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
Alcohol
Sorry, James Bond, But You’re Wrong!
Why would I disagree with James Bond? He's ordered dry martini's for years and never seems to age. Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, supported the use of alcohol. So did Jesus. After all, He transformed water into wine. And I never forget that, through the ages, polluted water, not alcohol, killed millions of people. That's why I never feel guilty about a pre-dinner drink. But is it actually the alcohol that helps drinkers live longer? A report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition casts a shadow over the alcohol longevity connection. It's researchers claim they've discovered the real reason why drinkers live longer. Dr. John Barefoot of the department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Duke University in Durham , North...Read More
Gastroenterology, Neurology, Vitamins
How To Keep Your Brain In Shape
Are there some days you believe you need a brain transplant? You're getting those senior moments even though you're only 40 years age? Or starting to worry that at 70 you're forgetting things you shouldn't forget? These days with so much talk about Alzheimer's Disease it's easy to assume you may be losing it. Fortunately most people who worry about this disease don't have it. But today there are ways to keep the brain in better shape? Here's a story that shows you don't have to be a neurologist to understand what's happening to the brain. Rather, Dr. Robert Russell a gastroenterologist and Director of the Human Research Center at Tuft's University, cured this woman with a single pill. The patient, 70...Read More
Neurology
Brain-Computerized Thought the Best and Terrible Science
It's said that "a picture is worth a thousand words". And the one that I recently saw in The Medical Post is one that's hard to forget. The picture shows a man totally paralyzed due to Lou Gehrig's Disease. To me, in 2003, it illustrates the best and worst of science. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease is a frightful malady. It's an inch-by-inch paralysis that gradually and insidiously spreads throughout the entire body. The final phase is total paralysis. Patients are literally "locked in" inside their bodies. The only normally functioning organ is the brain. At the end patients with ALS require a respirator to survive and eventually drown in their own mucus. It must be...Read More
Cancer, Genitourinary
PSA Screening Results in 30 Percent Over-Diagnosis
For women, a telephone call reporting that mammography has detected an abnormality, and a second picture is needed, triggers instant fear of breast cancer. For men, an elevated PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) test has the same devastating effect. They dread the thought that they've developed cancer of the prostate gland with all its grim implications. But how accurate is the PSA test? And if a malignancy is present, what is the best treatment? A report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute is hardly reassuring about the accuracy of the PSA test. Researchers studied men ages 60 to 84 between 1988 and 1998. They estimated the PSA test over-diagnosed prostate cancer 29 percent of the time in white men and an...Read More
Philosophy
Many Reservations For Thorupgaarden Nursing Home!
Some columns strike a particular note with readers. The one I wrote about Copenhagen's Thorupgaarden nursing home, struck high C. Every Saturday night pornographic videos are shown on the home's internal channel. If residents remain depressed after this therapy they can request that a prostitute be allowed to visit. The Danish medical community decided this treatment was superior to Prozac. I've received a response from readers, second only to the column on the fractured male organ. From Lethbridge a reader writes, "Go Danes go! Be prepared for the immigration of Canadian seniors. Our young people believe that our brain is dead when we our hair turns white. I may even become a Danish Lady-of- the-Night." A woman associated with the Alzheimer association...Read More
Gastroenterology
The Great Canadian Fart Survey
This week it's tough getting back to work. I've just returned from a cruise around South America's Cape Horn. Each day I was pampered on Holland America's ship, the Ryndham. Then a stay in Rio de Janeiro strolling Copacabana's magnificent beach. One doesn't forget the bikini-clad Latin ladies! So still in a vacation mood I've searched hard and long for a lighter topic for this week's column. I finally found The Great Canadian Fart Survey. This study will never be nominated for a Nobel Prize. It's certainly not a topic for a sedate dinner party. But there are some amazing facts suitable for Trivial Pursuit. Besides the problem is universal. Kings, Queens and the rest of us are all affected by...Read More
