Monthly Archives: June 2012

The ABC News “Medical Unit” blog reports “A new study published in the journal General Dentistry found that energy and sports drinks contain so much acid that they start destroying teeth after only five days of consistent use.”

Who says abstinence education or emphasis by parents, faith communities, and schools is not effective? The AP reports on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report finding that “about 43 percent of the girls in the survey said they’d … Continue reading →

The CNN “The Chart” blog reports, “People who eat a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids may significantly lower their risk of developing memory problems and Alzheimer’s disease,” according to a study published in the journal Neurology.

I’ve had several patients ask about raspberry ketone for weight loss. They heard about it on Dr. Oz’s TV show. He calls it a “miracle fat-burner in a bottle.”

For years, healthcare professionals who care for infants and childcare organizations have advised AGAINST regular use of pacifiers for newborns. It was thought that using a pacifier would keep babies from exclusively breastfeeding.

The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) has updated its evidence-based position statement on hormone therapy. NAMS last published a position statement on hormone therapy in  2010. The new statement includes interim findings from observational studies and randomized controlled trials.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the FDA has approved another erectile dysfunction drug.

In an analysis piece in the New York Times, Gretchen Reynolds, the “Phys Ed” columnist for the Times, wrote about the health benefits of standing up.

The New York Times reported that the FDA is warning 10 companies that make or distribute some popular “workout boosters” that they “could increase people’s blood pressure, potentially causing shortness of breath or heart attacks.”

New research suggests that women with certain risk factors should begin receiving mammograms earlier than other women.

ABC World News reported in its “Consumer Watchdog” feature, “120 chemicals in care products, cream, shampoos, used every day by women, most of them untested and a lot by men as well.”

Facebook’s announcement of its new initiative to encourage organ donation attracted attention from one television network and numerous print media sources.

New research shows that getting a lot of sleep, like more than nine hours a night, could help overweight people slim down, while sleeping fewer than seven hours a night was associated with higher weight.

Can supplements reduce the symptoms of prostate enlargement in men, as some products claim?

The AP reports, “New guidelines issued by the American Cancer Society urge doctors to talk to … cancer” survivors “about eating right, exercising, and slimming down if they’re too heavy.”

You’ve been hearing for some time about the health benefits of blueberries, how they can help preserve memory. Well, a recent study told us how much you have to eat and how it might work on your mind.

A CDC report indicating that millions of Americans are not getting enough sleep received extensive medial coverage, but was ignored by print media.

Catherine Musemeche, a pediatric surgeon, writes in the New York Times “Motherlode” blog, “I find myself congratulating the parents of normal-weight children – kids we now call thin.”

USA Today reports, “In what looks like a medical first, doctors reported Wednesday that a kidney transplanted into one patient, which then started to fail, has been removed and transplanted into a second patient, who is doing well.”

Reuters reports that researchers in New York City have suggested that sending parents text messages containing information on the flu vaccine could encourage them to get their children vaccinated and thus increase the number of children and teens protected from … Continue reading →

There is new evidence that it makes a difference which type of exercise you do if you want to combat memory loss. As we know, it’s a risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s.

The New York Times reports, “A study of people who received the shingles vaccine has found that it is safe and well tolerated, with an extremely low rate of side effects.”

Surgery to remove a ruptured appendix is very common but a very interesting study found the price of such a common procedure can vary wildly depending on the hospital.

USA Today reports, “Many migraine sufferers could have fewer, less severe headaches if they took preventive medicines, but few eligible patients do, say doctors releasing updated treatment guidelines.”

I found this press release from the folks at PharmacyChecker.com both interesting and compelling. See what you think:

The release of CDC data on US measles cases received a good deal of coverage, with most sources emphasizing that the disease, while relatively rare, still poses a threat, primarily due to the disease being passed by unvaccinated people.

The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reports, “Guidelines limiting PSA screening for prostate cancer detection in older men are widely ignored,” according to a research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “and physicians seem likely … Continue reading →

The New York Times “Well” blog reports, “As the population becomes fatter, study after study shows that instead of feeling bad about ourselves, we have entered a collective state of denial about how big we’re actually getting.”

There’s been a lot of concern about concussions among kids and adults who play contact sports. So it caught my attention when a new study was presented to the American Academy of Neurology. The study looks at boxers, and it … Continue reading →

It appears that daily physical activity may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. After monitoring some 700 elderly people, researchers found that the least active were nearly two and a half times as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as the … Continue reading →