Doctor Column
The Cancer Enigma: “If There’s No Magic Bullet, is Prevention the Cure?”
February 5, 2019
Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD
Nobel Prize laureate Paul Ehrlich coined the term “magic bullet” in 1900, meaning a way to kill (bullet) a specific target (magic). He thought it might be possible to target and kill bacteria with a single agent without hurting the body itself.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: ‘Early’ Management is Key
January 25, 2019
Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to mistakenly attack itself. It destroys healthy tissues in the joints and in other part of the body.
Osteoarthritis and Five (5) Risk Factors
January 15, 2019
Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease in the U.S. affecting more than twenty million Americans and costing billions of dollars each year. It’s due to the wearing down of the joints — a degenerative disease of aging, more common in women and localized to the joints. It doesn’t spread to the internal organs.
Osteoporosis; What to ‘Know’ … What to ‘Do’
January 5, 2019
Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD
You might have heard this refrain: “I’m shrinking. I’m 2 inches shorter than I used to be. The older I get, the shorter I become!” The culprit most likely is osteoporosis, a bone disorder that reduces bone strength and bone density. It can lead to a forward curvature of the spine (hump), typically in women.
Think Twice About Aspirin: “One Size Doesn’t Fit All!” Report says; ‘Aspirin is of No Help for Healthy Seniors’
December 25, 2018
Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD
Three articles published in the New England Journal of Medicine on September 16, 2018 call into question the usefulness of aspirin for healthy seniors.
Iron Deficiency Anemia: “Low Iron”
December 15, 2018
Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD
Iron deficiency anemia is due to a low level of iron in the blood. There is a decrease in the number of red blood cells (RBCs) in the body which appear under the microscope to be smaller in size and paler in color.
Iron: The Body’s Precious Metal
December 5, 2018
Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD
Iron is present in every living plant and animal cell. Without iron, virtually all life would cease to exist.
President Jimmy Carter — And His Breakthrough Treatment for Advanced Melanoma
November 25, 2018
Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD
In August 2018, President Jimmy Carter was interviewed on TV and asked about his views concerning the current political situation in the United States. I was captured by the vitality of this 93 year old man’s lucid and laconic answers to a variety of other questions asked of him.
‘Sodium’ — “How to Shake the Salt Habit!”
November 15, 2018
Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD
Throughout history salt has been prized for its use to preserve food and to add flavor to food. Today we take salt for granted because it’s readily available; it’s cheap and frequently iodized. However, there was a time, the opposite was true.
Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) ‘Polio-like Paralysis’ — “I hope it’s just a cold!”
November 5, 2018
Joseph R. Anticaglia, MD
Jeremy, a four year old boy, had a good time playing in the park with his friends that sunny September day. A short time later, he came down with the common cold and, for a few days, had a runny nose and a slight cough.
