Evidence Based Medicine

To my patients, As you know I usually email you with a response to something Gynecologic that has appeared in the news. This is somewhat different. The following was written by Dr Lisa Larkin, an internist in Cinncinnati who is a colleague and a very good friend. Recently (finally) she was elected to the Board of the North American Menopause Society (as most of you know I was President of that Society) and is a speaker on relevant internal medicine topics at the course I co-direct "Survival...

More Medical News – Calcium and Cardiovascular health

I am not trying to bombard you with email blasts, but an article in the Science Section of last week’s New York Times mandates sending this out. The article was entitled, “Popular but not very effective.” The subtitle was, “Cardiovascular supplements and diets do little for hearts.” It was a relatively extensive article about a number of popular supplements and different diets based on research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which reviewed data from hundreds of clinical...

Important Medical Update from Dr. Steven R. Goldstein MD

As most of you are aware, I usually send these email blasts in response to medical articles that appear in the news, and most often, The New York Times. This is an example where, almost four months ago, I alerted my patients to a rising problem of antibiotic resistance, mainly with urinary tract infection because physicians were failing to do appropriate cultures prior to initiating broad spectrum antibiotic use.  In the July 14th New York Times, a front-page article was entitled, “As a ...

Dr. Steven R. Goldstein MD presented with Joseph H. Holmes Clinical Pioneer Award

Last week Dr. Goldstein received a great honor from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. He was presented with their highest award, known as the Joseph H. Holmes Clinical Pioneer Award recognizing his career long contributions to research and patient care in gynecologic ultrasound. It really reflects his commitment to the field and to his patients. On behalf of his whole staff here at the office, we are very proud of him. I want to share what they wrote with all of you. Josep...

Dr. Goldstein comments on NY Times article on new Osteoporosis drug

In yesterday‘s New York Times, a teaser on the front page was entitled “Treatment for brittle bones”. The article itself was entitled “Osteoporosis drug deploys genetic tool to build bone”. On Tuesday the FDA approved a new drug known as Evenity (generic is romosozumab-aqqg). The article talks significantly about the fact that this is the first drug that restores bone without breaking it down. Understand that bone is a dynamic organ. It is constantly being laid down and taken away un...

New York Times Article on Funguses immune to drugs

  The lead article in yesterday‘s New York Times was entitled, “Fungus immune to drugs quietly sweeps the globe”…”Lethal infection adds alarming information to dangers of overusing medicine.”     For those of you who read the article there is no fear. This is a new species of the fungus Candida called Auris that is significant for people who have immune compromised systems, such as patients on chemotherapy, long-term steroid use, the very young and the very old. ...

You know about osteoporosis but are you aware of muscle wasting

You know about osteoporosis but are you aware of muscle wasting In the Science Times of September 4th, the weekly column called, "Personal Health," by Jane Brody talked about an entity called "sarcopenia". This is the wasting of muscle that is seen in elderly patients. It can begin as early as age 40. It can become extremely pronounced in women in their 60's. And as women approach their 80's and beyond, it is increasingly recognized as a major impediment to continued health and well-being. It i...

Menopausal changes that don’t have to be

Menopausal changes that don't have to be In last Tuesday's Science Times there was an article entitled, "Menopausal vagina monologues." It was an excellent article talking about the fact that without any estrogen in menopause the vagina becomes atrophic. It loses blood supply and elasticity. It loses its normal pH (acid/base balance) because it cannot support the normal predominant bacteria called lactobacillus that feasts on glycogen and produces lactic acid, thus lowering the pH. Studies have...

Fertility decline, freezing eggs: myths and realities

Fertility decline, freezing eggs: myths and realities In last week's New York Times, just before the holiday weekend, there was an article about a 22-year-old single woman who decided to freeze her eggs. In that article it said that fertility was declining by age 20. This is extremely inaccurate and unfair. According the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, fertility remains relatively constant until about age 30 then begins to decline and there is a sharper falling off after ...

Important News About Pap Smears

“If it ain’t broke why are we fixing it?” This week the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) published a recommendation statement in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) They made updated recommendations for screening for cervical cancer using Pap smears (which they call cervical cytology) and high risk HPV testing or both in combination. I have some real problems with these kinds of recommendations. Their goals are to prevent cervical cancer and re...