"This blog was developed to provide medical updates that are important and have my perspective as additional insight."
Physical activity is the #1 Key to health….just check out THE KEYS, and you’ll find it right there at the top. You can take inactivity to a new high (or should I say low), and be so inactive that you actually get SITTING DISEASE. We are sitting too much and this is making us …
Could it be that we have it all wrong about our ‘slower’ brains as we age. These German researchers suggest so, explaining that older brains take longer to process information because they have so much information stored from past experience, that it takes more time to sift through this data. Take heart…as we age….we all …
Read More ““Interesting if true, if not… interesting anyway” –Mark Twain”
Dave Berry is among the best comedy writers in the new these days and he is my hero for his piece on his colonoscopy. Here is his latest WSJ comment on his upbringing being a ‘man’. Read it HERE<<<<<
As most of you know, I am a fan of fat and protein in the diet at the expense of starches. Atkins Diet and Paleo seem more in-tune with our evolution than the modern grain-focused fare. This NPR piece on regular milk helping maintain proper weight, as opposed to skim milk, is another piece in …
Doctor Doug; Do you have a recommended daily target level for carbs that I can use as a guideline while trying to reduce them? M.A. M.A. I asked my friend, Debbie Landau-West, for your comments. Here is the reply from Debbie Landau-West, a nutritionist and dietitian I’ve known for 30 years, and who is the …
Among the most difficult medical issues to handle for an elderly patient or family member are serious psychiatric issues. In our 70’s and 80’s (and beyond), severe psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety can be combined with other underlying conditions such as memory loss to make their treatment and recovery more difficult. For outpatient treatment, …
Read More “IN NEED OF PSYCHIATRIC HELP FOR A GERIATRIC PATIENT?”
Prilosec and similar medications are potent acid suppressors, and in so doing they are superb at preventing ulcers and esophagus irritation. Due to their potency questions have been raised about their long-term safety, despite a superb 30 year track record. I am confident in their safety and am a proponent of their long-term use for …
I’m not a big shopper….but I do love a bargain. Probably comes from traipsing around with my mom when I was a kid, or now with my kids when they are shopping. If it’s a sale item it looks so much better! I’ve told you all before about shopping for best prices at Costco through …
Caring for others as a physician is a profound honor. It also gives us an opportunity to reflect on the ultimate fears we all have about illness and death. This NY Times editorial by thoracic surgeon Jeffrey Piehler, MD, is filled with a humanity that comes from his own experiences….as a surgeon and a patient, …
With the progressive improvement in imaging studies, MRI and CAT scans, we are finding more and more ‘incidental’ abnormalities, and there is now a question of ‘what to do’ with such findings. Some might think that such incidental findings are good fortune to find by accident, so that we can treat the findings and prevent …
Read More “CAUTION ADVISABLE WHEN TREATING INCIDENTAL SCAN FINDINGS”
Coronary artery disease remains very common, with management during an acute episode of chest pain clearly favoring intervention with balloon treatment, stenting, or other aggressive therapies. But for patients with stable disease, there is more controversy If a person has stable coronary artery disease (no chest pain) but testing demonstrates are area of reduced blood …
This weeks Sunday New York Times had a great article titled “Why Everyone Seems to Have Cancer” and the summary is….as we live longer and reduce the greatest killer of people, HEART DISEASE, Cancer comes to dominate as the major cause of death. The statistics clearly show reductions in premature death from heart disease and …
Acetominophen is the chemical name for Tylenol, and although safe in low and moderate doses, it can cause issues if taken to excess. The issues: Liver injury (even liver failure) and kidney disease. Due to unintended Tylenol overdose, the FDA is focusing a strong warning on products that contain Acetominophen as as ‘added’ medications in …
Hepatitis C is a chronic liver condition affecting millions of Americans, and the infection occurs through transmission with infected needles or infected blood. Although treatment regimens have been available for some time, they have been limited by the need for injectible medication and limitations in response. A new combination of oral medications, avoiding injections and …
Read More “HEPATITIS C TREATMENT IS GOING TO BE MUCH EASIER”
Dr. Donald Morton recently passed away. As a cancer surgeon, he pioneered the treatment called SENTINAL NODE BIOPSY. This simple and effective therapy for identifying lymph node involvement in cancer (or lack of involvement) led to more limited surgeries for cancer, more specific treatment protocols, and improved patient outcomes for many cancers. It is a …
Read More “CANCER PIONEER DR. DONALD MORTON….TOUCHED MY LIFE”