KUSP's Ask Doctor Dawn

Interesting connection between vitamin D and heart disease; Research on how memory works helps develop treatments for trauma conditions like PTSD; What is causing a sudden sharp pain in my knee? After surgery to remove stomach cancer, a woman has trouble absorbing iron and vitamin D; Fluid in the bursa probably explains a caller's has strange sounds in knee joint after a knee replacement; A caller with long-living family history would like to explore all of their genome sequences; Pain creams for a person with Parkinson's disease and peripheral neuropathy; Tingling in the shoulder is probably not related to other pains caused by a uterine fibroid; Moderate alcohol intake may reduce risk of getting rheumatoid arthritis, but watch for increased breast cancer; New study shows that radical prostatectomy does not extend lifespan except in those with very high PSA; Advice for a woman suffering from both peripheral neuropathy and arthritis; Why low-paid doctors play co-marketing games, like a pediatrician's treatment for childhood allergies

Deadline is extended to setup state insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act; Class action lawsuit in Virginia may facilitate Medicare funding for home health care; More about drug shortages, especially for chemotherapy; Strategies to achieve better sleep with minimum drug use; Muscle relaxant at bedtime helped someone sleep and reduce depression; Low dose of old anti-depression drugs and other remedies for fibromyalgia sleep problems; Carbon nanotubes twisted with wax can make a material that contracts in length like muscle; Inflammatory osteoarthritis in hands can be caused by food sensitivities and bad gut bacteria; Comments on shift workers and circadian rhythms; Studies show telomere shortening correlates with a variety of conditions which that also correlate with shorter lifespan; Functional medicine advice for someone is loosing weight and height; Comments about groups both locally and online to discuss health issues

The importance of the glycocalyx "fur" lining of your blood vessels; Bloody stools from trauma to bile duct doesn't seem related to supplement intake, but ibuprofen might be a cause; Acupuncture in a seated massage chair will probably help a woman with nerve compression pain; Night sweats for a week, high temp during day, sounds like a hidden infection; New research supports the reality of Morgellons disease; A calcium-magnesium supplement changes the quantity reported on the label because of bioavailability; A woman has swelling in eye that has ruled out many diseases may be an autoimmune disease; New test for Alzheimer's disease using PET scan to detect amyloid plaque; Another woman with swollen eyes was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis and treated with stress reduction; How to accumulating pharmaceuticals for emergency purposes; Sufferer with tinnitus uses it to meditate and help fall asleep! Dr. Dawn endorses Dr. Sinatra's suggestions for supplements to boost heart health

Our current very inadequate food safety system is described; How grocery stores are engineered to make you buy more food than you need; Soft drink companies seduce schools to sell sweet drinks to children all day long in schools; Food economics 101: Natural forces of capitalism motivate food producers and sellers to sell us as much cheap food as possible; Corn subsidies resulted in the use of high fructose corn syrup as the cheapest sweetener used in food and drinks; The issue of preferring to buy locally-grown foods and the convenience of imported fruits and vegetables is discussed; Milk politics: The issues of overproduction and the use of cow growth hormone is examined; The politics behind the USDA and the Food Pyramid; Basic dietary advice: Eat less, more fruits and vegetables and don't eat junk food!

Emergency preparedness is not just about extra food and water, but critical pharmaceuticals as well; A particular gene variant for colon cancer is more sensitive to suppression by daily aspirin; Energy drinks don't list all the caffeine content — too much can kill you! What to do about the two variant forms of irritable bowel syndrome; Fecal transplants are a good treatment for the difficult C. difficile infection; Dr Dawn's evaluation of chiropractic manipulation for back and neck pain; The proper ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 and quality of Omega 6 issues; Dry eyes is a common post-menopausal symptoms; Important aspects of Affordable Care Act are reviewed; Can I get the Shingles vaccine again if I think I already got it? Caller supports the convenience and cost of getting vaccines from a pharmacy; More technological advances to identify tumor cells in the blood stream; NASA exoskeleton suit is adapted for assisting people with weak muscles; Getting sick only when attending school may indicate an environmental problem such as mold; Sublingual Vitamin B12 is a good way to get what you need to counter decreases because of proton pump inhibitor use

