Medicine
Do Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Cause Heart Failure? – Coenzyme Q10
What is causing the epidemic of heart failure in North America? The usual answer is an aging population. Old hearts eventually get tired and stop beating. But at a meeting in London, England, several researchers suggested a surprising new reason for heart failure, cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs). Ironically, the very medication prescribed to prevent heart disease may in fact be causing it! And 12 million Japanese may have the answer to this dilemma, coenzyme Q10 (Co-Q10). There's no doubt that high blood cholesterol is a proven risk factor for heart disease. It's also known that CLDs such as Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol, Mevacor and others are effective in lowering cholesterol. But, as always, there's a price to pay for medication. CLDs work by inhibiting...Read More
Gynecology, Medicine
Canadian Cancer Society Wrong Again
Why would The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) make such an asinine statement? And why wait nearly two years to worry women once again about hormone replacement therapy (HRT)? The logic escapes me, but doesn't surprise me. Years ago, when I fought for the legalization of heroin to fight terminal cancer pain, CCS publicly fought me and continually made illogical statements. CCS has now urged women not to take HRT for menopausal symptoms except in rare instances, because it says, the health risks outweigh the benefits. Dr. Andre Lalonde, vice-president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC), on reading the report remarked, "What's this nonsense? This isn't based on science. They are leaving women with the impression that if...Read More
Cardiovascular
The Triple A Disease That Can Kill – Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
A healthy 60 year old man played two sets of tennis and later in the day developed low back pain. He surmised he had simply strained his back. But by evening he experienced severe abdominal pain, lost consciousness and was dead on arrival at the hospital. A 50 year old woman complained of chest pain after a heavy dinner and believed it was just heartburn. But when pain increased she paid a visit to the hospital emergency. Doctors there suspected coronary attack, but blood tests and an electrocardiogram were normal. Doctors then concluded that the pain was the result of severe indigestion and prescribed Pepcid and a painkiller. But as the patient was leaving the hospital she collapsed and became unconscious....Read More
Psychiatry
Depression, Brutus Right or Wrong?
In 2004, how much depression will be due to the perilous times in which we live? How much due to genetics? A reader recently asked this interesting question. Julius Caesar once counseled Brutus that "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves." Others would argue that today's complex environment triggers increased depression in society. Who is right? Since 9-11 the world is threatened with the constant fear of another major terrorist attack. Add to this the possibility of another SARS outbreak, Mad Cow Disease and the fast pace of our society .It's hardly conducive to relaxed living. So the argument is valid that some depression today is the result of all these tensions. But there's a colossal difference between...Read More
Medicine
The Night The Cat Died
How many readers can make this diagnosis? A dentist and his wife became ill after eating at a restaurant and at 2 a.m. they were in the hospital's emergency department. A doctor diagnosed food poisoning and sent them home on anti-nausea medication. Arriving home, the dentist's wife soon developed a headache and increased nausea. Then she became hysterical when she found the cat had suddenly died. At this point the worried dentist called Dr. Marvin Lipman, now Clinical Professor of Medicine Emeritus at New York Medical College. His speedy diagnosis saved their lives. Even at 4 a.m. awakened from his sleep, Dr. Lipman's analytical mind realized what had occurred. The cat was dead from carbon monoxide poisoning (CO). He reported this...Read More
Neurology, Pediatrics, Sports
Protect Children From Catastrophic Hockey Injuries
What should parents know about concussions in hockey? To find out I recently attended a seminar on this problem at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Today there's a huge debate raging over whether body checking should be allowed in players under 17 years of age. Unfortunately, the "big hit" does more to the brain than meets the eye. Today our national sport has become a violent past time. During the meeting we were shown videos of devastating NHL body checks. It's a reality check to see superbly conditioned players lying unconscious on the ice. Then, Ken Dryden, former goal tender for the Montreal Canadians, pointed out that we forget the game has changed drastically. Today NHL players are 27 pounds heavier,...Read More
Philosophy
Readers Want a Singapore Solution for Canada
It wasn't the usual Christmas column, I agree. But I was tired of reading about brain damaged babies born to mothers on crack cocaine, safe injection sites for addicts, gun deaths in shopping malls and drug traffickers flaunting the law in broad daylight. How the billions of dollars it costs this country could be better used to treat patients. So I asked readers what they thought about Singapore's tough laws for criminals. I've received a ton of letters and E-mails, many asking for a summary of the response. From Halifax; "Any person with a half-brain could see that their law is not as harsh as a law that allows drug dealers to continue to destroy human beings. It was good to...Read More
Miscellaneous
Can You Keep These 10 New Year’s Resolutions?
