Diabetes mellitus is an affliction recognized since ancient times.  The first term comes from a Greek term referring to excessive urinary output; the Latin term “mellitus,” (meaning honey) was added to describe the sugary sweet nature of this abundant urine. Early civilizations could reliably diagnose “sweet urine disease” by its taste, or by observing...
Read More »

It’s the rare individual that doesn’t enjoy some sort of music. It can soothe or excite us; it can bring us back good memories, it can distract us from painful ones. It can make us work harder and run faster and relax more completely.  While we casually use music to enhance our day to...
Read More »

You don’t have to be skinny to be healthy. In fact, one of the most dreaded “chief complaints” that a doctor can hear is that their patient  is inexplicably losing weight. To waste away has as ominous a connotation now as it did in pioneer times. But excess body mass can cause health problems...
Read More »

In the medical world, there are some illnesses that are so all-encompassing in their development and effects that they become a model for understanding the basic nature of health’s deterioration into illness.  Lupus, more properly called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, is one such disease.  Mentors in medical schools quip “if you know lupus, you know...
Read More »

Antibiotics are so common now; it is hard to imagine that they have only been around in their modern form for less than a hundred years!  In the 1870’s scientists discovered naturally occurring chemicals that could inhibit or kill bacteria, but it was not until the 1930’s that there was a commercially available product....
Read More »

Dark Side of the Brain   For thousands of years, a significant percentage of humanity has suffered with intense, long-lasting, and disabling headaches called migraines.  This term is derived from the initial name of “hemikrania” or “half of the head ; since the times of Hippocrates and Plato it was known that these wicked...
Read More »

The Many Faces of Lyme (or, The Devil You Know………..)   Our beautiful Harlem Valley countryside has many wondrous attributes, but, alas, an abundance of Lyme-carrying ticks as well. Lyme is a fascinating disease model, and understanding it may help you recognize symptoms earlier and receive treatment more promptly. Lyme Disease is caused by bacteria termed...
Read More »

  Surviving Summer   There are six simple steps to help enjoy the summer season. First, don’t get poison ivy. This is actually easier than commonly realized. The most successful strategy is avoidance of this troublesome 3-leaf vine and any unidentifiable roots, especially those ascending tree trunks.  If there is any chance you’ve come...
Read More »