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748 Ayurvedic Medicine

Sat, Nov 14 Listen

Americans have grown accustomed to hearing about acupuncture and herbs such as ginkgo from traditional Chinese medicine. But most have never heard of another ancient healing tradition, Ayurveda. Ayurvedic medicine comes from India, where its history stretches back thousands of...

747 Health News Update

Sat, Nov 7 Listen

When an official with the American Cancer Society suggested recently that we expect too much from some screening tests, such as those for breast or prostate cancer, he got a lot of pushback. We get more insight on the utility...

746 America's War on Drugs

Sat, Oct 31 Listen

America has been waging a war on drugs of abuse for a very long time. Are we winning or losing? A "get-tough" legal policy has resulted in many drug users being locked in prison. One guest argues that this is...

745 Health News Update

Sat, Oct 24 Listen

Unusual symptoms like dizziness could signal a stroke, but they could also be something much less serious. Doctors struggle to get the diagnosis right, but now they have a new tool--and it is quicker and cheaper than the standard approach....

744 Premonitions in Health and Illness

Sat, Oct 17 Listen

Medicine is dependent on documented evidence, but sometimes intuition can play an important role in getting the right diagnosis. Emergency room personnel may share impressions or premonitions that could help with patient care. When should we pay attention to that...

743 Saving Your Skin

Sat, Oct 10 Listen

Your skin is the largest organ of your body. A lot can go wrong, but at least you can see it. How can you tell what's a minor problem and what deserves expert medical attention? One dermatologist offers pictures online...

742 The Life You Save

Sat, Oct 3 Listen

Patrick Malone is a malpractice attorney who has sued doctors, hospitals and drug companies. Now he shares what he has learned about health care to help keep you out of his office. Wouldn't it be better to avoid medical errors...

741 Arthritis

Sat, Sep 26 Listen

Arthritis comes in many forms, but all of them make joints stiff and sore and can result in significant disability. It is among the most common chronic conditions in the U. S. Learn about the differences between osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis...

740 The Art of Diagnosis

Sat, Sep 19 Listen

Medical mysteries are a source of fascination. On TV shows like Gray's Anatomy or House, the patient's life hangs in the balance until the correct diagnosis is reached. That is true in real life as well. Though many diagnoses are...

739 Health News Update

Sat, Sep 12 Listen

The DASH diet was developed to help lower blood pressure naturally. Research shows that it is good for the heart; now a study from Cache County, Utah, suggests that older folks who eat a DASH-style diet with lots of vegetables...

738 Menopause

Sat, Sep 5 Listen

Menopause used to be spoken about in whispers, if at all. Women dreaded The Change, and many men did as well. Now, with many thousands of baby boomers going through menopause every week, women are changing their attitudes. Menopause doesn't...

737 Diagnostic Errors

Sat, Aug 29 Listen

Diagnostic errors have gotten less attention from health care critics than medication mistakes or wrong-site surgeries, but they are just as dangerous. Without the right diagnosis, getting the right treatment is a matter of guesswork or luck. Two renowned patient safety experts say diagnostic errors are far more common than most of us realize, and they offer some ideas for reducing the harm that such serious mistakes can cause. Their commentary, "Diagnostic Errors--The Next Frontier for...

736 Health Care Overhaul

Sat, Aug 22 Listen

Overhauling the health care system is high on the President's list of to-dos. But it has become a political hot potato. Why are so many people so excited about this policy issue? We talk with Howard Dean, MD, about his prescription for real health care reform, and we get a very different perspective from Joseph Antos, PhD, of the American Enterprise Institute. Jonathan Oberlander, PhD, helps us make sense of all the shouting and answers listener questions. Guests: Joseph Antos, PhD, Wilson...

735 Healthy Feet

Sat, Aug 15 Listen

Each foot has 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 tendons, ligaments and muscles, so the human foot is something of a masterpiece. Our feet carry us thousands of miles in the course of a lifetime, and when they hurt, we are miserable. We'll find out what to do for common foot problems such as plantar fasciitis, corns or bunions and take live calls from our audience. Guests: Bryan C. Markinson, DPM, Chief of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery at the Leni and Peter W. May Department of...

734 Conflict of Interest

Sat, Aug 8 Listen

Patients expect doctors to be objective in determining the best treatment and to keep the patient's best interests foremost. But there is disturbing evidence that some doctors supplement their incomes significantly with industry agreements on the side. How does this affect our health? Our guests offer two opposing answers to this question. Guests: Jerome Kassirer, MD, Distinguished Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. For more than eight years Dr. Kassirer was editor-in-chief of...

733 Thyroid Disease Update

Sat, Aug 1 Listen

There is an epidemic of thyroid disease in the United States. Nearly 90 millions prescriptions for thyroid hormone were dispensed last year alone. But many people don't even know they are lacking adequate thyroid hormone.Physicians often assume the treatment of thyroid disease is simple and straightforward. But many patients don't feel well even when their lab values look normal.We'll explore the controversies surrounding thyroid disorders and their treatment and take live calls from our...

732 Integrative Medicine

Sat, Jul 25 Listen

Integrative medicine combines the latest medical techniques with ones that come from centuries-old healing traditions, such as acupuncture or yoga. What is the evidence behind such approaches?Learn how integrative coaching can turn good intentions into practice. Guest: Tracy Gaudet, MD, Executive Director of Duke Integrative Medicine. She is also Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Duke University Medical Center. Her books include Consciously Female and Body, Soul and Baby.

