Monday, May 23, 2011 on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on SiriusXM 81: Doctor Radio

We have a show that is historical and timely planned for this Monday. Our first hour is timely: new discoveries for a rare disease and new discoveries in digestive diseases. Our second hour is historical as we try to unravel some medical mysteries.

Hereditary angioedema. This rare genetic disease has historically had a fatality rate approaching 30%. People with the disease can literally choke themselves to death. And traditional therapies for throat swelling, such as antihistamines, just won't work. Join me and Dr. Donald McNeil, an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Ohio State University and in private practice at Midwest Allergy Associates, as we discuss this interesting medical problem. We will also be joined by a person who is suffering from the disease. Dr. McNeil is also the founder of Optimed Research.

If you have ever wondered about sudden shortness of breath, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Gastroenterology update continues. News of digestive disease and your questions answered! Give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

If you have any GI news to send me, please let me know on twitter at @doctorira and send me a message!

The scientist and explorer Charles Darwin lived until he was seventy one years old. For many years, he suffered from recurring bouts of severe abdominal pain. Although many people have speculated on the cause of his death. Dr. Sidney Cohen, Gastroenterology Professor at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia thinks he may have the answers...find out!

Call us with your mystery abdominal pain questions at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

We are going to keep working backwards, history-wise! If you think the 19th Century was a long time ago, what about ancient Egypt? More importantly, in those non-polluting, non-smoking, not much red disease days, was there any heart disease. Dr. Gregory Thomas, MD, MPH, FACC knows the answer. In addition to his practice at Mission Internal Medicine Group in California, he has been studying mummies housed at the National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt to see if they have heart disease. Do they? Listen and find out!

You are not going to want to miss this segment. Call us with your heart disease questions at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Follow me on Twitter for interesting medical news and practice updates.

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Monday, May 16th on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on SiriusXM 81: Doctor Radio

I'm still getting used to our call numbers, and remind everyone to change the presets on their radios so you can easily get to Doctor Radio.

This has been one heck of an allergy year. Despite the fact that many fine allergy medicines are available "over the counter," we have been inundated with watery eyes, itchy noses, asthma and worse. Join me and allergist Dr. Leonard Bielory, a specialist in allergy and immunology. He has a particular interest in eye allergies. He also runs a website that gives up to the moment pollen counts as part of the National Allergy Bureau.

Questions about allergies? Give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Gastroenterology Update continues to be a great success on Doctor Radio. In our second half hour, I will discuss some of the latest studies in gastroenterology. I will also answer any digestive questions you may have at 1-877-NYU-DOCS.

I will be posting some of the topics we will discuss on Twitter throughout the day. If there is any news report that you've seen that you want to hear about, send me a message to @doctorira or use the #doctorira hashtag!

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

Last week, one of my friend's kids had her appendix out...not an infrequent event. Although everyone is fine, the question remains that in an age of antibiotics and CT scans, why do we still "need" to remove the appendix? Join me and NYU surgeon Mary Ann Hopkins as we talk about a new study showing that surgery may be better. Having said that, the accompanying editorial in the same journal disagrees with the study and says that not removing the appendix is better! Now this is talk radio!

Call us with you appendix questions at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

We will end the show, as usual, with Ask Doctor Ira, where you can ask me any question on medical topic at all! Anything you forgot to ask your doctor, ask me!

Give me a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Follow me on Twitter!

Monday May 9th on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on SiriusXM 81

Boy, it is much easier with one set of call numbers: thank you SiriusXM management!

Salt. Not just a bad movie, but something that Americans, including me, love. A recent study showed that salt may not affect blood pressure as much as previously thought. Should we break out the shakers? According to NYU hypertension expert Dr. Henry Black, the answer is no. Find out what he has to say, and call in with your own questions on hypertension, medication and diet.

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

At 8:30 Eastern Time we are going to have our "Gastroenterology Update" segment, which is proving to be extremely popular! Topics tomorrow include everything from beer and the risk for gastric cancer, the need to perform a biopsy before starting a gluten free diet, and new news on colonoscopy preps! Call us with your GI questions during the show at 1-877-NYU-DOCS or...

Email me at irabreite@yahoo.com or tweet me at @doctorira with any studies or news articles you have seen and we'll try to discuss them. (before airtime would help :) ).

Continuing on the GI and allergy theme, we are going to start our second hour talking about eosinophillic esophagitis and other eosinophil disorders. Join me and University of California at San Diego Allergist Dr. Seema Aceves as we talk about eosinophillic esophagitis in children: everything from what it is, how it is diagnosed and what you can do about it!

Calls us with your digestive allergy and eosinophilia questions at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

We are going to end the show with Ask Doctor Ira, where you can ask me any medical questions at all and I will be happy to answer them. Anything that you forgot to ask your own doctor ask me at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Monday, May 2nd on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119

SiriusXM is changing its channel lineup. So this is the last time we'll be on Sirius 114 and XM 119. Starting May 4th, Doctor Radio will be on channel 81 for everyone: stay tuned!

Speaking of changes, did you know that gold was once a mainstay of treatment in medicine! Join me and rheumatologist Dr. Bert Agus as we talk about the use of gold in medicine. Its a good combo, because many of the diseases were rheumatological and many of the bad side effects were gastrointestinal!

Gold as a medicine?! Questions! Call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS.

Some kids just vomit. So do some adults. And despite extensive workups, no blockage, ulcer or other anatomical problem is found. Join me and University of Missouri Pediatric Gastroenterologist Dr. David Fleisher as we talk about the Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome.

Vomiting in you or a family member. Is your doctor not able to give you a clear answer? Call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

A bit of a programming change. Ask Dr. Ira will be at the 9 AM Eastern hour tomorrow. Call me at 1-877-NYU-DOCS with any questions that you forgot to ask your own doctor. Also, exciting news for me...I now have the "Doctorira.com" website, which currently links back to here, but you never know!

As a physician, I have gotten pretty good at diagnosing celiac disease...helping people live with it is another matter entirely. Join me and author Danna Korn as we talk about how to live a gluten free lifestyle. She wrote "Living Gluten Free for Dummies," amongst other books.

Call us with your celiac and gluten free questions at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!