Cancer, Medicine, Miscellaneous
Can AI Help Fight Cancer?
The short answer is yes – cancer and other health problems too. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a game-changer. Not only can this rapidly advancing technology improve the speed and accuracy of disease diagnosis and treatment, it has enormous potential to predict health problems, allowing for far more effective prevention programs that target at-risk populations. Take, for example, children born with congenital heart defects. This fate currently falls to about 40,000 babies born in the U.S. each year, and about 1.35 million newborns worldwide. What causes defective heart structures in the developing embryo is open to debate. But genetics, diet, environment, medications, and smoking are all on the list. But what if AI could analyse vast quantities of data and learn from patterns...Read More
Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Philosophy
Bend So You Don’t Break
Getting older takes a toll. Weakening bones, increasing aches and pains, and failing balance, flexibility and strength can make the body feel like worn-out baggage. But there’s a curious truth in an ancient Hindu text that states, “Everyone else is conquered by the body, but the body is conquered by yogis.” For centuries, yoga has been practiced by people all over the world for religious, spiritual rehabilitation or fitness reasons. The older set may see the neighbourhood yoga studio as a place for the young and nimble, but there is ample evidence that aging seniors benefit physically and mentally from instruction in the “sun salutation”, “tree pose”, or amusingly named positions like the “chair pigeon” or “cat-cow pose”. Yoga combines movement (asana)...Read More
Vitamins
How Do You Know You’re Deficient in Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient found in citrus fruits and as a dietary supplement. Now, a reader asks, “How do I know if I have a deficiency of vitamin C?” It’s a good question, as studies show that 14 percent of North Americans aren’t getting even the meagre recommended daily dose. Many more aren’t getting the high doses needed to decrease the risk of heart attack, stroke, and chronic inflammation. What are symptoms of vitamin C deficiency? Bleeding Gums, Tooth Loss, and Easy Bruising Vitamin C is needed to produce collagen, the glue that holds cells together. If there’s too little C, weakened blood vessels bleed when brushing teeth. The tragedy is teeth are lost not just by tooth decay. Many teeth...Read More
Infection, Miscellaneous, Pediatrics
Flashy Marketing Deceives New Mothers
The global formula milk industry is huge and growing rapidly, at about US$55 billion and projected to reach US$110B by 2026. Aggressive and deceptive marketing by manufacturers is driving this growth. The World Health Organization (WHO) is ringing alarms. It charges the industry with using new digital marketing tactics to target pregnant women and new mothers with “personalized social media content that is often not recognizable as advertising.” The Internet and smart phones are wonderful tools. But they can also be dangerous. Women have breastfed babies since the beginning of time. Animals thrive without Big Pharma. Human babies do too. The WHO says the digital onslaught by industry reaches 2.47 billion people. The intention is to plant concerns in the minds of...Read More
Cardiovascular
Watch Out for Warm Summer Nights
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John sang about romance in “Summer Nights”, the opening song in the hit movie, Grease. But now, at 68, he, more so than she, may want to watch out for a different kind of summer heat. New research shows that warm summer nights increase the risk of heart-related death among men in their 60s. The study involved analysis of 39,912 deaths due to cardiovascular disease in England and Wales between 2001 and 2015. After controlling for other factors, a rise of 1° Celsius (1.8° Fahrenheit) in summer nighttime temperature was associated with a 3.1% increase in the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease among men aged 60 to 64 years. Replicating research results helps validate findings, and...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Miscellaneous, Psychiatry
A Little Nostalgia Goes a Long Way
Tracing the medical history of nostalgia involves a sharp U-turn. Centuries ago, it was considered a psychopathological disorder. Still today, nostalgia can be associated with negative feelings and sadness. But researchers are reaching new conclusions about the health benefits of wistful affection for the past. We recently witnessed the medicinal effects firsthand on a special family trip. A full seventy years later, we returned to the majestic Manoir Richelieu, a historic hotel northeast of Quebec City on the shores of the St. Lawrence River. As the former hotel doctor-in-residence, and the accompanying story-seeking family, we were treated to a wonderful walk down memory lane. It was hard not to notice the spring in our steps, the smiles, and the upbeat mood. Nostalgia comes...Read More
Cardiovascular, Sex
Boosting Nitric Oxide the Antidote to Getting Older
The French existentialist, Gabriel Marcel, asserted “Life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be experienced.” Nevertheless, scientists remain intent on figuring it out. The cells in our bodies are susceptible to damage. A sunburn is a visible example. Ultraviolet rays scorch skin cells, causing rapid death. Damage occurs at a slower pace from poor diet, excessive alcohol, smoking, and all kinds of physical and mental stress. Over time, the biological process of replacing damaged cells through replication involves compounding errors, and cells die completely. When too many cells die, biological systems start to falter. This, in short, is aging. Researchers are exploring experimental drugs, essential trace minerals, and even calorie restriction as avenues to longer lives. What is the...Read More
Nutrition
Is Cholesterol the Enemy?
