Interesting developments this week out of the ongoing effort to curb the latest SARS imposter, known as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus. Several news outlets have reported that the Dutch scientists who originally identified MERS took the unusual extra step of filing a patent on one strain of the disease, presumably to lock up the … Continue reading Can You Patent a Deadly Virus?
View More >>Sinusitis and sinus pressure are far more than distractions – they are life-altering issues, whose effects can interfere with even the most basic human functions. Merely sitting still can be a chore when sinus pressure strikes, and enjoying food or exercise can be downright agonizing with sinusitis. Balloon sinuplasty is an ideal procedure for many … Continue reading Balloon Sinuplasty on NPR
View More >>Here’s a poorly sourced health article from that bastion of poorly sourced health news – The Huffington Post – that might actually have some merit. Entitled “Yoga for Allergies,” the piece attempts to explain how yoga could help you achieve allergy relief. What’s good about the article is that its general underpinnings are sound: One … Continue reading Yoga vs. Rhinitis
View More >>Sleep apnea has played a starring role in a number of my prior posts (see, for starters, this, this and this). It’s never good news. Apnea seems to share a correlation with a vast catalog of undesirable medical conditions, and the list continues to grow weekly. The latest published baddie: Alzheimer’s Disease. A study out … Continue reading Sleep Apnea is the Canary in the Coalmine
View More >>A medical news story this week caught fire in the press: a 3D-printed tracheal splint may have saved an infant’s life. You may have seen this story here, here or here. The details are simple – a baby born with a condition known as tracheobronchomalacia, which can result in a closed airway, was in dire … Continue reading Will 3D Printing Revolutionize Sinus Medicine?
View More >>We live in the age of conflict of interest – hardly a week goes by without a new lawmaker, journalist or celebrity physician being called out for close ties to an industry they supposedly influence. Some of these inquiries are valid and important, especially when doctors have been shown to oversell or overprescribe medications whose … Continue reading Doctor-Pharma Cooperation: Fruitful Collaboration or Unmitigated Evil?
View More >>I hear a lot of kind things from my patients, but this is a first for me. A gentlemen I performed nasal surgery on was pleased with the results, and so, apparently, were his colleagues at ESPN. They created a short theme song for his radio segment based on what they called his “bionic nose” … Continue reading Is This the World’s First Nasal Surgery Patient Jingle?
View More >>Here is one of the first of what I expect will be several dozen news stories about the new PROPEL sinus implant. I have written about this before – the PROPEL device is a medical first, a flexible spring-like structure that holds sinuses open and releases a steroid into the surrounding tissues, dissolving completely after … Continue reading The PROPEL “Sinus Stent” Makes News
View More >>The consequences of our obesity epidemic go far beyond a nationwide rise in heart disease. An entire constellation of metabolic syndrome markers, including diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s, appear to be directly influenced by body weight. Now a new study has found a connection few would be surprised to hear: Obesity may also be closely linked … Continue reading As Waistlines Grow, Airways Shrink
View More >>Another week, another new finding in otolaryngology. Nasal polyps, those air-throttling sacs everybody loves to hate, may affect more than just your breathing. Scientists at the wonderfully named Zagazig University in Egypt studied what happens to the olfactory bulb, the nerve that senses smell, when polyps are present. Their finding: the nerve shrinks, diminishing our … Continue reading Can Nasal Polyps Wreck Your Sense of Smell?
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