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:
It is hardly any wonder so many people feel confused and discouraged about the health headlines. One week we are told that vitamins are worthless and a complete waste of time and money. The very next week, research appears showing that supplemental vitamin E can help delay the progression of Alzheimer’s disease better than a medication doctors prescribe for that purpose. What should we believe?
The new guidelines for blood pressure treatment suggest beta blockers such as atenolol, metoprolol and propranolol should not be the first choice in treating hypertension. Millions of Americans take such medicines for blood pressure, but the evidence against beta blockers has been available for some time. We talk with a physician whose research demonstrated problems with this class of drugs several years ago.
For years, parents were urged to have tubes placed in the ears of children with recurrent ear infections. This intervention was supposed to improve hearing and with it learning over the long term. A new study from the University of North Carolina shows only a short-term impact of ear tubes, though. We talk with the head researcher to get his perspective.
When people have problems with a generic drug, the FDA requests certain information on the report to help them track it down. The trouble is, those data aren’t included on most pill bottles we get from the pharmacy. Joe rants.
Call in your questions and comments at 888-472-3366 or email radio@peoplespharmacy.com between 7 and 8 am EDT.
Guests: Mary Sano, PhD, is Director of the Alzheimer Disease Research Center and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where she is also Associate Dean of Clinical Research. In addition, she is Director of Research at the James J Peters VAMC in Bronx, NY. Her research on vitamin E for treating mild Alzheimer’s disease was published in JAMA.
Franz Messerli, MD, FACC, FACP, is Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University college of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. The JNC 8 Guidelines for treating high blood pressure were published in JAMA.
Michael Steiner, MD, is chief of general pediatrics and adolescent medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. His article reviewing research on the long-term consequences of ear tubes was published in Pediatrics.
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 four 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.