The headline of a prestigious health and nutrition publication reads, “Do we need to limit dietary cholesterol?” For decades, the answer was yes. We were told to limit our intake of cholesterol to 300 milligrams (mg) or less daily to decrease the risk of heart attack. Was it just a catchy headline? Cholesterol is not the devil incarnate. We would die without it. Cholesterol is a part of all cell membranes, needed to make vitamin D, bile acids and some hormones. Some medical specialists have long cautioned that cholesterol is not the culprit in cardiovascular disease. One of the world’s most famous cardiac surgeons remarked that many of his heart attack patients had normal blood cholesterol levels. We know that if we consume...Read More
Cancer, Medicine, Obesity
For Men, Don’t Disregard a Lump in the Breast
Few findings cause women as much fear as discovering a breast lump and wondering if it’s cancer. But what about men who notice a mass and pain in the breast? Male breast lumps are not commonly discussed in the locker room. But confusion and embarrassment can delay diagnosis of a malignancy. Breast cancer is not entirely a woman’s disease. Although it occurs in males in less than one percent of cases, diagnosis tends to be late. In 2022, of the 2,710 American men expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer, about 530 will die. But male breast lumps are not always dangerous. There’s a condition called “gynecomastia” derived from the Greek root for female and “mastos” for breast. In fact, studies of...Read More
Genitourinary
Urinary Incontinence in Women
Some women say, “You only know a place well if you know where the restrooms are located.” They’re suffering from urinary incontinence (UI). They know if they delay too long, there’ll be an accident. But there are ways to correct this nerve-racking problem. A report from the University of California claims that only one in four women with this trouble seeks help. This is due to embarrassment and the common but illogical notion that it is part of aging. Another account from the Journal of the American Medical Association is hard to believe. It says that 17 percent of women ages 20 and older have moderate or severe UI. This number doubles for women over 60 years of age! There are two main...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Pain, Philosophy
Common Sense in End-of-Life Choices
Few want to think about it. But there are choices to make about death. Doing nothing is one option. Life will, inevitably, one way or another, come to an end. But making common sense decisions about personal preferences for end-of-life should not be taboo or disallowed. And politicians should get out of the way. In Canada, the would-be “just society”, the vast majority of citizens, about 80%, have repeatedly affirmed support for people who wish it to have the option of medical assistance in dying. In the U.S., over the past decade, polls have ranged from 55-75% in support. But why are there still restrictions on who is eligible? In the U.S., there is a hodgepodge legislation, as only some states have...Read More
Nutrition, Orthopedics, Pediatrics
Building Up Bones for a Lifetime
What’s one of the worst errors that young people make early in life? It’s the failure to practice preventive medicine. So, let’s have a talk with young people about how to protect their bones for a lifetime. We know that kids of all ages break bones playing sports. It’s annoying when this happens, leaving them sidelined from sports and play with friends for a few weeks. But breaking a bone becomes more than an inconvenience for adults, as full recovery becomes less likely. The older one is, the more breaking a bone may have life-changing consequences, including being forever consigned to a wheelchair. But why do bones become brittle with age, and can it be avoided? Many people think bones are hard and...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Neurology
Music for the Mind
Music may be the world’s greatest medicine. From infants to centenarians, people love music and the way it makes them feel good. In tribute to its universal qualities, Hans Christian Andersen said, “Where words fail, music speaks.” Even without lyrics, songs certainly convey feelings. Among healthy people, researchers have shown that across cultural divides, people can readily place vastly different types of music into emotional categories ranging from sad to heroic, annoying to beautiful, and desirous to indignant. But the miracle of music is in its healing qualities. Scientists studying people with brain injuries and neurological conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are making remarkable discoveries. Music, for example, can improve the gait of people relearning to walk after a brain injury....Read More
Miscellaneous, Philosophy
Decarbonizing Healthcare
Last week we wrote about the environmental disaster of plastics choking the world’s oceans and the consequences for human health through the food chain. This week let’s look through a different lens at another environmental disaster of our own making – the carbon footprint of healthcare itself. Here’s something you may not know. If the global healthcare sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter! A report from Health Care Without Harm calculated that the environmental impact of healthcare amounts to 4.4% of global net emissions – the equivalent of 514 coal-fired power plants. So far, North Americans are among the main culprits. By way of example, the report notes, “The United States health sector, the world’s number one...Read More
