December 14th, 2011 by AmyGivlerMD in Health Tips
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Many of my patients, over the years, have taken melatonin. Many other patients have asked me about it, but I’ve never had much to say. I hadn’t heard anything particularly bad about it, but couldn’t really recommend it. “Research melatonin” has been on my “To Do” list for a long time.
So here’s what I’ve discovered: Melatonin is a hormone. I’ve known that since medical school, of course, but that fact has struck me as peculiar these past few weeks. Why? Because it’s sold over the counter, and many people take massive amounts of it. No other hormone is available like this. The use of other hormones, such as insulin and thyroid hormone, need careful monitoring. Is melatonin so universally safe that it can be taken at any dose, for however long? The more we learn about melatonin, the less that seems to be the case. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Making Sense of Medicine*
August 4th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in News, Research
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Female models may be tall and beautiful, but they are also at markedly increased risk of developing cancer. The New York Times reported on a fascinating research article regarding height of a women and risk of cancer.
Specifically, for every four-inch increase in height over 5 feet 1 inch, the risk that a woman would develop cancer increased by about 16 percent, especially for:
• Colon Cancer (RR per 10 cm increase in height 1.25, 95% CI 1.19—1.30)
• Rectal Cancer (1.14, 1.07—1.22)
• Malignant Melanoma Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
April 6th, 2011 by PJSkerrett in Health Tips
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How much vitamin D is enough, and what’s the best way to get your daily dose of the so-called sunshine vitamin? It depends who you ask.
I just attended the latest Forum at the Harvard School of Public Health. The title, “Boosting Vitamin D: Not Enough or Too Much?” was a tip-off that we weren’t going to get a simple take-home message. (Watch a video of the event beginning Wednesday, March 30.)
Some background: Vitamin D isn’t really a vitamin. It’s a hormone. The body makes it when sunlight strikes the skin. This converts a cousin of cholesterol into a substance that ultimately becomes vitamin D. It is best known for helping the digestive system absorb calcium and phosphorus, so it is important for bone health. New research suggests—emphasis on suggests—that vitamin D may also be involved with regulating blood pressure, fighting cancer, and improving the immune system. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
December 30th, 2010 by admin in Better Health Network, News, Research, True Stories
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Gene Goldwasser died last week. He was 88, and he was my friend.
I wrote previously about a series of conversations I conducted with Gene and Rabbi A.J. Wolf a few years ago. I met Gene one spring day after calling to invite him to sit in on a class I was teaching to a small group of medical students about social issues in healthcare.
I’d read about him in a book called “The $800 Million Pill,” by Merrill Goozner. In the book, Goozner writes the story of Gene’s two-decade hunt to isolate the hormone erythropoietin (EPO).
Part of the story relates how Gene tried to interest traditional big pharma companies in his discovery, only to be brushed aside. Instead, Gene wound up sharing his discovery with what became Amgen. The company went on to make a windfall from recombinant production of the hormone and licensing it as a drug for patients with anemia and kidney failure. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
