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Articles

Miscellaneous

Sorry Uncle Sam, I Refuse To Be Ionized

January 10, 2010

"Don't even think of agreeing to it", I recently said to a friend who is a frequent flyer to the U.S. I was referring to the recent announcement that Canadians travelling to the our friendly neighbour will be subjected to full body scans. It's the latest attempt to ensure aviation safety, but how safe is this ionizing procedure to the passenger? 30 years ago I reported in this column a shocking discovery. Some X-ray machines were exposing patients up to 60 X the amount of radiation needed for some procedures. X-ray equipment was often old, rarely calculated for radiation exposure, and some technologists were incompetent. The column resulted in a big crackdown by government health authorities. Now Transport Canada reports that over...Read More

Neurology, Philosophy

What if I Get Alzheimer’s Disease?

January 8, 2010

Is it possible to suffer a worse tragedy? Lately I've had first-hand experience witnessing a friend struck by Alzheimer's Disease. A frightful malady, it's progress is as sure as night follows day. My friend has entered a mental state where he no longer knows me. Day after day he stares at blank walls, is incontinent of urine and feces. Since there's no cure for this disease, which has been labelled the "Grey Tsunami", it has huge implications for both families and our healt0h care system. Getting older is, of course, dangerous. Every 70 seconds a new case of Alzheimer's Disease is diagnosed in North America. T0his means that one in 11 seniors will develop this disease. Currently 5.3 Americans and 500,000...Read More

Psychiatry

Suppose I Get Alzheimer’s Disease?

January 8, 2010

Is it possible to have a worse tragedy? Lately I've had first-hand experience of witnessing a friend struck by Alzheimer's Disease, a frightful malady. Just as sure as night follows day he has entered a mental state he no longer knows me. Day after day he stares at blank walls and is incontinence of urine and feces. Since there's no cure, this disease has huge implications for both families and our health care system. The statistics are staggering. The average 65 year old person is expected to live to 85 years of age or older. So it won't be long before the baby boomers enter what's been called the "Grey Tsunami". Statistics Canada reports there were 3.9 million seniors in 2001...Read More

Psychiatry

Buy A Cat To Treat Winter Blues

January 3, 2010

What happens when days get shorter, colder and summer holidays are over? Some people go into a slump, the "winter blues". But 11 million North Americans develop a severe nosedive called "seasonal affective disorder" (SAD). So if you've started to feel tired, don't want to get out of bed, or even see friends, here's Rx 101 to shake SAD? Dr. June Nicholas, a psychologist at Haywards Heath in England, carried out a five year study during each January and February to evaluate whether cats have a soothing effect on physical and mental health. Dr. Nicholas reported that cat lovers were less likely to get that down-in-the-dumps feeling than those who didn't have "Whiskers" sitting on their lap. Cat owners had 60 percent...Read More

Cardiovascular

Vitamin C Fights Heart Attack

December 19, 2009

Several years ago I interviewed Linus Pauling, two-time Noble Prize winner. He told me there was one major difference between humans and animals. Humans, in the process of evolution, had developed a genetic defect and lost the enzyme 1-gulonolactone oxidase required to manufacture vitamin C. This is why in earlier centuries the cat lived while sailors died of scurvy during long sea voyages. But it's ironic that doctors accept the fact that other genetic defects such as pernicious anemia can be controlled by diet and supplements, yet refuse to agree that Vitamin C is needed for this genetic loss. For years Pauling stressed that it was this lack of vitamin C that caused coronary attack. But why is vitamin C so...Read More

Gastroenterology

What You Should Know About Crohn’s Disease

December 13, 2009

How would you feel at 18 years of age if suddenly diagnosed with Crohn's Disease (CD)? It would be devastating news. Unlike other well-known diseases you would know nothing about this trouble and even the name sounds ominous. But you would not be alone. Crohn's Disease is not a household word and in spite of its importance receives little research dollars. Crohn's Disease affects 600,000 people in North America. Normally it strikes those between 20 to 35 years of age, with another peak in the 50s but no age is immune to this disorder. Smokers are three times more likely to develop this disease. There's no sex bias as it affects both equally. In about 20 percent of cases a blood relative...Read More

