Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is unclean by a dead armadillo. -- A horrible misquote of Numbers 5:2

Leprosy, now also called Hansen’s disease, is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, a cousin of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. Leprosy causes a rash...

Did you know that the Centers for Disease Control has something called the National Nutrition Monitoring System? And apparently it’s a good thing too, since who else would monitor the nation’s nutrition? This week the intrepid bunch at the National Nutrition Monitoring System released a report detailing how many of us use dietary supplements and which ones we use. (The link to the report is below...

This week a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed new results about estrogen use and generated major media hubbub. (See the links below for some of the media coverage, the article and an accompanying editorial.) To understand the kerfuffle it helps to review how our understanding of estrogen replacement therapy has evolved. A generation ago, based largely on ...

Every couple of months I get asked this same question. “Doc, what’s my blood type?” I load my “why you don’t need to know your blood type” speech from my cerebrum and press replay, trying to add a little spontaneous variation for authenticity. “Actually, I’ve never checked it.” “I thought you check everything.” “Nobody checks everything. There are thousands of different available blood tests....

Last month I posted about benzonatate, a cough suppressant also marketed under the brand Tessalon. (See the link below for the original post.) In that post I detailed an FDA warning about the serious potential side effects of benzonatate, especially in accidental overdoses in children. I also passed along the conclusion of the Medical Letter that safer cough suppressants were available. My collea...

Images from Japan continue to sadden and shock us. Over 12,000 are confirmed dead or missing due to the earthquake and tsunami, and that number will likely rise. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes. I’m having a hard time finding recent numbers on those without water and electricity, but all the stories state that this continues to be a major problem. The magnitude of what h...

I was going to post about a different topic today, but I could not ignore the devastation that befell Japan. The powerful earthquake and subsequent tsunami have caused destruction that is difficult to grasp. (See links below for two news articles.) The magnitude of the disaster is even more sobering when you realize that Japan is a developed modern high-tech country. Japan is extremely aware of ea...

Type 2 diabetes mellitus has long been known to increase the risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney disease, and eye disease. In the US diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure requiring dialysis and one of the leading causes of blindness. Diabetes is also increasing in prevalence as people become more overweight. A study in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine attempted to quantify t...

Readers who have been following my posts for a few years know that weight-loss surgery is amassing an impressive body of scientific evidence supporting its effectiveness and safety. (Links to my previous posts about weight loss surgery are below.) This week, two studies in the Archives of Surgery attempted to compare the different kinds of weight loss surgery. An LA Times article (link below) has...

What’s the most common cause of death among American women? Breast cancer? Accidents? Suicide after watching too many Lifetime Channel specials? Nope. Heart attacks kill more women than any other cause—same as men. A generation ago heart disease was mistakenly thought of as an exclusively male disease, but patients and physicians have learned that preventing and treating heart disease is critical ...