Continuing my discussion this week about the HPV vaccine Gardasil, I’d like to address side effects. At this point in the United States, there have been over 46 million doses of HPV vaccine administered (the vast majority Gardasil), which implies over 15 million people (since a series includes three shots.) Unfortunately, when you start involving a population this large, within that group there will be uncommon diseases that occur in the general population. For example, a disease that occurs in only one out of 500,000 will have 30 cases in this group. Sorting out which of these rare occurrences are … Read more
Gardasil: What’s IN it?
Continuing the discussion about the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) Vaccine Gardasil...I’d like to step back and talk about exactly what is IN this vaccine. Much of the fear about immunizations surrounds concerns about the makeup of the vaccine, and what peripheral damage could potentially be caused from the content.
First of all, can you “catch” HPV from the vaccine? NO. Absolutely NOT. There are vaccines (like chicken pox or measles) that contain essentially watered-down versions of live virus, and as such, can in the course of an appropriate response cause a mild version of the disease as the body reacts … Read more
Gardasil and Increased Promiscuity? NOT an Issue
The Gardasil vaccine is back in the news. Gardasil is the vaccine recommended for both boys and girls to protect them against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which causes genital warts and cervical cancer) Yesterday, an article published in Pediatrics confirmed that girls who had received this vaccine did not, in fact, have any increased sexual promiscuity compared with their peers who did not receive the vaccine. Why was this study done? One reason for lower vaccination rates with this recommended vaccine (compared to other vaccines recommended in this age group) was parental concern that giving their preteen and teenage daughters … Read more
Teen Sexting & Risky Behavior
In 2009, headlines already noted that one in five teens “sext” despite knowing the risks. Teens sexting may be old news, but as the percentage of teens involved in cell phone based sending and receiving of sexually explicit pictures and texts increase, the links from this behavior to end points such as sexually transmitted infections and/or pregnancy need to be assessed. Last month in Pediatrics, a new study focused on teens & sexting: “Sexually Explicit Cell Phone Messaging Associated with Sexual Risk Among Adolescents“. Nearly 2,000 students from Los Angeles high schools were surveyed to try and determine … Read more
What’s This Little White Pill?
I’m guessing that I am not the first person to stumble across a stray pill – whether it’s in the bottom of the purse, on the bathroom floor, or maybe in a pill bottle where you tossed together all your meds for a trip. Certainly it can be alarming if you find a stray pill in your house- whether you are worried about your pet accidentally eating it or wondering if your teen/spouse/roommate is using a new medication. Today I simply want to share that if YOU find one of these strays somewhere and want to know what it is, … Read more
Go Purple – Help End Alzheimer’s Disease!
The heart remembers…Today, September 21, 2012, is Alzheimer’s Action Day– so put on your PURPLE and help to raise awareness for this devastating disease. Over 35 MILLION people worldwide and 5.4 MILLION Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). $200 BILLION will be spent in the US alone this year caring for people suffering with AD. This disease slowly invaded my amazing mother’s brain, creeping along for over a decade, steadily pulling her away from our family. As we don our purple today, we stand together with every other family who has helplessly witnessed this “long goodbye”. I hope … Read more
New Study Offers Hope for Alzheimer Prevention
A glimmer of hope shines in the devastating world of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), as this week a study published in the Archives of Neurology journal reveals that a class of blood pressure medications (Angiotensin Receptor Blockers, known as ARBs) may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Although the mechanism of Alzheimer’s is not fully understood, we do know that abnormal deposits of amyloid (a protein) occur early in brain as an early stage in the disease process. This new study, the Impact of Angiotensin Receptor Blockers on Alzheimer Disease Neuropathology in a Large Brain Autopsy Series, looked post-humously at … Read more
It’s BACK – the Cursed Halloween Candy
Yes, we’ve just got our kids starting to settle into their school routine, and yet what has already appeared in the grocery stores? That’s right- Halloween Candy. I swear this is the start of the fall fattening project…
Don’t get me wrong, I love Halloween! I adore seeing all the kids in costumes and frankly, I pull out a witch or Mrs. Incredible costume for myself each year. But here is the catch- candy to the max on one night per year is no big deal (brush & floss those teeth afterwards, of course.) Unfortunately, what happens in many … Read more
Breaking News: Fish Oil Supplements “Out”?
Today the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study about the Association Between Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and the Risk of Major Cardiovascular Disease Events. The popular media has picked this up and many headlines are focusing on removing these fish oil supplements from your medicine cabinet- is that the take-home message? Maybe not…
There are a few separate issues to discuss. First of all, note that the reason there was a study to begin with is that it has long been established that populations with primarily fatty fish-based diets have lower rates of heart disease. … Read more
Was it Food Poisoning or a “Stomach Flu”?
All this talk about fruits and vegetables reminds me of…food poisoning. In the recent past, we’ve had several outbreaks of food borne illnesses that have caught our attention- first the E-Coli in hamburgers, then the Salmonella outbreaks from eating tuna (or perhaps from handling small turtles), and let’s not forget the Listeria-infected cantaloupes! As such, I thought it would be helpful to go over some facts about food poisoning.
First of all, you are unlikely to know if your last bout of intense stomach upset was the result of food poisoning rather than a “stomach virus”, unless there was a … Read more