The newspaper recently reported on new research meant to help doctors better identify patients at risk for heart attacks.  Dr. Eric Topol, the director of California’s Scripps Translational Science Institute, announced the discovery of a clue found in the blood of people who are apparently on the verge of suffering the big one. “On Wednesday, Scripps researchers reported a new lead—by searching people’s blood for deformed cells that appear to flake off the lining of seriously diseased arteries.  Topol’s team measured high levels of those cells floating in the blood … Continue reading →

I love coming in from a long run and collapsing on the couch in utter exhaustion, especially on a weekend.  For the next hour I’m content to drift into a daze while I catch a rerun of High Plains Drifter or Goldfinger on AMC.  My body slowly melts into the furniture and not a single digit wants to move.  That kind of fatigue is enjoyable; not because of how it feels, per se, but because of what it signifies: I’ve just accomplished what I set out to do—completing a challenging … Continue reading →

You’ve got to start exercising and lose weight. This is good advice for about two thirds of American adults.  A doctor could dispense this recommendation to every person who walks through the clinic door and hit the nail on the head about 70% of the time.  We Americans are not known for our slender, fit physiques and assiduous exercise habits. What about doctors?  Well, it turns out that doctors are, in fact, healthier than people on the other end of the stethoscope, but only barely.  Fifty-three percent of physicians in … Continue reading →

Picture this.  You’ve worked for years at a job that requires a modest amount of physical exertion—working the factory floor, running the mailroom at the office, serving as a nurse’s aide, bussing the tables at the local deli.  Now that you’ve proven your worth to your organization you find yourself being promoted to a job in management with all the perks of your new station.  You get to boss people around, enjoy the daily gossip at the water cooler, and leave the office not needing to fumigate your clothing from … Continue reading →