Weight loss and Weight Chat Blog

July 22, 2009

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch Has Cancer

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, who also goes by the name “MCA,” has announced that he’s about to undergo treatment for a cancerous tumor in his left parotid gland, which has caused the Beastie Boys to cancel their upcoming concert tour and postpone their new album release. The news has left many people with questions about this type of cancer, its actual location, and, of course, its prognosis. The good news is that it seems the cancer was caught early and should respond well to treatment with a favorable outcome and little or no impact on Yauch’s ability to sing.
First, the parotid gland is the largest of the salivary glands, which are paired organs located around the jaw. The parotid is at the back and bottom of the cheek and is accompanied by the submandibular (under the jaw) and sublingual (under the tongue) salivary glands. You can see their location in […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

July 9, 2009

Diprivan (propofol) and Michael Jackson

Although Diprivan is widely used every day in hospitals and surgery centers across the United States, very few people, outside of medical personnel, were familiar with it or had even heard of it prior to its being found in Michael Jackson’s home after his untimely death. And while we still don’t yet know if it was related in any way to his death, many people want to know more about Diprivan and what its potential effects might have been.
I worked for ICI, now Astra Zeneca, the pharmaceutical company that originally developed Diprivan, in the mid-80s during the time it was being prepared for market launch. I was part of the team helping to train the sales people who would later be selling the product. But Diprivan was unlike any product previously sold by these representatives because it was going to be used by anesthesiologists in the operating room before and […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

July 2, 2009

Making Sense of Headlines on Acetaminophen Pain Relievers

Depending on which headlines you’ve seen recently, you may think that some pain relievers are being recalled because they’re dangerous and you might be wondering if you need to clean out the medicine cabinet and throw out any number of these products. I’m going to try to explain this highly complex situation, but the bottom line is that when taken as directed, all of the pain relievers currently on the market, be they prescription or over the counter (OTC), are still considered to be safe and effective and you don’t need to throw them away (and nothing is being recalled at the moment either).
The bottom line problem, however, is that when it comes to pain relievers many people don’t follow directions and wind up taking far more pills than they should. And when those products contain acetaminophen it can lead to toxic levels of that drug, which can and all […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

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

June 25, 2009

Keeping Your Brain Active: 10 Tips For Improving Your Brain

The other day I was listening to an interview on National Public Radio with Dean Oshler who has just written a book called From Square One: A Meditation, with Digressions, on Crosswords. During the interview I was surprised to hear Mr. Oshler challenge the widely held belief that regularly doing crossword puzzles is good for your brain fitness and can help stave off Alzheimer’s disease. Oshler’s problem with crossword solving is twofold: first, he believes the clinical data showing an advantage for puzzlers is both weak and only observational (”[The researcher] never said that there was a cause-and-effect relationship. He said there was a correlation. Maybe it just so happens that people who are mentally fit have a tendency to want to do crosswords in the first place”); second, we need variety in our mental exercise (”[Crosswords are] kind of the same activity over and over again. But the Alzheimer’s […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

June 23, 2009

Nestle Toll House Cookie Recall: The E.Coli Mystery

Although Nestle has recalled some 300,000 cases of its refrigerated Toll House cookie dough from store shelves, as of June 22, 2009, none of their product had actually tested positive for the E. coli that’s caused illness in at least 70 people in 30 states. And since it’s highly unusual for E. coli, an intestinal bacterium of cattle (i.e., it’s in their feces) to be present in something like cookie dough, investigators are so far at a loss to explain exactly what is going on. But, since all of the people who became sick ate the same raw cookie dough product, it seems obvious that it’s the cookie dough that’s to blame. The question is, from where did the E. coli come? If it were inadequately cooked hamburgers that were responsible, it would be easy to link E. coli with beef mishandled during processing.
In fact, according to an article in […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

Nestle Toll House Cookie Recall: The E. Coli Mystery

Although Nestle has recalled some 300,000 cases of its refrigerated Toll House cookie dough from store shelves, as of June 22, 2009, none of their product had actually tested positive for the E. coli that’s caused illness in at least 70 people in 30 states. And since it’s highly unusual for E. coli, an intestinal bacterium of cattle (i.e., it’s in their feces) to be present in something like cookie dough, investigators are so far at a loss to explain exactly what is going on. But, since all of the people who became sick ate the same raw cookie dough product, it seems obvious that it’s the cookie dough that’s to blame. The question is, from where did the E. coli come? If it were inadequately cooked hamburgers that were responsible, it would be easy to link E. coli with beef mishandled during processing.
In fact, according to an article in […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

June 8, 2009

16 reasons not to use someone else’s prescription medicine

Using someone else’s prescription medicine is a lot like playing Russian roulette – you might get away unscathed, and then again you might not. And it could have devastating consequences. Just because we see prescription medicines advertised on TV doesn’t mean they are safe for everyone. There are good reasons why you can’t buy them over the counter. A physician takes many factors into account before prescribing a medication for you, including your current condition, your past medical history, your other medications and the likely risks and benefits of the drug to you as an individual. After making this decision he or she will then explain how to take the medication, when to take it, how much and how long to take it, what else you can and can’t take with it, and what to expect after you take it – both the good and the bad. And after all […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

June 4, 2009

Cell phone elbow isn’t always due to cell phone use

Recent media activity has called attention to a repetitive use syndrome called ‘cell phone elbow,’ which can cause pain, numbness or tingling in the forearm and hand.  But cubital tunnel syndrome, as it’s known medically, isn’t only caused by excessive cell phone use. In fact, it can be caused by any repetitive activity in which the elbow is bent at a greater than 90 degree angle. This could include holding any kind of phone to the ear for long periods of time. It just happens that because cell phone use has increased exponentially and because people can now use their phones while walking, while driving, literally anywhere, some people are spending much more time on the phone than they did previously. And some of them are paying the price with painful hands and arms.
Cubital tunnel syndrome is similar in many respects to the more widely known and more common carpal […]

Original post by admin and weightlossopinions.com

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