Review of Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq

November 29, 2009

War can paradoxically bring out the best in people. Despite the violence, tragedy, and pain, there are moments of kindness, compassion, and brave camaraderie. Soldiers band together as brothers and sisters under terrible circumstances to offer their lives in support of a nation they deem just and vulnerable. Often they are terribly [...]

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Portrait of a Guitar Player in a Park in November

November 16, 2009

He appears in the middle of the city park carrying only a guitar case. He’s in his late twenties, Asian, and wearing a t-shirt and jeans, which is somehow appropriate on this beautiful, sunny day snatched from the cold fingers of November. Children playfully scamper by and mothers give chase as he opens his guitar [...]

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Swine Flu Vaccine, Dystonia, Cheerleaders, and the Truth

November 12, 2009

In my efforts to have a rational discussion about the H1N1 flu shot I have been increasingly confronted with the following fear, expressed most commonly by concerned mothers and teenagers:
Did you see that video on Youtube about the cheerleader who got the flu shot? Something called dystonia? She can’t walk unless she goes backwards. I [...]

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2 Recent Studies Support the Mediterranean Diet

November 8, 2009

More information keeps coming out about the benefits of eating in the Mediterranean style, broadly defined as rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, avoiding red meat and processed foods, drinking wine in moderation, and eating with friends and family.  Given the many variables that go into a cuisine, it is hard to tease [...]

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H1N1 Shot Today

October 30, 2009

I received my H1N1 shot today. My arm hurts a little.
For the past week I’ve witnessed an explosion in the number of patients calling and visiting the office with flu symptoms. The pandemic is now apparent. Yesterday alone I saw at least 12 people with serious flu symptoms in the office, and [...]

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Corona Beer Commercial – Don’t Try This at Home with Lime!

October 24, 2009

While watching TV the other day I saw an amusing Corona beer commercial. A young couple is sitting on beach chairs next to an idyllic ocean as relaxing waves crest and fall. Into this Eden walks another scantily clad, curvaceous woman, who tempts the gaze of the man away from the sea and [...]

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Most Prescribed Medicines of 2008

October 15, 2009

I came across a list of the 50 most prescribed medicines in the U.S. for 2008 and thought it was fascinating. Here is a sampling of the top 20, with discussion to follow:
#1. Hydrocodone (with acetaminophen)
Used to treat pain
121.3 million prescriptions / $5.88 billion retail cost
#2. Lisinopril
Hypertension
69.8 million prescriptions / $686 million retail cost
#3. Simvastatin
High [...]

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Dr. Charles on Twitter

October 10, 2009

I’ve decided to join the conversation on Twitter, so if you’re into that, here I am:
http://twitter.com/examiningroom
Dr. Charles was already taken. Doh!

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Watching My Grandfather Watching the Sky

October 10, 2009

My grandfather was a country doctor, and somewhat of a local legend. Grown men would introduce themselves to him at July 4th parades, shaking the knobbed hands that once delivered them safely into the world. Women would drop off baskets from their gardens, full of bright green peppers and juicy red tomatoes, living [...]

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Dialogues with Darwin Exhibit

October 4, 2009

Last month I visited an exhibit entitled Dialogues with Darwin held at the American Philosophical Society Museum. On display are original handwritten letters by Darwin to other eminent scientists, manuscripts such as his handwritten title page for On the Origin of Species, rare first editions of his work, and handsomely illustrated books by other scientists.
The [...]

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Treating H1N1 Swine Flu with Antibiotics?

October 1, 2009

The CDC just reported a study of 77 people who died of the H1N1 swine flu, finding that 22 of those unfortunate 77 had evidence of bacterial coinfection in the lungs – meaning that bacterial pneumonia as well as the direct effects of viral H1N1 may have contributed to death.
In prior flu pandemics it is [...]

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Smoking Ban Decreases Heart Attacks

September 28, 2009

The cigarette smoke in bars used to be overwhelming for me. Before smoking was banned (locally), a trip to a watering hole for a drink with friends used to be quite disgusting. My eyes would burn. My throat would hurt. My voice would sound hoarse and leathery by the end of [...]

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Gene Therapy for Color Blindness

September 20, 2009

If you were color bind, and a new genetic therapy were developed that allowed you to see the full spectrum of visible light accurately for the first time in your life, would you pursue the treatment? Or would you accept the washed out, sepia world you were accustomed to, embracing the notion that you’re not [...]

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Analyzing the Hippocratic Oath

September 17, 2009

I’d like to wish all the medical students beginning their arduous four-year med school journey this month the best of luck.  Reminiscing on my first days of medical school, I recall the thrill of reciting the Hippocratic Oath for the first time as part of a ritualistic White Coat Ceremony.  It felt like the incantation [...]

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Bioluminescence

September 14, 2009

The world
is not created
by artisan gods of myth
who chisel,
hammer,
or breathe life into small things.
Glorious
pinwheels of light
are not heaved upon high
by a grunting God
of fret and toil.
Instead creation is stomped
blithely
into being
by the scampering footfalls
of delighted spirits
holding sandy hands
down a midnight beach they race,
dazzling stars shooting
up from between bare toes.
Creation is fleeting,
for each glittering step
lets loose but [...]

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