Is eye strain the cause of chronic dull headaches after cataract surgery in both eyes? Skin tags are usually caused by skin friction; How SAM-e and Saint John's Wort work for reducing depression — also Vitamin C dosing; Reduced blood flow probably explains dry hands when winter comes; Dealing with large sebaceous cysts; A teacher copes with tinnitus after a loud fire alarm damaged his ears; How SAM-e may cause depression, and genetic variants in methylation metabolism; Gut restoration protocol is a Dr. Dawn mantra: take probiotics when using antibiotics! Side effects of a drug to treat kidney cell cancer; After ablation surgery for atrial fibrulation, I am now getting PVCs — how stress affects your heart; Dr Dawn evaluates the FODMAP diet

More about compounding pharmacies and the meningitis cases from fungal contamination in steroid products; More very bad effects of Triclosan, a common antibacterial agent, are discovered; Multivitamins are shown to reduce overall rate of cancers; Comments on regulating the quality of compounding pharmacy products; The risks with using bisphosphonates for osteoporosis; Preliminary studies support a modified form of aspirin for inhibiting growth of various types of cancer; Is granuloma annulare caused by a drug reaction? Magnesium is the doctor's best suggestion for helping leg cramps, but testing for peripheral artery disease is important; Changes in sexual practices has increased frequency of oral cancers from Human papillomavirus — the HPV vaccine can stop this! Explanation of cataract removal and lens replacement surgery; Creative research explains how a gene mutation associated with Parkinson's disease affects cell membranes and nerve functioning; Allergy to nickel in cell phones might explain rash on the face of a previous caller; Electrolyte imbalance is probably the cause of a woman's hand cramps

Nobel prize for chemistry is awarded to pioneers in signaling proteins in cell membranes; More about the arsenic in drinking water and rice study by Consumer Reports; All about allergies, the hygiene hypothesis and treatments; Are testosterone and estrogen supplements good to compensate for decreasing hormone levels with age? How to detect a 2nd infection of Lyme disease and new research about how tick-borne diseases work; The origins of cancer as breakdowns in cellular regulation — new stem cell research holds promise to stop cancer cells; Are my perimenopause headaches migraines? And what to do about them; What human diseases are carried by fleas? Patterns of methylation in DNA of white blood cells can identify the presence and type of cancer; Individual differences in detoxification enzymes greatly influences pain drug metabolism and the effectiveness or side effects of drugs; The reasons why a full night's sleep is very important in loosing weight

Dr. Dawn encourages people to get the new flu vaccine; The appendix is important to lower the recurrence rate of Clostridium difficile infection; Metabolic processing of BPA produces a chemical that is a strong estrogen mimic; Consumer Reports releases a study about arsenic in rice; A healthy women who thinks she has low white blood cell count is probably okay; Listener thinks she has hives, but it is probably rosacea — try an elimination diet; Caller questions colonoscopy centers who do not honor living wills; Are trans fats an important factor in autism? The controversial issue of multiple chemical sensitivities; Why procedures like colonoscopy cost so much more in a hospital; Differences between coconut, almond and soy milk as alternatives to dairy; Betaine hydrochloride is a good idea in elders as stomach acid decreases with age; Mom with bone cancer has problems tolerating pain medicines; The effects of UV radiation on the structure and rigidity of skin; Meningitis outbreak from contaminated a steroid product

Important breast cancer genome research released this week should lead to more focused therapy; Side effects of various pain medicines and appropriate use of melatonin; Avoiding low blood pressure when getting out of bed in the morning; A woman with very stubborn "dandruff" might have a fungal infection; A caller praises the results of his partial knee reconstruction surgery; Using mice to grow an individual human cancer as testing platforms to test drug therapies; The differences between krill and fish oil Omega 3 supplements; Is the chemotherapy drug methotrexate the best treatment for my rheumatoid arthritis? A man with sore joints is negative on many blood tests — other things to look at

