Monday, March 1st, 2010 on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio

Its a new month, but its the same great show! We have a great show planned for March 1st in honor of the recently completed Olympics . There has been a lot of news recently on strokes and stroke prevention and also about the dangers of abdominal aneurysms, such as that suffered by the father of US 1980 Gold Medalist Jim Craig. What do these two things have in common? The vascular system! Join me and Vascular surgeon Dr. Mark Adelman as we talk about prevention, screening, surgical and non-surgical treatment of this common and important medical problem.

If you or a loved one has a problem with aneurysms, blood clots or wonders about that vauge abdominal pain that you have, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS.

If you've been watching the Olympics, then you realize that it takes a certain kind of somebody to be able to wear a bodysuit if your body mass index is a bit high. But Steven Holcomb, in addition to driving a mean, gold medal winning bobsled and looking sort of stylish in spandex, also suffered from a potentially blinding eye disease called keratoconus. He was treated with a new kind of surgical procedure. Join me and ophthalmologist Dr. Robert Cykiert to talk about this and other problems of the corneas.

If you are having problems with your corneas, or have been told you need a corneal transplant, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Lupus stinks. I don't think there is a better way to describe it. An autoimmune condition, it can cause problems from rashes to kidney failure to brain damage. And treatments have been almost unchanged for years. Join Anca Askanase, MD, of NYU Langone Medical Center's Seligman Center for Advanced Therapeutics as we talk about new therapies for this disease!

If you or a loved one has Lupus, or if you are worried you might, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Finally, it will be time for ask Dr. Ira, where I can answer any question on any medical topic at all. Remember, if your doctor doesn't have the time, we do!

Call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

A History of Dysentary May Lead To GERD or Dyspepsia Symptoms Later

For years, we have known that an episode of dysentery may lead to Irritable Bowel Symptoms later on. Now, a study out of Canada shows that the prevalence of dyspepsia symptoms, which include many of the things we associate with "upper" GI symptoms,increased after an outbreak of dysentery. Although the study just shows a relationship between the two, when combined with recent work that shows that there is a "mircobiome" in the esophagus that may change in diseased states, it brings up a whole new line of potential treatments for irritable bowel syndrome and "dyspepsia" syndromes that do not respond well to antacids or other standard treatments!

If you have been bothered by dyspepsia symptoms and have not achieved adequate relief, it may be time to have "another look" to see if there are new treatments available.

Monday, February 22 on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio!

I'm back! We have a great show planned for you Monday, with lots of Gastroenterology in kids and adolescents , some internal medicine and a whole lot of Ask Dr. Ira for you.

WE WILL HAVE AN AVANDIA UPDATE WITH DR. MARC SIEGEL AT THE TOP OF THE SHOW!

Celiac Disease is a growing problem in the United States. Stefano Guandalini, MD, the Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology at the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital and the head of their Celiac Disease Center. We will be talking about this common problem, and how it is often missed, particularly in adolescents.

If you have any questions about digestive problems in you child or teen, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

As an adult gastroenterologist, I spend a lot of time taking care of people with inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Many of the patients that I take care of were originally diagnosed as children or adolescents. Joining me to talk about the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in kids is Doctor Robert Baldassano, the Director of the Center of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

If you are worried about your your children's abdominal complaints: diarrhea, abdominal pain, or even bleeding...give us a call at 1-87-NYU-DOCS!

Parkinson's disease...its scary. So news that regularly used pain killers may prevent this disease is a big deal! Join me and NYU Neurology Professor Dr. Alessandro DiRocco, the head of our Parkinson's disease center, to talk about this exciting new study. We will also answer your questions on the prevention and treatment of all sorts of movement disorders!

If you are worried about a loved one and their Parkinson's, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Of course, we will end the show with Ask Dr. Ira, where you can ask me any questions on any medical topic at all...remember, if your doctor doesn't have the time, we do!

Call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Monday, February 8th, 2010 on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio!

One thing about Super Bowl Parties is noticing how much everyone eats! Now, if this were a unique event, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But its clearly not. As a matter of fact, I saw a recent article describing how serving sizes are truly "not representative" of what really eat. So I was fascinated to see an article stating that non-diabetic, but obese, teenagers, may lose weight better when they take the diabetes medicine metformin. Join me, pediatric endocrinologist Bonita Franklin, MD of NYU and dietitian Laurie Higgins of the Joslin Diabetes Center as we talk about this fascinating topic.

If you are worried about the weight of a younger loved one, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Many advances in medicine are a direct result of cells grown in culture. A common type of these cells are called HeLa cells. HeLa cells are derived from a real woman, Henrietta Lacks, who died of a particuarly aggressive form of cancer at the age of 31. "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," written by Rebecca Skloot, describes the life of Ms. Lacks, the surprising truth about how her body tissues were used commercially without her knowledge (or compensation), and the ramifications of this even to this day. Some of the things that happened to her may still happen to you or your loved ones: call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS to have your questions answered.

The next topic is proof that when you help others you help yourself. Friend's of mine sponsor a great technology conference called Gadgetoff: they have asked me to be the "doctor" there which pretty much means that I help give out gift bags and hope nobody burns themselves up on the rocket powered carousel.

Most of the stuff is quite tech, but I was totally fascinated by the concept of using to technology not to advance medicine (there are tons of cool toys for surgeons and radiologists out there) but to actually improve health. Join me in talking with some representatives from Adidas and athletic trainer Craig Friedman as we talk about using technology to help regular people get healthier.

If you are trying to get in shape and have questions now would be a great time to call: give us a buzz at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

We will finish the show with Ask Dr. Ira, where you can ask me any question on any medical topic at all: I am going to try to get to some of the many emails that we receive as well! Thank you so much for all of your questions and support recently: it is really appreciated. Give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!