Miscellaneous, Philosophy
Plastic Soup a Disastrous Meal
Why is humankind so bent on destruction? Why so apathetic in the face of annihilating warfare, repeated massive oil spills and choking urban smog? Equally awful is the “Plastic Soup” in our oceans. A picture of a Hawaiian beach reveals the folly of humans. It shows a huge amount of plastic washed ashore – an insult to a beautiful beach. Such ocean garbage is a serious hazard for sea life. Don’t believe the rest us are immune to this environmental disaster. Our lives, too, depend on our oceans. Small planktonic organisms, through photosynthesis, transform carbon in air and seawater into organic compounds, an essential element of Earth's carbon cycle. They generate about half the atmosphere's oxygen, as much per year as all...Read More
Cardiovascular, Vitamins
Why Wouldn’t You Take Care of Your Heart?
Diana Gifford-Jones: You are starting your 99th year. To what do you attribute your good health? Gifford-Jones, MD: I’ve been fortunate, but it nearly didn’t happen. I suffered a major heart attack when I was 74. My cardiologists insisted on cholesterol-lowering drugs to fight heart disease. But I knew of two-time Nobel Prize winner Dr. Linus Pauling’s research on high-dose vitamin C. I opted for a regimen of 10,000 mg daily which I still continue. Diana: Why not take cholesterol-lowering drugs? Giff: There are side-effects I preferred to avoid. Everyone needs to make their own decisions with their doctors, but mine was anchored in the belief Dr. Pauling was right. He knew that animals produce vitamin C and humans do not. This is...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Nutrition
Do You Have an Inflammatory Lifestyle?
Chronic inflammation is unlike what happens with a cut or an invading germ when the immune system mounts a fight and then stands down. In such cases, inflammation is part of the healing response. But when lifestyle issues have the immune system active all the time, there may be no symptoms, but plenty of costs. Dr. Erin Michos, Director of Women’s Cardiovascular Health at Johns Hopkins Medicine, explains, “Sustained low levels of inflammation irritate your blood vessels. Inflammation may promote the growth of plaques, loosen plaque in your arteries and trigger blood clots — the primary cause of heart attacks and strokes.” Rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes involve chronic inflammation. Immune cells and the antibodies they produce create swelling to help isolate the...Read More
Cardiovascular
A Wave of Heart Disease Among Healthcare Workers?
There has always been a lot of heart in the practice of medicine – literally and figuratively. Typically, the focus is on the beating heart of the patient. But has the pandemic, unlike any challenge to the medical profession before, impacted the hearts of front-line healthcare workers themselves? Medicine is “a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.” These words of Sir William Osler, a founding figure of modern medicine, were a warning as much as a motivation. A contemporary of Osler, Dr. Maude Abbott, a cardiac pathologist, was one of Canada’s earliest women in medicine. Her calling was challenged by refusal of entry to medical school. (She was barred from entrance to McGill’s medical program...Read More
Medicine, Miscellaneous
Grandma Took the Wrong Pill
Unintentional poisonings are on the rise. Deaths from poisoning occur at double the rate of motor vehicle deaths. It’s a heartbreaking fact that many deaths and injuries are completely avoidable, especially when young children are the victims. Yet, it may be surprising to know this: while children under age 5 account for about 40% of poison exposures requiring contact with emergency services, preventable poisoning deaths are near entirely within the adult population. Many factors are contributing to these tragedies. The opioid crisis is one of the problems. But there are other issues arising from increased isolation and the impact this is having on overall well-being, including among older adults. Changes in age, health status, and many other considerations can make adjustments to prescriptions...Read More
Cancer, Cardiovascular, Diabetes, Gastroenterology, Lifestyle, Neurology
Stand Up To Read This Column
Get up on your feet. Seriously. It will be good for you. Sitting is something we have all become accustomed to doing a lot more of lately. Just prior to the pandemic, studies showed that the average adult spent about 6.5 hours a day sitting – an hour longer than had been the case a decade earlier. In 2019, teenagers were sitting for upwards of 8 hours a day, and for some much longer than that. During the pandemic, a study in the UK found that people were spending more than eight hours a day sitting. Canadians are reportedly sitting around for 10 hours a day! Dr. Jennifer Heisz, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University, surveyed over 1600 people to compare physical activity...Read More
Cardiovascular, Infection, Lungs, Neurology
Who Has Lost the Logic in the Vaccine Debate?
