Weight loss and Weight Chat Blog

June 26, 2009

Michael Jackson: What Will an Autopsy Look For

When any person dies suddenly or unexpectedly it becomes the responsibility of the medical examiner to determine the cause of death. Such is the case in the tragic death of Michael Jackson at the all too young age of 50. When I worked as a medical examiner in Washington, D.C., in the early 1980s, our policy was to automatically do a full autopsy investigation on anyone 50 or under regardless of their medical history. Over 50 and we might waive the autopsy if there were a clear medical history of illness or disease and there were absolutely no suspicious circumstances, as investigated by the homicide unit of the D.C. police force.
Of course it goes without saying that for someone like Michael Jackson, who died suddenly at age 50 yesterday without any obvious cause, that a full scale investigation will be conducted including a complete autopsy and full toxicology work up. […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

Michael Jackson: What Will an Autopsy Look For?

When any person dies suddenly or unexpectedly it becomes the responsibility of the medical examiner to determine the cause of death. Such is the case in the tragic death of Michael Jackson at the all too young age of 50. When I worked as a medical examiner in Washington, D.C., in the early 1980s, our policy was to automatically do a full autopsy investigation on anyone 50 or under regardless of their medical history. Over 50 and we might waive the autopsy if there were a clear medical history of illness or disease and there were absolutely no suspicious circumstances, as investigated by the homicide unit of the D.C. police force.
Of course it goes without saying that for someone like Michael Jackson, who died suddenly at age 50 yesterday without any obvious cause, that a full scale investigation will be conducted including a complete autopsy and full toxicology work up. […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

May 7, 2009

Preventable causes of death

While the media fans the flames of mass hysteria over swine flu, which has infected only a small number of people and killed almost none, they routinely ignore the more common, if not widespread, causes of death, many of which are completely, or nearly completely, preventable if only people were educated and motivated enough to make changes to their lifestyles. Imagine if just a fraction of the energy that people are putting into avoiding swine flu were put into efforts to reduce smoking, high blood pressure and obesity, which together are responsible for over one million premature deaths every year. “To have hundreds of thousands of premature deaths caused by these modifiable risk factors is shocking and should motivate a serious look at whether our public health system has sufficient capacity to implement interventions and whether it is currently focusing on the right set of interventions,” said Majid Ezzati, PhD, […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

August 12, 2008

Bernie Mac: Just what is sarcoid?

Bernie Mac, comedian, writer, TV and film star, died this past weekend of pneumonia at the age of 50. He had suffered from an unusual condition known as sarcoidosis or sarcoid, since his 20s, but it was said to be in remission at the time of his death. It is probable, however, that the pneumonia was due to immune system suppression caused by the very medications used to treat his sarcoid disease. So, just what is sarcoid, who gets it, what happens and how is it treated?
Sarcoidosis, also known as sarcoid, is an unusual inflammatory disorder of unknown cause. The inflammation it causes is also unusual in that it results in small nodules, called granulomas, which can join together to become larger nodules, and which can be present in a wide variety of organs, most typically the lungs. The nodules can interfere with normal organ […]

Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com

January 29, 2008

Heath Ledger’s autopsy inconclusive so far

When death strikes someone at a young age it is always tragic. And there are always questions. For most, the questions are limited to the family, friends and perhaps to some in the local community. For celebrities, the questions become national, even international. Sometimes the questions are about the cause of death, but they always involve the whys. Why them, why now, why our child? These latter questions are existential in nature and are rarely, if ever, fully answered. The former, however, are the purview of the pathologist, a physician with specialized training in solving the physical causes of death. Sometimes the answers are obvious, sometimes not. On rare occasion, they are never determined. In the case of Heath Ledger, the questions remained unanswered as of this writing.
I’m a pathologist by training. During the years between 1976 and 1981 […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

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