This year we have the second highest outbreak of measles in a decade. The likely cause is foreign travel to places in which measles is still endemic then returning to an America where the unvaccinated rate is increasing. We had declared measles eradicated in the U.S in the year 2000. It has made a [Read More]
News & Media
New Eye Exam Could Help Spot Alzheimer’s
An interesting study shows that one might diagnose early Alzheimer's by looking at blood vessel density in the retina. The technology, OCTA, is only available in research institutions so it is not practical now. However, this could be a breakthrough in how we can bring drugs to market that are able [Read More]
At Home Screening for Colorectal Cancer
The recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine is trending right now. It is a meta-analysis of 120,000 patients who had FIT testing (checks for microscopic blood in the stool) over the years. Their conclusions were that if FIT testing was done compliantly on an annual basis, it was highly [Read More]
Osteoporosis in Elderly Men
Osteoporosis (porous bones) is a major cause of morbidity in the U.S. After a fall, people affected with osteoporosis are more likely to sustain a bone fracture, particularly in the hip. That is usually the beginning of a steady decline in the elderly. Post-menopausal women are well recognized to be [Read More]
Do genetics or nature impact a person’s health more?
DNA or zip code? Which has greater impact on your health? Of course the answer is the same as it ever was. Both! This study in Nature was interesting though in it's methodology. It used the Aetna database and found 56,000 twin pairs and studied them until age 24 (while they were on their parents [Read More]
Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Respiratory Syncytial Virus infects nearly every child by age 2. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, and that confounded cough! A staccato cough that can keep a child from sleeping. Our second child had this as a newborn and it was disconcerting but she did well. (Thanks to a couple of sleepless [Read More]
Acute Flaccid Myelitis
Acute Flaccid Myelitis has been occurring in relatively high numbers every other year since 2014. This year the season is winding down, but ended up affected about 135 children, most (16) of them here in Texas. We don't know what causes this polio like illness characterized by paralysis. It's likely [Read More]
CDC Guidelines for Boil Water Advisories
Dr. Kumar talks about the Center for Disease Control's recommendations when a boil water advisory is issued like the one Austin Water has issued for all its customers. [Read More]
Prostate Cancer Awareness
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Dr. Kumar interviewed Dr. Shaw from Urology Austin to discuss the pros and cons of screening for prostate cancer. [Read More]
Aspirin Therapy
Important study ASCEND published in the NEJM and presented at the European College of Cardiology. Over 15,000 asymptomatic well controlled diabetics studied for 7 1/2 years to whether low dose aspirin prevented their first heart attack or stoke. It did! Reduced the risk by about 12%. However, the [Read More]
Nosebleeds & Children
Nosebleeds occur in 30% of kids age 2-tween. The nasal mucosa is thin and the vasculature is rich. When a child is dehydrated, has nasal congestion, or picks the nose, the thin mucosa is not much protection. The noses starts bleeding. It's usually at the tip of the nose (Keisselbach's plexus). [Read More]
Do Heartburn Drugs Increase the Risk of an Early Death?
Recent research shows heartburn medication has been associated with bone fractures, demesne, heart and kidney problems, and now death. But is this study just a observational study done on patients only using heartburn drugs? Learn more below as Dr. Kumar discusses the [Read More]
