Dermatology
Collagen Producing Peptides For Wrinkled Skin
What made Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, so attractive? Certainly being born beautiful wasn't a hindrance for her seduction of Mark Anthony. But apart from having genetics on her side she knew that natural beauty could be preserved and augmented by the application of healthy emollients. Both Cleopatra and Poppea, wife of the Roman Emperor Nero, used a honey-and-milk lotion to keep them looking youthful. But what would Cleopatra and Poppea have done to get their hands on a new potion proven to reduce wrinkles up to 78 percent? These two women were not aware of the science of cosmetics at that time. Through today's science we know that lactic acid in milk is an alpha hydroxy acid which helps to cleanse...Read More
Nutrition
Postpone A Wormy End and Gorillas Should Have The Right To Vote
William Shakespeare wrote "A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king". He could have added, "or fish with the worm that eventually gets us all." This is not a pleasant thought to pass to along to readers at the start of the day. But since the life of worms and other insects can be extended it may be possible for humans to postpone that final wormy day. Studies show that restricting calories in worms, insects, mice and rats does prolong their lives. This usually means eating about 25 percent less than what they would normally consume to maintain normal weight. It's been labeled "under-nutrition without malnutrition". So far it's the only intervention tried by scientists that has...Read More
Medicine, Orthopedics
Prexige: A New Painkiller For Arthritis Pain
For three million Canadians, osteoarthritis can be a debilitating disease that can affect not only their ability to function in their day-to-day lives, but leaves many depressed and isolated. A few years ago a number of these drugs were removed from the market. But this has left many patients confused, frightened under-treated and living in pain. Some people had to give up their favourite sport, gardening, a daily walk, find it difficult to navigate the stairs or even open a bottle. The options available for these people just don't work, have intolerable side effects or pose more risk than benefit. During the last few years 34,000 patients around the world participated in a study to evaluate whether a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug...Read More
Philosophy
What’s So Important About “1,500”? – Gifford-Jones, 30 Years
"I've decided to start publishing your column," the editor remarked to me. Then he added, "You realize your life will never be the same again?" How true! 30 years later I've now written a newspaper column every week, 52 weeks a year, a total of 5,230 articles. It's an experience I wouldn't have missed. And what have I learned? I would gladly hang some lawyers for what they've done to medical practice. Parasitic ambulance chasers have forced doctors to take needless x-rays and other tests for fear of medical malpractice suits. This has increased the cost of medical care when medical budgets are stretched to the limit and limited the judgment of physicians. I've also learned how to lose newspapers. Years ago...Read More
Cancer, Gynecology
Obese Men and Women More Likely to Die of Breast Cancer
What a devastating experience it must have been for Elizabeth Edwards, wife of the former U.S. vice-presidential candidate John Edwards, to be told on the day of his loss, after spending two grueling years campaigning with him that she had breast cancer. This was more than enough bad news for one day. Unfortunately for both sexes obesity increases the risk of many malignancies. Dr. Penny Anderson, a cancer specialist at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, reports that obese breast cancer patients are more likely to die than normal weight women. Yet another blow for Elizabeth Edwards who spoke candidly during the campaign about her struggles to control weight. Dr. Anderson and her colleagues studied 2010 women who had been treated...Read More
Medicine
Where Was Oscar the Cat When I Needed Him?
"Why don't you go to lunch? I'll wait here until he dies," I suggested to the nurses. The patient was a 90 year old Baptist minister, and after days of futile treatment for cardiac problems, I was sure the end was imminent. At the time I was a young doctor at the Manoir Richelieu hotel in La Mal Baie, Quebec. But to my surprise several days later the minister left the hotel alive after I had decided to stop all medication! If only Oscar the cat had been present he could have told me we all could go to lunch! The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, not noted for publishing trivia, recently surprised doctors by publishing a photo of Oscar....Read More
Surgery
Sacrifice Part of Your Stomach To Lose Weight?