Why would any logical person choose to face severe medical complications of COVID if they could be avoided? Most of us have weighed the issues and decided to follow vaccine recommendations. But some flatly refuse. Why? No issue is crying out louder for resolution than this vaccine debate. Now governments are set to mandate COVID vaccines to force hesitant citizens to comply. It’s been done before time and again – for childhood immunizations, for example. That’s one way to go about it. But a look at the medical evidence should help compel sensible people to opt in. A growing stack of studies shows that vaccinated people are much less likely to die from COVID than the unvaccinated. Do not people desire to stay...Read More
Miscellaneous, Pediatrics, Philosophy
How Much Longer Can Parents Take It?
Remember the movie, “Network”? Howard Beale, the TV news anchor, encouraged viewers to go their windows and yell out, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” How many parents feel that way about school closings? Uncertainty about openings and closings is bad enough. But now schools face severe staffing shortages. Entire classes may be disrupted because teachers are falling sick or required to isolate. Substitute teachers are nothing new, but the scale of the problem is concerning. Just as hospitals can shut down due to insufficient workers, so too can schools. School boards are scrambling to figure out what options they can offer students for online learning. Some offer synchronous learning (in real-time). Others offer asynchronous learning...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Miscellaneous
Is Virtual Healthcare the New Normal?
The current pandemic is deeply affecting many aspects of society. Accelerated usage of virtual healthcare is a good example. While frontline healthcare workers serve patients needing essential in-person care, some doctors and patients are meeting up over the phone or on video calls. Virtual healthcare is well known to those living in remote communities. But during the pandemic, it has become an option for everyone. A debate has ensued about whether such care is good or bad. Proponents of either side are lining up evidence to prove the case. How can you argue with the fact that curable cancers in children have been missed in the absence of face-to-face consultations? But how many lives have been saved by “seeing” the doctor virtually,...Read More
Cardiovascular, Miscellaneous, Neurology, Sports
Ring in the New Year with Your Inner Mountaineer
It’s not what we were hoping for at this time of year. The doom and gloom of Omicron has many people feeling down. But casting your gaze upwards might be just the right move. For a New Year’s Resolution, this might be a good time to channel your inner mountaineer. Christmas and New Years should be the season for celebration, not hibernation. Families should be together, not torn apart by differing views on vaccination. Charitable giving should be the theme, not clamouring for rapid test kits. Yet so it goes. Even among those getting out for a would-be joyous wintertime walk, you can see, in the narrow space between their toques and their masks, the melancholy in their eyes. So, what’s the...Read More
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat, Miscellaneous
What Could Go So Wrong at a Holiday Luncheon
The immortal Shakespeare wrote in the play Macbeth, “Each new morn new widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows strike heaven on the face.” He was not wrong. Readers may wonder how I am faring as I near the start of my 99th year. I am glad to report, while getting older is rarely much fun, my medical training remains useful! At a holiday luncheon with long-in-the-tooth friends, one started to cough. It was nothing to attract attention. But the situation suddenly changed. His coughing became intense and breathing more difficult. Food had become stuck in his throat, probably lethally so. I knew what I had to do. As a surgeon, I’ve faced many crises: heart attacks, strokes, and other life-or-death situations. But during my...Read More
