Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. While it can affect 3 million American men a year, only a small fraction of those will succumb to the disease. That is because prostate cancer is usually slow growing and usually something people die "with" rather than "from". Still [Read More]
News & Media
Benefits of Weight Loss Surgery
Bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) has been around for a couple of decades. It's benefits in helping to control diabetes and high cholesterol is well established. In an observational study through the Cleveland Clinic and published in JAMA last week, those benefits seem to apply to reducing [Read More]
West Nile Virus
I was tested about West Nile Virus in medical school. It was an esoteric arbovirus infection mainly in Africa carried by mosquitoes which could cause encephalitis and brain damage. Fast forward a couple of decades and West Nile is now endemic in the United States. Since 2002, West Nile continues to [Read More]
Toxic Algae Symptoms
Toxic blue-green Algae has been infesting Lady Bird Lake in Austin as well as lakes and rivers around the country. Four dogs have died from exposure to the algae in Austin alone. While no harm has been reported in humans in Austin, there is a potential risk. Blue green algae appears in nutrient rich [Read More]
Working Long Hours Poses Health Risks
Shall we discuss another observational study filled with sound and fury and in the end signifying nothing? Let's. This article published in the journal Stroke looked at over 140,000 French people over a decade and asked them about their long work hours. Let me first say that I am a Francophile et je [Read More]
National Men’s Health Week
It is National Men's Health Week in the days leading up to Father's Day. An occasion to reflect on what men can be doing to improve their own health. One good idea is to get a primary care physician and have an annual exam. It is difficult to know what your blood pressure is or your cholesterol or [Read More]
Coffee and Your Heart
This story has been getting a lot of "buzz"! Sorry for the pun, but many news outlets are reporting that even 25 cups of coffee daily is fine for your heart. One thing for sure is that the authors of the study know how to grab a headline! First, let's review the limitations of the conclusion that 25 [Read More]
Summer Travel Precautions
It is time for summer travel! Most of the time things go well. However, if you end up with a health issue while traveling abroad, it can make the trip a disaster. There are several things you can do to prepare for your trip so that you and your family are safe. The CDC has important information [Read More]
Hepatitis Awareness Month
May is Hepatitis Awareness Month and May 19 was National Hepatitis Testing Day. There are several different kinds of viral hepatitis named in order of discovery as Hepatitis A,B,C,D, and E. The first three are the most important. Hepatitis A is spread via fecal/oral transmission and can be found [Read More]
Why You Shouldn’t Skip Breakfast
Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? That may be true. In a study published in the American Journal of Cardiology they used data from NHANES between 1984 and 1995 to try and decipher this question. NHANES is the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey where Americans of all [Read More]
Herbal Supplement Linked to Deaths
Kratom which comes from a tree in Southeast Asia, Mitragyna speciosa, has been linked to over 100 deaths in the U.S. It is marketed as an herbal supplement and therefore bound by no regulations. In Thailand and Indonesia the people use it medicinally for it's opioid properties. It is used as a [Read More]
Do Dietary Supplements Work?
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine this week discussed the contribution of dietary supplements to improving all cause mortality, cardiovascular deaths, and deaths from cancer. While there was an improvement in outcomes with Vitamin A, K, magnesium, and zinc, all the improvement was [Read More]
