Friday, November 26, 2010

Monday, November 29th on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio


December 1 is World AIDS Day. Although we don't hear as much about AIDS as we used too, the disease is still around and is a huge problem here in the United States as well as abroad. Treatments have improved considerably, but the disease still has no cure. Prevention has also improved here in the United States but not to the extent that we would like. We are devoting our first hour to discussing what's going on in HIV and AIDS prevention, detection and treatment.

In our first segment, I will be joined by Larry Siebert, the CEO of Chembio Diagnostics, a company dedicated to make tests for early detection. We will also be joined by Thomas Denny, the Chief Operating Officer of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology at Duke University. Until a vaccine is developed, early detection is extremely important. Learn about advancements in both technologies from our two guests.

If you have any questions about a vaccine for HIV, or want to know about getting tested as soon as possible (for whatever reason), give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

When I was in training at NYU, many of the senior physicians would talk about the early days of the AIDS crisis. For the first few years, they had no idea what they were dealing with. When was the first HIV patient seen in the United States? The answer will surprise you. Join me and Dr. Memory Elvin-Lewis, a Professor of Microbiology and Ethnobotany at the Washington University in St. Louis, who was directly involved with examining what is believed to be the first HIV patient in the United States.

While early patients with HIV did poorly, the outlook has been improving (although still no cure). Regan Hofmann, the Editor in Chief of Poz Magazine, will be joining us to tell us about living with HIV right now.

If you or a loved one has HIV, and you want some helps or tips for living with HIV, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS.

In our second hour, we are changing gears. An expanded Ask Doctor Ira, with a concentration on the skin. As the weather gets colder, people get all kinds of rashes. But did you know that many Gastrointestinal diseases, such as Celiac or Ulcerative Colitis, can do the same thing. Find Out! And call me with any questions you may have on a variety of gastrointestinal or GI topics.

Give us call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

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


Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope everyone is getting ready for the holiday. We have a show tomorrow pretty much dedicated to everything food for Thanksgiving! Medical, historical and just downright fascinating, learn about our history from the perspective of what we ate (and eat!).

Joining us for our first hour is Mary Gunderson, culinary historian and the author of "American Indian Cooking Before 1500: Exploring History Through Simple Recipes" and the "The Food Journal of Lewis and Clark, Repices for an Expedition." Also joining us is Sandy Oliver, a food historian and the co-author of "Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving Recipes and History from Pilgrims to Pumpkin Pie." To help give us a modern perspective, registered dietitian Keri Gans, the author of the forthcoming "The Small Change Diet" will be on with us, too.

We be covering everything from what the Native American ate to dietary problems of the Pilgrims. We'll also be talking about our own Thanksgiving eating.

Give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS for any questions on food of Thanksgiving's past, anything that's different about your Thanksgiving meal, or of course, advice on dealing with any problems with heartburn after the meal!

For our second hour, we get back to medical problems and Thanksgiving. Specifically, food allergies. We always here that turkey can make you tired, but can you had a deadly allergic reaction to it? Although rare, true allergies to various birds have been reported. Join me and allergist Dr. Julie Wang of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York as we speak about food allergy dangers.

Call us with your food allergy questions at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Our last segment will be holiday Ask Doctor Ira, where you can ask me any questions on any medical topic at all and I will be happy to answer them. Give me a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Monday, November 15 on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio


Thanksgiving is coming! Which of course makes me think of 1) eating too much, 2) getting sick from eating too much and 3) watching TV. Although this normally consists of football and the Parade, we have a TV and film celebrity joining us tomorrow!

First the eating too much. Cholesterol tends to creep up with your weight, and many people, even despite not being overweight, have too high a cholesterol level. One thing that many of my "medication hating" patients have been doing is to take the supplement red yeast rice. But is the stuff any good (and is it safe?). Join me and Dr. Ram Gordon, who is the lead author of a study on Chinese Red Yeast Rice that appeared in the "Archives of Internal Medicine" recently.

Call us with your cholesterol questions at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

While its not the heat of the summer, Thanksgiving is a time when we make a lot of food and serve it to a lot of our friends and family: how do you keep the food from becoming a source of illness? Join me and Shelly Feist, the Executive Director of the Partnership for Food Safety Education, as we talk about ways to make your holiday spread tasty and safe! You can also check out their holiday safety website to catch any tips you miss on the radio.

Call us with any holiday food preparation questions you may have at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

A little change in our schedule this week. Ask Dr. Ira will be at the 9 AM Eastern Time hour. Call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS with any questions you forgot to ask your own doctor!

For our last segment, we will be joined by Mr. James Van Der Beek, who has been an actor on TV shows including "Dawson's Creek" and "Mercy" , and films, including Varsity Blues will be coming on the air to talk about the new campaign he is spearheading: Voices of Ulcerative Colitis. James will talk about how having a family member with this disease affected him and I will be happy to answer any medical questions on colitis that you may have at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Monday, November 8th on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 XM 119: Doctor Radio


Here in New York, the fall is really here. Flu shot season is in full swing at the office, and the dreaded "cough crud" has started to rear its ugly head again. Meanwhile, we have a show dedicated to new findings in cancer prevention, antibiotic use and overuse and even a little bit about the history of hearing aids! And of course, "Ask Dr. Ira," where you can ask me any questions on any medical topic at all.

There has been a lot of talk recently about a large trial that seems to show the CT scans of the lung help reduce lung cancer deaths in smokers. Dr. Elliot Fishman, the Director of Radiological Imaging at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, and a Professor of Radiology and Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will be joining us to talk about the National Lung Screening Trial.

If you are (or were) a smoker, and have questions about whether you should get a CT scan, you are going to want to call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS with your questions.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease, including Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, is on the rise. Are antibiotics in infants part of the problem? Join me and the Chief of pediatric gastroenterology here at NYU Dr. Joseph Levy to talk about a new study showing that part of the increase in inflammatory bowel disease may be a result of giving kids antibiotics in their first year of life.

If you have any questions about your kids and their gastrointestinal symptoms, call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

The picture above is from a Charlie Chaplin film, circa 1928. Is that women on a cell phone? Join me and Mr. Philip Skraska, an archivist for visual and graphical archives at the Bernard Becker Medical School at the Washington University of St. Louis as we talk about....hearing aids! Yup, there was no Miracle Ear in those days. Even with large size, people have been trying to hide their hearing aids for many years. Find out about the interesting history of this important device!

Call us with any times you've tried to hide medical devices in your life at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

We will of course end the show with Ask Dr. Ira...post call episode. Hear my tales of a weekend in the hospital and ask me any questions you have on any medical topics at all...call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Remember, hear me live every Monday from 8AM to 10AM Eastern Time, with reruns throughout the week. If you live in the New York area, we are accepting new patients as well.