Miscellaneous

Keep Out Of These Traps in 2010

December 13, 2009

Year after year people get careless and tragedy strikes. So as we enter 2010 here are several tips to prevent some common hazards during this year. Trap # 1 It's amazing that every year about 6,000 people are admitted to hospital in North America due to snow-blower injuries to the hands. 600 will have fingers amputated for failing to turn off the motor when clearing a blockage in the discharge chute with their hands. A few will be strangled when a loose scarf gets caught in the moving parts. Others will die from carbon monoxide poisoning for starting a snow blower in an enclosed space. And you will have less chance of becoming a statistic, if you don't pour gas into a...Read More

Miscellaneous

Have I Been a Good Teacher?

December 7, 2009

Over the past year I've covered many medical topics in this column. Let's see how much you've learned. A quiz helps to keep the brain in shape for the coming year. One - Studies show that the more time teenagers spend watching sexually explicit TV increases the risk of pregnancy before age 20. Two - Zona Plus is a hand-held device that fights hypertension without pills. Three - Experts say that even if you eat junk food there's no need for regular colon irrigation with herbal supplements to cleanse the bowel. Four - The American Heart Association recommends that those with a faulty heart valve no longer require antibiotics before dental procedures. Five - A wallet full of cash and credit cards in a man's...Read More

Dermatology, Gynecology, Women's Health

The Lies And Truths Of Mammography

November 20, 2009

Never before have women been more confused about breast mammography. A U.S panel of experts now reports that women under 40 years of age do not need mammograms, and those over 50 require them only every two years. So here are eight points women should know about mammography. One - During this debate no expert has mentioned one vital fact. Mammography is a "lump" diagnosis. This means that years have gone by before a cancer lump is large enough to be detected by X-rays. This provides time for a malignancy to spread. I've stressed for years it's a lie to tell women mammography diagnoses early cancer. It does not. Rather it diagnoses breast cancer as early as it can be diagnosed....Read More

Infection, Vitamins

Why Has This Treatment (Vitamin C) For H1N1 Collected Dust?

November 14, 2009

A recent newspaper headline read, "Researchers look to common, cheap medications to help H1N1 patients". Viral experts are wondering whether cholesterol-lowering drugs and steroids could help to save the sickest H1N1patients. If these researchers studied history, they would learn how Dr. Frederick R. Klenner saved an important patient, and many others, from life-threatening viral infections. In, "The Clinical Guide to the use of Vitamin C", Dr. Lendon Smith details the clinical experiences of Frederick R. Klenner. Dr. Klenner had cured case after case of viral disease by massive doses of vitamin C. And when you read these cases, it boggles the mind why this research has collected so much dust. 56 years ago, a seven year old boy had been ill for...Read More

Medicine, Psychiatry

Fatigue – Is it the Prelude to Serious Disease?

November 13, 2009

Who isn't tired now and then? Ask any doctor and he will tell you not many people, as day after day patients complain of this common problem. But how often is the feeling of being tired associated with bona fide medical disease? A report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal helps to answer this question. So what should you know about the TATT syndrome? Dr. Henk de Vries and his colleagues in Holland studied 571 patients for two years who complained of fatigue, exhaustion or malaise. They report that 10 percent of patients consulting Dutch physicians complained of fatigue. Of this number 46.9 percent were given more than one diagnosis that could be associated with this complaint. The diseases were quite diverse,...Read More

Cardiovascular, Vitamins

Vitamin C Prevents Hypertension?

November 8, 2009

"Is my blood pressure OK, doctor?" is a question asked day after day by patients. They worry their pressure is too high or too low. So this week, Course 101 in hypertension. And why is it that doctors do not prescribe vitamin C to prevent this silent killer? What is normal blood pressure? Normal is 120/80. The first number represents the force of the blood when the heart contracts. The second figure is the pressure between beats. What causes hypertension or high blood pressure? Often doctors are unable to pinpoint any specific cause for this condition. But high blood pressure is usually associated with patients who are obese with resulting Type 2 diabetes. This disease causes atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries) which increases...Read More

Women's Health

Oprah, Now She’s Become a Hormone Specialist!