731 Predictably Irrational

Thu, Jul 16 Listen

Although doctors pride themselves on practicing evidence-based medicine, not everything that happens in a hospital or clinic is supported by science. Do health care providers always act based on logic? We Americans imagine that we are (usually) rational and make decisions based on analysis and thoughtful consideration. But behavioral economics suggests we are swayed by many factors that are (usually) out of our awareness and sometimes not in our best interests. Dr. Dan Ariely got...

704 Healthy Eating (Archive)

Fri, Jul 3 Listen

The science of nutrition seems to lead to a lot of contradictory advice. Vitamin E is a great example. At one time, it was supposed to prevent cancer and heart disease and help people stay healthy into their later years. Now, though, the vitamin is in the doghouse. We find out why scientists have reversed their stance.Dr. Christopher Gardner talks with us about how to evaluate the changing news on nutrition and design a healthy diet. Guest: Christopher Gardner, PhD, Director of Nutrition...

729 Deep Vein Thrombosis

Thu, Jun 25 Listen

Veins get no respect. Millions of Americans worry about heart attacks, which occur when arteries are blocked by a blood clot. But blood clots in veins get very little attention, although they can also be life threatening. Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) occurs when a blood clot lodges deep within the veins of the legs. When such a clot breaks loose, it can go to the lungs and become a pulmonary embolism. These can be lethal. How can DVT be prevented?Guest: Thomas L. Ortel, MD, PhD, is Professor...

728 Health News Update

Sat, Jun 20 Listen

Three million Americans have hepatitis C, a viral infection of the liver that can cause long-term illness. The medication used to treat it must be taken for a long time and often doesn't cure the condition. But a new treatment improves the effectiveness of this drug and reduces the amount of time patients have to take it.Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory activity. They may be found in walnuts as well as in marine animals. Is one source better than the other, or do they have...

727 Celiac Disease Update

Fri, Jun 12 Listen

Symptoms such as severe fatigue or irritable bowel syndrome are sometimes diagnosed as psychosomatic disorders. But intolerance to gluten, called celiac disease, can cause malabsorption that could trigger these symptoms along with others, such as anemia, migraines, osteoporosis, dermatitis, infertility or peripheral neuropathy. Although celiac disease was once considered rare, studies now show it occurs in 1 of 100 Americans. People with certain other conditions such as type 1 diabetes have...

726 Generic Drug Controversy

Mon, Jun 8 Listen

Generic drugs are supposed to be identical to their brand-name counterparts, but they are much cheaper. That's why so many insurance companies and HMOs insist upon their use. Reports have been cropping up that suggest not all generic drugs meet the high quality standards Americans expect. We get perspectives from the generic drug manufacturers, a scientist analyzing FDA adverse event data, and an investigative journalist who took a year to look into the issue. Guests: Kathleen Jaeger,...

725 Allergy and Asthma

Mon, Jun 1 Listen

Molds and pollen from grasses and trees trigger allergies that cause a lot of misery. Red, itchy eyes and runny noses are often accompanied by cognitive fogginess. Judgment may be affected. But the common treatments, especially OTC antihistamines, may not make driving any safer. Asthma triggered by allergies may pose a more serious health threat. How can it be treated so that serious attacks are avoided? Guest: Beth Eve Corn, MD, is assistant professor of medicine at Mount Sinai School of...

724 Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia

Tue, May 26 Listen

Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are both elusive and debilitating conditions. They are difficult to diagnose and even trickier to treat. Many physicians chalk them up to psychosomatic problems and don’t have much to offer patients. The CDC counts these as real disorders: fibromyalgia affects up to 5 million Americans, and chronic fatigue syndrome affects between 1 and 4 million at any given time. Although these problems seem mysterious, they are treatable. Guest: Jacob Teitelbaum,...

723 Traditional Diets

Mon, May 18 Listen

Our ancestors survived without supermarkets, by growing and preparing their own food. Some of their traditional ways of cooking, that involve fermenting foods like sauerkraut or sourdough bread, are sliding into oblivion. Our guest, Sally Fallon, has been bucking the nutrition establishment to suggest that the old ways of eating have very real and important benefits. She advocates including saturated fats like butter or coconut oil in the diet for good health and she opposes the widespread...

675 Exercise and the Brain (Archive 5/2/09)

Mon, May 4 Listen

Exercise is essential for keeping the heart and circulatory system healthy. It helps, too, to moderate blood sugar and control metabolism. Now, animal research suggests that physical fitness also benefits the brain. Guest: John Ratey, MD, is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and has a private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has co-authored Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood through...

679 What Expert Patients Can Teach Us (Archive)

Mon, Apr 27 Listen

Everyone needs health care at some point, and in today’s complex health-care system, patients are at risk for errors. Some people with chronic illnesses who have logged a lot of time in hospitals have thought hard about how patients can help providers give them the best possible care. We talk with two expert patients and get their recommendations for communicating with health care providers and coping with a complicated health care system. An amazingly uplifting show. Guests: Tiffany...

721 Health News Update

Mon, Apr 20 Listen

That numb feeling after a dental filling could be reversed more quickly. How much is it worth? Making smart health care decisions depends upon understanding your risks. But many of us are not comfortable with statistics. We get a primer on the basics from a couple of the country’s experts. Pregnenolone, a precursor to many hormones, has activity in the brain. A new pilot study suggests it may have interesting benefits in schizophrenia. We take your questions about Rx drugs, dietary...

720 Brain Nutrition

Mon, Apr 13 Listen

We’ve always heard that you are what you eat. Research shows that diet can have an impact on heart health. Can we improve our brain function by paying attention to nutrition? Dr. James Joseph and his colleagues have investigated the effects of antioxidant and flavonoid rich foods such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and spinach. In rodents, supplementing the diet with such foods can reverse some of the mental decline associated with aging. How well will they work in humans? Instead...

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