Napoleon Bonaparte, reminiscing to Gaspard Gourgaud, his artillery officer, on the island of St Helena, remarked, "If you want to get on in this world, make many promises but don't keep them". Every New Year millions of people make promises which few keep, to their regret. But if you're steel-minded here are 10 resolutions that will help you attain a long and healthy life. Get an Annual Flu Shot Readers have written asking if I get an annual flu shot. The answer is yes. Even in a good year, without a 1918 type epidemic, 20,000 North Americans die from influenza. I prefer not to be one of them. It's not late for a flu shot and 75,000 deaths are predicted this year. Count...Read More
Philosophy
Medical Madness Christmas 2003
It's often said that 'Lunatics are in charge of the asylum". Now I'm convinced they're also in charge of medical care. This holiday season I wish I had a good medical news for readers. But there are times when I wonder how politicians, lawyers and medical ethicists can be so void of common sense. Case # 1 Horacio Alberto Reyes-Camarena, a convicted murderer, is currently on Oregon's death row. His crime? He's convicted of stabbing an 18 year old girl to death and leaving her older sister scarred for life. So when will he go to the great beyond? Not soon. Appeals by lawyers against the death penalty can take up to 10 years in Oregon. In the meantime Reyes-Camarena has developed...Read More
Medicine, Orthopedics
Fighting Arthritis With Exercise And Pennsaid
"Why are you using, Celebrex a oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), to treat arthritis of your knee when a safer medication Pennsaid is available? There's also a report from Boston that will also help to ease your pain." It's advice I recently gave to my tennis partner. Several years ago in my book, "The Healthy Barmaid" I told the story of a patient whose arthritic fingers were improved by playing the piano. For years I've been convinced that many people would not require hip and knee replacements if they used their legs more. But a report from Boston claims that once arthritis sets in, walking isn't the entire answer. Dr. Ronenn Roubenoff, a rheumatologist at Tuft's University, says it also depends on...Read More
Nutrition
Life May End Rather Than Begin at 40
Have you heard of Stein's Law? It states that, "If something can't go on forever it will stop." Stein's Law always wins, it just takes time. Those who bought tech stocks thinking they would go higher and higher forever are now familiar with Stein's Law. Unfortunately, our Minister of Health, Anne McLellan, hasn't heard of this law, otherwise she would rid the nation's food supply of trans fatty acids (TFAs). A Health Minister should know that eating toxic food eventually kills. It just takes time. It's been said that, "Life begins at 40". But recent reports show that for many children degenerative health problems could end their lives at 40. Trans fatty acids are solid fats produced by heating liquid oils in...Read More
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
I’ve Fallen In Love With Flanagan, the Seeing Eye Dog
Remember that magic moment when you fell in love? How your eyes met and you instinctively knew this was the one. This happened to me a few nights ago. She was a beauty with black shining hair, loving eyes and I had never seen such regal bearing. I was irrevocably hooked on Flanagan, the black labrador seeing eye dog, that welcomed us to The Seeing Eye in Toronto, its 75th anniversary. And Flanagan proceeded to teach us that evening an important medical lesson that's desperately needed today. The Seeing Eye story started with a US woman, Dorothy Harrison Eustis. She began training Seeing Eye dogs after she saw German shepherds being trained to guide blinded veterans of World War I. It takes...Read More
Nutrition
Start Losing Weight In Just 20 Minutes
This week toss away all the books on "How to Eat Everything You Want and Lose Weight". Or "Calories Don't Count". Or "How to lose 30 pounds in One Month". And all the other dribble you've been exposed to over the years. Now I'll tell you how to start losing weight in a mere 20 minutes. "Sounds like another gimmick" you say. But you're wrong. This isn't like selling swamps in Florida. Family history provides me with part of the answer. I've always lead a busy life. Medical school, an active medical practice and constant deadlines. But one routine our family rarely missed. Every night we sat together around the dining room table. Moreover, no fast food was served. Another part of...Read More
Philosophy
Could Genetically Designed Humans Be Any Worse?
