July 28, 2014- Interviewed by Steven E. Greer, MD
Rajesh Tim Gandhi, MD of the Massachusetts General Hospital discusses the NEJM review paper he co-wrote with his sister, Monica Gandhi, MD, discussing the current state of therapy for HIV-infected patients. He then addresses the ways to prevent HIV infection either after or before exposure.
Update November 6, 2014- Despite more than 80% of responders in various polls feeling that the Obama administration’s handling of Ebola was wrong, on Face the Nation, President Obama said this (see video).
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February 12, 2013 By Steven E. Greer, MD
In the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut massacre of 20 first graders and six brave adults, the debate over gun control is the main topic of the news. Consequently, both sides of the debate are using statistics to support their arguments. However, gun violence statistics are quite often inappropriately cited by untrained “pundits” or lobbyists.
A summary of some of the most important evidence and data: Read more »
March 6, 2014- By Steven E. Greer, MD
The Maryland State Assembly will begin debate on a bill to regulate “energy drinks”, such as those made by Monster Beverage, just as tobacco is regulated. Data from poison control centers directly link at least 20,000 emergency room visits to energy drink overdoses. From 2003 to 2011, ER visits caused by energy drinks quadrupled, according to Dr. Stacy Fisher who testified before the Maryland State Assembly. Read more »
Produced and interviewed by Steven E. Greer, MD
Dr. Barbara Slade of the CDC discusses her recent JAMA article on the safety and adverse event reports for Merck’s HPV cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil. Back in 1976, a swine flu vaccine caused Guillain-Barrė syndrome and this has led to subsequent vaccines being under scrutiny for any neurologic adverse events.
March 15, 2011
Now that the multiple nuclear reactors in Japan are in meltdown, possibly on the scale of Chernobyl in 1986, the key safety questions are “How will this radiation accident compare to other previously documented events, such as Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, and will the radiation cause cancer?”
Using reports from our US NCR and the United Nations BEIR VII report, we tabulated rough estimates of radiation exposure and compared them to the gold standard of data, the WW2 Atom-bomb survivor studies (BEIR). The long-term cohort studies of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the best medical data available to correlate cancer risks to exposure.
It is premature to estimate the radiation amounts being leaked from Japan, but given that there are at least four reactors melting down, it is safe to assume that the Japan disaster will be on par, if not worse, than Chernobyl. Chernobyl contaminated areas of Europe and thousands of miles away. Some areas were extremely high doses that were in cancer-causing range, but the average doses were not.
At this time, it is likely that radiation will reach Alaska and the continental U.S., but that the levels will be very low.
(click table to enlarge)
Thanks to Johns Hopkins Chief Medical Imaging Physicist Mahadevappa Mahesh, MS, PhD for contributing to this article
By Steven Greer, MD
(Viewable in full screen 1080iHD)
Dr. Peter Pronovost, Professor of anesthesiology and critical care at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, discusses his paradigm changing medical checklist concept that has greatly reduced adverse events in hospitals. Starting with reducing central line infections dramatically, the concept was expanded to reducing ventilator pneumonias and then to reducing mortality in the operating room.
Dr. Pronovost was named one of Time Magazine’s “Most Influential People in the World” and is a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” award. Dr. Steven Greer took a tour of his ICU and discussed his advances.
AHRQ, Anesthesiology, CDC, CMS Medicare Medicaid, Critical care, General Surgery, Infectious Disease, Johns Hopkins, NEJM, NIH, Policy | apples49 | 
January 11, 2012 1:27 am | 
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Update, June 22, 2011
Since our first report one year ago about the toxic effects of cocaine laced with levamisole, the NEJM published a case study of their own. A 54 year old woman was doing cocaine and lost her face and ears.
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June 20, 2010
An interesting letter in Annals of Internal Medicine by Mark Bradford et al describes two case reports of skin necrosis due to use of recreational cocaine laced with levamisole. An estimated 70% of the U.S. supply of cocaine is now laced with this drug. It is not clear why this additive is being used. Some speculate that it adds to the dopaminergic euphoric “high”.
Levamisole is banned for human use in the U.S. but is still used as a veterinary anti-worming medication. It was also formerly used as a chemotherapy agent to treat colon cancer, melanoma, and other cancers.
Several deaths of celebrities caused by cocaine overdoses, among other drugs, have been linked to levamisole. ABC News’ Ted Koppel recently lost a son to an overdose of cocaine laced with levamisole. CM.TV interviewed Dr. Bradford on this matter.