"Desperate diseases require desperate cures", wrote the immortal bard, William Shakespeare. For grossly obese patients this means putting part of the stomach and small intestine out of commission (bariatric surgery). But this is not minor surgery and patients should know the risks before making this desperate decision. This year 150,000 bariatric operations will be done in North America. These patients usually weigh 300 or more pounds and the surgery seems like the answer to a maiden's prayer. Proponents of the operation say it causes weight loss, helps to cure or reverse diabetes, hypertension and the risk of other complications of obesity. For some patients it can be a life-saving procedure. Several surgical techniques are available to trim the stomach and intestine. One involves...Read More
Gastroenterology, Vitamins
Treating The Rocky Bowel For 15 Cents – Big Errors with Fibre
What's the best way to determine whether a patient's diet contains sufficient fiber? Luckily, there's no need to order expensive CT scans, MRIs or ultrasounds. A quick rectal examination that finds rock-like stools will provide the answer. And every day in my office I make this diagnosis. What patients don't realize is they've committed a nutritional sin, an omission endangering their health. Humans don't learn from history. Dr. Denis Burkitt, a British researcher, showed that African natives who consumed large amounts of fiber did not suffer from constipation, appendicitis or problems of the large bowel, such as diverticulitis (hernias of the colon). Students of history may remember the story of the battle ship King George V chasing Germany's battleship, the Bismark. But...Read More
Nutrition
Should You Buy Organic Food?
"Do you ever buy organic food?" I asked my wife. She quickly answered, "No". Then I asked, "Why do some people buy it?" She replied what most people say, "Because it's free of pesticides". But is this true? And with increasing food prices is it prudent to spend hard-earned dollars on organic farm products? A report in the "Nutrition Action Health Letter" provides much more insight about organic foods. It states a Neilsen study showed 34 percent of Canadians purchased organic foods to avoid pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Others believed that these products were more nutritious than conventional foods. The problem is there is little data on the risks associated with eating fruits and vegetables that contain pesticide residues. For instance, this...Read More
Cardiovascular
Think Real Estate When Losing Weight
"How much do you think this weighs?" I occasionally ask patients. What I've handed them is a large glob of fake fatty yellow tissue. But what surprises patients is that it feels quite heavy, yet only weighs one pound. Then they quickly realize the significance of the 20 pounds they've gained since their last checkup. But can you be overweight and fit at the same time? Dr. Jean-Pierre Despres of Hopital Laval Research Centre in Quebec City, reports in the Archives of Internal Medicine, what is good news for some men and what should be a wakeup call for others. Despres and his colleagues studied 169 healthy men, comparing their cardiovascular fitness to the amount of their belly fat using computerized tomography...Read More
Gastroenterology
Are You Damaging Your Liver?
I'd bet a thousand to one that 99.9 per cent of readers have never heard of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Yet a recent report from Johns Hopkins University claims that 25 per cent of North Americans suffer from this disorder. What is it and how can it be prevented and treated? Today you would have to be living on Mars not to know that obesity is often related to heart disease and diabetes. Now excessive pounds are also causing liver disease. We all tend to forget that whether we're dealing with war, love or medicine one problem often leads to a greater one. In 1640 George Herbert hit the nail on the head when he wrote, "For want of a nail...Read More
Dermatology
Do You Expect Me To Stand There Naked? – Melanoma Check
Who is a big supporter of my column? I would like to think my children as I e-mail them copies each week. But a recent e-mail response was, "Dad, you always have such cheery thoughts, like colonoscopy! What other forms of poking must you subject us to? Will it be root canals? How about some good news and something that's more dignified? So here's one that needs removal of clothing but no poking. Recently my wife asked me to check her body for suspicious moles. I didn't see any but it's never prudent to be your wife's doctor. If I missed diagnosing a melanoma my children might suspect I was after her insurance money. So I suggested we should both arrange...Read More
Nutrition
Are Rare Steaks Good For Your Heart ?
