I was intrigued by a recent article in the New York Times describing how a Swedish medical school admitted a student whom they later learned had done jail time for murder. Apparently Swedish universities aren’t allowed to do criminal background checks, and even if they were, the student in question had legally changed his name prior to his application to medical school. So now the murderous Swede is a medical student, and the school is wondering what to do with him. Read more →

There’s a great scene in Meet the Parents in which Ben Stiller’s character Greg is trying to convince his future father-in-law, played by Robert DeNiro, of his history of milking cats in Detroit. He claims it’s possible because cats have nipples. DeNiro’s character replies, “I have nipples, Greg. Can you milk me?”

In spite of the disturbing mental image this conjures, it actually is possible for men to produce breast milk. As DeNiro’s character so comedically noted, men do indeed have nipples. Read more →

We all have bad habits. I don’t sleep nearly enough, and by mid-afternoon I’m a basket case without an infusion of chocolate. I know I should probably sleep more and avoid sweets; in fact, I’ve known this for several years, but I’ve never felt motivated to change my ways. This human tendency has beleaguered health care professionals for ages: how do we motivate individuals to change their behaviors? Two recent studies may give us some ideas. Read more →

Every year around this time there’s a news article about people dying from carbon monoxide poisoning, either from a faulty furnace or from sitting in a running vehicle with poor ventilation. A colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, carbon monoxide can build up to dangerous levels insidiously. Carbon monoxide is produced by the combustion of hydrocarbons, so is a frequent byproduct of the combustion of gasoline, kerosene, and oil. As you might expect, carbon monoxide levels are higher in urban and industrialized areas. Read more →

If you’ve had heart problems, chances are you’ve received some advice from your doctor on how best to care for your condition. Maybe you were advised to take an aspirin daily, exercise regularly, or cut down on the salt in your diet. Maybe you were handed a sheaf of prescriptions bearing foreign-sounding medication names with the assurances that they would help stave off future problems. And if you’re like many patients, you took the doctor at his or her word, assuming he or she was acting based on sound medical evidence. Unfortunately, that assumption may have been false. Read more →

Everyone seems to be concerned about drug-resistant bacteria, or so-called “superbugs” these days, and with good reason. Physicians are seeing an increasing number of infections resistant to their usual antibiotic armamentarium, and are losing lives that just a few years ago would have been salvageable, including the recent death of a top Brazilian model.

Search the literature for reasons why this is happening and you’re likely to stumble across an array of sources that point the finger at over-prescribing physicians and misbehaving patients who don’t take their antibiotics as prescribed. Certainly these two factors play a significant role. But what is frequently overlooked is how drug resistance may be fostered outside the hospital and doctor’s office. Read more →