Category Archives: Uncategorized

May 25, 2010 · 2:07 PM

What Are Physicians Doing Now That Will Look Ridiculous 50 Years Later?

For potential candidates, keep track of Paul Maher’s (Skeptic’s) Health Journal Club blog.

Not Paul Maher, M.D.

I had an elderly patient who had been given radiation therapy for tonsillitis as a girl.  This was maybe 60 years ago.  I had never even heard of such therapy.  Much later in life, she developed thyroid cancer.  Did the radiation exposure cause her thyroid cancer?  Hard to prove, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Did you know that schizophrenia was once treated with brain surgery and insulin shock (physician-induced hypglycemia)? 

Not any more.

Have you heard of Gardasil, available for a couple years as a vaccine given to adolescent girls and young women to prevent cervical cancer?  I bet you’ve heard of it if you live in Texas because Governor Rick Perry mandated its administration to public school girls.  [He was over-ruled.]  If memory serves me well, Perry’s wife was on the payroll of the company that makes the vaccine. 

Dr. Maher (M.D, M.P.H) examines the data on Gardasil in a May 24, 2010 post. 

Steve Parker, M.D.

Comments Off on What Are Physicians Doing Now That Will Look Ridiculous 50 Years Later?

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

May 11, 2010 · 2:55 PM

“Dementia Runs In My Family. Does Food Affect MY Risk?”

New York researchers reported in Archives of Neurology this month that a particular eating pattern does seem to lower the risk of Alzheimers Disease, the most common type of dementia.  Manhattanites were significantly less likely to develop dementia if they had . . .

Higher consumption of:

  • salad dressing
  • nuts
  • tomatoes
  • fish
  • poultry
  • cruciferous vegetables (e.g., cabbage, radish, broccoli, kale, collard greens, cauliflower, turnips, brussels sprouts)
  • fruits
  • dark and green leafy vegetables

Lower consumption of:

  • high-fat dairy products
  • red meat
  • organ meats
  • butter

The study involved over 2000 people over age 65 who were followed for the onset of dementia over four years.  The researchers used a sophisticated analytic technique called “reduced rank regression.”  See the original article for details.

The study authors note similarities of this dietary pattern to the Mediterranean diet, long associated with lower risk of dementia.  They also document (again) the strong association of moderate alcohol consumption with lower dementia risk, although it was not part of their predetermined anaylytic technique.

Alzheimers Dementia has a strong tendency to run in some families.  As lifespans increase, we’re going to be seeing lots more of it.  If you make it to age 85, your odds of having dementia are 50:50.

If you worry about developing Alzheimers, perhaps because of family history, you may be doing yourself and others a favor by adopting either the dietary pattern above or the Mediterranean diet.

On the other hand . . .

MedPageToday on April 28, 2010, reported the conclusions of a panel convened by the (U.S.) National Institutes of Health:

The independent panel . . . determined that the causes of Alzheimers disease are still unknown and that no reliable evidence has shown that anything can prevent the disease or stop it from progressing.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Disclaimer:  All matters regarding your health require supervision by a personal physician or other appropriate health professional familiar with your current health status.  Always consult your personal physician before making any dietary or exercise changes.

References: 

Gu, Yian, et al.  Food combination and Alzheimer Disease risk.  Archives of Neurology, 67 (2010).  Epub ahead of print.  doi: 10.1001/archneurol.2010.84

Walker, Emily P.  NIH panel provides no help in unraveling Alzheimers disease.  MedPageToday, April 28, 2010.  Accessed online April 28, 2010.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

April 29, 2010 · 12:10 AM

Ad-Free Zone

I was reading the Diabetic Mediterranean Diet Blog from a hospital computer last week and was surprised to see three advertisements.  They were the first I’ve seen in the life of this blog.  WordPress.com is set up to display ads only to certain viewers, not including the blog owner on his usual computer.

I have no control over the ads, and I don’t want my information adjacent to potential quackery and other scams.

I just paid the $30 (USD) yearly fee to keep the blog ad-free.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS:  If you run ads on your blog, that’s OK with me.  I pretty much tune them all out anyway.

Comments Off on Ad-Free Zone

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as ,

April 26, 2010 · 11:23 AM

Best Diet for Type 2 Diabetes: And the Winner Is…

“There are no high quality data on the efficacy of the dietary treatment of type 2 diabetes…,” according to a review at The Cochrane Collaboration.

Isn’t that an amazing revelation?  There is no clearly superior diet for type 2 diabetes, according to Cochrane. 

Nearly every published introductory remark on diabetes from various authorities declares that diet modification is a cornerstone of therapy for type 2 diabetes.  I’m not surprised to see the opinion of the Cochrane group; it’s consistent with the literature review I’ve been doing for the last 18 months.

Cochrane last reviewed the evidence for various diabetic diet approaches on April 15, 2010.  They looked at low-fat/high carb diets, high-fat/low-carb diets, low-calorie diets, very-low-calorie diets, and modified fat diets.