November 6, 2009

Oprah is rich, immensely popular, internationally known, and very, very media smart. But is she a legitimate doctor dispensing hormonal advice to women? Two internationally known endocrinologists claim she gets an E for misinforming women on this important matter. Oprah stated publicly that menopause caught her "off guard" so she now takes natural bio-identical hormones. This is a hormone supplement identical to the ones produced by her own body. Oprah claims they've made a big difference in how she feels. But are natural hormones any better or safer than other hormone therapy? Dr. Robert Reid, an endocrinologist at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, posed this question at the annual meeting of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada in Halifax. Reid reported...Read More

Radiation

Can Radiated Patients Spread Radiation to Others?

November 2, 2009

How careful do patients have to be following nuclear diagnostic tests, or after radiation for the treatment of cancer? How long do these nuclear materials remain in the body? And how long will this radiation remain detectable and transmissible to others around you? A report from Johns Hopkins University says that patients following radiation must be made aware that they can pass along radiation to others. But, unlike cholesterol, this subject is rarely, if ever, discussed at the dinner table. The problem is that nuclear diagnostic tests are not going to go away or decrease. Rather, unless we develop other means of diagnosis, these tests will increase in the years ahead. During scans to detect thyroid disease, coronary troubles and cancer, radioactive...Read More

Cardiovascular

Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs and Muscle Damage

October 30, 2009

Today millions of people are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs) known as statins. But how safe is this medication, particularly if patients are complaining of muscle pain? Doctors often reassure patients that if blood tests are normal there's no need to worry. But a recent report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that blood tests cannot guarantee that muscle injury is not occurring. Dr. Annette Draeger of the University of Berne, Switzerland, and her colleagues obtained biopsy samples from 83 patients. Of the 44 patients complaining of muscle pain 29 were talking a CLD and 15 had discontinued it for at least three weeks before biopsies were done. The study also included 19 patients who were taking A CLD and were...Read More

Infection

Soap Off Poo or Eat It Later

October 24, 2009

Have you heard of the "Golden Poo Award"? It's not as prestigious as the Nobel Prize. But now that the virus season is here, it's time to think about influenza and the H1N1 virus. But remember there's more to infection than these two diseases. That's why the Golden Poo Award was recently presented to contestants who made outstanding contributions to hygiene and sanitation. But can you guess what winners of this peculiar contest won? The Golden Poo Award sponsored by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), had one main message. People often don't wash their hands after using the toilet. The goal of the contest was to find motivation for them to do so. LSHTM had good reason to...Read More

Nutrition

Salmon, To Eat Or Not To Eat?

October 22, 2009

Will the hazards ever end? Mad Cow Disease has made consumers cast an anxious eye at meat. Trans fats are everywhere in our food and harming us all. Now, a report warns us that farm-raised salmon contain excessive amounts of hazardous PCBs. So how polluted are the salmon and how dangerous? PCBs were used in the 1950s in plastics and several other substances. They were banned in 1977 due to the fear that they might cause cancer. But PCBs linger in water supplies, soil and food long after being used. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a U.S. organization, reports that 70 per cent of the salmon examined were contaminated with PCBs. But how contaminated? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S....Read More

Cancer, Gastroenterology

Laws of Physics Cause Esophageal Cancer

October 17, 2009

Do you suffer from a hot fire beneath the breastbone following a heavy meal? One that's often accompanied by belching and regurgitation of bitter fluid? If so, you're most likely suffering from heartburn. This common problem can be the forerunner of serious disease. But there are several ways to decrease the risk of developing one of the deadliest cancers. Heartburn is triggered by several factors. Like other muscles, the lower esophageal sphincter muscle (LES) at the lower end of the food pipe (esophagus), can become weak and inefficient. And if you eat "the whole thing" the laws of physics cause heartburn. Large meals trigger more gas and something has to give. Then the LES opens and gas, along with the stomach's...Read More

Cardiovascular

Who Should Take a Baby Aspirin?

