Doctor Column

Gluten Intolerance: “What You Need To Know” September 15, 2024 Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD Over the past three decades, the gluten-free diet (GFD), and products have gained increasing popularity, particularly in the U. S. and Europe. The interest in GFD has been associated with a remarkable growth in the sales of gluten-free products. The sales of such products were estimated to be 3.88 billion dollars in 2016, and more than 6 billion dollars in 2023. What is gluten? Coronary Stents, From Blockage to Blood Flow: How Tiny Mesh Tubes Revolutionized Heart Care September 5, 2024 Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD Karen is a 52 year old IT worker who has been treated for several years because of hypertension, elevated cholesterol, and problems with her gallbladder (cholecystitis). When she complained of indigestion, and had pain in the upper part of the stomach that radiated to the back and neck, she thought it was another gallbladder attack. Boost Your Immunity! CDC Recommends Updated COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines for the Coming Respiratory Virus Season. August 25, 2024 Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD Diane is a 57 year old housewife who has been treated for hypertension and elevated cholesterol for many years. She complained of a runny nose, nasal congestion, and a slight headache for a few days, and thought it was just a “common cold.” But her condition quickly deteriorated when she experienced extreme fatigue, loss of the sense of smell, and shortness of breath. What’s the Problem with RFK Jr.’s Voice? “Spasmodic Dysphonia” August 15, 2024 Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD I think it’s “problematical for people to listen to me. I cannot listen to myself on TV. ... I feel sorry for you guys having to listen to me,” said the presidential 2024 candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in his raspy voice in News Nation’s Town Hall meeting in Chicago on June 28, 2023. He acknowledged the challenge people have paying attention to a person’s halting, choking speech, struggling to finish a sentence. Kennedy said his raspy voice was due to “Spasmodic Dysphonia.” Dark Circles Under the Eyes 101: What Are the Causes and How to Treat Them? August 5, 2024 Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD Mom took her four year old son Gregory to the pediatrician wanting to know what’s causing the dark circles under his eyes. Arlo, a 63 year farmer told his family doctor that the dark circles under his eyes have gotten worse over the last few years. “Is there anything I can do about it, Doc?” Untangling the Mysteries of the Aging Voice July 25, 2024 Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD One of the things we take for granted is a good voice, one that is strong, easily understood and of good quality. We have a problem when a voice disorder interferes with our ability to communicate with family and friends, or to earn a living. Choline and Pregnancy. How Does Choline Boost Fetal Brain Development? July 15, 2024 Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD “The risk of mental illness in a child is about one in 10. The risk of spinal bifida in a child is about one in 1000. Yet, every woman takes folic acid to avoid spina bifida risk. We ought to think about every woman taking choline to avoid that mental illness risk which is one in 10. If we could make sure that a baby builds a better brain before it was born perhaps we could prevent it from ever becoming mentally ill,” according to Robert Freeman, MD. BOTOX: An Accidental Discovery .. From Deadly Poison to Smooth Wrinkles — Cosmetic and Medical Uses July 5, 2024 Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD At times, medical breakthroughs happen by sheer accident, and keen observation. Such accidental discoveries have changed the course of medicine. Consider the accidental discovery of penicillin. “In 1928 Dr. Alexander Fleming returned from a holiday to find mold growing on a Petri dish of Staphylococcus bacteria. He noticed the mold seemed to be preventing the bacteria around it from growing. He named the chemical that could kill bacteria, Penicillin. Before antibiotics, Science Museum continues, “Everything from paper cuts to childbirth had the potential to kill through bacterial infection.” Exosomes — Extracellular Vesicles: What Are They? Could the “Cargo” Onboard Be Dangerous? June 25, 2024 Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD Exosomes are microscopic, round, or oval sac-like structures that contain proteins, lipids, RNA, and DNA. They’re produced inside the cell by almost all cell types, and are released into the extracellular space, the space outside the cell. They’re about one 100th the size of a human cell and are also known as Extracellular Vesicles (EVs). A vesicle is a small sac-like structure. Green Tea: From Leaves to Teacup to Good Health? The Science of Green Tea June 15, 2024 Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD Aside from water, green tea ranks as the world’s second most popular beverage. People have been drinking green tea for thousands of years and in almost the same fashion. It all started, according to one legend, when the Chinese Emperor Shennong in 2737 BC was sitting under a tea tree.