855 Health News Update

Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here’s what it’s about:
No one knows why so many people now have thyroid dysfunction; researchers have found possible contributor. Diagnostic imaging using CT with iodinated contrast can disrupt the thyroid for several months after the procedure. We talk with the lead author of the study, which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine..
MRI-guided focused ultrasound offers a different way of using ultrasound to destroy tiny targets within the body. It shows promise as a way to treat essential tremor and may also offer a new way to treat some prostate cancers.
We’ll also learn about the latest Harvard research summarizing the health benefits of chocolate.
Listeners share their favorite home remedies, and we explore the stories behind the health headlines.
Guests: Steven M. Brunelli, MD, MSCE is Director of Dialysis Services in the Renal Division and Division of Pharmacoepidemiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He is also an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
Eric Ding, PhD, is an epidemiologist and nutrition scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health. The photo is of Dr. Ding.
Neal Kassell, MD, is Chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation and a Distinguished Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. The website is http://www.fusfoundation.org
The podcast of this program will be available the Monday after the broadcast date. The show can be streamed online from this site and podcasts can be downloaded for free for six weeks after the date of broadcast. After that time has passed, digital downloads are available for $2.99. CDs may be purchased at any time after broadcast for $9.99.