Podcasts

High HDL levels track with low MI risk. But a Harvard medical geneticist tells why you may not be able to reduce that risk by intervening to raise them.

Whether Mom or infant takes the drugs, antiretrovirals during the first 6 months protect breast-fed infants against contracting HIV. In this interview, the lead author of the CDC-led study discusses the implications.

Anxiety is even more common than depression among people who have arthritis, a new study has shown. Here to discuss the implications for diagnosis and treatment is Eilzabeth Lin MD, a family medicine physician who is a longstanding researcher in the field of depression and pain.

Findings of the TIPS-2 study, announced at the recent 2012 World Congress of Cardiology, put the promise of the polypill-a simplified, one-size-fits-all approach to prevention of cardiovascular morbidity-back on the table for international discussion. Here, Dr Christopher Cannon puts the TIPS-2 results in perspective.

Are these findings another green light for dark chocolate? Some experts say “yes” as they also point to a recommended upper daily “dose.” What does this new research add to the current data on the health benefits of the flavinoid-rich sweet? Drs Payal Kohli and Christopher Cannon discuss study results and what you should tell your patients.

There's no need to abandon abacavir as an option for AIDS treatment fearing adverse effects. This podcast features a new guideline that shows how to use easily ordered genetic tests to judge who can take the drug safely.

The Los Angeles county coroner’s office recently ruled that singer Whitney Houston drowned in her hotel bathtub but that other factors contributed to her demise. Did the 48-year-old have preexisting cardiovascular disease? Did cocaine abuse trigger a deadly cardiac event? Drs Payal Kohli and Christopher Cannon put the autopsy results and the pop star’s final moments in context.

A new study that showed a link between a yearly dental x-ray and meningioma must have sent a shiver down many a spine. Here, oral medicine specialist Dr Jeff Burgess offers guidance about what to think, and how to respond when a concerned patient asks.

With genetic tests rapidly entering medical practice, and some patients even ordering them on their own, the NIH has launched a Genetic Testing Registry to help doctors interpret and follow up on these tests. In this interview, the director of the new Genetic Testing Registry tells why you need it, and what's there for your reference.

Bariatric surgery nearly cures type 2 diabetes-at least that’s what results of a new study, presented at the recent ACC meeting, seem to imply.