December 24th, 2011 by BarbaraFederOstrov in Health Policy, News
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Kim Jong Il: Of course we’re going to highlight the lowlights of the North Korean leader’s health: CNN has the scoop on the dictator’s cause of death and previous illnesses. Knight Science Journalism Tracker’s Paul Raeburn rounds up previous analyses of Kim Jong Il’s psychological profile.
Breast Cancer: Companies are trying to build a better mammogram as they compete for a bigger slice of the $6 billion-and-growing medical imaging market, Sierra Jiminez reports for Fortune. Nearly 300,000 American women have been diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
Health Reform: The U.S. Supreme Court will devote an unprecedented week of oral argument over health reform when Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Reporting on Health - The Reporting on Health Daily Briefing*
November 27th, 2011 by Howard LeWine, M.D. in Health Tips, Research
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Good vibrations may work for dancing on the beach or for romance, but they don’t seem to do much to strengthen bones.
Results of a clinical trial published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that older women who stood on a vibrating platform for 20 minutes a day experienced just as much bone loss over the course of the year-long trial as women who didn’t use the platform.
The results are a disappointment for older women and men looking to strengthen their bones without exercising, not to mention to the companies that have sprung up to sell whole-body vibration platforms as an easy way to halt osteoporosis, the age-related loss of bone.
The idea behind whole-body vibration makes sense. Like walking, running, and other weight-bearing physical activities, whole-body vibration Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
November 24th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Research
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I live on the West Coast, where it is rare to see a smoker. Because it is not socially accepted, smokers are not out in the open. They lurk behind buildings to take a smoke break at work and I don’t even own an ashtray for friends because none of my friends smoke. But San Francisco isn’t the rest of America. In 2010 there were 45.5 million Americans who smoke, with men smoking more than women. Tobacco remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. Each year approximately 433,000 people die of smoking-related illness.
Here are some more stats on American adult smokers. The highest prevalence is American Indians/Alaska Natives (31.4%) followed by whites (21%). Smoking incidence decreases with increasing education and improved economics. By region, the Midwest has the most smokers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia (22-27%). That is huge.
California and Utah have the lowest percentage of adult smokers at Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
November 1st, 2011 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Opinion
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Tummy Tuck surgery is almost invariably greatly appreciated by the proper patient. These top ten facts might help you figure if you are such a person. 
(1) Tummy Tuck surgery is one of the largest scale operations a plastic surgeon can offer a patient.
(2) Patients who have lost a good deal of weight or completed child bearing involving large weight gain and loss are the most common candidates. Patients do not lose much weight from the operation itself in most cases….maybe a few pounds on average.
(3) Post-operative pain used to make it necessary to admit the patient to a hospital for narcotics.
(4) Pain pumps when properly utilized can Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
August 8th, 2011 by John Di Saia, M.D. in Health Tips, Opinion
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Reader Question:
Do you do anti-aging medicine? I do not see it on your web site. If not, what is your opinion of it?
I am not a fan or follower of the anti-aging medicine fad in so much that it promotes what I believe to be a false concept. An older person cannot be made into a younger version of herself by boosting certain hormones. There is really no good evidence that it works. Patients don’t live any longer. It might also be found to be harmful in the long run.
Plastic surgeons will differ in their opinions as to what works with low risk to improve things. To me Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*
