The misuse of antibiotics around the world is increasing due, in part, to diagnostic uncertainty and patient expectations. One of the most common causes of antibiotic use in the United States, as well as other industrialized nations, is lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). Unfortunately, LRTIs... Read more →

Among the most controversial of medical issues is the resuscitation of newborns that are unlikely to survive. The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (BAIPA), enacted in 2002, and the enforcement guidelines later issued by the United State’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) outlined clinical... Read more →

For nearly 200 years, the white coat has served as a symbol of the medical profession. Originally, the white coat was worn to symbolize hope and life — an absolute contrast to the black of death and mourning that was widespread at the time. Hospitals, and the physicians who worked in them, became... Read more →

Emergency contraception (EC) has been available in the United States for almost a decade. It is a safe and effective contraceptive choice when other methods have failed or have not been used and a pregnancy is not desired. Still, many barriers exist to the prompt and reliable provision of EC to appropriate... Read more →

The newest target of the worldwide “Go Green” campaign is obesity. Virtually everyone understands the concepts of reduce, reuse, and recycle in the context of being better stewards of the environment, but now “reduce” may mean reducing your waistline. An article recently published in the International... Read more →

The obesity epidemic in the United States has stirred emotions and inspired calls for public health initiatives to get American thin. The idea of food taxes on sugar-sweetened drinks levied to curb the consumption of such beverages is discussed in an article published by the New England Journal of Medicine.... Read more →

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... 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,... Read more →

Diabetes in pregnancy is associated with increased morbidity for the mother and the infant. Complications of pregnancy-related diabetes include birth defects, congenital abnormalities, shoulder dislocation during delivery, cesarean delivery, excessive fetal weight and head size, and hypertension. Risk... 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... Read more →

I recently attended a lecture by Wise Young, MD, PhD, who is a prolific researcher in the fields of spinal cord injury and stem cells. The lecture was fascinating, and part of the discussion was the current model for stem cell research. Currently we have two types of stem cells which are available for... Read more →