did not go towards its intended use.
…
The organization says that repeated attempts to get answers from Central Bank and government health officials have been unsuccessful.

This comes as the fund’s board is set to vote on Friday on granting an additional $400 million to the Zimbabwe government.

Let's hope the board realizes they're flushing their money away - Mugabe's not interesting in saving his homeland. What is he interested in? Perhaps being remembered as one of the top ten worst leaders in human history. If so, he's definitely succeeded.

Dr Muhammad Siddiq's getting what he deserves!

The British doctor, who heads the Islamic Medical Association, came under fire last year after telling Pulse magazine that "gays are worse than the ordinary careless citizen. They are causing the spread of disease with their irresponsible behavior." The implication was that there should be laws to prohibit our same-sex ways.

Siddiq originally defended his comments by saying he was stressed, but then later said that his son had written the letter as a joke, and that he had signed it without reading over it. Britain's General Medical Council wasn't buying it and their Fitness to Practice board decided yesterday to suspend Siddiq's medical license for 12-months.

Andrew Popat, chairing the GMC hearing, called the GP's actions inappropriate and not in the best interests of his patients.

He added that the letter to Pulse was "liable to undermine public confidence in the medical profession and liable to bring the profession into disrepute".

He said: "The panel continues to have concerns regarding Dr Siddiq's insight into his actions."

Obviously this man's an absolute loon, so we have more than simple concerns - we have disdain and, more pungently, fear.

We never quite know what to make of these stories…

Australian researchers have found suggestive evidence that transgender identities are genetic. From the BBC:

DNA analysis from 112 male-to-female transsexual volunteers showed they were more likely to have a longer version of the androgen receptor gene.

The genetic difference may cause weaker testosterone signals, the team reported in Biological Psychiatry.

However, other genes are also likely to play a part, they stressed.

Increasingly, biological factors are being implicated in gender identity.

Now, we're obviously curious to know why people are gay, straight, trans and the such, but opening up this can of worms also invites genetic manipulation.

For example, if this can be nailed down, so to speak, does that mean women may one day be able to determine prenatally whether or not their child will be trans? If that happens, will said woman abort her "abnormal" baby. Then again, such evidence suggests being trans is, in fact, quite normal. What say you, reader? Should scientists be searching for the reason why people "deviate" from the norm, or should we turn our backs on such research?

Some people never learn - like, for example, South North Carolinian DJ Joshua Waldon Weaver.

Currently on probation for not revealing his HIV status to three lovers with whom he had unprotected sex, Weaver has now found himself under six-months house arrest after again transmitting perhaps tainted sperm. Fool.

On Sept. 6, Q-Notes reported that Weaver, 23, who works in clubs in Raleigh and Wilmington, pleaded guilty to charges that he failed to disclose his HIV-positive status and engaged in unprotected sex with three people. Weaver was given a suspended jail sentence and placed on probation. The terms of his probation ordered Weaver to use protection when engaging in sexual activity.

About two weeks ago Weaver was arrested after Wake County Public Health officials contacted his probation officer with information that he had possibly violated court orders by having sex without a condom.

Assistant District attorney Boz Zellinger told The News & Observer that health officials became aware of the DJ’s violation after he contracted another sexually transmitted disease that could have been prevented by the use of a condom.

We'd laugh at the irony of this STD misfortune, but our bemusement's been squashed by the sad realization that Weaver's lover may have received much worse than anything a health official could cure.

This massage doesn't have a happy ending.

A Ghanaian immigrant in England filed criminal charges against his South London doctor after the medic allegedly molested him during a massage. The man couldn't have been too upset, though, because he used the abuse to make a buck:

The Ghanaian patient, who can't be named, fell into a trance as Dr Lewis Dickinson, 53, gave him a massage at his practice in Camberwell.

But when he came to he found the doctor holding a massaging machine in one hand and the patient's private parts in the other, the hearing was told.

Anxious not to endanger his immigration status, Patient A made another appointment instead of going to the police.

He recorded his next visit to the GP, when Dickinson mentioned something in relation to the alleged assault. Patient A confronted the doctor with his evidence, and he agreed to pay the patient - who was HIV positive - £100 a week for the rest of his life to keep him quiet, the hearing was told.

When the doctor stopped paying two and a half years later, the patient pressed charges. But the case against the doctor was thrown out because of a lack of evidence and Patient A was hauled to court to face blackmail charges.

Unfortunately for Dickinson, he still faces professional review for this sticky situation.

Now we've seen it all!

Hoping to capitalize on circumcised men who have longed to experience life with foreskin - a demographic we didn't quite realize represented a market - some clever entrepreneurs have come up with an awe-inspiring invention, the SenSlip! Let the world rejoice. Or something.

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