Health Topics – Johns Hopkins Medicine Podcasts

Anchor lead: Can a new method of assessing cysts in the pancreas help identify cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Cancer of the pancreas is deadly, with limited ways to catch the disease early. Now a new test integrating a number of characteristics of cysts found in the pancreas may help predict which ones may be cancerous. […]

Anchor lead: Nurses may take the lead when it comes to palliative care and end of life issues, Elizabeth Tracey reports Do you have advance directives in place if you are critically ill and unable to communicate your wishes? How about a health care proxy who knows what you want? Most Americans want to die […]

Anchor lead: Pancreatic cancer is moving up in causes of cancer deaths, Elizabeth Tracey reports The rankings are shifting when it comes to leading causes of cancer death, the American Cancer Society reported, with pancreatic cancer moving up. Ann Marie Lennon, a pancreas cancer expert at Johns Hopkins, says the uptick is due to better […]

Anchor lead: Treatment of blockages in the arteries of the neck may start with medication, Elizabeth Tracey reports You’ve just been told you have a blockage in your carotid artery going to your head, and you’re at increased risk for stroke. Chris Abularrage, a vascular surgeon at Johns Hopkins, says surgery may be needed but […]

Anchor lead: When ultrasound is done on your neck, what exactly are they looking for? Elizabeth Tracey reports Ultrasound is the modality of choice when it comes to evaluating potential blockages of the carotid arteries, those that travel through the neck and into the head. Such blockages increase the risk of stroke. Caitlin Hicks, a […]

Anchor lead: A sound heard through a stethoscope on the neck may indicate a blood vessel problem, Elizabeth Tracey reports If you’ve had a recent physical exam your clinician may have used a stethoscope to listen to your neck. That’s because a sound called a ‘bruit’ may indicate blockage there, putting you at very high […]

Anchor lead: High fat diets may help cognition but what about other health issues? Elizabeth Tracey reports High fat low carb diets work by changing the body’s energy source to fat, and producing something called ketones in the process. A recent Johns Hopkins study showed such a diet improved cognition in people who were mildly […]

Anchor lead: Should the high fat content of certain diets be a concern? Elizabeth Tracey reports Eating a diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates helped people with mild cognitive impairment improve on tests of cognition, a Johns Hopkins study led by Jason Brandt has shown. Brandt says recruiting participants to the study was […]

Anchor lead: Can eating a high fat diet help you think better? Elizabeth Tracey reports People with mild cognitive impairment who ate a diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates for a few months improved cognitive testing scores, a Johns Hopkins study led by Jason Brandt has shown. Brandt says the key seemed that […]

Anchor lead: Can eating a diet that reduces inflammation reduce your risk for cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Foods that promote inflammation can increase your risk for cancer while those that decrease inflammation can reduce it. That’s the conclusion of a Spanish study following several thousand people over many years. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel […]