Category Archives: Medicine
Cancer Statistics 2026
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th January 2026Every January the American Cancer Society releases the latest data about cancer in the United States. The full report can be downloaded below. As is typical for the society their press release highlights the increase in cancer survival. Below is a quotation from an article in the lay press: The five-year cancer survival rate in…
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New Insight Into the Cause of Lupus
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 9th January 2026Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks healthy tissues and organs, causing widespread inflammation affecting skin, joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, and brain, with symptoms like fatigue, fever, rashes (especially a butterfly-shaped facial rash), joint pain, and mouth sores that vary in severity and occur in flares and remissions,…
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A New Yeast Infection
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th January 2026As if the strike zone were not big enough, nature keeps throwing spitballs at us. One such pitch is a relatively new fungal infection, Candida auris. The pathogen was first identified in a Japanese patient in 2009. Unlike most Candida species, C. auris is often resistant to many antifungal drugs. It can persist on surfaces…
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President Trump’s MRI
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd December 2025A White House memorandum from President Trump’s physician, Captain Sean P. Barbabella, stated that the MRI scan of the president’s heart and abdomen was “perfectly normal”. The memo, released in December 2025, explained that the advanced imaging was a preventative measure standard for a man of Trump’s age to assess his cardiovascular and abdominal health. The…
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Oral Hygiene and General Health
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 17th November 2025Most physicians are content to note the condition of their patients’ oral hygiene and then leave its management to the dentist. But poor oral hygiene is a state of chronic inflammation with all the attendant ill effects that follow in its wake. It’s a very accurate forecast of serious health problems in the near future….
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Medical Reporting in the Lay Press
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 28th October 2025Relying on the lay press for medical advice can often lead to incorrect conclusions or misguided directions. The article linked below is a good example of how well-meaning but improperly thought out reporting can lead to conclusions not based on solid experimental design or reasoning. Drinking More Than 1 Can of Any Soda Daily Linked…
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Acetaminophen During Pregnancy
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd September 2025Confusion now hath made his masterpiece Politics and medicine make for a bad amalgam under the best of circumstances. The Trump administration’s warning that acetaminophen (best known as Tylenol, but widely available under other marques) might cause autism has created a mess – there’s no other word for the situation. There are so many things…
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Mammography in Elderly Women
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 26th July 2025I’ve written several articles about the difficulties inherent in screening for diseases that are common and associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The two most prominent are breast cancer and prostate cancer. Both have screening tests that are widely used, but the public and many physicians seem to be unaware of their limitations. Overdiagnosis is…
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Heart Disease Mortality Declines
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 24th July 2025Heart Disease Mortality in the United States, 1970 to 2022 is a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. “From 1970 to 2022, overall age‐adjusted heart disease mortality decreased by 66% from 1970 to 2022 (from 761 to 258 per 100 000). In 1970, 91% of all heart disease deaths were ischemic, declining…
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President Trump’s Aspirin Treatment
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd July 2025The recent reports regarding President Trump’s swollen ankles and hand bruising mentioned that he is taking aspirin. His press secretary said, “This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.” This statement may have been true 10…
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