"One of these days you're going to push your luck too far", my wife often says to me. She's not complaining that I'm spending too much money on horse races. Or betting the farm on a gold mine in Zimbabwe. Rather, for years I've told waiters I want my steak rare. Is this risky or can it fight heart failure? Friends often say to me, "We don't eat meat in our family anymore". But does this make sense? After all, humans have been enjoying meat since the caveman discovered it could keep him alive. And there are still sound reasons for not giving it up. Today, iron is the nutrient most often lacking in North American diets. Young children, teenagers, pregnant women,...Read More
Miscellaneous
Viagra For Climbing Mount Everest?
Hmm. I had the naive belief that Viagra was strictly for making amour. Now, I learn it may even help adventurers climb Mount Everest. On the other hand, if you decide to go down, rather than up, swim goggles may present a hazard. And handguns it seems are not the only things to shoot you these days. And is it really dangerous to eat nuts and seeds if you suffer from bowel problems? Dr. Michele Andreoli, an ophthalmologist at Loyola University In Chicago, reported to The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology that the nail gun, was a frequent cause of eye injury. During a five year period 648 patients with an average age of 34 suffered severe eye injuries due...Read More
Obesity
Famine: The Only Cure For Obesity
"How can the obesity problem be solved in our country?" a U.S. interviewer recently asked me. I hadn't had too many martinis or wasn't joking when I replied, "It would take a famine." Just look at the failures. The city of Calgary has just announced it's Number One. Not because the Calgary Flames won the Stanley Cup. Rather, it's the first city in Canada to have a "bariatric response team". Not an elite anti-terror squad, but trained paramedics and a $30,000 mechanical system to lift morbidly obese patients onto a stretcher. In March of this year Florida paramedics required three hours, some plywood, two stretchers, and removal of a window to get a 500 pound man out of his home. Massachusetts paramedics...Read More
Sports
Sudden Sports Death in Young People
"How could this possibly happen?" is the usual soul-searching response. A young healthy athlete leaves home to play in a sporting event. Then in a matter of seconds, collapses and dies before anything can be done to save his or her life. The big question is why these premature deaths occur, and can they be prevented? Dr. Michael Ackerman, is head of the Mayo Clinic's Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory. He says that news of these unexpected deaths saddens parents and shocks the community. But when such sudden fatalities strike apparently invincible star athletes parents worry it could happen to a child involved in any recreational sports. Luckily these shocking deaths are rare in this case. Dr. Ackerman says that there are 300,000...Read More
Alcohol
What Way Are You Damaging Your Liver?
"What causes liver disease?" Ask anyone this question and 99 percent will say, "It's imbibing in too much Cabernet Sauvignon or other alcoholic drinks". But today the liver can be injured by a host of less known, but equally hazardous habits. So how are you doing unfriendly things to your liver? And what can we learn from the "Mayflower" that carried Pilgrims to this continent in 1620? The football-sized liver is an amazing organ. Every day it performs hundreds of functions. But today, as never before in history, its most important challenge is changing toxic substances we ingest into products that can be safely by removed from the body. And although the liver has great power to regenerate, never think it's...Read More
Gynecology, Women's Health
If Estrogen Causes Cancer Where is the Epidemic?
What would I do if I were a woman at the age of menopause and read the headline, "Breast cancer drop linked to decline in hormone therapy". I'd be scared as hell if I was already taking estrogen and consider flushing it down the toilet. But what should menopausal women do if they have an whelming desire to kick the cat or their husband? In 2002, a study of 16,000 women aged 50 to 79 showed that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increased the risk of breast cancer by 26 percent, stroke by 41 percent, heart attack by 29, the risk of cardiovascular disease by 22 percent and it doubled the rate of blood clots. These figures make your eyes pop out, but...Read More
Genitourinary
How To Correct Common Medical Errors
Talleyrand, the witty and cynical French diplomat, once remarked to Napoleon, "Sire, worse than a crime, you have committed an error." Today I often see lesser mortals than Napoleon committing medical errors that could be avoided. These are not life-threatening problems but cause needless daily annoyance. There are simple ways to treat these conditions. Thousands of people who suffer from rectal irritation are often given the wrong diagnosis and incorrect treatment. They've suffered discomfort for years using various hemorrhoid preparations and ointments and failed to obtain relief of embarrassing symptoms. There's a good chance these patients have "anusitis", a frequently overlooked condition. It's an inflammation just inside the anus. The best kept secret is Anurex, a reusable probe containing a gel. It's...Read More
Philosophy
Huge Response To Conjoined Twins Column
"I've never written before about a newspaper column, but I'm compelled to do so this time". This was the general response following my recent column questioning the birth of conjoined twins. These replies speak for themselves. "As a Christian it is wrong to end life. You do not know that these children are doomed. They may find peace, a bonding and friendship like no others. Your opinion on the rights of women and life in general frighten me." Brandi Polatty. "You will receive energetic objections from right-to-life groups. But in Canada where our health care system is funded by tax dollars we all have a stake in these decisions. These twins will be a constant drain on our health and social service...Read More
Vitamins
Vitamins: Too much or Too Little?
