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!

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!

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!

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.

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

Is everyone getting ready for Halloween? Candy, costumes and parties will fill the night. But the star of the show is candy. As a person, I love the stuff. As a doctor maybe not so much. Join me and Dr. Samira Kawash, a professor emerita at Rutger's and also the author of the blog "Candy Professor," where she discusses the role of candy in American Culture. Some of the "health concern's" that people have about candy go back way over 100 years. Whose profession, I should add, started the idea of giving out lollipops after shots. And then yelled at parents about their kids getting too fat.

If you have any questions at all about candy give us call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

After all that candy, you are going to need to exercise! And so will your kids. Recent research suggests that weight training is safe in kids. Join me and Jon Almquist, ATC, a certified athletic trainer and former chair of the National Athletic Trainers Association Secondary School Athletic Training Committee as we discuss the new study showing that children 7 and 8 years old benefit from supervised weight lifting. We will talk about keeping your child in shape and healthy!

If you have any questions about physical fitness and your kids (or yourself), give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Where do you go to get your health care. Well, the doctor, and of course Doctor Radio. But what about the barber shop? Join me and Dr. Rani Whitfield, aka the "Hip Hop Doc," as we talk about mixing music, haircuts and health. Find out about new ways to get old tips to everyone!

If you have a creative way to get out the medical word to the community, call us at 1-877-NYU-DOCS and let us know!

We will end the show with Ask Dr. Ira, where you can ask me any medical questions on any medical topic at all and I will be glad to answer! Give me a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Monday, October 26th 2010 on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio!

Superheroes and Super-Gastroenterology. We have an excellent show planned, with topics ranging from heartburn to superheroes to the latest and greatest in the world of digestive diseases!

First the reflux. I'm not totally sure why, but the fall is one of the busier times of year for people to come into the office complaining of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Although I'm very good at dispensing medication and talking about the latest study on the efficacy of anti-reflux surgery, I often get stuck with that most basic of questions: "what should I eat?" Join me and Dr. Jamie Koufman as we talk about her new bood: "Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook and Cure." The book is a groundbreaking approach to healthy eating, and features 75 recipes!

If you have any questions (or tips) about eating with reflux, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Last week I was trying to get downtown in a taxi and was literally stopped when thousands of people dressed as everything from Superman to Pikachu left the Javitz Center here in New York City. They were all at the NY "Comic Con." Dr. Daniel Debowy was there as well, speaking about "Psychiatry and the Superhero," where he talked about what might be going on inside the head of Gotham's favorite Superhero, Batman. I wish there were some great medical thing I could put to this, but frankly I am just really curious as to what Dr. Debowy has to say!

Ever wonder about the psychology of superheroes, or what we like in them....give us call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Last week, many of my colleagues were at the American College of Gastroenterology's meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Lots of interesting studies were presented on a wide variety of topics: hear Dr. David Johnson, the past President of the ACG and Professor and Chief of GI at Eastern University School of Medicine in Norfolk, Va, as we talk about some of the "hot topics" in GI and what it may mean for you and your family!

Digestive questions? Give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Of course, its not only digestive questions that we deal with. We will have a full segment of "Ask Doctor Ira," where you can ask me any question on any medical topic at all...whatever you forgot to ask your doctor ask me! Call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Monday, October 18th on the Doctor Ira Breite Show on Sirius 114 and XM 119: Doctor Radio

Surrounded by cell phones, laptops, desktops, TVs and all kinds of electronic stuff? Who isn't? Did you ever wonder if all of the electromagnetic radiation was harmful? I certainly have. Its a controversial topic, and the answers are not at all clear. Joining me to talk about this are Ronald B. Herberman, M.D, who testified before Congress on tumors and cell phone use. Also joining me is Ann Louise Gittleman, the author of "Zapped," which talks about ways to avoid electronic pollution in your life.

If you've ever wondered about all that electronic "stuff" being emitted and whether it can harm you, and have questions on how to avoid it, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

I was going to start my next topic by making a joke about it being "snippy." And then I realized I was a physician at a major medical center in the United States. And then I couldn't help myself. Sorry. Dr. Emily Taylor of NYU Langone Medical Center will be joining me to talk about the potential benefits of circumcision. I can't promise you that you'll be calling your urologist anytime soon, but this is an important and controversial topic, and anyone thinking about children or hoping for a grandchild will want to hear what Dr. Taylor has to say!

Questions about circumcision? Give us call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS.

I had my first MRI this year. Besides signing for insurance and all kinds of financial stuff, I clearly remember being asked, repeatedly, about whether I had a pacemaker or other implantable device in me. And although I always envision that scene from "Alien" when the alien pops out that guys body when thinking about what would happen if you had a pacemaker and had an MRI, in truth I have no idea what would happen. Join me and Dr. J. Rod Gimbel, a cardiologist and expert on pacemakers and MRI safety, to talk about this important issue.

If you've ever wondered if its safe to get an MRI, and what can help in the future, give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!

Of course, we will end the show with Ask Doctor Ira, where you can ask me any questions on any medical topic at all, and I will be happy to answer. Give us a call at 1-877-NYU-DOCS!