If you're over 65 and haven't had a pertussis vaccine in a while, at least in California, you should get the whooping cough vaccine.

This message is not out there--I hadn't heard anything about it.  Patients have been asking, but there isn't the information getting to us guys in the trenches.

The issue is now getting some press coverage.

The Center for Cannabis Research at the University of California has weighed in today with a report on original scientific research on the therapeutic value of marijuana or cannabis. The Center was created to advise the California Legislature about marijuana.

I have long thought that the principal problem with medical marijuana is that it kind of exists in an "evidence-free" zone. The publication of this document summarizing multiple different clinical research studies on medical marijuana.

I recently had a health journalist interview me about the new guidelines for mammography under 50.

You may recall a storm of controversy was touched off in December 2009, when the US Preventive Services Task Force recommended that mammography begin at 50.  Sarah Palin went so far as to compare these recommendations to "death panels" under health care reform.  The controversy died down, and health care reform legislation was rewritten to ensure access to mammographic screening.

I have had people take hyperbaric oxygen therapy for foot ulcers with some success, but otherwise had no idea these things were being used to treat cancer, AIDS, and other illnesses.  The Cochrane Review looks to be gearing up to review the use of ozone in diabetic foot ulcers soon, stay tuned for some of their usually definitive coverage. 

Doctors purveying questionable therapies: if you're not careful, the FDA will sic the US Marshals on you!

Andrew Pollack is probably the single most influential health writer in America. He has the bully pulpit the closest thing to a national platform. His reporting is excellent balanced and thorough. I had the privilege of speaking with him in April 2009 for a tamoxifen article though he did not quote me in the story. So it was somewhat provocative that Mr. Pollack seems not altogether happy about the trend towards maintenance therapy. Higher costs longer treatment.

Today we opened the first sunscreen of the summer a Neutrogena stick containing titanium dioxide and zinc sulfate. Total cost for a small small stick: $7. Ouch! The California Baby version is $15! This works out to something like $1 an ounce or more. I personally am trying to avoid using the "synthetic" sunscreens on kids out of concern for estrogen-like effects. I haven't seen correlations with health outcomes per se but I would rather not add risk especially in my daughter where I don't need to. The titanium based sunscreens do not appear to have a hormonal effect on biology.

(reproduced from Medscape.com original link: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/703926) June 4 2009 (Orlando Florida) — It has been nearly 10 years in coming but at last there is a positive result with a vaccine approach to follicular lymphoma. Two other phase 3 clinical trials have failed but the one that succeeded was reported during a plenary session here at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 45th Annual Meeting.

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First peanuts now pistachios: a nut processor in California is recalling 1 million pounds of pistachios for Salmonella contamination fears. I remember a five pound back of pistachio "meats" from Costco--felt like I was cheating but boy so delish! The other comment was from my wife who favors cashews over pistachios: "Looks like people would be better off with cashews!" True that. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123846700623472557.html

The journal Science has a tantalizing article in which platelets destroyed the malaria parasite inside red cells. The malaria parasite causes so many problems because it relies on the human blood stream during its life cycle. The mosquito takes a drink on this infected blood flies away from the infected host and finds a new victim to bite transmitting the parasite to the new person in the process. 1) I can't believe nobody's done this study before this point. It's so obvious! There are millions of potential subjects out there.