"Do you want Ford or Cadillac vitamins?", I asked readers in a previous column. It triggered many requests, revealing much confusion about vitamins. Some readers had stopped taking vitamin E due to scary headlines. Others had tossed out calcium as being ineffective. Still others wondered if it's possible to get too much of a good thing, and where to obtain more information on vitamins. An excess of anything can be poison to the human body. Too much vitamin A can cause fetal defects in pregnant women and in others, severe liver damage. Hunters who eat bear's liver which contains large amounts of vitamin A have suffered from liver failure. We need no more than 10,000 IU of A daily. You can also...Read More
Cardiovascular, Dermatology, Orthopedics
Low Intensity Light Therapy Heals Chronic Wounds
Do patients receive ineffective treatment when they could be cured by a lesser-known technique? The answer? Probably tens of thousands. I recently spent a day at a Meditech Conference in Toronto listening to experts discuss dermatological and wound ulcers that were resistant to treatment. There I saw startling photos showing how Low Intensity Laser Therapy (LILT) can often cure these conditions. Today, there is something new under the sun. An old joke in the medical fraternity is that dermatology is the best specialty as patients never die nor get better. But it's not so funny if you suffer from a chronic skin condition that refuses to improve. Year after year these patients are prescribed a variety of pills, creams and other treatment...Read More
Surgery
A Story of One Disaster After Another
Several weeks ago I wrote about needless, dangerous, delays due to flaws in our health care system that resulted in surgery after an appendix had ruptured. Since then I've received numerous letters from readers reporting similar happenings. This unbelievable story is a tribute to small town doctors, the backbone of our profession, who receive so little attention. How one helped to save the life of a desperately ill patient against great odds.. Charlie Godden, a 60 year old dairy farmer from Campbellford, Ontario suffered third degree burns to one third of his body, a life-threatening condition. His nightmare began when the 911 dispatcher could not determine the exact location of his farm. But finally the ambulance and fire department arrived at the...Read More
Philosophy
The Many Tragedies of Conjoined Twins
Six months ago Tatiana and Krista Hogan-Simms entered this world in British Columbia as conjoined twins. Now they and their parents have become international celebrities appearing on major television shows. In the press the conjoined twins are described as "little angels". But every time I see their pictures I wonder why anyone would allow this cruelty to happen. Do many readers agree with me? The tragedy of conjoined twins occurs in the early stages of pregnancy when the fertilized egg fails to divide completely. Few tragic newborns live long enough to be considered for surgery. Reports claim that Felicia Simms was advised by doctors that her pregnancy could be terminated, but she refused this option. I assume that she considers life of...Read More
Surgery
Unexpected Consequences of Joint Replacement Surgery
An English proverb cautions that "It is the unexpected that always happens". No doubt people looking back on their life can recall several of those unexpected and unpleasant events. But how often do these unexpected events happen in surgery? Today an increasing number of people face hip and knee replacement operations. They're often concerned about the pain following surgery and long sessions of physiotherapy to recover joint mobility. But how many consider a coronary attack after the operation? Dr. Justin de Beer is an orthopedic surgeon at the Henderson site of Hamilton Health Services in Hamilton, Ontario. He and his colleagues recently reported to the Canadian Orthopedic Association that a worrying number of hip and knee replacement patients suffered a heart attack following...Read More