French study finds GMO corn has long term bad effects in rats; Dengue vaccine trial results is disappointing; More young adults have health insurance — Health exchange coverage in California are detailed; Strange distortions in the visual field that lasts a few minutes is probably an ocular migraine; Nutrition and supplements to help polycystic ovary syndrome; We haven't identified major long term side effects when using Minoxidil for hair loss; Nutritional advice to reduce inflammation in conditions such as osteoarthritis and increase longevity; An otherwise very healthy woman struggles with eczema, rosacea and other allergies; Can I avoid a root canal and save my tooth with just a new crown? The difficult issues of determining quality of a doctor or dentist and determining the cause of death; Dr Dawn comments further on the importance of accurately reporting the cause of death; Genetic test reveals a more vulnerable group for Human papillomavirus and cervical cancer; Australian study supports the benefit of dark chocolate to reduce heart attacks; Genetically-modified geranium does not cause pollen allergies; Mice feed diet with high amounts of alpha linoleic acid show epigenetic effects that their offspring inherit

Dr. Dawn reviews major concepts from part 1 of the interview with Dr. Houston on August 25; Dr. Dawn asks about supplements to boost glutathione, a very important anti-oxidant in all cells; Telomere testing can determine your effective health age; Dr. Houston's version of the DASH diet for hypertension is more like Paleo and Mediterranean diets; The benefits of a variety of supplements: Zinc, potassium, magnesium, lycopene, whey protein, resveratrol etc. are discussed; An specific exercise program that optimizes cardiovascular health; A thorough discussion of different types of hypertension drugs that affect angiotensin biochemistry; The role of the hormone aldosterone and drugs that affect its action and reduce blood pressure; More about foods such as whey protein and celery that can work to replace drugs in lowering blood pressure

Specific subtypes of hepatitis C predict success of therapy, which has side effects; High HDL in woman may indicate it is not effective and thus not a good marker for cardiac health; Family history of cancer is important to evaluate if basal cell cancers predict propensity for internal organ cancers; Recap on the complicated issue of thyroid hormone dynamics, proper testing and Hashimoto's thyroiditis; The old remedy of "sweating out a cold" works to kill off a viral infection faster; Another headline-grabbing study equating dangers of egg yolks to smoking has the usual scientific flaws; The course of shingles with its lesions and pain is helped by acupuncture and topical creams; More discussion on the importance of iodine for your health; 78 old man's blood pressure has been decreasing for years — a complex issue; A multi-part question about gut issues including allergens for irritable bowel, protein supplements and how to get absorbable curcumin; How long after a miscarriage can a woman try to get pregnant again? The correct way to detect metal toxicity and its important in neurodegenerative diseases; 83 year old womam sees big red spots at night; Supplements for treating alopecia hair loss; Health benefits of raw garlic, ginger and other "super foods" and supplements

The endothelium that lines your blood vessels is the largest organ in the body; Endothelial health interacts with everything in your blood and deals with "toxic insults" that can lead to disease; Hypertension is a symptom of inflammation, autoimmune dysfunction and oxidative stress responses to damaged endothelium; The treatment of hypertension should address basic causes and not just treat high blood pressure symptom; The natural history of plaque formation in coronary artery disease, which can start when you are very young; New technologies to measure the health of arteries long before occlusions show up in an angiogram; All about good and bad types of fat — why trans fat is bad; The function of HDL and LDL and the importance of measuring LDL particle size and other tests besides just cholesterol value; Bioidentical hormone therapy can help women with high blood pressure; Appropriate use of pharmaceuticals for treating hypertension; Red Yeast Rice contains many therapeutic chemicals and is probably better than just the isolated statin chemical

West Nile virus is on the rise again — control breeding sources of mosquitoes; Claims that Serropeptidase removes plaque in blood vessels are not supported by science; Vitamin K for bone density support and vitamins for eye health; How to evaluate if drugs are helping your osteoporosis; How to reduce uterine thickening and avoid a hysterectomy because of fibroids; Are sauna and oxygen therapies for autism good? Nutritional advice for gout includes giving up beer; Try magnesium glycinate to reduce leg cramps at night; Avoiding surgery for shoulder pain from arthritis or rotator cuff impingement; Assessing fish oil quality and the issue of sustainable fish sources for it; Johnson and Johnson promises to remove formaldehyde and other chemicals from their products; Suggestions for painful hemorrhoids; Studies with pancreatic cell cultures show that sugar and carbohydrate intake suppresses fat loss; Hydration and lowering blood coagulation is key to preventing transient ischemic attacks and strokes; Reducing sources of Omega 6 fatty acids is just as important as getting good Omega 3 oils