Meet Our Guests
September 7, 2008

Shelley Gilroy, MD

Topic: LYME DISEASE

David Duggan, MD

Topic: MEDICARE & MEDICAID

ABOUT the HOST—

Health Information Center Resources on This Week's Show

The da Vinci Robot has received a lot of attention lately as a support to surgeons performing prostate and heart surgery. Learn about this marvelous device when host Trisha Torrey interviews urology surgeon, Dr. Gabriel Haas.

Jennifer Parmalee, executive director of the McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center, talks about child abuse and how to recognize its signs as well as how to report suspected abuse. Also special tips for schools whose staff members are "mandated reporters."

Meega Wells, RN, from Upstate's College of Nursing, also discusses Celiac disease. Celiac disease causes the body's immune system to attack its own digestive tract. It happens when sufferers eat anything containing gluten, which is found in grains like wheat, barley and rye.


For more information on minimally invasive surgery for prostate cancer at University Hospital: www.upstate.edu/urology/mis.

Books:

• "Dr. Patrick Walsh's Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer", by Patrick C. Walsh and Janet Farrar Worthington. Published by Warner Books, 2001.
• "The Prostate Cancer Treatment Book: Advice from Leading Prostate Experts from the Nation's Top Medical institutions", edited by Peter D. Grimm et al. Published by Contemporary Books, 2004.
• "Prostate Cancer: A Patient's Guide to Treatment", by Arthur Centeno and Gary Onik. Published by Addicus Books, 2004.
• "Dr. Peter Scardino's Prostate Book: The Complete Guide to Overcoming Prostate Cancer, Postatitis, and BPH", by Peter T. Scardino and Judith Kelman. Published by Avery, 2005.

Books available through bookstores, libraries, including the Health Information Center and Amazon.com.

Robotic Prostatectomy Reviews:

• Robot-assisted Prostate Surgery Has Possible Benefits, High Cost, from Science Daily.
  
• Nerve Sparing Robotic Prostatectomy: A Novel and Minimally Invasive Treatment of Prostate Cancer, from Prostate Cancer Research Institute.

Web Sites:

• da Vinci(R) Prostatectomy Video, from Intuitive Surgical, Inc., the developer of the da Vinci robotic surgical system.
  
• Robotic Prostatectomy Videos, from MedlinePlus.
  Scroll down to "Treatment" for several one-hour videos from various medical centers and hospitals throughout the U.S.
  
• National Cancer Institute
  
• Prostate Cancer Foundation (formerly CaPCure)
  
• National Prostate Cancer Coalition

HEALTH INFORMATION CENTER
at SUNY Upstate Medical University

Tutorial: How to Find Reliable Health Information on the Internet

September 17th's Headlines ...

Wait-and-See Approach Urged for Children's Ear Infections

Green Tea: Mixed Review As Health Aid

Vital Signs: Prevention; A Daily Aspirin May Decrease Prostate Risks
By Nicholas Bakalar
Published September 5, 2006 in the American Journal of Epidemiology

Taking aspirin every day may lower the risk for prostate enlargement, a new study has found. Other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or Nsaids, like naproxen (Aleve) or ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin), have the same effect.

''At least half the patients I see are taking a daily aspirin for other health reasons,'' said Dr. Michael M. Lieber, an author of the study and a Mayo Clinic urologist. ''So this is a possible fringe benefit.''

Researchers studied 2,447 men over 12 years, examining them every other year. After adjusting for age, diabetes, hypertension and other factors, men who took a daily aspirin or another Nsaid reduced their risk of moderate or severe urinary symptoms by 27 percent, and their risk of an enlarged prostate by 49 percent. Moreover, they had a 48 percent reduced risk of having an elevated level of prostate-specific antigen, or P.S.A., the protein measured in a common blood test for prostate cancer.

The study, published online by The American Journal of Epidemiology, had limited data on dosage, but scientists believe that even low doses of anti-inflammatory drugs reduce the risk of urological problems.

Dr. Lieber acknowledged that the study was observational and not a placebo-controlled trial. Still, he said, he was impressed. ''We were pretty surprised by the strong association with objective things like the 49 percent reduction,'' he said.