How would you like to live in a world where there was no dishonesty? No more devious Enron accountants. No need to lock your doors. No more headlines that a police officer was shot to death for no reason. No more drug pushers. No more September 11's. But judging from past history none of this is going to happen. So faced with such a lousy track record wouldn't genetically designed humans free of corrupt and lethal genes be an improvement? I'm tired of seeing night after night Israel's and Palestinians killing each other. And what irony it's in the Holy Land! It's appalling that after two thousand years they still refuse to shake hands. Then there's the continuing battle in Northern Ireland....Read More
Cardiovascular
Should You Fly Over That Big Gaping Hole? – Are Cholesterol Drugs Risky
A picture is often worth a thousand words. One recently caught my eye. The picture shows a small plane circling a huge active volcano. A passenger says, "Let's take a closer look at the volcanic crater". The pilot replies, "We can't, it's not worth the risk". And a recent report similarly questions whether the mass consumption of cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs) is worth the risk. Dr. Jim Wright is Director of The Therapeutic Initiative. It's a British Columbia organization that aids doctors in evaluating drugs. It concluded that cholesterol-lowering drugs may be doing more harm than good in the attempt o prevent heart attack. After studying five clinical trials of CLDs, Wright writes that they only decreased the risk of heart attack and...Read More
Orthopedics
Pennsaid, A New Local Treatment For Osteoarthritis
Elephants normally win when fighting a mouse. But for once the mouse has won. A Canadian company has beaten the U.S. and achieved an historic first. Dimethaid Research has developed a non-oral NSAID" (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) to treat osteoarthritis. And since it's locally applied it dramatically reduces the risk of stomach complications associated with oral NSAIDs. It's estimated that three million Canadians suffer from osteoarthritis. It's the wear-and-tear type of arthritis which presents a challenge for patients day after day. Some people have had to give up a favourite sport, gardening or taking their daily walk. Others find it increasingly difficult to navigate the stairs or carry out household chores. Today, with an aging population, there's a huge need for this...Read More
Cancer, Genitourinary
His Sex Prowess May Enter The Guinness Book of Records
Every year thousands of men face a dilemma. Their blood test for prostate cancer (PSA) suspects a malignancy. Later biopsies prove that cancer is present. But today the wisdom of Solomon is required to know what to do about it. Particularly, when the first question they and their wives ask is, " Will the treatment result in impotence?" Dr. Gary Onik is a radiologist and Director of the Centre for Surgical Advancement in Celebration, Florida. He recently reported to the Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago that freezing the prostate gland (cryosurgery) can save men from impotence, urinary incontinence and injury to bowel. Cryosurgery kills the malignancy by freezing only part of the gland, but spares the nerves responsible for...Read More
Cardiovascular, Genitourinary
Is Impotence An Alarm Bell For Heart Attack?
What caused the sudden heart attack? Ask anyone this question and many would accuse too much cholesterol, chronic stress, smoking, obesity or bad genetics. But what about the role of the male hormone testosterone in causing cardiovascular disease? Is erectile dysfunction (ED) an early warning sign of heart attack? And what can we learn about testosterone treatment from a London Harley Street specialist? Recently much has been written about the male menopause (Andropause). How decreasing amounts of testosterone in men contributes to the increasing number of impotent males. But it appears there's more to testosterone than sexual potency. To find out about this exciting aspect of testosterone I recently met with Dr. Peter Collins, Professor of Clinical Cardiology at the Imperial College...Read More
Orthopedics
Factured Hip – Five Days Later My Father Was Dead
Some moments in your life you never, never forget. The Sunday morning that my father didn't answer the telephone, for instance. And later findings him lying on the floor with a fractured hip. The gradual down-hill course followed surgery with long hours at his beside, and finally death five days later. Suddenly, all I had left of the father I had loved so much was a box of cinders after cremation. The disaster of a fractured hip became imbedded in my mind. Two years ago Katherine Graham, 84 year old publisher of the Washington Post, died following a fall. Recently, Robert Atkins, 72 year old protein-diet guru and 82 year old newsman David Brinkley, both died following falls. The Centers for Disease...Read More
Cardiovascular, Nutrition
Joe Hudson, The Omega-3 Egg Man
Who is Joe Hudson? I hadn't heard of him either until I decided to do some grass routes research and visited Burnbrae Farms in Brockville, Ontario. Joe has been raising chickens for 40 years, and eight million chickens later he's the Number One producer of Omega-3 eggs in Canada. But what's so healthful and special about the super egg? For this city boy, it was quite a sight to see a single farm processing one million eggs a day. How chickens are tricked into thinking summer is winter by varying the intensity of light. But it's no trick that gets chickens to lay the egg-to-end-all-eggs. Dr. Steve Lesson and his colleagues at the University of Guelph first produced these enriched eggs by...Read More
Cancer, Medicine
Potassium Iodide For A Nuclear Disaster?