One of their conclusions is that the adoption of regular exercise seems to improve hemoglobin A1c in type 2 diabetics as measured at six and 12 months after initiation.

The Cochrane Collaboration has a history of skewering sacred cows in Medicine, based on reviews of the evidence.  A quote from Cochrane’s “About Us” page:

The Cochrane Collaboration is named after Archie Cochrane (1909-1988), a British epidemiologist, who advocated the use of randomised controlled trials as a means of reliably informing healthcare practice. We are an independent, not-for-profit organisation, funded by a variety of sources including governments, universities, hospital trusts, charities and personal donations. However, we do not accept commercial or conflicted funding – this is vital for us to generate authoritative and reliable information, produced by people who can work freely, unconstrained by commercial and financial interests.

So, what’s a diabetic to eat in 2010?

Stay tuned here, and I’ll share with you the evidence-based answers as they are published in the medical and nutrition literature.

If a diabetic is interested in trying carbohydrate restriction, the Cochrane position statement provides that latitude.  Regular readers here know my inclination: significant carb restriction.  But also note that I’ve considered and reviewed vegetarian diets—which are usually high-carb—for diabetes.   

I pledge to stay open-minded, altering my opinions on the basis of high quality scientific evidence as it becomes available. 

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference:  Dietary advice for treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults.  Cochrane Reviews, accessed online April 26, 2010.

Comments Off on Best Diet for Type 2 Diabetes: And the Winner Is…

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , ,

April 2, 2010 · 2:00 AM

Association of American Physicians and Surgeons Challenges New Healthcare Reform Law

Equal Justice Under Law

AAPS is the first national physician group to sue the federal government over the the Democrat’s new healthcare reform law, according to an article at MedPageToday.  The challenge is based on violations of both the Fifth and Tenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which the polititians had taken an oath to uphold. 

The new law will interfere greatly with the patient-physician relationship, inserting polititians and bureaucrats into the middle.  Patients will suffer. 

Steve Parker, M.D. 

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

March 31, 2010 · 2:00 AM

Ronald McDonald Retiring

Tom Naughton at his Fat Head blog has a hilarious interview with Ronald McDonald.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Comments Off on Ronald McDonald Retiring

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as ,

March 30, 2010 · 11:59 AM

What’s Passover?

This is the first day of Passover, a major Jewish holiday.  My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was a Jewish carpenter while he was walking the Earth.  I figure he must have observed Hebrew traditions.  In preparation for teaching my children about Passover, I reviewed it at Wikipedia.  Here’s a brief summary:

Passover is the Jewish celebration of the Hebrews’ release from enslavement by Pharaoh in Egypt.  Before release, the Lord brought ten plagues to Egypt.  The tenth plague was the killing of the firstborn – all in the area: humans (including Pharaoh’s firstborn), even cattle.

The Hebrews were instructed to mark their doorposts with the blood of a spring lamb.  The spirit of the Lord would pass over those homes, sparing the firstborn therein.

The Wikipedia article is a quick read full of interesting details on Passover customs.

Steve Parker, M.D.

6 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as

March 24, 2010 · 2:00 AM

Take Vitamin D With Largest Meal to Increase Blood Levels

The Healthy Librarian at the Happy Healthy Long Life blog wrote about a small scientific study documenting an incredibly easy way to increase blood levels of vitamin D in people taking supplemental vitamin D: 

Take the supplement with the largest meal of the day

Subjects of this research were taking vitamin D supplements—often a very high dose—for medical reasons, yet blood levels remained unacceptably low.  Blood levels of vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) rose by 50% simply by taking the same dose with the largest daily meal. 

Other people, including young healthy adults, may or may not respond the same way.  Do you know?

As for me, I’ll be sure to take my vitamin D supplement with my largest meal.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Disclaimer:  All matters regarding your health require supervision by a personal physician or other appropriate health professional familiar with your current health status.  Always consult your personal physician before making any dietary, nutritional supplement, or exercise changes.

 

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

March 19, 2010 · 1:01 PM

Lowering Blood Pressure to 140 mmHg in Type 2 Diabetics is Good Enough

Several published treatment guidelines for high blood pressure (hypertension) recommend that type 2 diabetics aim for systolic blood pressure of 130–135 or less.  The latest research indicates that a goal of 140 mmHg is adequate. 

Details are available in the  HeartWire issue of March 14, 2010. 

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: You won’t find mention of diastolic pressure in the HeartWire article.

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

March 17, 2010 · 2:00 AM

Expanded Blogroll: Need a Little Light Reading?

I’ve updated my blogroll.

If you have some spare time, click through to a few and see if they tickle your fancy.  

I find these blogs either educational, amusing, provocative, honest, enlightening, generous, intriguing, pleasurable, reliable, worthwhile, supportive, relaxing, or challenging.  

Of course, by no means do I endorse everything you’ll see there.  Caveat lector (“reader beware”). 

Nevertheless, I’m constantly impressed with the quality of writing and information these folks are sharing for our benefit.

Steve Parker, M.D.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , ,