A Note of Caution Regarding Infant and Toddler Foods
A study published in the March 2015 issue of Pediatrics reminds us, as parents and pediatricians, that not all food products designed for toddlers are healthy choices. The researchers set out to evaluate the sodium and sugar content of a variety of foods targeted for infants and toddlers. After examining labels of over a thousand…
Brief Pearls About Hormone Replacement, Chantix for Smoking Cessation, and Tylenol
1. Hormone Replacement Therapy: a New Review from the Mayo Clinic Among the most controversial issues in Gynecology is the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after menopause. In 2002, the famous WHI study found a potential link to breast cancer in those who were on estrogen and progesterone after menopause. The result of this…
Is There a Role for Music in Dementia?
With our aging population, most of us know someone with some cognitive impairment – difficulty with memory, reasoning or perception. As this advances to dementia, people may become overwhelmed by sights, sounds, and people around them, since they are less able to understand these stimuli. We often see stress reactions and agitation as a result….
Duodenoscopes versus Endoscopes, Understanding the Difference
Two weeks ago, two patients at UCLA died from a serious infection felt to be introduced during a procedure called an ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatogram). The infection was due to an antibiotic resistant “superbug” referred to as CRE, or carbapenem resistant enterobacteriaceae, passed on to the patient through use of the duodenoscope used during an ERCP. In…
What Is That Blue Ribbon?
March is colorectal cancer awareness month. One in 20 people in the US will develop colon cancer and over 50,000 people die each year of it. Yet, how many of you have heard of the blue ribbon (for colon cancer) as opposed to the pink ribbon (for breast cancer)? Last year, I wrote an article…
Peanuts Getting a Bad Rap?
Eating peanuts might actually reduce the incidence of developing peanut allergies, according to a new studypublished in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study which began in 2006 followed 640 children over four years, at a time when current pediatric practice was to keep high-risk children away from peanut products for the first three years of life….
Can I Go Out And Have A Cheeseburger Now? 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report
Mass media’s interpretation of medical reports is often suspect. Who wants to buy a newspaper with headline, “Not Much Is New.” The new proposed dietary guidelines do make some changes, but they don’t exactly live up to the recent headlines suggesting that eating cholesterol-rich foods doesn’t matter. Here are some essential points: ~ Cholesterol in…
Platelet Rich Plasma – Fountain of Youth?
Within 24 hours, the topic of platelet rich plasma came up twice. A friend of mine said that a nurse who he sees at his gym had suggested he might try Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) for chronic pain following a torn biceps tendon and he wondered what I (mind you, a retired gastroenterologist) thought. That…
Recognize and Overcome Seasonal Affective Disorder
Overcome Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) As we are in the peak days of winter and have less and less natural light, it’s important to talk about SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder. There are two types of SAD, namely fall onset SAD and spring onset SAD. The fall version usually affects an individual in late fall or early winter and…
A Rash of Measles Cases in the United States
Measles was thought to be virtually eliminated in the U.S., reaching an all-time low of 37 cases in 2004. However, it’s in the news again. Dr. Thu Tran’s father-in-law, Dr. Sam Katz, developed the vaccine in the 1960s and infection rates decreased steadily. Unfortunately, a later-discredited study linking vaccines to autism caused some parents to withhold these vaccines from…