Doctor Column

Troponin Test and Heart Attacks

November 14, 2022

Joseph R. Anticaglia MD Medical Advisory Board “Doctor, am I having a heart attack?” Everyday thousands of patients with chest pain ask emergency department (ED) doctors that question. With advances in medical research and a blood test, doctors can advise patients with a high degree of confidence: “You’re not having a heart attack.” Coronary heart disease continues to be the number one killer in the United

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Motion Sickness — What’s Going On?

November 05, 2022

Joseph R. Anticaglia MD Medical Advisory Board When I was a teenager, a friend of mine said: “Joe, would you like to go fishing some weekend? “Sure, but I don’t know anything about fishing.” “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.” It was balmy Saturday morning when I got into an eighteen foot boat with a few fishing poles, bait, and two brown lunch bags that we brought

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Ten ‘Q & A’s About Parkinson’s Disease

October 25, 2022

Joseph R. Anticaglia MD Medical Advisory Board 1) What Is Parkinson’s? Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic, progressive, movement disorder of the brain that usually develops slowly over time that gives rise to unintentional or uncontrollable movements. It is classified as a movement (motor) disorder because it causes tremors, balance instability, slowness of movement and stiffening movements. But non-motor symptoms of PD such as depression, fatigue, anxiety, loss of taste

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Control Chronic Inflammation and Live Longer! How To Tame the “Inflammation That Won’t Go Away”

October 15, 2022

Joseph R. Anticaglia MD Medical Advisory Board Unchecked chronic inflammation damages your immune system and shortens your lifespan. It’s a low grade infection that often works under the radar for many months or years. It stealthily compromises the immune system making you susceptible to chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer. The immune system is our body’s ‘Department

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Omicron Booster Shots Save Lives! Updated COVID-19 Shots

October 05, 2022

Joseph R. Anticaglia MD Medical Advisory Board The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the emergency authorization requested by the pharmaceutical companies Moderna, and Pfizer- BioNTech to distribute their reformulated versions of the COVID — 19 vaccines to be distributed in September 2022. It is estimated that delaying the roll-out of the vaccines till November of this year would result in more than100,000 additional hospitalizations and in thousands

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How To Avoid Medication Errors — Speak Up!

September 25, 2022

Joseph Anticaglia MD Medical Advisory Board Before you swallow that pill — Are you sure it’s the right one for you? Medication errors are more prevalent than you think. Errors can happen from the time a physician prescribes the medication to the time you pick up the medicine. In Dr. Danielle Ofri’s book, When We Do Harm, the author discusses medical errors

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Drug Disposal: How to Get Rid of Expired or Unused Medications

September 15, 2022

Joseph R. Anticaglia MD Medical Advisory Board Unused or expired medications pose a health risk to you and your family. Safe disposal of unneeded medications lessens the likelihood of unintended poisonings. One option is to find a drug-take back location and deposit the medicines at that location which might be a hospital, pharmacy or police station. If drug-take back programs are not available, you can get rid of medicines

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Drug Expiration Controversy: “Is it Safe to Take Expired Medications?”

September 05, 2022

Joseph R. Anticaglia MD Medical Advisory Board Melissa, a three year old, has a history or recurrent ear infections. It’s the weekend, it’s one o’clock in the morning and Melissa is irritable, tugging at her right ear and has a slight temperature. This has been the prelude to a spike of 103 F temperature, crying and piercing screams due to her painful ear infections. Her mother has

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Diverticular Disease: Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis

August 25, 2022

Joseph R. Anticaglia MD Medical Advisory Board Diverticular disease is a disease of the large intestine characterized by tiny outpouchings in the wall of the colon called diverticula, which can become inflamed (red, swollen) and infected. This colonic disease affects approximately half of the population over the age of 60 in advanced western countries. It was thought to be a disease of the elderly, but recent reports indicate an increased prevalence

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Number “988” Hotline: The New Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline

August 15, 2022

Joseph R. Anticaglia MD Medical Advisory Board On July 16, 2022. the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) established 988 as the new, nationwide phone number that connects individuals with the Suicide Prevention and Mental Crisis Lifeline. If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or a substance abuse-related emergence or if you are at your wits end, you’re encouraged to call or text 988 and speak directly

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