Do you remember the H1N1 swine flu that made tens of millions sick and killed thousands of people in 2009? Well, one if its cousins, a bird flu with the name H7N9, is causing some death and consternation in China.
This strain has long been circulating among birds, but since earlier this year people have become ill with this respiratory virus, all so far in China. This week’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM...
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The American College of Physicians Releases Prostate Screening Guidelines
My regular readers have been following the controversy about prostate cancer screening for some time. The controversy boils down to the following question. Should healthy men be routinely tested for prostate cancer? The most recent chapter in the controversy was written last year when the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against prostate cancer screening for men of any age. If this is news to you, or so...
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ACP Potpourri
Greetings from San Francisco, where I am attending the American College of Physicians 2013 Scientific Program, their annual conference covering the latest progress in internal medicine. Though the conference is obviously geared for physicians, I've compiled below a half dozen points from the various lectures that I think might be of interest to patients. Feel free to skim, and if you want to learn more about any point, follow the links.
Supplementing Mediterranean Diet with Olive Oil or Nuts Decreases Stroke Risk
What is a Mediterranean diet? I had always believed that it involves eating shawarma three times a day while sitting on a beach in Tel Aviv, just because that’s my diet when I visit the Mediterranean. I was astounded to learn that this is not the case. A Mediterranean diet includes a lot of fruits, nuts, vegetables, olive oil, and cereals. It includes moderate intake of fish and poultry, and very little dairy, red meat, and sweets. Wine is included in moderation and consumed with meal...
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