October 17, 2009

A reader writes, "I've been taking a baby aspirin daily for years to prevent a heart attack. Now, I've read that not everyone should take this pill." She then added, "Is there a natural way to decrease the risk of coronary attack?" Acetylsalicyclic acid (ASA), commonly known as aspirin, has been extolled for years (also by this journalist), as a way to prevent heart attack. But new research suggests that this common practice needs to be reexamined. Dr. Colin Baigent, at Oxford University, recently reported their findings of a study in the British journal "Lancet", involving 95,000 patients. The authors concluded that, for apparently healthy individuals, there is questionable benefit from taking ASA. But that patients who had already had a heart...Read More

Cardiovascular, Vitamins

Vitamin C Prevents Heart Attack

October 12, 2009

Why would I travel to snowy England in January? I had the chance to spend a week studying with Dr. Sydney Bush, a distinguished English professor of optometry. This week why I believe his research on the cause of coronary artery disease deserves a Nobel Prize and how you can benefit from his research. What causes coronary attack? Authorities say it's due to increased blood cholesterol. But I've always questioned this theory since interviewing Dr. Linus Pauling (the only person to receive two Nobel Prizes). Years ago Pauling told me animals manufacture vitamin C, but humans do not. For instance, goats produce 13,000 milligrams of vitamin C daily! Humans lost this ability during the course of evolution. That's why cats survived voyages...Read More

Cardiovascular

How Fruit Juices Affect Medication

October 3, 2009

What would you think of somebody who poured himself a vodka Martini for breakfast every day? No doubt you would believe he was on a rocky road to medical hell. But how many readers are aware that a large glass of grapefruit juice in the morning is also a health hazard? Studies show that downing a glass of fruit juice can have a powerful effect on medication. In 1991 Dr. David Bailey, an expert on clinical pharmacology at the University of Western Ontario, was the first scientist in the world to discover that grapefruit juice had the ability to increase the level of certain drugs in the blood. At the time it was considered a mere academic curiosity. But what Dr....Read More

Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat

Trained Monkeys Should Attend Hockey Games

October 2, 2009

Do you know what I'd do if I owned a trained monkey? I'd give him my season tickets to hockey games at the Air Canada Center (ACC) in Toronto. It would save me from incessant, ear-splitting noise. Besides, it would also save me from repeatedly asking, "What did you say?" To combat noise and prevent deafness, the European Union recently announced it's capping the volume of iPods and other portable music players. The top level is to be 80 decibels. So how does 80 decibels compare with other routine levels of noise? Studies show normal talk is about 40, city traffic 80, subways emit 100 and rock concerts assault the ear with 130. I'm a long-standing hockey fan. But if anything were...Read More

Neurology

What You Should Know About TBIs

September 21, 2009

What would I worry about if my children were playing hockey and football? In two words, brain injury. Earlier, this year actress Natasha Richardson fell and struck her head while skiing on a beginners slope at Mont Tremblant in Quebec. She walked away apparently without injury. But what shocked the world was the headline news 24 hours later. She had died following this accident. What had happened? Our brains arn't firmly attached by screws inside the head. So a sudden hit to the head throws the brain against the skull. But Richardson's death shows that, if we have an unlucky day, this impact may cause rupture of blood vessels that surround the brain. When bleeding begins, continues and is not diagnosed,...Read More

Surgery

Head Injuries Sustained In Sports

September 18, 2009

"Do you know of anyone who could help my child?" a long-standing friend of mine recently asked me" Their young child had sustained a head injury while playing hockey had been left with severe headaches and various medications had failed to relieve his suffering. Today, head injuries can occur in a variety of sporting activities. So what should about even minor blows to the head? Earlier this year actress Natasha Richardson fell and struck her head while skiing on a beginners slope at Mont Tremblant in Quebec. She walked away apparently without injury. But what shocked the world was the headline news 24 hours later that she had died from this trivial injury. After all, she was not racing down a...Read More

Infection

What was The Diagnosis?

September 14, 2009

This week, how about letting me relax, and you play doctor? I'll just pass along pertinent facts about a patient. Then you can see how smart you are in making a diagnosis. First, a couple of clues. The final diagnosis was made by common sense, not by fancy hospital tests. And it's also possible that any of us could arrive home from vacation with this distressful problem. Drs. Jane Pritchard and Stephen Hwang report in The Canadian Medical Association Journal the interesting case of a 62 year old man who complained of generalized fatigue. It was apparent from looking at this man's medical history that you didn't have to be a graduate of The Harvard Medical School to know there were...Read More