Breast Cancer Screening – What’s Behind the Guidelines?
Last week, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released updated recommendations for breast cancer screening. In the name of being more transparent, there is time now for the public to comment. I thought I’d take this opportunity to point out the difficulties encountered in formulating these guidelines, and making it clear who they apply to…
April Health News
1. Daily Aspirin? Maybe Not. A 2012 survey, reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, showed more than half of the adults in the survey used daily aspirin for prevention of various conditions such as stroke, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Most of them were taking baby aspirin (81mg) and the majority…
Health News: Autism Risk and ART,Saccharin as Potential Treatment, Obesity and Increased Risk of Cancer
1. Increased Incidence of Autism in Children Born by Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) A study published in the American Journal of Public Health on March 19 found the incidence for autism is twice as high for ART as compared to non-ART births. A popular form of ART is In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Dr. Christine Fountain…
Time For a Conversation About Mental Health
Once again, the nation is engaging in a much-needed conversation about mental health. Tragedies provide a ripeness for this dialogue to begin after its hiatus. For those who have never experienced the pain of mental illness, it can seem unimaginable that a person would deliberately crash a plane, or drown their children, or any one…
Sleep Apnea in Women – Not As Uncommon As We Once Thought
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is very common, and has been reviewed here in the past. Many women laugh at me when I ask them if they snore, often saying that they are told that they do but they don’t think so. Well, how would you know you’re snoring if you’re asleep? The many awakenings per hour…
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…