What would happen if terrorists attacked a nuclear power plant? Or an accident caused fallout of radioactive iodine? If you were driving in the opposite direction your first reaction would be to step on the gas. But for those trapped in a large city there would be absolute chaos on roadways as people tried to escape. So is it time to provide potassium iodide (KI) to Canadians to protect the thyroid gland from cancer? A terrorist attack would expose thousands to thyroid cancer as a result of the fallout of radioactive iodine (I-131). And today there are over 400 nuclear power plants in the world. Some countries such as France derive 70 percent of their power from nuclear energyUnder current conditions...Read More
Neurology
Bell’s Palsy: The Mona Lisa Syndrome
"How could it happen so quickly?" a patient asked me. A day earlier she could smile, open her eyes and showed normal facial countenance. Now, her face drooped on one side due to a paralysis of the facial nerve. The cause? A condition known as Bell's Palsy. Sir Charles Bell, a 19th century Scottish physician, first described this upsetting malady that distorts the face, often freezing the mouth making it difficult to eat and the speech slurred. Bells' Palsy has often been associated with one of the most famous paintings in the history of art, the Mona Lisa. In 2003 she occupies occupies her own room at the Louve in Paris. And it's her slanted smile that attracts the viewer's attention. The...Read More
Cancer
The Good and the Bad of Cancer Screening
"Why did my wife die of breast cancer when she's had a mammogram every year?" Or "I went through hell after the mammogram revealed a possible cancer." Or "During a routine checkup examination the doctor discovered my 73 year old husband had an elevated PSA test. He didn't have any symptoms, but a biopsy revealed cancer of the prostate. A specialist advised a radical prostatectomy. Now he's impotent and in diapers." Every year I receive letters asking these questions. That's why it's vital to know the negatives as well as the positives about cancer screening. There is no doubt that cancer screening saves lives. But there is also a price to pay. Any woman who agrees to mammography has to understand...Read More
Gastroenterology
Think “Refrigerator” When Treating Hemorrhoids – Anurex
Would Napoleon Bonaparte have won at Waterloo if he hadn't been suffering from painful hemorrhoids? Directing the battle while on horseback with swollen hemorrhoids could not have been easy. We'll never know the answer to that question. But today there are solutions for treating this common condition. One answer is as close as the refrigerator door. But there's a major pitfall to avoid. While I was reading about Napoleon's life I received this letter from a reader. She writes, " I'm pregnant and have suffered for months from hemorrhoids. And even when not pregnant I'm always annoyed by rectal itching and burning. I'm at my wit's end as I've tried every over-the-counter preparation without relief. What can I do?" In all probability...Read More
Psychiatry
Depression – Everything is Black
So far we have not had an earthquake in Canada. I'm almost afraid to mention it! As Shakespeare wrote, "When troubles come, they come not single spies but in battalions." He could have been writing about Canada's problems of SARS, Mad Cow Disease and The West Nile Virus. So I can't imagine a better topic than depression when so many of us are thinking "Why, God, have you done this to our country?" Art Buchwald, the noted humorist, suffered from depression. He wrote about it, "Everything was black. The trees were black, the road was black. You can't believe how the colours change until you have it. It's scary." Dick Cavett, the late-night talk show host, fought depression. And Mike Wallace of...Read More
