A weekly podcast about medicine and the super-sketchy stuff you found online when you googled your symptoms. Cardiologist Dr. Christopher Labos and science communicator Jonathan Jarry bring clarity and levity to these complex health topics. Listen to weekly interviews, original reporting and humour-filled commentaries that will distract you from the inevitable reality that you too will one day get sick and die. Just hopefully not for a while.
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106 - The Case of the She-Hulk Toddler / Announcement
Tuesday, August 6, 2024 • Duration 42:15
You thought your toddler was a handful. Have you heard of the She-Hulk toddler? You will learn what GPA means in a patient chart and how menstruation can be used to judge the health of a country, while Chris tries to figure out what is wrong with this tiny but ferocious patient.
Also: an announcement that will change The Body of Evidence forever….
Warning: this episode contains medical discussion of genitals.
Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called “Digressions”! Check it out!
Lyme Disease, Acute and Chronic (with Andrea Love)
Tuesday, July 23, 2024 • Duration 52:59
Jonathan and Chris speak to Dr. Andrea Love, a microbiologist, immunologist, science communicator, and the director of the American Lyme Disease Foundation. The tick-borne illness known as Lyme disease is everywhere: on the news, on social media… but is it really near you? Dr. Love separates facts from fiction when it comes to Lyme disease, both the acute infection and the alleged chronic condition.
Correction (2024/07/24): Dr. Love wanted to correct a statement she made. She said that tick-borne relapsing fever does not occur in the U.S., but she meant that it did not occur in the eastern U.S. It does occur in western U.S. states but is caused by a different Borrelia species and spread by different ticks, so there is no overlap with Lyme disease.
* Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl.
099 - Acne / New Food Allergy Drug / Answering Emails
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 • Duration 01:09:00
What does the body of evidence say on acne and how to treat it? Plus: you’re going to want to pay attention to this latest study if you have food allergies, and Chris answers listeners’ questions about when to exercise, whether spinal cord stimulators work, and why some older adults are told that surgery would mess with their brain.
A Block: Acne
(0:59) Who gets acne; what causes acne; what are the risk factors for acne; how to treat both mild and moderate-to-severe acne.
B Block: New Food Allergy Drug
(34:16) A drug already approved to treat asthma, omalizumab (Xolair), can work against food allergies, including peanut allergy.
C Block: Answering Emails
(47:32) Questions about when is the best time to exercise (and whether or not you should be fasting); the benefits of spinal cord stimulators for people dealing with chronic pain; and why some older adults are being denied surgery.
* Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl
Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called “Digressions”! Check it out!
References:
061 - HIV and COVID-19 Therapies
Sunday, May 10, 2020 • Duration 01:01:52
HIV: what is it, how do you get it, and what can medicine do about it // What we have learned about chloroquine, remdesivir and convalescent plasma against COVID-19 // Sex and cigarettes, as they relate to the pandemic
Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called “Digressions”! Check it out!
Our scientific references seem to have gotten lost in the time vortex this month, and for that we apologize. If you need clarifications or proofs, don’t hesitate to contact Chris!
The United States government has filed a complaint for injunction against the main seller of a type of bleach claimed to cure people of autism, COVID-19, and cancer. Jonathan speaks to Amanda Seigler, the executive director of Fierce Autistics and Allies, to bring him up to speed.
A comprehensive look at COVID-19 and its infectious agent, SARS-CoV-2, also known as “the coronavirus.” Jonathan and Chris are joined by Dr. Matthew Oughton, an infectious disease specialist, to share the state of the evidence about the current pandemic. Recorded March 26th, 2020.
Jonathan, Chris, and special guest Nicholas Koziris discuss the popular novel House of God by Samuel Shem, a thinly veiled fictional account of Shem’s year as a medical intern at a major hospital in Boston, published in 1978. They discuss despair, suicide, and doctors lusting after busty nurses. But they mostly look at how much medicine has (or hasn’t) changed in the past 50 years. This episode contains adult themes and language.
Morgan Sweeney, who has collaborated with us in the past, has created a podcast that uses storytelling set in the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons & Dragons to teach people about the ways of the human brain. It’s called Magic of the Mind, and we are sharing its second episode, on perception and attention, because we, uh, have cameos in it. Enjoy!
Magic of the Mind on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MagicoftheMind1
059 - Arthritis and Biosimilars
Sunday, March 8, 2020 • Duration 01:04:41
Arthritis: what it is; osteoarthritis vs. inflammatory arthritis; rheumatism; the risks and benefits of treatments // biosimilars, the “generic drugs” of biologics // Q&A: Chris’ qualms about omega-3 supplements for your heart // The Health Canada Ministry of Truth // Natural products claiming to cure cancer
18) The clinical trial of Xolair for food allergies: https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2312382
19) The Nature News Explainer on Xolair and food allergies: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00586-8
It’s Not Twitter, But It’ll Do:
1) Jonathan on The Current to talk about wellness and skepticism: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current/clip/16040098-how-tell-wellness-trends-wrong
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